Windows 7 Puts The Fun Back In Computing
OK, if you’re a geek like me than you already think computing is fun, but Windows 7 has made some significant operating system improvements. In future articles I will go into specific improvements in depth, but today I am just going to share with you some of the highlights of Windows 7 that make it fun to use.
One of the best improvements in Windows 7 is the increased speed. Benchmark tests by ZDNet’s Adrian Kingsley-Hughes show that Windows 7 blows XP SP3 and Vista out of the water. Windows 7 boots faster and uses less resources, while juggling more resource intensive programs. The OS feels more intuitive and the increased speed makes game playing smoother.
The stunning visual appearance of Windows 7 is another great advantage. It comes with many beautiful backgrounds and themes plus you can download more and even create your own using the Microsoft Personalization Gallery.
Windows 7 Aero creates subtle animations and translucent glass windows along with easier ways to manage your desktop. If you are like me and you have several windows open on your desktop and suddenly need to access a desktop shortcut, you can use Aero Peek to turn all of your open windows translucent so that you can access your desktop. Simply point to the right edge of the taskbar and you now have instant X-ray vision.
You can also click on a pane of an open window and shake it to make all of the other open windows disappear, then shake again to make the other windows reappear. You can re-size open windows by simply dragging them around the edges of the screen using Aero Snap. This function is extremely cool on touch screens.
Another great feature is the array of keyboard shortcuts, for instance if you want a cascading window effect try hitting the Win + Tab keys at the same time. This is my favorite shortcut, because if I use my left hand to hit the keys but wave my right hand in front of the screen it looks like I’m controlling the screen with my hand. In the future I will go more in depth about keyboard shortcuts. I’m excited to be writing about Windows 7 and I have a lot of cool tips and tricks to share with you.
