Microsoft started rolling out beta versions of Windows 7 on Friday and the big question on people's minds is: Could it be any worse than Vista? And small- and midsize-business owners may be wondering: What's in this new operating system for me?
While Microsoft hasn't announced a firm release date for Windows 7, the public can start exploring the operating system now, as beta copies were released on Friday -- and it was leaked onto the Internet in late December.
A lot of the marketing jargon put out by Microsoft has been focused on Windows 7 being "faster" and "easier." The company says it listened to the needs of small businesses -- such as time constraints, compatibility issues, and security -- in developing Windows 7. Microsoft assures business owners that it has tackled those concerns in this latest release, including faster start up and shutdown, extended battery life, a smaller file size requiring less-steep hardware requirements, and fewer alerts.
While Windows 7 is in beta mode, now is the time for your business to contemplate upgrading to the new OS when it's released a year or so from now. Some questions to consider:
- What will the upgrade cost me (consider how many computers Windows 7 would have to be installed on)?
- How much change can my employees handle? Will they need to be professionally trained, or will they accept an instructional guide?
- Will my current computers even run Windows 7?
The bottom line is, while smaller-business owners may be reluctant to switch to Windows 7 until it can prove that it's overcome the stability issues that plague Vista, new PCs will eventually ship with the newest operating system, so the upgrade may be inevitable.
Windows 7 Features
The taskbar on Windows 7 lets you switch between open applications, and you can set the order of the icons. You also can see a full-screen preview before switching to the window. Early users have reported the new taskbar is "sparser" and it "tries to do too much and as such comes across as kludgey and counter-intuitive. One failure is that it's hard to tell the difference between apps that are running and shortcuts that have been pinned to the taskbar." Microsoft also wants to "make new things possible," and it's done so through the new Device Driver, which means Windows 7 will be easier to connect to cameras, phones, and printers. The OS also includes native support for touch screens.
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Also in the new Windows 7:
- Applications pop up in a thumbnail view. The app being used goes large, and the nonselected applications stay in thumbnail view.
- Internet Explorer 8 Beta 2, available now, features Instant Search, which presents relevant suggestions as you type in your search request.
- Users have control over what pops up in the lower-right notification area.
- You can snap windows to the left and right for ease of screen management.
- Windows 7 has a new lightweight Media Player skin.
- Cascading docs let you find the one you need.
Early adopters of the pirated copies report that Windows 7 is not too different from the much-maligned Vista. The Start menu, the Media Player view, and the music library remain pretty much the same. Yet a few things have been fixed, including:
- The "awkward" Preview pane.
- The "overcomplicated" Shutdown button.
- Arranging windows, "awkwardly."
- "Unpleasant" User Account Control.
- The "ultraminimalist" Defrag utility.
- The "no options" backup program.
Sure enough, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer declared Windows 7 the "best version ever" on Wednesday at the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas and praised the new operating system's "simplicity, reliability, and speed."
Next Page: How Can I Get My Hands On Windows 7?
