operating system

Here is something I haven't seen since Windows 95 was lauched...massive consumer excitement for a Microsoft product. One of the few benifits to Windows Vista is that it forced Microsoft to reconnect with its customers and improve the Windows development process. Microsoft just didn't need to work harder to improve relationships with home and business customers but also with PC manufacturers.

Natali Del Conte's CNET video below spotlights not just the Windows 7 software, but what PC manufacturers and service providers are planning to do with the new operating system. The products from Dell, HP, Acer, and Amazon's Kindle reader all look very cool.

I don't plan on posting any new reviews of Windows 7 since I already blogged about the operating system a few months ago. In November, I do plan on upgrading my home Windows 7 RC 32 Bit machine to Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit. Since the upgrade requires a fresh install I think it will be an interesting experience to write about.

Those that have followed my blogs over the years know full well that I'm operating system neutral. At work I use Windows and Linux right next to each other. At home my family uses a mix of Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux PCs. I have my likes and dislikes with each operating system. I don't drink the kool aid with any of the systems as I'm not easily impressed with what I see.

During the past couple years, I've been extremely disappointed in Windows Vista and consider the experience delivered by the operating system to be just as bad as Windows ME. It has long been my view that if Microsoft screwed up Windows 7 we could kiss the Windows line goodbye and for evermore be just as happy with both OS X and Linux (with Ubuntu as my favorite Linux client). However, it looks like Microsoft's developers have responded well to the criticism and Windows 7 is going to deliver the goods consumers and enterprises need in their operating system.

I've been testing Windows 7 since Beta 2 and currently have the Release Candidate version on my desktop. It is a great operating system and delivers on the performance and stability improvements Microsoft promised but didn't keep in Vista. Surprisingly, my favorite feature in Windows 7 is the task bar. The task bar is a delight to work with and in my opinion outshines the outdated Dock in OS X. Windows 7 is such an improvement that I just don't see myself complaining about this operating system in the same way I did with Vista. Those days are coming to an end.

Not long ago I wrote that KDE 4 might produce enough changes to its look and feel to help Linux become more Mac-like.  At the time, Windows Vista seemed to be trying to move in the same direction.  Interestingly, someone has noted that Windows 7 now appears to be moving towards Linux's direction with the Windows desktop looking more like KDE 3.5.

The review features screenshots and I must say, even though it has not convinced me, Windows 7 is a step forward from Vista, at least as far as the GUI is concerned.  Aside from the removal of some annoying Vista bells and whistles and the new Peek and Snap window-management enhancements, it is difficult not to notice the resemblance between Microsoft’s much-touted revamped Aero and the excellent, now 3-years old, KDE 3.5.x.

Personally, I think Microsoft, Apple, and the Linux desktop developers have run out of ideas.  Any new innovation for these desktops seem to be ideas borrowed and improved from each other's desktops.  This is one of the reasons why I have lost my "wow" when it comes to operating systems.  In 2007, I wrote:

We can debate all we want to about whether Linux will ever beat Microsoft's Windows or Apple's OS X on the computer's desktop.  To be honest though, the opinion that matters to me the most is my own opinion.  Except for the occasional hardware compatibility issue, Linux is the operating system I have found to be the most dependable.

I know what most of you are thinking and let me address what is on your mind at this very moment. No, I'm not blinded with nerd goggles.  In fact, I'm currently writing this post from a Windows Vista PC while my wife in the next room is on her MacBook Pro.  Windows and OS X have earned their roles on the computer stage and I would be the last person to dismiss these great operating systems.  However, these days I'm finding that Linux has just as much of a right to this stage when debating the value of operating systems.  

Perhaps, I'm just saying this after finding a new variant of the Vundo trojan on a PC with Windows XP.  A trojan that even some of the better anti-virus software can't detect or remove.  That trojan took 25 working hours to analyze and remove from the infected Windows PC.  Or, perhaps I'm favoring Linux because after being mandated to install anti-virus software on the Linux boxes, I found not a single piece of malicious software on the systems.  I am also filled with joy because I'm nearing the purchase of a laptop with Ubuntu Linux pre-installed knowing that the entire laptop is likely to cost me far less than the MacBook Pro I bought my wife last year.  Linux, you are a sweetheart in my eyes.

Gizmodo published their first impressions of the Windows 7 operating system currently being developed by Microsoft.  Microsoft allowed developers and reviewers get a sneak peek of this Vista replacement during this week's Professional Developers Conference.  Gizmodo and other tech blogs have indicated Windows 7, although still incomplete, looks to be a better version of Windows than Vista.  Improvements in boot-up time, work-flow, performance, and user interface all take center stage with this new version of Windows.

In the Gizmodo article, one new feature listed for Windows 7 hopes to improve customer experience with home networking.  As I read how the new feature, HomeGroup, is described...I'm sort of disappointed.

HomeGroup is a re-do of classic workgroup networking, only with the home in mind. The feature will only work on Windows 7, so to test it I'd need a second loaner unit. Still, having set up a basic HomeGroup, at least the initial interface and Microsoft's literature suggest that this will simplify viewing content across multiple machines, and sharing printers and other products. Let's hope so, because it could also be one of those classic "Why won't this work for me????" networking wizards. (Or is it just me who gets those?)

Don't get me wrong, I applaud Microsoft for simplifying and viewing network connectivity.  However, I'm troubled that HomeGroup will only work on Windows 7 systems.  In my own home, I currently have a mix of XP, Vista, Linux, and Mac OS X systems.  I just wonder how long it is going to take most families to see any real benefit of HomeGroup in Windows 7?  Even for those homes without Macs and Linux systems, it is going to take a few years before those Windows XP and Vista systems are replaced.  It will be interesting to see how HomeGroup evolves in later versions of Windows 7.