Windows 7 Review: Everything You Need To Know About Microsoft's Vista Upgrade (PHOTOS, ROUNDUP)

Windows 7 is out! But should we really be excited? Will the new Microsoft upgrade really be a step-up from the nightmare that was Vista?

We've got a complete review roundup below, with everything you need to know to decide for yourself whether to go Windows 7 or not.

Windows 7's biggest improvement, critics agree, is that it stays out of your face: there are new options for organizing your desktop, files, and windows; fewer non-essential applications, and fewer annoying alerts that get in your way.

Gizmodo writes,

Windows 7 is the biggest step forward in usability since Windows 95. In fact, over half of what makes it better than Vista boils down to user interface improvements and enhancements, not so much actual new features.

Part of what makes Windows 7 so much more user friendly is the makeover that the Taskbar and System Tray have gotten. Users also have far more options to help them multitask and organize their windows, including Aero Peek, Aero Shake, and Aero Snap.

See a screengrab of the new Taskbar, and what PC World has to say about it:

The new Taskbar replaces the old small icons and text labels for running apps with larger, unlabeled icons. If you can keep the icons straight, the new design painlessly reduces Taskbar clutter. If you don't like it, you can shrink the icons and/or bring the labels back.

EnGadget raves about the Aero Peek feature:

Everybody who's used a modern operating system for more than five minutes has been met with the hassle of juggling too many windows, and Aero Peek seeks to alleviate some of that. Available with any machine capable of "fancy mode" translucent window graphics, Aero Peek lets you hover over a "show desktop" field in the right of the task bar and show the outlines of every window currently open -- which usually amounts to chaos.

See a screengrab of the Aero Peek:

Story continues below

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According to the Guardian, the new Windows 7 is faster than its predecessor, and performs well even on machines with less memory:

Where Vista really needed 2GB of memory, Windows 7 will run quite happily in 1GB on a slow dual-core Intel processor, though I'd still recommend 2GB or, for preference, 4GB with the speedy 64-bit version of Windows 7.

The reduced footprint and some optimisation means Windows 7 sleeps and wakes up faster (though it's still not in the same class as Mac OS X).

PC World notes that in addition to streamlining the interface, Microsoft has also removed some non-essential applications (which users have the option of downloading for free online):

Here's a startling indication of how different an upgrade Windows 7 is: Rather than larding it up with new applications, Microsoft eliminated three nonessential programs: Windows Mail (née Outlook Express), Windows Movie Maker (which premiered in Windows Me), and Windows Photo Gallery.

However, most Vista users threw a fit over the Microsoft Office "ribbon", which replaced shortcuts and shook up the menu. If you hated it, be forewarned that it's still there, writes Maximum PC:

The controversial Ribbon, which replaced traditional menus and shortcut bars in Office 2007, is prominently featured in Windows 7. In the applets that ship with the OS, you'll see the Ribbon featured prominently.

That all sounds pretty good, right? Check out the live Twitter feed below for real-time updates and reactions to the new Windows 7.

Decided that you want to give Windows 7 a try? CNET tells you how you can install the upgrade:

Microsoft is offering several paths to install Windows 7. People can buy a new computer with the operating system already installed, upgrade from Windows XP or Vista, or do a clean install on a computer the user already owns. The clean installation took us about 30 minutes, but that will vary depending on your computer.

The upgrade procedure is different depending on whether you're running Windows XP or Windows Vista. Vista users merely need to back up their data before choosing the Upgrade option from the install disc. Both XP Home and XP Pro users will have to back up their data, then choose Custom from the install disc. Custom will have the same effect as a clean install, although it'll save your old data in a folder called Windows.old. Once you choose Custom, you'll need to select the partition of your hard drive that contains Windows XP, and then follow the instructions to enter your product key and allow the computer to reboot as needed

Check out the Microsoft store online, where you can buy the new Windows 7.

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Comments

[mathme]

I've been fooling around with Win7... I definitely like it more than Vista, but I don't know why I'd use it instead of XP-- XP is stable, it's compatible with all of my hardware, etc. The only thing it "offers" are newer implementations of DX, which is an artificial restriction.

It is very zippy, it boots quickly, it's responsive, but XP is good at those, too, all while using fewer resources. MS isn't offering anything but a pretty package that looks like it belongs on a smartphone. It looks like a toy... MS is trying to not position themselves as "professional" and is trying harder to be apple for *no reason*. Just give me something sleek and fast and... well... more like linux :)

[wagadog]

Hmm. $400 bucks for W7 that is reportedly "Not a complete disaster" vs. $0.00 for Linux tested for decades in racks of server rooms around the world. Wow that is so hard.

[Hammerlock]

The flipside is that your average user can probably adapt to and use W7 rather quickly. Linux requires a bit more technical know-how and comfort level to use as effectively.

Plus, comparing a server distro and installation of Linux to something you'd find on the desktop (where W7 would live) is not quite intellectually honest. The heart of the code is the same, but the experience and attack profile would be vastly different.

[mathme]

I like linux in principle and as a server platform-- but for kicks a couple years ago, I thought i'd set it up as an alternate desktop OS. I'm sure that ATI has produced better drivers since then, but it took *forever* to install ATI drivers because they required me to recompile the kernel, update several dependencies, etc. It was a tedious and awful experience that I don't wish to duplicate any time soon. Again, I know that the platform has advanced and more and more companies are producing better drivers and software all of the time. I might give it a shot on a secondary system sometime in the near future... but it's not as viable as a desktop solution as Windows or MacOS.

[Justice Wainwright]

Reading some of the comments below and it felt like watching an actor accept an academy award and droll on too long, to the point the music starts playing and the audience is left with that awkward feeling.

Its software, its nothing special. Both systems have their ups and downs and both systems have their problems. Its a machine... calm down.

You can come back with all the lame and snarky quips you want, you are still arguing over 0's and 1's and it's lame. Like.. really lame.

Put your iPhones and your Zunes down and go play outside.

[mathme]

They can go outside, too. That's the cool part of portable devices ;)

[jsgaetano]

Windows 7- "About As Exciting And Interesting As... A Computer Operating System"

It never ceases to amaze me how much passion people put into the dumbest things. "Oh NOES Teh Microsoft Iz forcing ppl to use teh Windoze!!!" Who cares? It's a freakin operating system. THEY ALL LOOK THE DAMN SAME!!!

Windows, Linux, OSX. They all have little start menus (oh, but in different places!!!), they all launch applications in windows, they all have task switching. Big... F'ing... Deal...

It's an operating system, not a lifestyle choice. So all you Apple and Lunix trolls, go back under the bridge, mkay? All the Windows fanboys, don't be so defensive- when you have 96% of the market, you don't have to be defensive.

[Hammerlock]

Been using W7 for about 6 months now. Rock solid--even in beta--and very easy to use.

Very good OS; and a must for IT management.

[wagadog]

Been using Linux for over 6 years now. Rock solid--some of my servers have years of uptime--and very easy to use. And extremely easy to secure.

Very good OS.

W7 "a must for IT"? In whose server room? Not mine, buddy.

[Hammerlock]

Allow me to clarify: it is a must if you are a microsoft shop. Which is not uncommon.

I like linux, I think it has a lot of strengths and does a lot well. Its very strong in the professional markets because of this. But to deny that MS has a large slice of the market (and thus requires the comcomitant tools) is being a bit obtuse.

If you aren't using Windows Server products, then of course W7 diminishes in utility accordingly. Its still a stand-up OS in its own right, however.

[Loculi]

All you Mac fanboys hyperventilating because Windows 7 was just released, please calm yourselves. Besides, us PC users can barely hear you over all the kickass PC games we're playing while you sneer and preen. You're really just wasting your breath.

[Skeansmith]

No kidding. So we are all (PC users) too slow to figure out we are being duped by the almighty MS. Now go edit some sort of multimedia thing or another, which we all know is what Apple is so good at, and leave us dolts to our fun.

[Wide Stance]

Apparently, this MS fanboy hasn't heard of Parallels or Fusion.

[monsterofNone]

Windows 7: Not a Complete Disaster.

great ad campaign.

[Wide Stance]

This new "I'm a Mac-I'm a PC" ad sums it up perfectly. "It's not going to have any of the problems windows Vista had. Trust me."

http://movies.apple.com/media/us/mac/getamac/2009/apple-mvp-broken_promises-us-20091023_480x272.mov

If you're stupid enough to play the victim *one more time* while shelling out over $200, you deserve what you get. In one year, get out your favorite backup plan, do a clean install, and then reinstall all your drivers and programs and data. THAT problem hasn't gone away. Trust me.

[jscherb09]

Go to google and search "snow leopard guest account" and find out what OS has the real problems

[mathme]

You know what I did? I didn't use vista.

I didn't have a single problem with any of the NT kernels that I've used (4, 2k, XP). I've been playing with 7 (because it only cost me 17 bucks for ultimate). If there weren't some silly restrictions in place, i'd happily be using 4 or Win 2K because they work. XP also works but with just a little more overhead. I tried Vista, it took 600mb of my ram to just sit there, I ditched it.

You can actually *not* upgrade... you won't be judged like mac users who don't upgrade.

[deepfreezevideo]

Getting the impression that Mac users are a lot like Fox News junkies.

[monsterofNone]

right. and windows users have drunk no koolaid whatsoever.

[Wide Stance]

Simple arithmetic--a bell curve--will tell you that 90% of the market isn't likely to represent the "smarter" sector of the workforce.

[Skeansmith]

I do not think this has to a Apple vs Windows fight. A windows based PC, I believe, are more for the do it yourselfer tech geek who knows how to deal with any issues Windows may have and want top computing speed and MAC users just want the thing to work and be a solid performer. The only issue I take with Apple and a lot of Apple users is they think that they are smarter/cooler because they use an Apple. It is truly laughable. Get off your high horse. The ads only make the perception worse.

[deepfreezevideo]

When I read things like "Everybody who's used a modern operating system for more than five minutes has been met with the hassle of juggling too many windows", I wonder if the person writing should be be allowed to post articles about using computers.

What's so hard about juggling a large number of windows?

[MaxPowerXP]

anyone who doesn't stick with just the CLI is a r0dent

[tlawyer56]

Yeah BMW is a good car until you have to have it serviced.

[NealMaffei]

Looks a lot like Mac OS to me.

[Eris23]

And?

[MaxPowerXP]

Mac OS looks a lot like to me

[MaxPowerXP]

I guess these comments don't like fake markup.

Anyway, MacOS looks a lot like (insert virtually any Linux window manager) to me.

[wagadog]

In what, it's file system layout, its scheduler, its device interface?

Oh, by "OS" you mean "eye candy on the screen"?

Fail!

[RalphOWalker]

I recently installed Windows 7 beta on an old Sony laptop and it worked just fine. So I agree it should work fine with older technology. Which is an improvement over previous versions of Windows. A lot of the time you had to upgrade your hardware in order to get all the features of a new OS.
http://www.makemoneyfromtexting.info

[BryanTheRegOps]

Win 7 looks really impressive just by looking and reading about it. Cant wait to try it in person.

[monsterofNone]

shill.

[Warthog]

Sigh. The only nice thing I can say about yet another OS upgrade is the monstrous $6 price tag. That is, I gave up trying to find a non pirated legitimate version here in the far east and will cringe my way into another illegal quagmire.
(I found a 'legitimate version', neatly packaged in a box with all the proper documentation and the ridiculous MS price tag, only to discover it was still pirated.)