I’ll be honest- I really didn’t think Microsoft had put out an operating system worth buying since Windows XP, and that they’ve mainly been living off XBOX sales for the last few years. Windows Vista was- to put it mildly- a mess. Right off the bat from install, hardware didn’t work. Installing Vista drivers for some devices STILL didn’t make them work, and the user account control (UAC) was a pain from the get-go. Random, inexplicable networking problems also cropped up (e.g. browser stops working, everything else is OK) and the performance hit from the Aero interface effectively neutralized its cool features. Toss in a mess of bugs, not being able to find anything where it was in XP, slower startup, and really nothing NEW with the OS, and it made me glad I got my copy at no cost from Vine.
A short while ago, I decided it was time to format my ancient hard drive with XP on it, but I couldn’t find my Windows disc. Then on a whim I decided to take a look at Windows 7. I checked it out on another machine where it was pre-installed, then decided to bite the bullet and get myself a new hard drive and a copy. After all, everyone knows Microsoft is going to drop support for XP sooner or later, and as a gamer I have some interest in a DirectX 10+ capable OS.
Right off, I could tell things had improved. Installation was a lot faster and easier than with Vista; in fact, it has a suspiciously close resemblance to the Mac OS 10.5 setup- even down to asking most of the same questions in the same order. I suppose in hindsight this should probably not be too surprising. Some hardware was obviously in need of native drivers, but everything at least worked to some degree. After updating my video and sound drivers, everything DID work, and so far I haven’t had any device issues at all. Things were looking up already.
UAC is still there and is still a pain, but at least now it’s easy to turn off and when you do so, it really does turn off! Compatibility with older programs was also an issue in Vista, but Win 7 seems to have dealt with the problem quite effectively. I’ve tried running some pretty old apps in compatibility/admin mode, and they seem fine. I’m using the 64-bit version as well, which was a pretty risky proposition even back in XP, and it hasn’t had any issues I couldn’t easily get around. What’s more, I stuck in my old Win XP drive and can actually run programs and read files on it. Vista has major problems doing this, and I was dreading having to manually transfer data. No worries now.
The startup and shutdown time is massively improved, and many things (particularly, game crashes) that used to require a hard reset in XP can be dealt with using the task manager in Win 7. So far I haven’t had to push my reset button, which is frankly amazing to me- a longtime Windows user. It remains to be seen whether, like XP, it will gradually take longer and longer to boot for no apparent reason. However, even if it took 2-3 times as long as it does now, it’d still be faster than XP.
I’m not sure what they did to the kernel or the UI, but it uses a lot less RAM now and is generally a lot smoother. The organization is also improved; while it still bears more resemblance to Vista than XP, you can at least find stuff in logical places now. It also lacks a lot of the flashy, pretty, but annoyingly useless clutter that Vista seemed to be chock full of. There’s also a general search tool that actually, for a wonder, works- this is nothing new for Mac users, but for Windows it’s a whole different matter. There’s also some other things that, previously, Mac users were the only ones to have built-in OS capability for- such as a desktop magnifier, sticky notes, and dedicated folders for downloads and pictures. The old alt-tab and taskbar interface have been revamped as well, making it easier to browse and less cluttered. Internet Explorer has also been tweaked a bit- enough that I’m actually using it (this from someone who swore, about two years ago, that they’d never touch anything but Firefox again). When you open folders, there’s a sidebar now for navigation, similar to the Mac OS Finder. It makes it a lot easier to get around and move files without opening tons of windows.
As a general rule, a lot of things that maybe-sometimes worked now always work- such as the task manager and end task. When you switch programs, it actually does it. When you alt-F4 something, it actually closes it. This really saves you a lot of headaches. By now, you’re probably noticing that it sounds like Windows 7 is becoming a lot like the Mac OS in terms of features, reliability, and performance. That’s actually not far from the truth, and neither is it a bad thing. For some time after Vista’s release, I thought it might herald the emergence of the Macintosh as the new choice for people that just want to get things done. Now I’m no longer so sure- while Windows 7 still isn’t quite as polished as Mac OS 10.6, it really isn’t far from it.
Now the big question- is it worth upgrading? If you’re using Vista, the answer is definitely yes. You’ll just save yourself a whole lot of trouble, and it probably won’t even be difficult or expensive. If you’re still using XP and have no problems opting out of DirectX 10 or some of the other new built-in features (e.g. the latest media center and Internet Explorer) then it’s a bit more questionable. Unfortunately, upgrading from XP to Vista isn’t quite as easy (the best way, actually, is to just wipe the drive) and so it comes down to a question of convenience of use vs. the pain of reinstalling and reconfiguring all your stuff. Windows 7 does offer much greater stability and ease of use over XP. If you don’t mind spending a bit, you can also opt to do as I did and buy a new drive for Win 7, then just leave your XP drive as a secondary.
As with Vista, but to a lesser degree, there’s also multiple versions of Win 7. The 32-bit versions allow up to 4 GB of RAM; if you want to use more you need 64-bit. This is usually not an issue unless you’re an enthusiast or running a server. Some applications may also run faster on the 64-bit OS, but these are still quite rare. The upgrade versions are cheaper, but require you already own XP or Vista (and in the case of XP, as noted above, upgrading is not a trivial task). There’s also four versions- (Home) Premium, Professional, Ultimate, and Enterprise. Microsoft and most vendors (including Amazon) have posted fancy charts of all the different features. If you’re reading this I’m betting that you’re a home user, and as such you should get Premium- there’s no need for any of the other versions unless you really need the remote login or multiuser features.
To summarize, Windows 7 incorporates most of the nice features of Vista with very few of the bad ones. It has enough advantages- in terms of looks, stability, security, and performance- to make it a compelling upgrade for XP users. I would go so far as to say that Windows 7 is a lean, smart, affordable, and capable product- and this from a company that has become infamous in modern times for expensive bloatware. On a side note, it’s also convinced me to hang on to my old shares of Microsoft stock.
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Tags: Windows 7 Home Premium