Reflections on Windows 7
Tuesday, May 5th, 2009
While I have not had the opportunity to try the latest Windows 7 Release Candidate, I have done a bit of reading on the subject. In my research, I have made the following observances
Vista was truly the worst operating system I have ever used in my life. It had some wonderful features, but everything was tied together so inefficiently It could bring the fastest computer around to its knees. I have used Vista on a rather powerful quad core system with over 4 GB of RAM, and it still responded poorly. There were a few things in Vista that were wonderful ideas, but executed horribly:
- Integrated Search and Indexing
- ReadyBoost for superior caching
- Windows XP Compatibility Mode
- Application Pre-Caching based on Observed User Activity
- Bending over backwards for old API compatibility
Windows 7 looks promising, however. Take a look at the list of new improvements:
- Transparent Windows XP Virtualization Compatibility Layer
- Responsiveness existent
- Advanced Window Management Abilities
- New Version of ReadyBoost
- Integrated ClearType Tuning (about time)
- Feature-Packed Application Bar
Windows 7 is what Vista was supposed to be from what I understand. I’m keeping my fingers crossed, but I do look forward to this new Operating System. I sincerely hope that it truly is a great improvement. We’ll see.
I’m not a Microsoft fan by any stretch of the imagination, but after using the Windows 7 beta since it was publically released, I have to grudgingly admit that a lot of the hype about it was well-founded. It runs reasonably well on my Eee PC 1000HE (with an Atom processor and a gig of ram no less!), and many of the ponderously bad aspects of Vista have been ably addressed. I need to install the RC as soon as I get a chance but I’m hesitant because I’ve got everything set up in the beta exactly how I want it.
I can’t believe I’m saying this but I’ll probably end up buying 7 when it comes out.
The Windows XP compatibility in Windows 7 is actually a virtual machine rather than a simple “compatibility layer”. As far as I can tell it starts up the VM using minimal resources, then connects to it via RDP to allow the user to interface with the apps.
There are other significant improvements in Windows 7 that you haven't mentioned as well. One of my favorites is the change in how applications render on screen. Previously, if you had an app that was blocking, the GDI thread would wait and not be able to continue. The new model allows for multiple GDI threads, allowing greater scalability with multiple cores. I direct you to http://news.softpedia.com/news/Windows-7-Graphi... for more info about that.
They have also reworked how the explorer components render, so (I think) there is almost no reliance on the IE rendering engine for rendering explorer windows. They have also made improvements toward utilizing the GPU for rendering windows and effects. This can allow for a huge increase in performance over the previous model, as many machines these days have very capable graphics processors that are designed to render shadows and transparency and the like.
Another major improvement: UAC is actually useful. It no longer prompts you to approve most mundane changes (unless you are a masochist and set it to the max security setting). Instead it prompts you primarily for installers or any programs that need admin privileges to run. It also allows you to specify how much you want it to bug you (so you can set it low enough that only major changes will prompt you, making it less likely that the prompts will be ignored).
OS X fans especially will probably enjoy the addition of libraries (this is one of the many features the fanboys have accused MS of “stealing” from Apple), a single point that allows you to access multiple folders (usually containing the same type of files) simultaneously. My machine is dual-boot (Windows 7 and Vista) and it's great being able to add my Vista music folder to the music library in 7 (all of that music is then imported into WMP, which is also much nicer in its new version).
One change I do not like, however, is the way searching works. I have not yet found a way to specify a range of dates, and there doesn't appear to be a search pane or advanced search options like we had in Vista. It is entirely possible that these are just hiding from me, probably in plain sight, but until I find them I won't like searching from explorer windows.
The Windows XP compatibility in Windows 7 is actually a virtual machine rather than a simple “compatibility layer”. As far as I can tell it starts up the VM using minimal resources, then connects to it via RDP to allow the user to interface with the apps.
There are other significant improvements in Windows 7 that you haven't mentioned as well. One of my favorites is the change in how applications render on screen. Previously, if you had an app that was blocking, the GDI thread would wait and not be able to continue. The new model allows for multiple GDI threads, allowing greater scalability with multiple cores. I direct you to http://news.softpedia.com/news/Windows-7-Graphi... for more info about that.
They have also reworked how the explorer components render, so (I think) there is almost no reliance on the IE rendering engine for rendering explorer windows. They have also made improvements toward utilizing the GPU for rendering windows and effects. This can allow for a huge increase in performance over the previous model, as many machines these days have very capable graphics processors that are designed to render shadows and transparency and the like.
Another major improvement: UAC is actually useful. It no longer prompts you to approve most mundane changes (unless you are a masochist and set it to the max security setting). Instead it prompts you primarily for installers or any programs that need admin privileges to run. It also allows you to specify how much you want it to bug you (so you can set it low enough that only major changes will prompt you, making it less likely that the prompts will be ignored).
OS X fans especially will probably enjoy the addition of libraries (this is one of the many features the fanboys have accused MS of “stealing” from Apple), a single point that allows you to access multiple folders (usually containing the same type of files) simultaneously. My machine is dual-boot (Windows 7 and Vista) and it's great being able to add my Vista music folder to the music library in 7 (all of that music is then imported into WMP, which is also much nicer in its new version).
One change I do not like, however, is the way searching works. I have not yet found a way to specify a range of dates, and there doesn't appear to be a search pane or advanced search options like we had in Vista. It is entirely possible that these are just hiding from me, probably in plain sight, but until I find them I won't like searching from explorer windows.
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The Windows XP compatibility in Windows 7 is actually a virtual machine rather than a simple “compatibility layer”. As far as I can tell it starts up the VM using minimal resources, then connects to it via RDP to allow the user to interface with the apps.
There are other significant improvements in Windows 7 that you haven't mentioned as well. One of my favorites is the change in how applications render on screen. Previously, if you had an app that was blocking, the GDI thread would wait and not be able to continue. The new model allows for multiple GDI threads, allowing greater scalability with multiple cores. I direct you to http://news.softpedia.com/news/Windows-7-Graphi... for more info about that.
They have also reworked how the explorer components render, so (I think) there is almost no reliance on the IE rendering engine for rendering explorer windows. They have also made improvements toward utilizing the GPU for rendering windows and effects. This can allow for a huge increase in performance over the previous model, as many machines these days have very capable graphics processors that are designed to render shadows and transparency and the like.
Another major improvement: UAC is actually useful. It no longer prompts you to approve most mundane changes (unless you are a masochist and set it to the max security setting). Instead it prompts you primarily for installers or any programs that need admin privileges to run. It also allows you to specify how much you want it to bug you (so you can set it low enough that only major changes will prompt you, making it less likely that the prompts will be ignored).
OS X fans especially will probably enjoy the addition of libraries (this is one of the many features the fanboys have accused MS of “stealing” from Apple), a single point that allows you to access multiple folders (usually containing the same type of files) simultaneously. My machine is dual-boot (Windows 7 and Vista) and it's great being able to add my Vista music folder to the music library in 7 (all of that music is then imported into WMP, which is also much nicer in its new version).
One change I do not like, however, is the way searching works. I have not yet found a way to specify a range of dates, and there doesn't appear to be a search pane or advanced search options like we had in Vista. It is entirely possible that these are just hiding from me, probably in plain sight, but until I find them I won't like searching from explorer windows.