by Ryan Budiman

Created on: January 11, 2009

Windows 7 is the latest Operating System from Microsoft, which, they say, could 'make everyday tasks faster and easier, make your PC work the way you want it to, and make new things possible'. Apparently, they realized that Vista was indeed a failure and has decided to make a new version to improve on it. Windows 7 is currently built on the foundation of Vista. This means that there will be no more compatibility issues when upgrading from Vista to 7.

Windows 7 beta is available for download free from Microsoft, but the product key is limited for the first 2.5 million people who downloads it. 7 will run only for a short 30 days without the key, so don't bother to install it if you missed it; it will only cause you more trouble than fun. You can upgrade to Windows 7 from your current Windows only if you have Vista Service Pack 1, otherwise you must wipe your had disk clean to install it.

On the first sight Windows 7 isn't all that different from Vista, mainly because Microsoft is more focused to improve the OS's performance. But one thing that is clearly notable is the all-new taskbar, which, I dare to say, is one of the most compelling reason for normal users to upgrade to 7. You can do a lot more from the usually-underestimated Quick Launch bar. It's not only for launching applications, but can be used to preview opened windows in real-time, access the contextual 'Jumplist' menu, and can be customized to hold recent Word or Excel documents, pictures, Media Player videos, and many other file types. Some people even said that the new taskbar looks similar to Mac OS X's dock.

In Windows 7, we now have several new ways to work with our windows. For example, dragging the window border to the top of the screen will maximize it, while dragging windows to either side of the screen will resize it as much as half of your computer screen; this is useful to compare documents or work with 2 directories at once. Windows 7 also have the feature to see-through your windows by making them invisible. Just move your cursor the bottom right most of the screen. This is handy in case we want to take a quick look at our desktop gadgets.

Microsoft doesn't make Windows 7 only as an eye candy, in fact, much of 7's improvements is under-the-hood. The startup and shutdown time has been improved considerably. For laptop users, 7 is more capable to manage power consumption. Running programs more efficiently and dimming the laptop screen when not in use will preserve the battery life, and therefore more time to finish your work. Microsoft have also noticed that Tablet PC has steadily become one of the most popular alternative for portable computing. The new OS also includes a more capable handwritting recognition, and a new way to 'touch' the screen to perform many different task.

Networking capabilities has also been improved, especially for home users. Now it is easier to create a private home network by using what they call "Home Group", as well as joining wireless networks only by clicking the network icon in the system tray and choosing which network you want to join.

In overall, Windows 7 may seem quite promising, but that will depend on the finished version of 7. We don't know whether or not Microsoft will drop some features from it, as it has done to Vista. And before we all get too excited, I recommend checiking the retail price first, will it cost the same as Vista, or even more expensive? For now that is difficult to tell, so all we can do now is to stay tuned for any announcements.

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