Well before I type this out, I have to say that in some ways, Windows 7 looks alot like Vista, but in some ways, it looks ALOT like Mac OSX even more. Also I got this article from PC Gamer April 2009, so this is a few days fresh (got it in the mail over the weekend).
The beginning begs the question, "Can the next version of Windows wash the taste of Vista from our mouths?"
Vista in the rear view
The fact that it feels too soon for a new version of Windows after the release of Vista tells you plenty; Vista has now matured into a capable (though often annoying) OS, but the damage was done in the first year of hideous driver support, crashes, and outrageous demands for RAM and processing power while offering little benefit in return.
This year, Microsoft will release its latest OS, Windows 7, to a public who'd mostly rather forget their last effort. After Vista, everyone knew it would have to be good to earn back the public trust. The good news is that all the work that was put into improving Vista, together with lots of feedback and recent mobile computing trends, have conspired to make Windows 7 an upgrade we're looking forward to. Microsoft is so confident they've got it right they've already released a fully functioning beta. Here at PC Gamer we've been using it for a few weeks now, and so far we're very impressed.
User, please by my friend
Ease-of-use is the core philosophy of Windows 7. The taskbar along the bottom is radically different from those of both XP and Vista, and while it takes so getting used to, it genuinely offers a smooth experience. The quick-launch and taskbar have melded into a Mac OSX dock-style creation; running applications show up as a large icon, and you can right-click to pin them in place after you close them to serve as a quick-launch shortcut. You can go back to a Vista-style taskbar if you want (no thank you), but after a short time we are loving the new version.
The desktop is full of intuitive screen hotspots for maximizing windows or auto-sizing them to fill half the screen and you can show the desktop just by resting your mouse in the bottom right corner. There are also a ton of keyboard shortcuts using the Windows key to speed up your desktop experience by moving windows around. Also, you can change your monitor resolution by right-clicking the desktop and clicking "Change resolution." There are a lot of little common-sense tweaks like this that save you time and effort.
A fix that gamers (like us) will appreciate is that unlike Vista, which ghettoized games in the Games Explorer (it's still around, but who actually uses it?), in Windows 7 you can type the name of a game in the STar Menu search and it will pop up, just like a real application!
Under the hood
You know how games need a higher-spec PC to run on Vista? Not so with Windows 7: The beta boots in under 30 seconds, and generally runs speedier than the most up-to-date Vista installation. Microsoft intends to do a lot of business in the newly emerging netbook market, which didn't even exist when Vista was being developed, and have optimized Windows 7 to run acceptably on netbook hardware (typically a 1.6GHz Intel Atom CPU with 1GB RAM).
Most Vista drivers work perfectly with Windows 7 (though you may have a problem with old hardware with no Vista-specific drivers), so for most hardware all you need to do is connect to the internet and allow Windows Update to scour the records for relevant drivers. If there's nothing there, you can always download Vista drivers and run them in compatibility mode. In short, Windows 7 won't suffer from the initial lack of support that plagued Vista.
Although there's no hardware or software to take advantage of it yet, the newest version of DirectX is present in the beta (it will also be available to Vista Owners). Word has it that DX11 supports a new technology called tessellation, which will help make 3D models look highly detailed when viewed up close. Microsoft also added what it calls the "Compute Shader," a technology that will enable you to use the GPU as a parallel processor. It's like nVidia's CUDA, but usable on all DX11-compatible graphics cards, regardless of manufacturer. It means that graphics cards could also be used as physics, photoshop, or video transcoding accelerators, without developers having to tailor their game to just one make of card.
7 minutes in Heaven
Right now, even in beta, Windows 7 is a great OS to use, and already in a better state than its older brother Vista. It's leaner, has a cleaner installation (all the extras few people use, like Windows Movie Maker, won't install by default), and it's off to a flying start when it comes to compatibility. It's almost an apology for Vista, with a very clear goal of not repeating the mistakes made over the past few years.
The release date hasn't been confirmed, but the beta expires on August 1, so expect Windows 7 between then and the end of the year. If it's this good in beta, it'll almost certainly be worth the wait.
Personally, I myself would take out the word "almost" & keep it at certainly be worth the wait. Like ive told other people, im definitely willing to test drive the OS @ like Best Buy (even tho Circuit City is out of business & none of their stores have laptops or computers anymore, & I wont ever step into another Fry's store unless management gets their act together & starts treating every co-worker the same which I doubt will happen anytime soon) so that I can get a feel for it. One thing im still waiting on is when they will release 64-bit versions of the OS as well as to find out which OS versions will support however much amount of memory (since XP Pro 32-bit only supports 3.5GB of memory & the 64-bit versions support full 16GB of memory). So overall, we shall see by either the end of the year or sometime next year.
The beginning begs the question, "Can the next version of Windows wash the taste of Vista from our mouths?"
Vista in the rear view
The fact that it feels too soon for a new version of Windows after the release of Vista tells you plenty; Vista has now matured into a capable (though often annoying) OS, but the damage was done in the first year of hideous driver support, crashes, and outrageous demands for RAM and processing power while offering little benefit in return.
This year, Microsoft will release its latest OS, Windows 7, to a public who'd mostly rather forget their last effort. After Vista, everyone knew it would have to be good to earn back the public trust. The good news is that all the work that was put into improving Vista, together with lots of feedback and recent mobile computing trends, have conspired to make Windows 7 an upgrade we're looking forward to. Microsoft is so confident they've got it right they've already released a fully functioning beta. Here at PC Gamer we've been using it for a few weeks now, and so far we're very impressed.
User, please by my friend
Ease-of-use is the core philosophy of Windows 7. The taskbar along the bottom is radically different from those of both XP and Vista, and while it takes so getting used to, it genuinely offers a smooth experience. The quick-launch and taskbar have melded into a Mac OSX dock-style creation; running applications show up as a large icon, and you can right-click to pin them in place after you close them to serve as a quick-launch shortcut. You can go back to a Vista-style taskbar if you want (no thank you), but after a short time we are loving the new version.
The desktop is full of intuitive screen hotspots for maximizing windows or auto-sizing them to fill half the screen and you can show the desktop just by resting your mouse in the bottom right corner. There are also a ton of keyboard shortcuts using the Windows key to speed up your desktop experience by moving windows around. Also, you can change your monitor resolution by right-clicking the desktop and clicking "Change resolution." There are a lot of little common-sense tweaks like this that save you time and effort.
A fix that gamers (like us) will appreciate is that unlike Vista, which ghettoized games in the Games Explorer (it's still around, but who actually uses it?), in Windows 7 you can type the name of a game in the STar Menu search and it will pop up, just like a real application!
Under the hood
You know how games need a higher-spec PC to run on Vista? Not so with Windows 7: The beta boots in under 30 seconds, and generally runs speedier than the most up-to-date Vista installation. Microsoft intends to do a lot of business in the newly emerging netbook market, which didn't even exist when Vista was being developed, and have optimized Windows 7 to run acceptably on netbook hardware (typically a 1.6GHz Intel Atom CPU with 1GB RAM).
Most Vista drivers work perfectly with Windows 7 (though you may have a problem with old hardware with no Vista-specific drivers), so for most hardware all you need to do is connect to the internet and allow Windows Update to scour the records for relevant drivers. If there's nothing there, you can always download Vista drivers and run them in compatibility mode. In short, Windows 7 won't suffer from the initial lack of support that plagued Vista.
Although there's no hardware or software to take advantage of it yet, the newest version of DirectX is present in the beta (it will also be available to Vista Owners). Word has it that DX11 supports a new technology called tessellation, which will help make 3D models look highly detailed when viewed up close. Microsoft also added what it calls the "Compute Shader," a technology that will enable you to use the GPU as a parallel processor. It's like nVidia's CUDA, but usable on all DX11-compatible graphics cards, regardless of manufacturer. It means that graphics cards could also be used as physics, photoshop, or video transcoding accelerators, without developers having to tailor their game to just one make of card.
7 minutes in Heaven
Right now, even in beta, Windows 7 is a great OS to use, and already in a better state than its older brother Vista. It's leaner, has a cleaner installation (all the extras few people use, like Windows Movie Maker, won't install by default), and it's off to a flying start when it comes to compatibility. It's almost an apology for Vista, with a very clear goal of not repeating the mistakes made over the past few years.
The release date hasn't been confirmed, but the beta expires on August 1, so expect Windows 7 between then and the end of the year. If it's this good in beta, it'll almost certainly be worth the wait.
Personally, I myself would take out the word "almost" & keep it at certainly be worth the wait. Like ive told other people, im definitely willing to test drive the OS @ like Best Buy (even tho Circuit City is out of business & none of their stores have laptops or computers anymore, & I wont ever step into another Fry's store unless management gets their act together & starts treating every co-worker the same which I doubt will happen anytime soon) so that I can get a feel for it. One thing im still waiting on is when they will release 64-bit versions of the OS as well as to find out which OS versions will support however much amount of memory (since XP Pro 32-bit only supports 3.5GB of memory & the 64-bit versions support full 16GB of memory). So overall, we shall see by either the end of the year or sometime next year.
