My Experience with Windows 7

By -

windows7_thumb_01 Last Friday, Microsoft released officially released Beta 1 of the Windows 7 operating system (it’s been available on Bittorent for a few weeks now). After reading a few reviews of the beta, I decided to take the plunge. I have to say that it has probably been the best experience I’ve had with a Windows operating system yet.

I’ve only had about 3 days with the system, but I’m already very comfortable with the changes that Microsoft has made from Vista. The most noticeable change is the new Taskbar. It combines a quick launch bar with open windows and jump stacks. I know that sounds very confusing, but once you use it, it is a very useful change to the aging taskbar
taskbar popup

The other thing I noticed was how well Windows 7 handled my drivers. It was able to get all of my drivers except for the proprietary drivers for my laptop’s buttons and also for the card reader. Compared to Windows XP, it’s night and day. Another great change is how the system tray is handled. Your system tray can get bombarded with every program you install wanting it’s own space in the system tray. With Windows 7 you can now control what icons show all the time and what icons only show up when there is a notification. This comes in handy with something like an anti-virus program that you have to run but only want it to bug you when you need to update it.
notifications

Another great upgrade is how Windows 7 handles wireless networks. If you’ve used Vista, you probably wondered why Microsoft changed so many things from Windows XP. Well, in Windows 7, I think they finally have it right. When you click the wireless icon in your tray a list of available networks pops right up. Compared to Vista, it saves about 2 or 3 mouse clicks.

Microsoft also really put some time in making Windows 7 run better. I think the best way to put is Windows 7 looks as good as Vista, but runs like Windows XP. It’s definitely nice to see my laptop boot in under 30 seconds.

Microsoft really has a great operating system on there hand with Windows 7. On the other hand, this is what Windows Vista should have been and I think it should be offered as a free upgrade for Vista users. If you want to read a very comprehensive write up on all of the features I’ve mentioned and then some, check out Ars Technica’s guide. If you’re ready to take the plunge, click here to get the files.

*UPDATE - If you do install Windows 7, make sure you install this fix (32-bit or 64-bit). There was an issue with your MP3 files and Microsoft has released a fix.

Popular posts from this blog

Microsoft Security Essentials

By -
Image
I hate paying for software.  I will occasionally do it if I cannot find it easily online or if I feel the developer deserves the cash.  I’ve used many different anti-virus software packages over the years and I think I finally found one that I really like.  It also happens to be free.  I used to use Norton Antivirus like many people. I’d pay for it because I didn’t think there was any other way.  I then moved on to a free version of McAffee that my school gave me.  I probably used that for years before moving on to the next one; AVG. I loved AVG for a long time.  It was fairly quick, updated often but it was a little obtrusive.  I dealt with that though because the product was truly free.  About a year ago I AVG had a false positive that caused iTunes to get messed up.  I freaked out and uninstalled AVG and iTunes so nothing bad would happen to my music collection.  The next day a fix was issued but it was already too late for ...
Read more

Friday Linkage [Michael Jackson Edition]

By -
Image
In honor of Michael Jackson’s passing I’m going to start today’s blog post with a video of one of his best moonwalks.  Have a good weekend and listen to the King of Pop this weekend. Click here if you can't view this video Links: Giant Cowboys Stadium LED wall caught playing Xbox 360 during downtime Google Docs Backup Software Become a Gmail Ninja Awesome Internet thing: Bill Murray does Carl Spackler Soccer in South Africa Giant Wraparound Screen Shows Air Traffic in Real-Time Five things missing from the iPhone 3GS Google City Tours Google Account Recovery via SMS HTC Hero Android Phone Hands-On (With Video) Google Voice Invites Going Out to Reservations List This iPhone is Freakin' Hilarious
Read more

Random Friday Links

By -
Image
Here are a few things I found this week that didn’t make it to the blog. Make Your System Clean Up Old Downloads Automatically Size Of The Universe Skittles Vodka Tutorial TribesNEXT - Online Multiplayer Support for Tribes 2 Pod to PC Transfers Music from Any iPod, iPhone Onto Your PC The Mark Cuban Stimulus Plan - Open Source Funding
Read more