Member Avatar for tocalosh

any one using windows 7, just downloaded it and it doesnt appear like a new operating system as yet, rather a new edition of vista

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As observed, the shell in Windows 7 looks familiar; as suggested, a lot of the work was polish and fixes rather than a ground-up redesign. That combination explains why first impressions can feel like "Vista with tweaks" while the actual experience often changes once you use it day to day.

Key differences worth noting (user-facing and under the hood): improved responsiveness and boot/resume behavior, the redesigned taskbar (pinning and jump lists), Aero Peek/Snap/Shake, Libraries and improved search in Explorer, HomeGroup for easier home networking, Device Stage for better device integration, WDDM 1.1/DirectX 11 graphics support, and XP Mode (Virtual PC) for legacy app compatibility. Many kernel- and driver-level tweaks reduce hangs and improve I/O responsiveness compared with early Vista builds. For a compact feature list see Windows 7 - Wikipedia.

If evaluating an upgrade: check vendor drivers before you switch, use XP Mode if you rely on older software, and expect fewer rough edges than early Vista on the same hardware. Microsoft’s official XP Mode documentation is useful when you need legacy compatibility: Windows XP Mode description.

Caveat for anyone reading this years later: mainstream support for Windows 7 has ended, so running it on internet-exposed systems carries security risk. Confirm current support and update guidance on Microsoft’s lifecycle pages before planning a long-term install: Windows 7 lifecycle (Microsoft).

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Member Avatar for OlyComputers

Windows 2000 looked and felt a whole lot like 98 until you started working with it. I haven't used it yet so I can't vouch for Microsofts innovation, but after the lesson they learned last time I'd be careful to judge the OS based on outward similarities to Vista.

I'll also point out that a lot of people like the feel of vista, it's just the constant security authorizations, glitches, and performance/compatibility issues. Those things can be fixed completely independent of the GUI, and I wouldn't expect Microsoft to make any major innovation to their interface for at least 3 more years. Unless multi-touch really takes off.

Member Avatar for tocalosh

i happen to like vista i just feel that brining out a new version should warrant something new, not a rehash of something old

Member Avatar for OlyComputers

I agree, but the new can be deeper than the GUI. They've done a really serious rehash, once you've used it for a while you'll see that. If you like vista or not there's no denying that it had some issues at release, Why should they try to start from scratch and go through the same thing again when they have a usable foundation to build off of?

Everybody thought XP was new, it was virtually Identical to win2k with a new color scheme and a couple of extra "wizards".

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