Windows 7 Beta Impressions

Behold! Windows 7! Well, the beta at least anyway. Ok so we all know the deal:

Microsoft released Vista, it sucked at first. They have slowly but surely improved it ( Much like Sony did with the PS3 ) but everyone still hates Vista.

In an attempt to show people that they can still make Windows good, they released a public version of the Windows 7 beta. How is it so far? Well on the bottom right, it says,"For testing purposes only." I think they could take that out and get away with it! The beta so far is pretty good!

First up, installation. Unlike the god fugly blue screen style install for XP, the Win7 install is menu based with mouse support. It tells you what you need, easily. Its alot nicer for people who may not be tech savy, it feels less threatening. I would say the install took about 20-30 minutes to complete on my computer ( Intel Core 2 Duo E6600, 9600GT, 2GBs RAM.)

Once you get to the desktop, you get treated to a lovely looking background ( as shown on the top picture. ) Vista looked nice too, but it also was a tad bit sluggish. Win7 however runs quite a bit faster. Apps open fast! What i really like is they only give you what you need mainly. In Vista, they gave you TONS of programs you dont need or want. Windows Calender? Seriously? I need a full program for THAT? T hey give you some things like a Send Feedback app, WMP, IE, Windows MEdia Center and a few other small things. Most of the other apps you are used to you can download from Microsoft in something known as Windows Live Essentials.

What i love is the new taskbar! Gone is the taskbar of old! Lets take a look at the new one and how it functions:


Its just icons. Any app that is running has a small box around. ( Look at the Opera logo or the Steam logo for examples. ) The app currently used has its logo engulfed in a white box. Its nice nice to look at. Lets say for example i get a message on Windows Live Messenger, the WLM box will slowly and gently pulse a golden color, back to the default blue you see in the picture. It looks nice and works nicely. If you keep your mouse icon over an icon, such as the Windows Media Player icon, you will see a preview box open. It shows you what is currently going on with the app and, in the case of WMP, it lets you swtich songs and pause the current song without opening the full app! You can even switch bands or playlists from that preview box, you don't need to open the full app to do that now!

Remember how in vista it had that sidebar? That big gray region that took up ALL that space and RAM? Yea, its gone now, but you still have those gadgets. You simply place them on the desktop now, no sidebar. But wait?! You must be asking, "What if i wanna see an app but i have my screen full of internet browsers, WMP and other things?" Well...


You can go to the bottom right of the taskbar, and there is small "show desktop" button. Leave your mouse on it and all the boxes fade away allowing you to view your desktop, including gadgets. Move the mouse and the windows fade back in. Very nice and very handy for those who will use alot of gadgets.


The final thing i want to touch upon right now is another nice touch. I have a 24 Inch computer monitor. 1920x1200, good stuff. I tend to use most of it. On Windows XP,i would manually resize my internet browser to take half of the screen and do it to some other app such as Roxio. That requires clicking alot of buttons, resizing, ugh. Its alot easier now! Ok you have firefox open and only want it to take the right side of the screen? Easy! Just drag the box to the right side, and it'll adjust its size to only take the right side of the screen! Same if you drag it to the left. If you drug an app up, it'll fill the screen. If you drug one down, it'll shrink. Clever thinking Microsoft!

I'll get more in depth with Compatability and performance later, but i'll do a quick summery right now. Take vista, now make it look better. Now add performance similar, if not equal, to windows XP. Thats Windows 7. Its only a beta, but i'll say that it is better than Vista. It has yet to crash or freeze or even give me a BSOD!