Aussie Geek Podcast

Now as everyone knows I switched to a Mac in the middle of last year, and for a reason.

The reason I switched is because I didn’t see a clear future in the Windows operating system given that it served nothing but marketing hype and propaganda to the media in order to create an air around a product that frankly became yet another dent in Microsoft’s armor.

Vista is atrocious, it handles badly, it doesn’t play nice with some devices, it requires a massive upgrade to run and even then still performs poorly.

Even with all the optimization you can do to Vista to make it “better”, it doesn’t cut the mustard.

One year later and 1,000,000,000 forum posts about Vista later, Microsoft has actually created what Vista should have created.

Windows 7.

Now the haters will cry “But its just Vista with a new coat of paint”, and the Tech writers will all clamor to point out the similarities to Vista then back Windows 7 or hate it for ever.

All I can do is stand up and give Windows 7 a standing ovation.

Finally Microsoft got it right.

Even though its just a beta, not the final product, it is already clear that Windows 7 will give XP a run for its money. The corporate world will find it hard to switch to, and its something I don’t expect most to do, XP is fantastic in a business environment and can be well supported by good IT.

But this is the leap from XP we were all waiting for.

Now I’m a Mac user, and yes I have a biased view going into another Microsoft OS without a feeling of much trepidation, I was so driven from Vista that its hard to win me back but if I hadn’t switched, I’d be overjoyed at this revelation.

Windows 7 is nimble, its amazingly quick to boot (well it is on my Aluminum 24″ iMac), much faster that Vista, its installation is a complete doddle, in fact I can comfortably say that my mother would be able to install and even better RE-install this OS without any fuss.

Smart features like PC network passwords to connect to shared resources, that’s right no more fiddling with IP addresses, the new taskbar layout, the intuitive start menu and especially all system information layed out in a simple to read and easy to comprehend fashion.

I’ve just installed it, and I’m fast becoming accustomed to its interface, in fact its like I never left XP, I actually feel happy using the OS.

Don’t get me wrong, I’ve made the switch, my choice is Apple not Microsoft any longer, but if I ever need to recommend a PC to anyone over a Mac, I’ll be making sure that it has Windows 7 on it.

Well done Microsoft, you’ve finally realised that its about the user experience, that UI design over features will always win a crowd, not that Windows 7 lacks features mind you.

Vista was a bad stepping stone on the way to Windows 7, we forgave them for Windows ME, I’m sure there is room to forgive them for Vista when Windows 7 finally becomes the next REAL upgrade.

Time will tell how Windows 7 fares, but if I had to put money on it being well accepted, I’d back it all the way home…