‘ ‘ ‘ Microsoft is trying it again. ‘ ‘ ‘ Vista is no longer viable for Microsoft to… ‘ ‘ ‘ Microsoft is trying it again. ‘ ‘ ‘ Vista is no longer viable for Microsoft to continue, and it transferred all of its development clout and attention into Windows 7. ‘ ‘ ‘ This might not seem overly exciting, you might think, as Microsoft is renowned for announcing the development of an operating system about 10 years before it truly comes out. Although this is a fair level of exaggeration, Microsoft does have a knack for leading a community on, as evidenced by the long waiting period between the announcement of Vista’s development and the first store-ready copy. ‘ ‘ ‘ But because Vista was such a commercial disaster for Microsoft, Windows 7 seems to be jumping Microsoft’s tendency to drag its feet. Microsoft recently announced the release of a beta version of Windows 7. As a good computer engineer, I was obliged to download it, install it and try it. ‘ ‘ ‘ Microsoft claims that Windows 7 branches directly from user feedback. As a result, Microsoft strived to make Windows 7 more reliable, more efficient and less demanding on hardware. Microsoft touts on its Web site a set of key features of Windows 7 that are new and ‘exciting.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ Included is a better task bar with more information about programs that can be run. The simple icons of the Windows XP task bar have been replaced with program previews and basic information about a program’s function and origins. ‘ ‘ ‘ Also included is a new version of Internet Explorer, labeled Internet Explorer 8, that makes searching more interactive and quicker. With Internet Explorer 8, Microsoft hopes to allow users greater flexibility in search string misspellings, by making suggestions as to search queries as the user enters each character. ‘ ‘ ‘ Microsoft Windows 7 should also improve on Vista and XP’s compatibility with hardware and should have the capability to automatically recognize and function with a wider selection of hardware devices. For those devices that require post-installation setup or property editing, Microsoft provided an ‘improved’ device management scheme. ‘ ‘ ‘ Windows 7, though billed as being ultimately more efficient than Vista, is still a resource hog. It requires a minimum of a 1 gHz processor with 1 GB of RAM. The minimum requirements are the same as the advanced versions of Windows Vista. The install of Windows 7 is Vista-like. This is only a major point because it seems the days of Microsoft graphical operating systems being installed using a command-line utility are over. Excellent. ‘ ‘ ‘ The look and feel of Windows 7 initially appears as a cut-down, not-so-fluffy version of Vista. The task bar had been replaced with a new stylized Windows button ‘mdash; similar to the logo you see when you first boot Vista. Right next to the start button itself are larger icons for frequently-used programs ‘- or, at least, programs Microsoft hopes you will frequently use. The main difference between the new icons and the quick launch icons of Windows XP are their right-click capabilities. Right-clicking on an icon will provide a pop-up that gives you specific tasks applicable to the program. ‘ ‘ ‘ Once the user clicks on the stylized Windos logo, the task menu is extremely similar to the one in Vista. There are no sub-menus as is the case in XP. Clicking on a sub-menu simply shifts the task bar’s focus, requiring fewer mouse movements and better use of screen real-estate. Programs can be quickly located by entering a search query into the task menu. ‘ ‘ ‘ The file structure of Windows 7 is also slightly different from previous Windows versions. Documents, Music, Movies and Pictures have all been moved into a folder called ‘Libraries.’ An icon for a user’s Library folder is conveniently located on the task bar at Windows install time. ‘ ‘ ‘ Hardware visualization is better in Windows 7 than in previous versions of Windows. Instead of cryptic lists, the Control Panel of Windows 7 consolidates a list of installed devices into easy-to-understand, large icons. Manipulations of the icons allow users to install, remove and edit the properties of connected hardware. ‘ ‘ ‘ Windows Gadgets also received a facelift. Now, it is possible to position gadgets all over the desktop. This approach to online gadgetry is reminiscent of the Mac OS X dashboard approach. Gadgets from Windows Vista have been grandfathered in, including the calendar, RSS news feeder and the CPU meters. ‘ ‘ ‘ All-in-all, Windows 7 seems to be an improvement over Vista. Its true reliability and compatibility characteristics have yet to be determined, however. For this article, Windows 7 was given a true efficiency and speed test. It was loaded on a 2.8 gHz Pentium IV machine through Microsoft Virtual PC 2007. Although the graphics were understandably slow, the install and basic operation of Windows 7 was surprisingly quick. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ The operating system is still in its beta testing stage, a stage when many last-minute bugs are identified and worked out. Reliability issues or glitches in the beta release are not necessarily indicative of the quality of the eventual production-ready version. ‘ ‘ ‘ From initial impressions, Windows 7 has an equal opportunity to go in two directions. It can either be completely accepted by previous Vista haters and thus succeed, or it can still be put on the shelf in lieu of faster machines running legacy versions of XP. If Windows 7 were to come out tomorrow, I personally would continue to run XP on my machines.