Windows 7 has been around for a little while now and a lot of users are using it. It was released on July 22, 2009 and as of today it accounts for 27% of traffic on my personal blog askTheAdmin.com which happens to be right up there with the damn Internet Explorer 6 share! But if you have not taken the plunge yet, perhaps you are still debating on whether or not to jump on the Windows 7 bandwagon or maybe wait until Windows 8 shows its face?
We have done the leg work for you — reading all of the Windows 7 reviews, testing the system and bringing you the skinny on Windows 7. We have chosen 3 awesome reviews to share with you. They have been taken from Lifehacker, Engadget and ArsTechnica. Let’s take a look at what they have to offer.
First up is the Lifehacker piece titled Complete Guide to Windows 7. It was written by one of my favorite bloggers Kevin Purdy. When you arrive at the page you will see a full featured Windows 7 review with a lot of background from the dudes and dudettes that have been using the operating system since it was leaked way back.
They discuss everything from Installation and setup to common issues, tricks, tips and links to showdowns like Snow Leopard vs Windows 7 and The top features in Windows 7. They go on to show us how to burn ISOs without any 3rd party tools and the magic being Internet Explorer 8′s new feature (only on Windows 7) that can clone a unresponsive tab ““ which is utterly awesome!
Our next Windows 7 review is from Engadget and can be found here. At Engadget, they get a little more nitty gritty and look at boot times (that are improved), visual enhancements and other points someone upgrading from XP would be very interested in.
Reading the Engadget review showed me Aero Peak which allows you to preview open windows without clicking on them. This is a huge help to anyone who juggles lots of windows on a daily basis like me. I also saw Aero Shake and Snap for the first time. Aero Shake allows you to grab and violently shake a window to minimize all other windows freeing you up from other tasks. And Aero Snap allows windows to snap together seamlessly as many of us wished for many many years ago.
They go on to give other links to full installation guides and a lot of information about Windows 7 any which way you look at it.
Last but certainly not least is ArsTechnica’s review of Windows 7. I always love Ars’ reviews and this time they did not disappoint either.
They have a massive 15 page review (separated by links for each page”¦) that culminates with this tidbit that blew my socks off:
Overall, it’s pretty clear that Windows 7 is “Vista R2.” Hell, the branding of the server counterpart is a dead giveaway here. Windows Server 2008 RTM was exactly Vista SP1; Windows Server 2008 R2 is exactly Windows 7. Why does one retain its branding but not the other? Because the Windows Server 2008 branding is popular and successful (the OS was, quite rightly, very well-received) in a way that the Vista branding is not. If Vista had gotten the reception it actually deserved, and become a brand worth keeping, it seems highly likely that the name would have been retained. And Microsoft knows it, which is why internally, Windows 7 is only version 6.1. Sure, the company has made specious claims that this is to avoid breaking applications with bad version checks, but the logic doesn’t really hold; many of those applications are just as broken by “6″ as they would be by “7,” and if that were such a concern then the minor version wouldn’t change either.
But at the end of the day, that doesn’t really matter. Windows 7 is, overall, a fantastic OS. It builds on a solid platform, and just makes it even better.
ARS touches on important points like branding and comparing features like UAC to Seven’s younger sibling Vista. They really do touch on everything and just like the others make for a great read.
So what do you think of Windows 7? Share your opinions with us in the comments!
Tagged: expert reviews • preview • user reviews • Windows 7
