HWFG1

So, the week before I left Tennessee, I installed the Release Candidate for Windows 7 on my laptop, a Compaq Presario C751NR. I was pleasantly surprised. Vista had been a major pain in the ass for me to work with, because, even using the Windows Classic theme, the memory usage was horrible. That being said, I was also apprehensive about the absence of the Windows Classic theme…

However, I’m running Aero currently, with Firefox, AIM, uTorrent, and iTunes open. Most Windows users know that Firefox and iTunes require a decent amount of memory to run, and AIM also requires a bit more than most programs. However, I’m not getting any lag; I’ve had Firefox freeze on me once, and it wasn’t even permanently (which is a step up from my experience with Vista). I’ve gotten the BSoD twice, but, that’s to be expected with a Release Candidate. The most trouble I’ve had with programs and memory usage is, sometimes, when I’m running Guitar Pro to write songs (which I try not to do with iTunes open, to keep usage down; also, I use MIDI for songs with more than 5 or 6 tracks, unless it’s absolutely necessary I use RSE), the buttons in the Firefox window will begin to disappear, and, a screen will pop-up saying something about not having enough memory, at which point, I just restart Firefox.

In addition to the smoothness of Windows 7, I enjoy the new taskbar. Instead of having Quick Launch icons, you pin a program to the taskbar, and, whenever you click that button, the button disappears and in its place appears a window. It is both convenient and efficient in my opinion. It also groups certain things together. For instance, if you have AIM open, and your buddy list is on the taskbar, if you open a conversation, the two windows are placed next to each other on the taskbar, and it almost looks like one huge window (there is a space between the AIM windows and anything else you may have open to differentiate). Another cool feature they’ve integrated into the taskbar is color coding. For instance, if you have uTorrent open, it is green, because it is a downloading program. AIM is orange, etc.

Also, Windows Sidebar is no longer included in Windows installation…sort of. You can download the gadgets you want, but, instead of being placed on an annoying, space-taking Sidebar, they are called “Desktop Gadgets”, and can be moved to convenient places on the Desktop. It is still called “Sidebar.exe” as a process, though, and serves the same basic function.

Another feature is the addition of a “Libraries” directory. It seems a bit redundant, to be honest, but, I suppose it has its perks. When you open Windows Explorer, there’s what I call the “essential shortcuts” on the left (Desktop, My Computer, C:/, etc.). Now, instead of the “*username here*” folder, there is “Libraries”, in which you have Documents, Music, Pictures, and Video folders (I also put my band folder in there). The redundancy redundancy comes in that the same folders are still located in your “*username here*” folder. So, the idea of Libraries is pointless.

I’ve uploaded some screen shots to a Photobucket album which you can view here, if you’d like. All in all, I’m impressed with Windows 7, even as a Release Candidate.