Windows 7 on my Lenovo T400

I've already upgraded my notebook to Windows 7 Professional two weeks ago. It's the final release the Microsoft sent to their volume license customers. We haven't bought our license yet so I'm using it on a 'trial' basis only, which I will need to activate within 30 days (12 days left at the time of this writing).

Well here's are my feedback in case you are thinking about it. This review will be solely on the Lenovo T400 installation.

The Good

• General Speed - I hated Vista because it made my laptop feel like a 486. It was just plain memory-hog. And that is why I downgraded back to XP after 3 months of it. In Windows 7, Microsoft did a good job of keeping the visual elements of Vista intact but keeping the speed up. The presentation doesn't interfere with productivity anymore.
• Boot-up Speed - definitely improved compared to Vista. I love how the boot-up process finishes in less than a minute, when it used to take me about 4 minutes when I was on Vista and 2.5mins on my XP.
• Drivers - I did a fresh install using the 'Custom' option because I was upgrading from WinXP, and after installation, I can already use my computer. All the drivers, sans 2, are in place. And those 2 missing are my modem and bluetooth - which was weird because I can use my bluetooth even if says I'm missing the driver. It is also neat how the system looks for drivers on it's own, via Microsoft's Windows Update server. It will provide you with the link to your driver, even if it's hosted on a device manufacturer's website. You don't have to do your own driver search anymore.
• User Folders - What used to be the 'My Documents' icon on the left corner of your desktop is now your User Account icon (your actual account name). Opening it will lead you to a folder with a bunch of Shortcuts, namely Contacts, Desktop, Documents, Downloads, Favorites, Links, Music, Pictues, Videos, Saved Games, and Searches. Basically YOUR DATA. You can easily change the location of any of the folders by simple going to the Properties, then Location tab. It makes folder organization easier and eliminates my need for TweakUI.
• Libraries - it's a clever way of organizing your folders so that you can easily access your favorite folders from the left pane of your windows Explorer. Each library can contain 'locations' which are basically shortcuts to other folders. So, say your Music library can have items from C:\Users\{account}\Documents\My Music, C:\Nokia\Music\Download, and D:\Personal\Music. And they are presentated in collapsible tree view that makes it a breeze to browse through your files.

The Bad

• Battery Life - my battery used too last me 3.5 hours. When I installed Win 7, it went down to a terrible 1 hr 31 mins on a full charge - and on Power Save mode! Some forums say it has to do with Switchibel Graphic settings on the BIOS. But after having changed that, I still get only 1.5 hours.
• Taskbar (Application Compatibility) - while the new Taskbar is a good, space-saving concept, many of the applications that we will be using are still not compatible with it. For example, Windows Live Messenger. It puts itself on the taskbar instead of the notification area (that right corner where the clock is at) that we are so used at. And clicking on the icon will not bring up your Live Messenger window right away, instead it will give you 2 options, which both leads to the Live Messenger window. It's a waste of mouseclicks, isn't it?

Generally, I'm very happy with Windows 7. I have a couple more issues with it, which I will write about in the next days, but I would it is a great leap from Vista.