If you love Windows XP, you'll hate Windows 7


Recommended Posts

Found this link while reading the comments on an article on Ars Technica.

The type of complaints about 7 is almost identical to the current ones about 8.

Summary: My colleague Jason Perlow has been playing with Windows 7, and he hates it. The sad thing is, all the things that he hates are improvements, in my opinion, which just goes to show that you really can?t please everyone. Jason describes a reaction I heard from plenty of diehard XP users when Vista was released. If you insist on using techniques you learned back in the last millennium, you will be frustrated. But I believe that an open-minded XP user who actually takes a few minutes to learn how the new UI works will be more productive very quickly with Windows 7. I've taken Jason's three examples to prove my point.

http://www.zdnet.com...e-windows-7/630

The more things change...

I loved both, Windows XP and Windows 7.

Back before Win 7 RTMd I had a dual boot set up on a netbook with XP and 7. Win 7 absolutely flew on it, with everything enabled, even better than XP itself.

Although there really wasn't much difference between the 2, as in Win 7 didn't take any time getting used to at all, I did miss the eye candy of Win XP for awhile, but transparency in Win 7 is nice too.

If I didn't lose my own XP visual styles I made, I'd probably have come up with some mods to it to run on Windows 7, but more of a cross between bot XP and 7 in looks.

XP was great in its time, and if a computer's hardware couldn't support Windows 7 or even Vista I would use XP on it in a heartbeat.

Though I have a problem with people claiming anything is more productive if you learn it, if something isnt intuitive to someone

even if they learn how to use it, they wont be as productive as they were, there is no one size fits all for that kind of thing.

My only complaint about Windows 7 compared to XP would be it takes more clicks to end up at certain places, even more so in Windows 8.

Other than that Windows 7 is the new XP, ive used it since the RC and have never had to format since installing the RTM in July 2009, it just works, very well to this day.

I've not really used Windows 7 so I can't comment fully, but I have found in the past that when I've tried to find a simple option, Microsoft have moved it somewhere that doesn't make sense in my mind. Sure enough, I had the same problem when I tried Windows 8. Now of course if I started using either as my primary OS I would come to learn where everything is eventually, but that won't stop my brain from saying, "Where's that option gone? Oh, there it is. Why would they put it there?"

To be fair, Perlow is a power user to the core. Most of his complaints in this article are him falling out of relevance.

* Microsoft has now completely removed the ability to have a "Classic" Start Menu.

- Should have been killed off in XP, IMO.

* The Run option no longer up by default.

- Simple, press Start, type CMD, press 'Enter'. The Windows 7 search bar makes Run obsolete. Microsoft should have removed it, IMO.

* Another thing that greatly frustrated me was the fact that a fresh install of Windows 7 gives the end-user a blank slate on the Desktop, removing the familiar "Computer", "Network", "Control Panel" and "My Documents" icons, requiring users to get to those functions and folders via the Start Menu .

- So? Right click on the desktop, select Personalization, and put the icons back up. Not hard to do.

* As a general theme, Microsoft seems to have made changes for the sake of change, which was the case with Vista and is even more apparent with Windows 7, once you start digging into the OS dialogs and UI in depth.

- How is redesigning ancient dialogs a bad thing? DO you really want old, Windows 95/98/2000 dialogs popping up? Ugly!

* I also find the Windows 7 Control Panel to be less intuitive than XP's -- they've tried to simplify things, but in doing so, actually made it more frustrating, because you now need one additional mouse click to see all the Control Panel options -- of which there are now approximately double than which existed in XP.

- Search, buddy. Use it. Press Start, type what you're looking for. :)

See, like I said, Perlow is a power user to the max. Windows isn't Linux. It's a consumer grade OS that needs to compete with users of all types. If you really want a geeky OS geared toward the power user, Linux is your best bet.

Even though I am a up and coming system admin, I love the changes made to Windows since XP. I hate complexity, and Windows 7, and now Windows 8 have removed a ton of that crap that riddled XP. Now if only Cisco could wake up and realize it's not 1970 anymore...

EDIT: The top comment on Ed Bott's article makes me ROFL.

Loving Windows XP

I don't understand what would be so difficult in giving users a chance to select "Use XP Interface" for those who don't relish leaning new commands for things they already know.

Sure, why doesn't Microsoft just add back in every option Windows has ever had over the years? Don't be mad when a default install size then reaches over 50+ GB's... Id' also hate to see what kind of support would be needed for an OS that still has all that code in it. :rofl:

  • Like 2
Even though I am a up and coming system admin, I love the changes made to Windows since XP. I hate complexity, and Windows 7, and now Windows 8 have removed a ton of that crap that riddled XP. Now if only Cisco could wake up and realize it's not 1970 anymore...

So that's why you love so much Windows 8... interesting.

Personally, I've said this before and got ridiculed, so I'll say it again, with a few changes... 8 isn't for everyone, but neither was 7, if you like 7, stick to it, if you like 8, great, for those worried about updates, one can assume, because of how much microsoft extended support for xp, there (in theory) is no reason why microsoft shouldn't keep up support for 7.

  • Like 2

To be fair, Perlow is a power user to the core. Most of his complaints in this article are him falling out of relevance.

* The Run option no longer up by default.

- Simple, press Start, type CMD, press 'Enter'. The Windows 7 search bar makes Run obsolete. Microsoft should have removed it, IMO.

* Another thing that greatly frustrated me was the fact that a fresh install of Windows 7 gives the end-user a blank slate on the Desktop, removing the familiar "Computer", "Network", "Control Panel" and "My Documents" icons, requiring users to get to those functions and folders via the Start Menu .

- So? Right click on the desktop, select Personalization, and put the icons back up. Not hard to do.

Funny - because these things were removed in Vista, not 7.

The Run box - clearly NOT a power user, as WIN+R brings it up and has always done that since Windows 95.

This Article is 3 years old? also I think it is widely thought these days that Windows 7 is the premier Windows experience where as back then people were just afraid of the new guy?

This Article is 3 years old?

The article was done around the time of the launch of Windows 7. The reason for bringing it up is to highlight the fact that some people (especially "tech" people) had the same kinds of reservations about Windows 7 as they do about Windows 8.

  • Like 3

EDIT: The top comment on Ed Bott's article makes me ROFL.

Sure, why doesn't Microsoft just add back in every option Windows has ever had over the years? Don't be mad when a default install size then reaches over 50+ GB's... Id' also hate to see what kind of support would be needed for an OS that still has all that code in it. :rofl:

hey, I for one love the fact in Windows 8 I can still select the Windows For Workgroups UI as my default program manager.... err wait

Funny thing is, I told a few folks that Windows 7 was chastised in the beginning, and no one believed me. :p

While true, the majoity liked Windows 7 on release, the few Windows XP diehards around for Windows 7 are dwarfed by the dislike

for Windows 8(modern UI on the desktop), as an up and coming system admin though, you'd better get used to complexity and

corporate BS, because 90% of your job will be dealing with it.

Even though I am a up and coming system admin, I love the changes made to Windows since XP. I hate complexity, and Windows 7, and now Windows 8 have removed a ton of that crap that riddled XP. Now if only Cisco could wake up and realize it's not 1970 anymore...

You bolded waaaay too many words there. I don't hate Windows 7, just complexity.

So that's why you love so much Windows 8... interesting.

Well, his story checks out, two extra words bolded is "waaaay too many".

XP was great in its time, and if a computer's hardware couldn't support Windows 7 or even Vista I would use XP on it in a heartbeat.

Whatcha talking about ?

My desktop's hardware is running Windows XP just fine. :laugh: And I went thru 3 upgrades, including motherboards.

Whatcha talking about ?

My desktop's hardware is running Windows XP just fine. :laugh: And I went thru 3 upgrades, including motherboards.

You might have misunderstood what I meant.

But if your hardware supports Windows 7 and you still use XP, that's your choice

As for me, if it would support Windows 7 I would use that over XP, but that doesn't mean there is something wrong with XP.

Even though I am a up and coming system admin, I love the changes made to Windows since XP. I hate complexity, and Windows 7, and now Windows 8 have removed a ton of that crap that riddled XP. Now if only Cisco could wake up and realize it's not 1970 anymore...

Cisco CLI isn't going anywhere.

I've not really used Windows 7 so I can't comment fully, but I have found in the past that when I've tried to find a simple option, Microsoft have moved it somewhere that doesn't make sense in my mind. Sure enough, I had the same problem when I tried Windows 8. Now of course if I started using either as my primary OS I would come to learn where everything is eventually, but that won't stop my brain from saying, "Where's that option gone? Oh, there it is. Why would they put it there?"

So you are not a Windows user then? You are using Linux or another operating system instead of Windows?

Andrea...Intrinsica said that they haven't really used Windows 7. They didn't say that they didn't use Windows....just not Windows 7.

Well there are different versions of Windows,Windows 95 and 98,Windows 2000,Windows XP,Windows Vista,Windows 7 and Windows 8. And some people are still using Windows 2000 and earlier versions of Windows.

This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Posts

    • Go for a Echo Dot or Pop instead. These Echo shows just advertise to you.
    • NetSpeedTray 1.3.3 by Razvan Serea NetSpeedTray is a lightweight, open-source Windows network monitor that shows live upload and download speeds directly on the Taskbar. Designed for efficiency, it quietly sits in the system tray, conserving CPU and battery with dynamic updates. It blends seamlessly with Windows 10/11, adapts to light/dark themes, and auto-positions to avoid overlaps. Features include accurate interface detection, customizable display, optional mini-graph, color coding, granular font and unit control, detailed per-interface history graphs, safe data management, and easy CSV export—bringing the network monitoring Windows forgot. NetSpeedTray key features: Lightweight & Efficient Runs quietly in your system tray without consuming resources. Features a "Dynamic Update Rate" that lowers refresh frequency when the network is idle to save CPU and battery life. Native Look & Feel Blends seamlessly with Windows 10/11 UI. Smart detection for light and dark taskbar themes ensures text is always visible. Intelligent & Adaptive Positioning Automatically finds empty space next to your system tray and shifts to make room for new icons, preventing overlaps. Seamless OS Integration Behaves like a native Windows component. Hides instantly with auto-hiding taskbar Hides when a fullscreen app is active Smart Network Monitoring Accurate by Default: Auto mode identifies your main internet connection and ignores noise from VPNs or virtual adapters. Easy Interface Selection: Switch effortlessly between Auto, All, or Selected network interfaces via intuitive radio buttons. Total Visual Customization Free Move Mode: Unlock and place the widget anywhere on your screen. Optional Mini-Graph: Real-time graph of recent network activity with adjustable opacity. Color Coding: Customize colors and speed thresholds to quickly see network status. Granular Display Control Text & Font: Adjust font family, size, weight, and alignment. Units: Automatic (B/s, KB/s, MB/s) or fixed Mbps display. Precision: Set decimal places and always show them for uniform appearance. Detailed & Intelligent History Graph Smart Scale: Logarithmic scale shows low-level traffic and large spikes clearly. Per-Interface Filtering: View speed history for specific adapters (Wi-Fi, Ethernet, VPN). Safe & Efficient Data Management: Adjustable retention, automatic cleanup, optimized database. Easy Data Export: Export raw data to .csv or save high-quality graphs for reports. NetSpeedTray v1.3.3: The Updater Fix A stabilization release that repairs a critical regression in v1.3.2: the app shipped without OpenSSL, which silently broke every HTTPS request — including the built-in update checker (the "Could not check for updates" error many of you hit). This release restores it, hardens the build so it can't happen again, and fixes a startup crash plus four other reported bugs. Changes: Fixed update checking — Resolved a critical issue that prevented the app from checking for updates ("Could not check for updates"). Fixed startup crash with Auto-Cycling — The app no longer crashes on launch after enabling Cycle display mode. Fixed incorrect network speeds on 10GbE adapters — Multi-gigabit network cards now display speeds correctly instead of being stuck at 0. Improved color coding — Default color is shown when idle, and color/threshold changes now apply immediately without restarting. Fullscreen visibility fix — The widget now correctly stays visible over fullscreen apps when Keep Visible is enabled. Improved AMD Ryzen temperature detection — More reliable CPU temperature monitoring for Ryzen processors. Cleaner upgrades — Installer now removes outdated application files during upgrades, preventing DLL/version conflicts while preserving user settings. Improved stability — Fixed potential DLL loading issues by excluding critical OpenSSL and NumPy components from UPX compression. Better settings window — Scrollbars removed and layout improved for a cleaner experience. Localization improvements — Updated translations and completed missing UI text across all supported languages. More reliable releases — Added regression tests covering recent critical fixes, bringing the test suite to 196 passing tests. [full release notes] Download: NetSpeedTray 1.3.3 | 87.9 MB (Open Source) Download: NetSpeedTray Portable | 101.0 MB View: NetSpeedTray Home Page | Screenshot Get alerted to all of our Software updates on Twitter at @NeowinSoftware
    • Why Delta Chat is the best decentralized messenger you have probably never tried by Paul Hill There is no shortage of messaging apps out there; we have WhatsApp, Messenger, and Telegram, just to name a few. While Meta has taken steps to incorporate encryption into Messenger and WhatsApp, they still leave a lot to be desired. If you are in the market for a messaging app that promotes security, privacy, and optional anonymity, you'll want to read what I have to say about Delta Chat. For those not familiar with Delta Chat, rather than relying on centralized servers as you do with Facebook Messenger, it relies on email. Essentially, it is a chat interface that feels like a messaging app, but secretly in the background, it is firing off emails. In the past, you used to have to sign in with your email account. When you sent messages to people, it would just be sending encrypted messages to their inbox, which their Delta Chat client would decrypt. When I first learned about Delta Chat, it required users to sign in with an email account, but I was pleasantly surprised upon trying it in 2026 that this is no longer a requirement, or the preferred method was to use the app. Recently, I’ve tried UAD-ng on my old Nokia 3.4 to disable most of the Google apps because the bootloader is locked, and this is the next best option. While finding replacement apps in F-Droid, I came across Delta Chat again, and it has undergone quite a big change since I last used it, with its new chatmail relays, which no longer require you to sign in to your own email account, providing anonymity, and they offer greater security. Android and Desktop Delta Chat apps. Not only does it run on my de-googled phone, but it also works on desktop computers and iOS, making it truly ubiquitous. For me, Delta Chat is a wonderful alternative messenger because it gives you more control. It supports switching between different profiles, which you can set up super quickly; you don’t register a username, you don’t register a password. The only thing you do have is a random string email address on a chatmail relay (which you don’t have to memorize). To maintain access to your profile, you just need to add a second device to your account via QR code or make a backup of your account, which you can restore later. Fail to do these, your account is gone - as it should be if you don’t want to leave accounts that could get hacked later on. My decision to block Google stuff on my Nokia was done for practical reasons; the device sucked when it launched, and it sucks even more now. The nice thing about F-Droid and the apps within is that they’re usually lightweight, free of bloat, and work well on that device. What was inconvenient for me was that it was hard to send messages from that device, say if I wanted to copy a code over to my main phone or send family members a link from that device. That’s when I decided to look at the available chat apps and saw Delta Chat. Another nice thing about Delta Chat is its notifications. Some messaging apps rely on Google’s ecosystem for notification transport on Android; however, with Delta Chat, it can use Google’s solutions if you have Play Services or MicroG installed. Otherwise, it is able to keep a background connection to the chatmail relay server so that you can get notified when you receive a message. As free software, the code of Delta Chat is open for all who want to take it and build upon it. In the future, if the developers of Delta Chat make a catastrophically bad decision and take the app in an undesirable direction, users can take the code and fork the project. This contrasts with closed-source apps from corporations that can take their products in any direction they like. By relying on free software instead of closed-source programs, you actually control your computing. I’ve spoken at length about how running this type of software is like owning your own home rather than renting it. The same applies here; if you use Delta Chat, you don’t need to worry about it going away in the future. Whether it is Telegram, WhatsApp, or Messenger, you are required to register a username and password to use these services. A major flaw in this design is that anyone can try various passwords and potentially break into your account with your complete chat history intact. Sure, there is encryption in Messenger, where you need a second PIN and two-factor authentication in Telegram, but breaches happen all the time. Unlike before, when you used to sign in to your email account to send and receive messages, the primary way to do it now is to create an account on a chatmail relay. The resulting email address is a random string followed by the name of the relay you pick. This means you can start and begin adding contacts Without a username and password, you either need to ensure you have a backup or at least one device running your Delta Chat profile. The primary way to log in on another device is to go to the settings and add a second device. Then, you’ll just scan a QR code with your new device, and it’ll log in to your account and sync all your chat history and contacts. To end users, Delta Chat just looks like any instant messenger; however, it is really sending your messages as encrypted emails to your contact. This is pretty cool from a censorship perspective, as it makes the service more difficult to block. Previously, the main way to use the app was by logging in with email, but nowadays, it’s recommended that you use chatmail relays. Chatmail relays temporarily hold messages in case your device is offline. They are cheap, simple servers that don’t store data as group states. Other information, like your name and avatar, only exists on your device and the devices of those you share your contact information with. The relays are also decentralized and operated by various groups and individuals. It is even possible to set up your own chatmail relay, but most people will want to use one hosted elsewhere. To keep your messages secure, Delta Chat uses a secure subset of the OpenPGP standard that gives you automatic end-to-end encryption. It also uses Secure-Join to exchange encryption setup information through QR-code scanning or invite links. Autocrypt is also used to automatically establish end-to-end encryption between contacts and all members of group chat, but sometime this year Autocrypt v2 will be rolled out, bringing post-quantum resistant encryption and forward secrecy. The Delta Chat FAQ is an interesting read that explains many more details about the app. Credit: Pexels Delta Chat is unique among messaging apps because it is built on email, a technology that’s decades old and isn’t going anywhere soon. What’s more is that email is not centralized either, so it’s far more difficult for any authoritarian regime to disrupt the Delta Chat app. I haven’t spoken too much about features yet, so I will do that now. Delta Chat allows you to do one-on-one chats, group chats, and create channels. It also supports file sharing and making audio and video calls when chatting one-to-one, but it’s not available for group chats right now. At the time of writing, the calling functionality is disabled and can be enabled in Settings > Advanced > Debug Calls. I have used the video calling feature, and the quality is excellent. It works over WebRTC, another open standard. The app also lets you send voice notes, enables disappearing messages, and has its own app ecosystem. I did try playing chess one time there, but it was a bit spotty; though, we did manage to complete the game with a victory for me. To add people to Delta Chat, you can either give them your Delta Chat link or your QR code to scan. These are the only ways to add users, so you won't have any spam bots bothering you. If the people you want to chat with don't have the app yet, just send them your link, and it will take them to a webpage where they can install the app and then add you. It's really quick for them to install it and get started, which is nice. Credit: Microsoft. The Majorana 2 quantum chip unveiled in 2026. I do not think quantum computers are too far out now, and I do hope that Delta Chat is able to push out Autocrypt v2 sooner, rather than later, so bad actors do not attempt to collect encrypted communications and then decrypt them in the future using quantum computers. By getting people’s messages post-quantum-safe now, users won’t have to worry when quantum computers start cracking legacy encryption. Overall, I would recommend this app to people who are already past WhatsApp and Messenger and have perhaps begun using apps like Telegram or Session. It shares a lot of characteristics with these apps and goes a lot further than Telegram in terms of security. By being based on email, it is also resistant to censorship, and the lack of a username and password makes you anonymous (if you want to be) and safe from brute force password cracking attempts. Let me know in the comments if you’ve tried Delta Chat recently. Do you think it's a good bulwark against governments that are tightening their grip on the internet?
  • Recent Achievements

    • One Year In
      bernmeister earned a badge
      One Year In
    • Week One Done
      Scoobystu earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • Week One Done
      tuben earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • First Post
      OffsetAbs earned a badge
      First Post
    • Reacting Well
      OffsetAbs earned a badge
      Reacting Well
  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      474
    2. 2
      +Edouard
      220
    3. 3
      PsYcHoKiLLa
      156
    4. 4
      Steven P.
      73
    5. 5
      FloatingFatMan
      71
  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!