Windows 7: The good and bad

Rudolph Muller

Rudolph Muller is the editor at MyBroadband and covers telecoms and broadband news. Rudolph comes from an academic background, but left the University of...

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Last week Microsoft launched the release candidate (RC) version of its forthcoming Windows 7 operating system. The RC version, which will be available as a free download until July, is the next-to final release of the operating system which will replace Windows Vista on most desktops in the coming years.

There is much to like to like about Windows 7 in this release, just as there was much to dislike about Vista when it was first released. The initial impression offered by Windows 7 RC is that of a lighter operating system. Gone are the heavy-handed approaches of Vista in favour of a desktop that is clean and attractive without feeling bloated. In its place is a desktop that feels pared down with just the necessary controls in sight.

Performance

The other impression is of speed. Starting with the install,which needs just a handful of clicks and enough time for a cup of coffee, right through to a running desktop Microsoft has succeeded in getting Windows 7 to feel really nimble. Running on a desktop PC with 2GB of memory and a dual-core Intel processor running at 2.53GHz Windows 7 was quick in responding to commands and loading applications. Even running in a VirtualBox environment on another machine with similar hardware, Windows 7 RC was infinitely usable.

Installing the OS was also straight forward with the installer picking up, and configuring, all hardware apart from a wireless card installed on the machine. The wireless card was also ignored in the beta version of Windows 7 we tested but, as before, once an ethernet cable was plugged in Windows 7 quickly found a driver and set up the wireless card. The wireless card is a lesser-known brand and is easily installed with basic drivers but not always immediately picked up. On the other hand, an Ubuntu Linux install on the same machine didn’t even hesitate when negotiating the wireless card during install and configured it correctly at the first attempt.

Desktop appeal

The desktop is not noticeably different to the beta release version and is still appealing to the eye and borders on the “minimalist”, which adds to the overall sharp impression.

In use the most obvious benefit of Windows 7 is the significant reduction in what could be called “interference”. Microsoft has been working hard on reducing the levels of interference for users by limiting the number of pop-ups and warning notices. It’s all about the changes to User Account Control which instead of constantly popping up warnings of impending doom and danger are slightly muted and less obtrusive. They’re still there but just not with the same vigour as before.

The taskbar in Windows 7 is a great deal better than the taskbar offered by Windows Vista or XP. Having said that, there is a tendency to undermine itself with its own cleverness, making it something you’ll either love or hate. For the uninitiated the taskbar operate as a series of “flyouts” which are smaller representations of open Windows. They’re pretty and functional but could be just as effective without the flashy popup windows. One of the complaints against the task bar could be that by default the open windows are all crammed together on the taskbar, which can make it messy if you have too many windows open. Fortunately the default settings can be tweaked to group open windows based on applications when a threshhold number has been reached.

One of the major drivers behind Windows 7 has been to ensure that the operating system boots up and shuts down as fast as possible and Microsoft has mostly achieved this. With the growing market for netbooks – ultra-portable laptops – modern operating systems are increasingly being designed to take advantage of new processors like Intel’s Atom and startup and shutdown within seconds. Windows 7 RC already boots a lot faster than Windows Vista and, depending on hardware, starts up in similar times as Windows XP.

Long trial

The Windows 7 release candidate can be downloaded for free until July this year and is available as both a 32-bit and a 64-bit version. The 32-bit version comes in at a little under 2.5GB while the 64-bit version is a lot bigger at 3.2GB. Interestingly, Microsoft has said that users who download Windows 7 RC will be able to run the software for free until June 2010 before being required to purchase a copy, which is a very long trial period given that Windows 7 Final is expected to be released later this year.

Windows 7 RC can be downloaded from http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-7/download.aspx

Microsoft Windows 7 discussion