Pensacola Computer Help Technoblog

Microsoft’s Steve Ballmer announced at this years CES the release of Windows 7 Beta 1 to both official beta testers and the general public. For those who are technically inclined, you can get a free copy (it will run until August) here: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-7/beta-download.aspx . As a Beta, it is expected to have some bugs, however from what I have seen so far, most of these are minor annoyance bugs and Windows 7 seems to be less demanding on hardware than Windows Vista, and also seem pretty zippy.

Windows 7 comes with a number of pretty cool new features, including a newly designed taskbar with a very cool implementation of live windows previews and switching. It also comes with a reworked Windows Explorer which now has true Library folders (a Library folder is actually a collection of folders so that you can access all of a certain type of file from multiple locations). Library folders can be especially useful when you have things like Music scattered in differernt folders (and even on different hard drives).

A number of things have been redesigned for better access and simplicity, and there are some noteable improvements especially in the Network area. In my own intitial tests (I have installed this on 4 systems so far), all of my hardware was properly identified by Windows Setup (Microsoft says that if you are currently running Vista, you should have no problems). The setup even installed drivers for my printer, TV Tuner card, and Bluetooth!

A Beta is not something to try if you don’t have a fair level of technical experience though – things like being able to burn an iso file to a DVD, knowing how to do a system backup, and willingness to suffer through some inevitable bugs. However, that being said, Windows 7 has been a joy for me to use, and I have been quite impressed with how well it runs, especially being just a Beta. I will be posting some screenshots soon as well as a more in-depth review of some of its cool new features in the days to come.

Microsoft recently released a pre-beta version of the next version of Windows (named Windows 7) to a select group of developers, and I must say that so far it is looking pretty good, especially considering it’s pre-beta state. While Vista has certainly had its share of people who ’say’ they don’t like it (mostly because of trying to run old software or hardware etc), Windows 7 aims to take some of the annoyances from Vista and make it more user friendly.

Starting with a less intrusive version of user access controls (those annoying pop-ups in Vista, that actually help protect your computer), and moving to better file management, an improved back-up program, and a host of other interface improvements, Windows 7 is looking like it will be the Vista that Microsoft hoped for originally.

Although a final release date has not been set, we can probably expect to see Windows 7 hit the market sometime late next year – stay tuned for more information as we dig into the new Windows 7