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A cleaner Windows
Will Microsoft's latest version be worth it? Get questions answered
By DWIGHT SILVERMAN
HOUSTON CHRONICLE
Oct. 18, 2009, 9:00PM<SCRIPT type=text/javascript>/*<![CDATA[*/try{yld_mgr.place_ad_here("STY120");}catch(e){}/*]]>*/</SCRIPT><!-- SpaceID=2022775850 loc=BTN2 noad -->
<!-- BEGIN movie info box --><!-- END movie info box --><!-- end floating resource box -->On Thursday, Microsoft will start selling the latest version of its flagship Windows operating system. Gone are the days when people lined up days in advance to update their PC's software, but the release of Windows 7 remains a big deal.
Certainly, it matters to Microsoft. The company is still smarting from the mistakes it made with Windows Vista, which has earned such negative buzz that it now ranks right up there with Windows ME as one of Microsoft's most embarrassing products. Microsoft is counting on Windows 7 to get its mojo back.
Of course, the bottom line is: What will it do for you? If you're a Windows XP or Vista user, should you upgrade your home or small-business computer?
I've been working with unfinished versions of Windows 7 for months, and with the final version since it was completed in August. I like it, but how happy you'll be depends on what you do with a computer and what operating system and software you're using now.
I asked the readers of my TechBlog to suggest some questions I might answer in a review of Windows 7. I've also been keeping track of queries that came via e-mail and on Twitter. With that in mind, this review takes the form of a Frequently Asked Questions document, or FAQ.
Q: How much will it cost to upgrade to Windows 7? And which edition should I buy?
A: The cost of upgrading depends on two factors: which of the three retail editions you choose and what you may need to do to upgrade your PC.
At the very least, upgrading an existing system to Windows 7 will cost about $120 — the list price for the upgrade version of Home Premium, the edition that will be fine for most home users. There's also the Professional Edition, with features designed for professional users. The Ultimate edition, for $220, contains the features in both Home Premium and Professional. You can find a comparison of the three editions at www.windows7.com.
The system requirements for the version of Windows 7 for 32-bit processors calls for a 1-GHz processor and 1 gigabyte of RAM; the 64-bit version needs the same processors and 2 GB of RAM. Frankly, I'd recommend 2 GB for both systems. Additional memory is cheap and easy to install in desktops and many notebooks. Expect to pay around $50 for 2 GB.
Q: Windows Vista's interface changes seemed like mostly eye candy. How is Windows 7 different?
A: Both Vista and Windows 7 sport a slick look Microsoft calls Aero. It features translucent borders around windows and thumbnails of running programs when a mouse hovers over its taskbar button. In Vista, this seemed to be mostly form and little function.
In Windows 7, when you mouse over a taskbar button, the thumbnail that appears is larger. In the case of browsers with multiple tabs, you'll see all open pages as separate thumbnails. And when you place your mouse cursor over a thumbnail, you see the individual screen in full-size glory on your desktop. If you work with lots of windows or tabs open at once, this is very useful.
Aero also makes it easy to arrange windows on your desktop. Grab a window's title bar, drag it to the right edge of the screen and the window automatically resizes to fill the right half of the desktop. Move another window to the left edge, and you've now got perfectly positioned windows side by side.
Have a lot of windows open at once, and need to clear them out of the way? Grab the title bar of the window in focus and shake it — all the other windows on the page minimize instantly.
Windows 7 has multitouch support for touchscreen PCs, and these Aero features work with that as well.
In addition, the Windows taskbar has been redesigned. You can now “pin” programs to it, so icons remain there even when they are not active.
And then there's my favorite new feature: Jump Lists. Right-click on an icon and you'll get a menu that lets you quickly launch documents created with that program, or access frequently used features. For example, if you have Word pinned to the taskbar, right-clicking it will bring up the last 10 documents it loaded. Click on any one to launch that document in Word.
There are Jump Lists elsewhere, including on the Start menu, where they appear when you hover over some items.
Q: What about performance? Vista was slow.
A: I've tried Windows 7 on about a dozen machines since January, when the first public beta was released. On high-end systems to simple netbooks, it performs better than Windows Vista did. It starts up faster, shuts down much quicker and feels snappier overall. On powerful hardware — such as my home-built PC with 4 GB of RAM and an Intel Core 2 Quad Q8200 processor — the 64-bit version is gratifyingly frisky.
But not everything is bunnies and lollipops. I installed Windows 7 on an Acer TravelMate C310 notebook, a 4-year-old tablet PC with 1.5 GB of RAM and a 1.73-GHz processor. No matter how much I tweaked it, it was frustratingly sluggish. Even with most startup programs disabled, it took a long time to boot to a usable desktop.
Q: How is security?
A: Microsoft has done a lot of work to batten down Windows 7's hatches. Like Vista, it comes with Windows Defender, a rudimentary antispyware program. It also comes with Internet Explorer 8, which has features that can prevent some kinds of phishing and malware attacks. There are several under-the-hood changes as well.
Vista was actually a pretty secure operating system; maybe too much so. Users complained about how often the User Account Control appeared, and a popup that required you to approve any changes being made to the operating system. It popped up for almost every system change, no matter how minor. That's been changed in Windows 7, and by default you won't see the UAC very much.
You can even go in and change its settings, to make it appear more or less often.
Q: What about drivers? Will I be able to use all my current peripherals?
A: There is always a chance that some older components won't work with Windows 7. But the situation should be a lot better than with Vista, which required manufacturers to develop completely new drivers. That's not the case with Windows 7. In fact, many Vista drivers will work just fine with Windows 7.
A new feature will help you keep up with driver updates as well. Devices and Printers in the Control Panel provides quick access to everything from new drivers to online manuals to troubleshooting tips.
Q: Is networking any easier?
A: Microsoft has simplified the process of getting online and onto the Internet. Now, when you right-click the network icon in the notification area of the taskbar on a PC with a Wi-Fi adapter, you'll instantly get a list of available connections. Just click on one to connect.
Joining a home network is also simpler. Microsoft has streamlined the Network and Sharing Center so it is easier to navigate, and features such as printer sharing work automatically. A new feature, called HomeGroups, makes it easier to designate specific types of data you want to share over a home network. It initially suggests complex, hard-to-remember passwords, but you can change them later.
Q: Bottom line: Do I need or want Windows 7?
A: If you've got a Windows Vista system and are unhappy with it, Windows 7 is a promising upgrade, and I'd recommend it. I'd also recommend Windows 7 to multitasking computer users who work with a lot of programs at once.
If you're a Windows XP user who's content with your current operating system, Windows 7 isn't a must-have upgrade — particularly if you've been hanging on to older hardware. And upgrading from Windows XP won't be as easy as upgrading from Vista. For details, see my Computing column in this Tuesday's business section. If you buy a new PC with Windows 7, though, you'll likely be pleased with what you see.
I suspect the days of XP die-hards insisting on putting that aging OS on modern machines is over.
dwight.silverman@chron.com
A cleaner Windows
Will Microsoft's latest version be worth it? Get questions answered
By DWIGHT SILVERMAN
HOUSTON CHRONICLE
Oct. 18, 2009, 9:00PM<SCRIPT type=text/javascript>/*<![CDATA[*/try{yld_mgr.place_ad_here("STY120");}catch(e){}/*]]>*/</SCRIPT><!-- SpaceID=2022775850 loc=BTN2 noad -->
<!-- BEGIN movie info box --><!-- END movie info box --><!-- end floating resource box -->On Thursday, Microsoft will start selling the latest version of its flagship Windows operating system. Gone are the days when people lined up days in advance to update their PC's software, but the release of Windows 7 remains a big deal.
Certainly, it matters to Microsoft. The company is still smarting from the mistakes it made with Windows Vista, which has earned such negative buzz that it now ranks right up there with Windows ME as one of Microsoft's most embarrassing products. Microsoft is counting on Windows 7 to get its mojo back.
Of course, the bottom line is: What will it do for you? If you're a Windows XP or Vista user, should you upgrade your home or small-business computer?
I've been working with unfinished versions of Windows 7 for months, and with the final version since it was completed in August. I like it, but how happy you'll be depends on what you do with a computer and what operating system and software you're using now.
I asked the readers of my TechBlog to suggest some questions I might answer in a review of Windows 7. I've also been keeping track of queries that came via e-mail and on Twitter. With that in mind, this review takes the form of a Frequently Asked Questions document, or FAQ.
Q: How much will it cost to upgrade to Windows 7? And which edition should I buy?
A: The cost of upgrading depends on two factors: which of the three retail editions you choose and what you may need to do to upgrade your PC.
At the very least, upgrading an existing system to Windows 7 will cost about $120 — the list price for the upgrade version of Home Premium, the edition that will be fine for most home users. There's also the Professional Edition, with features designed for professional users. The Ultimate edition, for $220, contains the features in both Home Premium and Professional. You can find a comparison of the three editions at www.windows7.com.
The system requirements for the version of Windows 7 for 32-bit processors calls for a 1-GHz processor and 1 gigabyte of RAM; the 64-bit version needs the same processors and 2 GB of RAM. Frankly, I'd recommend 2 GB for both systems. Additional memory is cheap and easy to install in desktops and many notebooks. Expect to pay around $50 for 2 GB.
Q: Windows Vista's interface changes seemed like mostly eye candy. How is Windows 7 different?
A: Both Vista and Windows 7 sport a slick look Microsoft calls Aero. It features translucent borders around windows and thumbnails of running programs when a mouse hovers over its taskbar button. In Vista, this seemed to be mostly form and little function.
In Windows 7, when you mouse over a taskbar button, the thumbnail that appears is larger. In the case of browsers with multiple tabs, you'll see all open pages as separate thumbnails. And when you place your mouse cursor over a thumbnail, you see the individual screen in full-size glory on your desktop. If you work with lots of windows or tabs open at once, this is very useful.
Aero also makes it easy to arrange windows on your desktop. Grab a window's title bar, drag it to the right edge of the screen and the window automatically resizes to fill the right half of the desktop. Move another window to the left edge, and you've now got perfectly positioned windows side by side.
Have a lot of windows open at once, and need to clear them out of the way? Grab the title bar of the window in focus and shake it — all the other windows on the page minimize instantly.
Windows 7 has multitouch support for touchscreen PCs, and these Aero features work with that as well.
In addition, the Windows taskbar has been redesigned. You can now “pin” programs to it, so icons remain there even when they are not active.
And then there's my favorite new feature: Jump Lists. Right-click on an icon and you'll get a menu that lets you quickly launch documents created with that program, or access frequently used features. For example, if you have Word pinned to the taskbar, right-clicking it will bring up the last 10 documents it loaded. Click on any one to launch that document in Word.
There are Jump Lists elsewhere, including on the Start menu, where they appear when you hover over some items.
Q: What about performance? Vista was slow.
A: I've tried Windows 7 on about a dozen machines since January, when the first public beta was released. On high-end systems to simple netbooks, it performs better than Windows Vista did. It starts up faster, shuts down much quicker and feels snappier overall. On powerful hardware — such as my home-built PC with 4 GB of RAM and an Intel Core 2 Quad Q8200 processor — the 64-bit version is gratifyingly frisky.
But not everything is bunnies and lollipops. I installed Windows 7 on an Acer TravelMate C310 notebook, a 4-year-old tablet PC with 1.5 GB of RAM and a 1.73-GHz processor. No matter how much I tweaked it, it was frustratingly sluggish. Even with most startup programs disabled, it took a long time to boot to a usable desktop.
Q: How is security?
A: Microsoft has done a lot of work to batten down Windows 7's hatches. Like Vista, it comes with Windows Defender, a rudimentary antispyware program. It also comes with Internet Explorer 8, which has features that can prevent some kinds of phishing and malware attacks. There are several under-the-hood changes as well.
Vista was actually a pretty secure operating system; maybe too much so. Users complained about how often the User Account Control appeared, and a popup that required you to approve any changes being made to the operating system. It popped up for almost every system change, no matter how minor. That's been changed in Windows 7, and by default you won't see the UAC very much.
You can even go in and change its settings, to make it appear more or less often.
Q: What about drivers? Will I be able to use all my current peripherals?
A: There is always a chance that some older components won't work with Windows 7. But the situation should be a lot better than with Vista, which required manufacturers to develop completely new drivers. That's not the case with Windows 7. In fact, many Vista drivers will work just fine with Windows 7.
A new feature will help you keep up with driver updates as well. Devices and Printers in the Control Panel provides quick access to everything from new drivers to online manuals to troubleshooting tips.
Q: Is networking any easier?
A: Microsoft has simplified the process of getting online and onto the Internet. Now, when you right-click the network icon in the notification area of the taskbar on a PC with a Wi-Fi adapter, you'll instantly get a list of available connections. Just click on one to connect.
Joining a home network is also simpler. Microsoft has streamlined the Network and Sharing Center so it is easier to navigate, and features such as printer sharing work automatically. A new feature, called HomeGroups, makes it easier to designate specific types of data you want to share over a home network. It initially suggests complex, hard-to-remember passwords, but you can change them later.
Q: Bottom line: Do I need or want Windows 7?
A: If you've got a Windows Vista system and are unhappy with it, Windows 7 is a promising upgrade, and I'd recommend it. I'd also recommend Windows 7 to multitasking computer users who work with a lot of programs at once.
If you're a Windows XP user who's content with your current operating system, Windows 7 isn't a must-have upgrade — particularly if you've been hanging on to older hardware. And upgrading from Windows XP won't be as easy as upgrading from Vista. For details, see my Computing column in this Tuesday's business section. If you buy a new PC with Windows 7, though, you'll likely be pleased with what you see.
I suspect the days of XP die-hards insisting on putting that aging OS on modern machines is over.
dwight.silverman@chron.com
