Windows 7, as seen through the eyes of Windows gurus
Many PC users around the world will be trying Windows 7 for the
first time on Thursday, but testers and other techies have been using
it for months, or more. To give the uninitiated a sense for what to
expect, TechFlash.com contacted five Windows experts this week and asked them to
name two things: their favorite Windows 7 feature, and the area where
they feel Windows 7 most falls short of its potential.
Reflecting the generally positive regard for Windows 7 among early users, some of the experts struggled with the second question but had no problem coming up with a favorite feature. In fact, in some cases, the biggest problem seemed to be narrowing it down to one favorite.
Some of the more high-profile new features are user interface tricks such as Aero Shake and Aero Peek, but the authors, bloggers and analysts we contacted pointed to many other areas not quite as obvious. Here's a summary of their responses.
Ed Bott, blogger and coauthor of Windows 7 Inside Out
Favorite feature: "My favorite Windows 7 feature is Media Center, hands-down. It’s our DVR and our jukebox, with an interface that is genuinely usable and slick. And it rates highly on the most crucial metric of all: Spousal Acceptance Factor."
Biggest shortcoming: "I’m disappointed that there isn’t a good migration/upgrade story for XP users. Yes, there are options, but none of them are particularly fun or attractive. I understand Microsoft’s reason for choosing not to offer an XP upgrade path, but it’s still difficult for upgraders." (Windows XP users can use a lower-priced upgrade version of Windows 7, but they have to make a clean install that involves backing up and later restoring data and programs. Windows Vista users can avoid that hassle with an "in-place" upgrade.)
William Stanek, author, Windows 7: The Definitive Guide
Favorite feature: "My favorite Windows 7 feature is not so much a single feature, rather it is a super-set of features called Windows Recovery Environment (aka Windows RE). Windows RE is a safety net that you can use to repair your computer if it fails to start. The single-best thing about Windows RE and the reason I’m such a big fan: a Windows RE partition with all the related tools is created and configured automatically as part of Windows 7 installation. This means every computer running Windows 7 has Windows RE."
Biggest shortcoming: "Asking me to name the biggest shortfall about my favorite release of the Windows desktop OS ever? Ouch, that’s tough and it’d be a let down, not a shortfall, and it’s this: another one of my favorite features is found only in the Professional and higher editions. The feature: Windows XP Mode. Another sticking point for me is that the some of my favorite Vista included-in-the-box applications are now available as download only. You have to get the apps from Windows Live now and they’re very different from the originals."
Michael Cherry, analyst, Directions on Microsoft:
Favorite feature: The ability to run Windows 7 on low-priced netbook computers. "I am now running Windows 7 Professional Edition on a netbook with only 1GB of RAM, and I love its performance. ... If they can improve the performance profile at that end, then I'm going to love it even more on my Dell with a 64-bit processor and 4GB of RAM."
Biggest shortcoming: "I still don't like all of these versions, the different versions," Cherry said. "Too many, and too (difficult) to draw a line between them." He cited the example of BitLocker, a corporate data encryption system available in Windows 7 Enterprise Edition but not in Windows 7 Professional. A better approach, he said, would be for Microsoft to offer one low-priced version that can be configured for different "roles," as the company does with Windows Server, installing only the features needed by a particular type of user.
Paul Thurrott, Windows SuperSite; coauthor, Windows 7 Secrets
Favorite feature: "There's no one, major new feature -- it's a bunch of little things, it seems. I guess if pressed, I would probably go with the taskbar, and the features that come off of that, like the customizability and the Jump Lists, which are essentially per-application Start menus, which I think is really exciting and interesting."
Biggest shortcoming: None in particular. "You have to look at it in light of the previous release, because this is an update of Vista. This in many ways is correcting that problem. This is a refinement of what came before, not a brand-new thing. For that reason, they've already covered the bases I think with all of the big complaints last time around."
Woody Leonhard, Windows guru; contributing editor to Windows Secrets
Favorite feature: HomeGroup. "It makes sharing among Windows 7 computers very easy," Leonhard said.
Biggest shortcoming: Difficult to pinpoint one. Setting up television and some other media isn't as easy as it could be, and there are too many versions of the operating system. "But other than that, Windows 7 is great," he said. "It really is the best version of Windows ever. I think they've finally hit a home run."
Read more of Todd Bishop's posts at TechFlash.com, and follow him on Twitter @toddbishop
JAL on October 22, 2009 at 04:35 PM
Re Windows XP upgrade --
Maybe payback time for all those XP users (me included) who refused to go to Vista? (I even bought my laptop from Dell Business so I could get XP rather than go to Vista.)
Darrell on October 22, 2009 at 04:38 PM
After you've used Ubuntu for a few months you won't care what Windows 7 has or doesn't have.
Scott on October 22, 2009 at 04:59 PM
If you can't be persuaded to try a Mac, you'll want 7. The Aero glass interface benefits from a round of refinement from Vista, and everything about it feels sharper, faster, and more stable. (The beta builds I was playing with were both faster and more stable than production Vista builds.) This is a good piece of software.
As Thurrott says, there's no one big thing - just a whole bunch of little things. It's a much nicer place to work than XP.
Still a plastic imitation of OSX, but it's a particularly good grade of plastic.
George L. on October 22, 2009 at 04:59 PM
XP 64-bit still gets it done. plan to stick with it for at least two more years. Despite the glitter, what can Win 7 do for you that XP can't?
BlogDog on October 22, 2009 at 05:00 PM
Mmmmm! Kool-Aid!
Vader on October 22, 2009 at 05:12 PM
Agree with Darrell. I went to Ubuntu last Christmas, and while getting my wireless set up initially was a pain, it's been pretty smooth sailing since. I haven't had a good reason to look back.
Scot Echols on October 22, 2009 at 05:39 PM
Ditto on the Ubuntu. I bought an HP G-60 laptop last spring to finish up my masters. Instantly hated my first run-in with Vista, and upgraded to Ubuntu 64-bit for AMD. It. Is. Flawless. (and hasn't had to be rebooted!) I could care less what Windows has or doesn't have. I bet that major enterprises still don't switch from XP. That's going to be condemnation enough!
Lewis on October 22, 2009 at 06:02 PM
Last year I replaced my computer through Dell business to avoid Vista. My special issue - I am a CPA and I use high end tax preparation software that is specific to each year. While later years are Vista compatible the earlier years are not. I still have new clients come in that have not filed back returns or need to use prior year software to amend prior year returns. Does anyone know if Windows 7 will allow me to use XP compatible software?
Bruce Rheinstein on October 22, 2009 at 06:28 PM
I'm with the Ubuntu crowd. After the initial pain of converting from XP to Ubuntu Linux I'm very happy and looking forward to seeing what Google's Chromium implementation has to offer.
Ken Mitchell on October 22, 2009 at 06:55 PM
I've been running the Evaluation Version for several months now. There's nothing "bad" about W7, like there was about Vista; this PC has been FAR faster since I upgraded from Vista to W7. But I would never recommend upgrading an XP box to W7; it may not have the power, and there isn't enough new to make it worth the upgrade price. Wait 'till after the holidays, and then buy a new machine with W7 - and you will have both!
TubbyHubby on October 22, 2009 at 07:17 PM
In answer to Lewis' question. Some of the upper end versions of Windows 7 will let you install and run a virtual machine with XP on it. A full computer within your computer. You need to make sure your machine (processor / motherboard combination) supports hardware virtualization. Of course, there are free versions of virtual machine software available from both Microsoft and VMWare that will let you do the same thing on a Vista machine (without the need for hardware virtualization), but you would need to buy a valid XP to install on it.
Marty on October 22, 2009 at 08:19 PM
Let's see---
1985: MS-DOS 3-good
1987: MS-DOS 4-unusable
1989: MS-DOS 5-good
1990: Windows 3.11-OK
1995: Win95-acceptable after SP2 a year later
1998: Win98-Dog
1999: Win98SE-the Service Pack you had to buy
2000: Win ME-Dog, couldn't multitask to save its life
2001: Win NT 4-OK
2003: Win XP-OK; after SP 2, pretty good
2005: Vista-Dog
2009: Win 7 -?????
Why should I keep letting MS jerk me around, alternating a good product with something that shouldn't be anywhere but the bottom of my toilet?
I have a HP Vista 64-bit system with 4GB RAM that is an unstable pig---bought in August 2008. I'll keep it until the extended warranty is up in mid-2011 and probably spend the $$$ on Win 7 because I really do need a computer that works, even tho MS has a HELL of a nerve charging $120, but I will NEVER buy another MS-based system again.
My son knows some MS-ers and asked them why MS released Vista when it so obviously wasn't ready. The answer was that MS needed the revenue and it was time to force the corporate world to upgrade--classic monopolist behavior, manipulate teh market to collect monopoly rent, do NOT serve the market.
Never again for me.
Darrell on October 22, 2009 at 09:14 PM
Marty, spend nothing, and go here:
http://www.ubuntu.com/
I despise people who proselytize about operating systems, and am ashamed that I have become one. I...I can't help it.
There is a moderate learning curve but it sounds like you have been working with computers for long enough that it wouldn't be significant, and anyway there's a vast community of Linux users and there is no question you might have that hasn't been answered.
It's not even about sticking it to Microsoft, although that's a bonus. It's just a superior operating system. And you will be amazed at the wealth of free software available to you.
The only downside I've found for Linux is that third-party software and hardware isn't always supported, and when it is it can be a pain to install. Even so, I'll never go back to MS.
Patrick Carroll on October 22, 2009 at 11:35 PM
Java 6/Eclipse/JBoss work just fine in XP, and the apps transfer to Linux pretty well.
This developer will not be moving any time soon.
Jonathan on October 23, 2009 at 03:38 AM
The Windows 7 installation process (clean install) was quicker and more complete (better load of drivers) than XP or Vista.
As for the Linux-Ubuntu crowd - yeah, Ubuntu is nice.
So.. How do you run Adobe Creative Suite CS4 on Linux?
Or MS Office 2007, Steinberg Wavelab, Reason, Symantec Ghost, PowerDraw? These are applications I must run for business.
The answer:
Use a virtual machine, right? Been there, done that. If I wanted overall reduced performance I would downgrade my processor and memory, not switch to Linux.
Any decent gaming on Ubuntu? Thought not...
Computers are productivity tools and...
The OS is only as good as the range of software that you can reasonably run on it, at least that is what I tell my Apple friends.
Norm on October 23, 2009 at 06:15 AM
Jonathan, your eloquent reply says it all! The software! These Ubuntu people never, never mention that.
A flavor of linux is fine for servers. But if I had to undergo all those constant updates on my desktop machine, I'd chuck it all. That's another thing they don't talk much about.
Chris on October 23, 2009 at 08:27 AM
Jonathan,
If you need to use software that won't run on Linux, and can't find suitable alternatives, then I'm afraid you're stuck with Windows, and my sympathy.
Casey on October 23, 2009 at 08:43 AM
Well, suitable is the key word, isn't it? Open Office, for example -while a good product for lightweight general use- still can't handle heavy-duty Word documents, including things like footnotes and appendices.
...And Linux is completely jacked up when it comes to multimedia. The last time I tried (many distros) the platform, no flavor had the "it just works" usability of Windows or OS X. Yeah, I know about Mplayer, and I know how hard it is to find all the proper codecs, and get them installed properly. Not to mention the challenge of plug-ins for my browser, etc. From my reading, the big issue including (GASP!) proprietary elements such as codecs.
I couldn't just play an avi, mkv, or divx file the way I can under Windows (use Media Player Classic for that).
Maybe Ubuntu or Debian have improved on that, but I'm tired of all the hoops I had to jump through just to use my computer.
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