My first impression

[Andy1369]

I'm pretty sure some of you will disagree with me, and that's fine...but my first impression of Windows 7 was that...well, it's not ready for release. I found it kind of cluttered and a bit confusing. In fact, I actually missed Vista. How ironic. I thought I would miss XP dearly when Vista came out, and I was essentially forced towards Vista usage due to my old laptop breaking down and having to buy a new laptop with Vista as the only option...but I've grown to like Vista, a lot.

Seeing pictures and descriptions of Windows 7 really heightened my expectations of W7. However, when I downloaded the beta yesterday as an eager beta tester, I kinda felt disappointed. The boot screen was neat, installation was easy and quick, and OOBE was way less annoying than Vista, but the rest of W7 didn't feel as nice. It's hard to explain, but I just kind of felt like the system was over-presenting itself with a new "Superbar." While it's nice-looking, it kind of feels like things are always moving quickly, while in Vista, you could move at your own pace. I also felt disappointed with Paint and Wordpad, which had Ribbon, but the icons were still leftovers from Office 2007. Numerous dialogs and fonts still are inconsisent. I guess people painted W7 as a fresh look and feel, but it's basically Vista with a new Superbar, and still the same ol' inconsisenties.

I guess I was expecting more...I don't know. And people keep claiming that W7 will be released halfway into 2009, so I somewhat doubt many more changes in the user interface will be introduced, and this is basically it. It's just kind of a bit defeating, and I kind of wish Microsoft could have marketed this as Windows 6.5 (Vista Reloaded) or something, as opposed to Windows 7, giving the impression that it's a whole new version with a brand-new look and feel.

That's my first impression...but I haven't lost all hope yet. Maybe it's not as bad as I thought, maybe the changes were just jarring. However, first impressions always count the most, so I guess let's see how this pans out.

Andrew

[ale0crysis]

in fact i disagree totally

:|

[+John. Subscriber¹]

in fact i disagree totally

:|

Agreed. Not bashing the OP or anything, but I like it. Noteable improvement over Vista.

[DDStriker]

my first impression of Windows 7 was that...well, it's not ready for release. I found it kind of cluttered and a bit confusing. In fact, I actually missed Vista. How ironic.

I guess people painted W7 as a fresh look and feel, but it's basically Vista with a new Superbar, and still the same ol' inconsisenties.

you missed vista yet you say w7 is basically vista with a new superbar

very ironic :p

need to remember XP was a horrible operating system and so was Vista

but SP1 and SP2 fixed alot of issues making XP a decent operating system and SP3 gave it a nice polish

Vista benefited greatly from its SP1 update and theres still more to come

Windows 7 as you say is at the same level as vista (even though its actually better and some say even faster then xp) windows 7 still has yet to receieve its SP1 update (or its "ready to go" stamp) so its best not to rule it out before it has even came out :p

in fact i disagree totally

Agreed.

[t0mbi]

wow..harsh words...i havent found any problems with windows 7..i have vista and 7 on my HDD..and i have only used vista once since i 'got' windows 7 7000

[MeDieViL02]

but I've grown to like Vista, a lot.

who's saying that wont happen with 7?

[ToneKnee]

I would mess around with the Superbar settings to see how you like to have your taskbar organised. Win7 might feel a little Alien, but it is a lot like Vista, but in a lot of ways it isn't. Libraries function ftw!

[l Ancient l]

Im dont agree with you Andy1369. It is Vista like on one hand but on the other, its a great leap forward.... Microsoft did a pretty good job here... I really like the ribbon interface of Paint since its much more advanced than the original... it has more options and, well it looks deffinatley nicer than the original... The new taskbar is very nice and functional. Ye I can agree that it looks like Vista "Reloaded" but I dont really see what they could have changed much to make it look or feel so much different from Vista.

[burnblue]

I found it kind of cluttered and a bit confusing. In fact, I actually missed Vista. How ironic. I thought I would miss XP dearly when Vista came out, and I was essentially forced towards Vista usage due to my old laptop breaking down and having to buy a new laptop with Vista as the only option...but I've grown to like Vista, a lot.

Seeing pictures and descriptions of Windows 7 really heightened my expectations of W7. However, when I downloaded the beta yesterday as an eager beta tester, I kinda felt disappointed. The boot screen was neat, installation was easy and quick, and OOBE was way less annoying than Vista, but the rest of W7 didn't feel as nice. It's hard to explain, but I just kind of felt like the system was over-presenting itself with a new "Superbar." While it's nice-looking, it kind of feels like things are always moving quickly, while in Vista, you could move at your own pace. I also felt disappointed with Paint and Wordpad, which had Ribbon, but the icons were still leftovers from Office 2007. Numerous dialogs and fonts still are inconsisent. I guess people painted W7 as a fresh look and feel, but it's basically Vista with a new Superbar, and still the same ol' inconsisenties.

I guess I was expecting more...I don't know. And people keep claiming that W7 will be released halfway into 2009, so I somewhat doubt many more changes in the user interface will be introduced, and this is basically it. It's just kind of a bit defeating, and I kind of wish Microsoft could have marketed this as Windows 6.5 (Vista Reloaded) or something, as opposed to Windows 7, giving the impression that it's a whole new version with a brand-new look and feel.

That's my first impression...but I haven't lost all hope yet. Maybe it's not as bad as I thought, maybe the changes were just jarring. However, first impressions always count the most, so I guess let's see how this pans out.

Andrew

I think you just had your expectations set too high, after being so excited about W7. However I would say that all the functionality shown off at the keynotes is what's present in my installation -- no more, no less -- so there are no surprises to leave me disappointed. I already knew what was supposed to be in it. With that said, I'm still excited.

I think once you take it for what it is.. Vista 6.1.. you'll begin to appreciate how much of a massive improvement it is. From your description, it seems that little things that nobody else noticed are getting to you, like "old" paint icons and fonts. These will change, it is a beta, and like you said not ready for release. But how about the features they actually worked on -- like Libraries, SuperBar, etc -- these make sure the UI is far less cluttered or confusing than Vista. By the way, the UI moving "too fast" is a good thing. I think they can't get it snappy enough.

Microsoft was pretty forthcoming about what Windows 7 is. I think after you stop and smell the roses, play with Libraries for a bit, you'll come to love 7 (if you love Vista this should be easy).