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Top 10 Windows 7 features: what's useful, borderline or annoying
It's an important launch day for Microsoft, and you'll probably be hearing a lot about the most important new features in its Windows 7 operating system debuting today. Just how useful is each of these ballyhooed characteristics of Windows 7?
We've been using the OS since its beta days last January, and we've come away with strong impressions — both negative and positive — about Windows 7. Here's our take on ten of what Microsoft says are among the top additions to the Windows feature set, along with a bonus: a key 11th attribute of Windows 7 we think Microsoft left out of its rah-rah feature list.
1. Homegroup: Annoying
This easy file-sharing capability is brilliant, but it only matters if everybody on your network has Windows 7. How presumptuous, Microsoft!
2. Jump Lists: Useful
Right-click evolves into something even more useful, taking you all over your PC, with history files, favorites and a lot more. Bravo.
3. Snap: Annoying
More often than not, you move a window and it snaps fullscreen, just when you don't want it to. Can we disable this, please?
4. Windows Live Essentials: Annoying
No, Microsoft, you're not Google, and we don't want your Windows Live Messenger, Movie Maker (bring back that crummy desktop app, good for cuts-only junk), Mail app, or any of that other me-too stuff you took out of Windows for fear of an antitrust suit.
5. Windows Search: Useful
Whoa, this is fast — almost as good as Spotlight search on the Mac. And the results can be previewed in a viewer without launching any app. Fantastic.
6. Windows Taskbar: Useful
The best feature of Windows 7, by far. Aero Peek gives you a look at what's running in a glassy, gorgeous preview. And there's a handy date at the bottom right corner — surprisingly useful.
7. Full 64-bit support: Useful
Not sure how "full" full is when most apps are still 32-bit, but we're loving what 12GB of RAM does to 64-bit Photoshop.
8. More personal: Borderline
We already know how to make our PCs personal, and we don't need Microsoft's creepy wallpaper to show us the way.
9. Performance Improvements: Useful
This is the best-sounding improvement of them all, but in practice, if you have a fast PC, it's hardly noticeable compared to Vista or XP. But not everybody has a fast PC.
10. Play To: Borderline
Another feature that only works if you have a houseful of Windows 7-running PCs. Maybe someday we'll enjoy using Windows 7 to play media from somebody else's PC, but today, it's demoware.
11. BONUS! Easy Turning off of UAC: Useful
It's odd that Microsoft didn't mention on its list another one of the best aspects of Windows 7, the ease with which you can turn off the reviled User Access Control (UAC), that super annoying nag that wouldn't leave you alone every time you tried to change something on your PC. Making it easy to shut off is definitely useful.
Final Verdict: Useful
Of all Microsoft's main talking points about Windows 7 on that PR page, we're finding more of them fit in our Useful category than Borderline or Annoying. After working with Windows 7 daily since its early beta stage, we have to say that it's a significant improvement over its predecessor. Its new graphics and features must make Microsoft think it's justified to call Windows 7 a whole new version, understandably distancing itself from Vista. That might be a stretch, but we think, for a major service pack, it's excellent. Too bad it costs hundreds of dollars to do for Vista what should have been done in the first place. Even so, we still call it Useful.
By madmoondog at 8:26 AM ON 10/22/09
I thinnk one of the best new features is the native support for multi point touchscreens. been using it on my HP touchsmart since the RTM a few months ago.... its awesome.
By GodSmack at 8:51 AM ON 10/22/09
If you couldn’t figure out how to turn of UAC in vista, you should probably stand in a corner and repeatedly punch your self in the face.
By gtthndr at 8:54 AM ON 10/22/09
SNAP is great. This is a very useful tool. I've been using W7 for 3 or 4 months and not once have I "accidentally" had it snap full screen.
By GreenwoodKevin at 9:46 AM ON 10/22/09
I have a crappy, old IBM Thinkpad T42 at work, relegated to testing only (Pent M 1.7, 1Gb RAM, 40Gb hard drive). Just for giggles, I installed Windows 7 Ultimate on it just to see if it would live up to the hype.
The verdict? Um... heck yeah! It's even faster than when I had XP SP3 installed on it. Particularly, boot up and shut down. Even the battery lasts longer.
If this is Microsoft's idea of a Vista mulligan... I accept it. It's a very stable, fast operating system... even on an older laptop. I can't believe I'm saying this... but... THIS TIME... I think Microsoft finally got one right.
Oh... and the XP emulation mode is a very welcome addition.
By MitchRapp at 10:41 AM ON 10/22/09
yep XP-Mode is great, but I wish I could get cisco VPN to work....
By ondego at 1:59 PM ON 10/22/09
So, will the MacBook Pro's multitouch pad work in Win7 VM? I'm sure the VM software would need to support this too.
Also, I've found very little on Domain Join. My understanding of this feature is that I can pop in & out of a domain by simply credentialing myself as needed. This would be great for us users who own our own PC & don't wish to set it up so it's always in the domain.
MitchRapp,
Isn't there a Cisco VPN client you need? Maybe an updated version that supports Win7 & make sure you using the correct 32bit or 64bit as well
By jeff at 2:28 PM ON 10/22/09
ondego-
i have been using W7 on my macbook for several months now, and the trackpad has been working fine. you just need to find the right bootcamp drivers and install them.
By ondego at 2:43 PM ON 10/22/09
Jeff,
Won't use in bootcamp mode, only VM (Parallels currently) & I think you misunderstood me :)
W7 has native support for multi-touch surfaces, which is what the mousepad in on MacBook Pro. I'd like to be able use it this way like on the Mac side.. Ie., shrinking/expanding & rotating photos/videos, cursive handwriting OCR (I'm dreaming), etc. Some of this is currently doable in Vista w/ Parallels but I'm think I could do so much more .. like using it to draw in Gimp or Photoshop. Yes, I have a Wacom but that's beside the point.
By ASLAN186 at 3:49 PM ON 10/22/09
SNAP is the greatest thing since sliced bread.
I am constantly moving windows to make them half screen sized or dragging them down to minimize
By BaneSidhe at 3:56 PM ON 10/22/09
@MitchRapp
I've got the VPN client running fine, you have to turn off version checking for the installer AND run it in XP sp3 mode.
By Mitchrapp at 5:46 PM ON 10/22/09
Ondego, I'm assuming you didn't read my entire sentence
I'm trying Cisco VPN Client in XP-mode... as in, Windows XP SP3 32bit... not the actual Windows 7 OS
anyways nvm.
By Jake at 4:25 AM ON 10/23/09
When I left Windows about a year and a half ago I thought it would be annoying not having a Taskbar, but after using expose and spaces in OSX, I don't need a Taskbar at all and I wouldn't want another one, even if it's improved. So I am skeptical of the idea that the Taskbar could be the best feature of Windows 7, unless that really is the best the OS can offer for the UI.
By VPN Haus at 9:27 AM ON 10/23/09
Re: Cisco VPN
A lot people are frustrated with Cisco's lack of 64-bit support. NCP engineering has a VPN client that is compatible with Window 7 64-bit. Here is some information about it: http://vpnhaus.wordpress.com/windows_7_beta/
hope this helps.
By d at 4:50 PM ON 10/23/09
@ jake. why wouldn't you want a taskbar? if it's "in the way" you can just minimize it. Win 7 gives you an icon only option. it also gives large previews which are interactive. there's hardly any difference btwn a Win 7 taskbar and a dock aside from the start menu, which you can easily choose not to use
By CM at 10:15 AM ON 10/24/09
"Play To" works with more than just other Win7 PCs. Check out a video of one Windows 7 PC simultaneously streaming content to over a dozen separate media devices that aren't PCs.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z998RRVT_RY
(thanks to your cohorts at eHomeUpgrade for the link)
By immamac_boo! at 3:34 PM ON 10/24/09
widows seven looks aldight besides the fact that its goood looking updates come from "copy cating" those of macs os's especialy snow leapord!!!
By mememe at 3:16 PM ON 10/25/09
I agree. Snap is very annoying.
By BearMan at 5:24 PM ON 10/26/09
@GodSmack: learn to spell "off" you smug b@stard
By KJ at 6:30 PM ON 10/26/09
windows 7 is amazing ive been using it since june it got rid of the annoying things in XP and Vista even more so in Vista (**** system hog) and some little things that werent so good in XP as well. Windows 7 will be the new age of awesomeness :D
By Jake at 12:24 AM ON 10/27/09
@d - Many people make the mistake of comparing the Windows Taskbar to the OSX Dock, and in a direct comparison, the Taskbar is probably better, but my point was that with expose and other OSX features, neither the Dock or Taskbar are needed for much, whereas, without expose, the Taskbar is needed to switch windows. Some people like alt-tab, but expose is much faster.
By jeff2 at 12:30 PM ON 11/08/09
Snap is OK when maximizing but when it comes to managing the windows and i find half the time all the windows suddenly minimize on me when i drag them around is really really annoying. someone please tell me how to turn that part off.
By austin at 3:12 AM ON 11/28/09
on your cellphone!
Text DVICE to 72434
editor@dvice.com
austin:
for some more great windows 7 features watch: http://tinyurl.com/ykzl35o ...More »