Windows 7 Beta – First Impressions

As I like living on the cutting edge I promised myself that I would convert my main laptop to Windows 7 the moment the official Beta version is released. Although this moment is still a few weeks away for most people, I have managed to get my hands on a shiny copy of the official Beta (Build 7000).

So after a quick backup, full wipe of my Vista laptop and an approximately 20 minute wait for the Windows 7 installer to finish, the system booted without error.

Shiny

This is not a comprehensive review, but my impressions in bullet style and no particular order are as follows:

1. It is stable. Haven’t had a single crash, not even after installing all my apps and doing a day’s work on it.
2. It is fast. Again difficult to compare as my previous Vista install was nearly 3 years old, but it feels snappy.
3. The new window manager is fab. ‘Docking’ windows left and right works great. Quick tip: when using multiple monitors it works slightly differently, use the Windows key in combination with the left and right cursor key to dock windows.
4. You can minimise all applications except for the current window by ‘shaking’ it.
5. The new task bar is very functional, but it looks messy. I can’t put my finger on it, but the different visual styles for applications, running application, applications with multiple windows and applications with a progress indicator just doesn’t feel right.

   

6. I really don’t get the importance of Aero peek. So what if I can glance on my desktop, why would I want to do that?
7. It appears that my battery lasts quite a bit longer. I have no exact figure but I estimate it lasts about 15% longer.
8. Probably related to the previous point, but the fan of the laptop doesn’t come on nearly as often as under Vista.
9. Multi monitor support has improved somewhat, you can now specify the monitor that gets the start menu. Unfortunately a separate task bar (like Ultramon provides) is still lacking.
10. Before installing my main concern was IE8. I don’t know what the fuss is about, but it works just fine.
11. The current version of Live Mesh disables Aero, which is very annoying. A patch (to Live Mesh) is promised for the beginning of the new year.
12. The retarded Flip 3D is still present. Fortunately the excellent Expose clone that is Switcher works just fine.
13. Manually running the Performance Index Calculator left my screen resolution quite low and I couldn’t set it back. A reboot fixed it.

Windows Media Center, which I love, has had a significant update as well.

1. Fewer menus to navigate / ignore (good).
2. Overall look and feel has been improved.
3. Not sure if this is new, but it is now possible to connect to a ‘Recorded TV’ folder on a different system. Unfortunately playing a TV Show that was recorded on my main Vista Media Center system crashed Media Center on Windows 7.
4. All frikkin’ Codecs are finally included with Windows. Well, at least Divx is as my ripped DVDs play fine without the need for any 3rd party installers.
5. It is beyond me why they still provide different menus for ‘Movie Library’ and ‘Video Library’. Try explaining that difference to my mum.

All in all very good. I will continue to use it until they release the final version this summer.

Updates:

1. Tim Sneath has posted a lot of Windows 7 secrets. Very useful.
2. Problems reporting feedback on Windows 7? Use this link to add Windows 7 to your Microsoft Connect account.
3. Some Windows 7 specific drivers for Microsoft products such as their keyboard, mouse and webcam range of products.
4. Completely forgot that you have to install the Windows Mobile Device Center to sync and use your Windows Mobile phone as a modem.

Advertisement