Windows 7 Review

It's been around a month since Windows 7 was released. I've had Windows 7 installed on my laptop for about month, I think that it takes a month to get a good aspect of the OS. I did that so I could get a full taste of Windows 7 for, bugs, crashes, ect.

Let me start with the specs of my laptops:
Toshiba A205-S5803
Processor: Intel Pentium Dual Core 1.6ghz
Hard Drive: 250GB
Ram: 2GB
Graphics: Intel GM 965

Install time, boot time, shut down time:
It took 15minutes to do a clean install, which is very impressive.
Boot time from the time the BIOS is done doing it's stuff took 52 seconds, Vista would take a minute and a half at times.
Shut down time took just 12 seconds, Vista sometimes took a minute to shut down.
Overall install time, boot time and, shut down time has been improved a lot from Vista. With shut down time being the biggest improvement.

Performance:
Windows 7 makes a big improvement with ram and cpu usage. When idle 7 takes up around 20% of ram and most of the time the cpu is useage is 0% when the compter is idle. While with Vista was always using the cpu and took up to 40% of ram when the computer is idle.

GUI:
Windows 7 also has a major GUI overhaul, with a brand new task bar and other minor improviments.

The new task bar(pictured above) is one of the major improvment to the GUI in Windows 7. With the new task bar you can add and remove links to programs. You can also rearrange them. There is also a little button on the far right which when you hover over it, it gives you a preview of the desktop, when you click it it takes you to the desktop.

Another new feature to Windows 7 is Aero Snap and Aero Shake. When you move a window to the far sides or to the top of the screen and let go of the window it moves and resizes the window to that possition. With Aero Shake when you take shake a windows by grabing the window with the mouse and shake it, every window that was up will now be minimized besides the window that you shook.

Windows Media Center:
While Windows Media Center hasn't changed much since Vista, I think the biggest improvment is that you no longer have to buy the more expansive version of Windows to get Windows Media Center. As it is now included in the "main" verison of Windows, Windows 7 Home Premium.

Windows Media Center is my favorite feature in Windows 7 as it's my gathering spot for all my media, I also have a little USB TV tuner hooked up to a antenna that allows me to record and watch live TV from my local stations.
My only issue with Windows Media Center is that it is the main reason for crashes on Windows 7. Sometimes when my TV signal get pixelated my graphics card driver crashes or Windows Media Center crashes. I don't get it, why can't Windows Media Center handle a bit of pixelation? Does my comcast cable box or Digital TV Tuner crash when my signal gets pixelated, No! This is defiantly something that Microsoft needs to fix, as it is very annoying.


Microsoft did a great job on Windows 7, while it does have some minor issues Windows 7 is a great OS. I consider this Microsoft's best OS ever!

I give it a 10 out of 10.