Windows 7 explained What to expect from Windows 7
Windows 7 launched on 22 October 2009
The release of Windows 7 came just three years after the launch of its predecessor, Windows Vista. The relatively short gap between the two operating systems (there was a five year gap between the release of Windows XP and Windows Vista) is partly why many people view Windows 7 as an incremental update rather than a radical overhaul.
This is confirmed by the Which? first look of Windows 7. The operating system sets out to fix many of the well-known problems with its predecessor, which is good news for anyone who's been struggling with a Vista PC for a couple of years.
Windows 7 versus Vista
Windows 7 addresses several of the perceived failings of Vista. Notably, it uses less power and should run on lower-powered ultra-portable netbooks. However, it keeps the smooth edges and transparent background effects that will be familiar to Windows Vista users.
The Microsoft Windows 7 desktop
One change is that the icons in the taskbar at the bottom of the screen have been revamped in Windows 7 and now offer a handy preview of the windows you’ve got open. Multiple windows of the same application will share the same icon, saving space.
Quite a few applications that were included in earlier releases of Microsoft Windows – including Windows Mail, Windows Photo Gallery, and Windows Movie Maker – aren’t included in Windows 7. However, they can be downloaded free as part of Microsoft’s Windows Live Essentials suite.
New features in Windows 7
Windows 7's Homegroup lets you easily share files with other computers on your network
Windows 7 has a number of new features, covered in detail in our Windows 7 first look review. These include:
- Windows 7 Action Center – a single window that groups together any urgent tasks that you need to perform on your PC, and gives you the chance to complete them.
- The ribbon toolbar – this makes more appearances in Windows 7, for instance in the built-in word processor Wordpad.
- New networking options – Windows 7 allows you to create a Homegroup (a more user-friendly version of the Workgroup featured in XP and Vista).
- Multi-touch support – this will benefit laptops with the latest touchscreens, as it will mean you can move and resize objects onscreen using several fingers at once.
- Problem steps recorder – this will record all your actions, and even take screenshots, then package them up into a file to be examined by friends and family in the event that something goes wrong.
For step-by-step advice on using your Windows 7 computer, see the Which? book Computing Made Easy for the Over 50s: Windows 7 Edition.