Windows 7

Yesterday, Microsoft released the public beta of Windows 7. I was able to obtain a copy, and installed it. My copy of Windows 7 is installed through Parallels on my MacBook Pro. Due to it being virtualized, some hardware didn’t work too well. I was unable to connect to the internet, use Aero, or play music. However, I was able to do everything else in Windows 7. I took some screenshots, which you can see below:

Boot Screen

Boot Screen

The new boot screen. Instead of a useful progress bar, Microsoft opted to put in a glowing Windows logo.

Windows 7 Info

Windows 7 Info

The Windows 7 info box. I was unable to get an experience rating due to a lack of drivers. I couldn’t activate either, due to a lack of internet. Clearly, I’m not going to be using Windows 7 as a main system.

Windows 7 Desktop

Windows 7 Desktop

The general desktop, along with my Mac OS X desktop.

Gadgets

Gadgets

Windows 7 has gadgets…

Widgets

Widgets

…and Mac OS X has widgets. Lately, they’ve been looking very similar.

Media Player

Media Player

The Media Player is all white and shiny.

Control Panel

Control Panel

The Control Panel’s new default view.

Wordpad

Wordpad

Wordpad looks like a mini-version of Word 2007. Same ribbon UI, but it can’t save to .doc format. Maybe it’s meant to be a Word 2007 demo?

Notepad

Notepad

Notepad has remained virtually unchanged, which is a relief.

Command Line

Command Line

Command Line remains the same.

Folder Options

Folder Options

Windows Explorer

Windows Explorer

The new Windows Explorer. It has some Vista elements, though.

MS Paint

MS Paint

The new MS Paint has anti-aliasing, and various brushes. Note the ribbon UI.

MS Paint Menu

MS Paint Menu

The menu in MS Paint.

Start Menu

Start Menu

The Start Menu, which is almost the same as Vista’s. Although when an item is highlighted, the text on it becomes quite hard to read.

Start Button

Start Button

The start button, which has remained the same as Vista’s…

Start Button

Start Button Sparkle

…until you hover over it. Now in addition to lighting up, it glows. Thanks a lot Microsoft, you knew just what we wanted-  pretty glows!
Sarcasm, by the way

Windows 7 Build Number

Windows 7 Build Number

The annoying little watermark on the bottom right. Also note the shiny “View Desktop” button at far right.

Character Map

Character Map

The Character Map has remained virtually unchanged since XP. Time for an update?

Internet Explorer 8

Internet Explorer 8

The Internet Explorer 8 beta. I was not able to test its subpar rendering as I had no internet in Windows 7.

Windows 7 adds a lot in terms of eye candy. Glows and shines run wild in 7. But will it perform better than Vista? Only time will tell. 

Jan 10 2009
zPosted in General, Microsoft, Technology
  • http://rustycracker.org Eternal

    The paint is awesome, that’s for sure.

  • http://forthelose.org Ralph

    Epic post. I love learning new things about Windows 7. Though the glows and whatnot are unnecessary, they are a nice addition. It makes the OS look futuristic.

    Though I don’t care if it looks like XP, I just want awesome performance.

  • http://dzine-studios.com Dan

    Yeah, in the end it’s all about performance. Thanks for reading =D

  • http://viciousduck.org ViciousDuck

    Lol…
    When is apple gonna sue?

  • http://rustycracker.org Eternal

    When they make a _________ size small enough for you, ViciousDuck.

    Edited by the all-powerful admin for language.

  • http://dzine-studios.com Dan

    Guys, keep it clean. Eternal, I had to censor your comment a bit, as some of my teachers and relatives read this blog.

  • Janine Sampson

    Since you ran it in parallels the lack of drivers (wifi, sound) is Apple’s fault. OSX ‘widgets’ were in no way unique, charmap does what it’s needed to do why should they change it? Only a tiny minority of people even used it (or know it’s there)…

    If you find the highlighted start-menu hard to read it’s probably because of the poor screen in your MacBook Pro, or you’re just so desperate to find problems you’re just listing a bunch of non-issues.

  • http://dzine-studios.com Dan

    Well Mac OS 10.4 (Tiger) was the first Mac OS to have widgets. It was released in 2005. Vista, with it’s “gadgets” was released in 2007. Clearly widgets came before gadgets. And can you not see the overbearing similarity between them?
    And my screen is just fine. I even tuned it to PC settings to get a more realistic experience in Vista 7. Well I am nitpicking, so most users won’t notice or care about the non-issues.