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Windows 7 is barely out and people are reporting great results with the operating system? But what comes next? Will Windows 7 be the last operating system from Microsoft for a few years or will consumers and businesses a next generation operating system to meet the needs and wants of both industry and consumer? The answer to that question will be up in the air for a while but meantime there are many things I would like to see added to Windows 8 when the operating system comes out.


I liked all the eye-candy that was included with Microsoft Vista but the 32- bit version was so unstable that I could not keep it up and running for more than three months without having to reinstall the operating system. After I upgraded to the 64-bit version all those instabilities went away but I still had to add quite a few visual styling programs to create the look and feel I wanted in an OS that was perfect for me.


The major thing I would like to see in the next operating system after Microsoft Windows 7 would be enhanced graphics and customization capabilities. I'd like to see Active Desktop brought back and made secure. I have missed Active Desktop since it was discontinued with 64-bit XP and Vista's widget sidebar which they claim made up for the loss of Active Desktop is no




comparison. I used Active Desktop to place animated graphics on my desktop as links to my favorite webpages and would have used it to add animated icons if the ability had been there.


Another thing I would like to see in the next operating system beyond Windows 7 is program launching from your browser & program launching from locally created webpages. I have been trying for years to create my own locally stored webpages and use them as a program launcher & I am not alone in this desire either. Microsoft claims they removed this feature for security reasons, but I would much rather be able to use my computer like I want to than not have the ability. A feature should be added that will easily allow someone to turn on this ability if they so choose for a single or series of webpages that are locally based.


There are many other options I can use to launch my programs but I would like to centralize my computer usage around my browser and do everything with it including program launching.


The third thing I would like to see in Windows Eight is native animated icon support. The computers of today have both the processing power and memory capabilities to serve such a feature but it is not offered in any version of Windows and the 3rd parties solutions when available are buggy and do not work well. Native high-res animated icon support is clearly the way to go and would go a long way to soothing my eye-candy addiction. Animated effects on the taskbar, windows, browsers, and program search bars would be welcome additions as well.


The forth thing I would like to see added to Windows 8 is another eye-candy option. I would like the native ability to change the background of individual folder windows just like I can choose an individual icon with the option to include animated backgrounds if I so choose.


The fifth thing I would love to see added into Windows 8 is a free personal edition of Microsoft Office including Outlook, OneNote and Word with the option to upgrade to other features as needed. The advertising supported version of Microsoft Office 10 in Windows 7 is pointless because non-targeted advertising is not worth the money spent creating it and the basic office features I listed above are all a family needs to organize their lives. I would be willing to pay an extra $50 for Windows Eight if it included a non-advertising supported version of the latest Microsoft Office software listed above.As you can see there are a lot of improvements that can be made to the Windows operating system and I hope that the next operating system after Windows 7 has all of these features and much more. Microsoft, this is an invitation to impress and surprise me!


Garry is an IT Expert with more than 20 years of experience. He recently opened his own Windows 8 News blog where he writes about the latest Windows 8 news and rumors