How would you make Windows 7 better?

[LTD]

What? Fragmentation has nothing to do with whether the disk is rotating or not. What would that have to do with anything? Solid state media can become fragmented as well. It is indeed because of the way the file system saves files.

LOL, but didn't you know?? All that centrifugal force from the high-speed rotation causes all those little fragments to fly outwards and scatter! :p

[shakey_snake]

What? Fragmentation has nothing to do with whether the disk is rotating or not. What would that have to do with anything? Solid state media can become fragmented as well. It is indeed because of the way the file system saves files.

Sequential read speed are significantly faster on HDDs than random reads. SSDs are more or less indifferent.

[Ambroos]

Which means, yes, fragmentation does exist on SSD's, no it doesn't affect speed.

[timmmay]

Release it sooner rather than later

[theyarecomingforyou]

How to improve it?

Require dual-core processors (purely to improve the user experience) or properly match options to the performance of a machine.

Only release a 64bit version (we need to move forward and sometimes that requires a gentle push).

Make sure it remembers folder views (Vista is pathetic with this).

Make sure file operations don't take unnecessarily long periods of time (there should never be a delay when emptying the recycle bin).

Make sure unresponsive apps are properly contained (Vista helped but still there's a long way to go).

Make sure networking works properly (by default Vista is an absolute nightmare when it comes to sharing printers / drives).

Make sure users never see UAC prompts unless ABSOLUTELY necessary (not for changing the system time or start menu entries).

Get rid of drive letters (come on, please!).

Allow for file / folder names with colons ':' and other common characters.

Avoid the need for restarting when installing updates (surely it could just shutdown and restart the relevant processes, even if they are system critical?).

Improve the Personalise desktop feature (Vista was a backwards move from XP).

Make the All Programs menu in the Start Menu usable (Vista was a backwards move from XP).

Make alt-tabbing / Windows-tabbing out of games perform as well as tabbing out of Firefox or Outlook (instant).

Make only one version but allow it to be customisable (Business, Home and Ultimate should all be merged into one, like OSX).

Price it sensibly. Don't make retail versions 3x the cost of OEM. Offer a considerable discount for Vista users.

Update IE to actually support standards, particularly more demanding specs like Acid3. While Acid3 means nothing in and of itself it speaks to the commitment of the developers, something WebKit/Opera have done but Mozilla/Microsoft have not. Don't be afraid to break websites just because the previous version was bad at handling standards, though give web developers plenty of warning.

Make sure WordPad (or its replacement) supports Word 2007 documents(!!).

Include the picture arranging / face recognising tool demonstrated in tech videos.

Make better use of 3D graphics cards for interface (not just gimmicky but at least reward users with systems capable of it, which would also motivate people with weaker systems to upgrade), though not at the expense of application performance.

Make the Game Explorer detect ALL games and make sure Games For Windows Live games also make an entry in the Start Menu, as now I never know where to look.

Make Add / Remove Programs work properly (stop auto-refreshing every time).

Finally, get rid of the registry or give users more control over its management. Applications can write thousands of entries all over the place, which can significantly impact systems. At the very least it should show applications that have been installed and list all the settings added or changed by that program.

[Mordkanin]

Only release a 64bit version (we need to move forward and sometimes that requires a gentle push).

Don't be silly. Netbooks and Mobile Core Duos are still out there. Given that performance is going to be better than Vista, Microsoft kind of has an obligation to support the computers that were pretty new when Vista came out.

Make alt-tabbing / Windows-tabbing out of games perform as well as tabbing out of Firefox or Outlook (instant).

That one depends very, very heavily on the game developer and your video drivers. Microsoft can only do so much. Also, there's a reason the switch can be nasty: Performance. The DWM must shut down while the game is running, or you will have a very noticeable performance hit. Starting and stopping an exclusive mode 3d scene is not a trivial operation.

Price it sensibly. Don't make retail versions 3x the cost of OEM. Offer a considerable discount for Vista users.

Sort of like an 'upgrade' version? :rolleyes:

Update IE to actually support standards, particularly more demanding specs like Acid3. While Acid3 means nothing in and of itself it speaks to the commitment of the developers, something WebKit/Opera have done but Mozilla/Microsoft have not. Don't be afraid to break websites just because the previous version was bad at handling standards, though give web developers plenty of warning.

Haven't you been paying attention to the IE8 betas? They've got CSS2 licked. CSS3 isn't even a finalized standard yet. Also, the CSS box model is stupid. IE's is more natural to use (It resembles a real world box).

Finally, get rid of the registry or give users more control over its management. Applications can write thousands of entries all over the place, which can significantly impact systems. At the very least it should show applications that have been installed and list all the settings added or changed by that program.

Every time, you always see someone advocate a move away from the registry.

What would you replace it with? How would you handle COM? Do you even know what kind of impact on performance 'thousands of entries all over the place' has on your system? (Hint: none)

[Denis W. Veteran]

Make sure WordPad (or its replacement) supports Word 2007 documents(!!).

That should be taken care of. I'd also like to see binary .doc support as well.

That one depends very, very heavily on the game developer and your video drivers. Microsoft can only do so much. Also, there's a reason the switch can be nasty: Performance. The DWM must shut down while the game is running, or you will have a very noticeable performance hit. Starting and stopping an exclusive mode 3d scene is not a trivial operation.

The DWM doesn't shut down anymore for most games provided the game uses the desktop's resolution.

[ikonizer]

I would scrap the entire thing, study what people like the best from Windows, Mac, and Linux, then rebuild it from the ground up and make it as fast and streamlined as possible.

But we all know Microsoft would never do that, so...

1: Make a theme that actually looks good. Aero got to 34% of looking good and then failed. Luna was no better.

2: Allow custom themes by default.

3: Do NOT copy the dock concept.

That's all I can think of right now.

[t0mbi]

make it CHEAP lol. i think they are on the right path with the whole 'using less resources' thing less RAM and CPU required= cheaper computers= happier consumers

[jakem1]

make it CHEAP lol. i think they are on the right path with the whole 'using less resources' thing less RAM and CPU required= cheaper computers= happier consumers

I agree with t0mbi regarding the price. Microsoft could win over most of their detractors if they reduced the price of Windows and Office. Nobody will complain about great software at a great price and you'll find that people buy the software whether they need it or not if the price is right.

They really need some sort of family pack deal as well. Many people have multiple PCs now and shouldn't have to buy multiple copies of Windows. Office can be installed on a PC and laptop and Windows should at least be the same although I think they need to copy Apple's 5-license deal. I understand that Apple benefits from the hardware sales but Microsoft just end up looking nasty when they make it difficult for people to upgrade all their PCs.

[ScorpioRGc1]

It's hard to say what I would change to make it better when the bloody thing isn't even out yet. Ask me again in a year; so far, though, I've been digging everything I've seen about Windows 7. :D

[Calum Veteran]

Hahaha, I haven't read the whole thread yet, but the fact that on the first two pages, people are referring to DWM as 'DRM' just really made me **** myself laughing! Hahaha sorry, but it shows they don't even know what they are talking about when they say it is a nightmare or it makes your operating system incredibly slower.

Well, if they just took DWM out, Windows would look no where near as sexy ;)

[smooth_criminal1990]

tabbed-browsing in windows explorer :heart:

[Calum Veteran]

Ahh yes! Definitely tabbed browsing in Windows Explorer!

This is one thing Microsoft lack on - tabbed features! I mean look how long it took them to implement it into Internet Explorer. It would work so well in Windows Live Messenger, yet they still haven't done it (and it is very poorly implemented into Messenger Plus! Live, at least when used with the Windows Live Messenger 2009 beta).

Tabbed features has made using Photoshop much easier (in CS4) and I'm sure it would make using Windows Explorer much easier too (dragging and dropping would definitely be easier to perform).

[Mordkanin]

I would scrap the entire thing, study what people like the best from Windows, Mac, and Linux, then rebuild it from the ground up and make it as fast and streamlined as possible.

That's probably why you're not building it.

[iwod]

I hope after he public beta and Windows7 TaskForce we will get some of the improvement mentioned here.

But anyway i think Control Panel needs Redoing.

It is Links Hell....Too Wordy, Perference scattered across to different place.

Other things may be just buy Opera and use Opera engine instead. IE is hopeless.

[-KJ]

Taskbar Time Display Options -- Have the option to display day or date as well. Right now I use TClock :)

[Denholm]

Hot Corners (Y) That would be a great asset to Windows 7.

[Brandon Live Veteran]

What? Fragmentation has nothing to do with whether the disk is rotating or not. What would that have to do with anything? Solid state media can become fragmented as well. It is indeed because of the way the file system saves files.

Fragmentation has everything to do with whether it is rotating.

Rotating media suffers from poor non-sequential access performance, as the drive head has to physically move quite a lot which takes significant time (and energy). That is why it is preferrable to arrange things sequentially, as sequential access is much faster than random access.

Solid state media suffer no such penalty, so read fragmentation is really a non-issue. In fact, defragmentation operations are detrimental on such devices as it works against the common wear-levelling mechanisms they employ. That is why Win7 disables defragmentation on SSD devices.

[Stetson]

So its not that SSDs don't get fragmented, its just that it doesn't matter whether they are fragmented or not.

[Ambroos]

So its not that SSDs don't get fragmented, its just that it doesn't matter whether they are fragmented or not.

Indeed.

One thing they could change about Windows 7 is release only two versions. Home, Business and Enterprise. Or just one that has it all and scrap the branding (Windows 7 and Windows 7 for workgroups or enterprise or something). I remember lots of ppl with Windows Vista Home Basic being very disappointed.

[bagpus]

When using Snipe to capture screen shots etc, i'd like to be able to send direct to a contact in Messenger.

[stevember]

3 things I would like.

1. Make task bar multi-screen option. (may not be needed with new task bar!)
   
2. Support maximize to half sreen work if put near edge of screen join on multiple screens not just right left most
   
3. Sort Media Center so can go full screen one monitor and not lock in mouse
   

Otherwise love it so far.

[fix-this!]

all i want is stability, a better gui and the price to be much less than vista was and is.

[Brandon Live Veteran]

Support maximize to half sreen work if put near edge of screen join on multiple screens not just right left most

You can achieve that using the Win+Left or Win+Right hotkey.