An early preview version of Microsoft’s Windows 7 has been demoed at PDC in Los Angeles earlier this week, and press members and bloggers who got to play around with it were more than happy to share their experiences.

First off, let’s get it straight from the beginning. Microsoft intended what is now known as Windows 7 as an upgrade/extension to Vista. It was supposed to extend its lifetime until the next Windows kernel number and its associated OS/Shell were to complete their development cycle in some 4 to 5 years. And this is exactly what it is and what it’s doing. Microsoft may be hailing Windows 7 as the next big thing in the Windows line, but this is just Vista done right (at least in theory, the final version is not out yet) and more importantly rebranded. Perhaps as an operating system Vista wasn’t that bad, despite its bugs and resource-hogging it’s still not as bad as its rap makes it out to be. But it’s so ingrained into the public image that this is Microsoft’s only solution.

Now, what does Windows 7 bring to the table? Well first off there are some interface design changes, mostly centered on functionality. There’s a new taskbar for one, and it’s built by the team of one Steven Sinofski, the same fellow “responsible” for the Office Ribbon in Office 2007 that got so many users’ heads scratching simply because it wasn’t the exact same thing they were used to in the past. The new taskbar, which like the Ribbon cannot be disabled, features large thumbnail icons, full-screen application preview on mouse hover, and a nifty feature called jump lists, which are smart context menus that show key functions of the application you clicked on (the app has to be coded to support this of course) and a list of files recently opened with that application.

The taskbar’s system tray is now customizable to allow users to set the level and numbers of notifications they get, all in the name of fighting annoyance. Frankly, we’re thankful for this particular feature. You could set these options as far back as Windows XP through the registry (provided you’re the type of tech boffin who dabbles in there) but having these options centralized in a menu is definitely handy. Windows’ User Account Control has received the same treatment, with a slider that controls the level of prompting it bothers you with.

Where window management is concerned, there has been some work done as well. Windows can now be made transparent by hovering the mouse over the Show Desktop control, and you can snap them to the sides of the screen. The sidebar from Vista has been done away with, and gadgets now simply appear on the desktop.

A nifty new feature for those rare individuals blessed with multi-touch displays can control Windows 7 by touch. Scrolling and zooming is controlled through gestures like flicks and pinches. The system is not perfect as it has problems with small icons, but we’re still talking about a preview version and they’ll have time to fix it eventually.

Now don’t think that it’s all eye-candy. Functionality is a high priority, says Microsoft. The company says that Windows 7 will run faster than Vista on the same hardware, and consume less power (which results in longer battery life), and that it will be more stable. Although the current press preview build isn’t bench-mark ready, press reports seem to confirm that it’s already running more smoothly than its predecessor. Other promised tweaks are less memory consumption, optimized code and better Direct3D acceleration.

A nifty organizing improvement is the new Federated Search feature, which allows you to search for files across multiple locations at once, SharePoint sites included. There’s also an improved Wireless Network manager which allows you to more easily connect to Wi-Fi access points in the area. Windows Firewall now has multiple profiles that you can set for home, work, and public networks.

All-in-all the general feeling so far is that Microsoft is coming to its senses. The new features, the improved interface, and the bug tweaks are shaping up to a Windows that is exactly what Vista should have been.

Inevitably, in the wake of that realization comes another. If Microsoft just proved that Vista could be done right, then why didn’t they do it in the first place? The next point that dawns is ‘Why is Microsoft going to make me pay again for what their OS should have been in the first place?’ If Microsoft does not at the very least offer an advantageous upgrade plan for Vista users, it’s going to face a rather peeved crowd.