Windows 7 preview

Another Vista problem is the security feature called User Account Control (UAC), which is on by default.

This is widely disliked, because it prompts the user with one or more annoying dialogues when they perform certain tasks or install and update applications.

The real purpose of User Account Control is to solve a long-standing Windows legacy problem, which is that it does not properly separate system files, application files, and user data, making it insecure and hard to manage.

Although Microsoft long ago laid down guidelines intended to fix this, too many third-party applications ignored them, and even some Microsoft applications do not behave as they should. This is why many Windows users still work while logged on with full administrator rights over their machine, making it an easy target for malware.

UAC in effect reduces those rights while still enabling badly behaved applications to run, though there can still be compatibility problems. The bottom line is that UAC is a key part of Microsoft’s Windows strategy, but for the user it is nothing more than annoying; it is a usability burden rather than a benefit. Windows 7 reduces the impact of UAC on the user while preserving most of its value.

The OSX factor
The other factor that has driven Windows 7 development is the increasing market share of Apple’s OSX. Many Windows users have switched; few have gone the other way. There are many reasons, including security, marketing, performance, usability, and the advantages of controlling both hardware and software.

These add up to better design and Microsoft is desperate to improve Windows so it can better hold its own. At Microsoft’s Remix 08 conference last year, principal researcher Bill Buxton said that the drive for change is now coming from the top. “Last year at the company meeting Steve Ballmer told 85,000 employees: ‘If you don’t change and you don’t go in this direction, we’re dead ­ and I don’t want to die’.”

The stage is set for the main themes of Windows 7: usability, performance and a determination not to repeat the Vista fiasco.

The Windows 7 desktop
The Windows 7 desktop includes a new, chunkier Taskbar along with features such as Aero Snap, which makes it easy to arrange windows. Part of the thinking behind larger icons is to support a touch interface, compete with multifinger gestures and inertia effects, though our preview laptop was sadly lacking in touch features. The Windows Sidebar has gone, and the gadgets it used to contain now live directly on the desktop.