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OS Wars:Part I

7THE ROAD TO

WindowsThe most important OS youmay never use…

Back in the day computers were all about the

hardware. Most users saw the operating

system as little more than an inconvenience

to be tolerated – a way to access this New World of

bits and bytes. And the mystic cabal of DOS geeks

acted as the gatekeepers, guardedly justifying their

existence by standing between the user and the

heart of the machine.

At no point in history was this more apparent

then when mighty IBM entered into a licensing

agreement with Microsoft’s Bill Gates and Paul

Allen, giving birth to PC-DOS in 1982. Ironically,

although this operating system became the back-

bone of IBM’s personal computer empire, at no

time did the company ever acquire the rights to

this software. Back in Redmond, meanwhile, Bill

Gates and Paul Allen – the true owners of DOS –

were busy producing MS-DOS for the fledging

clone market, sewing the seeds for their eventual

global OS domination.

by Zac Bolan

FEBRUARY 2010 • PRINTACTION • 21

Even a diehard Mac user cannot deny the pivotal roleMicrosoft holds in building the digital world we live in.While Apple catered to the creative, Microsoft did verywell with each successive release of its OS by focusingon the business user. At the same time, Apple’s innova-tive approach to the graphical user interface (GUI) andfunctionality of its computers served as inspiration forever-improving versions of Windows, at least until Mi-crosoft hit the XP plateau.

When Bill Gates rang the NASDAQ opening bell onOctober 25, 2001, to celebrate the launch of WindowsXP, not even the most farsighted pundit could have pre-dicted that the majority of computer users worldwidewould still be clinging to XP nearly nine years later. Al-though over-the-counter sales of XP officially ceasednearly two years ago, as of December 2009, a staggering61.6 percent of the world’s computers still rely on Win-dows XP. Impressive as it is, that statistic doesn’t tell thereal story: Windows XP use is verifiably in decline, downfrom a peak of 76.1 percent in January 2007.

Vista to the rescueSo where did all these XP users go – to Vista? Hardly!While an ambitious undertaking on Microsoft’s part,Vista was an ugly duckling that never took flight. Vista’sbegrudgingly attractive, yet awkward attempt at re-defining the environment Microsoft users had clung tofor so long failed to compensate for the sluggish andbuggy behaviour of the OS. Additionally, Vista’s raven-ous hardware requirements forced users to buy newmachines. For that reason alone, the business worldhad little incentive to upgrade and industrial userscould not risk moving away from the stable XP plat-form they had built empires on.

While, by all accounts, Vista was an abysmal failure

for Microsoft, it did show the company was capable ofmoving in a new direction. Windows XP is a hard act tofollow, after all. Now into its second decade of pre-dictability, insipid but stable Windows XP SP3 hasevolved into the Ugly Betty of operating systems – notmuch to look at, but a reliable personality… preciselywhat business and industry craves.

On the other hand, Vista tried to be more like MacOS X. Thinly veiled knock-offs of Apple’s GUI clutteredVista’s hybrid interface, sometimes successfully andother times dragging the computer down in a ever-deepening spiral of processor darkness and despair. Itis not surprising that Vista’s early attempt at haulingMicrosoft into Apple’s graphically rich and processorintensive world was unsuccessful. While the new Aerointerface was well received initially, most Vista users,wanting to save their computing power for actual work,only dallied with the Aero interface for a day or two,soon disabling it to speed up their machines for moreproductive endeavours.

Vista code was not a complete wash: Windows Ex-plorer enjoyed a rebirth within a brand new interface,one that was not all that hard to look at. To Red-mond’s credit, Microsoft knew it had the genesis of agood idea on its hands with Vista, but the launch waspoorly executed with many users complaining that theproduct was unfinished. As it became evident that thevast majority of their bread-and-butter business userswould actually pay extra to buy a new computer rolledback to Windows XP, Microsoft reneged on its pledgeto discontinue sales and support of this massivelypopular OS.

Meanwhile, the premedia ecosystem remainedfirmly rooted in Mac OS X/Windows XP environ-ments as high-end prepress workflows stayed married

to Windows Server 2000/2003 and XP operating sys-tems. Nobody seemed eager to endure the Vista mi-gration and base their businesses on the foundationof a shaky, bloated and unstable operating system. Mi-crosoft was soon losing an ever-growing number ofusers to Mac OS X and Linux. This did not escapeRedmond’s attention – although still publicly push-ing Vista, Microsoft had seen the writing on the walland ramped up development of Windows 7 at an un-precedented pace.

The seventh son… birth of a BetaA mere two years after the wide release of Vista, the firstpubic Beta of Windows 7 was unleashed in January2009. Like many other front-end aficionados, myheightened anticipation for Windows 7 was fueled pri-marily by my boredom with XP. I had been runningVista Ultimate using Boot Camp on my Intel MacBookPro for quite some time, but I still did most of my se-rious PC work in Windows XP. In spite of all the badpress, I did not mind Vista – although if I ever had aproblem, I would simply revert back to Mac OS X orXP… hardly a committed relationship.

While many people assumed something significantwould eventually emerge from Redmond, few wereprepared for the first build of what manifested as Mi-crosoft’s redemption. The Windows 7 Beta seemedboth stable and powerful while showcasing an ap-pealingly clean, almost minimalist interface. For thelegion of long-in-the-tooth XP devotees, the Windows7 Beta appeared to deliver on many of Vista’s brokenpromises.

Microsoft continued to refine its new baby throughthe public beta process until Windows 7 was polished,slick and stable in a way that had somehow eluded Vista

The Windows 7 Aero interface sports several new features:

q The updated Live Preview function allows the user to select from all open documents or windows associated with the Taskbar icon.

w By default, the new Taskbar shows icons only, though users can add labels. Note the fine line highlighting active applications.

e The revamped System Tray cleans up Taskbar clutter by collecting all applets in one spot. Also, notifications can be reduced or suppressed completely, eliminating distractions.

r Gadgets now float freely on the desktop, eliminating Vista’s screen-hogging Gadgets bar.

t The Aero Peek function makes all displaying windows transparent, revealing the desktop beneath.

y Windows 7 features Internet Explorer 8, which is also available for Vista and XP. Other browsers are also compatible with Win 7 including Firefox, Safari and Google’s Chrome.

through two Service Packs. In a word,Windows 7 simply “worked”, astonishingthe naysayer and silencing the critic. Evencurious Mac users peered over the fenceto catch a glimpse of the new windows,and eagerly installed it on their IntelMacs.

Lucky number 7… Speed and efficiency in one packageIt feels funny reviewing an operating sys-tem that I have been running, in one formor another, for nearly a year now, as I wasone of the geeks who anxiously queued atMicrosoft’s Website to download the firstrelease of the Windows 7 public beta.While the public beta was a good oppor-tunity to taste the new OS, the lack ofthird-party drivers prevented many peo-ple from fully appreciating Windows 7.PC manufacturers were quick to rise tothe challenge, however, and, by the timeWindows 7 reached Release Candidatestage in late June 2009, most of the driverproblems had been resolved. By its Octo-ber 22 release date, Windows 7 was defi-nitely ready for primetime.

Anyone who has ever done a clean in-stall of Windows will tell you to make sureyou are comfortable before you get started,because it is going to take a long time. Myfirst Windows 7 surprise was that installa-tion took only about 20 minutes (not in-

cluding drivers). Once past the installa-tion, it became evident that the vast im-provement in speed extended to virtuallyevery aspect of the OS. Windows 7 simplyfeels faster, snappy and decisive in everyway. Additionally, Windows 7 feels like asolid, finished product rather than a basicOS in need of further patches.

The Internet is filled with benchmarksshowing the original beta of Windows 7,compared to both Vista and XP, with eachOS taking turns at coming out ahead, de-pending on usage niche and hardwareconfiguration. Recent benchmarks, how-ever, show Windows 7 pulling way out infront when running on newer multi-coreprocessors and Intel’s hyper-threadedprocessors. This means, that as hardwareimproves, Windows 7’s speed should scaleexponentially, which shows that, for achange, Microsoft is thinking ahead.

Not just another pretty faceAfter the initial launch of Windows 7, theuser is presented with a sparse and effi-cient GUI. Microsoft has thankfully doneaway with Vista’s gadget sidebar, becauseit hogged the desktop and took an eter-nity to initialize. Instead, the individualgadgets now run as free-floating applica-tions that the user can position on theirdesktop wherever they please. Personally,I find many of the gadgets next to useless,

but do find desktop space for the clockand weather applets.

In Windows 7, Microsoft has intro-duced the concept of “pinning” applica-tions or documents to the Taskbar andStart Menu, giving the user a convenientway to organize access to frequently useditems. The new Taskbar by default doesnot show labels for the applicationspinned to it – a clean looking, organizedapproach that I really like. Those stillwanting labels for their Taskbar can ad-just preferences to bring them back.

Many XP users bemoan the loss of theQuicklaunch menu. While similar func-tions are now integrated into the newTaskbar, I have used XP’s Quicklaunchmenu for many years as my primarymethod of accessing applications as wellas frequently used folders and docu-ments. Perhaps the Windows 7 Taskbarwill eventually give me the same effi-ciency once I am used to it, but for now Ireally miss Quicklaunch.

As I mentioned, the interface has aminimalist feel, sometimes to the ex-treme. For example, active applicationsare highlighted in the Taskbar with a faintoutline around the app icon, which isquite subtle and difficult to see. As if tocompensate, Windows 7 improves onVista’s Live Preview function, whichwould only allow a user to see one docu-

ment thumbnail, regardless of how manydocuments were open. With new LivePreview, simply hover the cursor over theapplication icon in the Taskbar and a siz-able, detailed preview of all open docu-ments appears, allowing the user tonavigate directly to the file they wish towork with.

The next major GUI enhancement isthe addition of Jump Lists. At first glance,a Jump List does not seem to be muchmore than a glorified “Recent Items list”,especially if you are familiar with the con-textual menus of Mac OS X 10.6. In actu-ality, Windows 7 offers a deceptivelysimple yet highly productive method ofaccessing application-specific commands,files and functions. You can access an ap-plication’s Jump List by right-clicking theapp’s Taskbar icon or through the StartMenu. The default Jump List contains ashortcut to launch the app – a toggle forpinning and access to application specificfunctions. Once the application islaunched, recent documents or locationsare also accessible. Overall I found this tobe a very efficient method of navigatingto a specific task or file.

Windows 7 offers a number of simpleinterface enhancements that quickly be-come indispensable. One of my favoritesis Aero Snap, the automatic resizing ofwindows: Drag any window to the left

22 • PRINTACTION • FEBRUARY 2010

Windows 7 small GUI enhancementsadd up to big productivity gains:

q Right click on any Taskbar or Start Menu item to access applicationspecific functions and recent filesin the Jump List.

w Any document or application window can be convenientlysnapped to fill half the screen,very convenient for side-by-sidecomparison.

q The Windows 7 Start Menu has changedsubtly since Vista. Here we can see theJump List for Google’s Chrome browser.

w The new User Account Control Settings panel lets the user turn downthe interruption scale for notifications.

FEBRUARY 2010 • PRINTACTION • 23

edge of the desktop and it expands to fillhalf of the screen, the right edge makesthe window fill the other half of thescreen, and the top expands the windowto the entire screen. The XP Quicklaunch“Show Desktop” feature has been re-named Aero Peek and moved to the farright edge of the Taskbar. By hovering thecursor over this button, all open windowsbecome transparent, allowing the user tosee the desktop below. Clicking the but-ton moves all the windows out of the way,with another click bringing them back.

Another cool GUI gimmick, that turnsout to be quite useful, is Aero Shake. If youare like me, you will open a plethora ofwindows when you are looking for some-thing, then methodically close all the un-wanted windows – one by one. With AeroShake, you just wiggle the window youwant to keep and the rest minimize downto the Window Explorer tab in theTaskbar. Besides reducing desktop clutter,there is something very satisfying aboutviolently shaking a window, especially ifyou are having a bad day at the office.

One of the most-annoying aspects ofVista is the constant appearance of sta-tus balloons over the system tray, tellingme what the OS is doing. Windows 7,thankfully, does away with all of this silliness with the re-imagined SystemTray. Users can select which backgroundapplets can deliver messages or appear in the Taskbar, greatly reducing screenclutter and interruptions.

While keeping the Vista look, WindowsExplorer received a useful, little tweak inWindows 7: The implementation of Li-braries. A Library mimics a folder con-taining any document or location the userwants to assign to it. For example, youcould create a “Travel” library containinglinks to recent trip photos in your “Pic-tures” library, as well as itineraries docu-ments or map PDF files from your“Documents” library. The obvious advan-tage to this organizational approach is thatthe files remain in their original locations– the library simply contains the link.

Even with these improvements, Win-dows Explorer still falls behind Apple’sOS X Finder for file previews. Prepresstechnicians using Windows 7 will find itvery useful to be able to sample file con-tent with the same level of detail that Macusers enjoy, with thumbnail preview iconsthat can be as large as 512 x 512 pixels. Atthat resolution, Mac users can read docu-ment text. Meanwhile, Windows 7 usersare stuck with the standard applicationdocument icons.

Do you feel secure? Maybe it is just a sign of the times, butVista’s security regime seemed to emulatethe post-911 sense of paranoia that per-meated so much of everyday life duringthe past decade. Constant pop-up win-dows nagged for clearance to perform ac-tions that were initiated by the user.

“Zac Bolan has changed a system setting.Do you really, really, really want to changethis setting?”

Users faced an unrealistic level of cod-dling that either irritated or caused un-necessary second-guessing. Windows 7implements a security level slider in theUser Account Control setting similar tothe Internet Security Level slider. By de-fault, the user is not questioned on self-

initiated actions. Unfortunately, a third-party anti-virus program is still a goodidea, since some of the underlying codein Windows 7 is based on Vista, leadingone to assume that latent security vulner-abilities lay just out of sight.

Left to its own devicesConnecting a device has always been hitor miss in Windows XP or Vista, with themanufacturer’s device driver supportbeing inconvenient at the best of timesand often non-existent. Windows 7 in-troduces a new control panel meant tostreamline the connection experience –Devices and Printers. Connecting anEpson Perfection V600 scanner proved tobe a relatively painless affair with the De-vice Manager finding the appropriatedriver online, then installing it. Uponchecking the Devices and Printers controlpanel, a detailed 3D representation of thescanner appeared.

Additionally, Microsoft has developedDevice Stage, which is basically a standardfor device manufacturers to bundle de-vice-specific functions and software withtheir hardware. When the user plugs in asupported device, a window similar toXP’s Autoplay function appears display-ing all the applications, information andservices related to the device. In additionto USB connections, Device Stage alsoworks with devices connected to a Win-dows 7 PC via Bluetooth and WiFi.

Can’t touch thatIt turns out that MC Hammer waswrong: You can touch that! The biggestnew trend in computer interfaces is thetouch-screen phenomenon. FromiPhones to tablet computers, touch-screens are poised to redefine the way weinteract with our computers.

Windows 7 is the first Microsoft OS tooffer multi-touch support as a standardfeature. Assuming you have a touch-en-abled PC, you will be able to scroll throughdocument pages and Websites with asweep of your fingers – just like TomCruise in Minority Report. I do not have atouch-screen computer (nor do I look likeTom Cruise), so I will have to take Mi-crosoft’s word that this actually works.

Less is the new moreWith both Adobe and Quark successfullymarketing “productivity and efficiency”as features of their latest releases, Mi-crosoft could justifiably lay claim to “lessis the new more” with Windows 7. Thestripped-down, functional interface com-bined with user-definable level of OS in-tervention means fewer interruptions anda more pleasant and productive workingexperience.

Windows 7 both installs and runsclean, avoiding the anticipated crapwareof XP and Vista including Microsoft’sown relics – Movie Maker, Windows Mailand Photo Gallery. If for some reason youreally want these applications, they canstill be freely downloaded from Mi-crosoft’s Website. Depending on who youbuy your next PC from, however, yourOEM may have already added this crap-ware back in.

As for software compatibility, I havebeen working in Adobe CS4, Quark -XPress 8.15 and Extensis Suitcase Fusion2 with no problems. From a premedia

Continued on page 31

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perspective, as long as you keep currentwith your software updates, you shouldbe able to migrate to Windows 7 imme-diately. Additionally, a recent update toApple’s Boot Camp software enables fullsupport for both 32- and 64-bit Windows7 installations on Intel Macs.

Prepress users will likely have to wait awhile longer as many workflow develop-ers are still living in the Windows Server2000/2003 and XP world. After all, whymess with a good thing. Workflows are allabout getting the job done, and introduc-ing a new interface into the mix has littlevalue for budget-conscious printers. Hav-ing said that, Esko anticipates Windows 7support sometime in the first half of 2010and other developers are likely to followsuit if they have not already.

And once again, Microsoft has mud-died the shopping experience by offeringHome, Professional and Ultimate ver-sions of 32-bit or 64-bit Windows 7 at re-tail, upgrade and OEM price points (youneed to build a spreadsheet just to figureout what to buy!). Microsoft could learnfrom Apple and just offer one version ofits OS at a reasonable price.

By all accounts, Windows 7 should bea big winner for Microsoft. The check-marks in the “Pros” column greatly out-number the “Cons”. My experience withWindows 7 thus far has been quite posi-tive. As a dyed-in-the-wool Mac guy, I canhonestly say that Microsoft has done anadmirable job of building an OS that Icould actually spend the day working in.Windows 7 does what is asked of it andthen quietly steps into the shadows whenyou need to get some work done.

The pent-up demand of Windows XPholdouts and frustrated Vista users shoulddrive business to Microsoft’s mea culpa. Butwill they? Windows 7 has great future po-tential with its integrated multi-touch tech-nology and optimization for multi-coreprocessors. For that reason alone, Windows7 is the most important product to comeout of Redmond in recent memory.

Should you buy this slick, stable newoperating system? New PC buyers will getWindows 7 by default, but XP users witholder PCs will not benefit as readily froma new OS. With the print market still inrecovery mode and good, old reliable XPstill plugging along on that aging Dellworkstation, unfortunately, it might takea while for Microsoft to reap the financialreturn from its investment – at least fromthe print community.

Perhaps the greatest benefit to be gainedfrom a robust and stable Windows 7 is asa challenger to Apple’s Mac OS X SnowLeopard. There is nothing like a little com-petition to keep Mr. Jobs on his toes.

Next month: OS Wars II, Snow LeopardStrikes Back

Zac Bolan’s blog: blog.softcircus.com

Zac BolanContinued from page 23