Windows 7: "The New Sexy" ?

[tkermit]

Paul Thurrott is at it again. Here are a few delicious quotes from his latest entry on the Windows 7 User Experience that I thought you all might like. His description in the beginning made me laugh. Windows 7 is great as far as Microsoft products are concerned, but I think calling it 'sexy' is stretching things a little bit?!

And what they came up with was Windows 7, the sexiest version of Windows ever created. That's right, I called Windows sexy. Get used to it.

Microsoft has come up with an upgrade that is simpler, better looking, easier-to-use, and superior in every meaningful way to what Apple has created with the latest version of Mac OS X.

Maybe Apple will catch-up with the next version.

Overall, the Windows 7 user experience is clean and simple, and more Mac-like than any previous Windows version.

As for you Mac users, sorry. Your time in the sun is over: Windows 7 is better looking and more efficient than anything coming out of Cupertino this year.

 

[NT1440]

Where the hell does he back up his "superior and more efficient" claims?

 

[Surely]

It's better looking and more efficient than Mac, but it's also more Mac-like than any previous Windows version?

My brain hurts.

 

[NT1440]

LOL he talks about how great the super bar is and how the Dock is a "UI disaster" but just lines before was talking about future windows adding the recycle bin to the super bar. Uh, wouldnt that make it almost exactly like the Dock??

Then goes on to say the super bar isn't a complete disaster??? wtf?

 

[NC MacGuy]

It looks nice. Are they going to get this delivered before 2010? I'd like to finally replace my XP.

Whoops. Major Sticker Shock reporting for duty sir.

That lovely Redmond lusciousness isn't come fast or cheap:

 

[dL.]

What do you expect him to say? He's a Windows fanboy. Uh duh.

dL

 

[bruinsrme]

It looks nice. Are they going to get this delivered before 2010? I'd like to finally replace my XP.

Whoops. Major Sticker Shock reporting for duty sir.

That lovely Redmond lusciousness isn't come fast or cheap:

yeah the sticker shock.... I never got that feeling looking at apple hardware

 

[tkermit]

What do you expect him to say? He's a Windows fanboy. Uh duh.

He has his neutral moments but I guess that's just to obscure his general bias.
I have to give it to him that his derision of Mac users can sometimes be pretty funny. I love the idea of coming up with a Switcher Guide (from Mac to Windows). It includes "Ending the smug".

 

[NC MacGuy]

yeah the sticker shock.... I never got that feeling looking at apple hardware

Seriously, I have 7 year old Apple laptops still working and in pretty good shape. I have PC's that are literally falling apart after 7 months.

To get comparable hardware that will last in a PC, you'll pay comparable dollars. That $ myth has been busted.

 

[bruinsrme]

Seriously, I have 7 year old Apple laptops still working and in pretty good shape. I have PC's that are literally falling apart after 7 months.

To get comparable hardware that will last in a PC, you'll pay comparable dollars. That $ myth has been busted.

I couldn't get the same hardware in a mac as I could in my dell xps laptop.
The end result the dell xps was $500 cheaper with the desired hardware and with a full accidental 4 year on site warranty, it covers everthing. that is before I took into consideration of the $200+ apple care, which is is far from the dell warranty.
Now granted it doesn't have aluminum case.
Even at $120 or $200 in my case I am still ahead.
I have a 5,7, and 9 year old dell laptops. Heck my nieces are still running my home built 933mhz P3 machines that cost under $500 to build in 2000. The delllaptops all still run and serve certain function on the network. But you would see any of the in my backpack as the hardware is NO where close to the my xps1530. I still think the Lenovo's are the best all around.
Would I buy a cheapo disposable laptop, no because it doesn't have the hardware I want. There are some family and friends that have HPs and compaqs that are running great on win7 that cost under $600.
Now a dell latitude or their business line machines are a completely different level. When you are looking at those machines you will probably have a very difficult time finding one cheaper than a MBP.

 

[jav6454]

Seriously, I have 7 year old Apple laptops still working and in pretty good shape. I have PC's that are literally falling apart after 7 months.

To get comparable hardware that will last in a PC, you'll pay comparable dollars. That $ myth has been busted.

Also, dam... the cheapest upgrade is $120 + tax.... MS is a bit harsh with prices. But they gotta charge that or else, how would they pay for that expensive ad campaign?

This is for you:

 

[Virtuo]

lol, Windows' users finally have an OS that's up to speed and they want to brag. Allow them to bask in deluded ignorant dissent. OS X 10.6 is worlds apart from their operating system in almost every area.

 

[Michael CM1]

"It's better, it's better, it's better." Holy hell, does this guy get paid for writing stuff? I couldn't get past the second use of "more quickly" in the opening paragraph (it's quicker, tool!).

Seeing as how I didn't read past that, I'm assuming from the OP that the guy called it "sexy." Am I the only one disturbed with using that term for software? It annoys me enough when it's used to describe cars and other inanimate objects, but geez. Guy needs the SI swimsuit calendar app.

If Win7 looks anything like Vista, and from what I have seen it looks totally like it, it's fugly in my opinion. Instead of making me forget about the OS, Microsoft slams that GUI in your face like it's a big blue pie. Everything is just SO BIG. It looks like one of the accessibility modes in previous Windows versions, but that's the default! Huge icons, tons of wasted space, big ol' buttons to close and minimize windows. Ack!

The Vista scheme kinda reminds me of search engines before Google. Yahoo and some others blitzed their main pages with tons of crap and you could barely figure out what you were doing. But then Google came along and still has that pretty darn simple main page. Some things may need to be all jazzed up, like some Web sites can take advantage of high-end designs using Flash. But for the most part, an OS just needs to work and be organized well.

From what I see at work on Jaguar, Apple just tweaks OS X every couple of years because they actually made a good one with the first iteration. Part of my previous loathing for Macs was the old OS versions. But then I saw OS X in action and immediately took notice. I thought MS had kinda done that with XP, but then they fixed what wasn't broken in Vista. Honestly, Windows 2000 and 98 had pretty good looks that only needed tweaking (think minor changes like the 2D Dock to the 3D Dock. I'm willing to give Win7 a chance before I totally slam it, but Microsoft doesn't seem to be good at doing things right recently.

 

[stomer]

Unfortunately, I feel there's a certain amount of glee coming from Thurrott when he writes stuff like: "As for you Mac users, sorry. Your time in the sun is over: Windows 7 is better looking and more efficient than anything coming out of Cupertino this year.".
It's clear that he thinks Win7 is better than OS X and wants to tell the world about it, especially Mac users. I find it very childish and surprising coming from someone claiming to be a journalist.

Why can't he just say Win 7 is good and leave it at that. No, he has to say Win7 is good and better than Mac OS X whenever he has the chance.

I still listen to his Windows Weekly podcast though, he does manage to get a fair amount of inside info from MS.

 

[BongoBanger]

Windows 7 looks nice but I think Thurrott is just fishing for clicks here. Mind you, he's not doing anything different than, say, Weintraub does on Computerworld for Apple I suppose.

I find it a bit disheartening that bloggers on both sides of the divide slam the opposition rather than celebrating their preferred product. Windows 7 and Snow Leopard are both awesome products and which one you choose is really down to your own personal choice.

As for the comment about comparable prices - that's spot on: if you want the same quality as a Macbook - and I'm not sure there's anything in the Windows OEM world that quite pulls off the quality and aesthetics that a Macbook has - then you're going to pay close (although not quite) the same price.

 

[katiepitt]

Neither is the best

Windows 7 is sweet and definetely the best Windows ever. On the plus side we can of course install it on our Mac's :>.

There are some things Windows 7 does better and some that OSX does better. I don't think either is the definitive better OS.

 

[nick9191]

I think Apple's UI is infinitely superior to the Windows UI. Windows 7 may look better (arguable) but there is a massive difference between looking better and being useful.

 

[Abstract]

LOL he talks about how great the super bar is and how the Dock is a "UI disaster" but just lines before was talking about future windows adding the recycle bin to the super bar. Uh, wouldnt that make it almost exactly like the Dock??

Then goes on to say the super bar isn't a complete disaster??? wtf?

The Dock does waste a lot of space though. What are you doing with the pixels on the left and right of the dock? You could utilise them fully by making the dock bigger, but then it grows and cuts into the amount of free vertical space you have.

I like OS X far better than Windows, but I'm just saying that when people criticise the Dock in OS X, they do have a point. It would be better if they made the Dock elongated from edge to edge, just like the Windows taskbar. It could still be the Dock, but it would just be more efficient.



I really think Apple should just borrow elements of the Windows Taskbar (very few, mind you....), and MS should just borrow some elements from the Dock, and call that part of the OS a draw. It's one of the most important parts of the OS, and it really should be perfect, regardless of which OS you choose.

 

[tkermit]

Sorry for the giant multi-quote.

It's better looking and more efficient than Mac, but it's also more Mac-like than any previous Windows version?

My brain hurts.

Yeah, I think he can be pretty schizophrenic (but aren't we all). I've also seen him write about Windows 7 in the past, while it was still in beta, that he sees it moving into a Mac-like direction and doesn't like that. Now that it's final and his complaints have been ineffective, its Mac-likeness is suddenly something positive (at the same time apparently an actual Mac is still worse than a mediocre Windows pushed into a mostly Mac-like direction).

For the record, I agree with him that Windows 7 is more Mac-like, and, being mostly a Mac-user, think that's wonderful. Of course, for my taste it's still not Mac-like enough

LOL he talks about how [...] the Dock is a "UI disaster" [...]

[...] I like OS X far better than Windows, but I'm just saying that when people criticise the Dock in OS X, they do have a point. [...]

The dock unfortunately is not a high-point in Apple's UI decisions , that much I think should have to be acknowledged, judged from a usability perspective . Even though I still manage to enjoy it I also see its shortcomings and think it is mainly used as a marketing feature, since it does look awfully pretty on a store display…

That lovely Redmond lusciousness isn't come fast or cheap:

Also, dam... the cheapest upgrade is $120 + tax.... MS is a bit harsh with prices.[...]

You were able to pre-order the Home Premium Upgrade for $ 50. Previous OS X Upgrades were also >$120.

[...]Seeing as how I didn't read past that, I'm assuming from the OP that the guy called it "sexy." Am I the only one disturbed with using that term for software? [...]

If Win7 looks anything like Vista, and from what I have seen it looks totally like it, it's fugly in my opinion. Instead of making me forget about the OS, Microsoft slams that GUI in your face like it's a big blue pie.[...]

Agreed on the usage of the term "sexy". I also kind of agree with the rest. I do feel like the glassy window border somewhat minimizes the problem of everything being so in-your-face, but it also manages to create a slightly busy look when Windows overlap. It's kind of up to the user to customize the window chrome to make it mostly colorless and not to be so transparent as to be distracting. Overall I definitely think Windows' UI has never been more elegant, if the right settings are used. Still, OS X's minimalism is much more to my taste.

[...]
It's clear that he thinks Win7 is better than OS X and wants to tell the world about it, especially Mac users. I find it very childish and surprising coming from someone claiming to be a journalist. [...]

I would hesitate to call him a journalist really. His OS X reviews are about as objective as a devoted Lexus driver's review of a Mercedes would be.

Windows 7 looks nice but I think Thurrott is just fishing for clicks here. [...]

Indeed, and I bet it's working well for him. Even though I mostly disagree with him and think his opinions range from the clearly subjective to the frankly ridiculous, I still semi-regularly read his articles on Apple's stuff. It's one of the addictions I could live without...

Windows 7 is sweet and definetely the best Windows ever. On the plus side we can of course install it on our Mac's :>.

There are some things Windows 7 does better and some that OSX does better. I don't think either is the definitive better OS. [...]

Agreed.

[...]
if you want the same quality as a Macbook - and I'm not sure there's anything in the Windows OEM world that quite pulls off the quality and aesthetics that a Macbook has - then you're going to pay close (although not quite) the same price.

Also agreed. At least if you look at the whole package. People often dismiss Apple laptops by criticizing only a specific aspect, like say the display, or the sound, or the (formerly) missing card reader. That's like completely dismissing a great car like the Mercedes SL because you don't like its mediocre radio.

I think Apple's UI is infinitely superior to the Windows UI. Windows 7 may look better (arguable) but there is a massive difference between looking better and being useful.

I think the difference is in stating something as a personal opinion versus proclaiming it as a fact. You certainly won't be able to prove that Apple's UI is infinitely superior to the Windows UI but everyone should grant you that opinion, especially when (if) it's supported by evidence and even if it's not.

 

[TheVidEditor]

I'd like to read the fine print

 

[Not Steve Jobs]

If Bertrand Serlet read this he would have a heart attack, recover, laugh himself to sleep, and then bake more features and innovation into 10.7 to blast any Windows OS into the dark ages.

 

[whooleytoo]

It's better looking and more efficient than Mac, but it's also more Mac-like than any previous Windows version?

My brain hurts.

Then upgrade to Windows 7, it'll fix that brainache. And shine your shoes. And sends a card on your mum's birthday. </Thurrott>

 

[TigerFever]

Windows 7 is a really nice looking OS. In some ways it rivals OSX, but simply because it has copied OSX and in some areas, improved. In terms of how easy it is to use, that's a different story. I still feel it lacks some of the polish that OSX does, but it definitely can stand on its own. Some things still feel very unintuitive and I'm still clicking too many times to get somewhere so it all feels very unnatural.

I'm not going to bother critiquing Thurrotts article, it's simply flame baiting. Any one who has used both will likely come to their own conclusions (perhaps that they're both very nice looking OSes, but the obvious difference is under the hood and in ease of use). While I will be bootcamping Windows 7, it's certainly not going to be my main OS and I don't see myself switching over to something that's merely becoming more like what I'm already using.

 

[tkermit]

Windows 7 is a really nice looking OS. In some ways it rivals OSX, but simply because it has copied OSX and in some areas, improved. In terms of how easy it is to use, that's a different story. I still feel it lacks some of the polish that OSX does, but it definitely can stand on its own. Some things still feel very unintuitive and I'm still clicking too many times to get somewhere so it all feels very unnatural.

I'm not going to bother critiquing Thurrotts article, it's simply flame baiting. Any one who has used both will likely come to their own conclusions (perhaps that they're both very nice looking OSes, but the obvious difference is under the hood and in ease of use). While I will be bootcamping Windows 7, it's certainly not going to be my main OS and I don't see myself switching over to something that's merely becoming more like what I'm already using.

Well said. That's pretty much how I feel.

 

[themoonisdown09]

Yeah, and this is the new sexy too...