Engadget Taste Tests Windows 7 RC1

[Hooch Tan]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/30/windows-7-release-candidate-1-impressions-insights-and-expecta/#continued' target='_blank'>http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/30/...ecta/#continued</a><br /><br /></div><p><em>"As you may or may not know, Windows 7 Release Candidate 1 has been officially handed out to MSDN and TechNet subscribers today, and there are plans to unleash the heavily-hyped OS to the waiting public at large come May 5th. We had a chance to sit down with reps from Microsoft to discuss the new iteration of Windows (and the company's current frame of mind) more in-depth, and we've taken the new build for a bit of a spin around the block. Read on for an exploration into a few of the more delicious Windows 7 tidbits, as well as a full complement of our (potentially) enlightening observations."</em></p><p><img src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com/resizer/thumbs/size/600/dht/auto/1241176126.usr20447.jpg" style="border: 1px solid #d2d2bb;" /></p><p>Yes, that is one of the built-in wallpapers that Windows 7 RC1 comes with.&nbsp; Engadget touches on a few parts of the Release Candidate like Remote Media Streaming and the Windows XP Emulation that's been getting headlines lately, but not a huge amount has changed since the beta.&nbsp; The hype around Windows 7 has been pretty favourable and while I personally haven't had any issues with Vista, Windows 7 looks to be a welcome step up that might be more worthwhile than an XP to Vista upgrade.&nbsp; For those of you who still haven't tested Windows 7, word is that the Relase Candidate will be made available to the public within a few days and will not expire until June 1st, 2010!&nbsp; That's pretty much a free copy of Windows 7 for one whole year.&nbsp; It looks like Microsoft is really working and pushing hard to make Windows 7 their recovery after the Vista disappointment.</p>

[Jason Dunn]

While I don't have that many complaints about Vista any more, Windows 7 is shaping up to be what a lot of people wanted Vista to be. So I think it's going to be a good thing for Microsoft, and as long as the hardware OEMs don't screw it up, this should be a good era for Windows.

[Macguy59]

Windows 7 is shaping up to be what a lot of people wanted Vista to be.

I don't get this. Other than being more responsive on the same hardware and a step backwards with the taskbar, what has really changed ? It doesn't seem less intrusive than Vista and the new UI for WMP sucks. I'll stick with Vista.

[gdoerr56]

Microsoft's biggest problem will always be their hardware OEMs. Driver quality / stability issues are the biggest factor I see in overall system stability.

Bloatware, regardless if it's installed by the OEM or comes with utility software is another big issue that impacts overall satisfaction. I saw a user earlier this week, running XP, who complained that Windows used too much of hs screen. When I look at what he was talking about, he was running IE7 with just about every availble toolbar install. On a laptop with 1280x800 screen, the IE Frame, menu bar, tabs and tool bars took up just over 1/2 the screen.

Clearly this has nothing to do with the base OS.

I'm a Windows 7 fan myself, running the RC now on my XPS M1330 with an Intel X25 SSD. It is fast, stable (at least the previous versions were, I don't expect that will change) and easy to use. I prefer the new UI to all previous version. It certainly takes a bit of getting used to but I can't imagine going back to Vista or XP.

Oh, I keep the system pretty clean and make sure I don't install the bloatware that seems to come standard these days. I installed Winzip 12 yesterday and the DEFAULT install option was to install Google Toolbar. Sigh...

[Hooch Tan]

Bloatware, regardless if it's installed by the OEM or comes with utility software is another big issue that impacts overall satisfaction. I saw a user earlier this week, running XP, who complained that Windows used too much of hs screen. When I look at what he was talking about, he was running IE7 with just about every availble toolbar install. On a laptop with 1280x800 screen, the IE Frame, menu bar, tabs and tool bars took up just over 1/2 the screen.

If Microsoft ever comes up with a way to deal with the bloatware, it'll be a revolution in the software industry. Of course, Windows isn't the only OS where this can happen but it definitely is where it is most common. Like you, I've seen IE with dozens of toolbars installed though the person wasn't complaining about the problem.

I'm looking forward to Windows 7. Some of the changes do have me a bit nervous, but I'm willing to try them out. I didn't care much for ribbons at first, but they grew on me, and I can certainly appreciate their benefits. One thing I will remain an old dinosaur with though, is that I want expanding menus back! Yes, I know they create "mouse mazes" and that scrolling menus are easier to use, but I'm just too used to the expanding start menu and don't want to change, no matter how much benefit there is!

[AndyMulhearn]

While I don't have that many complaints about Vista any more, Windows 7 is shaping up to be what a lot of people wanted Vista to be. So I think it's going to be a good thing for Microsoft, and as long as the hardware OEMs don't screw it up, this should be a good era for Windows.

I think this is one of the most important points with windows - avoiding customised garbage being installed. Right from 95 upwards, just running a vanilla windows build without any of the "useful" junk vendors install (Sony, I'm looking at you) has always, IMHO, been the most stable and best Windows experience you could get. And using the vendors install disks, the least. The problem is now, it's getting increasingly hard to get a windows disk that you can use to reinstall a basic Windows build so end-users are stuck with all that garbage when all the really need is a bios locked install disk with nothing on it other than the Microsoft RTM build and any specific drivers. Or even just a basic LAN chipset windows knows backwards and let it download the remaining drivers.

I'm also fine with the vanilla Vista build I'm using at the moment and I never thought I'd say that. When it came out it was a complete lemon but SP1 fixed a lot of issues and I'm running Home Basic on a MSI Wind U100, upgraded to 2GB, and it's fine for my needs. Responsive enough and usable and above all stable. And setup was a piece of cake - all I did was install the LAN driver and windows update found the rest with the exception of the POS webcam which I could care less about.

OK there are flaws - it's not OSX, UAC is an unmitigated disaster which should be fixed in SP2 but probably won't and winsxs is a ridiculous fix for a problem that went away in XP - but for my purposes, it's better than adequate.

[Jason Dunn]

Microsoft's biggest problem will always be their hardware OEMs. Driver quality / stability issues are the biggest factor I see in overall system stability.

Indeed, the quality of drivers, and the stability of the OS in dealing with bad drivers, is a huge factor. Windows Vista is light years ahead of XP in that regard - it's far more stable when it runs into a bad driver.

Bloatware, regardless if it's installed by the OEM or comes with utility software is another big issue that impacts overall satisfaction. I saw a user earlier this week, running XP, who complained that Windows used too much of hs screen. When I look at what he was talking about, he was running IE7 with just about every availble toolbar install.

Indeed. But how can Microsoft combat a user that doesn't know any better? I've never seen an OEM system ship with more than one toolbar, so it's not like you can blame them either...:)

[Jason Dunn]

One thing I will remain an old dinosaur with though, is that I want expanding menus back! Yes, I know they create "mouse mazes" and that scrolling menus are easier to use, but I'm just too used to the expanding start menu and don't want to change, no matter how much benefit there is!

But what could be easier than just typing the name of the program you want? :)

[Hooch Tan]

But what could be easier than just typing the name of the program you want? :)

You know, it's funny. Some programs, I do that, some I don't. I guess I'm in that migration phase. That and I still use XP for several computers I work with so my mind looks for what works consistently between interfaces. (And I haven't added the necessary programs to the path for XP.) That does give me an idea for a launcher though. If only I knew programming.

[Tim Williamson]

I installed Windows 7 on my Mini 9, and am really happy with it.

One feature I'd hope MS would add is tags to Start Menu programs (maybe they already have this???).

Just the other day I wanted to burn a CD, it's been so long since I last burned a CD, that I couldn't remember which program was installed LOL. I had to play hide-and-seek to find the program. If programs could be tagged with their functionality, that would make thing 1000x easier.

So for example: Nero (CD, DVD, burn, burning, writing), Windows Media Player (CD, DVD, MP3, movies, music, media, player), Firefox (internet, browse, browsing, net, web, website). As you type a search term in the Start Menu, it also searches tags for programs, so I could have just typed "burn" to find the CD writing software I had installed, or "CD" would bring up Nero and WMP.

Just a thought...

[Jason Dunn]

Just the other day I wanted to burn a CD, it's been so long since I last burned a CD, that I couldn't remember which program was installed LOL. I had to play hide-and-seek to find the program. If programs could be tagged with their functionality, that would make thing 1000x easier.

That's a REALLY neat idea - and I definitely know what you mean with this being a problem. I can usually remember the name of the program I want, but not always, and making it be task-based rather than program-name-based would be a huge improvement. I'll file this away and bring it up as a feature for Windows 8 if I get the opportunity. :)

[David Tucker]

I just installed Windows 7 on my Mini 9 too...and like I expected its pretty much everything I could have hoped for ;)