CT Chia
Smash Obsessed
Ok so starting about a month ago ,I switched my main OS on my desktop to Windows 7 (RTM Ultimate of course) and I've been loving it. I expected everything to run great though of course considering I have a powerful desktop. What's different now is that I just took the leap to install it on my laptop as well as of like 2 days ago. Now I'm constantly using Windows 7 and discovering more and more about it each day. I wanted to keep sort of a mini blog somewhere I can update with impressions about Windows 7 on day to day use, new features I'm finding out, perhaps any grips with it, etc.
I think it would be nice to start off with some system specs for what I'm running it on:
Desktop
Custom Build
Windows 7 64-Bit Ultimate
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 2.4GHz
4GB DDR2 PC1066 RAM
GeForce 8600GTS 256MB
Laptop
Asus Eee PC 1000HE
Windows 7 32-Bit Ultimate
Intel Atom N280 1.66GHz
2GB RAM (I forget the speed)
Intel 945 GMA (I think)
This is it for now, I'll edit later with impressions.
Spoiler: It's awesome.
Edit 1: The new taskbar
Some people have already replied to here mentioning the taskbar, so I feel it's a good place to start. One of the key points in building 7 was full compatibility with touch devices, and it shows in the taskbar. Each button on the bar is a convinient square-ish button that practically fits your finger perfectly. Even without a touchscreen it's tough to resist touching them trying to control my programs lol. I enjoy the more visual approach to the taskbar, relying on symbols rather than words and the names of the programs in the standard taskbar a la XP. You can also choose the order of docked items, in which case I always run the same setup in the order: Explorer > AIM > Browser. I like having folders located next to my start button for quick access, and Pidgin (AIM) and Firefox (Browsing) are my two most used programs that I constantly use. For some reason I'm also OCD about ordering and such that in Win XP when I open Pidgin and Firefox at the same time and Firefox happens to open first, I hate having the Firefox window to the left of the Pidgin bar. I'm sure there's some sort of 3rd party solution to fixing it in XP, but the fact that it's built in 7 efficiently is a welcome addition.
I hated grouping similar windows together in XP, it just didn't feel productive imo. Now with 7 however, even though you are forced to group them together, there is a reason to. Live previews of the windows when you highlight them, bringing them to the front above all the other windows, etc. It's all productive with a very stylized finish. To protect the new taskbar and it's approach to replacing the quick launch area which programs love to hog up, 7 prevents any program from pinning itself to the taskbar. You have to manually choose what goes there, it's perfect.
The only gripe I have with pinning something to the taskbar (which I will touch on a later edit as well) is that I can't make a shortcut to the "Mark" folder (Mark being my name, the main folder like XP's My Documents). When I drag it down there it becomes a shortcut to Libraries, which I generally dislike in 7. It requires an extra step to get to the Mark folder by opening up Libraries, then switching to the Mark folder on the left side navigation.
Edit 2: It makes things work that shouldn't
This is a neat little thing I found out randomly while bored one day at a place without internet access. I have a Verizon enV phone that I've had for almost 3 years now. One thing I've loved to do with my phones is connect it to my computer to get online wherever I have cell service. I was excited thinking that I would be able to use this now with bluetooth for more convenience, though was let down to find out that I couldn't get it to work with Windows XP. Verizon had disabled most of the bluetooth functions on the enV (though for some reason while searching around online now it says most services are enabled, but I'm sure it was disabled originally. any unlocked enV should have the services however). When I tried to set up the networking over bluetooth with Windows XP it would always start the connection then disconnect right away, same with file access on the enV. Now with Windows 7 I just set up the bluetooth again, and to my surprise not only was I able to copy files back and forth from my computer to my enV, I was now able to set up the dial up networking. Even with a USB cable I couldn't get it to work right with Windows XP using their built in dial up networking connection screen and had to use third party software, but it works perfectly in Windows 7. Now I have the connection settings all ready to go saved in the Network and Sharing center, and all I have to do is click the little network icon in the taskbar, hit connect to dial up network, and all of a sudden the phone in my pocket is providing my laptop internet wherever I am. Why didn't this work in Windows XP? Who knows, but 7 solved the problem.
I think it would be nice to start off with some system specs for what I'm running it on:
Desktop
Custom Build
Windows 7 64-Bit Ultimate
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 2.4GHz
4GB DDR2 PC1066 RAM
GeForce 8600GTS 256MB
Laptop
Asus Eee PC 1000HE
Windows 7 32-Bit Ultimate
Intel Atom N280 1.66GHz
2GB RAM (I forget the speed)
Intel 945 GMA (I think)
This is it for now, I'll edit later with impressions.
Spoiler: It's awesome.
Edit 1: The new taskbar
Some people have already replied to here mentioning the taskbar, so I feel it's a good place to start. One of the key points in building 7 was full compatibility with touch devices, and it shows in the taskbar. Each button on the bar is a convinient square-ish button that practically fits your finger perfectly. Even without a touchscreen it's tough to resist touching them trying to control my programs lol. I enjoy the more visual approach to the taskbar, relying on symbols rather than words and the names of the programs in the standard taskbar a la XP. You can also choose the order of docked items, in which case I always run the same setup in the order: Explorer > AIM > Browser. I like having folders located next to my start button for quick access, and Pidgin (AIM) and Firefox (Browsing) are my two most used programs that I constantly use. For some reason I'm also OCD about ordering and such that in Win XP when I open Pidgin and Firefox at the same time and Firefox happens to open first, I hate having the Firefox window to the left of the Pidgin bar. I'm sure there's some sort of 3rd party solution to fixing it in XP, but the fact that it's built in 7 efficiently is a welcome addition.
I hated grouping similar windows together in XP, it just didn't feel productive imo. Now with 7 however, even though you are forced to group them together, there is a reason to. Live previews of the windows when you highlight them, bringing them to the front above all the other windows, etc. It's all productive with a very stylized finish. To protect the new taskbar and it's approach to replacing the quick launch area which programs love to hog up, 7 prevents any program from pinning itself to the taskbar. You have to manually choose what goes there, it's perfect.
The only gripe I have with pinning something to the taskbar (which I will touch on a later edit as well) is that I can't make a shortcut to the "Mark" folder (Mark being my name, the main folder like XP's My Documents). When I drag it down there it becomes a shortcut to Libraries, which I generally dislike in 7. It requires an extra step to get to the Mark folder by opening up Libraries, then switching to the Mark folder on the left side navigation.
Edit 2: It makes things work that shouldn't
This is a neat little thing I found out randomly while bored one day at a place without internet access. I have a Verizon enV phone that I've had for almost 3 years now. One thing I've loved to do with my phones is connect it to my computer to get online wherever I have cell service. I was excited thinking that I would be able to use this now with bluetooth for more convenience, though was let down to find out that I couldn't get it to work with Windows XP. Verizon had disabled most of the bluetooth functions on the enV (though for some reason while searching around online now it says most services are enabled, but I'm sure it was disabled originally. any unlocked enV should have the services however). When I tried to set up the networking over bluetooth with Windows XP it would always start the connection then disconnect right away, same with file access on the enV. Now with Windows 7 I just set up the bluetooth again, and to my surprise not only was I able to copy files back and forth from my computer to my enV, I was now able to set up the dial up networking. Even with a USB cable I couldn't get it to work right with Windows XP using their built in dial up networking connection screen and had to use third party software, but it works perfectly in Windows 7. Now I have the connection settings all ready to go saved in the Network and Sharing center, and all I have to do is click the little network icon in the taskbar, hit connect to dial up network, and all of a sudden the phone in my pocket is providing my laptop internet wherever I am. Why didn't this work in Windows XP? Who knows, but 7 solved the problem.
