Windows 7 Beta Test

Recently Windows announced the release of Windows 7 beta for people all around the globe to try out. And when I've finally got a copy on my hands, I couldn't find a spare hard disk to try the windows on.

Thanks to Greg for lending me his external hard disk for me to use it as a bootable hard disk for Windows 7 Beta. Now that I've finally got it installed, here are some quick views and new stuffs available on Windows 7...

First of all, the installation of Windows 7 is pretty fast and I got mine installed in less than 1 hour. After a few settings, you can just leave the PC on and go do something else in the meantime. The installation is some sort like installing Windows Vista.

Here comes the real test - is it any faster than windows Vista? How is the performance and compatibility of it and how smooth is the graphics etc.


Here's what I can tell:
1. Performance wise, pretty quick, better and smoother startup. But definitely not faster than Windows XP. But you can expect a slightly shorter startup time.


2. The RAM usage still very high... The system used up 1GB of RAM once you've started the Windows. Although this may contribute to some problems, this may also contribute to faster startup and program loadings.

3. Aero flip is still there and it is so much smoother and faster.


4. New Taskbar feature. The Multi-tabs feature hides all the descriptions of the program. You just need to point at the icon down at the taskbar, and a small windows will pop-up, showing you all the programs grouped under the program.


5. As promised, some of the Windows Tools are missing. Such as Windows Mail, Photo Features, MSN etc. You just need to install Windows Live Essential Pack (for free) and you'll get all the programs back.


6. As this copy of windows I got is Windows 7 ultimate, it comes with Windows Media Centre.


7. Now, there is a Slide Show Wallpaper. Just like Apple's Macs, wallpapers can change automatically in a preset period of time.


8. Auto dimming features do not switch off the display immediately but reduce its brightness. This certainly decrease the amount of battery use in the long run.

So basically, this version of Windows may bring happiness around the world... (definitely!) But I guess the Startup time and system preformance can be improved further. I guess the speed up is not as much. This test quick simple test of mine does not come in any benchmark testing or installation of any heavy programs etc. Startup time is quite fast because I didn't install any programs that would load during startup.

For those who wish to try out Windows 7 Beta, you may visit Microsoft Windows 7 Official Site. Please make sure you meet the minimum requirements before installing.