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Windows 7: Did Microsoft Get It Right? : Frank Emanuele

3 November 2009 No Comment

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Almost two weeks have passed since the launch of Windows 7, Microsoft’s latest operating system. This is definitely the most-anticipated OS launch in recent memory. Can you think of another time when people have organized launch parties at home to show off a new OS to their friends? Neither can I. Can you think of any other software that was tested by over 8 million users before its official release? Nope. Me neither. But that’s exactly what happened. In a brilliant move, Microsoft opened up the Beta release to the public, offering free downloads of the OS through the end of the summer. The result was quite possibly the most widely-tested software ever.

I’ve been using Windows 7 regularly since March. I was impressed right away. First, I noticed that it booted up noticeably faster than fresh installs of either XP or Vista on the same laptop. Once it was booted up, the first order of business was to see what all the “new taskbar” buzz was about. I didn’t think I’d like having a bigger taskbar take up a larger portion of my 14-inch screen, but I actually don’t mind it. In fact, when I opted to use smaller icons, I found that I was less productive. The main attraction of the new taskbar is a slew of new mouse-over functions. It operates a bit more like the Mac OS X Dock, but it still maintains a distinctly Windows character. The taskbar icons not only open an application, but they also serve to minimize and maximize all the windows of that application right from the taskbar. Placing the mouse cursor over an icon for a minimized application brings up thumbnails for all minimized windows of that application. While this function existed to a certain extent in Vista, Windows 7 improves on it by allowing you to click a thumbnail to bring up the corresponding window. In addition to this, there’s a new preview capability called Aero Peek. With Aero Peek, if you place the mouse cursor over a thumbnail, a full-sized preview of the corresponding window will pop up. Move the mouse away and the preview disappears. This is extremely useful when dealing with multiple instances of an application such as Word or Adobe Acrobat. In Internet Explorer 8 (I know, I hate it too), each individual tab gets its own mouse-over preview. Other browsers don’t have this capability yet, but I imagine that Firefox and most others will probably support it soon. I can’t help but notice a similarity between Aero Peek and Apple’s “Dock Exposé” in Snow Leopard. I’m not sure who copied who, but all I can say is I was using Aero Peek in Windows 7 for a good 6 months before Snow Leopard hit shelves.

There are a few other nice, yet minor features I’ve been enjoying. Right-clicking taskbar icons brings up Jump Lists, which are application-specific menus that display essential functions and most often used files associated with the program you’ve selected. With Aero Shake, if you click and shake a window, all other windows on your desktop will minimize. Click and shake the window again, and all the other windows will be restored. The Snap feature lets you dock windows to the left and right edges of the screen just by dragging them there. Also, dragging a window to the top edge of the screen now maximizes it. Libraries aggregate all of your media in one place so you don’t need to remember where you’re keeping specific files. Just look at your Documents, Music, Picture, and Video libraries and you’ll find whatever file you’re looking for.

The overall look of Windows 7 is very crisp and clean. It’s very pleasing to the eyes. The notification area (you know, those annoying icons down there by the clock) is much improved. For starters, all the Windows-native notification icons are white. It may not sound like a big change, but you’ll be surprised how much less distracting it is. Secondly, hiding the icons is much easier than before: you just drag and drop. Microsoft is finally listening to the outcries of Windows users everywhere. They’re giving us an operating system that is simpler to use and stays out of our way. It makes everyday computing a breeze.

Now one of the biggest grievances I had with Vista was User Account Control (UAC). The constant pop-ups asking me if I was sure I wanted to go forward with every single action got old fast. The only way to be productive was to turn off UAC all together, obviously a less-than-desirable solution because of the possible security risks involved. But that was then and this is now. In Windows 7, there are more degrees of UAC customization. You can decide exactly how much control UAC will have over your system. Personally, I prefer to have as few notifications as possible, so I set it to the lowest level possible without turning it off completely. I know what I’m doing. I don’t need to be asked if I’m sure I want to install iTunes, Audacity or any other perfectly harmless program. Since I finished going through the initial phase of installing the programs I use the most and setting things up to my liking, I haven’t seen a single warning message. And that’s exactly how it should be.

Basically, Windows 7 is everything I wanted in a new version of Windows, and more. At first trial, 7 feels basically the same as any version of Windows, except that it works exactly the way you want it to. It doesn’t freeze. It doesn’t have driver issues. It doesn’t crash. It just works. There are no major changes, per se; it’s a million little changes that make all the difference in the world. I really think this is the best version of Windows ever made. It’s way faster than Vista, and on some computers it will even run faster than XP. The team at Microsoft took their time perfecting this and letting users take an active role in its development. I couldn’t be happier with the results. I’m encouraging everyone I know to give Windows 7 a shot, whether they’re running XP, Vista, or Mac OS X. I use both a Mac and a PC every single day, and with Windows 7, the playing field has definitely been leveled.

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