Microsoft Corp.'s next version of the Windows operating system is almost ready for prime time. That's one message Chief Executive Steve Ballmer delivered on the eve of the official opening of the International Consumer Electronics Show.
The new operating system — which could be available for purchase on PCs within a year — uses much of the same underlying technology as its predecessor, the much-maligned Vista. But Windows 7 aims to resolve many problems PC users had with Vista. For instance, Microsoft pledges to make it easier to install peripheral devices and to have the software pump out fewer annoying warnings and notifications.
Ballmer also pledged that Windows 7 will boot faster and drain laptop batteries more slowly.
Sometime in October 2008 At PDC, Microsoft gave the first public demonstration of Windows 7. Until then, the company had been uncharacteristically secretive about its new OS; over the past few months, Microsoft has let on that the taskbar will undergo a number of changes, and that many bundled applications would be unbundled and shipped with Windows Live instead. There have also been occasional screenshots of some of the new applets like Calculator and Paint. Now that the covers are finally off, the scale of the new OS becomes clear. The user interface has undergone the most radical overhaul and update since the introduction of Windows 95 thirteen years ago.
These UI changes represent a brave move by the company. The new UI takes the concepts that Windows users have been using for the last 13 years and extends them in new and exciting ways... More towards the User Interface as on a Mac with a OS X Lepoard. Windows 7 may not change much under the hood, but the extent of these interface changes makes it clear that this is very much a major release.
User Interface Changes
See how the new features/changes resemble more like what's on a Mac OS these days.
Improved taskbar and full-screen previews
Windows:
The taskbar at the bottom of your screen is what you use to switch between the applications you've got open. In Windows 7 you can set the order in which the icons appear and they'll stay put. They're easier to see, too. Click once on the new large icons or bigger preview thumbnails and you're ready to go. You can even see a full screen preview before switching to the window.
Mac:
Apple Mac users can instantly relate this new taskbar of Windows to the existing Dock in Mac OS X Leopard. The Dock in Mac OS delivers a single, simple mechanism for launching apps, storing minimized open windows out of the way, and providing fast access to files and folders. The Dock gives users an obvious location for dropping anything: apps, files, folders, and open windows: the right end of the Dock. The Dock displays a subtle indicator which looks like a glowing blue LED to denoting running applications. Users can rearrange Dock items using drag-and-drop, dropping new items into it, and dragging unwanted items out.
On a Mac if you want to see previews of all open windows of the same application, just click the Finder's (Mac App) icon in the dock, or just click on one window to bring it forward, and then double-tap F10. When you do, all Finder windows will open shrinking their appearance so they all fit on a single screen.
New ways to work with WindowsWindows:
To see all your desktop gadgets, just drag your mouse to the lower right corner of your desktop. That'll make all the open Windows transparent—making your desktop, and the gadgets on it, immediately visible. Want to minimize all your windows? One click and it's done.
Mac:
On a Mac, you can set keyboard shortcuts (Assuming F12) to allow the user to see the Widgets (Gadgets) instantly. Once set, you don't need to drag your mouse anywhere, just hit F12 and viola, all the current windows will move off the screen and your Dashboard which holds the Widgets (Gadgets) will be displayed.
You can also set screen hotspots (left, right, top, and bottom corners of the screen) to allow the user to see the Widgets (Gadgets) instantly. Once set, you just move your mouse to one of the configured corners, and viola your Dashboard which holds the Widgets (Gadgets) will be displayed.
Want to minimize all your windows on a Mac? Just set a Keyboard shortcut or a Screen Hotspot and poof, there goes all your windows in an instant. The feature moves all windows off the screen, with just the edges of the windows visible at the side of the screen, giving the user clear access to the desktop. (In the default preferences, this can be activated using the F11 key or by pressing Command F3 on newer Apple aluminum keyboards and the Macbook keyboard.)
Extended battery lifeWindows:
Performance improvements are about more than speed. For example, your laptop battery lasts longer with power-saving features, such as adaptive display brightness, which dims the display if you haven't used your PC for a while.
Mac:
Adaptive display brightness! Now where have I heard that? Hmmm. oh yes, on my MacBook Pro. You can adjust the system to have the display dimmed after the system has been idle for some time. Microsoft... is this what you mean by adaptive display brightness which dims the display if the PC has been idle for a while? Any news about adaptive display brightness using ambient light sensors?
My MacBook Pro includes an ambient light sensor using which, the screen automatically changes brightness according to the light falling on the computer. In the screenshot above you can see I enabled this option below the brightness slider. In fact, with the ambient light sensor enabled, the dot on the brightness slider pulsates gently as a subtle reminder that brightness will change automatically. Kinda like on the iPhone. Microsoft should copy this feature too.
Windows TouchWindows:
While great for a lot of tasks, using a keyboard and mouse is not always the easiest way to do things. If you've got a touch-screen monitor, you can just touch your computer screen for a more direct and natural way to work. Use your fingers to scroll, resize windows, play media, and pan and zoom. Large touch-sensitive areas on the Start menu and the taskbar make it easy to use.
Mac:
Duh! Touch is the feature of an external device. If a screen supports touch, then any Operating System will work in the same way as long as the screen sends the new coordinates to the Operating System. Maybe what Microsoft is trying to say is that it has some cool GUI capability to allow the user to pan and zoom, scroll and resize windows. Guess they must have copied this idea from iPhone's Touch Innovation. Microsoft, any news on Multi-touch technology or pinch and unpinch technology coming for the windows?
Gadget PlacementWindows:
Remember where the Gadgets used to be earlier? yep, the sidebar. Guess what, Microsoft have now scrapped the sidebar and decided to put the Gadgets on the desktop. People are increasingly using laptops, taking up a big chunk of space for the sidebar isn't really viable; hance Microsoft has responded by scrapping the sidebar and putting the gadgets onto the desktop itself.
Mac:
Hmmm, is it just me? Or do i see a snicker on every Mac owners face? Mac has Widgets(Gadgets) on the desktop just like they should have been on Windows in the first place. What's more, Mac gives you easy and instant access to Widgets by hiding all open windows on the click of a button or the move of your mouse into one of the specified hotspots... something which Microsoft could copy for Windows 7.
Windows Explorer & Libraries
Windows:
The other significant part of the Windows UI is Explorer. Windows 7 introduces a new concept named Libraries. Libraries provide a view onto arbitrary parts of the filesystem with organization optimized for different kinds of files. In use, Libraries feel like a kind of WinFS-lite; they don't have the complex database system underneath, but they do retain the idea of a custom view of your files that's independent of where the files are.
Mac:
Does anyone see any similarity between the new Windows Explorer and the existing Mac Finder(Explorer)?
What about similarity between the new Windows Explorer and the existing Mac Finder with Coverflow?
What about similarity between the new Windows Explorer and the existing Mac App iPhoto?
Need I say more?
Social Networking & Multimedia UtilitiesWindows:
Windows (Steve Ballmer) also announced major partnerships with Facebook, and Verizon (NYSE:VZ) Wireless, deals that will help Microsoft further its cloud ambitions.
The Facebook-Microsoft deal will let Facebook users feed the digital content they post on Facebook into feeds on Windows Live.
Windows (Steve Ballmer) Ballmer also announced updates to the Windows Live Essentials suite of client applications, which includes Windows Live Mail, Live Messenger, Live Writer, and Live Photo Gallery. Windows Live Movie Maker remains in beta.
Mac:
Guess what? Mac has already come out with built in apps (iPhoto) which links with online social networking site, Facebook. On can directly upload geotagged pictures with Facebook with the click of a button. Sharing on Flickr is just as easy: Just click the Flickr button. When you share your photos on Flickr, the locations you added using Places appear on Flickr photo maps.
What's more, iWeb Site (iLife Suite) allows you to create a website and it will even notify your Facebook friends when you update your site. Simply link any iWeb site to your Facebook account. Following an update, iWeb adds the changes to your profile, alerting your friends and providing them with a handy link.
iMail, iChat, iPhoto, iMovie, Garageband, iWeb... don't they already do what would be included in Windows Live suite of client application like Live Mail, Live Messenger, Live Writer, Live Photo Gallery and Live Movie Maker (Movie Maker is still in beta)?
I guess Microsoft is doing great work out there. They have found innovative ways to copy innovation from their competitor... I.E. Apple. Anyways, tomorrow Microsoft will be releasing a Beta version of Windows 7, and I for one would love to see how many things they have copied from Apple. Let us know if you figure out any....
