Windows 7 - just no words!
I may be emotional above average, but be that as it may ... I tinker with Windows 7 for the third day - and positive emotions will be like that! :) It has long been this was not when working with software. In my review, I tried to talk about the capabilities of the system that were not yet covered on the Windows 7 HubBlog .
But, let's order.
Windows 7 on a home computer (where I have a home cinema, an archive of music and all that - here is a description of the creation, here is the configuration) I tried to deliver for a long time. Only after installation, before the launch of the system itself, a black screen appeared and nothing happened after that. “Not time,” I thought, and returned to Vista. After the release of the public beta, I decided to try again and downloaded the 64bit version. The result is the same: (After a brief reflection, I disconnected all USB devices (I had a buggy IR interface there) and rebooted again ... These were the last negative emotions of the last 3 days. Then everything went like clockwork! Ugh, ugh, ugh :)
')
First boot
The system booted with sound, in maximum resolution and with all the driverpies . Only the GotView TV tuner was not found, but its 64-bit Vista driver came up without any problems. Actually it was expected.
What immediately adjusts to good feelings is an unobtrusive, elegant design and a very fast response of the system. For example, the second monitor immediately identified itself as a projector and Windows7 suggested that I set it up like this:
The weather outside the window and on the desktop looked like this:
This is how the information in Windows Update is conveniently and beautifully constructed (she immediately found the updates for the drivers)
While Media Center was looking for television channels on the second monitor (projector), I began to customize IE8 and upload 64-bit versions of programs and codecs. Well, at the same time enjoy the view of the tascabar below - consider how the preview of the windows smoothly flows into each other when you hover the mouse over the icons (bottom left).
And the display of the state of long processes (copying and downloading files in this case) in the taskbar icons caused a sweet smile in general (increased):
Media
After Media Center found the channels, looked at the changes in the program. More functionality has appeared for Internet television, which is not yet available for Russia. Added support for DVB-T tuners and EPG (Electronic Program Guide), i.e. in addition to better signal quality, you can also automatically receive the program guide and it does not need to bother, as I did a year ago :) But ... Although I have a tuner like this - there is no such signal in Samara, but in Moscow it should already work , as far as I know.
This cool functionality was added (it didn’t seem to be there) - when watching a TV program, you can rewind it at any time back in a small window (guests, especially older ones, simply lose their mind when they see what they are doing with “TV”)
The interface style has changed a bit - actually I liked everything before, but now it has become more subtle and elegant.
And this is what a music album looks like against the background of the entire library in the Media Center (in dynamics, it is also highlighted in every way, such as Never Say Die when you hover the mouse). By the way, the first thing I did was install a new 64bit Zune and a bunch of music albums downloaded from the Zune Pass started playing in Windows Media Center on Windows 7. Here it’s written how to get this happiness, in the form of unlimited music from Microsoft, to everyone.
Well, by the way, another pleasant surprise is that the H.264 DivX codec is already available in Windows 7 and you don’t have to bother with the installation of any Vista Codecs and K-Lite Codecs if you mostly watch avi.
Another comment, do not forget to install a patch for this beta right after installation, which solves problems with MP3 files.
Information management
When I identified my network as home network, Windows 7 immediately offered me to create a HomeGroup. Actually, I, without particularly thinking, agreed, and the system gave me the password from this HomeGroup, which, as you might guess, came in handy later - at that moment I decided that I would install Windows 7 and on a working laptop as the main OS: ) Looking ahead, I must say that I did not regret and calmly installed all the necessary software - Office, Visual Studio, Camtasia Studio, SQL 2008, Live Mesh and even hoisted Russian 64bit Windows SharePoint Services on Windows 7 :)
I rolled the same 64bit ISO on the USB flash drive and booted from it, I started to install Windows 7 on a Lenovo T61p laptop. Half an hour later, Windows 7 was already on it. And, again, all the drivers (except for the useless biometrics for anyone's finger) were found, including for WiFi, and I didn’t have to cringe and connect the laptop with a cord to the router to upload updates and drivers from lenovo.com. (I just have an ethernet cable rather short, and the router, it’s also WiFi, lives under the ceiling and every time the installation was accompanied by acrobatic numbers :)) It was the fastest installation in the last 8 years, probably, which I did without getting up from the sofa :)
When I first started Windows 7, the HomeGroup password came in handy for me, which the laptop requested when I tried to join the discovered HomeGroup. And then the expected happiness happened - I saw all the information from my home computer, without spending a minute fussing with users and folders in the Sharing and Security dialog boxes.
Why did I call this section Information Management? Because, in fact, I really managed the information in the general sense of the word, and not the files, folders, and users. Notice the new tab on the left side of Windows Explorer - Libraries in the screenshots above and below:
You can define these Libraries themselves or the types of information - Documents, Pictures, Videos, Music have already been created, and I added another Storage library for the distribution repository. Libraries can include several folders, for example, I added two distribution directories to the Storage library from two different disks. And now I can combine all the pictures (in the screenshot Pictures consists of 2 folders - My Pictures and Public Pictures) into one library and give access to it in my home network with one click of the mouse. Windows 7 itself did all the work that I did myself before — created the user, granted him the rights to the files, created the balls, etc. And he does it instead of me with each change of the library for each folder that is included in it, which pleases even more.
After these experiments with the home network, I entered the laptop into the corporate domain via VPN and ... everything continued to work :)
What about Internet Services?
Windows 7 was developed with the idea of ​​Live Internet services with which it will be tightly integrated and, in fact, I decided to use the Get Windows Live Essentials offer in the Getting Started program and installed them. Moreover, they have been updated with the release of Windows 7.
By the way, you probably already read in Windows 7 reviews about Jump Lists - menus that are associated with programs and contain the most commonly used actions (Tasks) like Get Windows Live Essentials for Getting Started and the latest documents for Word & Excel. As a result, I significantly expanded the functionality of my system. In particular, I write this text in a great and free Windows Live Writer . I taught Office to work with Office Live — for example, you can save a document from Word to the cloud.
And, of course, I received a Live Photo Gallery with extended photo editing capabilities, which is now integrated with the Live social network and my repository on Spaces , where photos can be conveniently uploaded. The program is now looking for faces in the photos and makes it possible to link them to Live contacts, which can lead to very interesting scenarios for sharing and using information. Imagine yourself :)
Indeed, there are plenty of opportunities, if you have at your disposal:
Especially now, in a period of crisis and in the period of development of these services, one can very successfully “rise” with a new idea. Microsoft supports anyone both morally and financially, as long as it is, this idea!
Glitches
And finally, in fairness, you need to say a few words about the glitches in the new system. They are there and you can see them. In the photo above, only 2 faces are clearly visible, and Live Photo Gallery has found three. I was neighing for a long time when I saw a third person :)
Summary
I didn’t measure the speed of each task with the “rulers” and didn’t analyze whether it was a new system or a redesigned Vista. I simply compared my user and developer perceptions with existing impressions of the systems in which I worked for a long time - XP, Linux Debian, Vista. The system has become closer to the people, imho. All the actions that I constantly perform - whether I organize information, watch movies or listen to music, open a document in a program and work with it, surf the Internet sites or services - it all became easier and faster. And this is great.
But, let's order.
Windows 7 on a home computer (where I have a home cinema, an archive of music and all that - here is a description of the creation, here is the configuration) I tried to deliver for a long time. Only after installation, before the launch of the system itself, a black screen appeared and nothing happened after that. “Not time,” I thought, and returned to Vista. After the release of the public beta, I decided to try again and downloaded the 64bit version. The result is the same: (After a brief reflection, I disconnected all USB devices (I had a buggy IR interface there) and rebooted again ... These were the last negative emotions of the last 3 days. Then everything went like clockwork! Ugh, ugh, ugh :)
')
First boot
The system booted with sound, in maximum resolution and with all the driver
What immediately adjusts to good feelings is an unobtrusive, elegant design and a very fast response of the system. For example, the second monitor immediately identified itself as a projector and Windows7 suggested that I set it up like this:
The weather outside the window and on the desktop looked like this:
This is how the information in Windows Update is conveniently and beautifully constructed (she immediately found the updates for the drivers)
While Media Center was looking for television channels on the second monitor (projector), I began to customize IE8 and upload 64-bit versions of programs and codecs. Well, at the same time enjoy the view of the tascabar below - consider how the preview of the windows smoothly flows into each other when you hover the mouse over the icons (bottom left).
And the display of the state of long processes (copying and downloading files in this case) in the taskbar icons caused a sweet smile in general (increased):
Media
After Media Center found the channels, looked at the changes in the program. More functionality has appeared for Internet television, which is not yet available for Russia. Added support for DVB-T tuners and EPG (Electronic Program Guide), i.e. in addition to better signal quality, you can also automatically receive the program guide and it does not need to bother, as I did a year ago :) But ... Although I have a tuner like this - there is no such signal in Samara, but in Moscow it should already work , as far as I know.
This cool functionality was added (it didn’t seem to be there) - when watching a TV program, you can rewind it at any time back in a small window (guests, especially older ones, simply lose their mind when they see what they are doing with “TV”)
The interface style has changed a bit - actually I liked everything before, but now it has become more subtle and elegant.
And this is what a music album looks like against the background of the entire library in the Media Center (in dynamics, it is also highlighted in every way, such as Never Say Die when you hover the mouse). By the way, the first thing I did was install a new 64bit Zune and a bunch of music albums downloaded from the Zune Pass started playing in Windows Media Center on Windows 7. Here it’s written how to get this happiness, in the form of unlimited music from Microsoft, to everyone.
Well, by the way, another pleasant surprise is that the H.264 DivX codec is already available in Windows 7 and you don’t have to bother with the installation of any Vista Codecs and K-Lite Codecs if you mostly watch avi.
Another comment, do not forget to install a patch for this beta right after installation, which solves problems with MP3 files.
Information management
When I identified my network as home network, Windows 7 immediately offered me to create a HomeGroup. Actually, I, without particularly thinking, agreed, and the system gave me the password from this HomeGroup, which, as you might guess, came in handy later - at that moment I decided that I would install Windows 7 and on a working laptop as the main OS: ) Looking ahead, I must say that I did not regret and calmly installed all the necessary software - Office, Visual Studio, Camtasia Studio, SQL 2008, Live Mesh and even hoisted Russian 64bit Windows SharePoint Services on Windows 7 :)
I rolled the same 64bit ISO on the USB flash drive and booted from it, I started to install Windows 7 on a Lenovo T61p laptop. Half an hour later, Windows 7 was already on it. And, again, all the drivers (except for the useless biometrics for anyone's finger) were found, including for WiFi, and I didn’t have to cringe and connect the laptop with a cord to the router to upload updates and drivers from lenovo.com. (I just have an ethernet cable rather short, and the router, it’s also WiFi, lives under the ceiling and every time the installation was accompanied by acrobatic numbers :)) It was the fastest installation in the last 8 years, probably, which I did without getting up from the sofa :)
When I first started Windows 7, the HomeGroup password came in handy for me, which the laptop requested when I tried to join the discovered HomeGroup. And then the expected happiness happened - I saw all the information from my home computer, without spending a minute fussing with users and folders in the Sharing and Security dialog boxes.
Why did I call this section Information Management? Because, in fact, I really managed the information in the general sense of the word, and not the files, folders, and users. Notice the new tab on the left side of Windows Explorer - Libraries in the screenshots above and below:
You can define these Libraries themselves or the types of information - Documents, Pictures, Videos, Music have already been created, and I added another Storage library for the distribution repository. Libraries can include several folders, for example, I added two distribution directories to the Storage library from two different disks. And now I can combine all the pictures (in the screenshot Pictures consists of 2 folders - My Pictures and Public Pictures) into one library and give access to it in my home network with one click of the mouse. Windows 7 itself did all the work that I did myself before — created the user, granted him the rights to the files, created the balls, etc. And he does it instead of me with each change of the library for each folder that is included in it, which pleases even more.
After these experiments with the home network, I entered the laptop into the corporate domain via VPN and ... everything continued to work :)
What about Internet Services?
Windows 7 was developed with the idea of ​​Live Internet services with which it will be tightly integrated and, in fact, I decided to use the Get Windows Live Essentials offer in the Getting Started program and installed them. Moreover, they have been updated with the release of Windows 7.
By the way, you probably already read in Windows 7 reviews about Jump Lists - menus that are associated with programs and contain the most commonly used actions (Tasks) like Get Windows Live Essentials for Getting Started and the latest documents for Word & Excel. As a result, I significantly expanded the functionality of my system. In particular, I write this text in a great and free Windows Live Writer . I taught Office to work with Office Live — for example, you can save a document from Word to the cloud.
And, of course, I received a Live Photo Gallery with extended photo editing capabilities, which is now integrated with the Live social network and my repository on Spaces , where photos can be conveniently uploaded. The program is now looking for faces in the photos and makes it possible to link them to Live contacts, which can lead to very interesting scenarios for sharing and using information. Imagine yourself :)
Indeed, there are plenty of opportunities, if you have at your disposal:
- bright head with ideas
- a single open and documented .NET software interface to all these services ,
- A single platform on which you can create a comprehensive application consisting of a desktop client, a client for mobile devices, web services that can also be placed in the cloud
Especially now, in a period of crisis and in the period of development of these services, one can very successfully “rise” with a new idea. Microsoft supports anyone both morally and financially, as long as it is, this idea!
Glitches
And finally, in fairness, you need to say a few words about the glitches in the new system. They are there and you can see them. In the photo above, only 2 faces are clearly visible, and Live Photo Gallery has found three. I was neighing for a long time when I saw a third person :)
Summary
I didn’t measure the speed of each task with the “rulers” and didn’t analyze whether it was a new system or a redesigned Vista. I simply compared my user and developer perceptions with existing impressions of the systems in which I worked for a long time - XP, Linux Debian, Vista. The system has become closer to the people, imho. All the actions that I constantly perform - whether I organize information, watch movies or listen to music, open a document in a program and work with it, surf the Internet sites or services - it all became easier and faster. And this is great.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/49133/
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