Yes, I have have Windows 7 working on my test computer. It’s much more solid than Windows Vista was at this point in the process, and overall I’m pleased. I still don’t see the masses flocking to upgrade their PCs, though.

The Windows 7 installation seemed a bit smoother to me. It properly identified most of my hardware, which was friendly and fast. It also identified the home network, though it immediately pushed a new concept on me, the homegroup. Before I could do anything fun, however, I needed to restart. New updates. Yadda-yadda.

Finally, after restarting, I was able to dink around in Windows 7. Here are my immediate thoughts:

• Overall opinion: It’s Windows Vista+. The theme is a bit more serious, however. I remember the transition from Windows 98 to Windows XP and how cartoony Windows XP looked. Windows 7 restores some of the sleekness to the interface. It looks more serious, more professional, calmer.

• Yes, they moved things around again. New places, new names. Get used to it.

• One thing that’s nice, however, is that the response time is good. The interface feels peppy, where Windows Vista was often an annoying slug.

• There is no more Classic View for the Control Panel, which is a shame. Still, the Control Panel is better organized and very fast. A new “devices” panel makes a logical jump for dealing with peripherals and primary PC components.

• As one of my basic tasks, I tried to set up a printer. The operation works the same as in Windows Vista (and XP for that matter), but there was no printer driver for my old Laserjet 4V. So, as is tradition, I predict there will be great upset with the masses over the New-Windows-Printer-Driver issue.

• The UAC (User Account Control) warnings are still there, still annoying.

• The taskbar is different, and actually better. It’s now a hybrid Quick Launch bar/taskbar. Well, actually, it’s more like the Dock in Mac OS X.

• The Sidebar is gone, replaced with a new item in the Display Properties (“Personalization”) area called Desktop Gadgets. That’s a welcome move. The Gadgets will never approach the clever diversion of the OS X Dashboard.

• There are nice pop-up context menus for taskbar buttons. It’s one of those “why didn’t they think of this before?” type of things. Very handy.

That’s pretty much it for my first blush. As with Windows Vista, I think it will be a worthy upgrade. (Remember, I didn’t see Vista as disappointing.) Despite that worthiness, as is my tradition, I won’t recommend the upgrade unless you’re getting a new computer with Windows 7 pre-installed. Hopefully those people won’t be massively disappointed.