Will Windows 7 finally lay Vista to rest?

Today's post is a guest post by a good friend of mine, John Uhri, and is a response to a new voting poll posted on the Noobie web site. Be sure to chime in your vote on the latest Noobie voting poll question, "What is your opinion of Windows 7?" on the Noobie web site.

Mr. Noobie tweeted:

A poll on my opinion of Windows 7? Rock! I can't wait to vote and tell the world how much I like Windows 7.

Unfortunately I was disappointed he didn't have a "I'm already a spazzed-out fanboy of Windows 7 and they aren't even selling it yet" option, so I voted and then replied:

Granted, I avoided the upgrade path for Windows Vista by sticking with my ten year old copy of Windows XP but I think Windows 7 has done just about everything right. Some things may have been introduced in Vista but I wouldn't know -- it's all new to me.

So what's to like? A lot.

First, setting up Windows 7 is effortless. Clearly Microsoft put a lot of work into making the install as easy as possible. It was so smooth I was surprised when it was done.

I like the new start menu and taskbar. I can pin my favorite apps to the taskbar where they reside even if I'm not running them (the two I keep there are Mozilla Firefox and Tweetdeck.) The start menu is better organized in my opinion; keeping the things I use most handy and moving the less important out of the way.

After setting up my family members' accounts, I met the login screen for the first time. As a Dvorak keyboard layout user it always frustrated me that I had to type in my password in QWERTY (the standard keyboard layout). Windows 7 remembers my keyboard preference and lets me type in my password using the layout of my choice.

Facelifts and makeovers

Windows Explorer has also gotten a serious facelift. You now have 8 different views of your files, from (very) large icons down to a simple list. Microsoft also introduced the concept of libraries where music, pictures and videos are all collected regardless of their location on your hard drive. It makes finding these media files much easier.

As a programmer, I use multiple monitors. The display and screen settings got a makeover to make setting up dual (or, ahem, triple) monitor configurations easy to do. The zoom enhancement is also really nice and I use it quite often.

Finally, it is nice to see some of the classic applications like the Calculator and Paint get a makeover. They've gotten the most significant interface improvements since they were initially introduced.

Microsoft up to par with Apple?

While Apple is known for their user interface, I think Microsoft deserves a lot of credit for enhancing the user experience in this version of Windows.

After installing Windows 7 on my backup computer, an older laptop, I decided to go ahead and put it on my main computer as well. It's that good. But you don't need just my word on that: in the first 8 hours it was available for pre-order, Windows 7 outsold Vista's entire 17 week pre-order period.

John Uhri is a freelance software developer from Indianapolis, Indiana. He loves creating software that solve your business problems and occasionally likes to sketch. You can reach John at Red Bit Blue Bit or follow him on Twitter: @y0mbo