Digital Home Thoughts: Get A Peek At The Real Windows 7

"So, as 2009 draws to a close, we find ourselves testing another new Microsoft OS: Windows 7. Building on the now-mature technologies introduced with Vista, but with a renewed focus on performance and ease-of-use, Windows 7 seems poised to succeed where Vista couldn’t. We’ve finally received a final build of Win7, and have run it through the wringer in both the Lab and in the real-world. Here’s what we found."

With Windows 7 being released to manufacturers, the "final" version can now be reviewed without worry that any tweaks or adjustments will be made. Well, outside of whatever each manufacturer sees fit. Maximum PC goes through the gamut of what you can expect if you upgrade, or get a new PC with Microsoft's newest hotness, including differences in performance for various tasks. Overall, I expect that a lot of people will probably be confused by the UI changes, especially the taskbar and ribbons, but that will probably wane over time. It seems as if the lessons learned through Vista have paid off and Windows XP's days are finally numbered.