As you all probably know, Windows 7 got released last Friday. And I guess it's about time I gave my two cents about it...

I've had Windows 7 on my Laptop for the past 4/5 days now... and I have to say it's far better than Vista.  the Specs for 7 are more or less the same as Vista which, as far as my laptop goes, is BARE MIMIMUM. According to the upgrade advisor, I wouldn't be able to run Aero mode... but even that runs OK, so long as I'm not watching a video. (it crashes the graphics card)

To be honest, when I would decide that I need to upgrade to Vista on my laptop, I'd have it installed, Drivers and all, and I would probably be on it for about 5 minutes before the laptop overheats and turns itself off.  That hasn't been a problem with 7.  It's running nice and smooth and the laptop is reletivly warm (and not threatening me with 3rd degree burns when I type something) just like it was when running XP.  It would also take half an hour to just do a simple task at times, and that would just piss me off even more.  And, to top it off, things that WOULD work in XP, would NOT work in Vista... even if I turn compatability on.  7, however, will let me use stuff in XP that just wouldn't work in Vista WITH OR WITHOUT COMPATABILITY.  Oh, and UAC is still here... but even then, thet doesn't bother me as much anymore (having all my drivers pre-installed through Windows Update GREATLY helps) I've also noticed that 7 boots up faster and is overall less bloated for resources than Vista.

The Taskbar

I have mad love for the "SuperBar." (the Win 7 Taskbar)  Before, with previous versions of Windows, the taskbar would get cluttered (more likely from the system tray than anything else)

Windows 7 has all the not essential system tray stuff hidden (acessed by the "^") and easilly accessable.  the ever annoying Security Center of Vista has gone and has been replaced with a more reliable (and helpful) Action Center. (the Flag icon)


Now for the programs... this is probably the most awesome of the Superbar's functions. It basically works like the taskbar of old, however, your favourite programs (like Firefox, Messenger, Winamp etc.) can be PINNED to the bar and if they arn't running, clicking them opens them just like Quick Launch toolbar (which no longer exists BTW) if they are running, it works just like a regular taskbar button and to top it off, if multiple windows of the same program are opened...

Not only are they grouped, but you can select which one you want automatically (with thumbnails if you're using Aero.)

The Start Menu is like Vista's.  Your Milage May Vary on it, but is was one of my favourite features of Vista.  I could get to things from the start Menu with reletive ease just by typing it in (Paint, Notepad, Wordpad, etc.)

Native Windows Programs
...Speaking of Paint and Wordpad, they've been pimped out a little since Vista.  Wordpad now actually resembles a watered down Word 2007 and Paint now allows you to ass pre-rendered shapes into a picture, a-la old versions of Paint Shop Pro, which is pretty neat, IMO. Again, the interface resembels a watered down Office 2007 product. Notepad hasn't really changed... But since when do you need a basic text editor to have advanced functions...? (that, and notepad++ is a free, simple download anyway)

Another awesome thing is window management: You can drag a window to the left or right of the screen and it'll maximise to that half of the screen. Drag the window to the top and it maximised to the whole screen. This was something I didn't know actually existed until I saw one of the Ads explaining it. :\ It also has native support for touch screens. So, if you have one, you can use it without any added software, etc. (or so i'm told...)

One note is that there's no Movie Maker or Outlook Express.  Microsoft's taken them out, but are easilly installed as part of Windows Live Essentials (which also has Windows Live Messenger, so make sure that if you want those things, install them when you install WLM)

Windows Update gave me all the drivers I needed bar one.  The sound driver it gave me DID work, except with when I want to record some audio with my Microphone.  (Being a Let's Player and all this is kinda important... )  Fortuantly Realtek had a compatible driver, so it's all good.

Overall, I've quite enjoyed the Windows 7 Experience, as well as the new features. I just hope that it doesn't get messed up somehow... (I'm sure Micro$oft will somehow find a way, lol)