Running Windows 7

Asides

• The curtain has been raised (slightly) on the next installment of Microsoft’s Windows operating system – Windows 7.

  Microsoft hope it will bring the internet, mobile phone and PC closer together. But reviews have so far been mixed, although reviewers have been limited to trying the (pre-beta version).

  The full version is expected to be capable of working with a touchscreen screen, navigating documents and the Web similar to Apple’s iPhone. It is officially released at the end of 2009.

  InfoWorld

  “I have seen the future, and it is bleak. Windows 7, the next big version, the one that was supposed to fix everything that was wrong with Vista, is here (at least in pre-beta form), and I can now say – with some confidence – that Microsoft has once again dropped the ball.

  “Overall, I’m extremely disappointed with Windows 7. Far from atoning for Vista’s sins, Windows 7 simply carries them forward, visiting them upon yet another generation. Windows 7 is no panacea. Rather, it’s just more of the same: slow, bloated, and frustrating as hell.”

  The Register

  “When it comes to Windows 7, Microsoft hasn’t just learned from the mistakes of Windows Vista. It has picked up a thing or two from Apple’s OS X, judging by first impressions.

  Techradar

  “It’s not clear how big the changes are so far. If you put the beta-build of Windows 7 side-by-side with Windows Vista, you’d be hard-pressed to spot the differences. Yes, some of the icons look slightly different and there’s no sidebar, but it’s essentially still the Vista look and feel. But that changes when you start to use Windows 7.

  “For a start the OS won’t nag you as much; many notifications are banished to a control panel, you get to approve icons before they show up in the system tray and Microsoft has reined in Vista’s useful but annoying UAC prompts; you can choose which ones you want to see or turn them off altogether.”

  ZDNet

  “Initially Windows 7 looks similar to Vista, but there a lot of new features that have been added. Under the skin, Microsoft has been working hard. Boot times have been reduced, and certainly the review laptop Microsoft provided has a fairly snappy boot time.

  “Microsoft has been working with OEMs to improve battery life – simple things such as reducing the timer frequency can improve battery life by up to 10 per cent. The networking stack has had new diagnostics added to help users figure out exactly where the problem lies.

  PC Magazine

  “So, is this all a big deal? It’s not a change to the fundamental core of Windows, and most of the improvements sound relatively small. But taken together, they seem to address many of the issues people have had for Windows. I’m looking forward to trying it out, starting this afternoon.”