How-To Geek Forums / Windows 7
Windows 7 discussion
(61 posts)
I have been very impressed with the videos. I have a lot of problems with Vista, so the "fixes" are very appealing. I am looking forward to using Windows 7 to see the new features and whether or not "broken" software in Vista will work again in Windows 7. All in all, Windows 7 looks to be a solid Windows OS.
*Note*
A request to the Moderators:
Please leave the Windows XP forum.
We recently had a discussion about Windows 7 in this thread:
http://www.howtogeek.com/forum.....post-60179
There seems to be little information that I have seen from Microsoft, but lots of speculation in the industry press. I speculate that Win7 will have to be based on Vista. So, I wonder, how will Microsoft position Win7 as the answer to all of the perceived problems with Vista? If they can't get the large, high-profile businesses to finally switch away from XP to Win7, then Win7 will not be any more successful than Vista.
http://lifehacker.com/5053228/.....ts-to-come
http://lifehacker.com/5075076/.....ok-awesome
Having interaction with certain businesses I know there are problems created by Windows Vista that did not exist with Windows XP. A lot of this is not being friendly with other software. I have heard people before say that companies need to fix their software. I find this to be sad that people have this mindset, because it is a mindset of Microsoft runs everything. I could understand programs "breaking" when switching from Windows 98 to Windows 2000 because it was a switch from DOS to NT. As far as I know, since Apple released their Unix-based architecture (OS X) they have had no compatibility issues with new versions of OS X, meaning if something worked on Panther, it will work on Snow Leopard.
I do not know about any other country, or private industries in the US, but with government industries (including universities and schools), they are almost forced to change to the newest Windows OS, because the money to get new computers is grant money.
From what I have read, it seems that Microsoft has addressed many issues that Vista had. Start-up time is supposedly faster (though currently shut-down time is slower), Windows 7 will run well on 1GB of RAM, networking is improved (especially connecting to wireless networks), and supposedly software compatibility will not be a big issue.
My thought is, if Microsoft has fixed the problems that Vista created, when private industries see government industries having no problems, they will make the switch as well.
as far as i know, we can all forget about Vista when we talk about Win7. i think Win7 will be based on the Win2K8 code if i'm not mistaken.
i'm using Win2K8 workstation at the office and it's been very stable and fast. IE would crash every now (i did it on purpose) but the whole Win2K8 is not affected. i still have yet to see Win2K8 hang like the previous Windows server versions before. powershell is cool too. coming from a unix background it has helped alot.
@JadeEmperor,
what makes you think that Win 7 is based on Win2K8 code? Almost everything I have read to date points in the direction towards the Vista kernel!! Building a new O/S from scratch in such a short time would be almost impossible, if not ludicrous, seeing as MS are trying to get back on the right track with their customers.
I am not saying you are wrong, I would just like to know where you have this information?
Thx, Matt
> "As far as I know, since Apple released their Unix-based architecture (OS X) they have had no compatibility issues with new versions of OS X, meaning if something worked on Panther, it will work on Snow Leopard."
Going from Panther to Snow Leopard is a minor release so there shouldn't many problems with program compatibility. It's like going from Windows 2000 to Windows XP and apparently Windows Vista to Windows 7.
Going from Mac OS 9 to OS 10 did break a lot of things as it was a major release. As was Windows XP (NT 5.1) to Windows Vista (NT 6.0). Windows Vista changed many things with drivers and programs so things will break with it.
Those changes were made for good reasons like Windows Aero, it renders the desktop graphics with the graphics card processing unit (GPU), freeing the CPU to do other things and by using the GPU, you can do some nice Window manipulations. Like Thumbnail Previews. Check out the program Video In Picture for one really cool use of Aero.
Here's a really great Windows 7 theme, which I'm considering writing about...
I just stumbled on a series of Win7 articles by Paul Thurrott. Here's the link to part 1 and some juicy quotes:
http://www.winsupersite.com/win7/win7_preview.asp
"Windows 7 is Windows Vista done right."
"Is Windows 7 a major or minor release? Microsoft emphatically claims that Windows 7 is indeed a major release..."
"My take on this is a bit more nuanced. Clearly, Windows 7 is to Windows Vista as was Windows XP to Windows 2000."
"...in both cases, the underlying core of the OS (the kernel plus support code) is largely unchanged from that of its predecessor."
Reference to ScottW´s link. What gets on my nerves (put politely!!) is how Microsoft pulls the money out of our pockets just for being product testers!! Okay so one doesn´t have to go out and buy the latest O/S and be up-to-date with everything but that´s the way some of us (me) are/is. Why can´t M/S bring out an O/S that doesn´t have to be discussed about for two years then only to realise that everything could have done better in the first place!! (2000/XP and Vista/Win 7). I have just built a new computer (3-4 months) and purchased a retail copy of Ultimate which wasn´t cheap and a year and a half later I´ll end up spending another 300-500? Euros for Windows 7 Ultimate. Add this to an i7 setup and I know who won´t be able to afford a vacation next year, lol. Thx M/S, yet again!!
Reference madmacs' comments concerning Microsoft operating systems and out of pocket cost to consumers.
Check out this short history of MS DOS versions.
http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/DOS-Versions/
I'll leave it to the reader to research the number of CPU hardware versions which have been introduced.
As with all technology from the beginning of mankind, innovation shall never cease until the end of time itself.
What a trip down memory lane that was, Rick. Hard to believe that we struggled for so long without a GUI. Seems like Windows has been here forever, but actually it has been less than 20 years. And in that time we have seen it rise to its pinnacle in NT and XP, only to become old, fat, and bloated in Vista. No wonder Vista is less than a howling commercial success. It does not fit the pattern. It is retrograde in some respects. I hope the experience is not wasted on the Redmond Wonders. Yes, another OS to exploit advances in hardware technology is due soon, but (ARE YOU LISTENING, MICROSOFT?) let's hope they pay better attention to backward compatibility and efficient usage of both processor and RAM. And, while we are hoping, let's hope Windows 7 pays a little less attention to form at the expense of substance.
> "Reference to ScottW´s link. What gets on my nerves (put politely!!) is how Microsoft pulls the money out of our pockets just for being product testers!!"
> "Why can´t M/S bring out an O/S that doesn´t have to be discussed about for two years then only to realise that everything could have done better in the first place!!"
Windows Vista was tested before being released and is a good OS. There are just some things that can be done better, Microsoft is not going to redo everything. Most of the new features like the new driver model and Windows Aero will stay mostly the same in Windows 7.
Windows Vista needed to come out to get those major changes done and out there. Sure there will be issues with the transition but it needed to happen, Windows XP is 5 years old and doesn't have features like driver install via USB disc, rendering graphics with the GPU, etc.
No matter what they do, no OS is going to be perfect. If you look online, you will find that Windows XP, Mac OS X and Linux all have their own share of problems too.
@jd2066, don´t get me wrong. I use Vista and am more than satisfied with it. I also know that Windows 7 will be built around Vista. What I was saying was that I will be spending money on two O/S´s within the space of two years that are basically the same, which is annoying!! If an O/S only cost as much as an Internet Security Suite then it wouldn´t bother me getting one yearly!! Regards, Matt.
Lol, Scott!! Does an upgrade work if I was to build a new system, then use Vista on one and Win 7 on the other computer?
P.S. I only purchased "Ultimate" because my wifes German!! That way we can both use the languages we wanted. But I like to "Tinker" with things sometimes ;)
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