Why Windows 7 Matters

However, the question remains, will corporations open up their pocket books and purchase Windows 7 or take a wait-and-see approach to determine if the new features are worth the money. With that in mind, I decided to take a look at what’s new and why it matters.

Windows Navigation and User Interface

Windows users are all too familiar with the pros and cons of Windows Explorer. With each release of Windows, Microsoft has made changes to Windows Explorer, some well accepted, others not so much. With Windows 7, Microsoft has once again reinvented Windows Explorer, and users can expect changes for the better.

Aero Desktop: Enhancements to Aero include features like Aero Peek, which allows users to make open windows transparent to see what’s underneath. Users will also find the new Aero Shake a welcome feature – users can simply “shake” the active window to minimize it, something that notebook users will grow to appreciate. Aero “Snaps” offer the opposite approach -- users can simply “snap” a desktop item to expand it to the borders of the screen. There are many other enhancements that improve Aero’s look and feel, which should help to make Windows 7 easier to use.

Windows SideBar: Microsoft has changed the Windows Sidebar to a decoupled interface that allows users to place gadgets (sidebar applications). Users no longer need to dedicate desktop real estate to the sidebar, and thanks to Areo Peek, uses can now see active gadgets behind open windows.

Jump Lists: Jump Lists are automatically populated lists that are created from the Start Menu. With Windows 7, Jump Lists can include task bar items as well as the most recently used applications. Users will be able to use Jump Lists to create quick and easy links to popular parts of an application. For example, by pointing the mouse at Internet Explorer, a jump list can pop up with common tasks like opening a tab or fetching bookmarks.

Libraries: With Windows 7, Microsoft has extended the folder paradigm into something new. Libraries are very much like folders, but their content is based on file types or other parameters. Users can build libraries to contain music files, photos, documents or anything else, regardless of where the source files are located. Libraries are only for files, not shortcuts or links, and rely on Windows' built-in indexing and search functionality to operate.

Windows Search: Microsoft has added some much needed strength to the integrated search function of Windows. Users can search from the Start menu, from open windows and by right-clicking on the desktop. Searches are now much more extensive and can return results from libraries and external resources (SharePoint, Web sites, etc.). An enhanced search algorithm offers other improvements, such as highlighting related words, as well as incorporating dynamic filtering, and offers input recommendations for search terms.

Windows Touch: Windows 7 adds enhanced support for touch screen technology and allows users to select icons and control applications with just a touch of the screen. Windows Touch adds multi-touch capabilities, allowing users to zoom in and out as well as perform other tasks by using multiple fingers.

Tablet PC support: Improvements to handwriting recognition greatly improve the tablet user’s experience. Users are now able to input mathematical formulas, general text and many other written elements. Personalized dictionaries and an improved training module help to add more usability for Tablet PC users.

Other Changes: There are also many minor improvements, bug fixes and usability enhancements throughout the Windows 7 UI, all of which help to create a better user experience. Microsoft has also improved many bundled applications, thanks to the UI enhancements. Wordpad and Paint now incorporate the infamous Windows Ribbon interface and resemble Office 2007 applications. The Windows calculator features support for touch, has a new interface and handles date calculations. Sticky notes have been improved and can be resized and support virtual ink, as well as cut and paste. Windows accessibility benefits from an improved magnifier and better speech recognition. Some small but useful changes have been incorporated into Windows Explorer, most of which you will have to experience to appreciate.

Windows 7 Performance and Stability

Performance has been one of the biggest complaints with Windows Vista, which came across as bloated and slow, suffering from long bootups and slow shutdowns, as well as slow program launches and the responsiveness (or lack of responsiveness) of the Start menu. Microsoft has put a great deal of effort into making sure Windows 7 performs acceptably, but Windows 7 is still a complex bit of code and no one should expect earth-shattering performance. However, the improvements are readily noticeable when compared to Windows Vista.

Ready Boost: Microsoft’s Ready Boost technology was introduced with Windows Vista as a method to cache applications and data into fast RAM, instead of relying on slow hard drives. With Windows 7, Ready Boost can be used with multiple memory devices concurrently. In other words, with Vista, Ready Boost could only use a single USB key drive to cache with; Windows 7 lifts that limit and allows users to plug in multiple key drives or other high-speed memory devices to crank up the boost.

Battery Performance: Windows 7 offers more intelligence around powering peripherals and running applications, which helps to improve battery life. Windows 7 is able to shut down processes and suspend applications when the system is idle to conserve battery life. The OS also features adaptive display brightness, automatically dimming the screen during periods of inactivity. Windows 7 also powers down network ports, if no cables are plugged in, while a more efficient video decoder reduces the processing power needed when playing DVDs. New battery controls and tools give users the ability to fine-tune performance for extended battery life and prove to be more informative.

Troubleshooting, Support and Device Controls: Several enhancements should make troubleshooting and recovering from problems much easier. First is StartUp Repair, which is automatically installed and eliminates the need to boot from the installation DVD to repair a non-booting system. After an unsuccessful boot, Windows 7 will load StartUp Repair and try to automatically repair the installation. The Problem Steps recorder lets users record their experience with an application failure and captures each step as a screen shot, along with accompanying logs and software configuration data. Windows 7 also includes a unified tracing tool, which collects network-related event logs and captures packets across all network layers to help network administrators solve problems.

Device Management: Windows 7 groups all external devices together under a single device state window, making it easier to work with and manage external devices. Device drivers for new devices are automatically downloaded, when not found locally, eliminating the need for user intervention. Location-aware printing, which automatically determines which printers are available based on which network a user is connected to, should make printing much easier for mobile workers. An enhanced external display support applet makes it easier for users to switch between internal and external monitors on notebook systems or work with projectors or second displays on other systems. Other enhancements include the ability to group common tasks together for external devices, such as music synchronization or PIM synchronization.

Of course, there is a lot more to the performance and stability story behind Windows 7. Microsoft has also put a lot of effort into speeding up boots and shutdowns by improving the core code of the operating system. Other speed enhancements come from faster application launches and a faster responding task bar and Start menu. Alone, each of the improvements has a small impact on the end-user experience, but when viewed together, Windows 7 takes on the appearance of a faster, more stable OS than Vista ever hoped to be. Network administrators will find a slew of features aimed directly at their needs, such as the ability to remotely access trouble logs and memory dumps, as well as improved remote control abilities. Windows 7 also sports improved backup and restore capabilities that should remove some of the excuses used for not backing up systems. System restore points are now included in backups, making it much easier to return a system to an earlier state. Users can now back up their Windows 7 PCs to network shares, eliminating the need for local external drives or expensive backup hardware. A new fault-tolerant heap helps to reduce the number of crashes significantly, while Process Reflection (new) clones crashed processes to memory, where Windows 7 will try to recover the cloned process and diagnose why the original process failed.

Next page: Security, Multimedia and Connectivity