A Fresh Look at Windows 7

The first thing you’ll see about Windows 7 is that it looks like Vista and also works like Vista, in the sense that it has the same technology underneath, except for a very welcome graphics upgrade to DX11. However, it works much better than Vista, and most of Vista’s problems have either been removed, or can be modified so the system works the way you want.

Microsoft has estimated the data from millions of user computing sessions to find out exactly what people do with their computers, then worked on the main points to make Windows 7 quicker and smoother.

The most obvious difference is that Windows 7 doesn’t keep irking you with prompts, though it’s also true that the latest version of Vista is much less irking than the original. However, it is vastly more secure than XP and more important security changes are in the Internet Explorer 8 browser which, uniquely, protects against cross-site scripting.

Another main difference is that Windows 7 uses less resources. Where Vista really needed 2GB of memory, Windows 7 will run quite happily in 1GB on a slow dual-core Intel processor, though it is still recommend 2GB or, for preference, 4GB with the speedy 64-bit version of new Windows 7.

The reduced footprint and some enhancement means Windows 7 sleeps and wakes up in less time. And laptop batteries should lasts longer. Any PC that currently runs Vista will be better at running Windows 7.

The Windows 7 interface has a few important changes. First, the Vista sidebar is no more, but you can still use the clock and other gadgets, and you can place them wherever you like. Second, the QuickLaunch area and the TaskBar have been replaced by a sort of combo-pack. You can now right-click and pin applications to the new-style Taskbar, instead of putting applications in the QuickLaunch area.

As in Vista, moving over a Taskbar icon shows one or more mini-previews, depending on how many windows you’re using. In new Windows 7, moving over a mini-preview shows it full size on the desktop, while right-clicking provides a Jump List of options. It makes it dramatically easier to see what you are doing. Incidentally, you can now move TaskBar icons around to modify the order, like browser tabs.

There are some of the tricks that Windows 7 users can show their friends, such as Aero Snaps, Aero Peek and Aero Shake. Aero Snaps lets you put two applications side by side for easy contrast and copy-and-paste. Aero Peek makes open windows temporarily transparent so you can see what’s on the desktop. Aero Shake means that if you shake a window, all the other windows will be closed.

The My Documents section has been modified under one heading, Libraries. This includes Documents, Music, Pictures, and Videos, with Windows 7 sorting things into the shell folders. Each of these has two subfolders, such as My Music and Public Music. This makes it easier to keep data you want to share away from that data you want to keep to yourself. Sharing is an important part of Windows 7 and it has a HomeGroup feature that makes it very easy to set up a home network and share data.