Windows 7 had its wide release yesterday, and there are a few of you out there who are still nervous about upgrading. In response to that, I decided to put together a list of things I don’t miss about XP.

1. XP’s taskbar

 
Windows XP Taskbar

I have a few gripes about XP’s taskbar.

First is the fact that in single-tier view (which is the default,) you don’t see the date next to the clock. If you want to see that, you must extend it to two-tier view. But then that makes the Start button look messed up with a big space underneath it, and if you have any QuickLaunch icons, those get all shuffled around. If you have many taskbar icons next to the clock, the taskbar by default "shrinks" them with a clickable arrow that expands to the left. But by the time you find the icon you want, that menu shrinks again too quickly.

 
Windows 7 Taskbar

You get the date in default view along with the clock. Running programs can be "pinned" (very cool feature) for easy-access in the future. That maddening "shrinking" of taskbar icons has been replaced with a small up-arrow which is clickable that opens a menu that stays there (important) to find the stuff you want.

And let’s not forget the program previews, the nicely shadowed borders over open programs, and.. well.. it’s simply wonderful to work with.

2. XP’s search options

The quickest way to find a file in XP using a mouse is to open My Computer then click the Search button at top. At that point you are not presented with a search box but rather the question, "What do you want to search for?", accompanied by a stupid animated dog. Yes, a dog. This is the "search companion," as XP calls it.

Windows XP Search Companion

Let’s say you clicked on "All files and folders." At that point you’re simply given too many options:

 
Windows XP Search Companion, "All Files" search

When searching, this is what it looks like, and it just takes way too long to finish.

 
Windows XP Search Companion, actively searching for a file

(The dog by the way is not bowing his head in shame, although he should be.)

As for the results you get, I can guarantee it won’t be what you’re looking for.

Where’s the search in Windows 7? Right on the start logo:

One click and ta-da, search is right there. And the moment you start typing, search results start showing up. And not only will it search for files, but content within files, programs and anything else you have. You don’t have to tell it what you want. Just type it and Windows will find it.

That’s awesome.

3. XP’s Help

The Help and Support area of XP is something I’ve never known anybody to use. When you click Start and then Help and Support, XP has to "think" about it before actually doing it. Then when it finally loads, you’re greeted with a bevy of tiny text.

Windows XP Help and Support Center

To date, there is absolutely nothing in the XP help area that has actually helped me. Sure, it contains oh-so basic information, but for almost anything advanced, it’s simply not there.

Windows 7′s help area on the other hand is something I actually have used.

Before continuing – my screen shots are probably going to differ from the full release as I’m still using the RC at the time I write this.

Windows 7 Help and Support

Right up front the whole experience is friendlier, and it loads faster too.

There was a point where I was trying to load something from a command prompt where 7 stated I needed "elevated" privileges. Confused as to what that meant, I headed to the help section and searched for elevated.

I found exactly what I was looking for in seconds:

 
Windows 7 Help and Support search results

I found the information I needed; that’s what we call legitimately helpful.

4. XP’s lack of native software monitor color calibration

XP does not natively have any monitor color management options other than "Color Quality" and "Color Management" that uses what’s called "Color Profiles" that nobody ever uses. In order to get real calibration options, you must use 3rd-party software by nVidia, ATI, Intel or whatever OEM made your video card. And of course when you use one of those, that in itself is a challenge to figure out because it’s not native to Windows (the menu systems in those 3rd-party apps are seriously messed up.)

Windows 7 has a Calibrate color option:

Windows 7 Appearance and Personalization / Display

This to me was a very big deal because I did not have to manually adjust the color via the monitor itself (which you can never seem to get right,) or use some wonky 3rd-party program. Calibrating the color on a native level is built-in to 7, and it’s easy. Very cool.

I don’t want to claim that 7 doesn’t need nVidia or ATI specific drivers, because it does. But the point is that you don’t have to use them just to make simple adjustments.

5. XP’s infamous disappearing status bar

For whatever seriously stupid reason, XP’s status bar for Explorer windows will periodically disappear.

Example:

Windows XP My Computer without status bar

Okay, so I want the status bar active so when I highlight drive C that it will give me information about the drive. So I click View then Status bar so I see it:

Windows XP My Computer with status bar

You see at bottom the status bar right there as it should be. But then it will magically go away for literally no reason at some point in the future. It doesn’t matter how often you reset this feature, because it will happen.

This has irritated me to no end ever since I’ve been using XP. Windows NT and 2000 did not do this. XP does and it’s always been a mystery as to why.

Windows 7 "Computer"

The Windows 7 OS on the other hand never loses the bar unless you specifically, and I mean very specifically, instruct it not to be there. And that’s the way it should be.

Are you are 7 user? What do you like about it over XP?

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