Comments on: What scares me about Windows 7

Windows 7 beta is a fine operating system, but that doesn't mean it's not suffering from some issues. Don Reisinger takes a look at those issues.

[tipoo_]

Some good points there...i can totally see my parents being confused by the dock-like taskbar. hell, they get confused with the normal taskbar!

[jason1414]

WHAT A TOOLBOX.

******* GET WIT THE PROGRAM AND SHUT UP

ITS AN AMAZING OS AND MUCH BETTER THAN VISTA

TAKES 5 MINS TO LEARN AND IF U CANT DO THAT THEN DONT BUY A COMPUTER

[irondog1970]

I'm an XP user at the office and an OS X user at home. While I prefer the Mac overall, I have no real beef with XP. But there are two features on the Mac that I wish Windows had.

01. When navigating folders, I would like the ability to open a new Explorer window. I use this all the time when I'm at home.

02. The left-to-right view of the Mac OS X Finder window. I love the ease by which I can navigate through my entire system by using the arrow keys.

I know Vista has fixed the terrible "C:\Documents and Settings\[user name]" to the bit easier to type "C:\Users\[user name]" But my work won't migrate until they have to, so I'm stuck with that.

[drkbts]

Every SP-mature Windows OS I have used over the years, typically runs fine for the first 60 days. And then the pain starts: the hidden components, the registry, the meaningless diagnostic messages, and everything else under the sun slows things down to a grinding halt. After one year, the only solution remaining is a fresh install. And then the cycle starts again. I have little confidence that Windows 7 will be any better.

[malcolm-d]

One of the major arguments against moving from Windows to another operating system e.g. OSX or Linux is that it requires retraining which increases the TCO. If moving to the Windows 7 from XP requires retraining - do you think it will encourage many organisations to move?

[keano12]

To be honest, as much as I love windows for being the only computer in my life so far XD, this publication really kicks the "I like Windows so much, so please Hire me and make me head." It's nothing but kiss us as to what I see. XD

[caseymnpc]

I understand what you're saying about the new taskbar and how you click the "dock" icon and expect a new window to open and it doesn't...instead, that window is brought to the front. But, in reality, this is what should be expected. I mean, in every previous version of Windows, if you clicked an open window on the taskbar what did it do? It brought that window to the front. Why should it be any different just because Microsoft decided to go with the dock-style with only icons rather than an icon + text for the taskbar? I think it is marvelous and once again, it completely outdoes Apple's dock.

[SJ2571]

Win 7 isn't superior to XP or even 2K. It's just more bloat and requirements to do the same job. When will people realise that? Ho hum. A fool and his money...

[SJ2571]

Quote: "Some people are still using Commodore 64"

You know why? They boot instantly, they shut down instantly (and don't lose data when doing so!), don't need defragging, and are immune to viruses by design. And what you run on one machine, will run on any other in exactly the same way. There's a lot to be said for that -- no driver issues and so on. Just 100% guaranteed to work. It was quite a machine, and still way ahead of its time.

[iminor]

Why can't Microsoft have an option for Win7? Have the user interface either look like XP or like native Win7. This would satisfy all users.
Ira

[eBob1]

My main concern with Windows 7 is if it will have the same baked-in, half-baked DRM scheme that Vista does. If that is going to be the case, then I may end up just running it in a virtual machine on my Linux machine (like I am doing with the beta now) if I need Windows for some reason. If they are serious about addressing the needs of the people actually purchasing their products rather than the desires of the entertainment companies, then I think that Windows 7 will be fine.

[pinkgr]

I must say, I like Vista, it's sleek, bright and things semm to be in the right place, but 7... Well... I hate the new taskbar! Don't get me wrong I understand it may be a step closer to the "usability" of the Macs, but I hate Mac's Dock! It scares me that I may never have the lovely and so useful taskbar I have in my Vista.
P.S. Imagine what state I would be in if I only used XP or if I didn't have to use Mac at my Job!

[davidanthony1986]

I don't know why you guys at CNET bash Windows Vista all the time its frickin ridiculous I used all of the OSs from Mac and Windows and vista is the by far best, It can handle anything I throw at it easy on the eyes and it is just a plain breeze to use. I'm sure Windows 7 will be great but I think I 've found a winner in Windows Vista ( thats after 1 1/2 years of nonstop use).

[oxtail01]

How this guy misses the point that large enterprises avoid upgrading OS without significant benefits from underlying programs that run under it is totally beyond me. Go to any company and ask if running Office 2000 or 2003 is any detriment to running 2007 on productivity and they'll laugh in your face. Especially now when cost savings are a major factor, almost ALL companies will see no need to upgrade. Very typical shallow and ignorant CNET reporting.

[scratchingthesurface]

From the article: "I'm afraid Microsoft has placed too much stock in Apple's design and not enough in usability. That's appealing for Mac users, but if I had never touched an Apple machine, I don't think I'd want my Windows box to be a Mac clone. I'd want it to be Windows. I'd get over it. It would just take some time."

I hope I am not reading too much into this. Apple as a leader and innovator, naturally, gets "copied" in way or another, be it for some aspect of UI in an OS, or for the design of a phone. However, that is not enough to make that product "appealing to a Mac user". Mac users know that "design" is more than skin deep -- it goes to the very heart of how something works, as Steve Jobs has said of Apple's whole design philosophy. Good design helps make the product more intuitive, provides standard UI guidelines to third-parties, better integrates software and hardware, and all-in-all enhances the user experience so that he is both more productive and more excited about using the product which in turn helps garner higher customer satisfaction ratings for a (thoroughly) well-designed throughout product.

So, having said all that: I would venture that MS has not placed enough stock in Apple's "design" -- MS does not know the depths of Apple's design, nor what good design truly is. But perhaps this mere scratching of the surface by MS does enough for them -- it keeps their entrenched customers from trying something else because they have been led to expect or believe that not only do Apple products merely "look different", that is really all that Apple is about, "the look". I mean, how could the actual computing experience itself be different in any real way? If something could work differently (or shall we say, work), surely MS would have thought of it and bought it or stolen it long ago. The MS way is surely the only way.

Well, the trials MS customers go through suggest they should try other products (however good-looking those other products may be), before they die thinking that MS knows best or is capable of successfully delivering all there is to know about computing. How much time do you want to give MS?

If "I had never touched an Apple machine" I think I would want to know what all the fuss was about. I think I would want to know if all the setbacks and delays and failures and everyday issues were an indication that MS was too concerned with surface appearances and marketing that tells me how I misunderstood their product and really didn't know how to fix the basics. And I would want to know if Apple simply won design award after design award from vacuous people who judge outward appearances only, or if Apple really does pay as much attention to detail in every aspect of its product as it is purported. I would like to give that much credit to Windows users. But maybe the author knows better.

[ChuckBaker1]

I just started reading your columns about windows7. I have downloaded a copy but haven't installed it yet.

I too hate Vista. to me the only thing good about Vista was the speech recognition on it..

But I think you might be wrong about the learning curve hindering it's use in business. I think the thing that really killed Vista for business use is the UAC system. Just to run a program you had to go through so many verifications it just wasn't worth it.

And another thing that hurt Vista was spending a lot of time loading software in to Vista only to find out that vista wouldn't install it and if it did it wouldn't run it.

If the final release of windows7 lives up to the promise I don't think individuals and businesses will mind taking the time to learn about the new OS.

For me that is half the fun if it. I have been using XP since it came out and I but there is a bunch of things in there I haven't even found yet.

[myrddraal]

What's really scary about vista is how it hogs resources, and slows even a high spec machine to a crawl, all for the sake of some pretty-ness

[noshedidnt]

Yup.. I remember the e-mail memos from when I worked there. "Let's the others innovate, we'll appropriate." No secret.
Just funny to see people holding on to their XP experience like most American's without digital TV (or a damn coupon from the gov) right now.

[firefish45]

I'll tell you what scares me about Windows 7 - it's identical to Vista with some visual changes (stressing 'some').
Seriously, I'm running the latest beta and this is a joke.

I used to SWEAR by Microsoft until November 2007 when I finally got my first Mac. After that, I felt upset that I didn't get it sooner.

[MontySiphen]

So its a bit like putting lipstick on a governor then.