Don Davidson Computer / Windows 7

The final version of Windows 7 is on sale now (As of October 22nd, 2009)
Free upgrades should be available to those who purchased a Vista PC shortly before the final release of Win7.

Download Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor
Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor scans your PC to see if it's ready for Windows 7, and tells you about any known compatibility issues.

The first thing you want to do is back up your important files.
I cannot stress enough the importance of a good data backup before you upgrade.

Why Upgrade? (or not)

* If you’re running Windows Vista and gritting your teeth over it, you should upgrade as soon as possible. The relief will be immediate.
* If you’re shopping for a new PC, get one with Windows 7 on it. OEMs that do a good job of matching PC hardware to Windows should be rewarded. Those who didn’t learn from the Vista experience deserve to be punished.

* If you’re perfectly happy with the performance of XP and don’t want to relearn established habits, stay put.
* For anyone in business relying on mission-critical Windows-based applications or specialized hardware, stay put.

What's new in Windows 7 over Vista

FASTER startup and Shutdown and generally, did I say, FASTER.
I installed it on an old Pentium 4 with an Intel D865PERL system board, 2.8GHz and... 1gb of Ram. It appeared faster as the same PC with Windows XP. Windows Media Center recorded live TV fine with no stutters!
This I couldn't do with Vista.

Elimination of the sidebar in favor of free floating gadgets, that can be lined up on the right side of the screen like Vista sidebar.

Much better is the much hated User Account Control (UAC) security feature. It's still there, but it's much more polite and less in-your-face than Vista. Now you can adjust UAC settings to your preference.
The new UAC slider configuration gives you four options: Always Notify, Notify Only When Programs Try to Make Changes (the default), Notify Only When Programs Try to Make Changes and Don't Dim the Desktop, or Never Notify. Great!

Most versions have Windows Media Center included.

Native support for .mov files - that means I never have to install QuickTime (and endure Apple's endless attempts to make me install iTunes every time QT is updated) again!

Now an adjustable Clear Type Text Tuner.

Microsoft has put the New Folder command where it has always belonged — as a button on the toolbar.

Windows 7's Control Panel is much faster and more responsive than Vista's.

You can switch off more Windows features, including Internet Explorer and some of the media functionality.

WordPad and Paint have a new ribbon style interface that looks a lot like Word 2007. Below...

Hover on a group of running internet pages and instant thumbnails. Same with any program.

Action Center
You won’t see a Security Center, like in Windows Vista. It’s been absorbed into a new Action Center.
The Action Center has security configurations as well as options for other administrative tasks, like Backup, Troubleshooting & Diagnostics, and Windows Update.

You want to know why Windows 7 isn't going to be another Vista? Here's one big reason: drivers. Crappy, late drivers killed Vista. Hardware makers and system builders don't want to see that happen again. This time, they're keeping pace with the operating system.
Ed Bott at ZDnet

Nvidia says Windows 7 has much better graphics performance
If graphics performance is an issue for you (for instance, for gaming, video editing, etc.), that might be another reason to upgrade to Windows 7 sooner rather than later. According to an Nvidia product manager, the new OS and its new API will make it possible for computers to take advantage of today's powerful video cards in a way that previous operating systems couldn't do. DirectX Compute and other new features let the OS fully leverage the power of today's advanced GPUs.

Leo Laporte - Radio Show Notes - 3-29-09
Vinnie wants to know if Windows 7 is a good upgrade. Leo’s using it and says it’s just like Vista, only polished. Componentized. Leo says it’s what Vista should’ve been. And what’s great is that some items like Windows Movie Maker and Internet Explorer doesn’t have to be on installed if you won’t want them. Windows 7 is the best OS (in Beta) that Leo’s seen since Windows 2000.

From ZDNet 3-17-09
Windows 7 build 7057 - Performance that blasts past XP, Vista and previous builds
I’ve no doubt that not only will Windows 7 is fast. In fact it will blow away all previous Windows OSes, including the sainted Windows XP.
I’m still confident that we’re on target to see the Windows 7 Release Candidate appear sometime during April.
From: http://blogs.zdnet.com/hardware/?p=3857&tag=nl.e539

Reasons Vista haters may love Windows 7
From CNET Networks
By Debra Littlejohn Shinder, MCSE, MVP
2/18/2009

Many of my friends and readers adamantly refused to make the switch to Windows Vista when it came out. Some who bought new machines with Vista installed immediately "downgraded" the OS. A few proclaimed that they would give up XP only when you pried it from their cold, dead hands. But even in the last category, many of them are impressed with what they’ve seen in the Windows 7 beta.

While some tech pundits are saying 7 isn’t really all that different from Vista -- and indeed, one of the attractions for Vista users is that 7 can generally use the same drivers and run the same apps as Vista -- the consensus among anti-Vista folks I know who’ve tried the 7 beta seems to be that the new operating system is "Vista done right."

Here’s why I think you’ll see many of the XP diehards happily embracing Windows 7 when it’s released.

User Account Control in Vista is like living with an overprotective mother -- when you’re 30. It's constantly popping up to warn you of impending danger, even when you're just trying to take a look at Device Manager or perform some other innocent task. It hovers over you and nags you constantly: "Are you sure you want to do that?" Like Mom, UAC has our best interests in mind, but it can drive you nuts in the name of "security" -- especially when you consider that it doesn’t really define a security boundary.

Windows 7 doesn’t do away with UAC, but it does give users options regarding its behavior. By reducing the number of unnecessary and redundant UAC dialogs, making the prompts more informative, and providing users with more control over UAC, Windows 7 maintains many of the benefits of the feature without intruding on users’ computing lives so much that they turn the whole thing off in frustration.

Vista was perhaps the culmination of Microsoft’s efforts to be all things to all users. Along with the built-in applications we got with XP, Vista added a contacts program, a calendaring program, a photo editing program, and so forth. While some users appreciate all these free applications, many others have been annoyed by the "extras" they don't need or use. If you're planning to install Office with Outlook, there's no need for Contacts and Calendar. And if you have your own favorite and more powerful graphics applications, such as PhotoShop, there's no need for Photo Gallery. The extras just clutter up your Programs menu and take up space on the hard disk.

With Windows 7, Microsoft has removed a number of the extra programs and now offers them as free downloads from the Windows Live Web site. This way, those who want them can have them, and those who don’t won’t have to deal with removing them.

Another common complaint about Vista has been the inordinate amount of time it can take to boot up. This might not be an issue for those who leave their systems on all the time, but if you turn off your computer every night, waiting around forever for it to get started in the morning can turn into a major annoyance.

A Microsoft spokesperson indicated that the company’s goal for Windows 7 is a 15-second boot time, whereas three quarters of Vista users report boot times of more than 30 seconds. Although the beta of Win7 may not have achieved that 15-second mark yet for most users, the majority of beta testers I’m hearing from say it’s substantially quicker than Vista on the same hardware. That’s been my personal experience, as well. Since it is still a beta, it’s not unrealistic to hope that continued tweaking will get that time down further before the final release.

In XP and Vista, you can disable the balloon notifications in the system tray, but what if you’d like to continue to get notifications from some applications but not from others? Windows 7 allows you to customize the behavior by simply clicking the little arrow next to the tray and selecting Customize. In the dialog box, choose which icons you want to appear in the tray. For each application, you can select whether you want to display notifications or hide them.

In Vista, you have several security-related icons in the system tray, and you might have notifications popping up from each one. To make changes to security settings, you may have to open several applications. In Windows 7, all the security messages have been consolidated into one icon. When you click it, you’ll see all messages related to firewall, Windows Defender, Windows Update settings, and so forth.

By clicking the Open Action Center link in the message box, you can make the changes that are recommended or (for example, in the case where you have an antivirus program installed but Windows doesn’t recognize it), you can select the option to turn off messages regarding that application.

In Vista, you can hover over a taskbar button -- for Internet Explorer, for example -- and see that three instances of IE are open. You see the open pages stacked, but they’re so small that it’s difficult to really tell which page is which.

In Windows 7, the preview feature has been enhanced so that it becomes an extremely useful function. Now when you hover over a taskbar icon, you get actual previews that are placed side by side and are large enough for you to identify.

And that’s not all. If you’re playing a video in one of the windows, that video plays in the preview window, too. And if you right-click the IE icon in the taskbar, you get a list of your IE history files. You can just click any of those and go immediately to that page.

With Windows 7 there will be two primary editions: Windows 7 Home Premium, and Windows 7 Professional. We think those two SKUs will meet most customers’ needs.

Windows 7 Home Premium is the recommended choice for consumers. It gives them a full-function PC experience and a visually rich environment in everything from the way they experience entertainment to the way they connect their devices.

Windows 7 Professional is the recommended choice for small businesses and for people who work at home but have to operate in an IT-managed or business environment where security and productivity are critical. For those running Windows Vista Business, it will be a very logical move to Windows 7 Professional.

All Versions
* Windows 7 Starter Edition (for emerging market and netbook users) Can only run three concurrent applications. Come On! Really! No Aero.
* Windows 7 Home Basic (for emerging market customers only). No Aero.
* Windows 7 Home Premium (the main “Media Center” equivalent) Next Best for a home user.
* Windows 7 Professional (the business SKU for home users and non-enterprise licensees) Best for home and business.
* Windows 7 Enterprise (for volume licensees) Business.
* Windows 7 Ultimate (for consumers who want/need business features) Overkill for most users

Prices as of 6-25-09
Estimated retail prices for packaged retail product in the United States are as follows:

Microsoft's program, aimed at new PC buyers, gives those who buy certain Vista machines between June 26 and the end of January the ability to get a free copy of Windows 7.

Windows 7 Home Premium will cost $40 less at launch than Windows Vista did while Windows 7 Ultimate will cost $40 less to upgrade and $80 less to buy outright!

Owners of Windows XP will be able to use the Windows 7 upgrades. However, we will be required to do a fresh install of Windows 7 from the DVD. Only Windows VISTA users can install the Windows 7 upgrade over their existing Windows installation.

XP users, who’ve skipped Vista, will be able to get upgrade pricing when moving straight to Windows 7.
You will have to do a fresh install and reinstall all of your applications.
If you purchased an upgrade copy of XP, you won't get a break on upgrading to Windows 7.

Easy to miss if you’re not looking for it: you can double-click on any DVD or CD .ISO image and you’ll see a helpful little applet that will enable you to burn the image to a blank disc. No more grappling for shareware utilities of questionable parentage!

The DVD (or CD) is now ready to be used without your ever having to find, install, and use a third-party tool.

New Hotkey Keyboard Shortcuts in Windows 7

Windows 7 beta 1 includes some handy new shortcut key combinations that allow you to navigate and manage the Windows workspace more efficiently. Here are 10 new Windows 7 shortcuts that will help you speed up your workflow (“Win” means the Windows Key):
Win+Home: Clear all but the active window
Win+Space: All windows become transparent so you can see through to the desktop
Win+Up arrow: Maximize the active window
Win+Down arrow: Minimize the active window or restore the window if it's maximized
Win+Left/Right arrows: Dock the active window to each side of the monitor
Win+Shift+Left/Right arrows: If you've got dual monitors, this will move the active window to the adjacent monitor
Win+T: Shift focus to and scroll through items on the taskbar
Win+P: Adjust presentation settings for your display
Win+(+/-): Zoom in/out
Shift+Click a taskbar item: Open a new instance of that particular application

By today’s hardware standards, these requirements are pretty tame. It should run well on most newer computers.

Un-Hide empty drives in the Computer folder (Like Camera Card Readers)
You can configure Windows 7 to show empty card reader slots. Just click Start | My Computer, then press ALT to show the toolbar (unless you have it set to always display) and then Tools | Folder Options. Click the View tab, and scroll down under Advanced Settings to find the item that says "Hide empty drives in the Computer folder," which is checked by default. Click that box to clear it, click OK, and now you should be able to see those empty drives in My Computer.

Multiple display options
Windows 7 makes it easier for you to switch multiple display options. Before, it took a few clicks to get into the display settings and set up your system the way you wanted it when you were doing presentations. Now with a keyboard shortcut (Windows Logo + P), you bring up a simple interface to quickly switch between duplicate displays, extending the desktop, displaying on an external display only or displaying on a laptop's screen only.

Paint Shop Pro 8
Compatibility problems with Windows 7 - Cropping tool + (No successful work around yet.) Paint Shop Pro 7 Seems OK

Add-ons for Windows 7 Essentials
Programs, from Microsoft you can download include:

Windows Live Mail on Windows 7
Some folks were unhappy to see that Windows 7 doesn't include a built-in email client, as Windows XP and Vista did. However, Microsoft provides Windows Live Mail, which is a free desktop email client that you can download from the Windows Live web site and install on Windows 7. You can use it to access your POP or IMAP email accounts, as well as web mail accounts such as Hotmail or Google.

From: http://www.win7news.net/
The Old Copycat Debate

I'm writing this on a Windows 7 computer, and I have a Mac running Snow Leopard sitting right across the room. Do they look alike? Not really. Are there similarities? Sure - they both have taskbars (which Apple calls a dock), they both have desktop icons, they both have "pretty" interfaces. The Windows 7 taskbar is far more functional, though: if I hover over a dock icon on the Mac, I get nothing but a pop-up of the application's or folder's name. If I hover over a taskbar icon in Win7, I get a preview of every instance of that app that's open.

Right clicking a dock item in OS X does give me a list of the open windows; for example, if I have three Safari windows open, I see a text list indicating the pages (e.g., "Apple Store," "Wikipedia," and "YouTube." If I don't remember which actual site I was on but would recognize it visually, I'm out of luck. Also on the right click menu for a Safari in the dock are options to hide, quit or open a new window, and options to keep the program in the dock or show it in the Finder (file manager). A right click on the IE taskbar icon shows me a list of the twenty web sites I've visited most frequently, making it easy to go to one of those - along with the options to open a new tab, open a new window, quit the program (close all windows), unpin the app from the taskbar or start "in private" browsing. Some say the ability to pin apps to the taskbar in Windows 7 is a case of copying the dock. But we have been able to put apps on the taskbar since Windows 95, in the form of the Quick Launch bar. There's nothing new about that.

How about desktop gadgets? Did Microsoft copy Mac's widgets? Not really. Leaving aside the fact that gadgets were introduced in Vista, not Windows 7, they don't work the same way as the Mac widgets. Although both are small applications that provide information (clocks, weather, stock market info, etc.), there's a fundamental difference in the way they're implemented. On the Mac, the widgets reside on the "Dashboard." When you have the Dashboard displayed, you can't do anything with your other applications. When you click on an application window, the Dashboard disappears. I can't find a way to be able to work on a document and see my widgets at the same time, as I can so easily do with Windows gadgets.

What else? The Start button? The Mac puts its Apple button on a whole different taskbar, across the top of the screen. It contains some of the same things as the Windows Start menu: recent items, the options to sleep, restart, shutdown or log off. But it's not nearly as flexible; the Windows Start menu displays your favorite applications in the top left section, most recently used apps in the bottom left section, and links to commonly accessed folders and tools (documents, pictures, music, downloads, the computer, the network, devices and printers, Control Panel) in the right section. Windows 7 also places the Search box here, whereas the Mac's search tool is at the far right of the top taskbar.

As I've mentioned before, Apple has "borrowed" or "adapted" just as many ideas from Windows as the other way around. They're just now getting around to releasing a 64 bit desktop OS, they've "copied" Exchange support from Windows, Leopard introduced "stacks" for combining items in the dock (emulating the "groups" that did the same, years before, in Windows). Apple's Quick Look for viewing documents in the Finder without opening them seemed a whole lot like Vista's Explorer preview pane, which came first. I could go on, but here's my point: just because two operating systems have a similar look, or even have similar features, that doesn't mean that one is a "copy" of the other. And if Apple folks think it's such an outrage for Microsoft's operating systems to adopt features that are similar to their own, why don't they feel the same sort of outrage about all the new graphical interfaces for Linux that look so much like Mac and Windows? Heck, if Microsoft were really out to "copy" OS X, wouldn't they have ripped off my very favorite thing about the Mac interface: the genie effect?

Fact is: Those who know the history of computing know that the whole graphical interface idea originated with Xerox at their Palo Alto Research Center (PARC). Their GUI introduced the concepts of windows, icons, menus and cut & paste, and both Microsoft and Apple operating systems (along with IBM's OS/2 and every other GUI-based OS in the world) evolved from that common ancestor. But there are enough big differences now between the major operating systems to make each unique, and most folks are likely to find one more to their liking than the other. For consumers, that's a good thing.

Don Davidson Computer
	On sale now.
What's new over Vista	Versions	New Keyboard Shortcuts in Windows 7
Burn a Disc Image from an ISO or IMG	Windows 7 Videos (Link)	System requirements for Windows 7
Prices	Version Features	Tips and Problems
Add-ons (Like: Mail, Movie Maker, etc.)	Moving from XP to 7	Where is Explorer's menu bar
The Old Copycat Debate Win7 VS MAC

Free Version:	Starts shutting down every two hours on:	Expires:
Release Candidate (RC)	March 1, 2010	June 1, 2010
The RC download program ended August 20th. If you've already downloaded the RC, you'll still be able to get a product key later on. The RC itself won't expire (stop working) until June 2010.

Windows 7 Edition	Upgrade	Full license
Home Premium	$120 (was $130)	$200 (was $240)
Professional	$200	$300
Ultimate	$220	$320