I'm on my first full week of using Windows 7 Release Candidate. And having used every Windows version since Windows 3.0, I will have to say this is by far the best Windows version ever. POSSIBLY, even better than Mac OS X. I absolutely love this operating system. In so much, as I would not have any problems installing it on all of my production machines that are hardware capable. Ok... don't go and do this yourself, but I have to say Windows 7 is very impressive.
First, let's look at a little history. Windows 1.0 was the first version of windows and would mostly be referred to as a graphical representation of DOS, then came Windows 3.0 which I did use on my first personal computer, an IBM PS/1. I upgraded 3.0 to 3.1 which was a dramatic improvement .... lol.... as you can tell from the huge jump in version numbers. Then let's see... Windows 95, which was a leap forward for Microsoft, although a very problematic operating system. You can also throw in NT Workstation somewhere in this mix. We then were fortunate to receive Windows 98 which fixed many of the problems of Windows 95, but was still lacking. OK, Windows ME should not be considered a true operating system. I'm sure Microsoft would love to forget about it and so would I. Windows 2000 was another true inovation bringing the more stable and secure NT kernel to the mainstream operating system and until now I would consider one of the most stable windows operating systems. We then see XP which had a really cool name but took until service pack 1 to become successful in a production environment. And finally, the disappointment of Vista. With the exception of Windows 1.0, I have had experience with all of these operating systems as well as Mac OS and various linux distros.
I installed Windows 7 RC on an Apple Macbook running Boot Camp as well as my home desktop computer. Both are running the 64-bit version. The Macbook install took about 20 minutes, I then installed the Mac Vista 64-bit drivers which worked flawleslly. Before the drivers were even fully installed a message popped up telling me I had a windows update to install. The update included a driver for my sound card. I installed the windows update and rebooted. I quickly went to the device manager expecting a number of yellow exclamation marks indicating some items did not install correctly. There were only two and I pulled those drivers from the same Mac disk. I have never in my numerous times of installing an operating system had such an easy time. And keep in mind this is the not the final version but a release candidate. I then installed my various scanners, printers and applications, again with no problems. I was even able to run a client specific application that has not been updated since 2002. The home Dell desktop was even easier with all of the drivers being found by Windows 7 during the install.
My first impressions beside the stunning clean look of the new desktop is the speed. Windows 7 is running noticeably quicker on my machines than Vista was or for that matter XP. My favorite new features are aero snap, sticky notes and windows taskbar. Aero snap allows you to snap windows to certain areas of the screen. For example, dragging a window to the left side of the screen will snap it to the left half of the screen. You can do the same on the right side and you have a perfectly split screen. The sticky notes allow you to place sticky notes of any size and various colors anywhere on your screen. The windows taskbar is very similar to the Mac OS dock and is a great productivity feature.
You can download the Windows 7 Release Candidate from Microsoft at http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-7/ until June 30. Microsoft has not set a date for the final release, but most likely by October. You can read more about the new features on Paul Thurott's website http://www.winsupersite.com/win7/.
