Filed under: OS Updates, Windows, Microsoft
Microsoft promises faster boot, longer battery life from Windows 7
by Brad Linder Nov 6th 2008 at 3:05PM
Windows 7 has been designed to start up and shut down more quickly than Windows Vista, which comes in handy if you happen to be doing some light work on your PC while waiting at an airport and you need to slam your notebook shut and run for the gate once you realize you missed the final boarding call.
Microsoft is accomplishing the quicker boot speed by reducing the number of services that launch at startup and loading drivers in parallel instead of sequentially. Windows 7 also includes improved window management that will let you load more windows without running out of memory.
And there are also a bunch of improvements to power management that will result in an 11% or better battery boost. These include better management of wireless radios (like WiFi and Bluetooth), and some tweaks that will let the CPU run slower or spend more time idling.
Windows Vista already has a number of features that help you get more life out of a laptop battery than you'd get with Windows XP, including advanced power management settings that let you fine tune your screen brightness, CPU speed and other settings. It looks like Windows 7 takes things a few steps further.
You can watch three videos demonstrating Windows 7's speedier boot time, improved window management, and reduced battery draw at Engadget.
So, just how good at time waster games are you? Think you've got the stuff? Well, The World's Hardest Game 2.0 doesn't think you do.
Yes, amazingly, it's possible to have a sequel to a game called "The World's Hardest Game". It doesn't seem logically possible, since if the first one was actually the world's hardest, how could another one come along and share the moniker? It made me doubt the name in the first place. That is, until I tried the game.
The mechanics of the game are very simple. You are a small red square, ...
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
John said 3:57PM on 11-06-2008
What's new? They always promise the world and then deliver a perfectly formed sphere of shit.
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Eli Gundry said 4:59PM on 11-06-2008
It's a shame that people are so quick to bash Windows. Honestly, its no less dependable than OS X or Linux. Let's be completely honest here: Windows is the number one operating system for a reason. Sure, us nerds care about the terminal, but do you think the average user honestly wants compile their own installers or hunt down drivers that for some reason don't work. No, we just want something that works with our current hardware, has an easy and familiar interface, and we don't want to see the damn terminal!
John, I can't tell if your a Linux or OS X fanboy, but let me tell you something, as a user of all three. There is a reason why OS X and Linux aren't number one, and it's not because the consumer isn't aware of your point. It's because we have better things to be doing that learning how to use a new interface/learn terminal commands/whatever else it is you do in your own little elitist kingdom. We have shit we need to do, and it needed to be done yesterday. Closed source, open source, we don't care about a company's transparency, we just wanna do our thing with minimal effort and education.
By the way, Windows 7 is looking real good. If Microsoft keeps releasing a steady stream of little details like this until Windows 7 launches and follows through with their promises, they might just have something as good as XP on their hands.
Killswitch On said 4:13PM on 11-06-2008
Anyone have a Vista RC1 or RC2 Activation Key I could use to Activate Windows 7 Build 6801?
I heard you can use those keys on up to 10 machines.
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kendrew said 5:47PM on 11-06-2008
http://zinzi.us/?q=node/181
Check that website out. You go the long way around do it, to call and activate it (its all automated so don't worry)
Killswitch On said 8:13AM on 11-07-2008
Thanks for helping. Doesnt seem like any of the codes work. I guess they have reached their maximum because when I enter them, it just tells me that the key is invalid with no options to do anything.
kojo87 said 4:44PM on 11-06-2008
i am super excited for Windows 7. who knows i might actually pay for this one
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kingkool68 said 9:28PM on 11-06-2008
And you can get to Vista's power management settings quickly by hitting Win + X. I learned that on Tekzilla Daily today.
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AnthonyTehPoner said 8:13AM on 11-07-2008
Well stated Eli Gundry, well stated indeed.
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Eli Gundry said 8:41AM on 11-09-2008
I try my best to see all sides of the debate. I really don't like fanboys. Thanks.
Steve said 11:13PM on 11-09-2008
"Microsoft is accomplishing the quicker boot speed by reducing the number of services that launch at startup and loading drivers in parallel instead of sequentially." I recall MS promising the exact same thing - pretty much word-for-word, with Vista. They even went so far as to advertise 4-second boots FFS!
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harmacy said 11:13PM on 11-09-2008
Improved functionality aside, how come no one ever comments on how damn fugly that new taskbar is??? U-G-L-Y, it ain't got no alibi, it's ugly. It's so chunky and rectangular – it's got nothing on the Vista taskbar aesthetically.
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