Unlike Bobby, the other writer here at 40Tech, I wasn’t brave enough to install the Windows 7 Release Candidate or Beta. As a result, I’ve only been using Windows 7 for about 5 days now (unlike Bobby, who has been using it and loving it for quite some time). So far, I’m impressed. Here are the five features that I’ve enjoyed the most, and have made me pleased with my decision to upgrade from Vista, at least at this early stage. Later in the week, we’ll take a look at a few features that could use some improvement.
Tag: Windows 7 (page 3 of 3)
Due to the crap that was the Vista operating system (at least without 4 GB of ram and a few tricks up your sleeve), many people have skipped the OS altogether and stuck with XP. Many of those same people, however, are excited to try out the much vaunted Windows 7 operating system, due out tomorrow for public consumption. Windows 7 is touted to be everything that Vista was supposed to be and more, and even some die hard Windows haters have given the new OS grudgingly good reviews. However, there is one major snag in the upgrade to Windows 7 from XP: you can’t actually upgrade it. You have to do a clean install. This can cause some problems for people as they will lose all of their programs, settings, and more. To that end, here are seven quick tips to help your install be a little more smooth and butter-like.
It is time for another digest of recent content on 40Tech’s Posterous site, where we post content that is too brief for this site, but too long for Twitter. Since the last digest, our Posterous site has taken a look at the following items:
Set Up Tiny, Permanent Tabs in Firefox – how to set up permanent, reduced-sized tabs of selected sites in Firefox.
If a Browser Is Released in a Forest and Nobody is Around to Hear It . . . – the Opera 10 Release Candidate is out, with the final release just around the corner, but will anybody notice?
Favicon Alerts for Google Voice – a Greasemonkey script to put a count of the number of unlistened Google Voice messages into the favicon of your Google Voice tab in Firefox.
WIndows 7’s "Problem Steps Recorder" – a tool to record and annotate problems you have in Windows 7.
Multiple Gmail Signatures in Firefox Using "Blank Canvas" – a Firefox plugin that allows you to have multiple HTML-compatible Gmail signatures that can be tied to particular sending and receiving addresses.
If any of those headlines interest you, check out the 40Tech Posterous site.
If Windows 7 presales are any indication, many of you will be upgrading from Windows XP or Vista in a few months. Many of you will likely choose the “clean install” route, completely wiping your hard drives and starting fresh. Although reformatting usually can make for a more solid installation, it can cause headaches if you haven’t prepared ahead of time. With that in mind, I’ve put together a checklist of 10 steps to take prior to upgrading to Windows 7, to save you time later. This list could also apply to any of you who are reinstalling a current operating system, if you don’t have an image of your hard drive for an easy restoration. In a future post, I’ll take a look at steps to take after upgrading to Windows 7. I intend for this to be a “living” list, so please chime in with other suggestions in the comments. My hope is to be able to then take these suggestions, and post an updated list closer to the release of Windows 7. Without further adieu, here is the list. Read more