Windows 7 (RC1): It works!

Although a little skeptical about jumping on the windows 7 bandwagon after the Vista aftermath I must admit I haven’t stopped using it since I installed it. The installation was simple and straightforward. With the exception of downloading specific drivers for my Radeon 4870 GFX card, everything just worked as though someone had waved a magic wand over my machine.

The best part is that software meant for XP works instantaneously without having to specify compatibility. Look and feel wise its like vista but the differences become apparent when trying to execute unsigned software installers, your wish becomes its command and it won’t bother you again with irritating questions. My hardware hasn’t changed at all and yet it didn’t demand any more than what it got.

I have yet to try using it with RAM more than 3 GB, something XP didn’t support but apparently vista did. The system hasn’t crashed on me even once in the past month. When applications become unresponsive it subtly asks you what action you’d like to take. Afterall you ARE meant to be the boss here. The massive taskbar reminded me of Linux (perhaps someone learnt something). It made sense to have it big given that the OS is being geared for touch interaction. Recovering from hibernation takes literally 5 seconds (on a 3GHz core 2 duo). Window transitions are comparable to OSX and are a welcome eye-candy (don’t we all wish for something exciting at times?). Windows can be stuck around the screen and even maximized by sticking it to the top of the screen, very intuitive indeed.

Literally everything an average user would make use of, such as photo gallery, printers, wireless network etc can be managed through sensible interaction with the machine. Win 7 even gives you a fair choice of anti-virus software to choose from if one isn’t installed already.

I really am looking forward to getting my hands on the final release.