2009-09-27

5 things I like about Windows 7

I experimented with Windows 7 for a few months on older, secondary hardware. For the past couple weeks I've been running it on my primary personal machine. I'm liking it more everyday.

When I last wrote about Windows 7, I was having trouble with mapping network drives. A few days later, the problem went away. And it has stayed away to the point where I now call it fixed. Of course it seems to have fixed itself all by itself. I have no idea why it started working right so I'm worried the problem will resurface, but for now, things are working.

Aside from that misadventure, though, I'm getting used to all sorts of neat Windows 7 stuff. Here are 5 things I like about Windows 7.

  1. Aero-snap: Move a window to the right side of the screen, it maximizes to half your screen width. Move another to the left side, and it does that same. It makes it really easy to arrange multiple windows on the desktop.


  2. Multi-monitor support: I'm using a laptop with both an HDMI port and a VGA port. I have two monitors plugged and in and Window 7 handled the extended desktop setup better than any other Windows config I've used.


  3. Taskbar: The enhanced previews are really helpful, especially when I'm using multiple displays. Plus, the "Show Desktop" feature in the lower right is pretty cool.


  4. Desktop Gadgets: The gadget sidebar is gone and now I can have gadgets strewn about my desktop. I like the execution; now I'll just have to see if I use any of the them.


  5. Performance: It definitely feels faster than Vista. It's tough to compare to XP. XP always felt clunkier. Windows 7 feels smoother. It could just be in my head, but whether its real or placebo, it makes me happy just the same.

I'm fairly impressed with Windows 7. And now that my networking problem healed, I can do everything I could under Vista, only better.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Haven't tried it yet. Although, I'm sure it won't be long before Vista and it's applications become obsolete.