Windows 7 beta
Windows 7 Public Beta ends on 12th February
From the Springboard Series Blog:
Windows 7 on a 600 Mhz UMPC with 512 MB RAM
Windows 7 is being touted as a light on resources OS. But really, how light is it? The answer may lie in the video, as someone has managed to run Windows 7 on a UMPC with a 600 MHz A100 Intel Processor with only 512 MB of RAM. The Experience Index gives a score of 1.2 which is more than Vista’s 1 on this very same UMPC. The installation was done using a USB DVD drive and installed on 18 GB of storage on the device. I wouldn’t even dare running Windows XP on such a configuration, let alone Windows 7. But it just works, with Aero!
Weird Design Issues in Windows 7
I know I’m going to hurt a lot of people with this post, specially those wanting Windows 7 to be released ASAP. I’ve been using Windows 7 Beta daily, and couldn’t help but notice how Microsoft seem to have made critical mistakes in putting thoughts behind some simple issues. While I praise them for going with a very consistent UI through out the operating system as well as Windows Live applications, which also shows somewhat in the Office 14 alpha screenshots leaked so far, some of the little things just annoy me a lot. Because, lets face it, it’s the little things that count, and make a great impression on the user, things like Aero Snap and Jump Lists. But let me list the little things that could have been done more properly.
Explorer Title Bar
In the above screenshot, there’s a very small but obvious change from Vista to Windows 7. The title bar has no text in Windows Explorer in 7, but it is present through out all other applications. Windows Explorer doesn’t even have the little icon in the top right corner to show what it’s about. In Vista and before, it used to show the correct icon for the Pictures, Videos or whatever folder you were browsing. Why this change Microsoft? I’m sure there went a lot of thought behind this change, but sorry to say, it seems ridiculous. How’ll you feel if developers stopped putting title bar in Windows applications? I mark this change as a fail.
Use OS X like stack in Windows 7!
Don’t you just love the stacks feature in Apple’s OS X Dock? It would have been great if Microsoft could implement such a feature in the awesome new Windows 7 superbar, but sadly, that’s something we can only dream of, since it’ll be called a rip off. But if you really really want a stack in your superbar like the one in the image below, read on.
Does your device work with Windows 7 Device Stage yet?
New Color Calibration Settings in Windows 7
Windows 7 has introduced many new features that let the average joe customize the way he works more easily and efficiently. One of these new, but very less written about, features is the Display Color Calibration wizard. If you’ve used Windows Media Center before, you’ll be pleased to find it making its way to the Windows Control Panel. It’s very similar to the color calibration options in Media Center. The great thing about this new wizard is the ease of use and the detailed instructions provided in each step, making sure that you get your display colors just right. While, it’s all good news for the average user, Photoshop users and video editors will be delighted to find built in gamma and color balance controls in Windows 7. Finally, this feature has made it into Windows itself, and you are no longer dependant on you graphics cards’ control panel. Although you still might have to go there for company specific technologies which Intel, nVidia and ATi provide to further improve colors on your display. Oh, and yes, it works for multiple monitor setups as well. You just have to move the calibration wizard to the monitor, you want to calibrate the color of.
Windows 7 Beta has been leaked
More Game Rating Systems in Windows 7
Windows 7 Beta to be available by 5th January?
Rafael Rivera of Within Windows did a little digging around and found some interesting bits in the next Microsoft Action Pack Subscription quarterly update kit, which will ship on 5th January. According to him the beta build has already been finalized internally and it’s just a matter of time before we get our hands on it. As reported by Mar Jo Foley, the beta build number will be 6.1.7000.0.081212-1400, where as we have already seen a screenshot of build 7004.0.081203-1830. No word on the private beta invites that were sent out to select beta testers a few days earlier. Anyhow, it seems that Windows 7 wont stay in private beta testing for long.
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