Windows 7 Annoyances

Chapter 1. Get Started with Windows 7

Windows 7 is like a pumpkin: handsome and plump on the outside, but a big mess on the inside. So get out your knife and start carving.

Now, there was a lot in 7’s predecessor, Windows Vista, that Microsoft got right, or almost right. But face it: Windows 7 exists because of everything that was wrong with Vista.

First and foremost, Windows 7 is faster than Vista, and by some accounts, faster than XP on the same hardware. The staggeringly annoying User Account Control (UAC) system is still around, but is slightly smarter, in that it doesn’t interrupt you quite as often, and more customizable than when it debuted in Vista. And beginner-level networking is theoretically easier with Homegroups, provided everyone in your house, condo, office, commune, or wikiup drinks the Kool-Aid and upgrades to Windows 7 (and doesn’t care much about security).

The new taskbar holds icons for open applications and those not yet running side by side, much like the dock in Mac OS X (which is itself an adaptation of the NeXTstep dock from the 1980s). Better yet are the “jump lists,” handy shortcut menus that appear when you right-click taskbar icons, replacing the useless 25-year-old system menus found in every preceding version. Windows 7 also throws in a bunch of crowd-pleasing window management shortcuts, like Aero Peek, Aero Snap, and Aero Shake, as well as some nifty features for those using multiple displays.

But it’s not all lollipops and rainbows. For starters, upgrading from XP or an earlier version of Windows can be a chore if you don’t know a few tricks. Microsoft made some stupid decisions when it came to security which you’ll need to rectify to keep your data safe and your OS malware-free. Windows Explorer needs tweaking before it’ll work reliably, and the Search feature is too slow and its results incomplete.

Windows 7 doesn’t provide any convenient tools to associate more than one application with a file type or even customize file icons. The backup tool doesn’t let you restore individual files from a complete PC backup, meaning that you have to back up your data twice in order to get complete protection. Sharing files with older PCs, non-Windows machines, and in some cases, even Windows 7 PCs can be needlessly frustrating. And the list goes on and on.

Fortunately, Windows 7 is pliable. UAC can be tamed. The Green Ribbon of Death found in Windows Explorer can be dealt with. The Backup and Search tools can be reconfigured to be more useful. You can hack up the Registry to protect Windows from itself and customize the interface in ways Microsoft never intended. And Windows 7’s networking can do everything you need if you know where to look.

Think of it like carving a jack-o’-lantern: a little planning, hacking, and cleaning, and your face will light up!