# Simple Windows improvements Microsoft should implement **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 5, 2010, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simple-windows-improvements-microsoft-should-implement/549266 "2010-08-05T14:13:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2010, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simple-windows-improvements-microsoft-should-implement/549266/41 "2010-08-15T17:02:27Z")
You can do it in Windows 7. The taskbar has had a major revamp. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_Panic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/don_t_panic/32/398_2.png) [@Don\_t\_Panic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Panic)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2010, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simple-windows-improvements-microsoft-should-implement/549266/42 "2010-08-15T17:10:24Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > I simply cannot understand why you can’t rearrange things on the task bar. Everyday when I get to work I open things in a certain order. I like them in that order on the task bar. It makes my life easier when I’m switching between applications. From time to time I’ll open them in the wrong order, or something will take longer then usual to load and wind up in the wrong place. This means I have to shut down and reopen some of the programs…why can’t I just move them like I can move tabs? There are loads of free utilities that will let you do this, though. [Here](http://nerdcave.webs.com/)is one. ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2010, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simple-windows-improvements-microsoft-should-implement/549266/43 "2010-08-15T17:45:10Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > I simply cannot understand why you can’t rearrange things on the task bar. You can with Win 7. > [@](#): > > Also, I’ve been using firefox for a few years so I don’t know if this was ever fixed/addressed, but it used to drive me batty that you couldn’t make IE open maximized. And before anyone says anything, a non-maximized window manually stretched to all four corners of the screen is not maximized and doesn’t behave the same as a maximized window. You’ve been able to do this for several generations of Windows. It was likely just a setting or else IE remembering (perhaps incorrectly) its last known size. If it’s still a problem for you, there are probably workarounds. > [@Purd\_Werfect](#): > > Do not have separate versions. Make one version with all features. Yes, PLEASE! > [@](#): > > Make it impossible to run in full-time administrator mode. You will need to offer sudo for the occasional elevated credential task. Dear god, no. Admin mode should always be the DEFAULT and people should have to go OUT OF THEIR WAY to access it, but that’s already the way it is in Win 7. It should not go any further. I know what I’m doing and I _want_ root access. I don’t need my computer hampering my efficiency by double-guessing everything I’m doing; I work faster than the thing can keep as it is. > [@elfkin477](#): > > - I was somewhat interested in Windows 7 from the little I heard about split-screen mode, but _does_ it let you have half the screen be a web browser and half a video player? If not, it should. Trying to resize browser windows on your own is a PITA because they tend to decide you want them to open that size _from now on_. Yes, but this feature has been available since Windows 95; it just got renamed and made easier to use in Windows 7. It used to be called “Tile windows vertically”. > [@minor7flat5](#): > > My wish is for a new filesystem extension that supports metadata in a way that is totally portable and transparent. File tags that travel with the files, regardless of where they go. > > (snip) > > Many kinds of files do allow internal metadata (pdf, Office, MP3, jpeg to name a few) but those solutions are in the file content and require modifying the file to change. The thing is, it would pretty much HAVE to be in the file to make it truly portable and not just limited to a certain version of Windows. There are already things like[Alternate Data Streams on Windows and Resource Forks on Macs](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alternate_Data_Stream) which do this very thing, but the implementation differences across operating systems, file systems, etc. makes it impractical to have one standard; it certainly wouldn’t be up to Microsoft alone, at least. What’s wrong with modifying the file to include metadata, anyway? You’re going to be modifying _something_ attached to the file, even if just an envelope, so why not the file directly? > [@Mangetout](#): > > A search facility that, when asked to look inside files, does so. Dunno if this works better in Vista/7, but in XP, it just doesn’t work properly (I use PRGrep instead, which does work) Windows Search (included with 7, downloadable with Vista) does this already – as long as you have the right filters, Searching through PDFs, for example, requires an additional third-party download. > [@iamthewalrus\_3](#): > > Per-application volume controls. Available in Win 7. > [@](#): > > and I’d like to see browsers incorporate per-tab volume controls. I do not enjoy hunting down the rogue music-playing tab. Available in Win 7 and IE 8. > [@Spectralist](#): > > Allow me to customize the GUI. Maybe a series of XML files that define the UI sizings, fonts, colours and the like. From the desktop, right-click -\> Personalize -\> Window color (button at the bottom -\> Advanced appearance settings. > [@](#): > > Allow unsigned drivers to be run without needing to enter test mode or specify it while booting. This is a security risk, but if you really want to, you can [disable driving signing in Windows 7](http://www.killertechtips.com/2009/05/06/disable-driver-signing-in-windows-7-using-group-policy-editor/). > [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Allowing you to type in (the visible portion of) one window will a small window is on top of it. You can find third-party utilities that make individual programs “always stay on top” or even partially transparent. Google for them if this is a serious need for you. > [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Also, if I’m installing a printer in Windows, why does the system need to prompt me to insert the stupid driver disc? Almost every computer I touch is connected to the Internet, so why can’t it go out to [Microsoft.com](http://Microsoft.com) or [HP.com](http://HP.com) and get the driver itself, automatically? It can and has been able to since Windows XP, but it requires that the driver actually be present (i.e., manufacturer-supplied, Microsoft agreed)… was was almost never actually the case in reality. The situation seems to have improved greatly with Windows 7, but it’s still not perfect. [quote=“Balthisar, post:2, topic:549266”] [li]Clean up the “Documents” folder. All of the crap that lives in there aren’t my documents. I want to manage my documents myself. Admittedly, I’d like a solution for this on Mac OS, too. I deal with it now on XP, 7, and Mac OS by having my own \_Documents folder in the Documents folder.[/li][/quote] I think that was the My Docs’s folder original goal, but third-party applications sometimes like to break design paradigms and store their data in their too (when the %appdata% folder, for example, would be more appropriate)… but that isn’t really Microsoft’s fault. > [@sparky\_1](#): > > One of the things I love about Mac OSX is that folders can be given colors, making it a bit easier to locate the folder you want to access. I agree, this would be nice to have. ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2010, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simple-windows-improvements-microsoft-should-implement/549266/44 "2010-08-15T17:46:31Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > I simply cannot understand why you can’t rearrange things on the task bar. You can with Win 7. > [@](#): > > Also, I’ve been using firefox for a few years so I don’t know if this was ever fixed/addressed, but it used to drive me batty that you couldn’t make IE open maximized. And before anyone says anything, a non-maximized window manually stretched to all four corners of the screen is not maximized and doesn’t behave the same as a maximized window. You’ve been able to do this for several generations of Windows. It was likely just a setting or else IE remembering (perhaps incorrectly) its last known size. If it’s still a problem for you, there are probably workarounds. > [@Purd\_Werfect](#): > > Do not have separate versions. Make one version with all features. Yes, PLEASE! > [@](#): > > Make it impossible to run in full-time administrator mode. You will need to offer sudo for the occasional elevated credential task. Dear god, no. Admin mode should never be the default and people should have to go OUT OF THEIR WAY to access it, but that’s already the way it is in Win 7. It should not go any further. I know what I’m doing and I _want_ root access. I don’t need my computer hampering my efficiency by double-guessing everything I’m doing; I work faster than the thing can keep up as it is. > [@elfkin477](#): > > - I was somewhat interested in Windows 7 from the little I heard about split-screen mode, but _does_ it let you have half the screen be a web browser and half a video player? If not, it should. Trying to resize browser windows on your own is a PITA because they tend to decide you want them to open that size _from now on_. Yes, but this feature has been available since Windows 95; it just got renamed and made easier to use in Windows 7. It used to be called “Tile windows vertically”. > [@minor7flat5](#): > > My wish is for a new filesystem extension that supports metadata in a way that is totally portable and transparent. File tags that travel with the files, regardless of where they go. > > (snip) > > Many kinds of files do allow internal metadata (pdf, Office, MP3, jpeg to name a few) but those solutions are in the file content and require modifying the file to change. The thing is, it would pretty much HAVE to be in the file to make it truly portable and not just limited to a certain version of Windows. There are already things like[Alternate Data Streams on Windows and Resource Forks on Macs](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alternate_Data_Stream) which do this very thing, but the implementation differences across operating systems, file systems, etc. makes it impractical to have one standard; it certainly wouldn’t be up to Microsoft alone, at least. What’s wrong with modifying the file to include metadata, anyway? You’re going to be modifying _something_ attached to the file, even if just an envelope, so why not the file directly? > [@Mangetout](#): > > A search facility that, when asked to look inside files, does so. Dunno if this works better in Vista/7, but in XP, it just doesn’t work properly (I use PRGrep instead, which does work) Windows Search (included with 7, downloadable with Vista) does this already – as long as you have the right filters. Searching through PDFs, for example, requires an additional third-party download. > [@iamthewalrus\_3](#): > > Per-application volume controls. Available in Win 7. > [@](#): > > and I’d like to see browsers incorporate per-tab volume controls. I do not enjoy hunting down the rogue music-playing tab. Available in Win 7 and IE 8. > [@Spectralist](#): > > Allow me to customize the GUI. Maybe a series of XML files that define the UI sizings, fonts, colours and the like. From the desktop, right-click -\> Personalize -\> Window color (button) at the bottom -\> Advanced appearance settings. > [@](#): > > Allow unsigned drivers to be run without needing to enter test mode or specify it while booting. This is a security risk, but if you really want to, you can [disable driving signing in Windows 7](http://www.killertechtips.com/2009/05/06/disable-driver-signing-in-windows-7-using-group-policy-editor/). > [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Allowing you to type in (the visible portion of) one window will a small window is on top of it. You can find third-party utilities that make individual programs “always stay on top” or even partially transparent. Google for them if this is a serious need for you. > [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Also, if I’m installing a printer in Windows, why does the system need to prompt me to insert the stupid driver disc? Almost every computer I touch is connected to the Internet, so why can’t it go out to [Microsoft.com](http://Microsoft.com) or [HP.com](http://HP.com) and get the driver itself, automatically? It can and has been able to since Windows XP, but it requires that the driver actually be present (i.e., manufacturer-supplied, Microsoft agreed)… was was almost never actually the case in reality. The situation seems to have improved greatly with Windows 7, but it’s still not perfect. [quote=“Balthisar, post:2, topic:549266”] [li]Clean up the “Documents” folder. All of the crap that lives in there aren’t my documents. I want to manage my documents myself. Admittedly, I’d like a solution for this on Mac OS, too. I deal with it now on XP, 7, and Mac OS by having my own \_Documents folder in the Documents folder.[/li][/quote] I think that was the My Docs’s folder original goal, but third-party applications sometimes like to break design paradigms and store their data in their too (when the %appdata% folder, for example, would be more appropriate)… but that isn’t really Microsoft’s fault. > [@sparky\_1](#): > > One of the things I love about Mac OSX is that folders can be given colors, making it a bit easier to locate the folder you want to access. I agree, this would be nice to have. ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2010, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simple-windows-improvements-microsoft-should-implement/549266/45 "2010-08-15T18:18:56Z")
Oops, sorry for the double-post. Wish Windows could check for those 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Spectralist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Spectralist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectralist)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2010, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simple-windows-improvements-microsoft-should-implement/549266/46 "2010-08-16T02:04:50Z")
> [@Reply](#): > > From the desktop, right-click -\> Personalize -\> Window color (button at the bottom -\> Advanced appearance settings. No, no. I mean really customize. That’s just a few surface options. It doesn’t allow me to, say, restore functionality to the status bar in explorer that was removed in windows 7 in favour of the pointlessly enormous details pane. Or decrease the spacing between lines that was pointlessly increased in win7 details view mode. Or merge the Toolbar with the Menu bar. Or at least decrease the size of the toolbar as it’s around 3 times the height it needs to be. > [@Reply](#): > > This is a security risk, but if you really want to, you can [disable driving signing in Windows 7](http://www.killertechtips.com/2009/05/06/disable-driver-signing-in-windows-7-using-group-policy-editor/). That doesn’t actually work in 64 bit systems. [This](http://www.killertechtips.com/2009/05/05/disable-driver-signing-windows-7/)does but it adds a “Test Mode Build XXXX” watermark to the windows desktop and isn’t really convenient. What I would want is to be able to just say to windows “Hey this driver here? There is no signed driver that has this functionality just make an exception and let me use it without jumping through hoops”. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simple-windows-improvements-microsoft-should-implement/549266.md?page=2)