20 new features in Windows 7

Robert Hallock 26 Oct, 2009 at 9:15am ET Article published in Tech

Reduced hardware requirements

Don’t think for one second that Windows 7 is Vista with a new face. It is much more than that. Thanks to the new WDDM model, the implementation of MinWin, and an overhaul of Vista’s memory management techniques, Windows 7 will run on devices that Vista’s bloated ass would crush in a hot second.

Our MSI Wind U100 Netbook makes quick work of Windows 7.

It’s not just Moore’s Law giving Windows the horsepower it needs. No, Windows 7 is genuinely lighter and more robust than its stodgy predecessor.

Stream your music to the net

If you’ve ever wished that you could get your tunes away from home, wish no longer. Windows 7’s updates to Windows Media Player allow anyone to stream their music over the net just by linking the program to a Windows Live ID. It couldn’t be any simpler, and the program walks you through the entire process. Just click the “stream” button and start by linking an online ID.

Start by clicking on the "Stream" button in Windows Media Player.

Follow that with a Windows Live ID, then allow access.

Windows XP Mode

Incompatible applications? Windows 7 doesn’t even know what that phrase means. One of the swankest features offered to users of Windows 7 Professional (or better) is the so called Windows XP Mode. The XPM client virtualizes a copy of Windows XP within Windows 7 and allows users to run applications in the VM without any sign of the virtual OS. This means that every Windows XP and Windows Vista application ever made will work just fine on Windows 7. If only Vista could say that!

This old copy of Adobe Reader wouldn't even work in Windows 7, so we installed it to XP Mode, and now it works just fine.

Windows XP Mode recently reached its final version with a shortlist of red hot features:

• Publish and launch applications installed on virtual Windows XP directly from the Windows 7 desktop, as if they were installed on the Windows 7 host itself.
• Cut and paste between your Windows 7 host and any virtual machine.
• Print directly to your attached printer from your seamless application or virtual machine.

Interested? You can get your fill of the goods at the official download page.

Drag and drop transcoding

Did you know that Windows 7 can automatically encode movies and music for a wide array of mobile devices, just by dragging files onto the device in Windows Explorer? The feature can even be hardware accelerated with DirectX 10+ GPUs from both ATI and NVIDIA.

There are two requirements:

• The mobile device must be supported by Windows Device Stage.
• The source video/audio must be playable in Windows Media Player. That means anything covered by the Windows Media Foundation feature on page 3.

Compatible devices include the Zune, several Nokia phones, and the Creative Zen. Unfortunately, none of Icrontic’s staff own one of those devices, but the feature is incredibly seamless in action.

Final Thoughts

Windows 7 is definitely more than Vista’s fresh coat of paint. From the deepest levels of the OS, all the way up to the UI, these twenty new features prove Microsoft left no stone unturned.

If you’re still not happy, did we mention that Windows is now dropping acid?

This shipped with Windows 7 as a background. No, really.

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Comments

1. 
   26 Oct 2009 ~ 9:17am poofie first.
   
   now i'll go read it.
2. 
   26 Oct 2009 ~ 9:35am FelixDeSouze Sweet, let me check this out as I installed it on Friday
3. 
   26 Oct 2009 ~ 9:58am AlexDeGruven Typo alert:

   Just click the “stream” buton and start by linking an online ID.

   
   Great article, Thrax. I think people are slowly starting to realize that 7 is a bit more than just 'Vista SP3'.
4. 
   26 Oct 2009 ~ 10:35am CB Sweet. I've been trying to figure out how to use Snap (I was looking through every damn control-panel, trying to find the option to turn it on :P). That's a really cool feature.
   
   A note for those with dual monitors: You'll need to use the windowskey+arrowkey method if you want to snap it to a shared edge.
5. 
   26 Oct 2009 ~ 10:48am Cliff_Forster Nice roundup. This is going to help allot of people out.
   
   I have used the drag and drop transcoding with my Zune. Its a dummy proof interface, very nicely done.
6. 
   26 Oct 2009 ~ 11:10am MAGIC Awsome article! Hold down the windows key and scroll does a sweet alt-tab window switching thing.
7. 
   26 Oct 2009 ~ 11:38am AlexDeGruven You can also do that with Winkey+Tab. This was also in Vista.
8. 
   26 Oct 2009 ~ 11:45am Cyclonite Heh. Aero Shake. That's one I hadn't seen.
9. 
   26 Oct 2009 ~ 11:57am Snarkasm

   Robert Hallock wrote:

   Unfortunately, Windows Vista forced all of the system’s gadgets into a vertical space called the Sidebar, and the sidebar was stuck to the right side of the screen.

   
   I know I'm the only one here who ever used Vista, but no, gadgets weren't forced to the Sidebar. They're quite happy pulled off of it, and closing the Sidebar while leaving the gadgets open works perfectly as well:
   
   
10. 
    26 Oct 2009 ~ 12:10pm Bob Cook Great article! I have a new MBP, but find myself using Win7 almost exclusively.
11. 
    26 Oct 2009 ~ 12:28pm MachineDog Windows update was the same in vista too. :/ I built my dad's PC on friday and installed 7 and it automatically recognized, downloaded, and installed drivers for all the connected devices and the video card. It was pretty effing sweet.
12. 
    26 Oct 2009 ~ 12:34pm Thrax It was the same in Vista because Microsoft pushed the updates/driver database from Windows 7 down to Vista.
13. 
    26 Oct 2009 ~ 2:22pm pragtastic This article may have finally given me the initiative I needed to buy an SSD for the home desktop and upgrade to 7.
14. 
    26 Oct 2009 ~ 2:28pm GnomeQueen Great article! I didn't realize how awesome Win7 was. I can't wait to upgrade now!
15. 
    26 Oct 2009 ~ 5:01pm branmyson Thanks a whole lot, I purchased it sight unseen (with $30 student discount) based on Icrontic's recommendation (slight input by UPSLynx as well), and found it everything you said and more. This article gives me a few more things that I will have to check out. I upgraded from xp on a 2003 machine and have not yet noticed a loss in performance at all. My enthusiasm for the OS grows each day I work with it.
16. 
    26 Oct 2009 ~ 6:23pm chizow Pretty good list, but there's quite a few in there that are also included in Vista:

    • Live Taskbar Previews: Also included in Vista, but only single previews per app instance and you can't select active app from preview.
    • DirectX 11: Also available on Vista with a Platform Update that was available last month: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/971644
    • Gadgets: Customization is the same, the only one thats new and seemingly exclusive to Win7 is the new Windows Media Player gadget.
    • Customizable System Tray: All Systray icons can also be hidden in Vista, Win7 just auto-hides all but 3-4 generic tray icons unless changed. Vista will display all and dynamic hide all but 4-5 unless otherwise changed.
    • OEM SATA drivers: Same as in Vista, although updated with Win 7.
    • Snipping Tool: Also available in Vista, only difference is Vista uses a red outline by default.

    The list is also missing probably the most useful and impressive exclusive feature in Win 7, HomeGroup Networking, which completely simplifies the process of networking and authenticating multiple PCs over a trusted home network. You simply enter the same HomeGroup password on any PC you want to include in the network, then select the libraries you want to share and that's it, no further need for authentication on individual machines and files or folders. If you want to share custom libraries its a simple right-click and choose once you've joined the HomeGroup.
    
    This also ties into the features of Live Sync the article on, but with Live Sync and HomeGroup networking, this also allows you to sync all your personal Live ID files across all of those PCs within the HomeGroup and of course stream any shared media between them as well. Microsoft really got it right between LiveSync, HomeGroup and Windows Live. Simplifying, organizing and enabling the entire sharing process from original media to home network PCs to cloud hosting/sharing is really where Win 7 shines, imo.
17. 
    26 Oct 2009 ~ 8:16pm djmeph I've been using the Windows on acid scheme since I got the RTM. It's awesome.
18. 
    26 Oct 2009 ~ 8:37pm AlexDeGruven Chizow:
    Taskbar previews are quite different than they were in Vista, just as you pointed out. Being able to see live previews, switch windows, and even close windows just from the taskbar preview is quite a bit of new functionality.
    
    DX11, while available as an update to Vista, ships with 7. Big difference in design considerations.
    
    Systray in 7 only shows the default white icons that ship with 7 to begin with. It hides all distracting color icons behind the expander. This is quite different from the previous systray behavior that just showed everything and expanded/contracted at the user's request.
19. 
    27 Oct 2009 ~ 10:35am Grimnoc "Windows 7 will run on devices that Vista’s bloated ass would crush in a hot second."
    
    I started laughing and choking on coffee, at work. Thanks a whole bunch Thrax.
20. 
    27 Oct 2009 ~ 4:39pm Butters The HomeGroup Networking is pretty slick, even though I don't really use it that often. I have my desktop(7) and a laptop(7) and both were able to share media once part of the HomeGroup. Not much different than creating shares the old way, but it does add a anoher level of ui. It also found my Wife's laptop(xp) and was able to share a file, but I had to monkey with permissions. A nice feature worth noting. If I decide to build a HTPC I'd definately start using it.
21. 
    28 Oct 2009 ~ 9:47am chizow

    AlexDeGruven wrote:

    Chizow:
    Taskbar previews are quite different than they were in Vista, just as you pointed out. Being able to see live previews, switch windows, and even close windows just from the taskbar preview is quite a bit of new functionality.

    The Live Preview function is identical, the functionality differences come from the revised Task Bar which is already covered as a separate feature of Win7.
    

    DX11, while available as an update to Vista, ships with 7. Big difference in design considerations.

    No, not really. Both need to download and update the latest DX runtime libraries for DX11 functionality, which went live and were available at the same time for both Win7 and Vista with the Aug 2009 SDK:
    
    http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=B66E14B8-8505-4B17-BF80-EDB2DF5ABAD4&displaylang=en
    

    Systray in 7 only shows the default white icons that ship with 7 to begin with. It hides all distracting color icons behind the expander. This is quite different from the previous systray behavior that just showed everything and expanded/contracted at the user's request.

    Heh if you find the notification area color icons distracting, you must really hate Win7 as its entire task bar is a hybrid quick launch/notification area now with even bigger icons. :bigggrin:
    
    Again, even in Vista, the expander automatically hides icons after 4-5 and only auto-shows the same clock, network, task manager, sound icons as Win7 by default plus another 1-2 before auto-hide kicks in. You can customize these to show all or show none just as you can in Win7.
    
    I actually prefer the mouse-over expander in Vista as Win7 actually requires you to click to show hidden icons and doesn't automatically elevate active notification icons, like active Virus Scans (Vista does show this automatically).
22. 
    28 Oct 2009 ~ 10:09am mas0n I agree that homegroup networking is a big win. I didn't really think much of it when I was running the RC, but now that I have 4 and soon to be more boxes running 7, it's pretty nice. I hated the "simplified" networking and sharing in Vista, but Homegroups are very well implemented.
    

    chizow wrote:

    I actually prefer the mouse-over expander in Vista as Win7 actually requires you to click to show hidden icons and doesn't automatically elevate active notification icons, like active Virus Scans (Vista does show this automatically).

    
    To each his own I guess. This is one of the things I really like about 7. I know what's running on my system and when. I don't need to be reminded. I think this ties nicely into the fact that 7 does not allow applications to steal focus.