What are your views on Windows 7?

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.

What are your views on Windows 7? Share your beta experience.


Review ByGeek God:

Code-named Windows Vienna and most popularly known as Windows 7 , this OS has definitely managed to get attention of everyone. At the first look , it may seem to be just the eye candy changed from Vista and a few settings tweaked , but look carefully and you will find the difference.


Well everyone of us knows that Windows Vista has been a partial disaster. Keeping this in mind , Microsoft has launched a Public beta of this version available for the public and a different version of the Beta for the Developers.

With expectations running high on this OS , keep an eye out for it to be released somewhere in the late 2009 to the starting 2010 release .
I laid my hand on the latest Public Beta Build 7000

Here is what Windows 7 has to offer you


Starting with step by step , the installation is a cakewalk , with the screen asking for Update or a Custom Installation . The Custom Installation will be a Fresh Installation type whereas the Update will update your OS.

The rest of the steps are self explanatory and are very much user-oriented and very easy. In short Microsoft has made this Beta with the Basic User in mind .

The Taskbar has been widened to give a classy look. The Gadgets are movable and the sidebar has been removed . On the bottom right , the button u see is a SHOW DESKTOP button which will minimize all the windows and show the Desktop.

One of the Important feature is the Action Center , which provides you with the important messages and all the recent messages about your Computer's status and recent problems. This is an innovative feature of combining all the errors in one center , thereby minimizing the error messages. A look at the error messages , will show you how Microsoft is hell bent upon to take User Experience to a newer level
You can access the Action Center by clicking on the Flag-Icon on the Taskbar

The Windows Taskbar as I said earlier is re imagined with the size being broader. Hovering over the thumbnails brings the live preview of the Window and if you have three windows open , the windows vary in size. Also a thing to notice is , a stack like menu has been added to the Taskbar , so that it becomes easy for you to access recent files.

The Start Menu also has the Jump lists but these are only for recommended programs or for programs which can support the feature and this includes MS PAINT , MS WORD , INTERNET EXPLORER 8 Beta 2.

One of another eye-catching feature is when you drag a window toward the top of the screen , it maximizes itself.

A Cool feature of Windows 7 is the newly added Microsoft Paint. With the Ribbon bar interface applied , it no longer is the dull painting application anymore. With a clear and lucid interface , this is a thing to wait and watch for.


Now that the Explorer is an important part of any OS , extreme care has been taken with the Windows 7 Explorer. A nice and clean table on the left ensures that any location in the Computer is reached easily. The Stack menu option on the taskbar is also enabled for the Explorer. When you click on the Explorer button on the taskbar , a stack-up menu opens up showing your recent files

Now Updates and Notifications have always been considered as an annoying feature of Windows Operating systems , but the problem has been solved . The Action Center displays all the Updates , the problems and the issues with your Computer , as we said earlier and also patches it.

Now Controlling those notifications is very easy and you can turn this on or off , by clicking on the "Wrench" and choosing which notification , you want to see. Believe me , it cannot get more noobish than this.


Gone is the Properties Option in the Context Menu , Welcome the Personalization feature of Windows 7. One click and the whole theme changes and can be made to suit your Desktop. Also on the Context Menu of the Desktop , you can notice the Resolution Tab which is used to set up the Resolution for the monitor

Having said all this , Here ends the part for the Visualization part of Windows 7 , but what exactly is new with Windows 7 except for the eye candy and few under the hood tweaks.As we said that there are very few differences from Windows Vista , but these are the differences which has made Windows 7 a hit almost everywhere , Lets take a look at Under the hood tweaks.

1) Enhanced support for Next Gen BluRay Discs and drives
2) Enhanced Bluetooth 2.1 Transfer support , which enables the faster ransfer of files on Bluetooth enabled Laptops and also through Bluetooth Dongle used through the PC.
3) Handwriting Support and recognition technology for Tablets
4) Less Hardware Requirements . Windows 7 can run on a PC with 512 Mb Ram with optimized settings.
5) No Need for creating new softwares for the OS , as Softwares made for Windows Vista and even for Windows Xp work on Windows 7 . Now Companies can heave a sigh of relief over not needing to buy a new software especially for Windows 7

Note : There is a small bug in Windows 7 that can cut out your 3 seconds of Mp3 file , hopefully it has been patched . If you have Installed Windows 7 , do update your Pc. By the time , you will be reading this , Microsoft has implemented 6 patches for Windows 7 , Do apply it and update your Windows 7