Things vista was better at?

S

sram

[H]ard|Gawd
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Jul 30, 2007
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What things--if any-- you miss from windows vista that are not available in 7 ? I'm still using vista at home, but I used 7 at work and there are things I wish they were just the same like they were in xp and vista. Example:

The show desktop icon, why put it in the far right? Stupid I think! + I like the taskbar style of windows vista better.(Where is the quick launch bar?, yeah you can pin things but if you want to open a second window, you have to right click and choose open !)

Comments?
 
Customizable shortcuts in the Game Explorer is the only thing I can think of.

FYI, if you want to open a second window from the taskbar in Win7 just Shift+Click ;)
 
sram said:
The show desktop icon, why put it in the far right? Stupid I think!
Click to expand...

I missed that at first, but I like the new location. Rather than pinpointing the "Show Desktop" icon you can just quickly move the mouse to the lower RH corner and click. It's quicker because you don't have to be accurate. And there's always Win + D.

sram said:
+ I like the taskbar style of windows vista better.(Where is the quick launch bar?, yeah you can pin things but if you want to open a second window, you have to right click and choose open !)
Click to expand...

I too miss the old style taskbar sometimes, but I love the window preview and jump lists available with the new one. Also, shift + click opens a new window.
 
.(Where is the quick launch bar?, yeah you can pin things but if you want to open a second window, you have to right click and choose open !)
Click to expand...
Middle Click or Shift+Click. Pinned Items and Jumplists are wonderful - great for productivity.
 
imyourzero said:
Also, shift + click opens a new window.
Click to expand...

Middle click too.

I really dislike the new taskbar. Tried it for a week or so, hate it just as much as I hated taskbar grouping in XP and Vista. It's annoying and I turn it off. Also annoying is persistent applications running in the taskbar. Stop taking valuable space and go to the notification area kthx. Jump lists are nice though. I kinda like pinned items, but they don't really work well with the old-school taskbar. I still use them for things I have running all the time to keep their ordering on the taskbar consistent.

I believe you can also get the quicklaunch bar back.

Things I miss? Well there's nothing really *missing*, but I do have some gripes, while we're whinging:

- I don't like how explorer windows place new files in their sorted location instead of at the bottom of the list.
- My media keys are hijacked by explorer so the global hotkeys I've set in my applications for these keys only work when I have an app focused, not on the desktop or in explorer
- Click and drag in an unfocused explorer window now starts a selection box instead of grabbing the item under the cursor. Annoying, and I just can't get used to having to click twice.
- General dislike for a lot of explorer 'improvements', really. Status bar missing completely, and even with classic shell or whatever, still doesn't show the combined size of selected files - or files in the current dir if none selected (I used this a lot). No 'free space' indication anywhere other than My Computer or disk properties, which is a pain. Not sure if these changes happened in Vista or 7, never really used Vista seriously.

That's about it for usability stuff that's in my face every day. Otherwise I'm quite happy with it, it's a marked improvement over Vista and XP.
 
keenan said:
Status bar missing completely
Click to expand...

Uh, the status bar is still there. Look, I just enabled it:

18279008.png
 
Vista had a built in email client. Win 7 does not. I guess microsoft is trying to get people to buy some version of office to get outlook. For my father's machine (he likes an outlook style client but didn't want to pay) I installed an open source email program.
 
Jonsey said:
Vista had a built in email client. Win 7 does not. I guess microsoft is trying to get people to buy some version of office to get outlook. For my father's machine (he likes an outlook style client but didn't want to pay) I installed an open source email program.
Click to expand...

Antitrust issues with too many bundled programs. You can still download and install Microsoft's email client on Windows 7 by downloading it from here:

http://download.live.com/wlmail
 
Jonsey said:
Vista had a built in email client. Win 7 does not. I guess microsoft is trying to get people to buy some version of office to get outlook. For my father's machine (he likes an outlook style client but didn't want to pay) I installed an open source email program.
Click to expand...
Actually, you can probably blame the EU (or any of the other nations pressing Anti-Trust suits) for that. Microsoft got burned for "abusing its monopoly" for giving customers programs they wanted, so they pulled most of the useful functionality out into the (free) Windows Live suite that requires a download.
 
killing your hard drive. :D

I agree with show desktop far on right sucks without a way of moving it. (at least don't know of a way)
 
You can enable the quick launch bar in Windows 7 and add the old 'show desktop' icon to get the old functionality back, you'll have to google for the solution though.

The only thing I liked better in Vista was the high security UAC default, security should be 'by default' per the SDL motto, not an opt-in thing. People should have to go out of their way to turn off security even if the OS is a little less convenient to use. But then again, with all the shit MS had to take over uac, I don't really blame them for caving.
 
GushpinBob said:
FYI, if you want to open a second window from the taskbar in Win7 just Shift+Click ;)
Click to expand...

thanks for that, i'm constantly closing my steam window and leaving my friends list open, such that I have to close my friends list to open the main steam window.

and @op, winkey + D = show desktop.
 
Quicklaunch:
-Right click on the Taskbar, select Toolbars and select New Toolbar
-Input %appdata%\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch
-Done

To show the desktop I typically use the windows key + d. Then again I usually use alt + f4 a lot of the time to exit from programs... It's back if you enable the Quicklaunch Toolbar.

As has been noted to open a second window middle click or shift click.

Win7 is mostly the same, you just have to figure out what they moved around. Generally, I think it's more efficient, but I dunno - I still use a whole lot of keyboard shortcuts.
 
The ability to have individual folders open in specific positions in a specific size.

They gutted all that from Windows 7 despite it being around since the OS/2 days.
 
I know everyone has their opinion, but how on earth could you like the jump to desktop location in Vista better? It is so superior in W7 because a blind person could click it. Also, over to view desktop is fantastic.
 
mashakos said:
DreamScene! Don't understand why it was scrapped on W7, kept me awake at work :D
Click to expand...

I forgot about this.

Apparently you can hack it into Windows 7, though I wish MS would provide an official download like some of their other Ultimate Extras.
 
I like using the old quick launch for some items, which Vista has better support. The Windows 7 one doesn't open right away if there are a lot of icons in it.

I think applications loaded faster with Vista but I bet most of that has to do with Vista using Superfetch more heavily. 7 definitely uses it less, less HDD grinding etc, but my memory never is fully used in 7 like it was Vista.

In 7 icons in general draw very slow on the start menu (at least the first time you access it) and then it's fine for awhile but if you go away it draws them slow again. Vista never did this for me.
 
As stated just middle click the mouse button to open a new window. It also closes windows in the preview pane, as well as closes tabs in internet browsers.
 
DreamScene! Don't understand why it was scrapped on W7, kept me awake at work
Click to expand...
It had something to do with licensing restrictions or cost. For that same reason a gadget was removed from the RTM builds, I think.

Click and drag in an unfocused explorer window now starts a selection box instead of grabbing the item under the cursor. Annoying, and I just can't get used to having to click twice.
Click to expand...
Explorer won't drag if there is no content under the pointer. If the item you want in the workspace is not select you can drag from where there is content (purple) to move it:
Untitled.jpg


  • Windows Vista had a UI for search, I think that's important to a lot of people. Personally, I use the text box because I dislike tab/shift-tabbing around a UI when it isn't necessary but for some users, novices in particular, it's not good to assume people know or are willing to learn the syntax.

  • Lack of "Sharing" overlay badge which Vista and prior had. Personally, I thought Microsoft should add support for user configurable badges, not remove the existing ones.

  • THE PREVIEW PANE DOESN'T JUMP AROUND IN VISTA. F*CK! It's alright though, I don't use it much anyway.

  • Windows XP only had one hover effect for menu items - a blue background that inverted text to white. Vista increased that to two: it included the Windows XP hover effect then added the light blue overlay. Of course, that light blue thing was too light so they made it darker in 7... in places. Open Explorer and look under the Organize dropdown and you'll see the old effect while under "Include in library" you'll see the new one.

  • +1 on Windows Explorer hijacking media controls.
With some modifications the new taskbar is awesome, I find.
Cycle through windows.
http://lifehacker.com/5497021/speed-up-windows-7-taskbar-navigation-with-a-registry-hack

Not to hijack but does anyone know if there is a registry key to change drag-and-drop to "Open with"?
 
JonathanJ said:
It had something to do with licensing restrictions or cost. For that same reason a gadget was removed from the RTM builds, I think.

Explorer won't drag if there is no content under the pointer. If the item you want in the workspace is not select you can drag from where there is content (purple) to move it:
Untitled.jpg


  • Windows Vista had a UI for search, I think that's important to a lot of people. Personally, I use the text box because I dislike tab/shift-tabbing around a UI when it isn't necessary but for some users, novices in particular, it's not good to assume people know or are willing to learn the syntax.

  • Lack of "Sharing" overlay badge which Vista and prior had. Personally, I thought Microsoft should add support for user configurable badges, not remove the existing ones.

  • THE PREVIEW PANE DOESN'T JUMP AROUND IN VISTA. F*CK! It's alright though, I don't use it much anyway.

  • Windows XP only had one hover effect for menu items - a blue background that inverted text to white. Vista increased that to two: it included the Windows XP hover effect then added the light blue overlay. Of course, that light blue thing was too light so they made it darker in 7... in places. Open Explorer and look under the Organize dropdown and you'll see the old effect while under "Include in library" you'll see the new one.

  • +1 on Windows Explorer hijacking media controls.
With some modifications the new taskbar is awesome, I find.
Cycle through windows.
http://lifehacker.com/5497021/speed-up-windows-7-taskbar-navigation-with-a-registry-hack

Not to hijack but does anyone know if there is a registry key to change drag-and-drop to "Open with"?
Click to expand...

As far as I know, dreamscene was removed because the ultimate team was gone, it was fluff, and continuing to support it would require a ton of cash spent for little return. I also think the search thing was changed due to this:
http://www.microsoft-watch.com/content/vista/search_changes.html
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/...t-complaint-against-vistas-desktop-search.ars
 
JonathanJ said:
  • Lack of "Sharing" overlay badge which Vista and prior had. Personally, I thought Microsoft should add support for user configurable badges, not remove the existing ones.
Click to expand...

What are you talking about? Windows 7 still has the sharing overlay badge.

JonathanJ said:
  • Windows XP only had one hover effect for menu items - a blue background that inverted text to white. Vista increased that to two: it included the Windows XP hover effect then added the light blue overlay. Of course, that light blue thing was too light so they made it darker in 7... in places. Open Explorer and look under the Organize dropdown and you'll see the old effect while under "Include in library" you'll see the new one.
Click to expand...

I just checked the locations you specified, and Both of those hover effects are identical. Even under scrutiny in Photoshop, there's no difference.
 
JonathanJ said:
It had something to do with licensing restrictions or cost. For that same reason a gadget was removed from the RTM builds, I think.

Explorer won't drag if there is no content under the pointer. If the item you want in the workspace is not select you can drag from where there is content (purple) to move it:
Untitled.jpg
Click to expand...

Hrm, playing around it seems you're right. I was wondering why it only happened some of the time... You actually have to click on a place there's text, not just the row (which is highlighted when you mouse over it, making this highly unintuitive) in Detail view. Still annoying, but at least now I know it's possible.
 
I got used to the show desktop button on the far right pretty quick... It's more isolated, and truth be told the motion to hit it there is a more natural one. Give it some time... Aero Peek makes it well worth it imo! Same with the taskbar, I got used to it really fast and I think it's far more functional (between jumplists, improved previews, etc)... You can always go back to the Vista/XP taskbar by changing just a few settings tho.

You can shift+click or middle click to open a new instance of pinned/open programs btw.

I don't miss much of anything... Some of the new control panel arrangements took getting used to but I've got it down now. I'm not one of those people that enjoyed using the classic view for the Control Panel on XP, icon hunting is dumb.

keenan said:
- I don't like how explorer windows place new files in their sorted location instead of at the bottom of the list.
Click to expand...

Pretty sure that was a change meant to help novices... I've seen my mother (amongst other people) struggle w/the old method, they couldn't understand why stuff wasn't instantly sorted and they had to tell it to sort constantly... Some of them even thought that the sort order had something to do w/the physical organization of files on the HD (don't laugh) and they'd waste time constantly re-sorting stuff, etc. If the OS just auto-sorts on the spot all the time it leaves less room for confusion. :p
 
bigdogchris said:
I think applications loaded faster with Vista but I bet most of that has to do with Vista using Superfetch more heavily. 7 definitely uses it less, less HDD grinding etc, but my memory never is fully used in 7 like it was Vista. In 7 icons in general draw very slow on the start menu (at least the first time you access it) and then it's fine for awhile but if you go away it draws them slow again. Vista never did this for me.
Click to expand...

Noticing app load times, watching icons refresh... I certainly don't miss that! ;) SSD need to go mainstream like, yesterday. Too bad Samsung and Intel/Micron have us by the balls w/NAND flash pricing.
 
Untitled-1.jpg
You'll also notice they use two slightly different separators as well as the much darker border on the new menu style. Luckily the background color is the same... but the search dropdown (white) deviates away from the norm - for the better if you ask me.

The Start Menu uses a style similar to the one on the left but if you look closely, it's actually a third style because the icon space is darker and the separators are different.

...And just because I feel like complaining: the hover effect normally used on glass (like the right pane of the Start Menu or Explorer's history button) is also used on the "View" dropdown on the right end of Explorer's toolbar. Needless to say, it doesn't fit.

and the icon overlay looks something like this:

sharing-overlay-icon.png
Windows 7 has an overlay for private files. Specify a file/folder to not be shared, or remove permissions for all users minus yourself, and a lock overlay will appear.
 
Impulse said:
Pretty sure that was a change meant to help novices... I've seen my mother (amongst other people) struggle w/the old method, they couldn't understand why stuff wasn't instantly sorted and they had to tell it to sort constantly... Some of them even thought that the sort order had something to do w/the physical organization of files on the HD (don't laugh) and they'd waste time constantly re-sorting stuff, etc. If the OS just auto-sorts on the spot all the time it leaves less room for confusion. :p
Click to expand...

Yeah I know, it does make sense from a predictability standpoint, I just find that if you know what's going on, the old way was more usable. It's both easier to find the file you just copied/moved into the directory, and the whole list doesn't rearrange itself so you can still pick out other files easily and things aren't jumping around.
 
Impulse said:
I got used to the show desktop button on the far right pretty quick... It's more isolated, and truth be told the motion to hit it there is a more natural one. Give it some time... Aero Peek makes it well worth it imo! Same with the taskbar, I got used to it really fast and I think it's far more functional (between jumplists, improved previews, etc)... You can always go back to the Vista/XP taskbar by changing just a few settings tho.
Click to expand...

I had more weird problems on my old 965 board on win7 than on Vista64...problems with DVD playback / WMP having no sound in some circumstances. Vista had zero problems.

The show desktop button location sucks. My brain is hardcoded to expect it on the left by now. I wish I could just move it to the lefthand side by the start menu. That said thanks to Aero peek and the new taskbar I don't use it constantly like I used to.
 
JonathanJ said:
Windows 7 has an overlay for private files. Specify a file/folder to not be shared, or remove permissions for all users minus yourself, and a lock overlay will appear.
Click to expand...

It also has one for shared files. Two little people in the bottom corner.
 
Unknown-One said:
Antitrust issues with too many bundled programs. You can still download and install Microsoft's email client on Windows 7 by downloading it from here:

http://download.live.com/wlmail
Click to expand...

God I HATED, nay, LOATHED all those damn applications that were pre-installed. Opening the Start Menu and seeing Windows (Mail, Gallery, Super Gallery Deluxe, DVD Maker Pro Supreme, Live Messenger Download, Other Useless Program, etc.). And then there's no way to uninstall them. The Live Essential pack was the best thing to happen in a long time.
 
I say f*ck all the consumer wannabe's that want fluff. I think an OS should come like Enterprise. The other fluffy people can go download the extras.

Then again I use my computers as tools and nothing else. I hate BLOAT.
 
I miss the following:
dreamscene
customizable game icons
regular folders for documents, music, etc. (I don't get the library thing)
the narrow default start menu
WMP11 (WMP 12 sucks, it's buggy as hell IMO)

Otherwise I'm happy with Windows 7. But if I didn't get 7 for $30, I would still be using Vista Ultimate.
 
I miss the WMP11 toolbar the most :( I don't like hovering to change a track lol and yes I am aware you can make the hover time less but still the WMP11 taskbar was awesome.
 
"The show desktop icon, why put it in the far right?"
- Agreed

I also don't like the new taskbar, though I've mostly gotten used to it.
 
Jonsey said:
Vista had a built in email client. Win 7 does not. I guess microsoft is trying to get people to buy some version of office to get outlook. For my father's machine (he likes an outlook style client but didn't want to pay) I installed an open source email program.
Click to expand...

I fully support this. I'm enjoying getting folks to switch to online email systems such as Gmail rather than crappy email clients that get lost when the HDD messes up and muggins here has to go searching for 6GB of old emails and then the customers cant remember the password they set and forgot for their outlook express account 7 years ago.

Oh and the 'leave messages on the server' box is never ticked.
 
daglesj said:
I fully support this. I'm enjoying getting folks to switch to online email systems such as Gmail rather than crappy email clients that get lost when the HDD messes up and muggins here has to go searching for 6GB of old emails and then the customers cant remember the password they set and forgot for their outlook express account 7 years ago.

Oh and the 'leave messages on the server' box is never ticked.
Click to expand...
As already stated, the Windows Live apps (ie. mail, messenger, etc.) have all been moved to an optional download. The mail client didn't go away, it just became optional.

Windows Live Mail (as Windows Mail and Outlook Express before it) will happily talk to various online mail systems, so a standalone client doesn't necessarily mean "6GB of old emails" stored locally. I can't remember the last time I used email in this fashion. My email has been stored online for well over a decade.
 
keenan said:
Yeah I know, it does make sense from a predictability standpoint, I just find that if you know what's going on, the old way was more usable. It's both easier to find the file you just copied/moved into the directory, and the whole list doesn't rearrange itself so you can still pick out other files easily and things aren't jumping around.
Click to expand...

Oh I hear ya, it never bothered me... But the new way is more consistent, think of the greater good! Heh... I wonder if there's a registry setting for that somewhere...

Jon55 said:
God I HATED, nay, LOATHED all those damn applications that were pre-installed. Opening the Start Menu and seeing Windows (Mail, Gallery, Super Gallery Deluxe, DVD Maker Pro Supreme, Live Messenger Download, Other Useless Program, etc.). And then there's no way to uninstall them. The Live Essential pack was the best thing to happen in a long time.
Click to expand...

Funny things is, most OEMs still pre-install all that stuff, heh.

Flyboat said:
For me is price. I got retail ultimate full edition for $230
Click to expand...

8 licenses of Win7 Pro for $20 (which really went towards joining ACM), 2 for free thru my school... :eek: Had I not gotten it so cheaply, my netbook would probably still be running Vista or XP. I had pre-ordered Home Premium at $50 tho (later canceled it), I might've bought a Home Pack eventually (3 licenses for $150), they took down that offer much too soon imo.
 
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