Windows 7 RC

[Singh400]

I still can't get over how quick the thing was to install. Like 15mins!

Indeed, installation times have improved dramtically from XP --> Vista --> 7. XP used to take me 22 mins, Vista 17 and now 7 takes me 15 - and that was with the beta build!

[alsenior]

mine took 20 mins on my T60p from a flash drive.

[amjedm]

Lucky you! Mine was a bit longer for some reason - it stuck on expanding files 0% for about 7 minutes, I thought something had gone wrong and was in the middle of doing something about it when it finally moved onto 1% (and started going quicker after that).

I thought only I was having the problem of it staying at 0% for ages when expanding files


I'm dual booting with XP Pro (using XOSL as the boot manager). It's taken me a few days to do a CD with DOS boot files, SATA DVD driver, learn how to create RAM DISK and then remember best way of setting up XOSL etc. but fortunately thank God it works

[Agent]

Im 50/50 over the new task bar. I know how to make it look like the old one, but I'm going to stick with this as long as I can.

It has some really nice features that are useful, but there is one major thing thats bugging the hell out of me - I can't right click and minimise. Now you have to hold shift and right click to get the minimise option, but really this should be in the standard right click menu. I can't think of one good reason why they have removed this.

Another taskbar annoyance - When extending the taskbar to use a "2 high" height, you can't rearrance things vertically. Currently you have to arrange things all sidewards before you can move them up and down, grhh

There are also a few features which don't seem to work well with a multi-monitor system. Just small tweeks could be made that would offer a huge improvment

[TAKTAK]

I had loads of windows open the other day to finish a report, and the Aero shake feature came in VERY handy, it made things alot quicker and less busy

As well as windows auto size snapping

[Funkstar]

There are also a few features which don't seem to work well with a multi-monitor system. Just small tweeks could be made that would offer a huge improvment

Which is odd, as multi monitor setups are supposed to be a lot better in W7 aren't they?

[malfunction]

Just installed this on my netbook (MSI Wind badged as a Medion Akoya E1210). Seems OK so far - everything is working out of the box and performance is fine - feels a tiny bit slower than XP was in general use but not enough to bother me. Boot times are a fair bit slower - not sure if any background optimisation will help with that after a few reboots and a bit of idle time. I haven't used Vista much (only on other peoples computers) so it's a bit of a learning curve to find everything. Wondering if I'd be better off installing Ubuntu - all I use the netbook for is surfing, e-mail and the odd bit of MSN and Skype so I don't need windows at all on this PC. I like some of the new gesture-like features - the left side / right side take half the screen up thing would be handy for my proper PC as would the shake feature - but I have to say overall I have the same feeling I had when I first saw XP - feels like the same OS but with slightly nicer graphics. I like the idea of admin privs not being the default but in day to day use I really can't see this affecting me - I've always run without virus or firewall protection (well no firewall since the days of having an ADSL router performing NAT / firewall duties for me) but then I don't spend all day looking at porn or downloading wares...

[Barrichello]

Just finished building my new pc at the weekend, and very impressed - Windows 7 (64bit)RC which installed very easily and picked up all my drivers perfectly. Very smooth and easy to use. All games i tried working fine. Im going straight from XP pro, and going by what i have seen so far ill be jumping straight to Windows 7 when it is out.

[TheAnimus]

Im 50/50 over the new task bar. I know how to make it look like the old one, but I'm going to stick with this as long as I can.

It has some really nice features that are useful, but there is one major thing thats bugging the hell out of me - I can't right click and minimise. Now you have to hold shift and right click to get the minimise option, but really this should be in the standard right click menu. I can't think of one good reason why they have removed this.

Another taskbar annoyance - When extending the taskbar to use a "2 high" height, you can't rearrance things vertically. Currently you have to arrange things all sidewards before you can move them up and down, grhh

There are also a few features which don't seem to work well with a multi-monitor system. Just small tweeks could be made that would offer a huge improvment

Yup the lack of a mimamize all pisses me off!

[TAKTAK]

Yup the lack of a mimamize all pisses me off!

What minimise all windows?

The button on the taskbar on the far right

Or to minimise all but one, just grab the window you want to keep and shake it

Or to minimise a certain window, hover over it on the taskbar then in the popup rightclick the appropriate window and minimise

Although i hated the taskbar at first, it's grown on me now
and i much prefer it

[kalniel]

Yup the lack of a mimamize all pisses me off!

What happens when you press Windows key + D then?

[TAKTAK]

What happens when you press Windows key + D then?

Doesn't help me, my windows key is disabled most of the time

[Agent]

What happens when you press Windows key + D then?

It minimises all applications, which isn't the issue here. It's when you're dealing with an application that has multiple windows. For example, in Firefox go to Tools->Downloads and click on the taskbar icon. It'll present you with a selection of windows (2 in this case). If you want to minimise both of those windows from the task bar you're looking at:

Clicking the icon
Moving to the first window
Right clicking the picture
Click minimise
Move to the other window
Right click
Minimise

I'm sure you can see how bad this can quickly get with more windows.

"Minimise all" really should be a default option in the right click menu without needing to hold an extra keyboard button. Even having the middle mouse button changed so it minimises a window when you have to chose would be better.

[Singh400]

It minimises all applications, which isn't the issue here. It's when you're dealing with an application that has multiple windows. For example, in Firefox go to Tools->Downloads and click on the taskbar icon. It'll present you with a selection of windows (2 in this case). If you want to minimise both of those windows from the task bar you're looking at:

Clicking the icon
Moving to the first window
Right clicking the picture
Click minimise
Move to the other window
Right click
Minimise

I'm sure you can see how bad this can quickly get with more windows.

"Minimise all" really should be a default option in the right click menu without needing to hold an extra keyboard button. Even having the middle mouse button changed so it minimises a window when you have to chose would be better.

WinKey + Down button.

Or Shift + right click, but you don't like that.

[TheAnimus]

Or Shift + right click, but you don't like that.

Thats the thing i dislike, if, like today i'm having a lazy session of developing on a sunday morning (could you guess i'm single!) but cba to sit at a pc, so am on my one screen laptop. I've got 2 blend sessions open, i just want to minimize em all, but its a bigger effort now because i have to press shift.

I guess i'll get used to it, but i feal like its an extra step, that could easily have been included on the regular right click menu!

(its minimzing all of a certain app, not all windows).

But overall win7 is making me think i'll be needing 4 licenses. Its already on my laptop, my Q1 ultra (my UMPC, beat the ***p out of Ubuntu netbook remix in performance terms) and my media PCs!

[Agent]

WinKey + Down button.

Or Shift + right click, but you don't like that.

It really shouldn't need keyboard input at all for such a basic operation though, which is my point. Winkey + Down actually means I have to take my hand off the mouse to minimise a window. It's moronic.

I must use the right click -> minimise on windows multiple times an hour. I'm just banging my head to think of any reason to remove it.