While Windows Vista refused to install on my PC since it found the configuration too low, Windows 7 installed and runs like a breeze! I had been very impressed with the speed of the Beta version.
To be true, as I downloaded the 2.36 Gb image of Windows 7 RC from here, I was expecting a certain degree of dissapointment when I install it. The reason: History.
Microsoft has a history of hyping its products and then screwing them up. The best example, Windows Vista. Windows 7 as I and many others would like to say "Is what Windows Vista should have been". I will go on from here describing various aspects of Windows 7 from its Installation to using, customisability and cool new features to look out for.
- Installation: Installing Windows 7 is a very easy task. With Windows 7, installing an Operating System, has no longer remained a Tech Expert, or a Software Geek's job. Any simple man can insert the DVD, click a few times and install Windows, its so easy! Installation is fast, with only one small glitch. Towards the end of it, the progres bar will stop for around 5-7 minutes giving you a feel that the Setup Process has crashed and that your computer has hung up. But this is not the case, be patient and the Setup will continue in a while. While you can easily upgrade from a Windows Vista system, the upgrade option is not available if you are using Windows XP or Windows 7 Beta(build 7000). The upgrade process is easy. Even if you cant upgrade, the installation procedure, saves your old Windows and User files in Windows.old folder in the system root, so that you can retrieve them later. The Easy File Transfer in Windows 7 Beta is also a very good. I used it since I was using Windows 7 Beta prior to installing the RC, and had a amazing experience with it.
- Usage and Features: The first time you see the Windows 7 screen and desktop, you are surely going to be awed. The logon screen and the desktop has been made so beautiful! The calm blue colour combination surely soothes the eye. But for those who despise the Aero, Windows 7 is not where you should be! The desktop makes even more use of glass that before. Although, I dont have Aero enabled on my system, due to lack of a graphics card, I saw the glassier desktop on a friends PC. On 2.83 Ghz Processor with a 1Gb Ram, Windows 7 started up remarkably fast! Giving my old Windows XP system a tough competition and losing by 3 seconds! This time was then beaten by the new RC version as it matched with the Windows XP boot up timings! The first thing you are bound to notice is the new taskbar. While the one in Beta looked slightly ugly, the new, revamped bar looks very good.. Those wanting to open many files and folders, will love the new Taskbar list feature. Instead of having a separate taskbar button for each open Window, Windows 7 taskbar shows the icon for each such program and lists all of its open windows inside it.
Just hover over the icon, and access the list. Very economical! The Quick Launch bar has been done away with. Instead, you simple pin items to the taskbar and their icon pops up there. When you next open that application, it will not show a new icon on the taskbar like before, when the quick launch bar was there. Instead, the same pinned icon is used, giving you more space on the taskbar.
The Search function has also been tweaked in Windows 7 RC to show you File Properties and a snippet of the information inside the file to make searching a better experience. Although, I do miss the Realtime Search function that was there in Windows XP, but, I believe has been removed since Windows Vista.
The new Windows Action Centre does a very decent job at finding and solving many problems. It 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 Centre's clearly labelled 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 awry.
Also, Windows 7 packs new features on the Networking arena. The addition of HomeGroup makes sharing of files between your own computers a very easy task, but only when both the computers are using Windows 7. I have been trying to connect my Desktop(Win 7) and laptop(Win Vista) wirelessly via my router, but to no avail. Also, there have been a host of improvements in the Wireless networking area. Although I have yet found none!
The new Windows XP compatibility mode creates a virtual machine that simulates a Windows XP experience on your machine. So, if some of your programs do not work with Windows 7, simply run them in Windows XP mode. This solves the way too many program compatibility problems that Windows Vista had to face. Since, I haven't used this mode, and dont plan to either, you can view its screenshots here and here.
Another amazing thing that I found out about Windows 7 is how it improves your gaming experience. Although, I dont game much, but on 3 of my friends machines, we found a 5-7 FPS increase in games like Crysis, NFS, Dota, etc. without any hardware changes. Simply upgrading the OS gave a 5-7 FPS increase! This shows how Windows 7 optimises the CPU's Raw processing power! A new thing for OS's. In order to gain this processing power, Windows 7 causes a bit of over utilisation of system resources, causing the processor to generate more heat, and increase the temperature by around 5°C. Although the FPS increment was found to be pretty stable, as opposed to many opinions that state otherwise.
Another boon for gamers in Windows 7, is the addition for DX11 support. The new age DirectX version, as has been stated by Microsoft is available in Windows 7 only, currently. It might later be added to Vista alongwith the SP2 package. But, there are no conformed reports on this. So, if you wish to enjoy the latest gaming experience, and have a graphics board that allows you to, go get Windows 7! - Cutomisation: On the Windows Team Blog, I read this post that informed me about a few customisation option in Windows 7. Due to repeated requests for an easy way to customise the boot screens and logon screen, Microsoft has currently allowed users to use 3rd Party Logon Screens, enabled with a small registry hack. Also, the Windows Sidebar has been removed. NO! Don't grieve for your gadgets, they are not yet gone! The sidebar has been removed, not the gadgets. The gadgets can now be placed anywhere on the whole desktop.
The Desktop backgrounds and themes provided by default are very good, but very un-Microsoftly! Such backgrounds have never before been given by Microsft.
Another customisation feature to look out for in Windows 7, is the option to remove many of the default Microsoft features like Windows Media Centre, Internet Explorer, etc which previously was not possible. This will save Microsoft many millions of dollors in Antitrust cases in the EU.
Since, I did not have much of a first hand experience on Vista, I was dissapointed at how, I could no longer use Resource Hacker to hack my system files and modd my system. This happens because of the new, changed way of arranging system files and resources, that started from Windows Vista. Though, eventually, I was able to, but it took a lot of time, research and hard work for that. - New Attractions: Well, coming down to the newest attractions in Windows 7. First and foremost, one that I have already told you all about, is the new Taskbar. The next is the Action Centre. Now, comes the parts, I havent yet mentioned. Wordpad and Paint get a complete makeover. Both now sport the new Ribbon menus, that many of us tend to hate. But, the feature additions might make you want to forget that. Paint, is now a complete photo-editing package! Includes different types of brushes, spray, paint, watercolour, etc effects and lots more.
Wordpad, though as light as before, also packs a punch with more features.
Aero Snap: This new feature is amazing for many reasons! Ever wanted to cross check between two documents? And found it very irritating to keep on switching windows? This new feature is surely a boon for you. Simply drag the window into the left edge to the screen, and the window will be "Snapped" to the left part of the screen. Drag the second window to the right edge and it will get snapped to the right part of the screen. So, now all you need to do is move your eyeballs as you compare the two files and not your hands.!
Aero Shake: This is a cool and exciting new feature. Working with too many windows? Think the screen is too cluttered up? Simply click and hold on the title bar of the active window, and "Shake" it. Voila!! All the other windows get minimised!
Aero Peek: Aero Peek is a Aero ONLY feature. The show desktop icon is no more. Instead there is a small bar on the right end of the taskbar. The hover over it, and all the windows open go transparent and you can "Peek" at your desktop!
Aero Flip: This was there in Windows Vista too. Press Win+tab to use the Aero interface to use the task switcher.
Another awesome new feature is press Win+(No. Keys) to switch programs. The first program on the taskbar from the laeft can switched to be made the active windows by pressing Win+1, second program by Win+2 and so on.
Of course, the ability to remove certain features like Media Centre and IE has already been discussed. And so have the all famous jump lists. Must say, these jump lists are really useful.There are many more new features.
And then we have WMP12! The latest version of Windows Media Player. It has a complete makeover since WMP11. The new look is excellent and so are its features. WMP12 now recognizes DVD movie(*.vob) files, unlike the older versions. The Mini Player is also a great feature. - Conclusion: On the whole, Windows 7 is a amazing experience. I have found it to be more stable that Windows Vista, even though it is still a Release Candidate and not the final version. It is very fast and very optimised. It seems as if Microsoft erased all the mistakes in Windows Vista and compensated them with a few new features and is presenting it to us as a new OS!!
I am usually a Microsoft product hater. I prefer linux and Mac to MS products. But, this time, I say, "Hats Off to MS". This is one MS product that is making me go WOW!!!
Must say, Microsoft has learned customer satisfaction the hard way through Windows Vista, but they learned
