Jose7822
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First Impressions on Windows 7
Sup! So I just made the move to Windows 7 x64 and I'm totally loving this OS. It is very similar to Vista in a lot of ways yet it looks, feels and performs a little bit better. The whole OS install process took me about 15 to 20 mins at most! And all my drivers installed without any issues. Everything went smooth as butter with one exception, which I'll get back to in a little bit. I've only been able to test one project so far, consisting of 18 MIDI tracks, 18 VSTi (all 32 bit running through Bitbridge 2.0), 50 audio plugins and a total RAM usage of ~7GB. In Vista x64, I was able to run this project without any hiccups by setting my FF400's ASIO drivers to 768 samples. It would play fine if I set it at a lower latency, but I would hear a few clicks and pops occasionally. However, the same project plays flawlessly in Windows 7 x64 with buffers set to 512 samples, and with a few clicks at 256 samples. This is all using Sonar 8.5.1 x64. So, basically, I was able to go one buffer size lower in Win 7. I'm still not done tweaking this system, but so far so good. Now, here's the little issue I ran into while installing it. Not sure how many of you know this, but Windows 7 creates a 100MB System Reserved partition on the main drive when it installs. It does this whenever you're installing the OS into an unallocated disk space, or when you create a new partition out of an empty HDD. You probably don't have this System Reserved if you already had partitions in your main drive, or if you formated the HDD before installing Windows 7. Just go to Disk Management (Right-click "My Computer" and select "Manage") to verify. The problem is that this is not so easy to avoid unless you jump through some hoops. Don't get me wrong though, this is actually a cool feature since this partition lets you troubleshoot the OS using a recovery environment called (WinRE) in case there is no OS disk available. But some people (like me) may not want/need this. If you already have Windows 7 installed, then I would not worry about this. It is not a as big of a deal as I'm making it sound, really. I'm a very VERY picky guy, which is why I insisted on getting rid of this System Reserved partition, so don't sweat it. However, if you're about to install Windows 7 and don't want this partition to show up on your system here's what to do: http://www.mydigitallife.info/2009/08/20/hack-to-remove-100-mb-system-reserved-partition-when-installing-windows-7/ There are a few methods outlined in that link that can get rid of it after installation, but the easiest and most reliable way is the 3rd method before installing the OS. Selecting "Cancel" when the OS asks you if you want to create a System Reserved partition does NOT avoid this. Windows 7 will still create the System Reserved partition anyways. The only way to do this is as outlines in the above link. My advice is to do it before installing Windows 7. I personally wouldn't try it after the fact. One more thing. When you go set the power management settings to "High Performance", click on "Change Plan Settings", and make sure that everything is set the way YOU want them. Notice that some settings still get turned off if you click on "Change Advanced Power Settings" (check mainly the HDD and display settings). These are still set to turn off, so make sure you double-check this. This also applies to Vista by the way. Anyways, just wanted to share this with you guys. I hope that your Windows 7 experience is as good as mine has been so far. Take care everyone!
Intel Q9400 2.66 GHz 8 GB of RAM @ 800 Mhz ATI Radeon HD 3650 Windows 7 Professional (SP1) x64 Cubase 6.03 x64 Sonar PE 8.5.3 x64 RME FireFace 400 Frontier Design Alpha Track Studio Logic VMK-188 Plus http://www.youtube.com/user/SonarHD
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Lanceindastudio
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Re:First Impressions on Windows 7
2009/10/28 02:20:30
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thanx for the resport man. Thats cool that you immediatley got better performance with W7 64 thanx with Vista 64- lol... I just read the post... "resport" I guess ya gave a report and by doing so, you were a good sport, ala "resport" lol
post edited by Lanceindastudio - 2009/10/28 02:22:19
Asus P8Z77-V LE PLUS Motherboard i7 3770k CPU 32 gigs RAM Presonus AudioBox iTwo Windows 10 64 bit, SONAR PLATINUM 64 bit Lots of plugins and softsynths and one shot samples, loops Gauge ECM-87, MCA SP-1, Alesis AM51 Presonus Eureka Mackie HR824's and matching subwoofer
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Jose7822
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Re:First Impressions on Windows 7
2009/10/28 02:36:51
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Intel Q9400 2.66 GHz 8 GB of RAM @ 800 Mhz ATI Radeon HD 3650 Windows 7 Professional (SP1) x64 Cubase 6.03 x64 Sonar PE 8.5.3 x64 RME FireFace 400 Frontier Design Alpha Track Studio Logic VMK-188 Plus http://www.youtube.com/user/SonarHD
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thomasabarnes
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Re:First Impressions on Windows 7
2009/10/28 04:45:47
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I'm picky, too, Jose! I like windows running how I intentionally set it up. I don't like a sneaky installation where a partition I didn't intentionally make is created. I'm looking to see what's different, as I'm running Win 7 Ultimate 64 Bit Evaluation Copy Build 7100, currently. Thanks for the info. I'll be purshasing Windows 7 Friday. I'm still trying to decide if I should go with Home Premium, Professional or Ultimate, 64 Bit, of course. I'm subscribing to this thread for future reference.
 "It's not a song till it touches your heart. It's not a song till it tears you apart!" Lyrics of Amy Grant. SONAR Platinum X64 (jBridge), Windows 10 Pro 64-Bit, Core i7 990X Extreme Edition Processor 3.46 GHz 6 Cores, Gigabyte EX58-UD5, Crucial Ballistix 24GB 1333MHz DDR3 @1333 MHz, TASCAM UH-7000, Behringer X-Touch, EVGA GTX 980TI Superclocked 6GB, 1TB Samsung EVO 850 SSD, 150GB, 320GB, 1TB 7200rpm HDDs
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TrackinTed
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Re:First Impressions on Windows 7
2009/10/28 04:50:12
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Do you need to use JBridge on anything, or are all your plugins working under bitbridge?
post edited by TrackinTed - 2009/10/28 04:55:05
Less Techie and More Trackie Please. M-Audio Fast Track Pro Sound Card, HP Pavillion A6030n AMD X2 64 4800+ Dual Core CPU, 24" Hansfree LCD Monitor, 4gb RAM, 2 HD's Seagate Barracuda 320gb 7200rpm 16mb cache, Seagate Barracuda 500gb 7200 32mb cache (Audio File Drive). Sonar Studio 8.5, EZDrummer with expansion modules. Fender and Gretsch guitars, Vox Night Train amp with 12" Alnico blue speaker. Various pedal board effects.
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Jose7822
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Re:First Impressions on Windows 7
2009/10/28 10:21:17
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@ Thomas,
Since you're using the 64 bit version, I'd suggest going with Windows 7 Professional or higher (depending of which features you need). That will allow you to use infinite amount of RAM (up to 192GB) instead of being limited to 16GB (Home Premium) or 8GB (Home Basic and Starter). Motherboards are already being sold with RAM capacities above this, so it won't take long to surpass this limit and then you'll be forced to upgrade again. I personally think that Windows 7 Professional is the best choice for DAW use since it doesn't have all the extra features that are probably not gonna get used in a production environment, yet it has the same RAM capacity as the higher versions. But again, it depends on what your needs are I guess.
@ Trackin,
I haven't been able to install all my software (not that I have that many anyways :-P), but so far Ozone 4, EWQLSO, Kontakt 2 and Guitar Rig 4 seems to be working fine. I only have Superior Drummer 2, Camel Crusher and maybe a few other freebies left to install. However, I'm not holding my breath in hopes that Superior Drummer 2 will now work with Bitbridge 2.0. The good news is that Toontrack started working on the 64 bit version, which is awesome! There's an issue with FabFilter plugins, but all the parties inoloved are currently working to resolve this.
Well, it's only day 2 in the Windows 7 world (for me at least), so we'll see what happens in the coming days.
Take care!
Intel Q9400 2.66 GHz 8 GB of RAM @ 800 Mhz ATI Radeon HD 3650 Windows 7 Professional (SP1) x64 Cubase 6.03 x64 Sonar PE 8.5.3 x64 RME FireFace 400 Frontier Design Alpha Track Studio Logic VMK-188 Plus http://www.youtube.com/user/SonarHD
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Wood67
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Re:First Impressions on Windows 7
2009/10/28 11:15:58
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From my short experience, I had several VSTs that wouldn't work under Vista, but which now happily work through bitbridge. On the other hand, the ProteusVX VST subbornly refuses to work on my setup through bb. It runs standalone so the install is good, and I can insert it as a softsynth without problem. However, the UI for it in Sonar is just a blank screen. I guess I should load an older project using the synth to see if it works.
Other than that I have almost no issues with W7 (I'm on Home Premium). It installed quickly as a clean install and seems to be crisper and more responsive though I can't quite put my finger on why. I read that the Start Menu hadn't really changed from Vista but I notice a huge difference there in that firstly it works, and secondly it doesn't constantly insist on shuffling your carefully placed apps around.
One thing I still miss in the Start Menu is being able to create my own sub folder. I don't want to clutter my desktop, or flood the quicklaunch section - I want a 'MUSIC' folder, into which I can drag all my music related apps. And an Imaging folder folder for photo editing stuff etc. Vista took that away and from what I can see I can't do it in W7 either. I really don't understand why this simple level of user control over placement of apps was removed.
I also noticed that when using bitbridge with that window in focus, you can't use the transport control keys. That may be a function of bb though.
Wood Studio One 3 Pro, (Sonar Platinum), Intel i7, Win10 Pro, 32Gb ram, RME Babyface Pro, Behringer X-Touch, Presonus Faderport, Akai MPK49, Arturia KeyLab25, KRK Rokit 5 monitors, and other sonic surprises.
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somsto75
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Re:First Impressions on Windows 7
2009/10/28 11:38:03
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Hey guys, so help me understand this. Win 7 can install right on top of Vista as a clean install? No remnants of Vista is left? And your personal files and projects files are all okay?
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Wood67
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Re:First Impressions on Windows 7
2009/10/28 12:40:59
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I went from Vista 32 to W7 64 so had no choice but to do a clean install. I would have thought this would entail at least a high level format of the HDD. In advance I spent some time backing up all my data, including those odd Cakewalk templates and maps etc that live in different subfolders.
At the end of the update process I found that windows had created a windows.old directory structure with almost all of my old data in there anyway - which was nice.
But also, it had kept a seperate 'Samples' folder I had off the root drive. So I assume on that evidence that it doesn't format the drive. Certainly all the applications went so I have a fresh new registry.
If you do this I wouldn't trust any auto system to backup your data. Copy it out to an external drive. When you're done, unplug the external drive and run the update. You should then have your completely clean install with just the apps to re-install plus any data. I used to have Music Creator 4, Sonar 6 and Sonar 8.5. Because of the shared paths I was never confident enough to remove any of them. Under W7 I've just installed 8.5.
Wood Studio One 3 Pro, (Sonar Platinum), Intel i7, Win10 Pro, 32Gb ram, RME Babyface Pro, Behringer X-Touch, Presonus Faderport, Akai MPK49, Arturia KeyLab25, KRK Rokit 5 monitors, and other sonic surprises.
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somsto75
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Re:First Impressions on Windows 7
2009/10/28 12:45:09
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Hi Wood,
I assume then you had 8.5 on DVD to to the re-install because for those of us who had the download upgrade we can't just install from 8.5.
Btw Id be going from Vista 64 to Win 7 64
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Wood67
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Re:First Impressions on Windows 7
2009/10/28 13:32:27
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Yes - I was on S6 so got the DVD of 8.5, from which you can install a completely standalone v8.5 without an existing version. Under Vista I retained the old versions as well but with W7 just put in the 8.5 DVD and installed. Don't know how this works, but presumably they'll only sell the upgrade DVD if you have an earlier version registered with them. Otherwise anyone could pay $99 for the Sonar 5-8 Upgrade and just go ahead and install without ever having owned the previous versions. For your Vista 64 - W7 64 you can opt to do an update without losing your existing apps or data. But generally with an OS install I prefer to take the opportunity to start fresh.
post edited by Wood67 - 2009/10/28 13:33:42
Wood Studio One 3 Pro, (Sonar Platinum), Intel i7, Win10 Pro, 32Gb ram, RME Babyface Pro, Behringer X-Touch, Presonus Faderport, Akai MPK49, Arturia KeyLab25, KRK Rokit 5 monitors, and other sonic surprises.
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John
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Re:First Impressions on Windows 7
2009/10/28 13:34:04
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Very nice report Jose. It is encouraging to know that you have found it a positive experience.
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emwhy
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Re:First Impressions on Windows 7
2009/10/28 13:37:08
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You can only buy the upgrade DVD if you're a pre registered user. Otherwise you'll have pay full price for 8.5.
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Jose7822
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Re:First Impressions on Windows 7
2009/10/28 13:56:18
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Wood67
For your Vista 64 - W7 64 you can opt to do an update without losing your existing apps or data. This is a mistake. You should always start fresh when installing a new OS. This advice doesn't come from me but from an experience DAW builder like Jim Roseberry.
Intel Q9400 2.66 GHz 8 GB of RAM @ 800 Mhz ATI Radeon HD 3650 Windows 7 Professional (SP1) x64 Cubase 6.03 x64 Sonar PE 8.5.3 x64 RME FireFace 400 Frontier Design Alpha Track Studio Logic VMK-188 Plus http://www.youtube.com/user/SonarHD
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Jose7822
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Re:First Impressions on Windows 7
2009/10/28 14:08:29
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John
Very nice report Jose. It is encouraging to know that you have found it a positive experience.
Yes, I've been lucky in part because I'm also picky about the hardware and software I use. I don't have much either, which is another reason behind my success. But so far, I can tell you that this is what Vista was supposed to be. Windows 7 is just a better Vista. So the Vista haters thinking Windows 7 is a totally new OS might as well stick to XP :-P. There ain't much difference between the two. Take care!
Intel Q9400 2.66 GHz 8 GB of RAM @ 800 Mhz ATI Radeon HD 3650 Windows 7 Professional (SP1) x64 Cubase 6.03 x64 Sonar PE 8.5.3 x64 RME FireFace 400 Frontier Design Alpha Track Studio Logic VMK-188 Plus http://www.youtube.com/user/SonarHD
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vanceen
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Re:First Impressions on Windows 7
2009/10/28 14:20:23
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I just moved to Win 7 x64 as well, and my experience wasn't as smooth.
I've had a lot of trouble getting some soft synths installed properly that worked fine under Vista x64 (Dimension Pro and Tassman in particular). I've finally got them working, but it took many, many re-installs, and I'm not too clear on what solved the problem.
Finale 2010 was another major problem, which I solved with MakeMusic's help.
Some of this might be due to coincidental hardware problems. I've been getting a MACHINE_CHECK_EXCEPTION 0x00009c BSOD occasionally (usually after the machine has been sitting idle for a while). From what I've read, this is always due to a hardware problem.
Problems aside, Win 7's "feel" and user interface are very pleasing. I ran the beta for a while and liked it a lot. It seems to have been improved even further now.
SONAR Platinum Windows 10 ASUS X99E WE Core i7 5960X 32 GB Corsair DDR4 2133 C13 Fireface UFX USB driver 1.098 GeForce GTX 950
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Rothchild
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Re:First Impressions on Windows 7
2009/10/28 14:40:35
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Jose7822
Windows 7 is just a better Vista. So the Vista haters thinking Windows 7 is a totally new OS might as well stick to XP :-P. There ain't much difference between the two.
Take care!
Does anyone actually think that W7 is a new OS? Seems obvious to me that it's Vista SP2 but that they daren't call it that, given the marketing failure that Vista was, (aside of an technical merits it might or might not have had). Still it's good to hear that folk are getting on well with it, I won't be upgrading for a while yet but I'm interested to follow the success stories. Child
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Jose7822
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Re:First Impressions on Windows 7
2009/10/28 15:01:04
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A Few Cool Things About Windows 7:
- So finally M$ decided to update Paint. I found it strange that Paint had the same UI in Vista as in Windows XP. But now they have made it more intuitive by bringing out all the controls into the UI. The tools seem to be the same as before. They're just easier to get to now that they're not hidden in menus. Just thought that was cool since I sometimes use Paint to edit screenshots.
- Talking about screenshots, there's this new feature called "Snipping Tool" that does this very well. With this tool you can select any portion of your screen and save it as an HTML, PNG, GIF or JPEG file. It also offers a pen, highlighter and an eraser tool if you which to write stuff out. The quality looks amazing! I still need to see it in action though. Just wondering if the quality is better than doing a normal Print Screen. I'll test it out later.
- Sticky Notes. Now we can have them everywhere on our screens to remind us of things we need to do. No more sticking actual notes to your computer monitor. It has very nice handwritting I must say :-P
- Even the Calculator has a new UI. It also has two extra modes, "Programer" and "Statistics". Seems to have other functions as well for converting units, calculating dates and easy ways to calculate fuel economy (as in calculating how many gallons you spend per "x" amount of miles). Very cool stuff.
- Slide Show Desktops. You can set up your desktop as a slide show using any image (or group of images) you want as the background and with rates ranging from changing every 10 secs to 1 day. You can save them as Themes, or use the ones that come in Windows 7.
I know these features are all unrelated to DAW work. But I thought they were very cool little tools that can make our everyday experiences with computers much simpler. I'm sure there are more things to discover in Windows 7, but that's all I have for now. I'm loving this OS more by the day :-) Take care!
Intel Q9400 2.66 GHz 8 GB of RAM @ 800 Mhz ATI Radeon HD 3650 Windows 7 Professional (SP1) x64 Cubase 6.03 x64 Sonar PE 8.5.3 x64 RME FireFace 400 Frontier Design Alpha Track Studio Logic VMK-188 Plus http://www.youtube.com/user/SonarHD
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Jose7822
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Re:First Impressions on Windows 7
2009/10/28 15:07:24
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Rothchild
Jose7822
Windows 7 is just a better Vista. So the Vista haters thinking Windows 7 is a totally new OS might as well stick to XP :-P. There ain't much difference between the two.
Take care!
Does anyone actually think that W7 is a new OS? Seems obvious to me that it's Vista SP2 but that they daren't call it that, given the marketing failure that Vista was, (aside of an technical merits it might or might not have had).
Still it's good to hear that folk are getting on well with it, I won't be upgrading for a while yet but I'm interested to follow the success stories.
Child
Well, going by what I've read in these forums, I do believe so. I've heard some people say that they won't touch Vista, yet they'll upgrade to Windows 7 :-P I mean, it'd be one thing if they say this because now we have Windows 7, so there's no point in upgrading to Vista. But their logic is that Vista sucks and that Windows 7 is better. Yes, it is better, but not by as much as they believe. Like I said, Windows 7 is just a a better Vista. That's all it is :-) Take care!
Intel Q9400 2.66 GHz 8 GB of RAM @ 800 Mhz ATI Radeon HD 3650 Windows 7 Professional (SP1) x64 Cubase 6.03 x64 Sonar PE 8.5.3 x64 RME FireFace 400 Frontier Design Alpha Track Studio Logic VMK-188 Plus http://www.youtube.com/user/SonarHD
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John
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Re:First Impressions on Windows 7
2009/10/28 15:08:05
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Vista was ahead of its time. The hardware simply was not fully in place when it came out. Now with Windows 7 everything is up to snuff and it is Vista with some of Vista's quirks redone or fixed. I think MS learned a lot from Vista and what was needed in any further OS from them. I do feel as if they capitulated a little to the bashers without fighting back. Now that the dust has settled a bit and Vista is getting the respect it deserves Windows 7 can only be the stronger for it.
I use Vista all the time with out any issues. It has been simply rock solid and bullet proof for me. Sonar thrives under it. I expect Windows 7 to be much the same. I did run Windows 7 RC 64 bit and it did well. It was for me not fully ready in all areas but that was to be expected at the time. I am very glad to hear from Jose on this because I trust his view completely. Also I don't think he would have posted if he were not impressed. To me this is a great endorsement.
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gerrard00
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Re:First Impressions on Windows 7
2009/10/28 15:16:39
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FYI the snip tool is in Vista as well. I love that thing.
My favorite Win7 feature is Aero Snap. WinKey+Dpad is really helping me to work faster.
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Rothchild
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Re:First Impressions on Windows 7
2009/10/28 15:18:53
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You're kidding right? Are you aware about: http://www.ubuntu.com/ A quick search of the software center (built in to the system) shows 26 results for 'Calculator' from simple desktop replacements, through virtual abacus and a range of specialist scientific models. 'Paint' brings 8 results (but there are loads more graphics apps) including The GIMP (for Photoshop style editing) and Paint clones for simple drawings Similar theme emerges with 'Notes' with a range of options with wiki style linking and easy sharing across systems. All these apps, and the OS they run on are entirely free and generally use open and published formats for storing their data (so you're not locked in to having to buy MS products to read your docs, spreadsheets etc). Now I acknowledge freely it's not a complete drop in replacement for Windows in all it's facets but it certainly does me fine for all my household computing needs. The only machine I need windows on is my DAW and that was decided for me by Cakewalk. Cheers Child
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John
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Re:First Impressions on Windows 7
2009/10/28 15:18:58
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Aero Snap. ? could explain?
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Jose7822
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Re:First Impressions on Windows 7
2009/10/28 15:19:41
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vanceen
I just moved to Win 7 x64 as well, and my experience wasn't as smooth.
I've had a lot of trouble getting some soft synths installed properly that worked fine under Vista x64 (Dimension Pro and Tassman in particular). I've finally got them working, but it took many, many re-installs, and I'm not too clear on what solved the problem.
Finale 2010 was another major problem, which I solved with MakeMusic's help.
Some of this might be due to coincidental hardware problems. I've been getting a MACHINE_CHECK_EXCEPTION 0x00009c BSOD occasionally (usually after the machine has been sitting idle for a while). From what I've read, this is always due to a hardware problem.
Problems aside, Win 7's "feel" and user interface are very pleasing. I ran the beta for a while and liked it a lot. It seems to have been improved even further now.
You need to turn UAC (User Account Control) OFF. That thing causes problems with some of the softsynths (i.e. Dimension Pro). It was also preventing my Fireface icons (the ASIO Panel and Mixer) from showing up in the Task Bar. But I've had "0" problems with Dimension Pro in Win 7 so far. Same thing in Vista.
Intel Q9400 2.66 GHz 8 GB of RAM @ 800 Mhz ATI Radeon HD 3650 Windows 7 Professional (SP1) x64 Cubase 6.03 x64 Sonar PE 8.5.3 x64 RME FireFace 400 Frontier Design Alpha Track Studio Logic VMK-188 Plus http://www.youtube.com/user/SonarHD
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Jose7822
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Re:First Impressions on Windows 7
2009/10/28 15:21:23
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gerrard00
FYI the snip tool is in Vista as well. I love that thing.
My favorite Win7 feature is Aero Snap. WinKey+Dpad is really helping me to work faster.
Huh, I guess I missed it when I was in Vista. I need to try the Aero Snap, thanks for reminding me :-)
Intel Q9400 2.66 GHz 8 GB of RAM @ 800 Mhz ATI Radeon HD 3650 Windows 7 Professional (SP1) x64 Cubase 6.03 x64 Sonar PE 8.5.3 x64 RME FireFace 400 Frontier Design Alpha Track Studio Logic VMK-188 Plus http://www.youtube.com/user/SonarHD
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Jose7822
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Re:First Impressions on Windows 7
2009/10/28 15:28:10
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Rothchild
You're kidding right?
Are you aware about: http://www.ubuntu.com/
A quick search of the software center (built in to the system) shows 26 results for 'Calculator' from simple desktop replacements, through virtual abacus and a range of specialist scientific models.
'Paint' brings 8 results (but there are loads more graphics apps) including The GIMP (for Photoshop style editing) and Paint clones for simple drawings
Similar theme emerges with 'Notes' with a range of options with wiki style linking and easy sharing across systems.
All these apps, and the OS they run on are entirely free and generally use open and published formats for storing their data (so you're not locked in to having to buy MS products to read your docs, spreadsheets etc).
Now I acknowledge freely it's not a complete drop in replacement for Windows in all it's facets but it certainly does me fine for all my household computing needs. The only machine I need windows on is my DAW and that was decided for me by Cakewalk.
Cheers
Child
Don't get me wrong Child. I'm sure most of these tools were already available outside the OS a loooong time ago. I'm just pointing out things that are new to Windows 7 that I thought were cool, nothing more. Having said that, I rather they are part of the OS than me having to install them separately. This minimizes bugs since everything is being tested with the OS itself. By the way, I use GIMP too :-)
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John
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Re:First Impressions on Windows 7
2009/10/28 15:32:47
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Jose7822
A Few Cool Things About Windows 7:
- So finally M$ decided to update Paint. I found it strange that Paint had the same UI in Vista as in Windows XP. But now they have made it more intuitive by bringing out all the controls into the UI. The tools seem to be the same as before. They're just easier to get to now that they're not hidden in menus. Just thought that was cool since I sometimes use Paint to edit screenshots.
- Talking about screenshots, there's this new feature called "Snipping Tool" that does this very well. With this tool you can select any portion of your screen and save it as an HTML, PNG, GIF or JPEG file. It also offers a pen, highlighter and an eraser tool if you which to write stuff out. The quality looks amazing! I still need to see it in action though. Just wondering if the quality is better than doing a normal Print Screen. I'll test it out later.
- Sticky Notes. Now we can have them everywhere on our screens to remind us of things we need to do. No more sticking actual notes to your computer monitor. It has very nice handwritting I must say :-P
- Even the Calculator has a new UI. It also has two extra modes, "Programer" and "Statistics". Seems to have other functions as well for converting units, calculating dates and easy ways to calculate fuel economy (as in calculating how many gallons you spend per "x" amount of miles). Very cool stuff.
- Slide Show Desktops. You can set up your desktop as a slide show using any image (or group of images) you want as the background and with rates ranging from changing every 10 secs to 1 day. You can save them as Themes, or use the ones that come in Windows 7.
I know these features are all unrelated to DAW work. But I thought they were very cool little tools that can make our everyday experiences with computers much simpler. I'm sure there are more things to discover in Windows 7, but that's all I have for now. I'm loving this OS more by the day :-)
Take care!
Vista's Paint is also upgraded. Snipping Tool is in Vista. Vista has Sticky Notes. Vista has a great Calculator as well. There is also a Calender in Vista that is highly useful. Media Center is there too. Vista Ultimate has Deskscapes Animated wallpaper. Here I am not sure if I would miss that or not. But it is way cool. The Slideshow desktop is something I used when I was running Windows 7 it is nice but so is the Deskscape. Heck you can sit and just watch it. LOL Check out Stacks for files. Check out large icons for your photos in folders. Try a search for some obscure file. I think you will be blown away. All those things are from Vista as is dynamic disks. If you are paranoid then the ability to encrypt things is rather amazing as well. The speed to view zipped files is also improved in Vista I am sure Windows 7 inherits all of these things. I was hoping that Windows 7 didn't loose any of the good apps that came with Vista. It seems it didn't. One thing in Windows 7 I like more then what is in Vista is Media Player. It looks better and it seems to run better though that could be simply an impression because I like it better. LOL.
post edited by John - 2009/10/28 15:47:35
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Jose7822
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Re:First Impressions on Windows 7
2009/10/28 15:49:16
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Hey John! Does Vista's Paint look like this? http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc86/jose7822/Win7Paint.png Does the calculator have the modes I pointed out earlier? It is possible I could have missed the Snipping Tool and the Sticky Notes. But I'm pretty sure the above tools are different in Windows 7. By the way, I didn't say anything about the Media Center :-) Also, remember I'm in Windows 7 Professional, so maybe Deskscapes is still part of Windows 7 Ultimate.
Intel Q9400 2.66 GHz 8 GB of RAM @ 800 Mhz ATI Radeon HD 3650 Windows 7 Professional (SP1) x64 Cubase 6.03 x64 Sonar PE 8.5.3 x64 RME FireFace 400 Frontier Design Alpha Track Studio Logic VMK-188 Plus http://www.youtube.com/user/SonarHD
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wintaper
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Re:First Impressions on Windows 7
2009/10/28 16:00:18
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limited to 16GB (Home Premium) or 8GB (Home Basic and Starter) Yeah its really neat how they arbitrarily cripple products in order to get you to spend more money. C'mon folks, the binaries are the same - this is a scam. And then, to get you to spend more money, they slap some screen savers and other useless utilities in with the same binaries and label that version "ultimate". Of course, you're going to feel cheap if you don't get the biggest baddest version. Makes me sick.
Intel i7 @ 3.60GHz, 12GB DDR3 1600MHz, Win7 / OSX 10.6.6, Sonar 8.53 / Pro Tools 9.0.1, RME RayDAT, UAD2-Quad, Focusrite OctoPre (x4), Euphonix MC Mix, Tascam US2400, Monette Ajna (x2), 15' Macbook Pro
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John
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Re:First Impressions on Windows 7
2009/10/28 16:00:28
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No Paint does not look like that. The calculator has lots of modes but no it is missing those modes. Also, remember I'm in Windows 7 Professional, so maybe Deskscapes is still part of Windows 7 Ultimate.
I don't think so. It wasn't in the RC and it was called Ultimate. It did have the Desktop slide show though. Clearly a lot of refinement has gone into Windows 7. Thanks for clearing that all up.
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