Windows 7 Preview - In-depth review by ZDNet

Some early reviews of Windows 7, which is slated to become Microsoft's future client Operating Sytem.

Windows 7 Preview - In-depth review by ZDNet
http://blogs.zdnet.com/hardware/?p=2921

QUOTE: Excerpts below from this review are noted below:

INSTALLATION -- Installing Windows 7 is quick … very quick! I managed to get Windows 7 installed and ready to go in under 15 minutes on one system - a time that makes Vista seem like a lumbering dinosaur. Beyond the speed boost, the setup process for Windows 7 Build 1601 is pretty much the same as for Vista.

PERFORMANCE -- Once I’d recovered from shock of the speed of the install (I’d set aside 45 minutes, and was done in 15!), I was next struck by how fast Windows 7 is. There’s none of the sluggishness and lag that I remember with early builds of Vista and XP. Everything is snappy and responsive … Start Menu, Control Panel applets, applications … everything.

SECURITY IMPROVEMENTS -- It seems that Microsoft has taken on board the constructive criticism it received over User Account Control (UAC) and provided users with setting to make it less annoying. Windows 7 provides four settings, ranging from “Always notify” to “Never notify.” The default setting is “Only notify me when programs try to make changes to my computer,” which seems to offer a happy middle ground. Windows Update now more clearly shows patches to be installed.

UI IMPROVEMENTS -- The UI is also cleaner, and little tweaks such as clicking in the bottom right hand corner of the taskbar to get to the desktop makes more sense than having a separate icon and so on. Little things like this make the UI cleaner and ultimately easier to use. If there’s one word to describe the Windows 7 UI it’s this - Unfinished! In fact, using Windows 7 puts you in a wierd wonderland of Vista mixed in changes for Windows 7.