One of the biggest criticisms of Windows 7, especially from myself, has been the inability to pin icons like the control panel, computer and recycle bin to the new taskbar.  This meant that Windows 7 was a nasty half-way house between what Microsoft want Windows to become long-term and the old Windows XP way of doing things.

Last week HappyAndyK came to the rescue on the WinVistaClub forum with instructions on how to add the quick launch toolbar back into Windows 7.  Onto this you can drag and drop all the remaining icons from the desktop and Start Menu (recycle bin, games, control panel, devices and printers, computer) and I also added search and libraries links.

It all looked a bit messy though with system icons mixed in the same dock with search and organise icons.  I was wondering if it was possible to split the quick launch area.  I was delighted to discover this is actually quite simple to do.  The results can be seen on the screen-grab below (click to view it full-size).

Open an explorer window and navigate to…

 %userprofile%\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Internet Explorer

You’ll probably need to change the view options so if you do, in the same explorer window press the Alt button on your keyboard and in the View menu temporarily change the settings for Show hidden files… and Hide Protected Operating System files.

In this folder create yourself a new folder that I’ve called System Launch.  You’ll need to change the security priveliges on this folder so right click on it and select Properties.  Then navigate to the Security tab on the window that appears and you’ll see the Everyone user group selected.  Press the Edit button and give this user group full-control.  Press Apply then OK.

Now click anywhere in a blank space on the taskbar and select Toolbars and New Toolbar.  In the window that appears navigate to…

%userprofile%\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Internet Explorer

…if it doesn’t automatically go there.  Select your System Launch folder and press the Select Folder button.

Once this new toolbar appears you can unlock the taskbar and drag it to where you want and drag and drop any icons you want in it.  You can also right click in it and untick the options Show Text and Show Title and change the icon size from small to large.  Note these options won’t appear if the taskbar is locked.

With these options now available on the taskbar there really is no further need for the Start Menu other than to find rarely used programs and to switch the computer off.  This is the type of feature that Microsoft should make much easier and simpler to implement.  This system only really works on bigger screens but is certainly the way I’ll be using Windows 7 from now on.

I’ve written quite a lot about Windows 7 and I’ve tried to resist falling into either of the two popular review camps at the moment.  Either [gushing] “It’s incredibly stable, much better than Vista and usable day to day already” or [humbug] “It’s only Vista release 2 and there’s no reason to go out and buy it”, for the simple reason that too many people are already writing these.

I’ve always prided myself on taking the middle-ground.  I’ve tried to review Windows 7 in as impartial way as possible.  As such I can reasonably predict Microsoft coming in for something of a kicking when Windows 7 is finally released.  What’s more I think they’ll be kicked from every side.

I’ve previously talked about how Windows 7 is a half-way-house between the old and the new, especially where the task bar is concerned.  The problem is that this isn’t localised to the bottom of your screen, it can be seen everywhere!

The control panel and device manager are excellent examples.  There are still two control panels, one for consumers and one for everyone else, though this isn’t in itself a bad thing.  The number of control panel items has ballooned in recent Windows versions however, and Windows 7 adds even more to the mix.  But why are some of these shown?

Microsoft proudly told us that Windows 7 would, by default, not install things you don’t need.  For instance you would only get the tablet PC functionality if you actually had a touch screen, excellent.  But why in the control panel does the average Windows user need to have control for such things as “Remote Applications”, “iSCSI drives”, “Biometric devices”, “Tablet PC Settings” and “Bitlocker Drive Encryption”?  By default the new control panel has 60 items in it!

I’m not saying these things aren’t useful or necessary, but the fact that they appear despite not having the appropriate hardware installed, or when they would only be needed in a corporate environment, can only make the control panel more complicated and bloated to use.  Even then most of these should only be available to system admins.

Similarly with the device manager, we now have two of them with the introduction of the new “Devices and Printers” panel, which in my mind only makes things even more complicated.

I won’t go on about the Start Menu, I’ve written about this too much already but this old meeting new way of doing things extends into too many aspects of the operating system.

UAC is a cop out, no longer powerful enough to offer full protection because Microsoft haven’t built in the full functionality it needs.  For the record Microsoft have told me that a tick box in UAC windows for “remember my settings for this program”, is under consideration for Windows 8.

Then there’s the interface.  Why are we still looking at Windows 98 grey eleven years on?  The whole interface is mash of old stuff mixed in randomly with new ideas with usability a poor third place.

When I wrote about Windows 7 usability recently I spoke about this.  I believe the reason for this lack of focus is simple.  A desire to get a product shipped early, after the financial failure that was Vista in the business market.

This means that the technical beta has been an extremely frustrating experience for a great many people, especially myself.  I’ve been in regular contact with senior managers, even a vice-president at Microsoft about usability and the half-way-house issue.  All the feedback I’ve received though tells me that there simply isn’t time to change anything at this stage.

Microsoft need to learn from this and place usability at the very top of their priorities list to avoid also getting a kicking for Windows 8.  I’m not saying Windows 7 isn’t good, anyone who can spot the deliberate joke in the title for this article will know how good it is.  I’m just saying it’s not good enough… yet!