As reported by me on Techtree earlier, it was expected that finer details of Windows 7 would be known to us by the end of the Professional Developers Conference(PDC) that is underway at Los Angeles. And true it was. We now have a fair idea of what and how the Windows 7 really is all about. The PDC also answers the biggest question people had in their minds... (and its not over yet!). Is Windows 7 just a "spruced up" Vista?
This is what it was considered to be, when we had a very restrictive initial look at the leaked screen shots that appeared few weeks ago. Well, that argument has been laid to rest now with Microsoft offering a "hands-on" to the journalists who attended the PDC. They had on offer a Dell Laptop loaded with a Windows 7 pre-beta Build 6801 to have a first detailed look at it. These are the initial impressions of what the Windows 7 is all about -- and what it is not.
To start with, it is not just another Vista rehash. Yes, it retains the "family look" but there are many underlying changes that makes it a far better OS than its predecessor. Although I still think they should have opted for a full design-change to alienate itself from Vista, Microsoft chose not to do so and I believe they have valid reasons for that decision. So, whats new? And what is not? Read on.
First off, the build 6801 that was showcased during the PDC is reportedly an older version. This meant that several of the new features that were seen in some screenshots were not present in this build. For the record, screen shots have revealed newer build versions; namely build 6926 and 6933 which seems to be a more complete package - albeit unstable ones.
Networking -the Windows 7 way
To start off, connecting to a wireless network is now far easier. In fact, it is just one click away from the task bar -- another Windows component that has more or less remained the same over the years. Not any longer! The good ol' taskbar "text" has given way to icons (which does impart a somewhat gaudy look to it). More on the taskbar improvement later. As for choosing a wifi network to hop on to, it is just a click on the icon on the task bar and you get a list of all the networks available. Click on the one you wish to hop on to and you're done! Now that’s nifty and was this not possible earlier? -- is all I wish to ask.
UAC remains; but subtler now
The dreaded UAC (User Access Control) pop ups still loom large. Yes, you had the option to turn them off.. However, Microsoft thinks there are folks who would still want their computers to be a bit more proactive and let you know what your background programs are up to. So what do they do? Give you a slider control and now you decide whether to turn UAC off completely or let it pop up only when a program (and not you) makes a change to the system settings. Nice! But they could have dropped that pop-up idea altogether.
Sidebar: Killed
I am unsure how many of you found the Vista sidebar irritating. For people with lesser screen real estate, it was a pain if you wanted to use the gadgets -- but without the accompanying sidebar that eats up your precious screen space. Now you have relief the sidebar has been officially shown the door but guess what? The gadgets remain -- and now, you are free to place them anywhere on your screen.
HomeGroups
This is one of those networking things that you might have been “oh so much" used to. You run the wizard and nothing actually works according to plan. Let’s hope this one does. Now, the Homegroup does what it says and is supposed to be a tool to share files and stuff over a small home network. Apart from sharing printers, it can also help share other hardware and make for seamless inter-machine connectivity along with added security: You decide what to share and what not to. Sounds familiar?
Device Stage
I had discussed about this earlier --when not much was known about this. We now have more details emerging. As expected, Device Stage is just an enhanced "auto play pop up" when you connect an external device to your computer. The only difference now is that, you have different interfaces for supported hardware. By supported hardware, I mean the devices which provides content for the Device stage will show up with "extra features" when connected instead of the plain jane auto play window that is seen now. It remains to be seen how device manufacturers pick this up.
Taskbar
Yes we're back at it. As mentioned earlier in the article, the taskbar has undergone a complete transformation after having been left unchanged since eons now. The quick launch has been discarded and now we have icons replacing the text that displayed running programs. The right click offers greater features and flexibility now -- giving options like opening recent files and related goodies.
Multitouch
Finally we have multitouch on the PC and prima facie, it seems to work pretty well. While you might need a slight learning curve to start off with it, it won’t take an user significant time to master it. And yes, it supports all the gestures you have in mind -- pinching, stretching and the others. Happy?
User Interface:
Ok, nothing revolutionary in here. It still looks like Vista (which most people might not like). But there have been changes. The Flip 3d remains along with the new taskbar (already previewed) Notable additions include the new windows resizing feature which has managed to turn some heads. And yes, the system tray has been "upgraded" as well. It now offers you more control over the (annoying) pop ups -- allowing you to decide if you want to display an item on the tray permanently or not.
Mac Users Boo (as usual)
While many have welcomed the changes, Mac users claim most of the new "features" on the Windows 7 are simply Microsoft’s version of existing OSX stuff. Yes, we have been hearing this ever since the Vista launch and now it has rather become a norm. Windows 7 is arguably the biggest change to the User interface that Windows have been through since XP and from what I see, it is a far cry from a rehashed Vista. With an expected 2009 launch it remains to be seen how it fares against the OSX SnowLeopard 10.6 due mid 2009.
A faster Windows?
Windows 7 will also aim to be leaner, faster and it won't crib for system resources -- a lesson well learnt from the Vista debacle. Remember the "Vista capable" labels? To prove this, Windows SVP Steve Sinofsky showcased his personal laptop duRing the keynote which ran the OS smoothly. The netbook reportedly ran at 1Ghz with 1 GB of RAM. Now that’s nice. There’s already a talk of frwsh set of system requirements for the Windows 7. This just might be the trump card for Microsoft!
Via: Gizmodo
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