A massive overhaul of Windows Update that turns it into part app store, part package manager. I want a Debian-like system where it's easy to add my own sources, and everything on the system is updated with one service.
Agreed. Windows 7 is a wonderful OS. I've never said that before about a Windows version -- tho I was certainly wowed as a 13 year old first seeing Windows 95.
But package management would be wonderful.
You know, all my development is linux-based. Many of the guys I work with run ubuntu for that reason. I tried that. And I tried OSX.
But in the end, Windows 7 is the best desktop experience I've ever seen. I love it. And I just live in vbox for development which also has a ton of advantages itself.
Huh. I went from using XP at work to using Windows 7 at work, and I didn't see what all the fuss was about. The file finder was nice, but other than that... ?
Since then I've moved to OSX at a newer job. I really like the paradigm of installing apps just by putting them in a folder and uninstalling them just by deleting them. And I really like having multiple workspaces to slide between. I also have that on Ubuntu at home - not sure if Windows has it or not.
I guess overall I feel like OSX has the command-line power of Linux and even more shininess and nice UI stuff than Windows. I sort of miss easily maximizing windows, but then again, my iMac does have a pretty big monitor, so maybe that's a waste of space.
Windows 7 taskbar is certainly inspired by the dock, but it's also an improvement upon it. The context menu that each pinned item has is awesome.
The implementation of Libraries is awesome. No longer have to give a shit about where my docs or music or anything else is. It's like the gmail change from folders to tags. And it's super easy to make new libraries. I can create libraries for individual projects with code, specs, business documents, etc.
Before I had an SSD, readyboost was great. Unlike the Vista version it actually worked.
There is no longer a stability argument to be made. I've run Win7 since last april and I've had one blue screen since then. My system is often running 20, 30 days and I only restart because I've got several weeks of aggregated updates that I want to install.
The way Microsoft uses Virtual PC actually shows they have found the VM religion. I can install a program to run in "XP Mode" and create shortcuts to it, etc, as I normally would to any other program,. but it of course runs in an XP VM seamlessly. This is exciting for what it means going forward for the OS.
The "Homegroup" networking feature is great, i dont' use it myself but set it up at my dads house. His 4 PCs in the house were networking as easily as I've, in the past, setup a similar network in OSX.
It's just FAST.
Powershell is great. I don't use my OS for much: all my development is in Vbox VMs but when I do need to interact with Windows, Powershell is legit. Here's a 1 line reason why: You know how you can easily pipe output in bash from one app to the next? In powershell you can pipe actual objects, not just stdout output.
The way it handles cameras, printers, etc, that I plug in. Awesoem standardized control panel for these kind of devices instead of the old hodgepodge of whatever driver it had.
But mostly, once again, the taskbar. It turns out, when you develop in Vbox, the biggest interaction i have with my hostOS is the taskbar. The way it handles pinning, stacking, the aforementioned context menu, the way the notification area actually works now and I dont' get BS annoying "balloons" (oh god I hated balloons...)
Anyway, in good faith, those are the things that come to mind when I say I love Windows 7.
It's funny how difficult window management is in an operating system named Windows. The only useful addition to window management since XP is the addition of easy vertical maximization. The lack of virtual desktops is especially unfortunate in Windows because the taskbar gets cluttered so quickly.
The lack of virtual desktops in Windows is especially unfortunate since at least Windows 3.51 (but perhaps Windows NT 3.1) the support for multiple desktops (and multiple interactive login sessions) has been part of the operating system, but not properly exposed to users.
I get quite annoyed when I read comments of the "hah, [X] has had [Y] for ages!" variety in response to questions like this, as I don't believe they are particularly helpful or address the point.
This isn't a question asking for comparisons between Windows and other operating systems - it's looking for sought-after features (whether implemented in another OS or not).
I"m not saying any of that at all. My point is that probably, there are more exciting things to hope for in new versions of Windows. Or, perhaps as others have stated, there really isn't much to be excited about. All of the major desktop environments do everything a user wants, and it's really unlikely MS will do anything majorly innovative, bold or disruptive in terms of interface in the next version of Windows.
A massive overhaul of Windows Update that turns it into part app store, part package manager. I want a Debian-like system where it's easy to add my own sources, and everything on the system is updated with one service.