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Windows 7 is it another Disasta (Vista)? and,
Should you upgrade to Windows 7?
As you may know we have all been pretty unimpressed by Microsoft’s Vista operating system, and despite them claiming it to be a great success the fact that within 2 years they are releasing a new Operating System whereas the previous version (XP) lasted for more than 5 years says it all.
Windows 7 is scheduled for release on 22nd October 2009, and we have been playing with it for a few months, it is in many ways similar to Vista (not necessarily a plus!)
Here are some of our thoughts:
Nick: The first thing you will notice about Windows 7 is that it looks a lot like Vista. This may immediately put you off the new Operating System but don’t be deceived, hiding behind the even better looking user interface are many significant changes. Few criticise Vista for its appearance and I am surprised how complacent people have become about the truly hideous Window XP teletubby style green and blue theme. In my opinion Windows 7’s interface is visually just about spot on (maybe with a few easily made tweaks).
The second thing you will notice as you stop looking and start using is that the taskbar seems to be missing the bars for your open windows, or is it missing your quick launch icons? In fact it’s either both or neither, that is they have been merged into one. Applications appear as icons on the taskbar whether they are open or have just been “pinned” there. This may seem crazy when coming from vista or XP but the thinking behind it is logical. When you go to an application on the taskbar why should you care if it is already open? You went to the taskbar because you want the application now. Why should it matter if it’s already open, or will be opened when you click? This approach combined with a much better looking and performing way of managing multiple windows of programs like Internet Explorer makes the taskbar a good addition to Windows 7. This fairly drastic change may worry or annoy some, but persevere and it starts to make sense.
The next improvement over Vista is the speed of this new offering. Both to boot from off to desktop and general performance have been improved noticeably over Vista and is comparable if not faster than XP. This is partly due to Microsoft implementing better support to take full advantage of your Multi-Core processor.
Other improvements of Windows 7 are less obvious. I have found that when it offers help after there’s been a problem, sometimes it actually does help. This is in stark contrast to previous versions whose “help” is a great way to waste 5 minutes watching a progress bar. Other tweaks include completely new version of Notepad, Calculator and Windows Games, Desktop backgrounds can be cycled every few seconds or minutes to produce a nice, gentle slideshow on your desktop. Also support for fingerprint readers, location sensors and other such devices has been added as well as the interface being optimised for touch screens (for applications like windows’ Coffee table computers).
Terry: In my opinion this is a much better operating system than any before. It still has flaws which mostly come from Vista;
Wireless networking was very easy to use in Windows XP; Vista came along and made it more confusing, and Microsoft has for some strange reason chosen to keep this way.
Windows 7, has very much the same look as Vista, not a bad thing as it is very pretty, but I did like Microsoft XP with the word “Start” and not just a round circle.
One of the main improvements is when putting a blank disk in; you are asked what you want to do.
Eg:
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As you can see you have two choices:Burn an audio CDThis is just for musicBurn files to discThis is used to backup data files etc. |
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This is where things have improved. As you can see you have two choices:The “like a USB flash drive” is new, and is a welcome edition as I have plenty of cup mats, after burning a disk and finding something missing that I had forgotten. |
The new Windows Media player is now able to play DVD’s without loading any other software. and you also have the ability to write to DVD’s without third party software (Nero, Roxio et al).
Ben:
Easier Navigation
Programs can be pinned to the taskbar similar to Quick Launch in XP and Vista. The new advantage is that these programs opened are listed as icons on the taskbar. Now it’s easier to see what you have open and to find the specific pages you need.
Quick and responsive
Windows 7 will use similar amounts of memory and hard disk space as Vista, but it can manage the use of these resources much more efficiently. Switching between programs, opening images and browsing the web are much smoother. In Vista you found that all of these tasks would bottle-neck and cause your computer to become sluggish in its efforts; Windows 7 (whilst not completely foolproof depending on your system specs) is a VAST improvement.
Eye catching graphics/interfaces
Similar to Vista’s graphics, Windows 7 offers transparent taskbars and windows, lush new desktop backgrounds and colourful detailed icons. Finally it’s putting up a fight against the new Apple OS X.
Easy to use networking – sharing documents and printers at home
When connecting more than one computer at home with Windows 7, you can run what is called ‘Homegroup’. This is the newer and easier way of sharing documents, music and pictures between your Windows 7 PC’s and Laptops. It’s secure too. During the initial setup, you’re given a password that you then enter every time you link a new Windows 7 computer to the Homegroup.
In our experience using Vista, wireless networking could turn out to be a real pain. Setting a connection as ‘public’ would not allow you to access the internet. More to the annoyance was the inability to change this option. You were stuck with a computer not being able to ever access the internet using that network again. Windows 7 offers the choice to change this location at a later date (should you wish to do so).
Final thoughts
Windows 7 will be the saving grace for Microsoft over the next 3-4 years. It improves on XP and Vista taking their advantages and leaving their disadvantages. If you want to upgrade, don’t think twice about it.
AJ: It is a smaller operating system that the current Vista (But that has grown via updates since it’s launch) and on my laptop fires up much quicker, which is a crucial improvement.
Driver software again seems like it could be the Achilles heel of “Seven”, my own laptop was 6 months old when Vista was launched and despite being a ATI Mobility Radeon neither ACER nor ATI bothered to write VISTA Drivers for it (Shame on them!)
With earlier OS’s this wouldn’t have mattered, an enthusiast somewhere would have written the software and made it available but with Vista such drivers would seem to install but not be used because Vista will only use drivers “digitally signed” by Microsoft. (No doubt this involves fees that no “enthusiast” is going to bear!)
Seven seems to have similar settings and my laptop therefore has poor graphics performance, we have had similar problems with a Fujitsu Laptop where we were simply unable to get the Wireless Network Card to work as Seven simply did not support it.
In general on “new build” PCs we are seeing less of this type of problem.