A PC guy myself, I was happy this week to see the article title First look at Windows 7's User Interface appear on my homepage. For those of you not quite as computer-obsessed as myself, Windows 7 is the next version of Windows, the successor to Windows Vista and set to be released sometime next year (or Jan 2010) at the latest. In the wake of the disastrous (or at very least disappointing) release of Windows Vista, with numerous bugs and compatibility issues, Microsoft is supposedly planning to release Windows 7 ahead of schedule.
In order to first understand why I view Windows 7 as a possible perfect balance between idealism and pragmatism, we must first take a look its predecessors, Windows XP and Windows Vista. Released five years apart, the longest gap between Windows operating system releases, Windows XP and Vista are very different in almost every aspect. For most users, Windows XP had become the norm. While functioning similarity to the Windows OS’s before it, XP brought a newer, sleeker interface and increased stability and efficiency; and the result was a very reliable and user-friendly operating system. Paired with its long existence (a full five years before the arrival of Windows Vista), Windows XP became the standard definition of Windows. Towards the end of its life, however, XP began to fall behind the times. Security was lacking in comparison to today’s new security threats, and on the whole, while XP functioned properly, its appearance was showing signs of its age, lacking the image of sleekness that other technology had developed since its release.
Thus, the release of Vista was heavily anticipated. Press releases and leaks showed a gleaming new OS, complete with amped up and entirely new features, not to mention heavily increased security functions. And yet, upon its release, numerous issues began to surface. There were complaints about its cost, hardware requirements, digital rights management, and most of all, compatibility issues. The OS that had seemed so appealing, the image of the future, lacked all the reliability that Windows XP had. Indeed, Vista was a new look, one that called to the numerous users tired of the XP appearance; but for many, the issues with compatibility and other bugs were too great to ignore. Many eager Vista customers switched back to Windows XP; in fact, computer companies returned from selling exclusively Windows Vista computers to computers where the buyer had a choice as to which OS they would want. For all its ideas and innovations, Vista simply was not a pragmatic choice.
I, for one, have abstained from upgrading to Vista. I’ve modded my version of XP so its appearance and functionality is more Vista-esque, but at the core, it is still plain old reliable XP. Nevertheless, I am very eager for Windows 7. Like many users who have stuck with XP, I hope Windows 7 will have the perfect balance; the sleekness and new functionality of Vista paired with the reliability and user-friendliness of XP. This recent press release seems to promise just that. Right away the article states:
“Windows 7 will not contain anything like the kind of far-reaching architectural modifications that Microsoft made with Windows Vista. ….While Windows 7 doesn't undo these architectural changes—they were essential for the long-term health of the platform—it equally hasn't made any more. Any hardware or software that works with Windows Vista should also work correctly with Windows 7, so unlike the transition from XP to Vista, the transition from Vista to 7 won't show any regressions; nothing that used to work will stop working. So, rather than low-level, largely invisible system changes, the work on Windows 7 has focused much more on the user experience.”
Just what I wanted to hear. The article goes into much further detail, explaining some of the specific features of Windows 7. Most notable is the taskbar. Based on extensive surveys, Microsoft has learned that the majority of users have anywhere between 5 and 15 windows open at a time, often switching back and forth between at least two or three of these. Thus, Windows 7 will feature only icons in the taskbar; by hovering the mouse over the icon, a user will be able to see miniature images of each tab open in that application. Thus, the complexity of having three internet browser windows open at once with five tabs in each will be a breeze. Essentially, Microsoft has found a meeting place between innovation and practicality, a perfect combination between Vista and XP. The article closes with a few more promising words: “These UI (User Interface) changes represent a brave move by the company. The new UI takes the concepts that Windows users have been using for the last 13 years and extends them in new and exciting ways. Windows 7 may not change much under the hood, but the extent of these interface changes makes it clear that this is very much a major release."
Could Number 7 be the perfect blend between pragmatic old XP and idealist, yet problematic Vista?
I sure hope so.
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