Skip to main content

Experts Review Windows 7, Recommend You Upgrade

Windows 7 Batman vs Mac
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Talk about a reversal of fortune: According to leading technology experts, Microsoft is looking less like the dismally-clad actor seen in Apple’s “I’m a Mac, I’m a PC” commercials, and more like a suited-up Christian Bale from the new Batman movies as of late.

Thank the release of its seemingly well-chiseled new operating system (OS), Windows 7, set to debut October 22, which experts insist will please PC diehards with its overall refinements, speed, and broad hardware compatibility. Building on Vista, Windows 7 is predicted to minimize annoyances and provide a number of convenient new features designed to improve overall user-friendliness. But word on the street is that the new OS isn’t designed to dazzle—like the caped crusader, it’s no flawless hero, or so insiders also attest. Rather, as industry pundits who’ve been privileged to go hands-on with final review copies report, it’s simply a welcome step above its sluggish predecessor that’s destined to breathe new life into the Windows name.

Recommended Videos

PC users burned by their experience with Windows Vista may rightly scoff, but according to Tekzilla host Patrick Norton, in this instance, suspicions are misplaced. Case in point: Norton believes that Microsoft will win back corporate customers and everyday consumers alike with Windows 7’s enhanced feature set and vast hardware congruency. Simply put, he says, “It runs without crashing, and scales fairly well on everything from netbooks to powerful gaming machines—interface upgrades are truly compelling.”

Also a major plus for the operating system, say fellow critics, is its new taskbar, which began turning heads ever since journalists were able to access the beta version starting in early January 2009. “This new feature is a phenomenon for people who always have too many windows open,” says Will Smith, the editor in chief of Maximum PC. Smith praises Windows 7 for the dramatic user interface change, which transforms the taskbar into an application launcher and manager that makes accessing and organizing programs much more effortless. Along with the taskbar, reviewers say the OS’s most valuable apparent feature its new simplicity – exactly what current Windows enthusiasts have been demanding.

Windows 7 Taskbar
Windows 7’s New Taskbar Image used with permission by copyright holder

Still, success is far from guaranteed with the general public, Smith admits. “If we weren’t in the midst of an economic meltdown, then Windows 7 would be a hit,” he explains. “Most people may stick with Vista and XP. However, Windows 7 will be huge with Microsoft enthusiasts who live and breathe Windows.”

In similar fashion, Frost & Sullivan analyst Ronald Gruia confesses that he’s pleased that Microsoft seemed to listen to its customers’ complaints about previous operating systems and is providing Windows 7 with the appropriate corrections where XP and Vista fell short. However, he too remains wary of Microsoft’s retail potential this fall, citing that the main consumer complaint may be the software’s cost.

“What are consumers going to do this fall? Probably wait until there’s a price drop,” he says. Moreover, Gruia also remains a firm believer in a clean install instead of making the step up from Vista, and suggests updating your computer hardware before switching to Windows 7, making the total potential cost of an upgrade even higher.

But like other consumer electronics insiders, Gruia was initially impressed by the beta version and is excited for Microsoft to strike back at Apple with its new OS. “This is an important release for Microsoft,” he says. “If the new venture turns out well and the story spreads early, then people will embrace it.”

While it remains uncertain how well the operating system will be received by the public when it ships later this month, for now at least, Windows 7 appears to be serving its intended purpose. Specifically, keeping computer users thoughts’ less concerned with Vista’s shortcomings, and more focused on whether or not Microsoft’s latest OS can give Snow Leopard a run for its money, or possibly even skin Apple’s big cat.

For more on Windows 7 check out our Windows 7 Review and Windows 7 Upgrade Guide: Everything You Need to Know.

Dena Cassella
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Haole built. O'ahu grown
Copilot is Microsoft’s cue to redeem Windows and edge past macOS
The new Surface Laptop 13 on a white table.

There is always going to be a big divide between macOS and Windows. Much of it has to do with the functional disparities that are deeply ingrained at an OS-level. Or if you dive into the heated community debates, you will see it broadly as a battle between seamlessness and flexibility. 

Gaming remains the guiding star for Windows adherents. A handful of highly specialized niche industry tools also remain locked to the Microsoft platform. On the other hand, macOS fans swear by the fluid software, plenty of firepower options in the M-series silicon era, and fantastic hardware. 

Read more
Windows 11’s controversial AI Recall feature is coming to your Copilot+ PC very soon
The Surface Pro 11 on a white table in front of a window.

As AI strides on, it inevitably finds its way onto our personal devices, with tech giants announcing new features that rely on accessing our private information and media to serve us better. While some might find this useful, others are bound to find it creepy, and one such feature is Microsoft's controversial AI Recall, which takes screenshots of everything you do on a Copilot+ PC so it's easier to trace back your steps and find something specific later. After being announced last year, and then witnessing a few delays, Recall is finally rolling out to a broader group of Windows 11.

Microsoft recently announced Recall is coming to Windows 11 with the latest Release channel update with build 26100.3902 (KB5055627). The feature's availability in the Windows 11 Release Preview channel, which succeeds the Beta channel in the Windows Insider program, means it is in the initial phases of being available to a wider audience of folks who own Copilot+ PC. This category of PCs currently includes a whole wide range of laptops with specialized hardware in the form of a neural processing unit (NPU) dedicatedly for running AI tasks, though we might see desktops joining the club soon.

Read more
Windows 11 and 10 users find new inetpub folder after April update
Shutdown menu in Windows 11.

Windows 11 and 10 users have reported a mysterious 'inetpub' folder after installing Microsoft's April 2025 updates, as Bleeping Computer reports. Although the folder is typically associated with the Internet Information Services (IIS) web server, it's now appearing on systems without it installed. Microsoft has confirmed that the behavior is intentional but has not fully explained why.

The unexpected folder is empty, and you can find it in the root of the C: drive even if you don't have IIS installed. If you had IIS installed (web server platform by Microsoft), it would use the inetpub folder to save logs, website content, and server-related files. So, it's weird you have one without the other after installing Windows 11 KB5055523 update or Windows 10 KB5055518. The SYSTEM account owns the new inetpub folder, meaning an elevated process made it.

Read more