Filed under: OS Updates, Windows, Microsoft, Beta
Windows 7's Superbar in action - is it made for multitouch?
by Lee Mathews Nov 4th 2008 at 8:00AM
As Adam reported earlier, the Superbar has been unlocked in Windows 7. Apart from adding even more visual pop to the improved Desktop Window Manager, it adds some long-absent functionality.
Apart from better visual task tips with smooth transition effects, it's fixed another minor annoyance. At last you can click and drag taskbar buttons to re-order them. I've always been a little irritated by the fact that I couldn't do that in previous Windows versions, and was glad to see the change.
Grouped application windows will preview as pictured: hover the button, and the thumbnails expand into view. Hover a thumbnail and the red x appears, allowing you to close (duh) the program.
To pin a program to the task bar, click the up arrow next to its button. Doing so on the folder button will also reveal frequently and recently accessed locations. Likewise, Internet Explorer's button will display recent pages from your browser's history.
What I find interesting is that the same menu appears when you click a button and drag it up. It doesn't make much sense with a mouse, but it would be perfectly suited to a touch interface. The default icons also happen to be about the same size as an average fingertip, which could just be coincidence - but it's worth noting.
Share your thoughts new taskbar in the comments!
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
MrGutts said 8:31AM on 11-04-2008
Where did my downloadsquad go to? Can someone please point me to the real site.
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Jash Sayani said 8:46AM on 11-04-2008
Probabily.... It would be a great replacement of Taskbar for Multi-touch as well as Tablets.....
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xxdesmus said 8:50AM on 11-04-2008
the version of the "superbar" you're talking about and using is already out dated. For example, they got rid of the tiny arrows next to the icons in the new builds.
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David said 7:38AM on 11-05-2008
Sounds nice...The good thing is that Linux will have all these updates before Windows 7. I bet developers are working on it now.
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Enrique said 10:37AM on 11-04-2008
If you're interested in being able to re-order taskbar buttons in Win XP, check out a little program called Taskbar Shuffle. I've been using it for a few months now - and I love it!
http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/07/17/taskbar-shuffle-tweaks-your-windows-taskbar/
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appsbyaaron said 10:54AM on 11-04-2008
i've been using TaskBar Shuffle for a while now. At least 2 years. Works perfectly.
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Mike Cerm said 2:49AM on 11-05-2008
In addition to Taskbar Shuffle, there's also a little utility called Taskix, which does the same thing, but is slightly lighter-weight. There's no installation required, and the executable is less than 100K.
However, despite having this feature available, I never really use it. It's an obvious feature, which should be included in Windows, but every review that I've read about Windows 7 has made a huge deal about it. If everyone is so desperate to move items on the taskbar, why aren't they already doing it with Taskbar Shuffle or Taskix?
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Ayle said 7:04PM on 11-05-2008
Is it legal to download the pre-beta online?
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James said 10:17PM on 12-04-2008
Wow,
I've had features like this in Linux for years.
Meh.
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Sdreamer said 10:23AM on 1-10-2009
I don't like the default setup of the superbar. Feels really cluttered. Really don't like how you can't see the name of the window by default forcing users to memorize the icon. Yeah sure some icons are really easy to remember, but not all; had to switch this in the properties to group when the task bar was full. I'm not enjoying the superbar yet.
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TMM said 10:12AM on 1-12-2009
They are just poring perfume on a pig.
It still is the Taskbar mess we're used to.
Windows UI is so slow, cluttered and yesterday and MS isn't doing anything about.
Looks like they were really afraid to rip of Mac OS if they'd go any further, so they kept it to making the taskbar a really, really crumy version of the dock.
The Window / Application managament in Windows is a catastrofuck and that's why people alway maximize their Windows, because there's no way to make USE of several open windows, it will, in fact, make everything much more complicated ... as opposed to Mac OS where Exposé will actually revard you for having many windows open.
All Windows 7 until now turned up for me is:
A little more speed - still slower / on par with XP and less crashes than Vista.
Aj, ja, the added eyecandy, which doesn't improve anything and is even questionable from the point of ... let's say: taste ...
Ah, and the first thing you have to do in the computer setup after installation? Write down a RANDOMLY CREATED 10 DIGIT PASSWORD only because I wanted my computer to be in a HOME (!!!) NETWORK!
And what about network with other types of OS?
MS screws everybody over, AGAIN, by pushing their proprietary, half-baked networking shit - indicated by the 10 DIGIT RANDOM KEY for my HOME network.
I just remember what I had to go through when Networking Vista to OS X or anything else.
BIG, BIG DISAPPOINTMENT for me, again, MS!
Sorry for the random. I need to let of steam.
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