Six new annoyances introduced in Windows 7

As a flip-side to Ed Bott’s “Six Vista annoyances fixed in Windows 7” I thought I’d play Devil’s Advocate and offer up what I think are a selection of potentially new annoyances that Windows 7 introduces.

1 - Revamped Taskbar and Start Menu are far from perfect
My take on the Taskbar and Start Menu is that it’s going to be one of those things that people either love or hate. Like any major change in the user interface it is bound to attract automatic criticism, but given that it is undoubtedly flawed. The new revamped taskbar is visually very interesting (and certainly a lot easier to use at higher screen resolutions that the Vista or XP taskbar), but it tries to do too much and as such comes across as kludgey and counter-intuitive. One failure is that it’s hard to tell the difference between apps that are running and shortcuts that have been pinned to the taskbar.

2 - Goodbye Classic theme
If you never really bonded with the Vista look and preferred to use the Classic look, then Windows 7 isn’t for you because the Classic theme is gone. OK, there is a Classic theme, but it’s basically the new Start Menu with a new skin and nothing like the classic Classic theme.

3 - Ribbon UI make a patchy appearance
The Ribbon UI in Office 2007 was one of those love it or hate it changes. Well, whether you loved it or hated it, the Ribbon now makes an appearance in Windows 7 on Paint and WordPad. If you like the Ribbon, great, you get to play with it in a few apps, while not in others. If you hate the Ribbon, well, tough, you’re stuck with it in these apps.

4 - For some users, Windows 7 will mean more time spent setting up
Gone are applications such as Windows Mail, Windows Messenger, Movie Maker and so on. Anyone wanting apps of this sort will need to download then via Windows Live Essentials. Problem is, one person’s trash is another person’s treasure and if you use these apps Windows 7 means having to download and set up the apps that you need.

5 - Search is odd
Why is it that when I search for say “Note” from the Start Menu I get Sticky Notes above Notepad? I’ve noticed countless such examples of strange behavior from the search system. Either it’s not been fully refined yet, or there’s some strange logic at work there.

6 - Jump Lists are messy
Jump Lists is a new feature that Microsoft claims will give the user access to tasks related to specific applications. Depending on the applications, you get a different set of options in the Jump List, and that’s a problem because there little consistency to what you can expect from a Jump List to make them useful.

Windows 7 tips and tricks

Two Microsoft employees have posted helpful Windows 7 tips, tricks and secrets this week.

Tim Sneath has posted 30 secrets/tips on his blog. Some of the highlights include the following:

Get Quick Launch toolbar back
1. Right-click the taskbar, choose Toolbars / New Toolbar
2. In the folder selection dialog, enter the following string and hit OK:
%userprofile%\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch
3. Turn off the "lock the taskbar" setting, and right-click on the divider. Make sure that "Show text" and "Show title" are disabled and the view is set to "small icons".
4. Use the dividers to rearrange the toolbar ordering to choice, and then lock the taskbar again.

Windows Vista taskbar

Right-click on the taskbar and choose the properties dialog. Select the "small icons" checkbox and under the "taskbar buttons" setting, choose "combine when taskbar is full".

Starting explorer from "My Computer"

To do this, navigate to Windows Explorer in the Start Menu (it's in the Accessories folder). Then edit the properties and change the target to read: %SystemRoot%\explorer.exe /root,::{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}

Old behaviour for Windows Live Messenger

Navigate to C:\Program Files\Windows Live\Messenger\ and set the properties of msnmsgr.exe to Vista compatibility mode. This will place the Messenger icon back in your system tray and remove the 2 annoying tabs on the taskbar.

If you're wondering about the fish in the Windows 7 fish then it's a Betta Fish and also has 7 bubbles to signify Windows 7.

Brandon Paddock has posted a full list of the Winkey combinations for Windows 7 on his blog too.

Windows 7 beta 1 performance

How does Windows 7 beta 1 compare to Vista and XP in terms of performance? That’s a question that’s been hitting my inbox regularly over the past few weeks. Let’s see if we can’t answer it!

Before I go any further I feel I need to make a point, and make it clear. The build I’m testing of Windows 7 (build 6.1.7000.0.081212-1400) is a beta build, and as a rule beta builds are usually more geared towards stability than performance. That said, the performance of this build should give us a clue as to how the OS is coming along.

Rather than publish a series of benchmark results for the three operating systems (something which Microsoft frowns upon for beta builds, not to mention the fact that the final numbers only really matter for the release candidate and RTM builds), I’ve decided to put Windows 7, Vista and XP head-to-head in a series of real-world tests to find out which OS comes out top.

The tests

There are 23 tests in all, most of which are self explanatory:

1. Install OS - Time it takes to install the OS

2. Boot up - Average boot time to usable desktop

3. Shut down - Average shut down time

4. Move 100MB files - Move 100MB of JPEG files from one hard drive to another

5. Move 2.5GB files - Move 2.5GB of mixed size files (ranging from 1MB to 100MB) from one hard drive to another

6. Network transfer 100MB files - Move 100MB of JPEG files from test machine to NAS device

7. Network transfer 2.5GB files - Move 2.5GB of mixed size files (ranging from 1MB to 100MB) from test machine to NAS device

8. Move 100MB files under load - Move 100MB of JPEG files from one hard drive to another while ripping DVD to .ISO file

9. Move 2.5GB files under load - Move 2.5GB of mixed size files (ranging from 1MB to 100MB) from one hard drive to another while ripping DVD to .ISO file

10. Network transfer 100MB files under load - Move 100MB of JPEG files from test machine to NAS device while ripping DVD to .ISO file

11. Network transfer 2.5GB files under load - Move 2.5GB of mixed size files (ranging from 1MB to 100MB) from test machine to NAS device while ripping DVD to .ISO file

12. Compress 100MB files - Using built-in ZIP compression

13. Compress 1GB files - Using built-in ZIP compression

14. Extract 100MB files - Using built-in ZIP compression

15. Extract 1GB files - Using built-in ZIP compression

16. Install Office 2007 - Ultimate version, from DVD

17. Open 10 page Word doc - Text only

18. Open 100 page Word doc - Text and images only

19. Open simple Excel doc - Basic formatting

20. Open complex Excel doc - Including formula and charts

21. Burn DVD - Win 7 beta 1 .ISO to disc using CDBurnerXP

22. Open 10 page PDF - Text only, using latest Adobe Reader 8

23. Open 100 page PDF - Text and images, using latest Adobe Reader 8

These series of tests will pitch Windows 7 build 7000 32-bit against Windows Vista SP1 32-bit and Windows XP SP3 32-bit. The scoring for each of the tests is simple. The winning OS scores 1, the runner up 2 and the loser scores a 3. The scores are added up and the OS with the lowest score at the end wins.

NOD 32 VS AVG

Here is what anti-virus-software-review.toptenreviews.com has to say :

ESET Nod32 3

Manufacturer: Eset

Version: 3

Overall Rating

Ease of Use

Effectiveness

Updates

Feature Set

Ease of Installation

Help/Support

Our Editor's Review

Overview

ESET's NOD32 is rapidly becoming one of the best pieces of antivirus software on the market today. ESET's NOD32 once again has delivered an excellent product that is highly effective, and now, easy to use. The strength and beauty of this software is its light footprint, relatively fast scanning and superior ThreatSense® Technology that detects malicious software before it has been reported. Its interface is intuitive and easy to use for the average home user, but can be configured and tweaked by the advanced user. The one-user, one-year package is priced at $39.99, which is the middle range of the antivirus software products reviewed.

Standout Features

• Effective antivirus protection (98%)
• Light footprint on your computer (34M)
• Excellent scanning speed
• Excellent proactive protection
• Is one of the few companies still offering products for legacy O/S's such as DOS and Windows 95, Windows 98, etc.

Ease of Use:

ESET's NOD32 is simple to use right out of the box (figuratively speaking … it’s a download) and requires little or no configuring for the average user. Yes, it’s an “install and forget program! The interface is clean and simple with enable/disable toggles and a configure option for those who are into tweaking their antivirus software. Unlike Kaspersky, which allows you to tailor their software based upon the perceived threat and the level of protection desired, advanced configuring NOD32 requires a bit more knowledge of your system. Fortunately, NOD32 works as it should in its default configuration and most users will never have to do anything but simply install this excellent software.

Effectiveness:

ESET's NOD 32 is among the most effective antivirus software products on the market today. Independent tests show that NOD32 removed about 98% of the virus threats it faced, putting it on par with BitDefender, “TopTenREVIEWS Gold Award” winner, and Kaspersky, “TopTenREVIEWS Silver Award” winner. In addition, NOD32 is certified by all the major independent testing laboratories the world over. Of the major antivirus software packages tested, NOD32 interfered less with our other computer operations than any of the other products reviewed. Its spyware protection is a little weaker than one might like, putting it on the same level as Kaspersky's 92%. Where NOD32 stands head and shoulders above its competitors is in its proactive detection and protection.

Most of the reputable antivirus software developers now include a heuristic engine that attempts to detect malware before it has been reported. Some refer to this as “Day Zero” detection because it is able to detect threats before their signatures is has been identified. The idea here is that when the software finds some code that looks malicious, it executes the software in the background to determine if it’s a threat to your machine. ESET has refined this technique like no other antivirus software developer with their ThreatSense® Technology.

This ThreatSense® Technology delivers an excellent detection rate while offering a very fast scan rate. Other antivirus packages offer similar detection rates, such as BitDefender and Kaspersky, but in both of those cases, the penalty you pay are slow scan rates. NOD32 is the only software package reviewed and tested that offered both high detection rates AND fast scan rates, indicating these folks know how to write efficient and effective code (according to the company, NOD32 is written in assembly language, a very efficient, low-level language). ESET could be the sleeper antivirus company ready to take this market by storm in coming years.

Updates:

Unlike Kaspersky and BitDefender, ESET's NOD32 only updates its virus signatures once a day. That's probably a short enough interval considering that ESET has the power to “push” updates to your computer in the instance of attack. Also, with ESET's highly effective heuristic, proactive engine, it is very likely that NOD32 will recognize malicious code before the signature is available. These two features make us more comfortable with the slightly longer update intervals than some of its competitors have.

Feature Set:

ESET's NOD32 is all about effectiveness AND speed. This software uses fewer resources than any of the packages tested and this is a thing of beauty. NOD32 is a breath of fresh air in a world of bloated software in that its code is efficiently written. From the perspective of the average user, this means this software has a light footprint and fast scans, both very good things. Its ThreatSense® Technology’s proactive defense is among the best heuristic programs on the market.

NOD32 offers several layers of protection including real time email scanning, antivirus protection, antispyware protection and rootkit scanner. The email scanner integrates easily and directly into MS Outlook or any other standard POP3 email client. Disappointingly, NOD32 did not have a Parental Control option where parents can block and control what sites their children are able to access online.

NOD32 is among the few antivirus products that still supports such legacy operating systems as DOS, Windows 95, Windows 98, etc. as well as Windows XP and Vista.

Ease of Installation:

Installation was prompt and easy. The package is just 34M making it among the lightest antivirus packages we have ever seen. We were disappointed, though, that ESET did not automatically remove the existing antivirus software on our system. Instead, NOD32 prompts you to remove any existing antivirus on your computer before installation.

ESET has made some excellent and necessary improvements in their interface with version 3, making the software far easier and more intuitive to use. Anticipating that the vast majority of people don't want to spend time messing with their antivirus software, but instead just want it to work, ESET crafted NOD32’s interface to be clean and simple. Most people can simply “install and forget” this software. The left-hand column features Protection Status, Computer Scan, Update, Setup, Tools and Help. The right windowpane is reserved for the active feature in use.

Although the features have an enable/disable toggle, the advanced user can simply click on “configure” in any of the features and find all of the advanced tweaks that anyone could ask for. Should you need to remove NOD32 from your computer, there is an uninstall option. After a reboot we found almost no evidence of the product on the machine.

Help/Support:

ESET's NOD32 provides extensive, context-sensitive help files similar to Kaspersky and this feature by both firms should be applauded. It’s about time the other software developers include similar help files. It’s simple and quick for the user and doesn't require much development cost for the software publisher. Online, ESET provides a fairly thorough 32-page PDF file manual for download, plus online FAQs for NOD32, links to an active user forum dedicated to the software, and a web form for contacting ESET customer support. While there is live telephone support offered, the call is not toll free and is available only during business hours, 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. PT, Monday through Friday.

Summary:

ESET's NOD32 offers the antivirus software buyer one more excellent choice. Its sets itself apart from the competition with its scanning speed and light footprint on your computer resources. Its proactive approach to virus and other malware detection is among the best in the world, its virus detection is excellent, and now with an easy to use interface, this software ranks among the best available. There is no hesitation in recommending ESET's NOD32 and awarding it the “TopTenREVIEWS Bronze Award” for antivirus software.

AVG Anti-Virus 8

Manufacturer: AVG Technologies

Version: 8

Overall Rating

Ease of Use

Effectiveness

Updates

Feature Set

Ease of Installation

Help/Support

Our Editor's Review

AVG Antivirus has been an up and coming virus scanner for many years. Its free version is one of the most downloaded files on the Internet in the Computer Security sector. The new interface is clean and intuitive while still remaining useful.

AVG went through a re-write of their virus scanning engine and included two of their stand alone products with AVG Antivirus as well. AVG Antispyware and AVG Antirootkit were both integrated with the virus scanner. Also revamped is the way AVG Antivirus uses the hardware within your computer. It has been changed to make better use of the multiple cores which are common in todays computers. This should speed up scanning as well as reduce slowdowns.

Ease of Use:

Though AVG Antivirus is mostly a hands-off program, there may be some instances when you may need to configure some advanced options. For 99% of the population though, the default options will be more than sufficient.

The menus within AVG Antivirus are very simple and offer all the options and information needed to keep your system safe from Internet threats.

Effectiveness:

AVG Antivirus is one of the most complete programs we have found to date. It includes many new options to make it one of the most effective virus scanners on the market. It is still plagued by horrible slowdowns at times. Even things so simple as just typing an IM can be stopped for several seconds for some reason. If you can get passed the occasional slowdowns of your computer, the scanning functionality of AVG Antivirus 8 is top of the line. With the rewrite of the scanning engine, AVG includes multi-processor support. That dual core processor you bought is actually going to start getting a workout now. AVG also includes support for Windows Vista and the 64 bit versions of Windows XP and Vista.

Updates:

AVG Checks for updates every 4 hours by default. You can change this to any interval you wish. The updates section of AVG Antivirus also shows you which virus database version you have, as well as when the last update was. It also tells you when the next update is scheduled. All of this information is also displayed on the main menu screen so that you always have the information at your fingertips.

Feature Set:

AVG Technologies, formerly Grisoft, has gone above and beyond with the new release of AVG Antivirus. Included with the virus scanner, are a rootkit scanner, spyware scanner, an on-access scanner called Resident Shield, email scanner and a link scanning browser plug-in. There is also a portion of AVG Antivirus called Web Shield. Web Shield is a chopped down firewall application that scans standard web ports for any threats encountered while browsing the web. It also includes protection for MSN Messenger and ICQ.

Ease of Installation:

Installing AVG Antivirus 8 was easy and only took about 10 minutes including downloading the additional updates required after installation finished. We had no issues or errors during the install.

Help/Support:

With the name change from Grisoft to AVG Technologies, the support site was updated and saw many improvements over the old design. Support offerings included with AVG Antivirus 8 are a FAQs, email support, phone-based technical support, as well as an inclusive support section within the program itself.

Summary:

Version 8 of AVG Antivirus is a definite improvement over version 7.5. The scanning features have been sped up and the new interface is a clean and modern take on a time-tested product.

Including a link scanner and integrating AVG Antispyware and AVG AntiRootkit provides an even more effective product. An unfortunate problem that has plagued AVG products for quite some time has not been eliminated, even though AVG did a complete rewrite of the virus scanning engine. The on-access scanner still tends to slow down computers to the point where they are not usable at times. This isn't a constant factor and has been improved significantly, but you will notice it when it happens. Beyond the slowdown issue, AVG Antivirus 8 is a complete product that will help keep your computer clean and safe.

My Personal experience :

I tried both on a 1.6 Ghz 784 mb ram pc. AVG and NOD32 both are very light and had a good detection rate. The downside of avg was it took time to load on startup whereas Nod32 loads much faster. The downside of NOD32 was it is not free unless if you download from torrent or warez sites.

Conclusion :

NOD32 is slightly better than AVG .

Xpango Website Layout.

Xpango host a professional looking website. The welcome page is very stylish and should therefore be very appealing to any people you refer to the site.

It can however be a little tricky to find the link to register, as the page is very busy looking and the registration link isn’t immediately obvious. This could potentially discourage new referrals from signing up if they are unable to find the registration link with ease. Xpango also suffers from awkward navigation, due to the size of the website, and finding your referral link and account status can be confusing, as can navigation of the selection of free gifts available.

Number of Referrals for Gifts on Xpango.

21

The gifts on Xpango require the largest number of credits out of all of the referrals sites. An Xbox 360 core will set you back a whopping 21 credits on Xpango, whereas the same system can be obtained from Nextgen Giveaway for only 10 credits.

This large credit requirement is offset somewhat by the fact that you can obtain credits from Xpango through many means (see Offers available, below), such as completing multiple affiliate offers (which offer 1 or more credits per offer), buying products from the Xpango site, selling products from Xpango, as well as referring others to the site. Xpango also state that you can claim unlimited gifts from their site, which is a bonus given that most referrals sites allow only one free gift per household.

It is our opinion however, that the credit requirement is a little excessive, and although the ability to build credits by multiple means is a distinct advantage, it requires a great deal more effort and investment on your part than simply referring people to the site, as is the norm with most other sites. Furthermore, the facility for gaining multiple gifts seems unrealistic given the number of credits required for each gift; once you have exhausted all of the offers on the site to gain credits, you will simply have to revert to the traditional method of getting credits from referrals.

Time Taken To Grant Credits on Giveaway Network.

Xpango take slightly longer to grant credits than some networks. It states below most offers that credits for completed offers are granted within 7 days and we found this was generally the case, though it often took longer than stated.

We found Xpango to be a little unreliable when it came to granting credits for offers completed. Despite following Xpango's instructions of using Internet Explorer to complete our offer, and clearing our Cookies before and after participating, we did not receive credits for either the Which? offer, or for the Cahoot Savings account offer.

We contacted Xpango regarding the missing credits and found customer service to be extremely poor. It took ten days for customer services to reply to our first email regarding the missing credits, however the issue was not resolved. We then sent numerous follow up emails, however none of these received a response. Given that each credit is so valuable (Xpango receive payments for all of the offers completed), we found this to be unacceptable. We would suggest that the lack of customer service is a major drawback to using the Xpango website, as things do go wrong for time to time; if you feel customer service is an important consideration, then you may need to re-evaluate whether or not Xpango is the site for you.

Time Taken To Grant Credits on Xpango.

Xpango were not the quickest when it came to delivering our gift. This was mainly down to the problems Xpango seem to be having with answering their emails in a timely fashion; we were required to confirm our gift order and delivery address via email when placing our order, which took several attempts. Once Xpango had confirmed our delivery however, we received our gift one week later.

Once your account has been verified, you will usually receive your free gift within a week, which is very good. We were especially impressed with Gameconsole Giveaway as we were able to obtain a PSP within 4 weeks of registering with this site.

Xpango Credits System: Offers Available and Xpango Clix

Xpango are somewhat unique in that they offer a variety of methods for gaining credits to put towards your free gift, and allow you to complete as many of these offers as you wish in order to build your own credits.

They host a number free offers, including Lovefilm, Blockbuster, EasyCinema, Music ETC, Bidz and My Movie Stream, all of which will earn you one credit for participation; there are also a couple of offers worth 0.5 credits from Celldorado in the form of mobile phone ringtones and screensavers. It would therefore be possible to earn up to 7 credits to put towards you free gift by participating in all of these offers.

Xpango also have offers which will earn you between 2 and 4 credits for participation. Below is a summary of the offers available and the number of credits you can earn:

	1 Credit Lovefilm Blockbuster EasyCinema Music Etc Bidz 2 Credits BT Broadband Coral Betting King Jackpot Egg Card American Express 3 Credits Match.com Mecca Games Golden Palace Party Poker AOL Broadband 4 Credits Car Insurance Home Insurance 1&1 Internet
	More More More More

Xpango Credits System: Offers Available and Xpango Clix

Selling Xpango Products Using Auction Templates

As well as completing offers, you can buy mobile phone accessories, such as ringtones, card readers, sim cards etc, which will earn you 1 credit for each purchase. In our opinion however, these are not competively priced and are unlikely to offer any appeal to those seeking credits. A 7 in 1 card reader on Xpango, for example, costs £15.99, whereas most retailers sell them for around £8 - £10. If you are buying the item solely for the credit, you would be better participating in one of the paid offers, such as Mecca Games, which will cost only £10 for 3 credits.

Xpango also suggest that you can sell their mobile phone accessories on auction sites such as Ebay to earn yourself credits. They even provide a number of html templates for you, so you can simply copy and paste them into Ebay to create an instant listing. The way the system works is that you post a listing advertising a product, e.g. the 7 in 1 card reader for a 'buy it now' price of £15.99. When someone buys the card reader, they pay the money into your paypal account (or however you normally receive payments). You then use this money to buy the card reader on Xpango, and you enter the delivery details of the person who bought the card reader. They are then sent the card reader they paid for on Ebay, and you receive the credit for the purchase.

In theory this is a very clever way of obtaining credits, however in practise we were unable to sell any of the items we posted on Ebay. Again, the accessories are not competitively priced, and are therefore unlikely to sell on auction sites, unless you sell them at a loss. We have tested this method of gaining referrals repeatedly, and have yet to generate a single credit.

Please use my referral link : http://www.xpango.com?ref=91400306