Behind the scenes with Windows 7

Associated Press writes something that reads like a Microsoft PressPass feature, so much so that I checked to make sure it wasn't. Look, we all occasionally provide a forum for Microsoft to provide its position, but where's the commentary? This is just a rote reprinting of information provided by Microsoft:

Curiously, it didn't involve features post-its scattered around dart board.

This should be fun.

So. This isn't all that dramatic, but it begs the question: Why didn't Microsoft logically extend this functionality to multiple workspaces, so true power users could be even more productive? More important, it reveals something about Vista users. They are really stupid if they were seriously doing this.

Allow me to be the first to call BS on this one. We're supposed to be believe that Windows users are alternatively dumb enough to close and reopen programs so that icons appear in a certain order, but smart enough that they just right-click everything looking for new features? If this was true, the Office 2007 ribbon UI would never have been necessary, because users are hunting and pecking for new features all the time. And yet, the majority of Office new feature requests over the past several versions has been for features that were already in the apps? Curious.

So, this is an example of a feature that was already in Windows. (CTRL + click the taskbar buttons, choose Show windows side by side.) But in an Office 2007-like way, they surfaced it in a more obvious fashion. So this does make sense. It makes plenty of sense.

Microsoft first scaled back and then finally canceled this very feature in Windows Vista because its technical beta testers found it too confusing. I'm curious why its less confusing now. And really curious to see how users are going to handle Libraries that monitor multiple locations, including those on a network. The copy vs. move stuff alone is mind-boggling. But apparently the typical Windows user is more tech savvy than I expected. After all, they're right-clicking all over the place.

Microsoft's research never showed anyone shaking a window in frustration I bet. This is a dumb feature.

It does gives me confidence when all of my open windows disappear suddenly, so this will be fun for users.

Look, I do applaud Microsoft's efforts to make Windows 7 less "noisy" than Windows Vista. But as I've already explained, it sometimes goes too far (simple vs. easy). For example, Windows 7 hides tray icons that appear automatically when you boot. But it offers no indication that they're starting and using up resources, and provides no way to remove them. You know, a notification to that effect might actually be useful.

Obviously, the work Microsoft is doing with Windows 7 is good stuff overall. But I still find the excuses reasons for many of these features to be a bit of a stretch.

Consider: You may like or dislike the Office ribbon, but at least the reason for it is valid: "8 of our top 10 feature requests are for features that are already in Office. We needed a way to surface these features more obviously to users." In Windows 7, it's often the reverse reaction for me. I find myself not agreeing with the methodology at all. Shake an application window? Hide that applications are starting up? Make it next to impossible for users to figure out how to open a new application window when the application is already running? (Middle click??? SHIFT-click?) It kind of goes on and on. I suspect that Windows 8 will do a lot to smooth out that stuff, because Windows 7 in many ways is too radical of a reaction to Windows Vista.