Seventh seal of approval
With the launch of the Windows 7 release candidate, anticipation is growing over Microsoft's new OS. So is the upgrade really worth waiting for?
The new Windows is edging closer to release. This week, Microsoft has made the release candidate (RC) available to anyone who wants to try it; and although the company has not announced the final release date, Acer's UK managing director, Bobby Watkins, recently told the press that machines with Windows 7 installed will be on sale from 23 October.
Despite its name, there is no chance that the release candidate version will be the final one. Rather, it is the last round of testing before completing the software and issuing it to PC vendors. Acer's date looks plausible, allowing two or three months for Microsoft to finalise the software, and the same again for vendors to prepare and distribute Windows 7 PCs.
Feeling positive
Early adopters are mainly positive. "Much better than Vista and just as stable as XP," writes a user on the unofficial Windows 7 forums, and that view appears typical. The sense is that Microsoft has done a better job than with Vista, partly because the core operating system is little changed, freeing resources to work on refining performance and usability.
"With Vista they were trying to do lots of major plumbing changes, but that created lots of issues. Windows 7 is more [about] enhancing the user experience," explains Annette Jump, a research director at Gartner.
Although Windows 7 has much in common with Vista, there is still a long list of new features. The most obvious is the enhanced taskbar. In Vista, this shows icons for programs that are running, but in Windows 7 you can also launch applications, making it a single place both for starting programs and for switching between them. There are both thumbnail and full-screen previews as you hover the mouse over taskbar icons, making switching easier than before. In the RC this also works for keyboard-switching with the alt and tab keys.
Another area of focus is home networking. Windows 7 HomeGroup – which only works among Windows 7 machines – is a shared group of machines controlled by a computer-generated password, and enables sharing of documents, printers, music and videos. A new feature in the latest release is remote streaming, which lets HomeGroup members access media across the internet, though it depends on correct firewall settings and a link with a Windows Live online account.
Love of Libraries
Microsoft has also realised many business users take laptops home, and allows a PC to join a HomeGroup as well as a business network. Business documents are protected from inadvertent sharing, though some administrators may still forbid this.
"My absolute favourite feature would have to be the Libraries function," says Peter Dzomlija on the Windows 7 forums. "I no longer have to manage four different videos folders." Libraries lets you create a virtual view of several real folders, so that they appear as one. The snag is that users may struggle to distinguish the links from the real thing.
Even Microsoft is concerned about this. In the beta of Windows 7, you could link a folder to a library by drag-and-drop. But what if a user thought a copy of the folder had been made, and deleted the original? Since the library only contains a link, they would lose work. Microsoft has therefore removed the drag-and-drop method of linking in the RC – though links still have the potential to confuse.
Windows 7 has a mountain to climb in persuading people to upgrade, though. According to figures from Net Applications, some 70% of Windows installations are still XP, with just 27.5% on Vista, even though that has been out for more than two years. There are several reasons why: in the consumer market, the growing popularity and sales of netbooks extended the life of XP because Vista was too resource-hungry to fit on them. Microsoft claims to have fixed this with Windows 7, tuning performance for low-end as well as high-end devices.
Second, larger businesses never upgrade in a hurry. "Enterprises usually take 12 to 18 months from the beginning of a new OS to the time when they are ready to deploy it," explains Jump. The reason is not only caution, but also to give time for custom business applications to be tested and upgraded. Third, many users were simply not persuaded of Vista's merits. Many early adopters had a poor experience, and although the latest Vista machines are likely to work much better, its reputation remains tarnished. "A growing number of companies are looking at skipping Vista altogether," says Jump.
But a key, and just-announced, feature in Windows 7 to persuade XP owners reluctant to let go of their carefully managed installation is "XP Mode". This uses an instance of Windows XP running on a virtual PC for near-perfect compatibility. The main limitation is that the virtual PC does not have direct access to hardware such as accelerated graphics or add-on cards, though it does support USB devices. Performance is also compromised compared with running XP directly.
Pizza the action
XP Mode will not be part of retail Windows 7, but may be pre-installed by PC vendors or downloaded as a free add-on for Professional or higher. It requires hardware virtualisation support, built into some (but not all) recent CPUs; Microsoft also recommends 2GB or more of Ram. Aimed at small businesses that need to run old software, XP Mode lets you run XP applications seamlessly from the Windows 7 desktop: only the application window appears, and documents load and save from Windows 7 by default, not from the virtual hard drive – though this integration can be confusing.
When Windows 7 does appear, there will be six editions, beginning with a cut-down version called Windows 7 Starter – which will be hobbled so a maximum of three applications can run at once – going up to Ultimate via Home Basic, Home Premium, Professional and Enterprise. Microsoft is trying to compete with free Linux in the netbook and budget market, while maintaining prices elsewhere.
Brad Brooks, the corporate vice-*president for Windows consumer product marketing, says customers will be able to upgrade to Premium or Ultimate for "less than a night out for four at a pizza restaurant". It still contrasts with Apple's OS X, however, where there is only one edition for all end-user installations.
What's new in Windows 7?
• Redesigned taskbar for launching and switching between programs
• Jump lists let you invoke selected program features from the taskbar
• Aero Peek offers full-size previews of running applications to help you navigate between them
• More user control over notifications or alert balloons, to make Windows less annoying
• Libraries link multiple folders so they appear as one, letting you see all your pictures or documents together
• Multitouch interface lets you control Windows with your fingers, on machines with touch-sensitive screens
• Windows 7 XP Mode (high end *editions only) lets you run programs on a virtual instance of Windows XP, seamlessly integrated into the *Windows 7 desktop
• Refined User Account Control is more secure than Windows XP, but less intrusive than Windows Vista
• Simplified home networking for sharing files, printers, music and video
• Updated Windows Media Player supports new audio and video formats (MP4, H.264,DivX) as well as remote streaming over the internet
• Device Stage brings up a dialogue box specific to your exact device, when you attach supported devices such as cameras and printers
Tim Anderson
The Guardian, Thursday 7 May 2009
guardian.co.uk © Guardian News and Media Limited 2009
With the launch of the Windows 7 release candidate, anticipation is growing over Microsoft's new OS. So is the upgrade really worth waiting for?
The new Windows is edging closer to release. This week, Microsoft has made the release candidate (RC) available to anyone who wants to try it; and although the company has not announced the final release date, Acer's UK managing director, Bobby Watkins, recently told the press that machines with Windows 7 installed will be on sale from 23 October.
Despite its name, there is no chance that the release candidate version will be the final one. Rather, it is the last round of testing before completing the software and issuing it to PC vendors. Acer's date looks plausible, allowing two or three months for Microsoft to finalise the software, and the same again for vendors to prepare and distribute Windows 7 PCs.
Feeling positive
Early adopters are mainly positive. "Much better than Vista and just as stable as XP," writes a user on the unofficial Windows 7 forums, and that view appears typical. The sense is that Microsoft has done a better job than with Vista, partly because the core operating system is little changed, freeing resources to work on refining performance and usability.
"With Vista they were trying to do lots of major plumbing changes, but that created lots of issues. Windows 7 is more [about] enhancing the user experience," explains Annette Jump, a research director at Gartner.
Although Windows 7 has much in common with Vista, there is still a long list of new features. The most obvious is the enhanced taskbar. In Vista, this shows icons for programs that are running, but in Windows 7 you can also launch applications, making it a single place both for starting programs and for switching between them. There are both thumbnail and full-screen previews as you hover the mouse over taskbar icons, making switching easier than before. In the RC this also works for keyboard-switching with the alt and tab keys.
Another area of focus is home networking. Windows 7 HomeGroup – which only works among Windows 7 machines – is a shared group of machines controlled by a computer-generated password, and enables sharing of documents, printers, music and videos. A new feature in the latest release is remote streaming, which lets HomeGroup members access media across the internet, though it depends on correct firewall settings and a link with a Windows Live online account.
Love of Libraries
Microsoft has also realised many business users take laptops home, and allows a PC to join a HomeGroup as well as a business network. Business documents are protected from inadvertent sharing, though some administrators may still forbid this.
"My absolute favourite feature would have to be the Libraries function," says Peter Dzomlija on the Windows 7 forums. "I no longer have to manage four different videos folders." Libraries lets you create a virtual view of several real folders, so that they appear as one. The snag is that users may struggle to distinguish the links from the real thing.
Even Microsoft is concerned about this. In the beta of Windows 7, you could link a folder to a library by drag-and-drop. But what if a user thought a copy of the folder had been made, and deleted the original? Since the library only contains a link, they would lose work. Microsoft has therefore removed the drag-and-drop method of linking in the RC – though links still have the potential to confuse.
Windows 7 has a mountain to climb in persuading people to upgrade, though. According to figures from Net Applications, some 70% of Windows installations are still XP, with just 27.5% on Vista, even though that has been out for more than two years. There are several reasons why: in the consumer market, the growing popularity and sales of netbooks extended the life of XP because Vista was too resource-hungry to fit on them. Microsoft claims to have fixed this with Windows 7, tuning performance for low-end as well as high-end devices.
Second, larger businesses never upgrade in a hurry. "Enterprises usually take 12 to 18 months from the beginning of a new OS to the time when they are ready to deploy it," explains Jump. The reason is not only caution, but also to give time for custom business applications to be tested and upgraded. Third, many users were simply not persuaded of Vista's merits. Many early adopters had a poor experience, and although the latest Vista machines are likely to work much better, its reputation remains tarnished. "A growing number of companies are looking at skipping Vista altogether," says Jump.
But a key, and just-announced, feature in Windows 7 to persuade XP owners reluctant to let go of their carefully managed installation is "XP Mode". This uses an instance of Windows XP running on a virtual PC for near-perfect compatibility. The main limitation is that the virtual PC does not have direct access to hardware such as accelerated graphics or add-on cards, though it does support USB devices. Performance is also compromised compared with running XP directly.
Pizza the action
XP Mode will not be part of retail Windows 7, but may be pre-installed by PC vendors or downloaded as a free add-on for Professional or higher. It requires hardware virtualisation support, built into some (but not all) recent CPUs; Microsoft also recommends 2GB or more of Ram. Aimed at small businesses that need to run old software, XP Mode lets you run XP applications seamlessly from the Windows 7 desktop: only the application window appears, and documents load and save from Windows 7 by default, not from the virtual hard drive – though this integration can be confusing.
When Windows 7 does appear, there will be six editions, beginning with a cut-down version called Windows 7 Starter – which will be hobbled so a maximum of three applications can run at once – going up to Ultimate via Home Basic, Home Premium, Professional and Enterprise. Microsoft is trying to compete with free Linux in the netbook and budget market, while maintaining prices elsewhere.
Brad Brooks, the corporate vice-*president for Windows consumer product marketing, says customers will be able to upgrade to Premium or Ultimate for "less than a night out for four at a pizza restaurant". It still contrasts with Apple's OS X, however, where there is only one edition for all end-user installations.
What's new in Windows 7?
• Redesigned taskbar for launching and switching between programs
• Jump lists let you invoke selected program features from the taskbar
• Aero Peek offers full-size previews of running applications to help you navigate between them
• More user control over notifications or alert balloons, to make Windows less annoying
• Libraries link multiple folders so they appear as one, letting you see all your pictures or documents together
• Multitouch interface lets you control Windows with your fingers, on machines with touch-sensitive screens
• Windows 7 XP Mode (high end *editions only) lets you run programs on a virtual instance of Windows XP, seamlessly integrated into the *Windows 7 desktop
• Refined User Account Control is more secure than Windows XP, but less intrusive than Windows Vista
• Simplified home networking for sharing files, printers, music and video
• Updated Windows Media Player supports new audio and video formats (MP4, H.264,DivX) as well as remote streaming over the internet
• Device Stage brings up a dialogue box specific to your exact device, when you attach supported devices such as cameras and printers
Tim Anderson
The Guardian, Thursday 7 May 2009
guardian.co.uk © Guardian News and Media Limited 2009
