Windows 7 review
By Paul Miller 
posted Aug 12th 2009 2:05PM
posted Aug 12th 2009 2:05PM
Windows 7 arrives on the scene three short years after Vista, shoring up its predecessor's inadequacies and perhaps offering a little bit more to chew on. We've been playing with the OS ever since the beta, along through the release candidate, and now at last have the final, "release to manufacturing" (RTM) edition in our grubby paws. Does it live up to its understandable hype and the implicit expectations of a major Microsoft release? Let's proceed on a magical journey to discover the truth for ourselves.
Install / boot times / shutdown
It's the most base of operating system functions. Install, turn on, turn off. But first impressions matter, and Microsoft made sure to give Windows 7 a nice sheen when it came to these things. You can read through our full installation guide for an in-depth look at the pitfalls and triumphs of Windows 7 in this department, but in short: it's fast and lightweight, but the real performance gains can be found on netbooks and with clean installs. Otherwise there's really nothing to put Vista to shame -- though the amazing breath of fresh air a clean install provides should really set cruftware-happy vendors to a bit of soul searching.UI enhancements
Aero Peek
More helpful, however, is the ability to hover over the fly-out thumbnails that pop up from the taskbar app groupings, and isolate that specific window while all other windows are sent to outline mode. It serves as both geography lesson and a rapid navigation method, without feeling as clunky or "all-or-nothing" as previous attempts at windows management in Windows. Check out the video demo below to see how this plays out in practice:
Aero Shake
What we first thought was merely a gimmick has become one of our favorite features: merely grab the titlebar of a window and give it a vigorous shake to minimize all other windows. Great when you're changing tasks and want to rid yourself of the clutter of your previous activities, and we hardly know how we've made it so far in life without it.
Start Menu
Mac OS X might have Spotlight, but Windows now has great instant search as well, and the Windows key has a new lease on life. Merely pop open the Start Menu and start typing and search results start populating. It's not nearly as comprehensive as Spotlight, but it also doesn't seem to be faced with the same slowdowns of its Mac OS X counterpart, and typically tracks down what we're looking for (apps, usually). The Start Menu has also been enhanced with a refined layout and supplemental menus for frequently used items -- offering access to recent items used by that application, along with the new "tasks" list that Microsoft has snuck into the OS, but which are currently only used by a few Microsoft-built apps.
Aero Snap
Perhaps our favorite day-to-day improvement of them all, Aero Snap offers a surprisingly smart way of working with windows, using the mere power of a click and drag. Windows can be maximized by being pulled to the top of the screen, or set to fill one half of the screen by being dragging to the far left or right edge of the screen. An Aero Peek-style outline lets you preview what you're doing, and it's easy enough to bounce away from the "sticky" edges, or pull an already maximized window away from its moorings. Windows Key + Left Arrow or Right Arrow accomplishes the same thing for filling one half of the screen with the current window, and is perfect for lining up document comparisons.
New Taskbar
This one gets all the press, but it's really more a product of Aero Peek than anything clever in and of itself. Basically it takes some ideas from the Mac OS X dock like larger icons and app launcher duties (icons can be "pinned" to remain in place whether the application is open or not, a melding of Windows' old Quick Launch Bar into the taskbar proper), and adds in traditional Windows taskbar activity like the listing of open windows. The default functionality is fine, which keeps everything "stacked" in its respective icon, but the real money is in the "combine when taskbar is full" view, which can be accessed from the taskbar properties. This brings the benefits of verbose item names -- always a big win for Windows over Mac OS's icons-only approach -- without sacrificing the fancy Aero Peek features or the pretty icons. What's not so elegant is how hidden icons in the far-right system tray are now housed in an ugly little pop-up menu.
Even worse is the fact that dragging a file to an app icon in the taskbar doesn't allow you to open that file with the app, but instead asks if you want to "pin" the file to that app. Newsflash: we'd rather not. With a bit of work you can re-add the old fashioned Quick Launch set of mini-icons for drag and dropability, but that's pretty silly. We're glad there's enough customization available to make this livable, but we'd say Microsoft could have done a better job of thinking through its defaults.
Quick display switching
Windows + P = magic! Really, it's the little things that count, and Microsoft has made managing multiple displays and switching between commonly used configurations a total snap.
UI stayed-the-sames
Microsoft got a lot right with its new UI tweaks, but it certainly could've taken things a few logical steps further. For instance, it's odd that there's no built-in support of multifinger trackpad gestures -- why is this something that third party vendors have to figure out all by themselves? We understand that the hardware isn't universal, but we'd like to see Microsoft driving the adoption of such functionality by building clear, reliable support for it into the OS. Two finger scroll in particular: it's the best thing to happen to trackpads since tap-to-click, and we think everybody should've figured that out by now.On the multitouch front, Windows 7's support for multitouch display interaction is laudable but hardly sufficient. Microsoft itself has poured plenty of R&D into finger-friendly interfaces, and we would hope that they'd be building some of that innovation into the OS by now -- the release of the Surface-inspired Microsoft Touch Pack is a nice start, but doesn't go far enough. We shudder to imagine the haphazard implementations of smartphone-style multitouch innovations we're undoubtedly going to be seeing from OEMs in the coming years.
Overall, Microsoft has failed to establish a cohesive styling and operation model to its own applications, which range from the relatively new "ribbon" toolbars of Office, (and now WordPad, above, and Paint), to the website-like Control Panel navigation, to the ancient Device Manager trees, to the tabbed properties panes, and so on. In an attempt to simplify many of its interfaces, frequently used actions have been slowly popping up as buttons where menu bars used to be, while the deep functionality of "true" menus has been hidden elsewhere in the interface. All of this wouldn't be so horrible if Microsoft was the only builder of applications for Windows, but given thousands and thousands of developers out there making widely disparate application interfaces for Windows, we'd really appreciate it if Microsoft took a bit more leadership and more clearly defined a UI design language that was consistent and useful for users.
Notable app changes
Windows Media Center
We've gone way in-depth on this over at Engadget HD, but suffice it to say that Windows Media Center in Windows 7 is vastly superior to Windows Vista's version, and most all of the bugs from the Windows 7 beta seem to be ironed out quite nicely. The interface is a real treat, the extender functionality to the Xbox 360 and 3rd party boxes is much improved and quite snappier, and a truly marvelous amount of hardware is supported.
Windows Media Player
It's pretty much Windows Media Player, you know? The good news is that Microsoft has greatly expanded the codec support, to something bordering on comprehensive:
What's even more fun is the new "Play to" function, which can beam a locally-controlled audio playlist to computers that are part of your HomeGroup, DLNA devices like the PS3, or Media Center Extenders like the Xbox 360. Remotely shared libraries are also automatically detected off of DLNA or Home Server devices, and everything pretty much "just works."
If you're really feeling crazy you can tie your media library to your Windows Live ID and access your home media from anywhere over the internet.
Windows Explorer
It's hard to quantify most of the changes to the basic file browser activities in this release, other than to say "it just works" quite a bit more frequently than it did in Vista. It's smarter about spotting file types, there are solid in-pane previews of music, pictures and video (if you know to turn on the preview pane), and the particular folder we're targeting with a drag and drop is lined up in the simplified left hand sections of "Favorites" and "Libraries" more often than not. Unfortunately, it's not all roses: some media files we knew the OS was perfectly capable of playing through its Windows Media Player-powered preview pane had somehow been "claimed" by Zune and disabled for playback from within Windows Explorer. Looks like somebody missed a meeting.
Internet Explorer
We'll be honest: we avoid IE like the plague, and recommend you do as well. Microsoft continues to make improvements to the browser, and the nagging, over-protective "training wheels" approach to security is probably appropriate for those naive enough to use this thing, but the fact is that there are too many faster, better and "free-er" browsers out there to really waste much time in Microsoft's default. Anecdotally, the browser hard crashed a couple minutes into us writing this paragraph.
Notable app omissions
Windows MailIt was never the highlight of the OS, but Microsoft has for some reason decided to ship Windows 7 completely without a mail application, unless you count the browser. You're encouraged to download Windows Live Mail with the Windows Live Essentials app pack, but while it does an alright job, it's hardly a first string effort, and we're not sure why Microsoft has decided that emailing people isn't really a core functionality of a modern operating system, much less something that Microsoft should have an industry-leading app for inside the box.
Windows Movie Maker
Another item relegated to the Windows Live app pack, and this time slapped with a "Beta" moniker for extra shame. We actually have a bit of a soft spot for Microsoft's no-frills approach to movie editing for the everyman, and if YouTube is any indication, Movie Maker certainly gets the job done for a lot of people. Still, this is probably something that should be spruced up and packed in with the OS, and we're even more sure that it should support the now-defacto AVCHD format by now.
Windows Live Photo Gallery
You guessed it, another one kicked to Windows Live Essentials land, where supposedly "essential" apps go to die. Unfortunately, this particular app seems an even more logical omission, given its too-strong ties to a Windows Live account (something we've owned for years without managing to upload a single photo to, strangely enough).
Other sundry necessities
We could probably understand this app scarcity a decade ago -- Microsoft's job is only really half done when you buy the OS, they also need to keep that Office team afloat -- but given its modern day competition (Apple and Google, to be specific), it's hard to understand why Microsoft is shipping this OS without a calendar app, PDF viewer, lightweight office replacements or an IM / video conferencing solution. Microsoft blames anti-trust laws, stating that it's hard for it to work in all the "services" it wants into its apps if it bundles with the OS, but we'd say most of its applications could do with a bit more "open" when it comes to services (Flickr, YouTube, anything that isn't Windows Live, etc.) anyways. In any case, most computer vendors will be striking a deal with Microsoft or Google or whomever to supply some of these necessities with their shipping computers, but we can't help but think that Microsoft is leaving some vital elements of the operating system incomplete and wide open to inconsistent experiences by neglecting all of these app types in this way.
Security / networking
Microsoft had already done a lot of work since the initial release of Vista on not bugging us incessantly with pop-up security nags, but Windows 7 strikes an even better balance. What is disconcerting is how often security warnings include an "unknown" as the publisher -- it's not really teaching anybody to be judicious about what pops up in the warning if the warning itself doesn't even know what's going on.
In the end we'll find out just how secure Windows 7 is once it's in the wild and hackers start hammering on it, but with the abundance and ease of Windows updates these days, most anybody with an ounce of common sense and a speedy internet connection should be able to steer clear of danger. Meaning: we're all doomed.
On the networking front, HomeGroups are a new Windows 7-specific method of simplifying networking between computers on a local network, and we're really in love. After decades of being stymied by complicated Windows networking setups, we've finally been able to reliably and rapidly connect multiple computers and share files / media / printers / whatever without resorting to a sneakernet or inviting our smarter friends over with their fancy Computer Science degrees to figure it out for us.
Compatibility
Check out our upgrade guide for more info on our specific compatibility issues, but the long and the short of it is that anything we found to work in Vista seemed to work just fine (in some cases better!) in Windows 7. That goes for hardware and software, but of course the real test will be when this OS is unleashed upon the masses -- your mom's brother's 25 year old printer might not make the cut, and we'll be sure to pour out a 40 upon its behalf.
In truth, Microsoft does a very good job with keeping a truly insane quantity of hardware and drivers and vendors happy, but we still think they could do better. New and improved utilities to detect and install hardware are present in Windows 7, but they still don't feel entirely smart enough -- we had to track down plenty of drivers manually, and even dipped a toe now and then into the (shudder) Device Manager, which has hardly received an improvement since World War II. There has to be a better way to make sure people don't have to be smart, patient and lucky to get all their hardware working with their OS.
Of course, it's not a small problem to surmount. The brand new Device Stage seems to best illustrate the scope of this issue. Microsoft has presented a sort of candy-coated exterior to the Device Manager in the Devices and Printers view, which displays devices it recognizes as large, lickable icons, and lets you drill into further functions with a right click, or a double click if you're feeling lucky. Unfortunately, there's only a very small set of devices the OS seems truly at ease with. Sure, it picks up on most anything we plug in over USB, seeking out drivers over the internet and installing them quite painlessly, but actual functionality usually leaves a lot to be desired -- a double click usually gives us only the driest of driver-management options. Of our oodles of devices, most are represented by a generic NAS icon, many are represented with bizarre names (or eight names, in the case of our E71) and only two devices we tried offered a true Device Stage view, which was merely populated with battery and storage status.
It's simultaneously a testament to the insane diversity of devices Microsoft has to deal with, along with the implicit reliance on vendors to provide drivers in a logical and consistent manner. We don't imagine the Device Stage will be populated with truly useful infos on our favorite devices for many months (or years) to come.
Overall speed / stability
Speed is really one of Windows 7's major selling points. Particularly for the netbook set, Windows 7 can turn a machine that's nearly unusable under Windows Vista (especially if it's been saddled with the manufacturer's own set of crapware) into a quite potent workhorse. That's partly to do with the slimmed down kernel of the OS, which has lower memory requirements than Vista, but it's also due to Microsoft's rework of GUI scheduling, which means less bottlenecks and less unresponsive moments.Still, it's not perfect. On the well-appointed machine we performed an in-place upgrade from Vista on (trust us, a clean install is worth the hassle, learn from our mistakes) we found Gadgets taking a while to load on boot, occasional system-wide slowdowns when we were doing a tad "too much" with media, and Internet Explorer felt pretty sad compared to the competition.
While streaming Windows Media Center to our Xbox 360 we had trouble maintaining an internet connection, or perhaps a network connection -- it was unclear which was dropping. After we disconnected and reconnected the network would work again, but would break soon after. We eventually gave up and restarted, after which things seemed to work just fine.
Our worst experiences, however, were with a clean install to a quite modern netbook. The OS became increasingly unstable over time -- Windows Explorer itself seemed to be the main culprit -- and the machine eventually failed to boot entirely. Luckily, the Startup Repair utility managed to jump to the rescue and found a System Restore point that booted fine, though we lost the few customizations we'd made up to that point and were face with basically a fresh install again. It was nice of Windows 7 to recover itself so well, but we would obviously have preferred to not run into that issue in the first place.
SKUs
As for pricing and SKU confusion? Well, you'll have to decide that one for yourself:FROM XP / VISTA |
FROM
WIN7 STARTER |
FROM
WIN7 HOME PREMIUM |
FROM WIN7 PRO |
FULL PRICE |
||
 |
HOME PREMIUM |
$119.99*
|
$79.99
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
$199.99
|
 |
PRO |
$199.99
|
$114.99
|
$89.99
|
N/A
|
$299.99
|
 |
ULTIMATE |
$219.99
|
$164.99
|
$139.99
|
$129.99
|
$319.99
|
Full feature lists and additional SKUs can be found here. Family Pack info is here.
Madness? Yes. But there are still some decent options for most people, and if you've gotten a jump on things you might have already scored yourself that $50 upgrade -- don't you feel smug? In the long run, most people will end up getting Windows 7 with a new machine, so perhaps it doesn't matter so much, but we still wouldn't mind if Microsoft did a bit more work trimming down these full version pricetags. Doesn't Microsoft want those too-cool-for-school Apple hipsters dabbling in the dark side via Bootcamp?
Wrap-up
Where Vista felt like a sprawling mess, Windows 7 has patched up the holes and feels like a tight, unified mechanism. It's hardly full of surprises, but that's usually a good thing when it comes to operating systems. If you've never been a Windows person, there's hardly anything here that will change your mind about that. However, most human beings on this planet have some sort of interaction with Windows on a regular basis, whether by choice or necessity, and Windows 7 is great news for those millions of souls.
Instead of switching up the formula, Windows 7 is really an extension and a refinement of the true tenets of Windows (that we just made up): broad hardware compatibility, coatings of usability over deep functionality, and a "everything for everybody" approach to feature sets and SKUs. With such broad aims, and such a diverse userbase, it's no wonder that there are plenty of spots where the OS still falls short, but taken as a whole it's clear that Microsoft has taken a strong step forward with Windows 7. The world will know on October 22.
Further reading:
 |
How-To: Install Windows 7 and live to tell about it So you're thinking about going to Windows 7, eh? Chances are your head is swimming in a sea of TLAs and confusing charts -- enough to have the most adamant Microsoft defender reaching for a something with an Option key. Fear not, noble purchaser of legal software. |
 |
Windows 7 Release Candidate 1 impressions, insights, and expectations We had a chance to sit down with reps from Microsoft to discuss the new iteration of Windows (and the company's current frame of mind) more in-depth, and we've taken the new build for a bit of a spin around the block. |
 |
Windows 7 multitouch: it's a gimmick (for now) We've spent some time with Windows 7 Beta's new touch and multitouch features this week, and came away largely disappointed. It's not that they don't work, at least on occasion, it's that they don't really provide a comprehensive or pleasurable method for using a computer. |
 |
Windows 7 Beta in-depth impressions Naturally, we're working with a beta here, so things can absolutely get better (or worse), and Redmond might be hiding a feature or two in the wings -- or for the inevitable SP1 -- but we'd say Microsoft has really put its best foot forward here. |
Love to see how it turns out,, even as a Mac fan, I honestly hope for Microsoft to do some good for once :)
don't get me wrong though, I still believe that a Mac is way better than a PC
and it is, which is why we'll get downvoted together my friend!! FREEDOM!!!!!!
Oh yeah, well my dad can beat up your dad! :P
So, if I make changes to my PC (adding RAM, bigger HD, new graphics card, new router, etc), will Windows 7 stop working until I call India and beg and plead with them that, no, I didn't steal it and could they please, oh pretty please, revalidate it for me? I stopped using Windows at Vista for that exact reason. And yes, the minor updates I listed above caused Vista to freak out.
What Microsoft didn't understand then is that they think they are preventing me from buying Windows once and then never buying again by using my one copy and then continually changing PCs. On my side of the table, however, what I see is that Microsoft is preventing me from accessing my data. And my data is more important (to me) than any OS. I use the Mac now because of this. If Apple does the same thing, I'll switch to Linux in a heartbeat.
So, Microsoft, are you still going to hold people's data hostage? If so, you will never see me again.
@Yoshi
No-one believes you, son.
Mac's are easier to hack, non-upgradeable, and more expensive for the same specs.... so how are Macs > PCs?
@yoshi
you must be pretty bad at the whole computing thing, I've upgraded every single one of those pieces of hardware, as well as my CPU, with Vista (more than once where a hard drive is concerned) and I've never had to contact Microsoft to revalidate my license. Also, I don't know exactly how a router would be likely to affect your license?
That's just it, there is no way a new router would ever cause the system key to become invalid.
@yoshi
Windows XP: Every time I upgrade RAM, CPU, or HDD, I need to call the evil M$ to reactivate. When will they stop keeping my data hostage?
Windows Vista: DRM is so intertwined into the OS, that I will not be able to play any media that does not have DRM attached to it. When will they stop keeping my data hostage?
Windows 7: Every time I upgrade RAM, CPU, or HDD, I need to call the evil M$ to reactivate. When will they stop keeping my data hostage?
If you are going to spread FUD, at lest try to make up new false arguments. Recycling old ones is just lazy.
To be fair Yoshi may do a full install when he upgrades his hardware, why you would do that for RAM or a video card i dont know but if he did he would have to call MS and get a revalidation. Now a router, that wouldnt affect anything.
Last night IE kept crashing on engadget.com (not sure why) I simply pressed the "compatibility view" icon and the problems went away.
I've only had to call Microsoft once to revalidate my license (this was after several hardware changes, including an entirely new motherboard). All I had to say was, "Yeah, I had to install a new motherboard" and it was validated without any further questioning.
@yoshi
not to beat a dead horse here...but my vista runs almost flawlessly. the only time i have trouble is when i do something my computer isnt really set up to handle. im tri-booting my computer with vista, 7 rc build 7100 and ubuntu and every now and then i do something stupid and make some modifications and end up needing to reinstall an OS or format a hdd. and no matter how many times ive wiped a drive clean or reinstalled vista/7 i have never had ANY problems with my key. kudos to MS on this one.
and to support FraggleRock's "macs are easier to hack" comment. hes right. all you need to know is some unix/linux coding and you can easliy boot OS X on your pc with no problem.
@Yoshi
I had to validate the license again over the phone once a few years ago. Of course, that license for XP Pro lasted me from release through God knows how many computers and reinstalls. Vista I never had a problem with. Of course, the Genuine Advantage™ check does seem a bit arbitrary. I once changed an entire motherboard on it without complaints, but it wanted me to revalidate after I hooked up a friend's hard drive for data recovery.
Only had to call in once though. I'm not sure how the hell you behaved to make it such a hassle for you. My activities look like damn piracy and I've had a legit OS since Windows 3.11. Check that, I briefly had an illegal copy of Windows 2000 installed.
Windows 7 may be the cat's pajamas but I have a strong suspicion that my work computer will continue to run Windows XP for a very, very long time. I might be able to talk the management committee into buying a $200 upgrade (per XP machine) when the recession ends, but there is no way I'm going to let the IT guy run a clean install! Business upgrade FAIL.
Post SP2, Vista isn't really as bloated as it used to be.
7 is much better though.
yoshi: You might need to revalidate only if you change your motherboard.
Btw Paul, you can hold Shift and drag and drop a file on a program on the taskbar to open it.
I like the old way too though.
Your business which is so mission critical to you that you cannot have it down for a few minutes to reactivate your O/S is running on this same PC which you seem to constantly be taking offline to add/remove/change hardware seemingly on a whim? That same PC?
I don't think that I would be dinking around upgrading the components in my vital, only PC which runs my business all the time if it were that critical to my success.
@ FraggleRock
Macs aren't easier to hack, they are upgradable (I upgraded my RAM to 4GB this year in my MBP), and even though they are more expense, it's because you are getting quality, no crap programs to boot, and a sweet OS.....so how do you justify that Mac ISN'T better than PC?!
dont get me wrong but are we forgetting about linux?
Uh, Yoshi, a router is not going to cause Vista to drop it's current activation status and require a new go at it. If your box did that (I'm not saying it didn't, anything is possible I suppose), then something else was up - it certainly wasn't the normal way of Vista requiring reactivation after hardware changes (which I've never seen myself).
Don't even try, Yoshi. The fact that you stated a router made you call for re-validation proves how ignorant you are about the subject you brought up. Stop spreading your pure crap all over the world.
@Jon Graft: So you upgraded your RAM, eh? WHOOOPIEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!
Now let's see you upgrade the video card, or add a PCI card from the vast library of PCI cards in the world. I know I know, you stated you did it in a laptop, but even still, take any mac desktop and let's see you upgrade it.
@yoshi: You're probably right. You installing a new router/RAM/HD/etc caused the OS to drop validation. I will however point out that buying a Vista copy of a guy with a backpak at the street corner does not mean you have a valid copy of the OS.
@Neal: +1
Yup, I'm a Mac fan, too. This version of Windows 7 really does look good and appears to have some nice features. Many of them beyond some of the Windows users I know. It's a shame Microsoft can't just drop that legacy code. I'm anxious to try either Home Premium or Pro in BootCamp when I check out what features each offer or what I need. I hope that it's not a resource hog and that an install stays relatively stable for a year. I think the reason why it doesn't come with a mail program is so consumers can run out and buy Microsoft Office with Microsoft Outlook. Haha.
MS just has to convince businesses they need this Windows 7 and maybe MS will be back in the business of selling OSes again after the long, almost nine year wait.
@yoshi
Yup, I've been there with a couple of calls to Microsoft's Indian call centre, once with a reinstall of XP Pro and once when the Windows Genuine Advantage check that was performed prior to installing IE7 decided that my copy of XP Pro wasn't genuine and busted me down to un-Activated status.
As I have said MANY times before, Windows Activation and Windows Genuine Advantage is a farce that needs to be abandoned. It does nothing to prevent piracy of the OS and only inconveniences the legitimate user for no reason. It does not work 100% reliably and for that reason alone it should never have been implemented. I sincerely wish that Microsoft would go back to the good ol' days when all you needed to do was type in your serial number - that was fine and did what was needed.
@iphonerulez
Yeah, Microsoft REALLY should get back to that whole OS thing that they've been dominating in for almost two decades...
Do some of you people live on the same planet as the rest of us or not?
While I'm not saying yoshi isn't lying, I will point out that I've had many issues similar to what he describes...
I work at a computer store and I can't count how many times I've had customers come in with valid windows keys failing genuine advantage... Quite often it happens without changing any hardware whatsoever, other times it's been things like upgrading a video card or ram, usually a single piece of hardware.
Often times it will fail online and I have to call India, and while usually they're pretty good about it, I've had times where they've told me to talk to the OEM to get it straightened out... As I'm sure you're all aware, calling dell or HP isn't going to get you anywhere, and in cases where it's been OUR system we built in shop, I've screamed at poor indian people that I AM THE F**KING OEM!! ...and have been hung up on. Often times I've had to resort to downloading WGA cracks to install on legitimately licensed copies of vista and xp. I've even reimbursed someone for windows then installed ubuntu for them because they (and I) were so fed up.
These things DO happen. They inconvenience hundreds of thousands of legitimate users, while pirates never have to deal with this crap.
"It's the most base of operating system functions."
People, a mac is a PERSONAL COMPUTER. That means we're all pc's no matter what, unless you use a mobile platform.
I'm a mactard, but i have to say, i bloody love Windows 7 RC, even on VMWare on Leopard,
Also the Zune HD looks brilliant.
I'm thinking this year is Xbox 360/Natal, Windows 7, Zune HD Vs Snow Leopard, New iPods and the iPad (which wont happen for a year or 2 methinks)
yeah, i use mac, doesn't mean i want other OS's to suck. i want windows to be good when i eventually have to use it, maybe even on my mac.
Good point!!!Completely agree!!!All other people's opinions suck!:)
To be 100% honest, I just installed Windows 7 Pro on my Laptop (Presario V2000, 1.8 GHz, 1 GB RAM) and it runs faster on a clean install than Windows XP SP 2 does on a clean install... It has my vote.
PC > Mac
Don't.
No, PC = MAC
Just install win 7 on a mac and you will be ok. ha!
Closer to 2.5 years, but overall a good article, nice to see something more fair and less snarky.
Ubuntu Dell > PC
If (Windows 7 PC = FAIL!) and (OS-X PC = FAIL!) then
(Fedora + PC = PASS!) or (Suse + PC = PASS!) or (Ubuntu + PC = PASS!)
endif.
@NeoJew
How are Macs slower? They use less power and run circles around any PC I've ever seen. Also, I've never seen a Mac blue screen of death (which I saw an article showing Windows 7 doing it within a week ago). Mac viruses are damn near unheard of. Also, upgrading prices from Leopard to Snow Leopard aren't astronomical, like the upgrade from Vista to 7 will be. If you say it's more than an upgrade you obviously don't have Vista, because I've seen both, it's an upgrade.
So IMO Mac > PC
@ gbirdfivezero
I didn't see a single semicolon in that whole snippet;
i love how people use Mac=NO VIRUS!!!!OMFG!!!! as a real Mac is better than PC excuse. Last times i checked, macs are still in the sub-10% market share region. No one makes viruses for macs, because not enough people uses it, especially corporates (aka, people with money and information). If Mac has a 90% market share, it would be windows=NO VIRUS!!!!OMFG!!!!
@Heimbache
You can't have seen many PCs then...
Stop calling macs slow, or PC's slow. They run on the same damn hardware. Yes, you pay more for a mac because they have metal casing and "the osx tax", but when you tear it apart it's still the same damn cpu, video card, and ram you're going to find in a pc. The only real difference is the OS, and which one is better depends on your preferences and what you use your computer for.
@Heimbachae
You're right on a Mac you don't get blue screens. What you DO get is the forever spinning pinwheel and a program crash notification if you are lucky. Anyone who claims that OSX software doesn't crash mush only be web surfing and using email. Because any honest OSX user will admit that they've had apps crash and sometimes the OS goes down too. It's no different then a windows machine.
Macs are faster than PCs
Oh dear ! which Mac and which PC ? you are aware they have several different configerations ?
And yes under the glass and aluminium and nasty white plastic Macs use exactly the same CPUs and chipsets as PCs so effectively they are PCs. Unless you think a Ford and GM are not both cars because they look slighty different.
@ icepop4who
If what you say is true, then please explain how in the 90s Macs (OS8, OS9) had less than 6% share, yet had problems with viruses. Macs (OS X) now have nearly 10% share and zero viruses.
If you think the market share of Windows now is due to merit then you're sorely ignorant son.
Yes, Macs do not have the blue screen of death; however, this is because whenever they crash (yes, I have had a Mac Pro crash on me at least 3 times in the past 6 months) they do not give you an error message with a number that you can Google. I assume that this is because Apple does not want a single error screen that people could decry in these kinds of discussions. Personally I appreciate the blue screen of death for helping you know (at least a little bit) what is wrong with your computer.
gentoo>all
@ CarmelZappa: - it's "AppleTax" - because it sounds like "Apple Macs" - I coined the phrase on Engadget ages ago. I am an hero.
I will now go and an hero myself.
You should have prepared yourself for getting a lot of emails.
You are crazy, pure lunatic. And troll. End of story
Seriously?
Faster Hardware > Slower Hardware
Macs are essentially identical to PCs in the hardware they use, sans a few small exceptions such as EFI.
A Mac with faster hardware will outperform a PC with slower hardware, and a PC with faster hardware will outperform a Mac with slower hardware.
@Fox Kenji
Is there any evidence of this? I am not saying I do not believe you, however I think you may be confusing virus and lack of stability (although os 8 and 9 were not terrible, they were not that great either). If you have anything that can prove what you said, it would be much appreciated.
@Ethanthekiwi
They do of sorts actually, but to a much more serious level. It is not all that uncommon to see a kernel panic screen which looks like this (I promise it is a real image)
http://www.ourhangout.net/archives/Kernel_Panic-1p0f.png
I am not saying one is better than the other (since everyone pointed out that Macs and PCs have the same internals) and each operating system has their own benefits.
Snow Leopard houses Boot Camp 3.0, saying hello to Windows 7.
Happily installed for 2 days.
@ Fox Kenji
Please explain the results of the pwn2own competition for the past few years?
for anyone with vista it's been 3 LONG years waiting for this upgrade
Nah. Vista's been fine since SP1.
A bit shit before then though.
I've had no problems. Not a single crash.
I've been completely happy with Vista ever since the first beta came out. I've been using Windows 7 since the first beta as well, and I largely consider it to be the most minor upgrade that Windows has ever received.
That's not to say that I dislike Windows 7, I think it's excellent, but I think the vast majority of that excellence is inherited directly from Vista.
Vista is fine. It was mostly FUD.
Very stable here. I had one BSOD while beta testing SP2 but otherwise it's rock solid
@chefgon_ign
"I largely consider it to be the most minor upgrade that Windows has ever received."
That's Win98SE in my book, though you could consider Windows7 to be VistaSE. Server side software does it all the time, Windows 2003/2008 Server and Windows 2003/2008 Server R2. Windows 7 is great for the slightly lighter hardware footprint required to make it run good, but nothing really ground breaking changed over Vista. Aero peak is nice and they updated the UI on notepad, calc, and a few other apps. Resource Monitor can now be filtered down to select processes, evolution not revolution.
Bullshit, vista is great:)
Sounds good. I shall await my copy's arrival on 22 October.
Also not sure what's the big deal about the gestures on touchpads since we all know Synaptics provide the drivers for the OEMs. I suspect that W7 doesn't include them explicitly because it's not a suitable input method for other control media.
Plus the stuff about the apps... come on, we've known about that for months. Oh yeah, and as Vista was awesomely secure is there any reason to doubt W7 won't be.
Hey Engadget, your praise may be grudging but it's still praise - your niggles are minor and this is a winner.
Nuff said.
Yeah the stuff about apps is really really not Microsofts fault. The reason why the Live apps exist in the first place is because of the Anti-Trust lawsuits. You only need to go back a couple of weeks for stories about them having to remove an Internet browser from their OS (an absurd idea, who doesn't expect a modern OS to include a web browser??), and they've had to separate out Media Player too, as well as introduce all those "Default Programs and Settings" options.
Why would they include something thats likely going to provoke another lawsuit, when its just really pretty simple to bundle everything into a Live apps installer (which they have) and include Start Menu icons linking to this bundle for every app thats available (which they do)? And frankly, Windows Mail goes the way of Internet Explorer for me, so not having to actually install it in the first place would be nice.
To be fair it's not a bad review and anyone whose used Windows for a length of time knows why touchpad drivers are provided by third parties and why MS can't risk including bundled apps.
Paul's criticisms are extremely minor and do not detract from the main message - this is an excellent OS.
@Jakem struggle to hang on to 3% marketshare? You still living the 1998? IF you would look around Apple is the only computer company not shrinking but growing in this economy, and the reason there are a ton of OS X comparisons is because 65%+ of the readership at engadget are Apple folks, look at any engadget poll with apple to find that out. Now the vocal minority windows users you see on this board every day would make it seem like its not true, but they are the same reason why you dont see alot of Apple posters in the comments anymore.
Tsing Tao, 75% of the statistics you pull out of your ass are bull
alexicov, would that not indicate that he himself is 75% bull?
@jakem I agree with your assessment completely! I too am far less worried about how Win7 stacks up against OSX than I am about how it stacks up against previous versions of Windows.
You know what I want to hear more about? A comparison between Windows 7 and XP! Like many, I avoided the steaming pile that was Vista like the plague and stuck with XP. So, now is it worth upgrading to 7, or should I just stick with Old Faithful? This review compares 7 to Vista a lot but let's face it...saying it's better than Vista ain't saying much!
@P_Mac:
I think Windows 7 is leaps and bounds ahead of XP. If you miss Old Faithful, there will be XP Mode to emulate the old OS, but aside from compatibility issues (which Windows 7 seems to be good at handling), I don't see much reason to use it.
With my experience with 7's RC, I must say Aero Peek, Shake, and Snap have become part of how I use my computer. I don't think I can go back to XP anymore. I'd miss the new taskbar and Aero functions too much. Also it just runs so smoothly that I forget Aero caused so many problems for Vista in the past.
First to fail : )
You were second so...
That's one hell of an xbox controller
From their CES coverage last year I think.
haha it's a giraffe!
It's a dragon.
It's a dragon.
It's a manbearpig.
I'm excited. My new laptop comes with a free upgrade to 7, and I have a pre order for my desktop.
*giggles*
I'm glad this article has none of those "at the end of the day, it's still Windows" like a certain editor-in-chief's comments about a previous build ;)
'While streaming Windows Media Center to our Xbox 360 we had trouble maintaining an internet connection"
IP conflict possibly? I had a similar streaming issue once at that is what it turned out to be
Doubtful, Win7 will tell you instantly with a popup bubble from the networking icon when there is a duplicate IP issue.
I had the same problem when upgrading to Win7. Any time there was significant network throughput it would kill the network adapter. So when I tried playing my iTunes library (iTunes on windows is crap BTW) from my server it would crash. Streaming Youtube videos would crash it. Fixing it using the troubleshoot option was only a temporary measure and rebooting did nothing. I finally found out it was an nForce driver issue. Fixing it was as easy as uninstalling the network adapters via the device manager and then restarting windows. Win7 grabbed the correct drivers and autoinstalled them. No issues since. I only did an upgrade because I'm planning on upgrading my hardware soon and doing a clean install. I imagine this problem would only manifest on an upgrade install. End of the day, win7 is excellent and I love the new taskbar.
Well I've been using the beta (note: bugs to be expected) for a few months now and I'll let you know if I ever have a crash.
Sort out the reply system please engadget.
Tah.
You just need to learn how to use it :) Oh yea, and be smart too ^^
1. Dont forget your password
2. Dont make stupid paul chapel fake names
3. If you leave a reply, and then want to specifically reply to another person's comment, you must click the reply link twice under their name
4. Avoid fan boys
5. Think before you write
6. Don't be a double post idiot, your comment will appear
7. Drive Safe!
8: Don't try to respond to anyone with quotation marks in their name since it won't work.
Great review! The only thing I would say is calling the multitouch experience "hardly sufficient" and linking to a review of beta drivers doesn't really have a place in what is supposed to be a review of the final product.
Either review the final product and call it hardly sufficient or not at all.
I really can't wait, I haven't touched my laptop that has vista on it lately :D
What exactly were Vistas inadequacies?
It ran like crap until SP1 was released, and until then, many people already had their first impression of Vista. Remember, first impression is the last impression for many people.
I never found any. But then again, I built my computer for it.
People who complain are usually upgraders.
Hell, I was an upgrader and I thought Vista was a HUGE improvement over XP. It pretty much just rocked.
I gave Vista about a week on my new laptop before I upgraded to Win 7 RC. For me, the difference in performance was night and day. I don't know if it was because Vista was still shuffling all my files or what, but it was really slow.
Windows 7 is like butter, strictly butter baby.
Nothing but a copy of Apple just like every other product of their's.
Oh yeah? Which version of OS X did they copy the full 64 bit OS from then?
...
I CAN'T HEAR YOU!