Hands-on with Windows 7: Properties

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Geoff Spick19 March 2009, 11:00 AM

In our first look at Windows 7, we took a peek at the main desktop changes. Now, we see what the Properties feature has to offer.


With the new beta installed, we're taking another look around the system for those not too keen on installing test software on their valuable machines.

Right-click on the desktop and you see some obvious changes in the Properties menu. For a start, Gadgets is now available as an option, highlighting the fact they can now reside anywhere on the screen - gone is Vista's intrusive Sidebar. Currently, the list of gadgets is the same as in Vista, with the addition of a Media Center gadget but it would be good if Microsoft added a couple of extras to make things more interesting.



Personalize has seen the addition of a couple of features -- localized desktop backgrounds and themes. Windows 7 lets you have a range of images that will rotate in the background over time, from seconds to days, no third-party add-ons required. If you get bored of one particular desktop, just right-click and you can go to the next one in the sequence.



Another addition in the Sound Schemes menu is a host of new collections of effects to liven up the audio side of the desktop. From blues guitars to synths and a range of dings, pings and tings, there is a lot more than in previous versions of Windows, a small touch but another indication that Microsoft is trying to boost every area of the OS.



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agami (User):

No wonder most people think an OS is synonymous with its UI.

19 March 2009, 12:28 PM (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

kenobiajay (New user):

Quoting agami:
No wonder most people think an OS is synonymous with its UI.


Windows is a GUI OS, so its UI should be a functional requirement of the system.

19 March 2009, 1:19 PM (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

Tin (Senior Forumologist):

Why should the one UI supplied by MS be the requirement? What's wrong with letting 3rd parties write interfaces? Works for *nix GUIs.

19 March 2009, 4:06 PM (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

jake (User):

Quoting Tin:
Why should the one UI supplied by MS be the requirement?


why should the ui supplied by apple of mac os x be the requirement.
only open source os like linux and open solaris allow 3rd parties and genius to write a ui

were talking about where all the buttons are and where the menus are and where the panales are and where the taskbar/finder is right not the theme

19 March 2009, 4:55 PM (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

Tin (Senior Forumologist):

Quoting jake:
only open source os like linux and open solaris allow 3rd parties and genius to write a ui were talking about where all the buttons are and where the menus are and where the panales are and where the taskbar/finder is right not the theme


Guess you haven't met Litestep then... Almost as old as Win95, and still going strong letting people pick what their shell looks like and how it functions.

19 March 2009, 8:41 PM (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

plutonium210 (Advanced member):

Quoting Tin:
Works for *nix GUIs.

When are people going to realise that Win and Mac are NOT open source.
So it works for *nix ......... Big Deal !

When I PAY for OSX I want it to work (and it just does) and not have compatibility issues because I have downloaded and tried a new 'front end' designed by some self-professed guru developer claiming it will revolutionise the GUI experience !

You DON'T have to pay for Linux so when everything goes pear shaped, peole will just accept it as part of the open source experience and do a full re-install. If this happens to a retail product there would be cries of outrage !

19 March 2009, 5:01 PM (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

Raindog (Senior Forumologist):

Quoting plutonium210:
You DON'T have to pay for Linux so when everything goes pear shaped, peole will just accept it as part of the open source experience and do a full re-install.

What bunkum! The concept of free operating system does not mandate not paying for a system. There a re millions of commercially installed Linux systems, and if they stop working there is hell to pay and or financial penalties. Those commercial systems just work too, but no-one needs to bang on endlessly about it.


Quoting plutonium210:
and not have compatibility issues because I have downloaded and tried a new 'front end' designed by some self-professed guru developer claiming it will revolutionise the GUI experience !

And not have the freedom of choice to select your GUI of choice, or the ability to revise that choice with a change in situation. Not having the choice to run without a GUI at all or operation via a Web GUI.
If you like plain vanilla and want your thinking done for you that's good, it is your choice, but it doesn't in anyway invalidate other choices that differ from your own.

For all the fanfare the locked down delivery of the major OS GUIs leave a lot to be desired.


19 March 2009, 5:52 PM (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

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