Windows 7 / Server 2008 R2 RTM Impressions

So now that I got a copy of Windows Server 2008 R2 Standard (no Enterprise edition, still waiting for my college to supply the keys), I got to play around with the final release of Windows 7/Server 2008 R2.

First question some people may ask is: wait, you just said you have a copy of Windows Server 2008 R2, how does that also mean that you get to play with Windows 7? The answer to that is simple. Windows Server 2008 R2 is basically Windows 7 Professional/Ultimate with server functions. Running a Windows Server OS makes a great workstation OS because it comes with a lot less junk and you get to customize what you want running on your machine as most of everything is disabled by default, so you get to enable what you want.

Now we got that answered, we can now move on. There has been a good deal of changes since Windows 7/Server 2008 R2 Beta including further refinement of the Windows kernel to make boot up even faster. This is also evident between build 7100 (RC) and 7600 (RTM). A lot of bugs and issues have also been solved. It should be noted that OpenOffice now doesn't cause an extra icon to appear on your taskbar when opening new windows if you pinned it to your taskbar.

Windows Server 2008 R2 Standard with Desktop Experience, Aero and all the workstation eyecandy on (Click to Enlarge)

Compared to Windows Vista/Server 2008, there really isn't much difference in terms of speed. The only thing that was really changed was the system boot-up time. Which is a great improvement for those who demand fast boot-up times. For me, I rather have applications load faster since I tend to do other things around the house while the system boots up. Instead of taking up to a minute and a half (on my desktop), it takes about 30 seconds to load to the login screen. After login, on a system that I've fully set up (as in having to use it for quite a while), it'll take the system another 3 minutes to finish the login and caching the application data to the RAM (SuperFetch). On Windows 7/Server 2008 R2, it takes about a minute to do. So obviously on boot-ups, Windows 7/Server 2008 R2 is definitely better for boot-ups.

Other refinements that I find very useful is further refinement of the audio stack since the rewrite in Windows Vista/Server 2008. This is useful since the new version of this rewrite allows Windows to detect if you have a VOIP call (incl. gaming VOIP services as well), it will lower, mute or pause your music stream like on your music phones. This is a great feature just because you don't have to scramble to pause your music and then accept the call. If you're someone who's like me who constantly uses Skype or Steam's chat system, you'd understand why. Other improvements in the audio stack include the ability to also change the default sound output on the fly regardless if it's a DSOUND/XACT application or OpenAL application. For me, I have a USB headset, and unfortunately, iTunes uses OpenAL for it's audio engine (usually not a bad thing) but for me, if I need to switch to my headset, I have to stop my audio stream, close the application and restarting it with the headset plugged in. Windows 7/Server 2008 R2's audio stack doesn't require me to do that as Microsoft has also allowed OpenAL to switch the default device on the fly as well.

Windows 7/Server 2008 R2 also features the new Windows Media Player 12. It's a leaner and meaner version of Windows Media Player that can finally compete with other media players as Microsoft has finally added playback support for other codecs than just MPEG2, Windows Media and MP3. Microsoft added support for H.264, DivX and AAC support. This is not available for Server 2008 R2 and requires an additional codec installation, but at least the playlists and library scans will still support these files unlike Windows Media Player 11.

The new taskbar isn't much better than the traditional taskbar. Yes, it's much more compact but it can be a learning curve for a lot of non-technical users so I would have to say that some people will be quite frustrated with the new taskbar. Personally, I prefer the traditional taskbar as I find it to be better than the new taskbar as I like having the window titles on the taskbar and having the number of windows written when the windows are stacked on the taskbar. This was one of the complaints I had about the MacOS X dock whereby people won't be able to know what the application is unless you run your mouse over the icons. Only time will tell if people prefer the new taskbar over the old one.

For gamers, Windows 7/Server 2008 R2 marks the release of DirectX 11 and WDDM 1.1. Ok, fine, this feature isn't exclusive to Windows 7/Server 2008 R2 as it's going to be backported to Windows Vista/Server 2008, but it's quite exciting that it isn't a complete rewrite of DirectX as it was for DirectX 10. DirectX 10 is a completely different beast compared to DirectX 9. However, DirectX 11 is going to be a superset of DirectX 10, so you don't need to install a previous DirectX binary just to get its support. Another note is that DX10.1 cards will support some of the extra goodies that DX11 has to offer if you don't have the money to invest in a new card when DX11 games becomes more widespread. The only thing you really lose out is the Shader Model 5.0. Other than that, a good chunk of the features should still work in theory. Only when real DX11 games come out is when we can see if these DX10.1 function work on DX11 games. Another exciting thing is that many developers can finally get off DX9 and create games with higher "realism" as the userbase is going to grow. Since Windows Vista is going to get DX11 in Windows Update, it won't be a reason to upgrade to Windows 7 from Windows Vista.

Overall, Windows 7/Server 2008 R2 is going to be a great release. If you don't have Windows Vista already it's a must upgrade (you really have to get off Windows XP as it's also a security risk compared to Windows Vista/7 and it's already 8 years old!). However, if you already have Windows Vista and don't care about boot times and the new audio stack, then I suggest you to save the $100 on the upgrade as there isn't much improvement except for those above. If you're like me, a technologist, then obviously I don't even have to tell you that an upgrade is going to happen. If you are expecting Windows 7/Server 2008 R2 is going to free up system resources and run applications a lot faster, don't bet on it as performance is relatively the same. Only speed up was the bootup and shutdown sequence, so Windows 7/Server 2008 R2 isn't the saviour that Microsoft has been preaching in their latest marketing campaign.

If you are a post-secondary student, you can get Windows Server 2008 R2 for free at DreamSpark.