What sucks about Windows 7 that I can't change (also some things I like and bringing this thing to a close)

I already mentioned in my other post on the new Windows, How to make Windows 7 awesome in as few steps as possible, one of them, which are a few badly thought out animations. My first post is the useful one and where you should begin really, it kind of leads into this one.

Anyway, once you finish with that there is this: a list of things that I hope someone else does, followed by a few things that I did like that I haven't talked about, followed by a conclusion. Oh boy, let's go!

What I can't change about Windows 7

1. I can't create replacements for the software I find indispensable on OS X, like NetNewsWire, Colloquy, Adium, Coda, Things, NicePlayer, Transmission, iWork, 1Password and LaunchBar. They exist, they just aren't as good. Sometimes when people find out I use Macs they ask if there are things that I wanted to do on it that I needed Windows to do. I usually find the opposite to be true.

2. I can't create the kind of development community that results in so much incredible software being made for OS X.

3. The new taskbar is just about perfect.



There is just one that that sucks about it that I can't change: when you click on a program with mutable windows open it only opens the previews of the windows inside. That is the same action that hovering over an icon does, so it's kind of redundant. I realize why they did this, as it closely matches the behavior of application groupings in previous Windows versions. Still, an option to make it match the Mac behavior of bringing all the windows of that app forward would make me super happy. I tried to do that about three times since I installed it yesterday.

4. I can't create a button to move everything in the downloads folder to the trash. I find that if I don't move something out of there within a few weeks of putting it in there it's not something worth keeping around.

5. I can't make the maximize button not fill the entire screen. I've always found the mac maximise behavior, which fits the content in the window, to be much better. This state is double plus wrong now that there is snap, which makes maximizing temporarily not only harder to do accidentally and, well, cooler.

6. I can't make closing a window not also close an application. I've mistakenly closed iTunes about seven times.

7. Homegroup is a really cool feature. I can't create a mac/linux port.

Holy crap, that's 7 things that I cannot change about Windows 7. I didn't plan for that, honest.

4 things that I like that I haven't mentioned yet

1. Aero Peek is the old show desktop command moved to a better location and done in a really slick way. Basically it takes the expose feature from OS X that I use the most and implements it in such a way that I don't do it accidentally. I really like it.

2. Jump Lists, lists connected to applications that are shortcuts to things you do in the app a lot, are a really nice implication of the menus that come up in OS X when you right click applications on the dock. The only limit I see is that an entry in a jump list can't beget another list like menus can, but that's not the end of the world.

3. When I started the operating system up the only icon on the desktop was the Recycle Bin, and there were only 4 icons in the taskbar. This is partially because I installed it myself, but that's cleaner than even I expected.

4. Not a single thing that worked in Vista has not worked in 7.

Conclusion

Windows 7 is good. It's not good enough to lure people away from using Macs, and it's not good enough to make me confidant that Microsoft is a healthy company with a bright future, but both of those would take a lot more than an OS upgrade could provide.

7 is proof that there are enough smart people at Microsoft to keep it dominant in certain parts of the computer industry for years to come, but it also shows just how little artfulness is left in Microsoft. What I like about it feels less like a part of Windows and more this one cool thing, this piece of candy. It's nearly as disjointed as a Linux distribution.

If Microsoft really wants to get people excited about Windows it can't keep piling things onto the NT framework and using decades old tools to do so. It needs to reinvent it's OS from the ground up, creating a framework for developers to create things worth giving a damn about. I give a damn about 7, but that says more about me than it does about Windows 7.

There are always rumblings from inside Microsoft that some new OS is being crafted. I hope to god that what they are making is cool.

How to make Windows 7 awesomer in as few steps as possible

You should probably buy Windows 7 if you use Windows, that much is clear. Microsoft has finally given their users a good, modern operating system. The best of what's new that I've come in contact with in the little amount of time I've used it are the many changes to the interface. This makes me happy, as the UI of my Macintosh home has't been exciting in the past few years. I enjoyed discovering the little pieces of candy Microsoft built into 7, even though I remain more comfortable in OS X.

That said, there are a few adjustments worth making. These are the ones I made within the first day or so of messing around with the 7.

ONE: Turn UAC from a problem into a feature

No, they haven't gotten rid of UAC, also known as User Account Control or those incessant cancel/allow dialogs. You are still going to have to click away a little dialog box when you install something, though a few of the weirder things that would set off UAC warnings in Vista have been disabled by default.

While I understand the problems people have with it, I don't really mind UAC. It's comparable to dialog boxes in OS X that ask you for an administrator password when you work with sensitive stuff. The only reason it's a problem is because you can't piss in Windows without needing admin access, and until Microsoft radically adjusts how their OS works they've made exactly the right decision with UAC.

Still UAC is worth toning down in Windows 7. Here is how you do it.



In the taskbar there is a little flag icon they call Action Center. Click on it to get a Control Panel window that it shows a lot of little bits of information about your computer. This is how Windows tries to make you take care of it with stuff like firewalls and Anti-Virus. Anyway, on the side is a button called "User Account Control settings," click that to get a slider. Move it to either the second setting from the top or the third, both those make sure that UAC only pops up when it's really necessary. The only difference between the two is that the lower one removes the dimming effect that made UAC sometimes seem like it was signifying the end of the world.



TWO: Disabling transparency and other thoughts on Areo Glass

Jesus Christ hell who thought that making everything see through was a good idea? Look, go to Control Panel and then Appearance and Personalization >> Window Color and Appearance. There is this checkbox.



Uncheck it with a vengeance.

I can't change the fact window titles are nigh-unreadable in a lot of places in Areo Glass, the default theme, and the other things I don't like about it. Still the benefits of keeping the theme the default are worth. The animations are a big one, as they overall communicate the various UI concepts very well.

There are a few that I'd like to see gone, like the animation when you close a window that looks too much like minimzation and the delay in switching that window previews from application to application as you hover back in forth over the taskbar, but I both don't know how to change them and they aren't any worse than not having the new animations at all.

This is kind of unimportant, but there is a way to mess around with Areo Glass animations that is ridiculous in a truly Microsoftian fashion. Buried deep in the Control Panel are some options that allow you do change a few animation options for the sake of performance, though if you can't run the whole shebang you probably shouldn't be using Areo Glass (or hell, Windows 7). It's under System and Security >> System >> Advanced System Settings >> The Advanced Tab >> The "Settings..." button under Performance. After all the work I went through to find that none of them do what I want, but oh well.

THREE: Use Dropbox with your libraries

One of the best features in 7 is also one of it's most stupidly simple. It's called libraries, and they are just a bunch of file locations who's contents can be found under categories like Documents and Videos. There are no indexes to create and manage. Databases like that are great (see iTunes), but they create inflexible file structures and a host of their own issues (ever try to move an iTunes library?). For a lot of things these are perfect, and truth be told they are something that I really want in OS X.



Libraries also work really well with Dropbox. If you aren't using Dropbox you really should. It replaces in one fell swoop everyday use of flash drives and e-mailing files. But yea, this article isn't about how Dropbox is awesome (this one is!: Rands In Repose >> Dumbing Down the Cloud), it's about the fact that sometimes you forget if a document is in your dropbox or on your computer itself. Now it doesn't matter, it's all the library.

Documents are the only things that I sync using Dropbox, but you can use a simular method for other types of files. Simply navigate to the folder that you use to store a certain type of file in dropbox, click the "Include in Library" dropdown box from the vertical menu and select the library that is most appropriate for that box (if you have subdirectories in that folder I recommend adding those too). If there isn't one, create it.

Now all you need to do to find any a certain type of file all you need to do is browse to its library. Lets say it's Documents. If you want a Document to be saved in a Dropbox just drag it from My Documents to the dropbox right from the library, and if you want to get it out of the dropbox to save space just do the opposite.

FOUR: Don't use Microsoft software

Okay, that's not totally true. Windows Media Player, for instance, isn't all that bad, and if you need it Office is just about the only game in town when it comes to Windows productivity software. Still, you know the drill if you've ever started a Windows installation before: download Firefox, Google Chrome or something else to browse with other than IE, then get iTunes and VLC to replace Windows Media Player. It's easy enough.

The other things that I downloaded in the first day of running Windows 7 were the previously mentioned Dropbox, Trend Micro Antivirus and the game download service Steam. Trend Micro is the only security software that ever made me happy, and Steam is practically the reason I bought this computer.

You might notice that the only pieces of software I have that are Windows only are my Anti-virus and my games. Congradulations Microsoft, you have officially pushed out all competitors from Windows and turned your OS into a software wasteland.

A continuation!

This ends the things that I have to say on Windows 7 that are useful right now. If you want to read some more about the new Windows I've written What sucks about Windows 7 that I can't change (also some things I like and bringing this thing to a close).

Two steps to perfect equaliser settings in iTunes

The following is the so called perfect iTunes setting that has been my default for a while. I got it from 43 Folders >> "Perfect" iTunes equalizer setting.



Just set the equalizer to something that looks close to this, then select "set preset..." in the drop-down menu and call it perfect.

Yay! Most songs sound better this way!

The only problem with this (or any default equalizer setting, really) is that it sometimes amplifies things were quieter in the recording for a reason. Case in point, the Radiohead track "Kid A" has a background rhythmic static track that overwhelms the mix with this equalizer enabled on small speakers. The good news is that there is an easy way to fix this.

First, tune the equalizer to this flat one and set it as "No change." Make sure that after you make this preset you reset the equalizer to "Perfect."



Notice that the preset has a pre-amp setting. This is so it fits a little better with the tracks set to perfect.

Now when you hear a track that sounds kind of funky with the "Perfect" setting enabled right click it in the iTunes browser and select "Get Info." Go to the "Options" tab on the top and change the "Equalizer Preset" setting to the "No change" preset.



Now if you have the equalizer setting set to "Perfect" normally it will change to "No change" whenever that song comes up and then revert to "Perfect" afterwards.

This is the lazy way to do it, if you want to get a little more fancy you can change the preset for songs that don't work with "Perfect" to a preset that isn't flat but is more appropriate for the song.

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