Answer to question #1 and #2: A lot. Answer to #3: A LOT better.
One may look at Windows 7 via a Youtube video and think “It’s exactly the same as Vista! It’s got a similar look, the file structure is similar to Vista’s, how could it possibly be any different?” All I have to say is don’t knock it until you try it.
Firstly, I haven’t had any problems with Windows 7 thus far, and I’ve had it almost a month. It runs so much quicker than you may think. In fact, once explorer has loaded, you’re pretty much free to do whatever you’d like without losing speed – and that’s how it should be.
The taskbar in Windows 7 is fantastic. By default, it is bigger and more spacious. It automatically groups multiple windows together based on the program running, and allows you to preview each window before selecting it – which is really nice. Some users, however, may find this to be a difficult adjustment, so you can always right click the taskbar, click properties, and choose never to group your windows.
Next to the clock on the far right side of the taskbar is a thin, rectangular button; hover over this button and preview the desktop – click the button and it will take you to the desk top. Click it again, and it will pull whatever windows you had opened originally.
Window management is improved amazingly. Again, the grouping of windows on the taskbar and the ability to preview them is a fantastic feature for power users. You may now stack windows side by side or on top of each other as well. This way, if you’re dealing with transferring files and folders, browsing several websites at once, or using multiple programs at once, you can do so at ease.
They’ve added a new feature called “Aero Shake.” Now, we all know “Aero” is the name of the Windows Style/Theme; well, Aero Shake is a really neat feature that can be extremely useful, or just fun to use when you’re bored. Say you have a myriad of windows open and you need to focus on just one; simple grab the top of the window bar and move it back and forth a couple of times. Suddenly, all other windows have been minimized. What’s that you say? You want your windows pulled up again? Well that’s an easy one – shake the window one more time and vualah! All your windows have been pulled up as before!
Connecting to the internet via Wi-fi was a pain with Vista. Even now on my Vista machine, I have to wait for it to boot up and wait for at least 2 or 3 minutes for it to find the default connection. Pretty ridiculous, right? Well, with Windows 7, connecting to the internet via your wifi card has never been more simple. Simply install your drivers for your wireless card as you would in any other OS (operating system), then you will see a little signal icon on your taskbar next to the clock on the far right; it will look like signal bars on a cell phone. Simply click it and a list of wireless connections will automatically appear – click yours, enter WEP info if needed, and you’re connected immediately.
Another improvement is User Account Control (UAC.) For us tweakers, web designers, and and various other types of geeks, the UAC feature was annoying and extremely difficult to adjust to our liking. NOW, in Windows 7 you can adjust it to your liking or even turn it off. That’s right, no more fighting the UAC to test your programs or customize your computer.
The Resource Monitor in Windows 7 has also been redone and made more efficient and easier to monitor your cpu, ram, etc.
Windows Explorer has been completely REWRITTEN! FINALLY! It runs so much smoother. The search has even improved! It finds what you need within a couple of seconds based several aspects of what you’ve entered as your search term. It even searches through meta data! Nice!
Speaking of searches, you can now search the web through Windows Explorer. I will show you how to do this in a soon coming article.
Next cool feature in Windows 7 is rotating desktop backgrounds. Now, I don’t mean physical rotation, but I mean order rotation. That’s right, you may choose from an unlimited amount of photos for your desktop background, and it will display a slide show of the photos you select, fading in and out of each photo; each photo only stays displayed as long as you choose – that’s right, you can choose how long each photo is displayed as your desktop background. You may also change the photo at any given moment. There’s a lot to this feature, so I will continue raving about this feature in a soon coming post.
Other improvements in Windows 7 are the Magnifier and the new Internet Explorer. The new Internet explorer still needs a good amount of work, but it has improved none the less.
What do you think?
Do you have Windows 7? What do you think of it? Do you think it will be a good upgrade from XP and Vista?
Or, have you found any new features in Windows 7? Whatever you have to share, share it with me! I’d love to know what you have to say. Leave a comment below, or shoot me an e-mail at david@funkytower.com
Take it easy,
David
