Even in Test Form, Windows 7 Leaves Vista in the Dust
January 21, 2009
by Walter S. Mossberg
This will be a big year for new operating systems. Apple (AAPL) plans a new version of its Macintosh operating system, to be called Snow Leopard. Palm (PALM) plans an all-new smart phone operating system called Palm WebOS. But the new release that will affect more users than any other will be Windows 7, the latest major edition of Microsoft’s dominant platform.
Microsoft (MSFT) hasn’t announced an official release date for Windows 7, but I would be surprised if it wasn’t available to consumers by this fall. The company has just released the first public beta, or test, version of the software, and I’ve been trying it out on two laptops. One is a Lenovo ThinkPad lent me by Microsoft with Windows 7 already installed, and the other is my own Sony Vaio, which I upgraded to Windows 7 from Windows Vista.
I won’t be doing a full, detailed review of Windows 7 until it is released in final form, but here’s a preview of some of the main features of this new operating system and some of my initial impressions.
In general, I have found Windows 7 a pleasure to use. There are a few drawbacks, but my preliminary verdict on Windows 7 is positive.
Even in beta form, with some features incomplete or imperfect, Windows 7 is, in my view, much better than Vista, whose sluggishness, annoying nag screens, and incompatibilities have caused many users to shun it. It’s also a serious competitor, in features and ease of use, for Apple’s current Leopard operating system. (I can’t say yet how it will compare with Apple’s planned new release, as I haven’t tried the latter.)
In many respects, Windows 7 isn’t a radical shift from Vista, but is more of an attempt to fix Vista’s main flaws. It shares the same underlying architecture, and retains graphical touches like translucent Window borders. But it introduces some key new navigation and ease-of-use features, plus scores of small usability and performance improvements — too many to list here.
The flashiest departure in Windows 7, and one that may eventually redefine how people use computers, is its multitouch screen navigation. Best known on Apple’s iPhone, this system allows you to use your fingers to directly reposition, resize, and flip through objects on a screen, such as windows and photos. It is smart enough to distinguish between various gestures and combinations of fingers. I haven’t been able to test this feature extensively yet, because it requires a new kind of touch-sensitive screen that my laptops lack.
But even if your current or future PC lacks a touch screen, Windows 7 will have plenty of other benefits. The most important may be speed. In my tests, even the beta version of Windows 7 was dramatically faster than Vista at such tasks as starting up the computer, waking it from sleep and launching programs.
And this speed boost wasn’t only apparent in the preconfigured machine from Microsoft, but on my own Sony (SNE), which had been a dog using Vista, even after I tried to streamline its software. Of course, these speed gains may be compromised by the computer makers, if they add lots of junky software to the machines. Windows 7 is also likely to run well on much more modest hardware configurations than Vista needed.
The familiar Windows taskbar is more customizable and useful in Windows 7. The program icons are larger, and can be “pinned” anywhere along the taskbar for easy, repeated use. There are also “jump lists” that pop out from the icons in the taskbar and start menu, showing frequently used or recent actions.
A screenshot shows several application windows on the desktop of the Beta version of the Microsoft Windows 7 software.
Windows 7 also cuts down on annoying warnings and nag screens. Microsoft notifications have been consolidated in a single icon at the right of the taskbar, and you can now decide under what circumstances Windows will warn you before taking certain actions.
Compatibility with hardware and software, which was a problem in Vista, seems far better in Windows 7 — even in the beta. I tried a wide variety of hardware, including printers, Web cams, external hard disks and cameras, and nearly all worked fine.
I also successfully installed and used popular programs from Microsoft’s rivals, such as Mozilla Firefox, Adobe Reader, Apple’s iTunes, and Google’s (GOOG) Picasa. All worked properly, even though none was designed for Windows 7.
But there are some downsides to Windows 7. First, you will only be able to directly upgrade Vista computers to the new version. People still using Windows XP will need to perform a more cumbersome multistep process. Microsoft is working on a method to help XP owners preserve all their data during this process.
Second, Windows 7 will eliminate some familiar bundled programs from Windows. Vista’s Mail, Calendar, Photo Gallery, Movie Maker, and Address Book programs are being removed. To get similar basic, free, programs, you’ll have to download them from Microsoft’s Windows Live service, or use alternatives from other companies. Microsoft defends this move as supporting consumer choice and better coordination with Web services, but it does remove out-of-the-box functionality from Windows.
Still, even in its preliminary form, Windows 7 looks very promising, and could well help expunge the bad reputation of Vista.
- Find all of Walt Mossberg’s columns and videos online, free, at the All Things Digital Web site, walt.allthingsd.com. Email him at mossberg@wsj.com.
Comments
That is hilarious! And I don’t mean how they are calling the 11th version of their OS; ‘7′ (1,3,nt.nt4.95.98.Me,2000,XP,Vista and others I may have forgotten), but how the screen shot shows the OS running…. ON A MAC! Was that the ‘pre-configured’ machine from Microsoft, or was that your ‘Sony’. L-seriously -O-really-L
Posted by Jeff Wayne at January 21st, 2009 at 10:31 pm7 is smooth & improved, but it is only a Mac contender on the surface if it leaves out so many mass market user apps. Apple has marvelous out of the box functionality, with Mail and iLife apps. My grandma is not going to seek out and download so many programs just to do email and photo management.
Posted by ron r oyer at January 22nd, 2009 at 12:27 amTo those who wonder about the fact that the Windows 7 screenshot accompanying the column was done on a Mac: this was an illustration created by our talented graphics staff, and not a screenshot from one of my test computers; and, while I didn’t test this scenario, Windows 7 does run on Macs.
Posted by Walt Mossberg at January 22nd, 2009 at 4:24 amI’ve got a list of issues with Windows 7 after serious testing although I think it is a clear step above Vista.
I like Windows 7 but I have some concerns that I’d like addressed before final release
First thing – EVERYONE I spoke to even at the MS booth at CES said they want the UP FOLDER back in explorer – yes there are other ways to go back one folder but the up folder was convenient.
Classic start menu – not an option – classic start menu makes it easier to support clients if they have key components such as network properties and my computer on the desktop. I’m not saying it should be the default but why not make it an option as it was in Windows XP and Vista? I realize you can put some icons on the desktop (not IE) using personalize.
Media Center won’t let you click on album art cover once a song is already playing to play the new song from the album art cover. Seems only logical.
Media Center – often has static in playback – using Audigy 2z sound card.
Search works well but it would be great if the search in the start menu had a drop down just like run has in the start menu so you can repeat a search from your search history.
Aero interface stops working without message so flip 3d stops with alt-tab – using the troubleshooting fix sometimes solves it by enabling desktop manager – sometimes it can’t – how do you manually enable Windows desktop manager – personalize desktop works but nothing to control the aero interface
Since most current receivers and other media streaming capable devices will support .flac file playback, it seems a shame not to use the native media player in windows as a media streaming server – instead because windows does not natively support flac playback, we have to look at alternative hardware streaming solutions or mediaplayers similar to windows media player but with flac support such as tversity or Twonky or Nero
Winver does not tell you if you are running 64 or 32 bit – computer properties would be improved if 64 or 32 bit was listed in the top section. It never states if you are installing the 32 or 64 bit version during installation.
It would be nice if it was easy to see what version and build of windows you were running by going to computer properties or by running winver – currently it tells you Windows Version 6.1 – Build 70000 – it doesn’t say 7000 x64 081212-1400
During Install if you attempt to install with a brand new drive it won’t install until you format the drive and reboot.
There is no desktop icon for IE – this was very handy for clear items and change settings etc before going into IE.
Do something with the 200 MB partion in disk manager so it is clear that it is a restore point or whatever – change the color of it, just make it more clearly defined.
Posted by boe dillard at January 22nd, 2009 at 8:21 amOn my 3 year old thinkpad, 7 has been flying along much better than Vista ever did. Aside for a bizarre BSOD problem with AVG I’ve had no problems in terms of stability.
I just wanted to wonder aloud about the lack of inclusion of the Windows Live suite.
Currently, the EU is ratcheting up pressure over Microsoft bundling IE with their OS is anti-competitive (despite gains by Chrome, Firefox, and Safari), lead by petitions from Opera. Given that the inclusion of ‘extra’ programs into the OS causes anti-trust court cases, is this a fair criticism to levy against the OS? Fortunately, it is possible to download the entire Live suite as one bundle, so that if Grandma can download one thing, she can get everything she needs without scouring the internet.
But seriously, does anyone have a better idea how to include these programs in the OS and avoid EU anti-trust pressures? If not, is this a fair criticism?
Posted by Matt Gayetsky at January 22nd, 2009 at 9:04 amWindows 7 is a great OS. Microsfot won;t ever make everyone happy but Windows 7 will make a lot people more productive and happy. Apple is a good OS but it is not perfect either. There are tons of forums and blogs pointing out the griefs of Apple’s OS. And there is a group of die hard fans that simply chose to ignore this feedback. Way to go MS. Ship it.
Posted by Keyser Soze at January 22nd, 2009 at 11:12 amIt might be a downside that MS stripped out the bundled software, but I bet you can thank the EU for that. I’m sure MS didn’t really want to do that.
Posted by Nelson Pitlor at January 23rd, 2009 at 7:06 amto ron royer: you are clueless. as a macbook pro owner I can tell you that there is not nearly the software available for the mac that there is for windows. do not be stupid or arrogant enough to say that mac is more useable out of the box than a windows box. thats just foolish. this isnt to say one is better than the other. its just to say your comment is ignorant and wrong.
Posted by Robert Freeman at January 24th, 2009 at 11:45 amI have read these columns and comments for several years now. I can only shake my head in wonder, disbelief and sadness. Do all of you work for MS or Apple or just get paid by them?
I was fed up with MS long before Vista was released. Looking at the cobbled up screen shots, I can say that they most resemble my personal screen.
I run Ubuntu Linux (presently, 8.10). I’ve been running Ubuntu for several years now and I’ve never regretted (nor missed) ditching MS. Every 18 months there’s an improved version. It’s a sensible, evolutionary process.
You can all ignore and denigrate Linux in general and Ubuntu in particular, if you choose. But, mark my words, in the near future, this column and many others, will be devoting a most of their space to the analysis of the fall of the Microsoft empire, the inexorable advance of Open Source in general and Ubuntu, in particular.
Posted by Len Humphries at January 25th, 2009 at 7:24 amI am a Ubuntu user, I am happy with Ubuntu, but I’m not tied to any OS, I love OS X , I dislike Vista with a passion. I have used both Mac’s and PC’s most of my life.
Windows 7 (Windows 1, 3.x.x, 95/98/ME, NT/2000, XP, Vista, 7) is the easiest OS in the Microsoft Family I have installed, the fast as well. It runs well on my current computer, and runs smoothly. It duplicates many of the features that makes OS X a hit.
However I’ve been using it (dual booting with Ubuntu) for the last few days, and I find the current Aero theme bulky, and something just feels off.
Ubuntu has been getting slower of late and honestly I can now get almost all the programs I use daily with Ubuntu on Windows (in fact I do use many of them on family computers when they ask for things)
Add in iTunes (as I’m a iPod Touch addict) and if the price is reasonable I might actually buy Windows 7. That to me will most likely be the sticking point as MS over charges for it’s software. (IMO)
(as it happens if iTunes had a Linux version I wouldn’t have even tried the Windows 7 beta)
Posted by Robert Elliott at January 25th, 2009 at 11:00 pm@Robert Freeman, I believe you misunderstood his post. Ron’s point was simply that a Mac comes with a range of software which 7, to a greater extent than earlier versions, does not; email, calendar and address book applications, a photo manager, a video app.
Vendors may bundle some software to compensate for this, but this doesn’t make his perfectly valid statement clueless, stupid, arrogant, foolish, ignorant or wrong.
Posted by Samu Wade at January 28th, 2009 at 5:17 pmJust shockingly bizarre. Another rave review of Windows 7, extolling it’s virtues…when they have essentially been part of Vista for a year now.
“Compatibility with hardware and software, which was a problem in Vista, seems far better in Windows 7″
Mindbogglingly wrong. How in the world can windows 7 be MORE compatible than vista? How would that even be possible? It’s beta software written using the Vista driver model. By definition it’s less compatible. I can name 10 things that do not work in 7 (Mesh, Skype, Crysis, Steam, Filemaker Pro, Endnote X, etc) that work in Vista.
This post is a testament to how far out of touch you (and the rest of the world) seem to be about Vista.
It’s a polished version of Vista, an already good OS, and people are talking about it like it’s drastically different.
I’ve used vista, everyday for the last 2 years. EVERY DAY. Where people get this stuff is beyond me.
“easier to install than vista”
Posted by Stephen Hill at January 29th, 2009 at 9:33 pmIt’s IDENTICAL to the install of Vista.
To get a feel for Windows 7 in a real world situation I installed the 32-bit version on two older systems, an HP Compaq xw4200 Workstation and a Dell 4700C small footprint desktop system.
The thinking here was that these systems would be good tests to see how feasible it would be to upgrade older computers to Windows 7 and not limit the new operating system to new computers where it would come pre-installed.
The HP computer used for testing has a 3.0 GHz Pentium 4 CPU, 2 GB of RAM, an ATI FireGL V3100 graphics adapter with 128MB of RAM and an 80 GB SATA hard disk drive. The Dell 4700C has a 2.8 GHz Pentium 4 CPU, 1 GB of RAM, basic Intel 910 GL graphics chip set and an 80 GB hard disk drive.
The results — Windows 7 rocks (technical term). I have not been a big fan of Windows Vista and have seen firsthand how slowly Vista can perform with only 1 GB of RAM. This was not the case with Windows 7. I was definitely impressed with its performance and its stability.
The net-net: while I still want to do additional testing, my current inclination is that as soon as the the final shipping version is ready I’ll have no qualms about replacing Windows XP with Win 7.
Posted by Mike McEvoy at February 10th, 2009 at 11:15 am