OK so I have a lot of loves, I admit it! Here is an update on my experience with Windows 7.

The Aero Peek Windows Feature:

The Peek feature is so handy I had to get it installed on my desktop which uses Vista. Most of the applications once pinned to the taskbar already have the option for peek at then application. If there are multiple windows you could hover your mouse over and a larger window will pop up. To view your desktop or just to get a peak at it hover over the see desktop area down in the right hand corner.

While we are using this picture lets talk about the Devices and Printers Option. For every peripheral that you add to Windows 7 it groups them. So you have your mini device manager within a click without having to go to the control panel then device manager. If there is a problem with the device there will be a warning sign next to it.

The Jump List:

Quite a few of the apps are now getting into the jump list phase which is awesome. Right click on an app that you are using in the taskbar and you have a list that will pop up. It is quite useful in the sense that you do not have to open the search bar to search for a document. It is all right there in that little window reducing the need for other windows.

The Action Center, Network and Sharing Center and Notification Icons Area:

The action center is ok but it sometimes annoy me so much that I want to slap my computer…(no violence). It does come in handy and it looks much better than the one in Vista. Right now I do not have any warnings as I took care of them and told it to shut up.

The Network and sharing center looks much better too I should say. It would show a pop up that actually shows you all of the connections that are being detected at the moment. For a detailed view of your network and the connection use the network and sharing center. I do not use the home group since I already use a complicated network setting using my Linux server. By the way networking meaning the sharing of printers and files is very easy to set up using Windows 7.

Icons Notification Area…finally, no more  icons all along the taskbar when you are looking for an idle program. You also have the option to even add and remove which icons you want to show and which notifications you would like to see. Very convenient and well organized. Bravo!!

The Taskbar:

I am still fascinated with it. I tell you…I tell you!!!. That was an awesome move by Microsoft to actually implement this. I have little or no need for icons on my desktop and this makes it easier as it. It means and cries out organization!!! All of my most frequently used apps are pinned in the taskbar.

Overall it is awesome! The extra shortcuts makes life easier!!! Love it!!

The picture above shows what my actual windows experience entails. That is pretty good for a system with these specs:

Processor : Inter® Core(TM)2 Duo CPU T9300 @ 2.50 GHZ

Installed memory (RAM): 4.00GB (3.50 usable)

Imagine it could run quite smoothly on a system with only 1 GB of memory. 

With this taskbar similar to the docking station on the Mac, it is very efficient and tidy. All of my tabs are all hidden and it looks neater. All of my frequently used  programs are right where I need them so I hardly use my desktop or even the start button anymore.

I love the layout and the look of the Windows explorer, it is very detailed making it a little easier to find things. On the sidebar the option for network is in clear view and it takes you straight to all of the devices on your network.

I have not tried the homegroup just yet, since my network is working fine and I can share my files and printers with ease I have being rather lazy to give it a try .

I love having the options for my display. That is a plus for Windows 7. The rotating background does not seem to interfere with performance and does not seem to be taking up much of my resources. On a machine with less than desirable specifications I cannot vouch that it will run the same. As I have not tried it as of yet on that specific machine.

Another thing I wanted to note was that the drivers were all easy to find since the vista drivers  worked well on the Windows 7 system, another plus less driver hunting for me. So far so good everything is still running fine. some minor issues were fixed with the drivers.

I do hope soon that I will be able to give my review on Office 14 .

Finally I got the release candidate for Windows 7 on Monday and I have to say there were many improvements. I have yet to try the Windows XP Mode as yet but I hope to install it in a few minutes so that I could give it a run. I kinda got over XP but it would be nice to see an old friend again. So it is still running efficiently uses much less memory which again is a plus. My battery life on my notebook is impressive compared to when I use it with Windows Vista. I am still in love with the task bar which is almost full and my desktop will always remain clean. I do love the remote assistance which is much more easier to use. Even while running the remote assistance I did not notice any lagging or sluggish behavior.

I’ve installed the Windows XP Mode and here are a few pics:

Installation

Startup

Its been so long since I’ve seen Msn messenger 4.5 man we’ve come a long way from that ancient messenger!! I’ve forgotten the sound of an incoming IM.

125 GB in virtual space

My desktop:

More updates soon!!

Finally I installed Adobe Illustrator on my desktop. I also installed Second Life, my Office 2007, with my one note. My Gimp and TweetDeck all seem to be ok. I installed my Zune software today, might be me, can’t seem to sign into my account…heck I don’t really need to anyway.

Here are some pictures of the programs that I have installed and running on my desktop:

Gimp

zune

MyScribe

Adobe Illustrator

I hope to install my Visio 2007 and Adobe Photoshop tomorrow.

I went over to Vista for a few hours to get my information from my Photoshop and illustrator. I came across this neat program called TweetDeck and yes I am a fan of Twitter ever since I found out about it while reading an article a few months ago. The layout is pretty kool, maybe because it is black hehe (I have a think for black). I got everything on my external and I am back Windows 7 I tried installing TweetDeck but there is a glitch in Adobe Air and Windows 7. I will look it up online to see if anyone else has had that problem, and I will get it fixed. Microsoft is trying to integrate the Windows live programs with windows so they took away a lot of programs that were usually preinstalled like windows mail on Vista. So I had to download Windows Live Essentials. Now I am using the Live writer to write this entry. Maybe that is why wordpress is so cool, you could access it from a few programs without having to use the browser.

Ok I have to get Kareem from after school. Later.

P.S. Here is a video I love!