Ratings windows 7

Luckily for Microsoft, Windows 7 is more than just spin. It's stable, smooth, and highly polished, introducing new graphical features, a new taskbar that can compete handily with the Mac OS X dock, and device management and security enhancements that make it both easier to use and safer. Importantly, it won't require the hardware upgrades that Vista demanded, partially because the hardware has caught up, and partially because Microsoft has gone to great lengths to make Windows 7 accessible to as many people as possible.

It's important to note that the public testing process for Windows 7 involved one limited-availability beta and one release candidate, and constituted what some have called the largest shareware trial period ever. As buggy and irritating as Vista was, Windows 7 isn't.

Instead, it's the successor to Windows XP that Microsoft wishes Vista had been, and finally places it on competitive footing with other major operating systems like OS X and Linux. The three versions that Redmond will be promoting most heavily are Home Premium, Professional, and Ultimate , although Starter will also be available to consumers. Windows 7 will support both bit and bit systems. A touch-screen monitor is required to take advantage of the native touch features.

Do note that some users have claimed to have limited success running the Windows 7 beta with less than 1GB of RAM, but that's not recommended. Installation 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.

Vista users merely need to back up their data before choosing the Upgrade option 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.

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. If you're not sure if your current computer can run Windows 7, you can download and run the Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor from Microsoft. Features: Taskbar and Aero Peek Although the look of Windows 7 may seem to be nothing more than some polish applied liberally to the Vista Aero theme, make no mistake: This is a full replacement operating system, and more than just "Vista done right.

The first thing that should stand out is the new taskbar. This is one of the best improvements Microsoft has made--third-party program dock makers are going to have to do some serious innovation when Windows 7 goes public. Besides incorporating the translucent style of Aero, the new taskbar is arguably even better than the Mac OS X dock. It features pinned programs using large, easy-to-see icons.

Mouse over one and all windows associated with that program appear in preview. Mouse over one of those preview panes to reveal an X to close the window. Hover over the preview to show a full-size preview of the program, or click on the window to bring it to the front.

Because of the button size, people with touch screens should find it especially easy to use. Jump lists are another new taskbar improvement that make recently opened documents easier to get to. Right-click or left-click and drag on any program icon pinned to the taskbar to see a list of files that you've recently used in that program.

In Internet Explorer, this will show recently visited Web sites, although it doesn't yet seem to work in Firefox. If you've noticed the missing Show Desktop icon, that's because it's been baked into the taskbar itself. And Microsoft says that when no full-fledged Device Stage is available for a particular item, Windows 7 will still try to give you a more generic and basic one. Swipe your finger up or down to scroll through document files and Web pages; sweep two fingers back and forth to zoom in and out.

The Taskbar button that reveals the Windows desktop is a bit bigger on touch PCs for easier use. The touch features worked as advertised.

But applications written with touch as the primary interface will determine whether touch becomes useful and ubiquitous. Until they arrive, Windows will continue to feel like an OS built chiefly for use with a keyboard and mouse—which it is. You might have expected Microsoft to reinvent familiar tools such as Paint and Media Player for touch input.

But the closest it comes to that is with the Windows 7 Touch Pack, a set of six touch-based programs, including a version of Virtual Earth that you can explore with your finger, and an app that lets you assemble photo collages.

And even then, touch input may not become commonplace on Windows 7 PCs. But if a killer touch app is out there waiting to be written, we may know soon enough.

Reading about a new operating system can tell you only so much about it: After all, Windows Vista had far more features than XP, yet fell far short of it in the eyes of many users.

To judge an OS accurately, you have to live with it. The call has been easy to make, because Win 7 is so pleasant to use. Concern over its performance is one logical reason, especially since early versions of Windows Vista managed to turn PCs that ran XP with ease into lethargic underperformers. Fear of incompatible hardware and software is another understandable reason to be wary of Windows 7. I have performed a half-dozen Windows 7 upgrades, and most of them went off without a hitch.

The best way to reduce your odds of running into a showstopping problem with Windows 7 is to bide your time. When the new operating system arrives on October 22, sit back and let the earliest adopters discover the worst snafus. Within a few weeks, Microsoft and other software and hardware companies will have fixed most of them, and your chances of a happy migration to Win 7 will be much higher.

Appearance, Screen Resolution menus have been long overdue, but elsewhere the changes are more subtle. We particularly like the Windows Explorer navigation pane, which like the OS as a whole looks cleaner and less cluttered. Only Gadgets, now liberated from the sidebar and free to roam the desktop, hit a really bum note.

Free to roam or otherwise their quality is still at best very patchy and there really needs to be a way to hide them ala OS X and its dashboard, especially with the newly added and far more useful Sticky Notes also demanding desktop real-estate. Best of all is the refined Wi-Fi connection dialog, where you can search, select and connect to networks all within the same menu: very neat. Overall the interface changes for Windows 7 are almost uniformly good.

This signifies one of the most important additions to Windows 7: the Action Center. This is the new hub for security and maintenance. It gives you a snapshot of how your PC is set up, any issues you might have and directs you to ways you can solve them. Cunningly the order they appear is random, so no one can accuse Microsoft of favouring any particular package, not least its own Microsoft Security Essentials suite. This is an invaluable addition since it makes identifying the cause of problems so much easier.

If system performance has recently slowed, you may be able to track this change to the installation of a specific piece of software or hardware, or even heaven forbid an update of some kind. Vitally, these steps are well signposted, making it easier for relative novices to solve their own problems. Another neat troubleshooting aid is the new Problems Steps Recorder. Put simply it records what you do on your PC, allowing you demonstrate a problem you might encounter and how it comes about.

You can also add comments as you go along and the final product is an HTML document with images, directions and comments all included. A passing mention must also go to the improved Resource Monitor, which also makes it easier to identify resource hogging applications.

Since networking and multimedia are so closely linked these days it makes sense to look at them together. Microsoft seems to have finally cracked easy home networking, too, in the shape of HomeGroups. Windows Media Player, now in its twelfth edition, sees quite a few new networking related features, too. Moreover, if you really need such functionality, a low power NAS box is a far more sensible option. Again everything is just a bit cleaner and less cluttered.

On a more general note, WMP12 — native format support aside — has become an outstanding media player. Quite why anyone would voluntarily use iTunes instead of it is beyond us. Easy to follow. No jargon. Pictures helped.

Didn't match my screen. Incorrect instructions. Too technical. Not enough information. Not enough pictures. Any additional feedback?

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