Windows 7

At a glance
 So.. What’s the big deal?
Windows 7 can be seen as a incremental update
to Windows Vista. It has a simpler user
interface and enhancements to performance,
but uses the same technologies already in
place with Vista.

Windows 7 is made to be compatible with Vista

programs, and works with most Vista drivers.
New Feature: Jump Lists
One of the most useful
improvements in Windows
7 is the addition of Jump
Lists: contextual menus that
pop-up when hovering over
an icon in the Start menu.
Jump Lists also appear when
right-clicking on an icon in
the taskbar.
 Jump Lists
The main role of Jump Lists is to provide access
to recent documents in as few button clicks as
possible. For example, opening a recently
visited site (or favorite) in Internet Explorer 8
is as simple as right-clicking the IE icon on the
taskbar and then left-clicking the site.

In Microsoft Office, Jump Lists can be used to

quickly open recent documents.
 Jump Lists Contd.
Any program—or file within a Jump List—can
also be “pinned” to the taskbar, similar to
Quick Launch icons in Windows XP.
New Feature: Program Thumbnails
If a program is open, then hovering over that
program’s icon in the taskbar will bring up a
thumbnail view of any open windows.
 New Feature: HomeGroups
Windows 7 takes a new approach to home
networking with the advent of HomeGroups.
Sharing files with other Windows 7 PC’s is
easy, and is secured with 128bit encryption
and a randomly generated password.
 New Feature: Action Center
The Security Center in Windows Vista and
Windows XP is gone, replaced with Windows
7’s brand new Action Center.

The Action Center not only provides security

information, but also problem reports and
recovery options—all within a single dialog.
New Feature: Problem Steps Recorder

The Problem Steps Recorder, accessible by

typing psr.exe into the Search bar, documents
the actions needed to reproduce an error.
Once complete, the report can then be given
to a system administrator—or used for self
analysis—to easily troubleshoot your PC.
 New Feature: XP Mode
Windows 7 Ultimate has a freely downloadable
add-on that lets users run an instance of
Windows XP within a window on their
Windows 7 desktop. To use this feature, the
PC’s processor must support virtualization.
 Missing Features
Windows 7 no longer comes with:
– Windows Movie Maker
– Windows Messenger
– Windows Mail

But new versions of these programs can be

downloaded now as part of the Windows Live
Essentials pack.

Download the pack at http://download.live.com

 Editions and Availability
Windows 7 will be released on October 20th,
2009. Although 6 different versions will exist,
only 2 will initially be available at retail:
– Windows 7 Home Premium
– Windows 7 Professional

Windows 7 Ultimate will be accessible via the

Windows Anytime Upgrade program.
Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor

http://tinyurl.com/w7advisor