Windows 7: A User Assessment

Author: Angela Koch

August 2009

I tested Windows 7 (Build 7100) on a Dell Latitude D610 with an Intel® Pentium® M Processor 1.86 GHz and 2 GB RAM and a 55.8 GB hard disk. This OS offers a rapid boot and startup process and uses few resources. During my evaluation, I installed Open Office and connected a USB drive. Open Office installed quickly and without any trouble, and the USB driver loaded in record time. Windows 7 also manages to run installations, process downloads, and open programs simultaneously without lagging.

Windows 7 has added another layer of file organization with “Libraries,” which seems superfluous to the existing folder hierarchy. Users upgrading from Windows XP will need time to adjust to the general look and feel of the Aero interface and may be tempted to restructure the folder system in a more familiar manner.

User Access Control offers an additional layer of security, prompting users before running executable files. This feature has the potential to become an annoyance, but the user can control the level of security and the frequency of the prompts. One of the fun additions to this OS, for those upgrading from XP, are Gadgets. These small applications are useful and customizable, somewhat like iPhone applications for your PC. A user can display anything from the weather to system performance anywhere on the desktop.

Perhaps the most radical, non-performance based changes in the new OS are in the taskbar. Those upgrading from XP to 7 may find the new taskbar setup irritating and counter intuitive. Taskbar items are stacked rather than shown side by side, for instance, and there is no indication of how many open windows there are in any given program. Quicklaunch items move with each open window as well, rather than remaining on the left where one expects to find them. However, it is possible to customize  the settings to revert to the old setup, and some of the changes could prove more fluid than previous iterations after the user becomes accustomed to them.

Overall, Windows 7 is a stable, reliable, and modern operating system. Users may have some trouble adjusting to the new interface, but the performance is more than adequate and the system is fairly easy to navigate and customize.