Windows 7 First Impressions
- 11
- Add a Comment
- Bill is actually gone. What does that mean for us?
- I think I have found my new picture management for OS X: Picasa
- The New BlackBerry Bold 9000 - This Is The Start Of My CrackBerry Addiction!
- Windows XP vs Windows Vista? Are We Really Still Talking About This?
- Do You Stream Video Online, Perhaps Have A Podcast? Then The Samson C01U Is For You!
To be completely honest I haven’t been following the release dates for Windows 7 because I haven’t been very excited about a new Windows version. With the last release (Vista) being delayed so many times and rumours about this date and that date, I gave up on Microsoft’s schedule.
I downloaded the beta yesterday and installed it on a Dell D620 which is one of my test machines at work. There is no question that Microsoft really improved the installation process when Vista came out and they are using the same system in Windows 7. During the installation process you are only prompted for 5 things which are language settings, hard drive installation location, installation code, user/computer naming information and a password for your user. I have installed many different OSs over time including many Linux distros, Windows versions and even OSX; none of them are more easy that this is. I need to give kudos to Microsoft on this point as so many of us geeks out there overlook this because we are perfectly comfortable with 62 questions.
The second thing that impressed me right out of the gate was the fact that Windows 7 had all the drivers required for my D620 without a single download. This really glues down the fact that they are using the same driver design as Vista, but that they have included the updated drivers in the installation is awesome. In the past we might have seen driver inclusions but more often only in the final version which makes beta testing a bit more challenging. To summarize this point, complete installation from formatted disk to the desktop logged in took about an hour and less than 10 screens.
The desktop on first glance doesn’t look very different from Vista, but that is because I was not really looking that hard. The task bar has been updated for the better, starting with transparency. It looks really nice in my opinion; but that’s just eye candy really. A new feature that I really like is the hover function. I am not sure what Microsoft is really calling this but when you open software you don’t see a block on the task bar like you used to. Now you see an icon and when you hover over that icon you get a preview of the windows that are open and associated to that application. If you then hover over those preview windows the window will appear so you can see it in real time behind the preview. Take a look at this screen shot to see how this applies. Notice that I had 3 explorer windows open and that’s what you see in the preview.
Computer speed is always a question and we all talk about what hardware we have because it directly relates to the speed of our overall experience. But there is also a direct relationship between the operating system and the fluidity or speed of our experience. I definitely feel with the limited software I have installed on the machine that it is more refined. The preview and full size windows that appear when using the hover feature above come almost instantly. It almost feels like they could be instant but someone had to create a 100ms delay to make it feel more natural.
Windows 7 comes with IE 8, which for some will be confusing. The new web browser has been out in beta for a little which and is getting good press (ex. here) from what I can see so far. It definitely is not the fastest browser but I think that overall people are enjoying it.
If you have access to a Windows 7 beta and have not yet installed it then I would give it a try. For everyone who isn’t lucky enough to have access to Windows 7 beta and if you are thinking of buying a computer now but could hold off for another year, I would wait a while to see if Microsoft will solidify their release dates. I really think that after the Vista debacle and after seeing this beta it will be worth the wait.
11 Comments
the oracle
January 12th, 2009
at 3:09pm
Only one nit to pick - you make the assumption that because you had no driver problems, that the drivers must be the same as Vista.
My experience is exactly opposite. I’m sure many others, with ATi graphics are saying the same thing, as there are many complaints on the ATi website forums.
The setup is indeed easy, maybe too much so - I could hope for an advanced install routine choice, but it probably won’t come this time around.
The Sleepy Geek
January 12th, 2009
at 4:53pm
Thanks for the comment, I appreciate you talking a moment.
I agree that they are not completely the same but they are not a complete design change as was done with Windows Vista. That caused such a huge change for hardware developers that many of the people with products already purchased had to wait until well after the release of the OS.
We installed Windows 7 on a T43 with ATI graphics and had no trouble.
As for the choice for advanced and simple installations choices… I would always choose the advanced. Like I mentioned above, it’s a geek thing that I am sure you appreciate.
TheBeam
January 12th, 2009
at 8:35pm
Seriously? Didn’t they just release Vista? I’m so not impressed with Microsoft. And I went out exploring and finally uploaded the latest Linux OS, Ubuntu. Way way better if you asked me!! Not only is it completely free but it’s better, user friendly and to get software, you just click the equivilent of the start menu, hit ‘add software’ and the OS searches the net for you and gives you a list of things that you can click to install. No downloads, no hassles and no money!!! It rocks.
Check out the link which has screenshots, a more detailed review and download links:
http://www.generopolis.com/index.php?option=com_sobi2&sobi2Task=sobi2Details&catid=0&sobi2Id=123&Itemid=0
And no, this isn’t spam…I just want to give people interested in Windows 7 a better option. Enjoy!
Phil
January 13th, 2009
at 12:17am
Yeh I found the drivers to be completely…well…wrong. It said I had the latest versions of my graphics drivers, and I even installed manually the latest versions of my graphics drivers, but Aero STILL wouldn’t activated, leaving me with the horrible basic theme. Vista does handle it perfectly though. But, again, this is just the BETA and i’m sure everything will be fine in the final version. I think 7 is a definate inprovement over Vista, although a small one. I do really like the new taskbar though…It’s Windows’ version of the dock I think!
The Sleepy Geek
January 13th, 2009
at 5:21am
I don’t disagree with you at all about Linux being a good alternative. But it’s not what the mainstream is looking for. If you are interested in Linux then Ubuntu is a great choice. Thanks for the feedback!
olehacker
January 13th, 2009
at 11:41am
I tried to install Windows 7 on my Dell D620 and it hung on a device driver install. I was able to get into a cmd window and confirm this, but when I finally killed it, it backed out the install, and removed the log that had the driver info in it. I didn’t write down the device, and now don’t know which it was.
Sigh….
The Sleepy Geek
January 13th, 2009
at 11:56am
I can only assume that we have a different hardware configuration. I know that there were different graphic card options and different network card options on the D620. Perhaps that’s what has caused the bug. It is possible that I have come across a fluke by installing it on 3 systems without trouble.
Is everyone here using an official beta release with a valid code?
RJ
January 26th, 2009
at 6:05pm
I just tried installing W7 on my D620 (late D620, 2.16ghz C2D, Nvidia graphics, 2gb ram, 120gb 7200rpm hard drive) and it hangs before it can boot to the desktop, flashes a blue screen, then shuts off.
Guido
June 17th, 2009
at 6:08am
After all this time, another comment: I was worried about driver support for the Dell D620 in Windows 7, that was the only thing holding me back from installing for now. Glad you cleared things up, I’ll go ahead and start the install any minute now
OR3
October 5th, 2009
at 9:06am
Hey, Sleepy, have you tried the final release yet? Let us know what you think.
I am the tech for a children’s home where we have over a dozen D620 units that I have bumped to 1.5 GB RAM. I am hoping to extend their life by some years by upgrading to Windows 7 next year.
My only preliminary test went like yours, i.e., quite well. I will continue reading on this topic.
The Sleepy Geek
October 5th, 2009
at 10:29am
The final release is also quite good. I actually had it installed for a bit but am running XP at work so switched back. Soon enough we will be going with Windows 7 though. There has been a jump over Vista.