Many exciting new features in Windows 7

If you do presentations, you'll fall in love with the Win-P keystroke.

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Al Fasoldt's reviews and commentaries, continuously available online since 1983

Many exciting new features in Windows 7

October 25, 2009

By Al Fasoldt
Copyright © 2009, Al Fasoldt
Copyright © 2009, The Post-Standard

    This is Part 2 of a 3-part series on Windows 7.

   Windows 7, which was launched last Thursday, is more than just a new version of Microsoft's PC operating system. It's a remarkably different version of Windows, one that takes some of the best features of Apple's Mac and mixes them with new ideas from Microsoft's own software engineers.
   Windows 7 isn't cheap at $119.99 for the Home Premium upgrade over Vista, but it could be the best thing that ever happened to Windows users. (For more on Windows 7 pricing and upgrade details, see last week's column, at www.technofileonline.com/texts/tec101809.html.)
   There are dozens of new features. Here are the ones that impressed me most in the many weeks I've been using a preview version of Windows 7:
   A dock that can hold launch icons, folders or running programs. This is much better than the old taskbar and is a copy of the Mac's dock. (Copying is OK when you do it right, and Microsoft did this one perfectly. But, oddly, it still calls the dock a taskbar, probably because it doesn't want to remind you of a Mac. C'mon, Microsoft; grow up.)
   -- Hassle-free wireless networking. This is a huge improvement over previous versions of Windows. My Windows 7 laptop never failed to connect quickly to either of my wireless networks. It just plain worked.
   -- A self-healing mode that actually keeps things in check. When things go wrong, Windows 7 usually finds the problem and fixes it -- automatically. This puts Windows XP and Vista (and the Mac) to shame.
   -- A vastly improved System Restore function. It tells you what will be restored and never touches your photos, documents and mail. At last, System Restore can be trusted with your files.
   -- Foolproof connections to multiple monitors, including projectors. If you do presentations, you'll fall in love with this feature. Simply press Win-P to switch into projector mode. I use this feature when I'm giving workshops on Windows 7.
   -- Stunning wallpaper images that can be used as a slideshow underneath the stuff on your desktop. You have to see this to believe it . The images (especially the paintings) are good enough to hang in galleries.
   -- Far better functioning of the User Account Control. This drove Vista users batty, but it works very nicely in Win 7. You can adjust the coaxing that it does, too.

   Next week: Windows 7 vs. the Mac -- Has Apple finally met its match?