Before I left for my work saving and fixing computers, I started the massive download for Windows 7 RC 1. The download is nearly 2.5 GB! This weekend, I will install it on my laptop and give you a full report in the upcoming weeks. This news story indicates that we might see the commercial release of Windows as early… Read More »Windows 7 released by August?
I reached the end of my week with Windows 7. I hope you enjoyed reading the coverage and watching the videos. If you haven’t caught all of them scroll down to the end of this article to link up to them or go back to the home page and scroll further down the page to see them.
Overall, I think Windows 7 does a nice job, but feel that they should have waited on Vista and put this version out instead. In many ways, Vista was a wasted 2 years for Microsoft…except maybe it was a giant beta version of Windows 7 on our dime and time.
In today’s short and final video in this series, I discuss a few of the things that Microsoft has omitted from Windows 7 and how they hope that we replace it by using their Microsoft Live web applications. The biggest glaring absence is Read More »7 Days with Windows 7 – Day 7
Today, I demonstrate for you a brand new feature in Windows 7 called the Problem Steps Recorder. An interesting feature designed to help users record steps they take when walked through something by tech support so they can re-trace their steps. It can also be used to make a recording to help others. It’s a little rough and takes a web geek to edit (if needed), but an interesting feature new to Windows 7.
Next up, I show you the new Windows 7 Screen Magnifier. It is the first upgrade since Windows 95 for this tool, and finally adds the much needed and appreciated spotlight feature that will allow users to select an area that will follow the cursor and magnify anything around it.
Lastly, I talk briefly about theRead More »7 Days with Windows 7 – Day 6
On Day 1, I briefly pointed out some differences in the new Windows 7 taskbar. However, after using Windows 7 for a few days, the taskbar changes are significant enough that I wanted to focus on it for today’s video.
The major changes, that I think work quite well, include:
I promised a couple of days ago that I would explore and explain some new features in file management with Windows 7. I aim to keep my promises, so hear I go. The two biggest changes to file management in Windows 7 lie in the additions of Libraries and easier folder Favorites. To me, Microsoft made a mistake getting rid of the Common Tasks pain implemented in Windows XP which was great for beginners, but I won’t cry over spilled milk.
The Favorites option in Windows 7 allows you to drag a folder you need to access often, either local or on the network, to the Favorites folder, and it will be available to you quickly from everywhere. I like it. Simple, and easily managed.
The Libraries function may help some business users, but I know it will be too complicated for the average computer user. In theory, you can drag like folders together to form a Library. The Library would hold, for example, all your spreadsheet documents from multiple folders, side-by-side. With the powerful searching capability and Jump Lists (I explained in Day 1), I think this feature willRead More »7 Days with Windows 7 – Day 4
I went against my instincts today for your benefit and delved into Internet Explorer 8. IE 8 will be the default browser in Windows 7, although their are rumors that it will be possible to disable or even uninstall it. IE 8 is a step up from IE 7, albeit a very small step. It still loads pages slower than Google Chrome and Firefox. The features that allow you to customize IE 8 are sparse and implemented by very few vendors. And with IE over market share dropping weekly, IE becomes less and less relevant. Nevertheless, I put together a short video giving you a quick tour of IE 8.
Incidentally, IE 8 will be released for Vista starting tomorrow. It isn’t a mandatory upgrade, and overall, I stillRead More »7 Days with Windows 7 – Day 3
Windows 7 offers some great performance improvements over Vista and some usability improvements over XP, but hey it’s Microsoft there is a lot of fluff and huh? moments in it too. In today’s installment of my ongoing week long affair with Windows 7, I explore some of the usability improvements and some of the Read More »7 Days with Windows 7 – Day 2
I worked late today, but did start and am only using my laptop installed with the beta version of Windows 7. Windows 7 will be released later this year or early next year and take the place of Windows Vista. I wanted to test it a little more thoroughly, so I’m dedicating the next 7 days to use only Windows 7.
In today’s installment, I highlighted some of the changes in the new operating system on the desktop, the programs menu, and the taskbar. You will see a different taskbar and quick launch toolbar, an updated and improved Start menu, faster searching and Control Panel navigation. I point these out it in theRead More »7 Days with Windows 7 – Day 1
ZDNet Blogger Adrian Kingsley-Hughes tested one of the latest beta versions of Wndows 7 on two different machines. One machine had 4 GB of RAM and fast processor, the other machine had 1 GB of RAM and a 2-3 year old processor. On ALL tests, Windows 7 outperformed XP and Vista by almost a 2 to 1 margin and in… Read More »Windows 7 faster than XP and Vista