Review of Windows 7

[hellfury]

As a Microsoft tester I have recently been given the Pre-Beta version of Windows 7 (build 7004) there are some cool changes that I think people might find interesting.

-->There in a new windows Information center that keeps you updated you with important info
-->The vista look is still there but there are changes in the layout of certain things like the personalization menu has changed yet again
-->MSPAINT now has the ribbon menu bar
-->User Account Control (UAC) has also changed. It will now automatically confirm you are an admin instead of asking you.
-->The OS overall is less bulky and faster than vista which was one of the biggest problems Vista had and was the main goal of 7 to fix this problem.
-->Windows Shell has been redesigned with a new taskbar
-->Windows Movie Maker, Windows Mail, & Windows Photo Gallery are now not included in the OS and are optional downloads.
-->Windows 7 now supports multi-touch displays
-->Calculator has been redesigned to include new features like unit conversion, programmer, and Statistics
-->Windows Media Player supports almost all of the file formats as VLC Media Player except for a few.
-->The game InkBall has been removed


This is really all the changes that I have found but the OS is still very early in production
I'll keep you updated.

If you have any questions for me about the OS or how it runs feel free to post in this thread.

~~~He||fury~~~

[phatman76]

pity, they need a total OS redesign from the ground up but they won't do it. It's been almost 10 years since a major redesign when they moved from 95/98 to NT/XP.

I also like inkball....

[Jaffa]

Compatability with games/how well it will run with them compared to vista and xp is the important thing for me :)

[Zero001]

pity, they need a total OS redesign from the ground up but they won't do it. It's been almost 10 years since a major redesign when they moved from 95/98 to NT/XP.

I also like inkball....

The only thing that keeps them from doing that is that people hate change. Exhibit A:


How different is it to Vista? That's all that matters to me.

Despite the fact that all the basics from XP are on Vista, people really seem to hate it. I don't get it.

[Chêvouÿx]

I've had a vista since Apr 07...

It's worked fine for me, all I needed to do was reformat my video card a few times.

I had an XP before it broke; Vista seems to be just like the XP but with more features that, to some degree, work quite well.

[Zero001]

I hate it because of three things.

Number one: They're forcing it on people to use.

Number two: The manoeuvrability.

Number three: It's not the latest generation, XP is. Vista was purely for competition with the Mac, only it seems they changed their mind when sales went down.



Number two, I will explain. I'm not talking about bars or menus, I'm talking about files and folders.

What happened to Windows Explorer? It seems with every generation they've made it harder and harder to view, edit and even find files.

Yes it's shiny and it may have cool menu bars but what value does that add? How does it give them the right to force it on computers so people have to PAY ridiculous amounts to downgrade to a perfectly fine existing OS version.

Therefore I think of it at worst as a failed experiment, and at best as an "expansion" of XP with a few additional bits thrown at it to give it some value.

If this is an improved version of Vista I'd rather stick with XP and play old games on it.


I don't see how they're forcing it on anyone. You're still using XP aren't you? They even released SP3 and continually update XP. They stopped selling the older product to computer builders at volume cost, so big deal. It's companies like Dell and HP that charge you more. If you don't want to pay extra then build your own PC. Microsoft doesn't charge you extra for buying an XP disc.

Maneuverability amongst files and folders is different, but can also be changed to your liking. I've personally changed the way files are transferred to I guess you can call it XP style, and Vista's search is way improved from XP. Your the first person I've heard who doesn't seem to think so. I don't get the views and edit comment.

They didn't completely overhaul it, because like I said people hate change. Vista goes beyond just pretty menu bars. If for anything else security is far improved on Vista and I'm not just talking UAC (which most people hate). An attempt at OSX or not Vista is an improved OS. Microsoft actually got x64 to work properly/collaboratively with x86 on Vista something they couldn't do with XP. It's definitely a step forward as a next gen. OS

The average user might fail to see an improvement, but to those of us who utilize the features, we understand the difference. I play the same old games you play on Vista.

[hellfury]

How different is it to Vista? That's all that matters to me.

As Windows Vista was only the transitional OS between XP & 7 it looks still very similar to Vista at first glance, except for the boot screen and login screen, however the core of the OS is very changed. To answer your question quickly the layout is basically the same and the "function"(I could not think of a better word) of the system is what changed.


Compatability with games/how well it will run with them compared to vista and xp is the important thing for me :)

Unfortunately I have not loaded many games on my test system as the system and test version of Windows 7 belongs to my company and they would rather me test things like Office and how well it works with our domain rather than how well it games. So far Counter Strike: Source works well on it as far as I can see but as the OS gets farther into production my company will give me a full copy of the OS. When I get that copy I will be able to test the games at home. I will keep you updated.

[Svendy]

what are the system requirements for Windows 7 and avrege usage?
have you expirenced crashes like "explorer has stoped working" or hl2.exe crashes? my vista does it multiple times a day when i'm unluckky :(

[andre1028]

How different is it to Vista? That's all that matters to me.

It doesn't seem too different. It's still a change though and they're still adding in more things but few of those changes could of been added through update/download.

[hellfury]

what are the system requirements for Windows 7 and avrege usage?
have you expirenced crashes like "explorer has stoped working" or hl2.exe crashes? my vista does it multiple times a day when i'm unluckky :(

The sys req. for windows 7 is the same as Vista. I have not yet experenced any crashes but all of the machines at my company are Quad Cores w/ 4GB of Memory and ATI 2600 graphics cards. They are pretty high quality and dont crash easily.

[Veggie]

I'm looking forward to Windows 7, Basically a well optimized version of Vista with some cool new features. For them to start with a fresh OS design would be pretty bad, zero application comparability for starters.

[trakaill]

Monkey crap on all of you....vista is a better version of xp..main disadvantage it used a LOT more memory but thats why you can now update computers up to 16gb.. Ive had mine for a year with 3 gig of ram an Nvidia 8600 GTS and it works beautifully!:usa2:

[hellfury]

Monkey crap on all of you....vista is a better version of xp..main disadvantage it used a LOT more memory but thats why you can now update computers up to 16gb.. Ive had mine for a year with 3 gig of ram an Nvidia 8600 GTS and it works beautifully!:usa2:

That is the beauty of 7, it requires a less memory usage than Vista

[Tcp-Kill]

Change? naw CHANGE IS BAD!

I would probably like to get this when it comes out, if it is more game-friendly then vista