Software / Operating Systems

If you’re interested in Windows 7, you’ve probably seen lots of positive blog posts and reviews about its overall functionality. Gizmodo’s  Windows 7: The Complete Guide is a good example. In my experience, Windows 7 works well. The clean install process was painless. All my devices just worked. Performance-wise, it seems snappier than Vista on just about everything. It’s been rock-solid for a while now. There’s a lot to like—especially on the Media Center front.

I’ve been using Media Center on Dell PCs for years now, starting with Windows XP on my Dimension 8400. I agree with the folks at EngadgetHD said in their Win 7 MCE review (see the Conclusion section): Media Center on Windows 7 is simply in a class by itself. Media Center functionality is built into Windows 7 Home Premium, Professional and Ultimate versions.

I’ve been running Win 7 on my current rig, an XPS 720 with a two-year old 3.0GHz Extreme Edition processor and 2GB RAM. I have it connected to an Xbox 360 over Ethernet. TV Tuner-wise, I’ve been running my Cat’s Eye 150 HDTV tuner that’s connected to an over the air antenna. The Windows 7 install recognized all of devices so setup was pretty easy. And the little things just work as well. Just before writing this post, I downloaded the Where the Wild Things Are soundtrack from Amazon. Even before my PC had finished downloading all the songs, I was able to see them in Media Center without doing anything.

One thing that's improved over Vista is the channel guide. In the Windows 7 version, several thing make it easier to find things you're looking for. Microsoft's Ben Reed, who's the product manager on the Windows Media Center Team walks you through featurees like Turbo Scroll, color coding of programs by type, creating customized guide views and more in the video below. Thanks to Brandon LeBlanc over at the Windows Team Blog for the video.

As a little experiment, I pulled up a live HD signal on my PC, streamed an HD recording of a football game to the Xbox 360 and streamed MP3s to a Mini 10 that I also installed Windows 7 on. The result… CPU utilization that hovered below 15% and memory stayed below 1.65GB.

Another killer feature… Remote Media Streaming. It gives you the ability to stream media content (music pictures and video) from your home PC to a laptop or other Windows 7 device via the Internet in another location. Only downside is that both machines need to be running Windows 7. Still very cool though, and it works beautifully. ZDNet has a bit more detail on Remote Media Streaming. The Play To function is also cool (Faith Chenault mentioned it in her recent post). It allows you to kick off a playlist from one Windows 7 device to another on your HomeGroup. Take a look at the video in Windows Media Center section of Paul Miller’s Windows 7 review to see how it works. It's worth noting that Play To works with music, photos and video—even recorded TV.

A couple of things I didn’t get to try out yet that I’m looking forward to:

• Netflix streaming: it worked well in Vista, and is supposed to get even better in Windows 7.
• Zune HD integration: I don’t have one of these yet, but hopefully, Santa Claus can change that.

Bottom line: if you use your PC for multimedia these days, an upgrade to Windows 7 is a no-brainer.

Update: Noticed earlier this afternoon that Netflix streaming has been added to the Movie section in Media Center from my PC. Watched an episode of Calliou with my son... it worked well.

Unless you’ve been living in a cave, you’ve probably heard the hype surrounding the latest Alienware releases, the M15x and the Aurora. But not much has been circulated about their big brother, the Area-51 and the Area-51 ALX.

Gizmodo recently did an Area-51 ALX Alienware Autopsy (read: photo shoot), their intro paragraph summing up the machine fairly nicely:

It takes two people to lift. The Predator fins flare up as soon you mash the silver diamond on its head. Alienware's Area 51 ALX is a monster, and we've dissected it…

CNet UK also did a fairly complete write up on this beautiful machine, albeit without benchmarks, though they did a good job of listing out the specs and features available… save one.

Not only can you order this beast today, you can order it with Windows 7 factory installed… and as I noted in my last blog, Windows 7 is a must-have for gamers who want to squeeze every drop of performance from a high-end gaming system.

If you DO order it today, feel free to drop me a line. I’ll try to come out for a spontaneous LAN party. Heck… I’ll even bring the snacks.

Mobility is a necessity in today's fast-moving, high tech world.  Whether I'm moving between my kitchen table and my home office or traveling across the country, I need the flexibility to access not only the Web but also my personal information stored elsewhere in files and folders. 

Dell has worked closely with Microsoft throughout the development process to continuously improve the performance of wireless connectivity reducing the time to locate and connect to a network.  Simple.

One of the reasons I'm excited about Windows 7 is that it makes it easier than ever to go mobile, especially with our broad range of wireless offerings. Windows 7 HomeGroup automatically looks for and identifies local networks, then makes it easy to join a group or set up your own HomeGroup. Not only are the HomeGroup computers linked but the stored information and printers are linked, too.  If I want to print a picture or file from the living room but the only printer is in my office?  My HomeGroup network lets me use the printer in the office from any PC in the network.  Efficient sharing is finally here!  

Since I use my PC for work, I appreciate that Windows 7 now includes DirectAccess, a new feature that enables me to more securely connect to my corporate network environment over any internet connection - without having to use virtual private networking (VPN) to access a work application, network folder, intranet site or SharePoint site. 

Dell Remote Access is another cool feature that simplifies my digital life when it comes to sharing and accessing files when I am away from home. It makes the PC the center of your internet world!  I can play my music, watch movies, view slideshows, read and edit important documents. All I have to do is log into my Remote Access account from anywhere Internet access is available.  

Say I meet a friend for coffee and tell her about my recent trip.  All my pictures are stored on my home PC.  I can use my Dell Remote Access account (as long as I have broadband connection and other minimum system requirements) to remotely access my photos!

My friend loves the pictures and wants copies.  With Remote Access, I can share the folder immediately and she can bring up the pictures on her PC while we continue to talk. We can send other friends a link so they, too, can see those great pics from my vacation.

Simplicity in connectivity - another reason to love your Dell Windows 7 PC.

Remember the days when you had to wait impatiently for your photos to be developed at the corner kiosk or drugstore?  And what if you wanted to share them?  You had to send them in the mail.  Thankfully, digital photography and the internet have changed all that, giving us the ability to share our favorite photos or videos instantly with friends and family. 

 That's where Dell, Windows 7 and Windows Live Essentials make the whole process easier.   Because you don't just look at pictures and videos or listen to music. You can make them, too.

Capturing those special moments is important to so many of us. I'm especially excited that Dell is installing Windows Live Essentials along with Windows 7.  That means I won't have to download the application from the Web after getting a new PC.  Photo Gallery helps me store, organize and edit my pictures and Movie Maker helps me create my own cinematic works of art - great for holiday gifts or to share with family members who are far away.  Windows Live Essentials makes doing it a breeze. 

And if you love Internet TV like I do, you'll love the updates made to Media Center as part of Windows 7.  Windows 7 integrates the growing amount of media content on the internet into the Media Center experience.  Now I can choose from a variety of online TV programs and movies, all organized into a single TV guide view.

A new feature of the Windows 7 version of Media Player is  "Play To"  which allows you to play media, such as music, from your computer to your home entertainment devices, including wireless speakers on your patio.  It's convenient and has an easy to use interface.  This feature works with Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) v1.5 compliant digital media renderer (DMR), Media Center Extender or another PC running Windows 7.

Windows 7 also makes it easier than ever to access and share my creations with computers on my local HomeGroup or over the Internet. With Dell Remote Access, I can even access my stuff remotely and make it available to friends and family.  So no more excuses ... I'm getting organized today!

As a gamer, I was initially unmoved when I first heard about Windows 7. Although I'm not a Windows XP hardliner like many of my gaming brothers and sisters, I've had my share of issues with upgrades, updates, and driver tweaks needed to make other operating systems match XP for gaming.  I just wasn't ready to believe I would actually be eager for another change. When I was helping with the Alienware M17x beta earlier this year, I heard something about the Windows 7 beta that piqued my interest: all the engineers working on the Alienware product betas had already switched to Windows 7 on their gaming boxes, and loved it. I didn't quite believe them when they told me Windows 7 outperformed Vista, and even XP, on their favorite games. That couldn't be right. The OS was still in beta!

I tried it for myself recently, and I was dumbfounded.

The OS installation took less than half the time my last Vista installation did, and was even faster than the last installation of Windows XP I had done. From inserting the disk to usable desktop clocked in at just about 20 minutes on my XPS 730X, and the default drivers worked perfectly. Start up and shut downs were noticeably faster than before... and though I didn't pull out my stopwatch to double check, I dare say it was even faster than XP. The user interface was familiar and attractive, very reminiscent of Vista. I quickly noticed an improvement in the Windows Sidebar: the gadgets could now be moved anywhere on the desktop, a change I've felt was long overdue. After I installed a few games the fun and excitement really began.

Games launched noticeably quicker than in Vista or XP, and frame rates on my favorites were notably higher than I had expected... higher even than my streamlined XP gaming installation. Was this just my experience? I found a great comparison on driverheaven that confirmed my suspicions. Windows 7 is a must have for PC gamers. It simply performs better where gamers will notice it most: in-game performance.

It wasn't just me. Even back in January, while Windows 7 was in beta, it was still measuring up to XP in terms of gaming performance according to sites like FiringSquad. Other places like Anandtech have offered a more recent assessment back in May. Doubtless that there will be tons more written on the topic from Anandtech and elsewhere after Windows 7 ships.

If the launch of Windows 7 shows this much promise, one can only think it will only get better as hardware becomes more advanced. I recently wrote a blog about the latest Alienware offerings where I mentioned the future benefits of DirectX 11. While this new technology won't be a Windows 7 exclusive, it certainly won't be supported for Windows XP, and Windows 7 improvements over Windows Vista are just too compelling to ignore.

If you are interested in tweaking Windows 7 for gaming, check out Extremetech's 10 Tips for Turbocharging Windows 7 Gaming. With hot DirectX 11cards like ATI's Radeon 5870 and the 5850 already available, it's clear that gaming on Windows 7 will be solid the day the OS ships on 10-22.