Inside Windows 7's new desktop

nismok

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  • Jun 27, 2008
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    Booting up is much faster in Windows 7. Instead of being greeted by Vista's Welcome Center, users are taken to a Windows Live Messenger sign-in page.
     

    nismok

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    The Windows Start icon is smaller in this build, but functionally it is virtually the same as in Windows Vista.
     

    nismok

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    The Windows Security Center appears to be gone as well, incorporated into the maintenance section of the Control Panel.
     

    nismok

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    A fun new feature is Sticky Notes, which can be posted anywhere on the desktop or organized using a corkboard-like application.
     

    nismok

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    Also part of the maintenance section are more diagnostic graphs and charts displaying the well-being of your PC.
     

    nismok

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    Ribbons, a feature borrowed from Office 2007, appears throughout Windows 7. Even venerable applications like Paint now sport the Ribbon interface, as does WordPad.
     

    nismok

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    Another important UI change from Windows Vista is User Account Control. In Vista, you could have this protection on or off. In Windows 7, there's a slider control between "always notify" and "never notify," enabling users to find a personal setting that fits their needs.