My Thoughts on the Windows 7 Beta

I have finally gotten hold of the Windows 7 Beta, and first off it is a very welcome improvement over Vista.

Windows 7’s redesigned taskbar (above) makes it easy to see what’s running and launch programs quickly. It seems as though Microsoft has copied Apple’s Dock, which is not a bad thing but something to note.

Windows 7 performs noticeably faster than Vista, in everything from booting to opening the Start Menu. Programs such as Internet Explorer 8 Beta load nearly instantaneously.

Gone away is the Windows Vista Sidebar. Now you can place your gadgets directly on your desktop, preserving a few much-needed pixels. I find this an improvement as the gadgets feel more integrated into the desktop as opposed to tacked-on like they were in Vista.

Windows Live Essentials (Movie Maker, Photo Gallery, Mail, Messenger, Writer, and more) are official Microsoft programs that can be downloaded onto your Windows 7 PC at no cost. Programs such as Windows Movie Maker and Windows Mail are no longer included with Windows but are now part of the Windows Live Essentials package. Some who do not use these programs may see this as an improvement, while others who rely on these programs may be slightly annoyed with the fact that they are not included with Windows.

Overall, Microsoft has put together a very solid product and I am looking forward to the final Windows 7 (or whatever it’ll be called then) release. It may even convince me to switch from Ubuntu!