Cannon vs. Windows 7

I come not to rag on Windows 7 but to praise it. The thing works, and I'll be happy to make the official switch after the Beta expires. That is: If I have the loot -- which, these days, is not a sure thing, or even a very likely thing.

That said, I've encountered a number of "early adopter" problems.

Before proceeding, you should know that I am using the 64-bit version. Yes, I have the necessary hardware, despite my perpetually parlous financial state. I did graphic design work in exchange for a mobo and processor. I also acquired, in a similar work-for-hardware barter, a small 40 gig SATA drive which I thought would provide a nice C drive. All of my data resides on the larger drives.

(If only I could convert the landlord to the barter system...)

Which leads into my first major issue: Windows 7 is big. By "big" I mean !!!BIG!!!

With no other progams installed, Windows 7 took up nearly half of that small C drive. (Microsoft recommends 20 gigs of hard drive space for the 64 bit version.) Now the main drive is over two-thirds full and I have not finished installing all of my programs. I'm starting to fret.

The great advantage of 64-bit architecture is that Photoshop may now use much more memory. Even when using the 32-bit CS2 version of the program, I have an extra gig of RAM to play with. That gig means a lot to me. My art files do tend to grow.

The great disadvantage: It ain't easy to nudge the new operating system into compliance with all of the hardware and software I know and love.

True, Windows 7 recognizes nearly all 32-bit programs and uses them without any visible hitches or seams or slow-downs. Everything works faster, not slower. (Vista had problems in this department.)

But certain issues -- that's a good word for it: issues -- still arise...

Graphics tablet: Don't laugh. I use an el-cheapo Hanvon tablet.

The ad agency I used to work for had some amazing (and very expensive) Wacom tablets, which I would love to use again. Even better: The $2000 draw-right-on-the-screen Cintiq. Ah, but such things exist for me only in my dreams, given these ghastly economic times. Well, Sun Myung Moon owns part of Wacom. So who wants that company's stupid old hardware? Neener neener on you if you have one of those tablets and I don't.

The Hanvon works in Windows 7 -- if you can find the latest drivers -- though not with Photoshop CS4. (I had a chance to try the latest iteration out on another system.)

Scanner: I love my aristocratic Canon LIDE30 scanner. Why "aristocratic"? Because it is imperially slim, elegant, rather slow to respond -- and profoundly unwilling to adapt to a changed environment. It sneers with patrician contempt at this new 64-bit world. It refuses to mingle.

In other words: Canon, which loves not Cannon, refuses to conjure up the necessary drivers.

Fortunately, an acquaintance allowed me to borrow a third party scanner program which acts as an interface. Alas, I can no longer use my beloved old scanner from within Photoshop, which means I should get a new scanner when funds permit.

(Why are the bloody things so expensive these days? You used to be able to pick 'em up for, like, thirty or forty bucks.)

Firewall: Windows 7 has a built-in firewall, the workings of which remain somewhat mysterious to me. I do comprehend that this firewall improves upon the inane pseudo-firewall that skulked within XP. But -- unless I've missed something (as perhaps I have) -- the new built-in firewall still does not allow you to pinpoint which programs may talk to the internet and which may not. Fortunately, the in-house system gets along nicely with any third-party firewalls you might want to invite into your home.

Unfortunately, most third-party offerings aren't ready.

ZoneAlarm does not yet understand the Windows 7 world. Neither do most of ZA's rivals, for-pay or for-free. Right now, you are restricted to a single choice: Comodo, which offers a free firewall and anti-virus security suite.

So far, the suite seems to work well. But something about Comodo rubs me the wrong way. (Not that anyone has any right to complain about free stuff.) See, I want my firewall to give me a panel which lists all of my programs, and I want to see a big red X planted right next to any app that should never, ever, ever chat online. Comodo does not give you that reassuring visual.

The anti-virus works fast, although properly testing it is beyond my abilities. If you use the Comodo anti-virus, you probably should not use AntiVir, Avast or AVG.

Windows Defender (Microsoft's own anti-virus) is already installed. It seems to get along with other anti-virus programs. In fact, Windows 7 nags you to install an anti-virus app in addition to Defender.

Font management is an important issue for graphic designers. When installing fonts, Windows 7 shows an icon that gives you an idea of what that font looks like -- an excellent improvement. (I don't know if this feature first appeared in Vista.) But I still want to use my favorite font management program, the Font Thing, which has always been 100% free. Alas, Windows refuses to install that ancient (as in 1999) program.

There are other font management programs -- plenty of 'em -- but I've yet to find a free one that matches TFT. With Font Thing, you could pick out certain fonts and arrange them in categories.

Let's say you are making a comic book. Let us further stipulate that have a whopping 1000 fonts installed. Of that number only about 20 are appropriate for comic book lettering. With the Thing, you could place those 20 fonts in a special category titled "comics." With the touch of a tab button, you can instantly see how the phrase "You've been a bad boy, Dick Grayson! Time for a spanking!" will look in those 20 fonts -- without having to scroll through the other 980 fonts.

The search continues. Windows 7 took my Thing away from me. I need a new Thing.

Music: Winamp works, but there's a small bug. For some reason, it takes a long time to load up -- and I frequently get a warning that Winamp is trying to modify the system. Well, you can expect the good folks at Winamp to have a new version out pronto. They always do.

Many people love DBPoweramp Music Converter, a program that allows you to convert FLAC and WAV files to MP3, M4A (my fave), Ogg, Musepac and so forth. But the DB folk have yet to make a W7-friendly version.

Fortunately, a free program called Foobar does the same job, albeit in a slightly less convenient fashion. FB and W7 are on friendly terms. Foobar also has the advantage of combining numerous tracks into one gapless file -- very helpful for those who like to convert operas on CD into a "one act = one file" format, in accordance with the composer's intent.

(Hmm. Perhaps I'm the only one who cares about that...)

Word: If you're using an older version of Word (does anyone really like Word 2007?), you may encounter problems with the templates.

As you know, I've written a number of screenplays which have gone on to decorate the finest round files in the biggest studios in town. For script writing, I have always admired an unpretentious Word template called Screenplay Styler, which is now very old -- in some states, it might soon be old enough to make love to, if it had an orifice. Alas, you cannot find that template on the net anymore.

And even if you do have the thing stashed away on your system somewhere, where do you put it? You're supposed to put it right next to the Normal.dot template in Word. But where's that? I can find it in XP but not in Windows 7 -- Microsoft Office now installs in a different way. Even the Search thingie doesn't help.

The interface: Windows 7 runs smooth and fast. Window panes and apps do not POP up: They quickly fade into your consciousness -- like a welcome new idea, as opposed to a sudden "BOO!" RAM usage is less onerous than is the case with Vista, though still worse than XP. CPU usage barely registers -- yeah, it's better than XP.

Aesthetically, this OS beats all competitors and predecessors. It's pretty. You can scan the files in five different ways -- large icons, big icons, no icons, and more. I love the glassy Aero look (you can tint the glass) and the desktop pics that dissolve to a new image every five minutes.

The new volume control makes it much easier to turn up your tunes while muting the system sounds.

I've encountered no hangs and only a couple of minor glitches. For example, once -- when I had lots-n-lots of stuff going on -- a program icon disappeared from the desktop and taskbar. It came back.

The taskbar has mutated into something quite different. All pictures; no words. Larger icons make recognition easier. If a program is in use, the icon glows. You right-click on an icon in order to open multiple instances.

I suspect that much can be modified and personalized. That personalization process will occur over time.

Downloads go directly to a download folder, easily accessible from any Windows Explorer window. The idea here is to keep your desktop clutter-free. The only drawback is that you have no visual reminder to trash the old zip files -- an important consideration, when your C-drive is smallish.

The just-say-no-to-clutter mentality also means that the OS will sometimes minimize windows that have not been used for a while. This is both helpful and, on occasion, disconcerting.

One big problem: Even if you live alone, even if you are the only person to touch the computer, Windows 7 will consider you a "user," not an administrator. On numerous occasions -- more than you might think possible -- you (or an installation program) will seek access to a file only to be told that you need administrator privileges. Perversely, you are then often offered the ability to press a button marked "Continue," which grants you temporary administrator rights.

Why? For what earthly reason? How does that system increase security?

If you decide to change more deeply-rooted files -- for example, if you want to open up your hosts file in Notepad and make changes -- you will encounter no "Continue" button. You can read the file, but you can change not one word. For a minute or so -- or, in my case, a couple of hours -- you may stare at your monitor, convinced that you are SOL.

But you are not. You have alternatives:

1. Open up Windows 7 in Safe Mode. Although this is no fun, once you're in safe mode, you will have administrator privileges. Which means that anyone who has physical access to your computer can read all your private files and do whatever he likes to your system, as long as he knows when to hit the F8 button during boot up.

2. In Normal Mode, you can edit your privileges for any individual file. This process is neither easy nor intuitive. Right-click the file, hit "Properties, then "Security," then "Edit;" from there, you go to a new panel where you can check a box next to "full control."

That's lot of work -- and for what purpose? Any malicious secondary user who wants to muck with your system may do so, if he or she knows the two tricks that I have just outlined.

One small problem: You can no longer set a System Restore point manually. The OS creates a restore point whenever you do an install. But there are still occasions when you would prefer to do it yourself.

In sum: Many tasks are now easier and faster. For example: In the past, if you wanted to mount an .iso file, you needed Nero or PowerISO or some similar program. Now Windows does it for you. One button. One click. That's it.

All in all, I like this operating system, and I'll be unhappy if the Beta period runs out sooner than promised. (Microsoft says that they plan to pull the plug in June of 2010, but I'm told that I may have to give the thing up much earlier, in the fall.) This system is better than XP, and it certainly beats Vista. But if you are an early adopter, and if you combine the W7 switchover with the 64 bit switchover, expect to undergo some agony. If you don't have a couple of days to devote to computer wrangling and nothing but, proceed with caution.