Windows 7: A Brief Introduction

What is Windows 7?
It is the next version of Windows Vista.
Yes. That is the official name of the new OS. Nice and simple.
7 does not exactly come from the lucky number 7.
Windows 7 is simply the 7th version of Windows.

Here is a screenshot of Windows 7 beta.
Beautiful.
For more images: http://windows7news.com/windows-7-screenshots/
Looking through these images, one might argue that it looks just like Vista.
Well, it is very similar to Vista, Windows 7 is just a much better version of it.
It is what “Vista should have been.”
Adrian Kingsley-Hughes compared the performance of Windows 7 to Vista and XP and his results show that Windows 7 is faster, more stable, and more reliable.
For more details: http://blogs.zdnet.com/hardware/?p=3236&page=2
Windows Vista has faced many negative criticisms due to its slow performance, large memory usage, lack of compatibility with other softwares, and annoying security features.
But with Windows 7, Microsoft fixed all these bugs, kept the beautiful graphics, enhanced the good features of Vista, and added more.

Here are some new features of Windows 7 that I want to briefly go over.
New taskbar.

Yes folks. The taskbar is changing. Do not scream XP users. I think this new taskbar is brilliant. It combines the Mac OSX dock and the Vista taskbar, creating a work of art. Instead of having many small rectangles on the taskbar with words that end with … clumped together, this new taskbar allows you to find your windows easily with less clicks. Like the dock in the Mac OSX, you pin down applications such as Microsoft Word to your taskbar. And when you want to open that application, just simply click it. Multiple instances of a minimized application are represented by only one icon on the taskbar. When you hover over the pinned down icon, small preview windows show up. [See above]. This time, unlike Vista, you can click the preview windows to open them, or even x them out. Does the taskbar look a little too wide to you? The one thing great about Windows is that you can customize everything the way you like it.
Aero Snap.
Oh snap. This is going to be one useful feature that you might use all the time. It is a great way to organize your windows. Drag a window to the top of the screen and it is maximized. Drag it to the side and you get it to tile to one half of the screen. Drag the window away from the top of the screen to restore it. It is a very handy feature, especially if you work with multiple windows and applications.
Aero Peek.

Ever wanted to see what was on your desktop without minimizing all your applications? Aero Peek is the feature for you. Mouse over the small area on the right-hand side of the taskbar and you get a glimpse of what is on your desktop. Why would you do such a thing? Well, remember Vista introduced the side-bar gadget? That feature is still going to be in Windows 7, but this time, you can put the gadgets anywhere on your desktop. Also, you might just want to look at your wallpaper. I don’t know. Aero Peek is of limited usefulness though since you cannot interact with anything on the desktop because as soon as you move the mouse off the Peek spot the applications all return.
New Applications.
Finally, applications such as Paint and Calculator is going to be upgraded! However, some applications will not come with Windows 7, such as Windows Mail, Windows Calendar, Messenger, etc. Gasp. But do not worry. All these applications will be updated and combined into what is called Windows Live Essentials. When you setup Windows 7, you can download these Windows Live Applications for free. Microsoft this time is trying to simplify things so that users do not have unnecessary junk. Right now, the beta versions of these Windows Live Essential Suite is free to download.
http://download.live.com
I have been using Windows Live Mail on my XP desktop and it is fantastic.
Enhanced Interface [Libraries/Start Menu].

Libraries is a file organization concept new in Windows 7. It looks just like a file folder, but it can actually point to files stored in multiple locations. For example, you can create a library called “files” that points to documents that you have stored in several locations on your C drive as well as several places on your home or corporate network. Double-click the “files” library, and you will see files aggregated from all of those locations. The search feature in Libraries is extremely enhanced and useful, making it easier to search for files and folders than ever. You XP lovers, you are going to love this one.
The Start menu does not differ greatly in appearance from the one in Vista, but it includes some productivity-boosting features. Icons pointing to recently-used applications now include a fly-out menu that lists recently-opened files within those applications. This means that in Windows 7 you will have one-click access to the file you were last working on. Also, the Start menu glows beautifully, too. Ooh.

There are many, many more features that I have not touched on. Homegroup is a huge addition to Windows 7. Obviously, touch features is something I have not yet discussed. But you got a good brief introduction to Windows 7 right?
The most important thing to keep in mind is that the performance of Windows 7 is significantly better than Vista, and beyond significantly better than XP.  Those annoying user account control (UAC) prompts won’t bother you anymore. And also compatibility issues plagued Windows Vista. Microsoft worked extremely hard to fix those issues in Widows 7.
Note: The summary I gave you above is based on Windows 7 BETA. Many testers have concluded that the beta version is much better than Windows Vista and XP. So when the official, final version of Windows 7 comes out, it will be more than expected. It should be fast, stable, and easy to use.
For XP users.
You might hate Windows 7 because it is different. You might love it. Change is necessary. Windows 7 is designed so that you can do things quickly and efficiently. If you learn how to use Windows 7 and master all the techniques, you will love it.
Here is a great article for you: http://blogs.zdnet.com/Bott/?p=630