This blog's purpose is to report the findings of Infotaxis, but I feel the need to take a slight detour to discuss the latest member of the Windows family.
I've been using Windows 7 as my main desktop OS since the 68xx PDC builds, and now the RTM 7600 build, and let me tell you, it's wonderful.
Many will have you think that it is simply Windows Vista with some polishing and tuning up - they are wrong. While, being Vista's successor, 7 shares much of Vista's code, it is the differences that set it apart so distinctly. Interface-wise, Windows 7 and Vista are virtually indistinguishable in every way except a few tweaks to Aero, and the taskbar.
The taskbar, if you can even call it that anymore, is now something between OSX's dock and the original Windows taskbar. It provides the best of both worlds, and then some. I just wish I could gt rid of the start button, clock, and desktop button, and then turn the system tray icons into taskbar items, finishing by centering and cutting down the dock to a dynamically-expanding size. Oh well, did somebody say Windows 8? :P
To put it in a sentence, Windows 7 performs like a trimmed-down tuned-up copy of XP SP3, but looks better and is more feature-filled than Windows Vista. It's the best of both worlds, with an undeniable nod to Mac's user interface in the form of the dock.
To really understand why and how Windows 7 isn't just a stand-alone service pack to Vista, as some would put it, you need to use it. And I don't mean just for 5 minutes at a booth or on someone else's PC. You need to install it on your previously-Vista-running PC and use it for a good month. As you do, you will notice that every little detail of the OS is catered to the user's instincts. Every keystroke you "wish" worked, does. Almost anything you think should be a feature is, and it is the small little features like these that make the OS feel perfect to me.
I loved Windows 98SE, and despised NT (the technical NT, including 2K/XP/Vista/etc.) until the betas for Vista came out. They had new features and things I liked, and performed pretty well. When the RTM came out though, it was comparatively sluggish next to XP, and offered little practical reason to use it. I did, however, use Vista until the Windows 7 beta and thusly say the above things with proper knowledge. This is the first version of Windows since the death of the 9x series that I truly endorse. Let's hope Microsoft keeps going on this path and steers away from releases like Vista in the future (premature, unpolished, unintuitive).
As a footnote, I realize this wasn't the most technical review ever. If there's a demand for my analysis of the technical features in the comments, I'll post one. Otherwise, you'll have to look elsewhere.
P.S. - If you read this Microsoft, please bring back classic view in the control panel... that's really ticking me off.
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