Windows 7 review

[Cyberpunk]

Hi Y'all. I'm new here, so I thought I'd kick things off with a short review of Microsoft's new operating system, codename 7. I've got the beta build for testing, (yes it is the legal copy, I did the same with Vista), and so far I'm impressed.

This being an early beta release, I won't get too picky about the performance issues and minor functionality glitches I've experienced so far with Windows 7. Instead I'll try to let you know what you can look forward too.

Windows 7's Desktop interface is even glassier than Vista's. If you're not a fan of Aero, prepare yourself for Aero overload. With that said the new glassy Taskbar simplifies your view of running apps by using a unique icon - instead of the program's name - to represent each one.

The revamped System Tray is as bad as ever, but you do have the option to hide some icons and turn off notifications from apps and utilities that you don't care about, which can reduce the irritation factor. Of course, it is still wise to not have too many apps running in the System Tray, as it has been since Windows 95.

The sidebar is now gone. Yay!!! It was a resource-hogging nuisance that I routinely disabled on every new Vista machine I encountered. Now there is a gadjet that sits on your desktop. With this, you can access several functions of your Pc, such as shut down, my documents, etc. It's customisable, but whether you need it or not is still out to the jury. I'm still shuting the pc down by using the start button. Having run Windows since 1993 ish, it's hard to undo all those years of habit. I've also found that the gadgets are no more useful than Vista gadgets. So more of the same from Microsoft.

One striking interface update comes in the included Paint and Word Pad apps, both of which now sport a Ribbon interface, which you may have seen if you've played with Office '07. Although you may not be decided on whether the Office '07 Ribbon menus constitute an improvement over previous menu layouts, the Ribbon format works exceedingly well for minimalist apps like these, putting all of the most useful features within easy view.

For instance, I've found Paint infinitely easier to use because the selection, resizing and cropping tools were readily accessible from the Home menu bar. Thanks to the Ribbon, many users may discover that these two throw-away apps have gained a new lease on life.

A feature that Ive noticed during my trial the Jump List. Fully functional in the public beta, jump lists add a handy submenu to many applications, so you can see items that you recently worked with in a given app, or look at further options you have for starting new documents or accessing often-used features.

The jump lists helped get more out of the apps I've worked with. But if this feature is to become even more useful, developers must embrace them in upcoming versions of new programs.

Another improvement in Windows 7's interface compared to Vista's is the simplified Shutdown control on the Start Menu. Gone is the unhelpful icon; in its place are clear, concise textual menus that tell you exactly what will happen when you click on them.

So you no longer have to reconfigure your Start Menu to determine whether your PC will shut down entirely or merely go into hibernation when you click the button.

A new addition to Windows 7 is the Action Center, which pulls a variety of security and maintenance features together in a single menu for simpler management.

Although it's unlikely to wow many advanced users, the Action Center's clearly labeled options should make it easier for beginners and intermediate users to set their system security preferences with confidence, manage backups, and troubleshoot minor performance problems or return to a previous restore point if things go pear shaped.

Microsoft has tweaked User Account Control in some important ways that should go a long way toward addressing many Vista haters' complaints. It now offers four levels of protection: always notify, notify only when programs try to make changes (this is the default), notify when programs try to make changes but don't dim the screen (my preference), and never notify.

An experience that will be important to many people who want to try out the 7 beta is how easy is it to upgrade their own systems to 7 from XP or Vista. I personally operate a triple hard drive pc, and was able to install Windows 7 on a seperate drive, without disturbing my Vista or Xp installs, but for this review, I installed Vista first, and then upgraded with the Windows 7 disc. The good news is the upgrade went off without a hitch. The actual install time was roughly 40 minutes (this is after the Vista install), and the system rebooted more times than seemed necessary for a simple OS upgrade, but the final result was a fully functional installation.

It's way too early to make a proper assessment of Windows 7, but Microsoft has made its intentions clear: Windows 7 is intended to right the wrongs of Vista, but retain that operating system's good points. It seems to start up quicker than Vista, but it is a fairly new install. Currently, it runs Cyrsis Warhead at a respectable speed, using Direct X 10 drivers, and runs GTA4 nicely as well. Windows 7 seems at this point to have less of a power hungry nature than Vista, which can only be a good thing, especially to the Pc gamer.

Windows 7 Beta recommended specifications

Processor speed 1 GHz (either 32-bit or 64-bit)

Memory (RAM) 1 GB

Graphics card DirectX 9.0 capable

Graphics memory 128 MB (for Windows Aero)

HDD free space 16 GB

Other drives DVD-ROM

Audio Direct X Audio Output

[DANGERMAN]

I'm a bit annoyed they dumped Vista so quickly, especially as they forced it into every computer from the last 2 years. Personally I never really had a problem with Vista, I quite like some features in fact.

Anyway, it doesnt sound like im missing a huge amount which is good

[hinn888]

Seems quite quick that theyre making a new one already, but i do like the look of it.

[pickled]

lol, cyberpunks first post is probably longer than all my posts combined!

[David]

I'm a bit annoyed they dumped Vista so quickly, especially as they forced it into every computer from the last 2 years. Personally I never really had a problem with Vista, I quite like some features in fact.

Anyway, it doesnt sound like im missing a huge amount which is good

Vista isn't as bad as it's made out to be. On a computer with low RAM, it's hideous but with a good amount it's a pretty damn good OS. Sadly, the product just had a negative image since launch, so Microsoft are trying to replace it as soon as they can.

[Jimboxy]

think i'll stick with the innovators rather than the pretenders.

Apple FTW

[pickled]

think i'll stick with the innovators rather than the pretenders.

Apple FTW

fanboy

linux ftw

[Hendo]

Actually, the world's biggest Apple fanboy (Kevin Rose of Digg.com) was talking about it on Diggnation and said that it's the first time he's thought, "Damn, that's got some cool stuff in it".

I had a very brief play with it at a mate's place the other night and I thought it looked very cool, some decent things in there and very swish. My machine barely runs XP well, so it ain't gonna happen.

[Sly Reflex]

I might get it. Running Vista atm, but I understand this isnt as resourse heavy. Also, I get fed up of being asked if I really want to do that by Vista. Even really mundane stuff like ripping a CD.

[rAceR09]

Nice and Detailed Review. Windows 7 is amazing.

I have been using the public BETA for a couple of months now and haven't had a single problem. Vista is good as well, and agree it does have a negative image but actually works very well since SP1.

[Hendo]

Just stumbled across this on the BBC website - no IE onboard Windows 7 in Europe.

That sounds a bit iffy. I'd imagine the only way of getting a browser to begin with is going through a menu in the OS to get IE anyway. So, why not put it in there to begin with? I mean, is there going to be an option to get FireFox or Opera instead if you want? I don't see how this is getting round the anti-competitive lawsuit.

[Manicm]

I could be wrong here, but i thought tha Vista was supposed to be the last time MS do a full OS launch?? the future was updates based on the PC spec etc....

So why the big Windows 7?? its not something that will effect me as i run a mac, but i know plenty of PC users who had a torrid time with vista.

[Sly Reflex]

Vista is a load of crap. It randomly wont except important updates. My desktop recently turned down the service package that some programs need to run.

[Hendo]

My new laptop is pretty shoddily built but I must say I'm quite impressed with Windows 7 so far, though I haven't had too much of a play around yet.

But they seem to have stolen/borrowed enough from OSX to make me comfortable, most notably in the thing at the bottom where you pin applications to the taskbar. I never use shortcuts on the desktop so I've just got the most likely to be used things pinned at the bottom.

So far I've got Firefox, iTunes, Spotify, iPlayer thing, notepad, Skype, Audacity and the Windows explorer thing.

[DANGERMAN]

I've got that in Vista, I've moved my toolbar to the side of the screen (you dont lose too much screen with a widescreen monitor) then I've got all my most used programs below my start button. It also means you can have more open without it collecting folders/programs together, really useful

[David]

I've used 7 since early December, and the OS itself has never actually crashed so bad I've had to reboot. Individual programs have, but that used to mean the whole system went with it sometimes on Windows before. Boots up SO much faster than Vista as well.

I like it. Definitely the best Windows OS ever.

[Cyberpunk]

Wow! My first post! I didn't expect to see this one renewed. Maybe I should do a follow-up, as I've been with Windows 7 since March 2009, and probably was the first person on this site to see it.

What I can say is Hendo should get used to it very quickly. As you said mate, OS10 and Win7 share common roots. After over a year, I still like it a lot, and wouldn't choose another. My laptop runs XP, but it's real old. One of my favourite features is the homegroup. My media is shared wirelessly through homegroup, to my kids machines.

[Sly Reflex]

I remember when CP joined and did this post. I thought it was spam.

[Hendo]

Wow! My first post! I didn't expect to see this one renewed. Maybe I should do a follow-up, as I've been with Windows 7 since March 2009, and probably was the first person on this site to see it.

Please do, if you have any tips I'd like to read them.

[Manicm]

I have noticed, how fast 7 is when compared to Vista, having restored my PC back to vista it now takes approx 5 mins to boot up and thats with a fast amd core x2 processor, 7 used to take just over a minute, need to get the cheapest version of 7 i think!