The Windows7 Experience

Some observation from a recent (brief) encounter with Windows 7

• why does a "restart required" message show up under the win explorer icon in the taskbar? oh yeah, to trick us so we think an app is still running when we restart :D
• given two windows partially overlapping. was it planned that tool tips for the lower window would appear under the other window? (Gnome's window management works so productively for me that everything else just seems icky. Way to go Gnome team!)
• window and scroll wheel focus are a real annoyance to me. They just slow me down too much to have to click every window I want to use. (again Gnome gives me max productivity)

After getting used to the feel of Win7 and copping with the inconveniences, I do see some major improvements in the OS. Here's the way I figure.

• XP added new features/utilities and later quick-added some for security issues
• These were not bad ideas but lacked in user-interface/interaction
  (they were annoying)
• Vista fixed many of those so they were not (as) annoying and added other new features/utilities
• again not bad ideas but lacking in user-interface/interaction
  (again they were annoying)
• Repeat the same for Windows 7.

The cycle makes some sense in that after enough complaints and feedback it's easy to see a better solution to something. Would be nice though if they received enough feedback from beta testing to clean up the annoyances before resleasing (aka a Windows that stayed out of the way and let me do what I need to do... quickly)

Although I think some of the features and UI changes may actually increase the learning curve for noobs, it is actually not that bad an OS to use.

A few UI things I do like

• Automatically rotating wallpapers
  (Linux users see Gnome Wallpaper Tray applet)
• Handling of taskbar icons/applications (for the most part)
• Ability to show taskbar icons only or icons with labels
  (although the menu to change this setting seems miss-worded)
• popup previews of application windows
• application specific options on right-click
• application window coming to front when hovering over preview
• curved and colored highligh behind running application icons.
• color varies by app
• makes feel more organic
• show desktop in bottom right that frames all windows and displays desktop
• Auto versioning / previous versions of files
  (sounds good although i never played with it)

And one item that I have yet to decide if I like or dislike (i'm mixed between, perception, functinality, and reality)

• multiple tabs in IE (and other tabbed apps) show as multiple windows in taskbar preview. Useful? Confusing? Annoying? Beneficial? I'm still in the air.
  
• clicking preview brings up IE and that tab gets focus (I like that)
• it seems missleading since they are tabs in the same window, especially with IE as it still like to open WAY to many new windows for my liking.
• although functionally, it seems a productivity booster

It was interesting to see some of the new features and improvements, but it come nowhere near swaying me from Ubuntu Linux and Gnome desktop. Linux is still simply the fastest, most efficient, and enjoyable way for me to work.