When Microsoft asked its community what it wanted in a PC, the answer was clear: make it faster, simpler, and easier to use. Result? Windows 7, designed by Microsoft to usher in a new era of PC computing - a friendlier and faster operating system. The product is available as of October 22, which makes this a perfect time to sit down and discuss some of the new features found in Windows 7.
Momentum met with Joseph Khunaysir, Founder and Chief Technology and Information Officer of Microsoft partner Jolera Inc., and Phillip Paulos, Managing Partner at Effective Logistical Solutions (ELS) Corp. Both are using Windows 7 RC (Release Candidate), as are some of their employees.
Momentum: What's the first thing that strikes you about Windows 7?
Phillip Paulos: It's visually and aesthetically very appealing - very soft on the eyes. And this effect lasts. I find if I'm staring at a screen for a long period of time that the transparencies, the colours, they give off a good feeling. But the biggest thing for me is the ability of people in the office to use it. There is no big learning curve.
Joseph Khunaysir: Our users have found it to be very user friendly, too. We have about six people on it at Jolera. They jumped straight from XP, and are using Windows 7 to do .NET development work for SharePoint. These are IT people, which means they are comfortable in new environments, but it's also true that these are demanding users looking for the best working platform. This is important for us at Jolera, because our development group is growing quite rapidly and their productivity is key.
MM: How is the speed?
JK: Speed is a huge advantage of Windows 7. The operating system is clearly faster, it also uses less memory to run and operate. Windows 7 won't load extra services and background applications unless you explicitly tell it to do so. Seems like Microsoft has also improved the code so the boot up sequences out of "off, hibernate, or sleep modes" are faster. Windows 7 doesn't wait until all the services, background applications, scripts, and networks are available to be responsive, you will have core OS functionality in about half the time compared to a similar Vista installation.
PP: Windows 7 has cut down on the amount of time people need to bounce between tasks and applications. We provide logistical solutions, and our guys need to be able to use multiple screens. They are brokering for space with railroads and trucking companies, and need to be able to react quickly. Windows 7 makes this easier - I'm expecting that a lot of people will jump from XP to Windows 7.
MM: What about Windows 7 and device management?
PP: The biggest challenge for Microsoft is the amount of hardware that is designed for their OS. It's a big responsibility for one company to shoulder. I think the hardware manufacturers have to take responsibility here. Lexmark, for example, is on a mission for all their printers to have a single driver. They know that people are tired of downloading the correct drivers for their special printers and new operating systems.
JK: At present all of my cameras have worked when I plugged them into Windows 7, as have my HP printers, but my Rogers Rocket Mobile Internet Stick is not yet Windows 7 compatible. This is to be expected. There will be some minor devices issues, but they won't be large. A lot of the devices that work on Vista will work on Windows 7, and pretty much all manufacturers now support Vista. Business users will have everything installed and tested on their servers before they roll out Windows 7 - the bigger challenge might actually be in the home market.
MM: What stands out for you in terms of new functionality with Windows 7?
JK: In combination with their new server operating system, Windows Server 2008, Microsoft has created Branch Cache, which is a really nice feature that allows files to be cached locally to branch offices instead of having users work over slow VPN links. Another huge advantage for the Windows 7 + Windows Server 2008 combination is Direct Access technology, a technology similar to the HTTP over Remote Procedure Call, or RPC, used in Microsoft Outlook/Exchange implementations. This technology allows remote users to connect to their offices and deliver a full office network experience (mapped drives, scripts, group policies, intranet etc.) without the need for complicated VPN configurations. Direct Access will make remote workers happy: the in and out office working experience will be very similar.
PP: Overall, what I like is that if I'm looking for information it is easier to find stuff on the drive. I think these enhancements will catch on because they are user based. For example, my company works with 50 different offices in the U.S., and we've been doing it with Windows 7. We have VPN access to our clients' warehousing divisions: we tunnel in and do live software updates, and we haven't had any problems.
MM: What about cloud-based computing and search?
PP: Windows 7 is certainly more cloud computing capable than other systems. In a short period of time the Microsoft OS has evolved so that there is less keyboard and more touch - it is now a more interactive experience, and more information is being grabbed from the cloud.
JK: Windows 7 comes with a faster and better organized search engine, which allows the consolidation of results into content types. Adding to the improvements of Windows 7 is IE8. In 1E8 there are built-in accelerators that allow you to right click, take the information from one site to another to quickly do a search in eBay, send an email, blog an idea, or share the bookmark. IE8 also has Web Slices, which are like widgets for IE, that allow you to poll for information and avoid having to wait for RSS feeds to update and click to another site. And with cloud computing there is the ability to quickly purchase services like storage, compatibility testing, and eventual security applications. Another cool feature is the Libraries addition. Libraries are content type filters that display all of the information related to that content type/library regardless of its location on the system. You can also create your own library, name it what you want, and tell it what folders and content types to include. Another addition Windows 7 brings is the ability to create quick networks at home, and Jump Lists allow you to to quickly select available applications or recent documents or pages visited by that application.
