7 Less Known Facts About Windows 7
Just got up, had thought of writing this last night, but was too tired after a hopeless, senseless & mindless movie at the theater. Anyway, here is the list:
1. Windows 7 is on DX 10:
Believe it or not, DWM in Windows 7 is on DX 10 and not on DX 10.1, that is for now. Though I doubt it will change by the time of release, one can never really be sure with Microsoft.
2.1 Ambient Light Sensors:
Your outdoor computing is gonna get better. This is something really innovative and will definitlyl help computing while you’re in the outdoors. Here is a screen shot of a slide showing the difference with and without the Light Sensors:
Light Sensors Windows 7
2.2 Location Sensors:
This one is pretty cool, IMO. Windows 7 has a built-in API that can make use of GPS units to track your current location and show details accordingly. The immediate use of this application is being made by the Weather gadget in Windows 7 which is location aware and will dynamically change the weather being shown depending on your location. This can only be achieved if there is a GPS device connected or by using the Virtual GPS in Windows 7. Yea, that’s something in the Control Panel.
3. Trigger Start:
This is something behind the scene …
With Windows Vista, Microsoft came out with Delayed Start to reduce the time taken by the computer to become usable after logging in. The concept was pretty simple, Delayed Start would start the process after some time. In Windows 7, Microsoft engineers came up with a Trigger Start concept, pretty simple again, there are processes that need to start only if there is a specific condition and it’s not needed if it’s not.
4. Core-Parking Technology:
Full-on technical stuff …
Considering that multiple cores are now the future, conserving energy and saving battery life for laptops Microsoft came up with this idea wherein the OS will figure out which core of the processor to use if the processing is being done by multiple processors and if the other proessor being used is actually required or not. If not then it will dump the processing to the first core and will be sent into a deep-sleep state conserving energy & saving battery life. Pretty sweet!
5. Shake It Baby!
Another pretty neat feature, found by Long Zheng. Let’s say if you have 10 windows open and you want 9 of them minimized having only 1 active. Before Windows 7: Show Desktop and re-open the 1 you want or minimize each of the 9. With Windows 7: Press and hold the mouse on the title bar of the window you want up and just shake the mouse. Voila! All other windows minimized. Sweet!
Head over here to see a demo video of the same.
6. Codec Support:
APCMag has reported that Windows Media Player now by-default supports the DivX format of videos. A wider range of codec support for WMP was something begged by many and Microsoft has obliged it seems.
Edit: At WinHEC Sinofsky listed some of the codecs that will be supported by WMP, the list is:
- divx
- xvid
- aac
- h.264
- avchd
7. Boot From VHDs:
VHDs are Virtual Hard-disks. You read that correct, with Windows 7 you will be able to boot directly from a Virtual hard-drive.
Watch this space for more.
PS: In other news, my post of new feautres in Paint with Windows 7 has been proven to be true for quite some time now.
2. Light Sensors is hardware dependent. And it’s not innovative. My Mac has sound sensors, light sensors and motion sensors. :P
What is the point of location sensors if you’re indoors? And it’s kinda odd to use your PC to find out where you are outdoors.
6. DivX Support? Hello! Does anyone still use WMP other than the n00bs?
your a typical mac d-bag, go choke yourself somewhere
macs suck
2.1 Ambient Light Sensors
How is this a Windows 7 thing if the hardware doesn’t have sensors at all?
Are you trying to say that Windows 7 just adds the support for Ambient Light sensors? In that case, it’s definitely good, but certainly not innovative, as Ashwin said. I’m surprised Vista didn’t have it.
@Preshit: It has the API.
@Ashwin, ever used laptops? Oh and btw, a lot of people use WMP & Media Center. DivX for WMP also means that Media Center will support it too.
And the API is not used to ‘find’ your location but to enhance the working of applications that are location based. As I said the weather gadget is 1 example.
Trigger start == Upstart!
http://upstart.ubuntu.com/
So?
Nothing.
Just wanted to point it out to someone who was making too much of noise about Google copying other browsers for Chrome.
But you weren’t pointing those out. Were you? When MS implemented a feature which is similar to something available in other OS you come crying to blogs and start whining.
LOL at some comments.
WMP is a very mature media player. I myself like to use WMP instead of Winamp/VLC and other players.
@Manan- Can a webcam act as a light sensor or it’ll need light sensors like we have in some Nokia phones?
I never pointed “those” out. I wanted to point “it” out. The “it” was trigger start being a copy of upstart.
:lol: Come back when you have something better to talk about. And don’t even get me started on how original Linux is.
@Rajbir: The camera can act as a sensor, not sure whether it can be used as a light sensor though. Depends on how one uses the API.
THE MAC USERS ALWAYS CRACK ME UP. THEY SPEND THREE TIMES AS MUCH MONEY, GET HALF THE SPEED, AND THINK THEY MADE THE SMART CHOICE. THREE OF MY FRIENDS HAVE SOME OF THE LATEST MAC’S, AND WHEN WE ALL SIT DOWN TOGETHER, I RUN CIRCLES AROUND THEM IN OPENNING THE SAME APPS, AND GETTING THEM TO DO THE SAME THINGS. AND ALTHOUGH THEY DO HAVE A COUPLE OF COOL FUNCTIONS, LIKE THE ONE, TWO OR THREE FINGER FUNCTIONS ON THE MOUSE, THEY PAID LIKE 150 % WHAT I PAID, AND I HAVE A FASTER PROCESSOR, MORE RAM AND A MUCH NICER SCREEN AND LAYOUT. SOME OF YOU GUYS ARE HILARIOUS!!!
woah..