Windows 7 polished to shine

One surprising thing about Microsoft's recent PC operating systems is how they reflect the mood of the time, not just in Redmond but across the U.S.

Like a popular song or movie, Windows Vista echoed the confused and security-obsessed state of the country midway through the decade.

Its heavy-handed security warnings clashed with people's growing desire to share and blend their personal computing with the online polyglot.

Then the economy fell and Vista's bad rap gave people an excuse to postpone buying a new PC.

Now, as things are starting to look up again, Microsoft's releasing a crisp, tight and refreshing update to its flagship software.

Windows 7 — which goes on sale Thursday — is polished and a pleasure to use, with new features that make it easier to find, use and share files on PCs and networks.

The software won't dramatically change the world's computers, but it will improve their usability, especially for laptops used in different locations.

That said, there's no critical reason to upgrade or replace a Windows Vista or XP computer if you're happy with its performance and capabilities. Especially if you're using it in a home with just one computer.

But if you're sharing files among multiple computers, traveling with a laptop or simply ready for a better-looking, better-performing PC, you'll probably find Windows 7 a good investment.

Different prices

The standard "premium" version costs $200, or $120 for an upgrade from Windows Vista. Students can get copies for $30, and Microsoft will temporarily offer a $150 three-pack.

While Windows 7 was being developed, sales of laptops overtook desktops and more households began running multiple computers.

Key features include a simplified system for connecting to different networks requiring varying levels of security.

The software asks whether you are connecting at home, work or a public place, such as a coffee shop. Then it automatically configures the connection and security settings, so you share more files on a home network than you do at Starbucks, for instance.

To organize and keep track of files stored in several places on a computer or network, Windows 7 creates shared "libraries" of photos, music, documents and video, and pools files in home computers. You can also create additional libraries to collect files for a particular project or user.

These sharing improvements complement work Microsoft's done to improve the audio and video capabilities of the PC. Windows 7 has built-in features for streaming media around the home, and its media player better handles DVD movies.

Lighter feel

The most obvious change from Vista is a lighter-feeling desktop with a customizable taskbar — similar to the Mac's "dock" — along the bottom of the screen. You can "pin" frequently used programs to the taskbar and "peek" at them by hovering over the icons with a cursor, which pulls up a thumbnail image of the running program.

In pole position on the taskbar is Windows Explorer, the ultra handy application for finding and sorting what's on a PC.

But the most generous improvements in Windows 7 may be to the lowly accessory programs Paint, WordPad and Calculator. Paint and WordPad are dramatically upgraded with a "ribbon" control panel and no longer feel like rudimentary Windows 95 relics.

Calculator may be the sleeper hit. It's almost worth the $120 upgrade by itself. In addition to standard features, it has templates for calculating mileage, mortgage payments, lease payments and conversions.

Windows 7 also introduces more gestures to the PC control scheme, pulling everyone toward a future where hands will do more than click, type and mouse. It takes a little getting used to, but windows can be resized by sweeping the mouse upward, downward and to the side, pulling them up to maximize, for instance.

Shake the mouse

You can "shake" the mouse to minimize all but the active window, or click a little tab by the clock to make all the windows transparent to "peek" through to the desktop, like an instant defroster.

If you have a touch-screen, there's a standard set of motions to control the screen, and buttons are big enough to tap with a fingertip.

Addressing early complaints about Vista, Microsoft made sure Windows 7 is compatible out of the box with a wider range of devices and PC accessories.

Windows 7 is also snappier and more forgiving with underpowered PCs than Vista was at launch. To make this happen, Microsoft found ways to reduce memory usage and better orchestrate the processes running in the background.

This also means the software runs on everything from 64-bit power towers to creaky old Windows XP boxes and minuscule netbooks.

That sort of flexibility is appropriate for software arriving as one in 10 American workers is unemployed.

When the software officially goes on sale Thursday, decent Windows 7 PCs will be available even in the $300 range.

I tested the software on a well-worn, 2.2 gigahertz AMD system with 1 gigabyte of RAM that I bought from the University of Washington surplus store for $75.

Loading the software onto the cleaned hard drive was remarkably easy — it was running in 20 minutes — and worked with almost every accessory I plugged in.

Better yet was the performance on a 3-gigahertz Pentium computer with 2 gigabytes of RAM found here at the newspaper office, even though it only had a basic, integrated graphics system.

Windows 7 shined through these experiments in depression-era computing. Although I was underwhelmed by the "HomeGroup" file-pooling feature, when a second Windows 7 computer added to a home network created a new group, rather than join the existing one.

But the best bet is to buy a new computer preloaded with the software, especially since you can buy one for not much more than the $200 price of the standard "Home Premium" version.

That also avoids the hassles of upgrading a computer without a DVD drive. I tried several times to move the software onto a USB memory stick so I could revive another salvage computer, using various techniques suggested by blogs, and finally gave up. At that point, I was investing more time than a new computer would cost.

If you're hoping to upgrade an XP netbook to Windows 7 and don't have an external DVD drive, I'd hang tight.

Microsoft has said it's considering selling the software on a preconfigured USB drive to make this upgrade easier. A spokesman said Friday that's still under consideration.

There are also rumblings about the difficulty upgrading from XP to Windows 7. Microsoft included a file transfer tool that works with XP, but it doesn't transfer programs, so you'll have to reinstall them.

This can be a hassle, but resistance is futile. Microsoft will support XP only for a few more years. and the hard drives won't last forever.

Hopefully you'll have a job by the time your old computer gives out, and Windows 7 will be worth the wait.

Brier Dudley's column appears Mondays. Reach him at 206-515-5687 or bdudley@seattletimes.com.