Windows 7

If you haven't heard yet, Microsoft has announced the next episode in their OS novel, entitled Windows 7. Exciting name! Oh wait, no it's not.

My biggest complaint is that the UI is too much like Vista. Normally, it's good to keep it similar, but make minor adjustments here and there. The differences between Windows 95 and 98 were slight, then 98 to 2000 made minor changes, etc.... But when Vista came out, it seemed more bulky. Those who pay attention to and care about UI will understand. For example, let's compare Internet Explorer 7 to Google Chrome.

Everyone knows IE7 -- which is, of course, Microsoft's attempt to copy Mozilla Firefox. Chrome is new, and I've been using it ever since it came out. I didn't realize how much I liked it until going back to IE7 or Firefox. As you can see, Chrome is simple. There are no menu bars, no scroll bars, and no status bars. Stuff appears as you need it. Until then, it's totally simple. IE7, on the other hand, is not. You get everything all the time. It's bulky. That's the best word I can think of to describe it. I feel like it has a lot of wasted space. There's a lot of ... stuff ... and the application itself feels heavy. Like if it were an object, it would have a large mass. Chrome feels more like paper. Lightweight, simple, flexible -- not bulky or heavy.

I think this is where we're heading with computer applications (and web apps, for that matter). Soon, everything will appear on-demand only. Programs will be simpler (more simple?) and easier to use. I think Microsoft is trying to perpetuate a system whose demise is long over due with their plan for Windows 7. It needs to be more interactive and less like Vista.

But what do I know, right?