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Microsoft Windows 7 Beta 1 Free Not rated Pros Smaller disk and memory footprint. Faster startup/shutdown. Stable. Less intrusive. Taskbar icons more flexible. Working with external hardware is easier. Multitouch support. Nice-looking new eye candy. Cons Maintains Registry and some other Windows baggage. Start-up times not faster than Vista’s in this beta. Click here for more.
Microsoft Windows 7 Beta 1
The Beta Debut of Windows 7 Let’s get something straight: The just-released Microsoft Windows 7 Beta 1 retains much of Vista’s kernel architecture, as will the final version. But the new OS is more compact than Vista, has an updated interface, and builds in better networking capability. It also includes some cool advances, such as multitouch support and a redesigned taskbar with movable buttons. You can put the beta on as many machines as you like, but you can’t use it for real business purposes, and it expires in August 2009. Though the interface has its own new look, Vista users won’t have much to learn. Even upgrading XP users will have little trouble, but neither will they be able to cling to the past. There’s no XP emulation theme in Windows 7, as there is in Vista. The taskbar has the most noticeable changes, with taller buttons and the choice to combine multiple docs/windows in one app or keep separate. The buttons glow when you hover the mouse over them and show a preview thumbnail of open docs. Also, the Libraries folder-arrangement system let you group related files—regardless of their location. Windows 7 is also optimized for touch-screen systems.
Some other noteworthy features in Windows 7 relate to hardware and networking. Device Stage is a feature that, when you plug in a cell phone or other device, pops up a screen specific to that device with options, including syncing. (However, this feature relies heavily on the device manufacturers providing Microsoft with the necessary data.) When you join a wireless network with Windows 7, you can choose to set it as home, work, or public. When you choose the first, you can create a HomeGroup. That way, you can specify libraries and devices to share, as well as migrate settings to your home environment. Although the licensing agreement for Windows 7 beta prevents me from publishing benchmark test results, I can say informally that in a couple of months of running the pre-beta and a short period of heavy-duty testing on beta 1, I have yet to see anything remotely resembling a crash. I have, however, encountered occasional error dialogs. As far as recommending Windows 7, we’ll have to wait to see how the pricing and final code bears out. But for those who like to tinker, I definitely recommend taking a look at the future of Windows.—Michael Muchmore
INSIDE 9 Software 13 Hardware 17 Business 20 Consumer Electronics
MARCH 2009 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION
