Windows 7 Build 7100 Review

First off, I had used Vista for work but not very much to really get a good use of it. I was running a 4 year old install of XP and my computer was running very slowly so a new install was needed. I was going to buy Vista but balked when I saw Windows 7 coming out. I also was running out of hard drive space so I bought a 1TB harddrive and decided to do a fresh Windows 7 install with the newly available version  (build 7100).

Things I like

• The complete install took less than 30 minutes and required no user intervention. I remember the days when an install took over an hour plus you had to always be making decisions. The other plus is that Windows installed all my drivers without any problems. Not sure XP even did that.
• All my games and apps (besides Nortons) work without any problem.
• The super fast boot time.
• I like the new paint. Wish I had it at work.

Problems so far

• I have some compatibility issues with my newly purchased Norton Internet Security 2009. I first had to put it in comparability mode to install it then kept getting a driver not compatible for a specific program within Nortons. It worked until I ran the updates so I had to uninstall it. Nortons knows there is a problem and has a beta version you can download but it only has a 7 day trial.

Things I am unsure of

• I am not a big fan of the the bottom task bar but I am getting use to it. I loved the quick start in XP. They seem to have the same thing but it floats. There is more of a quick start on the right. I imagine you can probably pin short cuts there but I have not figured it out yet.
• I don’t like how the wireless setup does not tell me the connection speed when I hover over it. This is a big deal considering I often have issues connecting to my wireless router because of distance. I do like the rumors about the ability to bridge between multiple wireless connections but unfortunately it does not work yet.
• Why it always prompt me for certain application that I run. There is no box that says always trust this app so not sure why I have to do it every time.
• It seems that every change that is an admin possible change has an icon next to it. That is fine if you were not an admin but I should not be getting prompt about admin rights when I am an admin login.

Things that surprised me

• No Windows Mail? I had to download it as an accessory.
• That I am not totally shocked by its new features. I really do not see major application difference between Vista. Maybe I just don’t know what they are. I have owned a Blackberry for 6 months and I just realized that I can “Alt Tab” like in Windows to view all my programs without going to the home screen. I also learned the “page up” and “go to the top” commands on top of changing my signal strength from a bar to the actual decibel level.

Overall, I think this is a pretty poor job at doing a review but I am very happy with Windows 7. The big decision will be if I actually buy it. I am hoping I can still possibly buy it through Wash U for $30 like I can with Vista now.