Windows 7 to Bundle Popular Video Codecs

[Rob Williams]

From our front-page news:

Given I'm not a Macintosh user, I'm unsure of this situation on that platform, but I think for the most part, many people well-understand how things go down with a fresh Windows installation. Once the OS is installed, the quest for normality is far from over. We'll need to go online and download a variety of patches, updated drivers, and if you plan to watch videos, a robust player and some codecs. With Windows 7, Microsoft hopes to take some of the hassle out of the video issue for people, by including a few of the most common codecs within.

Included will be DivX support, which is great given so much of the web offers downloadable videos in that format. In addition, H.264 and AAC audio will also be supported, meaning most high-definition downloadable video will be good to go right away. With these additions, will we also see Adobe Flash built-in? Not surprisingly, no. Bundling that would cause a conflict of interest, given Microsoft develops a competing technology (Silverlight).

These additions do a good job of making Windows 7 look even better though. When Vista came to launch, the vast majority of people were skeptical, and not really too excited. Windows 7 is a stark contrast, with clear excitement being seen all over the Internet. As we did with the Vista launch, we'll be sure to cover 7 as we get a little bit closer to launch, taking a look at things from both a performance and usability perspective.

The ability to play back these additional formats has implications for new Windows 7 services like libraries and networked media player support, as Windows 7 users can index and search across their iTunes media without needing to use iTunes as the default player, and can send a wider variety of media content to a centralized location.

Source: APC Mag
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[madstork91]

Has there been a bad piece of news about windows 7 to date?

Even I'm getting to like it the more and more i read about it... and I am usually the stick in the mud when it comes to something like this.

 

[Kougar]

I had to stop and think on this one, that's a really interesting point. Everything has mostly been positive so far...

There have been lots of negative commentary about the completely new taskbar, apparently there isn't a way to tell if the box belongs to an active, running program or a quicklaunch shortcut. One site figured out there was a sort of workaround though, by adding text to the taskbar buttons... that was a grevious "bug", but again it's the first beta... MS will probably fix that one.

In my opinion, I think it's bad the OS doesn't use an SSD optimized file system when it detects an SSD. It is already supposed to disable caching, minimize the install footprint, and change how write requests are handled when it detects it is installed on a SSD. And speaking of new file systems, WinFS is not going to happen, that one got chopped in 2006 and any usable ideas rolled into SQL Server development.

 

[Rob Williams]

I think the reason for all the positive feedback is simply because there was so much negative feedback towards Vista, that people feel refreshed, and anything that "works" in the beta comes off as being impressive.

I've also heard a fair amount of complaint about the new taskbar, so I'm interested in giving it a try sometime soon. I'm not sold on it based on pictures alone, but I'm willing to have an open mind on it.

As for SSDs, I agree that it's a problem that should be looked at. I've been told by people in the industry (who represent companies who make SSDs) that Windows 7 is better than Vista where SSDs are concerned, but it's not perfect. That's a problem, because SSDs are going to be playing a much larger role in computing soon, and even now (netbooks) in some cases.

I'm hoping things will be "fixed" before the final launch, although I'm not sure how it's going to be done. You'd imagine any optimizations would have to be through a layer on top of NTFS, because that FS sure as heck isn't designed for SSDs, and I highly doubt MS is going to create an additional FS just for SSD use. Though, it's hard to say.

 

[Kougar]

and anything that "works" in the beta comes off as being impressive.

Maybe my huge, very incomplete rant in another thread I won't mention is proof enough of this... There is something to be said for having an OS that just fracking works.

It was rather ironic though, I forgot about the video codes on my Windows 7 install, and randomly clicked on one of my stored Top Gear vids... was rather cool to realize I didn't have to do a thing or need the two or three codecs Vista and XP require to play the videos. If I had to guess at minimum 3/4ths of my media content play out-of-the-box.

I've also heard a fair amount of complaint about the new taskbar, so I'm interested in giving it a try sometime soon. I'm not sold on it based on pictures alone, but I'm willing to have an open mind on it.

Paul Thurrott has the best write up I have seen about the problems with the taskbar, why, and some ideas as for fixing it. Windows 7: Simple vs. Easy

That is easy enough to work around though. If the taskbar bothers you there is a trick to get the old QuickLaunch toolbar back, at which point you can segregate your shortcuts and running programs and keep those separated. Link I tried to stick with the new OS X way of handling programs, but honestly I ran into the same problems I did while using OS X of distinguishing shortcuts from programs, especially with multiple instances open concurrently. So I turned mine into a sort of hybrid of both methods although you can disable/enable button text and quite a few other things or just keep the Quicklaunch bar...

And if you want some more relaxed reading than my rant, this is actually a useful explanation of the modified Windows performance index. The details behind the disk scoring was especially interesting I thought. link

 

[Rob Williams]

It was rather ironic though, I forgot about the video codes on my Windows 7 install, and randomly clicked on one of my stored Top Gear vids...

Nice! I wasn't sure if the codecs were built into the beta already, but good to know. Speaking of Top Gear though, did you see this story?

So I turned mine into a sort of hybrid of both methods although you can disable/enable button text and quite a few other things or just keep the Quicklaunch bar...

That does look good, I like it. I actually quite like the general design of the taskbar overall, I think I could get used to it. I know what you mean about distinguishing the shortcuts from the programs though... good point.

Thanks for the link to the developer blog... it's been a while since I've been there, so I would have missed it. I'll also check out Paul's look when I find myself with some more time ;-)

All this Windows 7 talk makes me want to hurry up and get things done so I can install it though. But alas, so much pressing content to take care of...

 

[Kougar]

Oye, I hadn't! That really makes sense though, and does explain how it was so hard for people to discover who the Stig was.

I realized after I made the screenshot that I had not checked out these new "themes", or even set a theme for Opera. Beyond modifying their layouts I haven't even modified the skins or colors yet, both are stock... If you thought the Vista desktop images were nice, the Windows 7 images are simply beautiful and stunning. And native 1920x1200, unlike Vista's 1024x768 sized images. They can be found under Windows/Web/Wallpaper

 

[Rob Williams]

And native 1920x1200, unlike Vista's 1024x768 sized images. They can be found under Windows/Web/Wallpaper

Come on now... Vista's are also 1920x1200. Stop making stuff up ;-)

 

[Kougar]

Come on now... Vista's are also 1920x1200. Stop making stuff up ;-)

Does it? I was thinking of the 1024x768 images they store in the My Docs folder, but if Vista offers higher res images elsewhere then I'll take my comment back.

 

[Rob Williams]

Not sure where they are located, but the built-in Vista wallpapers are 1920x1200. I remember checking when I first got my hands on the OS.

 

[Kougar]

Not sure where they are located, but the built-in Vista wallpapers are 1920x1200. I remember checking when I first got my hands on the OS.

Ah, well thanks for the correction. That's something I didn't know.

 

[madmat]

I've seen 7 and to me it looks like a polished version of Vista. No more, no less. Is it cool? Without a doubt, is it ground breaking? In a word, no. What happened to M$ building a new OS from the ground up?

The addition of the new codecs is nice, I thought the fact that Vista plays DVD's out of the box was great too. I was just expecting a lot more from both.

 

[Rob Williams]

It's not ground-breaking at all, but no one expected it to be. Rather, it's a fresh coat of paint that Vista should have had. The truth is, Vista retained what people expected from Windows, and it's easy to understand their logic. But, they should have tried something new earlier, because after all, Vista's UI isn't THAT much different than Windows 95, and we were really due for an upgrade. Anything can be improved, and I think their UI should have followed that thought long ago.

What I'm curious about is Windows 7's pricing. As it looks, it shouldn't be a full-scale upgrade where pricing is concerned. IT changes a lot, but it doesn't seem to add a lot, where features are concerned (correct me if I'm wrong). It's for that reason I'd suspect the upgrade price to be very affordable, while the full-blown price would be on-par with current Vista pricing. I'm talking based on no evidence, just speculation.

 

[Kougar]

Windows 7 is more than just new paint. It includes all the refining, tuning, and reworking Vista claimed to come with but was apparently forgone for the sake of actually getting a product out the door sometime within the same decade as XP... I can actually leave UAC enabled and it is only a minor, but quite tolerable annoyance, just as one example.

I think Madmat is making a inference to the entire MinWin "Kernel", where MS built a command-line only minimal server (some people argue isn't even enough to be classified as a kernel, frankly I wouldn't know). The reporting media phrased it all to sound like it was supposed to be part of Windows 7, but Microsoft themselves stated MinWin was just an experiment and was never meant to be the foundation of Windows 7, just a test platform used for W7 development.

 

[Rob Williams]

Windows 7 is more than just new paint.

I regretted that as soon as I said it. Most of it does appear to be tuning, though, nothing truly new (aside from the GUI, of course). Today, they even announced improvements for their defragger, and even without reading the article, all I can say is, "Finally!". That's been one of the weakest parts of Windows for a while, mainly just because it gives you virtually no information while it's running. Even the Windows 95 defrag application divulged more information than this. I'm all for simple, but I also like to know that the defrag process is actually doing something.

 

[Kougar]

You should try the calculator, it's actually useful again. All the little things... such as changing the start menu button from shut down to restart, or log off, or hibernate. I honestly forgot which it was Vista didn't allow as opposed to XP after using it for so long that griped users, but now it is fully customizable as it should've been to begin with.

I didn't like the coat of paint analogy because that was what Vista got, a fresh coat of paint. This time around W7 gets the mechanical overhaul to go with its looks. Thankfully it was based on Windows 2008 Server, which from what I heard was already a much cleaned up version of Vista.

 

[Rob Williams]

I didn't like the coat of paint analogy because that was what Vista got, a fresh coat of paint.

Fair enough. Once again, I didn't read too close into things and wound up overlooking most of the important details. I blame my lack of time, you can blame it on whatever you want to blame it on ;-)

Really getting excited for W7 though... even without having tried it. Even non-techy people are digging it, so that really says something.

 

[Kougar]

Nah, I just blame it on me liking to nitpick details and generally showing off. Or maybe my dislike of Vista. It's probably a few of those.

Windows 7 is just working, and working quickly. Hard to argue with that. Even the couple bugs I've submitted feedback on were addressed already or forwarded on, but I've found only a few... haven't been able to find anything else to report yet.

If it wasn't for the beta 1 status and generally needing to reinstall new versions of W7 before it expires this summer I'd have nabbed a cheap X25-M to put it on already. They were selling for $400 new on ebay before the second price cut.