If I can't get the classic taskbar in Win7...

[JimmiG]

...I'll stick with Vista for that reason alone.

What I don't like:
Default view is a disaster, showing small generic icons with no text. If you have e.g. multiple explorer windows open you now have to mouse over its icon and then select the window you want. With the classic taskbar, the path of each explorer window is shown in the taskbar right next to its icon. You have to go through more steps to acomplish the same thing and it's harder to find the application or window you're looking for because you have less information to work with.

You can change the taskbar to not "combine" buttons which removes some of the drawbacks bu not all:
-Text is harder to read - white text on light background vs white text on dark background in Vista. This makes at-a-glance identification harder.

-Previously, you could click a quick-launch icon multiple times to open new windows or instances of a particular application. This no longer works. The quicklaunch icon is gone once you've used it, changed to represent the running program.

-To make it even more difficult to launch multiple instances of applications you frequently use, the apps that you pin to the taskbar never show up in the most frequently used programs list in the start menu. Why make things harder on purpose? In Vista, you can have them in both places if you like.

-Very "busy" and hard to tell what's going on. Different levels of "frost" added to the icon depending on whether the app is running, running but not the active window, minimized , or not running. Your taskbar is lined with icons surrounded by four varying levels of frost and it's your job to work out what this means. Is it some kind of game?

-There's no way to keep quicklaunch buttons and buttons for running applications separated. The buttons constantly change positions and functions. Computer screens are getting larger, there's plenty of screen estate to keep the functions separated. What's next? Combining the address and navigation bars in IE? Once you've typed in a URL, the forward and back buttons just disappear for no reason until you open a new window...yeah, sounds great!

-No way to get back the classic taskbar/quicklaunch combo. I mean you can even change back to the awful Win98 visual style, but you're stuck with the new and "improved" taskbar. Unless this is changed by Microsoft or some third party develoer, I'm sticking with Vista. It looks and behaves exactly like Windows 7, but it comes with a usable taskbar.

 

[Joe Average]

Cool, then we won't see you comment on Windows 7 ever again, right?

As for your points:

- Not an issue for me, first time I've ever heard anyone even make a complaint about the Jump Lists for that/those "reasons." If you use an LCD, make sure ClearType is on and then adjust it's levels by clicking Start and then typing cleartype - when the tuner shows up on the list, select it and do the tuning. It'll look much better afterwards.

- Hold Shift when you click a Taskbar button - voila, second, third, fourth instances. If you hold Control+Shift, it'll open an instance in Admin mode.

- Why would you need to have a list of things you frequently run (meaning a list of apps)? That's the point of the Taskbar now - you pin the most frequently used apps to it, and IT BECOMES THE LIST, in essence.

- First time I've seen (after reading hundreds of thousands of posts all over the place) someone complain about such a thing. If you can't tell the status of your own apps at a glance, maybe you're missing something 'cause I don't have those problems. Perhaps not running everything full screen 24/7 is a better way of doing things... who knows.

- If you re-enabled the actual QuickLaunch bar (which for all intents and purposes should be deprecated from Windows 7 forever), I'm not even gonna touch this one. If you can't figure out why, that's the reason. The "Pin to Taskbar" option exists for a reason; apps get pinned in position and they do not move around unless you do it yourself.

- If you don't think the Windows 7 Taskbar is an improvement on all previous Taskbars, well... there's a huge mountain of data compiled from a few million questionnaires that would say you're being a bit odd, but... as everything you've mentioned seems to be strictly personal opinions, what you want as opposed to what Windows 7 is designed to do and does, well... good luck with that.

And of course, the final statement (something I should probably add to my sig because we see it just before every new version of Windows comes out):

Nobody is beating you with a tire iron forcing Windows 7 down your throat. If you don't want to run it, fantastic, more power to you, just make sure that when you're complaining or offering up personal opinions that you stick with it and be congruent in your statements: the OS isn't broken, it's just not for you.

Simple.

 

[heatlesssun]

While Windows 7 is a minor update architecturally over Vista it obviously DOESN'T work and behave exactly like Vista as your list of 12 bullet points on the just the taskbar differences would seem to indicate.

Since I have always grouped my taskbar items the default setup of the taskbar is EXACTLY how I would set it up so I'm not complaining. Personally the new thumbnail previewing makes it much easier for me to see where things are.

You can change the theme color to better read text on the taskbar, the default color is a little on the light side.

 

[Demon10000]

Poor microsoft... you win some, you loose one...

 

[Andrmgic]

Yep.. they can't win.. doesn't matter what they do.

Personally, I much prefer always combine, small icons, no labels.

Surely I'm not the only person who knows what their icons are at a glance..

 

[Arainach]

One of the biggest clusterfucks of previous generations was the mess of different places to look for an application.

• Start Menu
• Start Menu Search
• Quick Launch
• Tray

Users just want to go to an application, they don't want to think "where do I have to go for this". Combining Quick Launch and the Tray means that the application will, when pinned, ALWAYS be in the same location regardless of if it's running or not.

To open multiple copies, treat it just like a browser and middle click or Shift+Click. Intuitive. Simple. Beautiful.

The new taskbard is a quantum leap forward in usability. At this point, neither Apple nor Linux have anything nearly as simple and functional.

 

[Monkey God]

Ill wait until I use it first hand, but I wish MS just wasn't so schizophrenic about how they change things. (Especially UI stuff)

I spent an HOUR the other day trying to figure out how to search for text within a file in Vista. In XP, it was obvious. In Vista, you have to hold down ALT to see the extra menu, then go in there and configure some extra crap, and change it to always search within files. So if I don't want to search within a file, now I pay the performance penalty all the time I search? Really?

MS needs more of the "keep it simple, stupid" design process. I want to know who is answering the millions of questionaires...prolly the same morons who download "appz" from the internet and end up with tons of spyware and other crap.

Im sure once I start using Win7 ill have to re-learn everything again, just because.

 

[MittWaffen]

I don't like the UI of windows 7, I dislike the waiting for the compiled window to preview. its blocky and doesn't seem as nice as the old windows. However you can set the task bar to be like every other windows in the settings, but it still doesn't feel as good as the ones we've been using for years.

I see no reason to ever upgrade to W7 if you have vista, unless my school gives out W7 keys like they did with vista I will not upgrade.

 

[Joe Average]

They don't change shit just for the sake of changing shit: they change shit because users tell them "Hey, how about this..." and for once Microsoft has been listening with respect to Windows 7's development cycle. In the past, they didn't go out asking "What would you like Windows to do, how would you like it to look" etc until it was way way into the development process.

Based on input from users with XP and into Vista, they did things differently, and Windows 7's UI is based primarily (meaning the overwhelming majority) on the comments and feedback collected over the past 2-3 years and implemented in Windows 7.

As has been noted many times in the past, Windows 7 is written to cater to the lowest common denominator meaning everyone that uses it and not just one person or group of particular individuals.

If something is pointed out that's an actual bug, or glitch of some kind, I'm all for hearing about 'em, but threads like these just to offer up personal opinions and "Oh I don't like this, or that, or maybe that too..." I just don't get. What's the point?

 

[bigdogchris]

Default view is a disaster, showing small generic icons with no text. If you have e.g. multiple explorer windows open you now have to mouse over its icon and then select the window you want. With the classic taskbar, the path of each explorer window is shown in the taskbar right next to its icon. You have to go through more steps to acomplish the same thing and it's harder to find the application or window you're looking for because you have less information to work with.

I'm not following you here. Are you talking about showing the file system path location in the explorer address bar? If you click on the icon by the path it shows it, plus the new system allows you to quickly back out of 1 or 2 directories in one click.

You can change the taskbar to not "combine" buttons which removes some of the drawbacks bu not all:
-Text is harder to read - white text on light background vs white text on dark background in Vista. This makes at-a-glance identification harder.

You should be able to darken/lighten the text in the customization.

-Previously, you could click a quick-launch icon multiple times to open new windows or instances of a particular application. This no longer works. The quicklaunch icon is gone once you've used it, changed to represent the running program.

Right click on the task bar, choose Toolbar->New Toolbar, then browse to appdata\roaming\microsoft\internet explorer and point to quick launch. Brings back classic quick launch.

-To make it even more difficult to launch multiple instances of applications you frequently use, the apps that you pin to the taskbar never show up in the most frequently used programs list in the start menu. Why make things harder on purpose? In Vista, you can have them in both places if you like.

You have to right click and open new window. You can also right click, 'pin to start menu' and it ads the link at the top of the start menu. You can also right click and 'remove from list' the programs in the recently opened section on the start menu.

-Very "busy" and hard to tell what's going on. Different levels of "frost" added to the icon depending on whether the app is running, running but not the active window, minimized , or not running. Your taskbar is lined with icons surrounded by four varying levels of frost and it's your job to work out what this means. Is it some kind of game?

Absolutely clueless what you are talking about.

-There's no way to keep quicklaunch buttons and buttons for running applications separated. The buttons constantly change positions and functions. Computer screens are getting larger, there's plenty of screen estate to keep the functions separated. What's next? Combining the address and navigation bars in IE? Once you've typed in a URL, the forward and back buttons just disappear for no reason until you open a new window...yeah, sounds great!

Right click task bar and make sure you unlock it, then you can drag it around to expose more icons for quick launch. There's also 2 bars that let you separate the quick launch buttons and the new task bar buttons.

-No way to get back the classic taskbar/quicklaunch combo. I mean you can even change back to the awful Win98 visual style, but you're stuck with the new and "improved" taskbar. Unless this is changed by Microsoft or some third party develoer, I'm sticking with Vista. It looks and behaves exactly like Windows 7, but it comes with a usable taskbar.

Already explained how to do this.

 

[Unknown-One]

As the previous poster mentioned, you can set it exactly like the old taskbar, quicklaunch and everything:

 

[Arainach]

Please note that every time you enable the Quick Launch toolbar in Win7, each deity ever thought up by man kills a kitten. They do it again if you actually click a Quick Launch button instead of a pinned icon.

 

[Unknown-One]

Disclaimer: For demonstration purposes only

 

[bigdogchris]

Please note that every time you enable the Quick Launch toolbar in Win7, each deity ever thought up by man kills a kitten. They do it again if you actually click a Quick Launch button instead of a pinned icon.

You can enable quick launch and use the new task bar at the same time, the new buttons are on the same pane as the task bar programs are, quicklaunch is a separate toolbar.

I wonder if two kittens were killed when I brought back the old show desktop button too

As the previous poster mentioned, you can set it exactly like the old taskbar, quicklaunch and everything:

I set mine up the same way you have posted there, except I keep the shortcut to the libraries. I actually added that to my quick launch in Vista too! I love that style ...

 

[CpuMan]

I agree with some of the gripes about the quick launch. I have come to rely heavily on quick launch when setting up my computers. It would be nice if Microsoft gave us the ability to choose to enable quick launch if the user so desired on windows 7.

Here is an example of how I have quick launch set up on my main desktop in Vista x64.

 

[drdeutsch]

as has been noted, Quick Launch is deprecated in Windows 7 and anyone who actually uses it should be beaten with a shovel.

The taskbar IS the quicklaunch. It is a pinned list of apps that open when you click on it. Ta-DAAA!

 

[Andrmgic]

Personally, I much prefer the look of my Windows 7 desktop to what my previous windows versions looked like. Using windows 7 with a good wallpaper is like a mini-vacation at your desk!

 

[travbrad]

I see no reason to ever upgrade to W7 if you have vista, unless my school gives out W7 keys like they did with vista I will not upgrade.

I pretty much agree the cost isn't justified going from Vista to Win7, although I guess it may be worth it for people who want the absolute best performance (Win7 is already faster than Vista overall). It really feels more like an update than a whole new OS (albeit a very big update). I guess you could sort of say the same for Win2000 vs XP though.

Most people are still running XP though (Vista still only has 23% market share), and I do feel Win7 is worth it if you have XP. The UI is just miles beyond XP, it has proper x64 support, it's more secure, and it's just generally a lot more user-friendly.

Even XP is still "good enough" for a lot of people though. You can still browse the web, check email, do spreadsheets, etc. The security is still a major problem of course, but most people are used to having insecure computers filled with malware.

 

[Jon55]

I'm so happy they removed the stupid Windows Classic task bar and UI from Windows 7. If people are seriously still using the old style now they'll likely never bother changing.

 

[travbrad]

I agree with some of the gripes about the quick launch. I have come to rely heavily on quick launch when setting up my computers. It would be nice if Microsoft gave us the ability to choose to enable quick launch if the user so desired on windows 7.

Here is an example of how I have quick launch set up on my main desktop in Vista x64.[/IMG]

You could effectively do the same thing by making a toolbar with shortcuts to all of those programs, FYI. I use one for the MMO I play (Eve Online):

EDIT: I just noticed someone posted a way to get the old quicklaunch back completely (using toolbars). Check out bigdogchris' post

 

[CpuMan]

You could effectively do the same thing by making a toolbar with shortcuts to all of those programs, FYI. I use one for the MMO I play (Eve Online):

EDIT: I just noticed someone posted a way to get the old quicklaunch back completely (using toolbars). Check out bigdogchris' post

I'll play around with windows 7 some more when I get a chance to install RC1 in VMware. I'm sure I"ll find a working solution for the quick launch thing, It looks like Windows 7 is going to be a good OS that actually has a smaller footprint then the preceding OS, amazing.

 

[Mithent]

I'm another member of the minority who don't like the new taskbar; I'm glad to see it's still possible to add the old quicklaunch. That's not my biggest problem with it, though - mostly I really hate grouping, and that's pretty engrained in the way that the Windows 7 bar is "supposed" to work (although I know it can still be disabled - for now). I'm prone to having a lot of programs open, and grouping means that switching using the taskbar requires an extra click and extra time as I have to read window titles rather than mostly rely on spatial memory of where things are on the taskbar.

It still mostly feels like a copy of the Dock to me, and I don't really get the advantage of having a load of icons for programs I'm not currently running down there when it's perfectly easy to open things from quicklaunch or Start Menu search. But I'm fine with the option being there as long as it's not forced on me - just don't want to see it that way in Windows 8.

 

[JimmiG]

Hold Shift when you click a Taskbar button - voila, second, third, fourth instances. If you hold Control+Shift, it'll open an instance in Admin mode.

Which means I have to use the keyboard to open a new instance. In Vista/XP, it can be done with only the mouse. On the other hand I learnt that you can middle-click to open a new instance. Still it will take a while before this comes naturally, as I have left-clicked to open a new instance since Win98 or something.

- Why would you need to have a list of things you frequently run (meaning a list of apps)? That's the point of the Taskbar now - you pin the most frequently used apps to it, and IT BECOMES THE LIST, in essence.

You can use the keyboard to launch something in the most frequently used programs list. Windows-key - down arrow - Enter was my standard way of launching firefox in Vista. Now I have to let go of the keyboard and use the mouse, or trick Windows into keeping the shortcut at both places. Also, some prefer a list over a row of icons, and some may want both. They should add a checkbox somewhere so you can have it keep pinned items in the frequently used programs list. Isn't Windows 7 about putting the user in control, according to the Microsoft propaganda?

- First time I've seen (after reading hundreds of thousands of posts all over the place) someone complain about such a thing. If you can't tell the status of your own apps at a glance, maybe you're missing something 'cause I don't have those problems. Perhaps not running everything full screen 24/7 is a better way of doing things... who knows.

You must have missed this, then:
http://www.winsupersite.com/win7/ff_taskbar.asp

In particular, look at this image:


Can you tell, at a glance, which apps are open, minimized, closed etc? I'm not saying it's impossible for me to see what's going on - but it does take a second or two to decode the information. A wasted second or two every time I use the taskbar..it adds up.

Also the OSX Dock (which Microsoft copied) has been heavily criticized for mixing and matching shortcuts with buttons for running applications. Keeping different functionality separated is part of designing a good and consistent user interface. Everyone knows this, even Microsoft. Having icons or toolbars that constantly change in appearance and functionality is confusing. They just wanted to copy Apple so bad they had to do it anyway.

I'm not following you here. Are you talking about showing the file system path location in the explorer address bar? If you click on the icon by the path it shows it, plus the new system allows you to quickly back out of 1 or 2 directories in one click.

Here's what I'm talking about.

This icon represents two open Explorer windows (or 200 - the icon would look exactly the same):


Here's what it looks like in XP (and Vista, more or less):


In XP/Vista, I can see that I have two folders open, C: and My Pictures. I don't have to click anywhere to see this information. It's always there. In the Win7 default view I have to click the icon to find out which Explorer windows are open and where they point. More work needed to accomplish the same thing - The exact opposite of "improvement". Yes, it can be changed, but this is the default view.

 

[Joe Average]

Stuff on the Taskbar can be opened with Windows + (number key depending on position on the bar, so 1 being the one closest to the Start button, 2 the next, etc).

As far as the status of the buttons, Word is the active app at that time, Explorer, IE (two tabs), Messenger (the primary window and one chat window, disconnected it seems, or offline at least), some Visual Studio content, and Paint - and anyone looking at the Taskbar to discover the status of an app instead of looking at the screen itself... well, I guess I'll never figure that one out personally.

I will admit the first day I ever used Windows 7 back in September of last year I did get a bit lost at first with the new Taskbar, and it wasn't even close to what it is right now because of the vast improvements done in the past 6 months or so before RC, but, as you noted, it takes time to get the knack of the new way of doing things.

The biggest issue with anything new is people will instantly compare it to the old thing or way, which is a given. When you can get past that, and appreciate the changes and this "new way of doing things" I seriously believe more people than not will like it and find it far easier and far more productive.

I rarely if ever use the Taskbar buttons to switch apps, that's what Alt+Tab is for. Been using that since Windows 3.x came out and without it, I simply think I'd go insane and just stop using computers - not just Windows - altogether. It is without any doubt the king of keyboard shortcuts in my opinion, and you'll note every OS uses it for the same basic purpose: switch running tasks, including OSX and every Linux distro with a GUI that I've ever tried. And Windows had it first - Apple's original Macs used Switcher, an application to do it, but it didn't use Alt+Tab since their keyboards didn't work quite the same and Alt was something else entirely. So... someone at Apple apparently decided that was worth copying from Microsoft.

And don't get me started on the OSX "dock" which they stole from "someone else" sooo... there's been enough about Apple's so called "inventions" over the years, they haven't had an original idea since Woz built the first machine, I swear. They usually hear or find out about something *cough*GUIstolenfromXeroxPARC*cough* and then either buy the rights or hire the person/people responsible... but I digress...

And as for the last thing about which windows are open, hover the cursor, it'll show you what's open. Doesn't require a click... and takes about, oh... 1/4th the amount of space on the Taskbar from a horizontal pixel perspective. Honestly, if you don't remember what's open...

There's an awful lot of additions in Windows 7 that don't require a click at all, just a hover... so I can't understand why that's more work than a click...

 

[Braamer]

[/URL]

Here's what it looks like in XP (and Vista, more or less):


In XP/Vista, I can see that I have two folders open, C: and My Pictures. I don't have to click anywhere to see this information. It's always there. In the Win7 default view I have to click the icon to find out which Explorer windows are open and where they point. More work needed to accomplish the same thing - The exact opposite of "improvement". Yes, it can be changed, but this is the default view.

It's real easy to hover your mouse over the icon, and have a preview show you exactly how many instances are running.

 

[lathode]

Which means I have to use the keyboard to open a new instance. In Vista/XP, it can be done with only the mouse.



You can use the keyboard to launch something in the most frequently used programs list. Windows-key - down arrow - Enter was my standard way of launching firefox in Vista. Now I have to let go of the keyboard and use the mouse.

So you are upset you have to use the keyboard, and then upset you have to let go of the keyboard?

 

[heatlesssun]

After about five minutes working with the new UI 90% of people just won't even care about this kind of crap.

 

[Unknown-One]

Which means I have to use the keyboard to open a new instance...

Right click the taskbar icon, select the program name from the jumplist, a new instance will open.

- Why would you need to have a list of things you frequently run (meaning a list of apps)? That's the point of the Taskbar now - you pin the most frequently used apps to it, and IT BECOMES THE LIST, in essence.

But you can use the keyboard to launch something in the most frequently used programs list....

You can use the keyboard to launch items pinned to the taskbar as well. Hold the Windows Key + 1 to launch the first pinned item, Windows Key + 2 for the second pinned item, etc.

You must have missed this, then:
http://www.winsupersite.com/win7/ff_taskbar.asp

In particular, look at this image:


Can you tell, at a glance, which apps are open, minimized, closed etc? I'm not saying it's impossible for me to see what's going on - but it does take a second or two to decode the information. A wasted second or two every time I use the taskbar..it adds up.

You've completely missed the point of the new UI here. They're trying to remove the harsh distinction between running and non-running programs; click the icon and it opens, that's all you need to worry about. Even so, it's not hard to tell non-running (no button frame) apart from running (button frame) applications.

In short, you're over-thinking it...

As an aside, they have not removed any emphasis from the "currently active" button state. It's still fairly obvious which application is currently active due to an opaque color overlay (in the above screenshot, Microsoft Word).

Also the OSX Dock (which Microsoft copied) has been heavily criticized for mixing and matching shortcuts with buttons for running applications. Keeping different functionality separated is part of designing a good and consistent user interface. Everyone knows this, even Microsoft. Having icons or toolbars that constantly change in appearance and functionality is confusing. They just wanted to copy Apple so bad they had to do it anyway.

You're going to get flamed to hell and back for this. Its been covered time and time again, the new taskbar is almost nothing like the OSX dock, you would know if you had used both.

Microsoft turned on grouping by default (a byproduct of this being the new interactive window previews for groups), turned off text labels by default, made the icons 32x32 (instead of 16x16) by default, and combined the taskbar and the quicklaunch into one cohesive toolbar. It's really not anything new, it's just arranged in a much better way than the separate taskbar and quick launch bar seen in previous versions of Windows. A byproduct of these changes also includes interactive hover-previews to make groups more user friendly, as well as jump lists for increased integration with the OS for both running and non-running applications.

Oh, and by the way, that's all 100% optional. With a couple of settings changes you can make the Windows 7 taskbar work like the Windows Vista taskbar.

Here's what I'm talking about.

This icon represents two open Explorer windows (or 200 - the icon would look exactly the same):

Actually, you've got that wrong, that circled explorer button only represents two windows period. The Internet Explorer button represents more than two (can't you see the difference between the button frames?)

Here's what it looks like in XP (and Vista, more or less):

No it's not, you have "always group windows" enabled on Windows 7, but not on Windows XP. If you want to compare apples-to-apples you either need to disable window grouping on Windows 7 or enable it on Windows XP.

You can enable grouping of all windows on Windows XP through a registry tweak, set the following dword to 00000001

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced] dword value "TaskbarGroupSize"

In XP/Vista, I can see that I have two folders open, C: and My Pictures. I don't have to click anywhere to see this information. It's always there. In the Win7 default view I have to click the icon to find out which Explorer windows are open and where they point. More work needed to accomplish the same thing - The exact opposite of "improvement". Yes, it can be changed, but this is the default view.

Erm, like I just said, you can clearly see the explorer button on the Windows 7 taskbar represents only two windows (even if it is in a different grouping mode than the windows XP screenshot, making the comparison moot).

 

[Impulse]

[/URL]

Here's what it looks like in XP (and Vista, more or less):


In XP/Vista, I can see that I have two folders open, C: and My Pictures. I don't have to click anywhere to see this information. It's always there. In the Win7 default view I have to click the icon to find out which Explorer windows are open and where they point. More work needed to accomplish the same thing - The exact opposite of "improvement". Yes, it can be changed, but this is the default view.

That's the way it worked in XP/Vista... Unless you happen to be working with more than a dozen different programs/docs at a time, then the explorer windows get grouped just the same (as well as some stuff that shouldn't be grouped with it, such as pics opened in the XP Picture Viewer, etc.)... And in XP you didn't even get the preview window. Not a big annoyance on a 24" screen where usually the only thing that gets grouped is my browser windows, but a huge annoyance on a netbook at 1024x600.

The only real upside to the way XP/Vista limited grouping is the fact that when they did group they listed the number of open windows on the taskbar, imo. Marginally useful at times.

 

[QwertyJuan]

I don't think the OP is really paying attention here... XP by default groups similar icons as well.... leave the default(group similar taskbar buttons) without disabling it, and open up 15 IE windows and see what happens.

Lastly, you CANNOT just 'hoover' over it to see each window, instead you have to *GASP* "click" the group to see what's running THEN you cannot visually see what's running in each window. OH NOES!! You have to read the small text and decide which one you want!!

OP - You disabled it.... and forgot you did. You officially LOSE!

 

[Archer75]

I found I can navigate multiple windows in Windows 7 with the super bar more easily than I can with the traditional bar in Vista/xp.

I actually prefer the superbar, live previews and aero peak to the OSX dock and expose.

 

[ZzBloopzZ]

Good tips in here guys.

Had no idea you could just click shift + app to make new instance. I just installed Windows 7 yesterday on my laptop but only played with it for several mins. After finals are over I'm going to play around with it much more, I'm actually really excited until then. Damn, love being a nerd!

 

[Sabrewulf165]

I was definitely iffy on the new taskbar through the first few builds, but as I've used it more, I've gotten very accustomed to it and now use it full time on all of my machines. I still see where others are coming from on some of these points (especially the whole "it's an extra click to get to something" argument) but overall I think 7's default taskbar is so much cleaner and makes more sense from an organizational standpoint. Even going to "classic" mode in 7 now looks horrible and confusing to me with more than a few windows open, to say nothing of Vista/XP's "real" classic taskbar.

In short, to each their own. I do agree that MS should allow more customization/personalization. The old classic start menu deserves to be killed off, but I'd still rather see it as an option somewhere, even if buried within gpedit or the registry. Same goes for XP-style classic taskbar. I really don't see the benefit of actually forcing people into something new.

TIP FOR WHOEVER:

This is probably the most comprehensive list of Win7 tricks/shortcuts I've seen so far. It was compiled during an older build but I'm pretty sure most of it still applies:

http://blogs.msdn.com/tims/archive/2009/01/12/the-bumper-list-of-windows-7-secrets.aspx

PS - I agree that excess taskbar pinning definitely has the potential to clutter up the place, but personally the only thing I pin is Firefox. Everything else gets pinned to the start menu or shortcuts on the desktop.

 

[FooTemps]

In particular, look at this image:


Can you tell, at a glance, which apps are open, minimized, closed etc? I'm not saying it's impossible for me to see what's going on - but it does take a second or two to decode the information. A wasted second or two every time I use the taskbar..it adds up.

I'm just going to say this... I could tell what was open, what had instances minimized, how many instances of each program were open, and that it's ludicrous having FF and IE both in your task bar... all within half a second. What is wrong with you? I can even tell that I have skype and chrome running single instances unminimized from my peripheral vision in my taskbar. Could you do that with winXP or vista? NO. Do you know why? TEXT AND SMALL ICONS. Using subtle visual cues is so much more efficient it's retarded they never did it in the first place.

LEARN HOW TO SEE AND INTERPRET NEW INFORMATION. God damn, stop being a middle aged housewife already.

 

[QwertyJuan]

I'm just going to say this... I could tell what was open, what had instances minimized, how many instances of each program were open, and that it's ludicrous having FF and IE both in your task bar... all within half a second. What is wrong with you? I can even tell that I have skype and chrome running single instances unminimized from my peripheral vision in my taskbar. Could you do that with winXP or vista? NO. Do you know why? TEXT AND SMALL ICONS. Using subtle visual cues is so much more efficient it's retarded they never did it in the first place.

LEARN HOW TO SEE AND INTERPRET NEW INFORMATION. God damn, stop being a middle aged housewife already.

hehe

 

[Sabrewulf165]

Some people are just afraid of any change and dismiss it out of hand while finding any possible arguments to support their view without even trying to learn/understand the change and note the benefits. For those people... XP is supported at least through 2011 last I heard, and I'm sure MS won't kill off Vista before they kill XP. Plus there's always 'nix or Mac... I guess

That's the beauty of choice.

 

[Sonicks]

I've only just speed read over most of the replies so far. The thing that has gotten to me is, no one seems to know that you can open multiple instances of a program from the superbar with the MOUSE SCROLL CLICK. Just like opening new tabs in IE, its the same thing for the pinned taskbar items. So it works EXACTLY like quick launch.

 

[Joe Average]

Believe it or not (as it's true, sadly), but more people would (or should that be will) most likely use Shift+Click to open additional instances instead of a mouse wheelclick. I remember the day I first saw the original Microsoft Intellimouse so long ago, how I bought it on the spot, got home, and was absolutely floored at just how easily "it just worked" even without installing the craptastic mouse software which I never ever install. Ever.

It added so much in terms of productivity, and even then in those days I was wanting to use that wheelclick but at the time there wasn't anything that detected or used it - unless of course I installed the damned drivers, but I couldn't figure out what to use it for (close app was too easy and far too much trouble than its worth), didn't work well as a task switcher, nor most anything else, so I never really did.

Until Opera came around (that mouse was out before Opera was iirc), the wheelclick didn't do much for me, but obviously the scrolling did and continues to do so even now. I simply won't use a mouse without a wheel unless I have absolutely no choice in the matter.

Nowadays, I use that wheelclick constantly in Firefox to do all sorts of things as most people do. And in Windows 7 it's nice to see it implemented so well especially with the Taskbar.

But surprisingly, no matter how many people I tell about it, or demonstrate it with face to face, none of them ever seem to realize the potential the wheelclick adds, with Firefox, Opera, IE7 and 8, etc. It just misses 'em completely so it's a situation where someone either gets it or it goes right over their heads.

Given this, I'd say more people would start using Shift+Click before they'd use that wheelclick. The most truly amazing thing of all is when you find someone that barely uses the wheel to scroll pages/content, it's like an epiphany to them the moment they actually use it and get that "Oh wow, I didn't know it worked like that."

Same thing with the wheelclick but a hundred times more rare: show 'em, and they just won't continue using it... never will figure it out myself as I couldn't live without it.

 

[QwertyJuan]

Believe it or not (as it's true, sadly), but more people would (or should that be will) most likely use Shift+Click to open additional instances instead of a mouse wheelclick. I remember the day I first saw the original Microsoft Intellimouse so long ago, how I bought it on the spot, got home, and was absolutely floored at just how easily "it just worked" even without installing the craptastic mouse software which I never ever install. Ever.

It added so much in terms of productivity, and even then in those days I was wanting to use that wheelclick but at the time there wasn't anything that detected or used it - unless of course I installed the damned drivers, but I couldn't figure out what to use it for (close app was too easy and far too much trouble than its worth), didn't work well as a task switcher, nor most anything else, so I never really did.

Until Opera came around (that mouse was out before Opera was iirc), the wheelclick didn't do much for me, but obviously the scrolling did and continues to do so even now. I simply won't use a mouse without a wheel unless I have absolutely no choice in the matter.

Nowadays, I use that wheelclick constantly in Firefox to do all sorts of things as most people do. And in Windows 7 it's nice to see it implemented so well especially with the Taskbar.

But surprisingly, no matter how many people I tell about it, or demonstrate it with face to face, none of them ever seem to realize the potential the wheelclick adds, with Firefox, Opera, IE7 and 8, etc. It just misses 'em completely so it's a situation where someone either gets it or it goes right over their heads.

Given this, I'd say more people would start using Shift+Click before they'd use that wheelclick. The most truly amazing thing of all is when you find someone that barely uses the wheel to scroll pages/content, it's like an epiphany to them the moment they actually use it and get that "Oh wow, I didn't know it worked like that."

Same thing with the wheelclick but a hundred times more rare: show 'em, and they just won't continue using it... never will figure it out myself as I couldn't live without it.

I am one of those guys... I just find the 'scroll wheel' VERY uncomfortable to click....

 

[Joe Average]

Perhaps you need to find the correct mouse? Ergonomics and comfort can play a great deal into it, definitely. When I'm just relaxing my hand on my mouse, my index finger sits on the wheel pretty much all the time as that's what I use for left and wheel clicks, middle finger on the right button.

YMMV, of course, but having a mouse you're comfortable with can really make a huge difference, and of course, no "Death Grip" on it either.