New Windows 7 drawing generally rave reviews
POSTED: Sunday, January 17, 2010
Windows 7 hit the open market late last year amid much trepidation. Would it be an improvement over the much-maligned Vista? Would it give folks a reason to upgrade? Or would it force Microsoft to again extend the life of Windows XP? Well, the initial reviews are in and they are favorable.
If you, like most folks, haven't made the leap to Vista, Windows 7 looks and feels much cleaner, sleeker and modern. For those adventurous souls who did go to Vista, Windows 7 solves a lot of the problems introduced by its predecessor.
This is really the crux of the improvement of Windows 7—improvements in the user interface—something Vista promised but did not quite deliver on. Aero Peek makes every window transparent except the one you're actively working on. This makes other windows and icons much easier to find, almost an “;aha!”; moment. Why didn't we do this years ago?
Something else Microsoft has done to make the transition to 7 simpler and faster is the inclusion of the Easy Transfer application. Although Easy Transfer was included in Vista, it was not heavily used for obvious reasons. Easy Transfer lives up to its moniker, facilitating the migration of users, files, settings, documents and other items from your old PC to your new, provided the old one is running XP Service Pack 2 or higher, or Vista.
Easy Transfer requires that the two PCs be connected via a network connection, a proprietary cable or media such as CD/DVD, USB flash drive or external hard drive. Easy Transfer basically replicates your old environment in Windows 7. It even migrates mail from Outlook Express to Windows Live Mail. Be careful, however, if you have viruses or malware on your old computer: Easy Transfer might take those over to the new.
Speaking of mail, Windows 7 does not include Outlook Express, instead replacing it with Windows Live Mail. Of course, you can use any of the popular e-mail client alternatives like Thunderbird, Opera, Eudora and Pegasus. Most business users will probably utilize Outlook 2007.
An item that caused much consternation with Vista is still included in Windows 7. Users of Vista complained endlessly of the User Account Control features, which would pop up incessantly. While toned down quite a bit in Windows 7, it will still take some getting used to for people who never employed Vista.
One last caveat. Before making the leap, review all of your existing applications to determine whether they are compatible with Windows 7. Some might require an upgrade or outright replacement to work under the new operating system.
John Agsalud is an IT expert with more than 20 years of information technology experience in Hawaii and around the world. He can be reached at //';l[1]='a';l[2]='/';l[3]='<';l[4]=' 109';l[5]=' 111';l[6]=' 99';l[7]=' 46';l[8]=' 114';l[9]=' 114';l[10]=' 46';l[11]=' 105';l[12]=' 105';l[13]=' 97';l[14]=' 119';l[15]=' 97';l[16]=' 104';l[17]=' 64';l[18]=' 100';l[19]=' 117';l[20]=' 108';l[21]=' 97';l[22]=' 115';l[23]=' 103';l[24]=' 97';l[25]=' 106';l[26]='>';l[27]='\"';l[28]=' 109';l[29]=' 111';l[30]=' 99';l[31]=' 46';l[32]=' 114';l[33]=' 114';l[34]=' 46';l[35]=' 105';l[36]=' 105';l[37]=' 97';l[38]=' 119';l[39]=' 97';l[40]=' 104';l[41]=' 64';l[42]=' 100';l[43]=' 117';l[44]=' 108';l[45]=' 97';l[46]=' 115';l[47]=' 103';l[48]=' 97';l[49]=' 106';l[50]=':';l[51]='o';l[52]='t';l[53]='l';l[54]='i';l[55]='a';l[56]='m';l[57]='\"';l[58]='=';l[59]='f';l[60]='e';l[61]='r';l[62]='h';l[63]='a ';l[64]='<'; for (var i = l.length-1; i >= 0; i=i-1){ if (l[i].substring(0, 1) == ' ') output += "&#"+unescape(l[i].substring(1))+";"; else output += unescape(l[i]); } document.getElementById('eeEncEmail_BnHgfNGxXM').innerHTML = output; //]]> ";> .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
