Thread: The Windows 7 User Interface

The Windows 7 interface emphasizes efficiency rather than sizzle. The chief improvements consist of a remodeled Windows Taskbar with large icons, one-click access to tasks associated with a specific app, and various other practical enhancements. See "Microsoft Windows 7: A Closer Look at Your Next OS?" for a discussion of Windows 7 that includes screenshots and videos.

Because Windows Vista more or less forms the core of Windows 7, making Vista look like 7 is fairly easy (as evidenced by the aforementioned taskbar and thumbnail-preview tips). Windows XP users, however, have fewer options at their disposal. In response, third-party developer Windows X Live created the Seven Transformation Pack , a collection of interface tweaks-menus, icons, fonts, buttons, and so on-that are designed to make XP look and feel like. Windows 7. And the software works as.advertised in fact, the before-and-after difference is pretty 'amazing, right down to the interface's search-enhanced Start menu and Windows 7-style floating gadgets.

Before downloading this fabulous freebie, make sure that your system already has XP Service Pack 3 installed. I also recommend that you create a restore point in XP's System Restore tool before running the installer, as the Seven Transformation Pack makes some fairly high-level changes to your system. When the installation is complete, reboot, and prepare to witness the minor miracle of Windows XP transformed into Windows 7.