Thoughts on Windows 7

I got Windows 7 today in the mail, and must say, it is a MAJOR improvement over Vista. I loved Vista as an operating system. Everything worked fine for me, but it wasn't until I saw the conveniences in 7 that I realized how much quicker everyday tasks could have been.

Installation

The upgrade from Windows Vista was wonderful. It was very simple: Insert disk, press install, choose upgrade, press enter. It took approximately two hours to complete the upgrade, however, it was very simple. The second my computer restarted after the installation, everything was wonderful. Everything on my computer is now quick and responsive.

Problems

I was having a wonderful time playing with and testing my new operating system until I tried to print something. An error message appeared on the screen stating that my computer could not communicate with the printer. I thought nothing of it and decided to try plugging the printer into the computer (as opposed to Wi-Fi printing). I began to worry when it still could not communicate with the printer. I went to the Lexmark website to inquire about a new driver. There was a driver for my printer for Windows 7, so I downloaded and installed it. After installing the driver, my computer still could not communicate with the printer. I am now without a printer until I figure out how to get it to work.

Great new features

It took me about twenty minutes to get use to the new task bar, but I must say, it is a HUGE improvement. I multitask quite a bit, and the new task bar makes multitasking quite easy. Also, I love Windows snap (Resizes a window to consume exactly half of the screen). When I heard of this feature, I didn't think I would use it much, however, i've used it three times already today. It makes dragging and dropping from one window to another very easy. I also have come to love the new Jump Lists (allows you to automatically open the files/websites you use most with certain programs). It's made using Internet Explorer and Microsoft Word very easy to use. I also like Aero Peek which causes all of your windows to disappear (except for their outlines) so that you can see your desktop and gadgets. This is particularly helpful to me because I have Twitter and Facebook gadgets and I no longer have to minimize all of my open windows to see these gadgets. Also, I've always loved the thumbnail previews in Vista that you get just by hovering over the icon on the taskbar. Now, I love that you can close out of a program just right from that thumbnail, and how hovering over a thumbnail shows you a full size preview of that window while causing the other windows to disappear except for their outlines. I also like that every tab in Internet Explorer is shown as a separate thumbnail, so that when you maximize Internet Explorer, you can go straight to the tab you want.

New Visual Effects

Most people don't really care about visual effects in an operating system, however I am a bit OCD when it comes to bad looking OS's, which is why I absolutely hated the Vista Basic look. That look does appear in Windows 7 as well, however I refuse to enable that theme. One thing that always bothered me about Vista is when you maximize a window, all of the things that were transparent become opaque. I love the transparent windows and taskbar and would therefore keep my windows from consuming the entire screen. In Windows 7, the windows and taskbar remain transparent even when the window is maximized. I love the new method for applying themes and backgrounds as well. Slide shows of pics is really what Windows has been missing when it comes to backgrounds.

Untested Features

I have not yet had the opportunity to test out Homegroups, however, to my understanding it is quite amazing what you can do. The demonstration of it at the Windows 7 New York launch showed it's amazing media sharing capabilities.

Overall

I love updates. They fix most things that go wrong with computers, and just makes things work. If anything this is just an amazing upgrade: what Vista should have been. Though I had no problems with Vista, this really shows me what Microsoft is capable of, and that Vista may have really been a mess-up, though I never thought of it as one.

Windows 7 Desktop

Aero Peek

Internet Explorer Jumplist

Thumbnail Previews in Internet Explorer. Hovering above the Youtube tab shows a full size preview while clearing away the other open windows.