Windows 7 makes some exciting and very large leaps
in changing some of the things that most computer
users have been used to since the Windows 95 days
– and for the better. The new Taskbar itself has enough number
of new features that allow for not just better productivity but also
make using Windows more cooler than ever before. So let’s delve
into some of these in this pictorial review.
The TaskBar
One of the biggest changes (visually) that you will notice once
you login to Windows is the new appearance of the TaskBar.
Not only is it slightly taller than before but is also more
“glassy”. It also contains a completely new way of working
with applications and icons.
Application icons
Till Windows Vista, icons on the taskbar could do or represent
the following: on the “Quick Launch” bar, the icons would
launch the application and create a new task button on the
rest of the taskbar. On the taskbar an icon (and associated
text) would represent a running application and its windows.
In Windows 7 however, these distinctions are done away with.
The Quick Launch bar no longer exists. Instead the icons that
exist on the taskbar represent both icons to launch an application
as well as the running applications themselves. This
means that on launching an application from the icon on the
taskbar, there is no new task button created. Instead, the icon
itself turns into the task button that you can click to switch to
the running instance. It may sound confusing at first and
might take you a day or two to get used to the idea. Stick with
it for the day and you’ll realize that this is how it should have
always been, with the added advantage of getting tons of free
taskbar real estate for other running apps’ buttons.
But this is not the only change that’s happened. The running
and non-running app icons are differentiated by a subtle
glass border. Apps with more than one windows or tab open
(for instance IE or Word), show that with multiple glass “slabs”
representing multiple windows. Running apps are also differentiated
upon when you mouse over the icons. A color sensitive
glow tracks the mouse as it passes over the icon when the
app is running making it very clear which is a running app and
which is (for now) a launch icon.
Thumbnail previews
Thumbnail previews of running apps are also very much enhanced.
Each window or tab gets its own live preview and you
can perform a variety of tasks within the preview itself without
actually switching to the actual application. For instance,
you can use a new feature called “Aero Peek” to quickly “peek”
at another running application’s window without actually
losing your place in the current application by simply hovering
for a second over the other app’s thumbnail preview. All
other open windows become completely transparent allowing
you to take a quick look at that other window. Mouse out of the
thumbnail and your current window appears where it was.
Another thing that thumbnails allow you to now do is close the
window or even control the application – for instance, the
thumbnail preview of Windows Media Player allows to stop,
pause, skip previous or next and play media – all without having
to open the full interface.
Jump Lists
Another new feature in the icons (both running and launch) on
the taskbar is called “Jump Lists”. These are application specific
features that you can use directly. For instance, the Jump List for
Windows Explorer can show you recently visited folders as well
The new taskbar shows both launch icons and running apps (icons with a
border). Multiple windows or tabs are represented by multiple glass slabs.
The Notification area shows a small
arrow, 4 icons, the date & time and
the Desktop Preview glass slab.
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