Now that MS has dropped windows 7 on us, it high time I look at some of the features that will make me want to go out and buy. First of all, I have been running the release candidate (RC) of Windows 7 since it was released sometime in May 2009. I will continue to run it until it expires in June of 2010. After that I will upgrade to the ultimate version. At that time I will probably want to upgrade my hardware as well though it is not absolutely necessary. Right now, I am running the RC on a P4 processor on Intel motherboard with 2 gig of RAM, 150 gig SATA drive at 7200 RPM and an Nvidia GeForce 7600 graphics card. When I built this box, it was more than sufficient for what I was doing (gaming, music, video watching). Now it is just a test box for stuff. Anyway, since installing Microsoft’s latest offering, I can say that I have been pleasantly surprised. I find myself using it more than I use OS X of late. Tthat may be due to the fact that I am doing fewer movie edits, or not keeping my images as organized as I used to. But it is probably due to the fact that my Mac was fried via a lightning storm recently, and I have yet to replace it. In any case the fact that I have not rushed to replace my OS X box says a lot (I do still have a Macbook Pro that I use at work, but I often leave it locked to my desk). In any event I have found myself actually enjoying the multimedia experience in Windows 7. With 7, Windows has upped media player to version 12. Since I have enjoyed WMP 12 so much, I have placed my entire music library into Windows Media Player. Since the library was on an external drive on my Mac and using iTunes, it was a simple move to WMP 12. For me this was a big leap. I have been enjoying iTunes for quite sometime now and feel they are the cream of the crop when it come to managing my digital music, TV, and Video collection. Between my work laptop, my iPhone and my home Mac, it was a no-brainer for me to integrate as tightly as possible with iTunes. That process could be in jeopardy in the future. With WMP 12, I can share my music to my wife on her PC, just as I can in iTunes if she had iTunes, but I can also see shared digital media on other platforms as well. It will take a little configuration, and the hardware will need to be up to date, but that should not cause too much concern. When I do replace my Mac, I will be able to see any libraries on that machine as well; after all I keep stuff spread across multiple platforms. The downside is I won’t be able to play protected Apple content, but 90 percent of my library is mp3 format so that will not be a problem. The ability to share content is great, but I also like the idea of being able to send that content to other devices with minimal setup. Of course the device will have to be compatible with Windows 7 and on your network, but it will make it easier to integrate several computers, TV’s and other devices into one group, each with the ability to see all of your media content. Being able to share content on your network is cool, but getting your content no matter where you are is really intense. You will have the ability to listen to or watch media that is in your library from anywhere in the world – so they say- with Windows 7 remote media streaming tool. You can do this with iTunes, but it takes some advanced work to get it going, and it is not built in or supported by iTunes. Though I have not tested this feature, it seems intriguing and I will be toying with that feature real soon. In bumping around WMP 12 , I stumbled across a widget that displays TV info in a little window on the desktop. In my RC, there was only CBS stuff, but I imagine there would be much more in the final release. When you click the widget, it opens Windows Media Center which allows me to watch TV, if i have a tuner card. In Media Center, I have access to recent content from the networks as well as old content like Family Ties – yes, I had a thing for Mallory in the 80’s – , Star Trek and MacGyver. Since I am not a TV Geek, not having the most up to date shows is not a big deal, but I hope that in their TV section, they do offer up to date news programs and documentaries. If they have those I may consider dropping the satellite and going all Internet for TV and movies, an option we have been exploring for a while now. Although technically a separate program from WMP 12, Media Center seems to be tightly integrated with it. Any thing you record on TV shows up in WMP 12. They should have just fused the best of both into one program and called it a day. Still, MS has came aways with its multi-media offerings.
From what I can see thus far, Windows has taken a huge step in catching iTunes in terms of form and function. If some of the features I described above are easy to implement, and work with minimal disruption, I can see myself taking my media library to Windows 7. As for iTunes, it is still my choice for media management, Mac or PC. For those of you who have a PC and use iTunes for media management, you may want to take a look at Windows Media 12.
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