Windows 7 How would you rate Windows 7

A very pleasant surprise

Previous Windows versions I've used have almost always turned up with problems in the first week or so, but 7 has been very smooth. It's different from what I was using so there's been a learning curve, but that's been the case with every upgrade except maybe 95-to-98.

And while 7 seems not to have as full-featured a search utility as, say, XP (if 7's search has a way to look for text inside files, I haven't found it), filling gaps like that is what shareware is for. In a way it brings back the days of Win95, before Microsoft thought they needed to cram every conceivable utility and functionality into the operating system. I actually like it better that way, but I can imagine most users might not agree.

Hi McGehee,
glad to hear your liking Win 7 and if your having any problems please don't hesitate to ask as that's what we are here for..

I love it better than any other Windows version.

With the exception of that HORRID and time wasting New Menu interface, I find W7 to be very stable and fast. Incidentally I have installed a third party classic menus application and am awaiting MS to come up with a classic menus option.

Its my favorite OS now

Like most of the peoples here i love it. It's much easier to use then any other OS and it's not eating so many resources. My favorite part on it it's the Aero ... brilliant !

I love my Windows 7

I thought windows 7 was going to be a turkey - it turned out to be a roasted chicken.

Wow, I discovered Windows 7 Professional is nothing more than a $300 version of XP. I'm happy now! It only took a couple of hours to disable all the glitzy GUI stuff, and replace it with a 95 percent XP experience. Even got the XP Classical look back in the old Desert color scheme. Found the freeware add-on for restoring the XP Network Traffic Tray Icon - the one with two computer screens that blink to show traffic! Found a copy of Windows Ultimate Tweaker, turned off a bunch of other stuff, eliminated the desktop icon arrows and had the mouse pointer opening menu stuff by pointing - no click required, just like XP. Now I find I can type in commands like regedit and msconfig and get where I want to go. Even the registry is very similar if not the same. Too bad Microsoft didn't include the old XP GUI as an overlay for those who can't afford time to relearn their new committee designed labyrinthine GUI, but then gadgetry is everything. Windows 7 is going to be okay, it works like XP if you chainsaw it a little.

You can give 7 an XP like face, yes, but trying to run XP-age software and the bus stops right there without using a VM.

Big John said:

Wow, I discovered Windows 7 Professional is nothing more than a $300 version of XP. I'm happy now! It only took a couple of hours to disable all the glitzy GUI stuff, and replace it with a 95 percent XP experience. Even got the XP Classical look back in the old Desert color scheme. Found the freeware add-on for restoring the XP Network Traffic Tray Icon - the one with two computer screens that blink to show traffic! Found a copy of Windows Ultimate Tweaker, turned off a bunch of other stuff, eliminated the desktop icon arrows and had the mouse pointer opening menu stuff by pointing - no click required, just like XP. Now I find I can type in commands like regedit and msconfig and get where I want to go. Even the registry is very similar if not the same. Too bad Microsoft didn't include the old XP GUI as an overlay for those who can't afford time to relearn their new committee designed labyrinthine GUI, but then gadgetry is everything. Windows 7 is going to be okay, it works like XP if you chainsaw it a little.

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Isn't it a terrible shame, tho, that you have do do all the searching for configuration settings, third party apps, etc to make of Windows 7 what Microsoft should have made optional to start with? I still cannot arrange my Windows Explorer folder icons in the order of my preference as I can do in XP. I also still cannot delete/disable the multi-user Windows Explorer folders either (Users, All users, Default user, Public, Guest user, etc., etc.).

Partially true

Agent Data said:

You can give 7 an XP like face, yes, but trying to run XP-age software and the bus stops right there without using a VM.

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This is partially true, but Windows 7 will run quite a number of older applications that Vista would not even install, much less run satisfactorily.

What did you expect?

john3347 said:

Isn't it a terrible shame, tho, that you have do do all the searching for configuration settings, third party apps, etc to make of Windows 7 what Microsoft should have made optional to start with? I still cannot arrange my Windows Explorer folder icons in the order of my preference as I can do in XP. I also still cannot delete/disable the multi-user Windows Explorer folders either (Users, All users, Default user, Public, Guest user, etc., etc.).

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Here's the thing, it's all about organizational psychology. When a group of people sit down they all want to do something new, something breathtaking, and they loose sight of what is essential to large segments of the market. They get carried away with Aero stuff, the ability to snap windows around and use a touch screen and finger for cool effects. Meanwhile, millions of users are engaged in business that merely want to use the computer in ways they are familiar with for mundane profitable tasks. For them the computer is a tool, not a toy. Not providing an XP style GUI overlay is an affront to businesses that can't afford the loss of productivity to suit Microsoft's arrogance and disregard for the expense of retraining. Microsoft had no qualms about marketing 31 flavors of Windows 7, but ignored the needs of large business users that could have benefited from an familiar XP GUI. That's why the federal government stepped in and required all automobiles to have similar controls, so you could go from one to the other with little confusion. What we are seeing is an OS designed by monopoly rather than common sense.

Agent Data said:

You can give 7 an XP like face, yes, but trying to run XP-age software and the bus stops right there without using a VM.

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I haven't gone too far with all that yet, but MS Office 97 loaded and worked for most common tasks without any hitch. Adding SP 1 and 2 however proved incompatible. Open Office works flawlessly and does everything well. Still the VM option is there to tinker with. Tinkering is fun, after all, I started with MS DOS 3.0 and this is still easier.

Big John said:

Here's the thing, it's all about organizational psychology. When a group of people sit down they all want to do something new, something breathtaking, and they loose sight of what is essential to large segments of the market. They get carried away with Aero stuff, the ability to snap windows around and use a touch screen and finger for cool effects. Meanwhile, millions of users are engaged in business that merely want to use the computer in ways they are familiar with for mundane profitable tasks. For them the computer is a tool, not a toy. Not providing an XP style GUI overlay is an affront to businesses that can't afford the loss of productivity to suit Microsoft's arrogance and disregard for the expense of retraining. Microsoft had no qualms about marketing 31 flavors of Windows 7, but ignored the needs of large business users that could have benefited from an familiar XP GUI. That's why the federal government stepped in and required all automobiles to have similar controls, so you could go from one to the other with little confusion. What we are seeing is an OS designed by monopoly rather than common sense.

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Hmm... I have never seen my pc as a toy and if the os didn't do the basic things that I want from it then it would go the way of the dodo. Why do you think vista failed the way it did? It failed to get the basics right although subsequent service packs (like XP which if you remember was also a pig when first released) improved things..
Now admittedly if the user or business is upgrading to 7 straight from xp then of course the differences will prove a little daunting for some but is that really the fault of Microsoft? Oh and 7 does have a basic GUI it's just not exactly like xp..
Further reading may help and here is the link for Microsofts Enterprise page:
Link Removed

Also here is a white paper on 'Lessons learned from windows 7 early adopters':

Link Removed

kemical said:

Hmm... I have never seen my pc as a toy and if the os didn't do the basic things that I want from it then it would go the way of the dodo. Why do you think vista failed the way it did? It failed to get the basics right although subsequent service packs (like XP which if you remember was also a pig when first released) improved things..
Now admittedly if the user or business is upgrading to 7 straight from xp then of course the differences will prove a little daunting for some but is that really the fault of Microsoft? Oh and 7 does have a basic GUI it's just not exactly like xp..
Further reading may help and here is the link for Microsofts Enterprise page:
Link Removed

Also here is a white paper on 'Lessons learned from windows 7 early adopters':

Link Removed

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Now kemical, I am writing this in the spirit of discussion of this issue and not to be ugly to anyone on either side of this fence between like and dislike. I do consider a couple of my computers toys. One of them has Linux Mint installed on it and the other has Windows 7. My windows 7 computer ABSOLUTELY refuses to print to my HP Photosmart C7280 wireless printer wirelessly. I have been on HP support chat literally for hours attempting to get this issue fixed. I have a stack of copies of chat conversations that is approximately 3/4" thick attempting to get this issue resolved. Now I don't know if this is an HP problem or if this is a Windows 7 problem. I only know that my Windows XP computer out in the garage prints to the printer properly; my XP computer back in the bedroom prints to it properly; My XP printer here in the computer room (where the printer is located) prints to it properly; my Linux Mint computer here in the computer room prints to it properly (believe that or not); My Hannspree 10" netbook prints to it from wherever it happens to be around the house or outside near the house. But my Windows 7 computer refuses to print to that printer.

Word is the primary Office application that I use, Publisher second and Visio third. I have a desktop shortcut to Office and I want Word to be the first icon within that folder, Publisher the second and Visio the third, then Powerpoint, then.... I want to arrange them the way I want to arrange them, not the way somebody who does not operate my computer wants me to. I could do this, and do this on my XP computers. (I don't know how to try to do it on a Linux machine - - I said that was one of my toy computers.) I cannot do this on my Windows 7 computer. I have several other shortcut folders with several sub-folders inside that I want to arrange MY way. I cannot do that in Windows 7.

These are but two of many specifics that make Windows 7 a "toy" computer OS. I would love to see Microsoft create an option to make Windows 7 become a work computer OS instead of a toy computer OS, but they have definitely gone the wrong direction in that area on every OS update(?) since Windows 2000. Now I have no problem with anyone wanting a "toy" computer to play with, but some of do not want that; we want a straight forward no playtime working computer - and one that works the way WE want it to work not the way some egghead that is totally out of touch with the real world wants it to.

If this rant is judged to be out of place, please relocate it, or delete it, or edit it, but I will still feel that Microsoft has ignored the wants and needs of business and enterprise users with their fluff and puff that adds nothing to - actually takes away from - getting computer work done. Windows 7 just continues this trend. This is why a Windows 7 computer is considered by many to be a "toy". (Nothing wrong with an expensive, spiffy red sports car; but if all you want to do is get to your job and back home, you dont want or need the expense and different driving experience of a spiffy red sports car.)

Not at all John.. That's your opinion and your certainly entitled to express it here.

I would only argue that xp was very similar in it's inception and as I recall it was mainly to do with drivers/printers ect, ect.... I'm sure in 4yrs time the situation will be reversed with someone saying that win 7 is a 'work' os and the new fangled os (win 8) is just a toy......

When you are right, you are VERY right

kemical said:

I would only argue that xp was very similar in it's inception and as I recall it was mainly to do with drivers/printers ect, ect.... I'm sure in 4yrs time the situation will be reversed with someone saying that win 7 is a 'work' os and the new fangled os (win 8) is just a toy......

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I agree TOTALLY with you about XP's introduction woes. For this reason, I remained with Windows Millennium on my home computer (only had one at home back then) until XP was several months into SP2. 'til this day, I maintain a Windows 2000 computer because it, in combination with some hardware (flatbed scanner) and software (graphics program) that will not run on XP, does my family pictures functions better than ANYTHING since. I also would agree that XP leaves a lot to be desired from a standpoint of being a smooth, "businesslike" OS even today. (I am NOT an "XP is perfect" fanboy) The point of my rant was to say that the world needs a no frills business OS that just works to supplement one with all the frills and thrills that waste time and resources for those who do not desire those features. This is the 'option' that I spoke of in an earlier post in this thread. Microsoft has lost sight of this need and is moving farther and farther away from this no frills concept with each successive edition. Windows 7 is no exception to this pattern.

To Win 7 or not to Win7, that is the question.

Sorry folks, but Microsoft began by purchasing 86-DOS from Seattle Computer Co. in 1981, and PC computing has been struggling along with less than satisfactory OS's ever since. Windows 7 continues in the tradition of slapping together something that almost works most of the time, behind a lot of graphical bling and gadgetry. Microsoft's main strength is marketing with software a close second (Remember MS Bob, the operating system project managed by Bill gates girlfriend? Again, corporate psychology and interpersonal dynamics vs. reality.) While XP wasn't anywhere ideal, it was somewhat intuitive. I am not saying that Window 7 is a failure, or even a bad deal, I am picking it up quite handily. What I am saying is that somewhere, someone needs to offer a modular operating system, with the level of features dependent on the needs of the customer. Level one would be a basic OS that runs programs, loads system and network drivers and mimics the familiar file system of a brick and mortar office - like XP did, and is backward compatible with existing business software. You should at least be able to sort objects by drag and dropping. I worked for an organization with over 5,000 employees, making a major upgrade to a completely unfamiliar GUI an enormous training expense. Given that physicians and nursing staff are reliant on the computer, building in an error factor until they develop familiarity is simply unacceptable. Windows 7 is a good attempt, but fell short of being what could have been. I still have a stock of Windows XP OEM packs - I think I'll hang on to them.

love it, for now

For those that desire XP just Purchase W7 Pro and above and you can run XP to your hearts content, as a virtual machine. Time moves on we all must learn to adapt that is the way of nature.