Well, once again, Microsoft has come out with another operating system, Windows 7. And if you are like me, you’re probably wondering why someone outside of the technological geekdom would shell out more bucks for a brand new one when your existing Windows XP works just fine. I’ve had my XP for approximately seven years now, and I have to say, I’m pretty satisfied. The tech world always seems to make the masses feel guilty if they don’t jump on the “next hot thing,” and when you do end up purchasing it, you realize it is bogged down with so many features that nearly 90% of them won’t be used in this life time or your children’s lifetime.
But Microsoft is in what you might call a rut these days. Apple’s Mac OS is gaining ground, and Microsoft believes it must Mac-rify its image to compete, and right now XP just doesn’t deliver. However, being a copy-cat is not what Microsoft does, so they have taken bold steps to cement its dominance in the OS field. One of these is telemetry. Telemetry is a form of technology that allows users to send and report data directly to the system designer over a network. You might say to yourself, who cares? Aw, ye of little faith! What you don’t know is that this information is compiled to utilize features such as automatic desktop background scheduling, where no more you would have to change your background yourself. When you turn on your computer or labtop, for example, a background will be chosen for you based on your work habits, sites you visited on the internet or the time of season. It’s a virtual mood ring. And if it can be done for background, why not music or computer voice greetings? “Good morning, John, what would you like to do today?” Microsoft has promised to expose this feature in a more friendly way.
I do a lot of searching on my XP, but I learned that Windows 7 has found a way to better organize my searches so that I can get to what I need more quickly, without obnoxious ads or pop-up windows. By creating libraries, Windows 7 groups all search-related data in folders based on project, type or criteria. Results of a search are then formatted in a list with their respective sources based on task-specific behaviors, requiring little if any user interaction. This is neat if you hate clicking link after link after link. The OS does it for you.
Finally, Windows 7 finally tackles the problem of troubleshooting. Windows 7 takes advantage of a PowerShell script that can be modified and extended by IT techs. Instead of trying to explain to the helpdesk what steps you took to cause the problem, a client-side recorder is now available that captures UI actions and screen shots at scheduled intervals, so they can be accessible to admins and help desk staffers for inspection. Once a fix is found, this solution is pushed into OS in the form of registry patches, replacement code or global policy changes. If the problem occurs again, the OS will fix it itself.
Of course, there are sexier features, but I will leave it up to you to find the juicier stuff. Either way, it seems Microsoft is improving its game, and in today’s market, where speed and multimedia reign supreme, telemetry, search, and troubleshooter are areas in which I might shell out a few bucks after all.
