Long filenames: I can see the entire filename by simply selecting the file. Never had a problem with this.
Forced auto-arrange: This seems like a Mac-centric complaint. I've never seen a PC user who turned off auto-arrange and manually arranged files, except of course on the desktop.
Taskbar: Not seeing notable performance issues with the live preview, and I run Win7 on everything from my desktop (which is beefy) to my netbook (which has about as much horsepower as your typical smart phone).
As for the inability to see window titles without any clicks--yes, it requires workflow retraining, but I generally prefer the new taskbar workflow to the old. And I routinely work with dozens of windows spread across multiple programs.
You don't need to click to preview windows, you can just hover over the program icon on the taskbar. And there are utilities that will let you adjust the minimum hover time before displaying previews.
Also, the majority of users like the "superbar" (yes, the name is awful) because it
is useful, not because they're wowed by the eye candy or novelty. Win7 isn't new anymore, and I don't think it ever sold based on flashiness, because Vista already tried that tactic and failed miserably. Win7 took flash and melded it elegantly with function. It comes off as humbled and usable, while Vista was the opposite.
User accounts: Totally agree. Never use any of this stuff. So annoying having to move shortcuts around. Give me an option to tick that just says I'M THE ONLY ONE WHO WILL EVER USE THIS COMPUTER. JUST INSTALL EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE.
Minimizing etc.: The quickest way will always be to use keyboard shortcuts.
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/126449
http://www.lytebyte.com/2008/01/31/...ows-using-keyboard-shortcuts-in-xp-and-vista/
Canceling a file operation: Control-Z will undo the last action taken in Explorer, so as long as you hit it before doing something else, it'll put everything back.
No "up" button: You can just click directly on any folder in the breadcrumb trail in the address bar. Far superior, since you can navigate to subfolders from there as well. (I used to abuse the up button as well, but I learned to adjust to clicking on breadcrumbs.)
You make some good points about the UI, but in general it comes across as nitpicking, or a reluctance to adjust your workflow. If the old ways work better for you, why upgrade? I tried out Vista and quickly learned that it was going to hinder my workflow, so I skipped it entirely and stuck with XP until the Win7 beta came along. I tested Win7 extensively before deciding it was worthy of replacing XP on all of my machines, including my workstation. The new taskbar was something I wanted, not something I was eager to revert back to an older style.
And don't tell me about performance--you can't get much more performance-intensive than 3D rendering. After doing rendering tests on various OSes, we in the motion graphics community found that Windows 7 performs similarly to Windows XP, while offering all the benefits of a modern OS. The invisible features like improved error handling, reduction in security checks, and various architectural optimizations make a significant difference for power users who need to squeeze out every drop of performance from their machines.
So, while I definitely agree that Win7 needs UI refinements (as well as evaluation of "features" like user accounts, libraries, etc.), on the whole it is a decided step forward from both Vista and XP.
... Here's a piece:
