Windows 7, please enlighten me with your opinions on this to be released OS

I worked in a tech shop that serviced both windows and apple computers when Vista was released. I witnessed a lot of frustrated Windows users switching over to Apple because of their hate for Vista.

Now with Windows 7 I am witnessing the exact opposite. Apple users are falling in love with windows seven this really blew my mind since most Apple users barricade themselves from any other brand. Truthfully out of the last ten Apple users I have talked to eight said they liked windows 7 beta so much that they WILL switch and only two are staying with apple but give microsoft props on a great beta.

I kid you not I was very shocked; Before you go labeling me a liar I am a Digital Media Specialist, and I was trained on a Mac.

Anyone else notice the prevalence of the word "snappier" used in positive entries about this OS? I have always wondered if Microsoft would use it's personnel or marketing resources to blog favorably for their product. Is the word snappy a common term? It's not in my neck of the woods. It's almost like a marketing company picked that term and sent it out in a general internal memo. "Snappier," ya, that's it! It's snappier.

Pardon me, I just threw up on my keyboard. My anger management classes are going well, so maybe after a few years I will forgive Microsoft for Vista.

So, while we are using the marketing term "snappier," let's all learn a new word... "shill."

I have heard a lot of good things about Windows 7. But I won't be going there. I am sticking with Linux, which I have used practically since its inception. If not Linux, I would go to Mac before going to Windows of any flavor!

First of all, I have suffered "upgrades" from Windows 3.1 to 3.11 to Windows 95 to 98 to ME to XP to VISTA over the last 16 years of computer ownership. Now its' Windows 7. If these people are so smart, aside from lining Microsoft's pockets for yet another system "upgrade" (replacement), why can't they come up with some way to actually upgrade the current system (much like a service pack) that would not require an expensive repurchase of your machines operating system?
System stability has always been a Microsoft issue. We are told that the next one is always more stable. Do they dole this out to us in small increments deliberately?
So will I upgrade? I currently have 3 laptops in my house, 1 XP, 1 XP Pro, 1 Vista Home Premium. I will hold out as long as I can this time.
I do like Vista except for Office 2007 (really like Office 2003 MUCH better).
Overall, I am dismayed that anyone feels that we need a completely new operating system, yet again.

i have been an xp user for many years using many different versions of xp.i didn't like vista it wasn't ready for release the longhorn testers knew that but microsoft rolled it out anyway.microsoft made a lot of money we the end users felt ripped off.this time microsoft have got it right if the end release is as good as the beta its going to be one lovely os.
The wifes laptop was playing up and refused to install 3 different versions of xp and laughed at vista home.windows 7 loaded straight in reconised everything straight away and has worked perfectly ever since and the laptop only has a 1.6gh sempron processor with 512mb of ram.
Nice one microsoft just don't let me down with the retail release

not only do i like it so does XP and and Vista, I have dual booted windows 7 with both. I put it thru quite a bit of test to make it crash and it does a lot better then Vista and its only a beta. It only crashed once and it pretty much corrected its self

I haven't had any major problems with windows 7 and i think it looks great. In fact the only things that i had problems with where simple aesthetics such as the fact that you can't un-dock single windows (not tabs mind you) of say Internet explorer. Its an all or nothing thing. either everything is expanded or nothing is expanded. Beyond that i have not had any driver issues or hardware issues.

running MSI am2+ platfrom 5 gigs of ram 80 gig and 1 tb HD, AMD athlon x2 6400+, radeon 3850 1gig, yadda yadda yadda

Windows 7 is going to be really great. I've used the Beta for over a month and there are no problems with it. All my XP programs run great and the OS seems to be quite fast.
Windows Vista was painfully slow and cluttered but Windows 7 seems really nice and light.
Everyone should try it!

Windows 7 beta is faster than Vista, but not near as stable.

This is about Beta build 7000

I use Windows media center as my primary interface for my Living room/home theater. Windows 7 version has MANY bugs. Here are a few problems that Vista doesn't have:

- Playback of HD DVD and Blu-ray is choppy (not a hardware problem)
- Album art is displayed sparatically. Sometimes it shows, usually it doesn't. (includes DVDs as well as recorded tv)
- Interface responds slowly
- Driver support is limited
- When closing the interface the screen freezes. (Have to ctl-alt-del then esc)
- TV tuner card sometimes not recognized
There are other problems, but again this is a BETA; I expect to see these problems resolved in the Final version.

I love the new interface and the ability to point to alternate locations on my home network for recorded TV.

I have re-formatted and used both the 32 and 64 bit version of the BETA. The 32 bit version has much better support for TV cards. (64 bit didn't recognize my card at all)

As far a day to day operations on my home computer:
- No support for my Microsoft Finger print reader
- No support for my CAC reader
- Live Messenger errors on start up occasionally.

Other than these, I have not had many issues.

I will have to switch the Hometheater back to Vista before the rest of my family beats me, but I will continue to use it on my day-to-day computer.

Another OS by Mircosoft? It seems Vista came out. What the computer sales fall off? Now what you need to run Window 7?? Will we all need to buy new computers, again to run it? I am tired of the keep up with the Jones computer world and getting computer poor. Improve what you got.

I've been running Windows 7 for about 9 months now and I'm very pleased with it's performance. It's what Vista should have been from the start.
To make a long story short, I have not been this excited about an operating system since DOS replaced CPM and Windows replaced DOS. It is by far the most stable operating system since Windows server 2003. Microsoft may have finally done something right. I'm looking forward to the new public release.

Larry Whittington

The number one improvement with Windows 7 over Vista if performance. I have a Dell Mini 9 I am running Windows 7 on. Most run XP on the Mini because Vista is just too slow on it. But, Windows 7 runs much faster and much more stable than XP on the Mini. The Installation was about the easiest and smoothest of any OS. As soon as Windows 7 is released, I will be replacing Vista Ultimate 32 bit with Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bit. Can't wait for the release.

The one thing that stands out about WIN 7 was how fast and smooth IE explorer ran! I thought WIN 7 as a hole was better Vista 32

Starting off, I LOVE Vista. Especially the 64-bit flavor. W7 seems like a good progression of an already awesome OS. Getting used to the changes will take some effort for some, so expect a little back-lash. The new GUI is really different. In some ways I'm not sure I like it, but in most others I find it very useable and will grow to love it too.

Vista (Millennium II)
Is about as bad as it gets With the Ability to consume processor speed while sitting idle. And a security format of a paranoid drug dealer every time you turn around it is warning you about something.

Now Windows 7 is there answer, as XP was to Millennium Hmmm

Guess This Is Why "Apple" Stock Is Doing So Well

I was writing a review of my experience with Windows 7 beta, but after reading a few comments from the posts I thought it was better to clear the air on some topics. I have used Windows 95, 98, ME, XP and Windows 7. I have not so much used Vista. Anyone on the forum (and so far I have read most of the comments) arguing that Windows 7 is by any means inferior to XP or Vista simply does not know what they are talking about.

FUNDAMENTALS:
It has a smaller footprint, runs faster, and is more stable than any other Microsoft OS. This is FACT! I have experienced not one single crash, the system slows only when I max out Ram usage. I don't know what you lot's gripe is with Microsoft, but the above three topped my list. Any argument I ever had about Microsoft always came down to speed, size, and reliability. Notice how none of the comments left by users report anything negative on this front. For Microsoft... this is groundbreaking. It does not only do better than the old OS's it CHALLENGES APPLE. Think about this, no more excuses of "I run it for proprietary software bla bla bla"... Now it's I run it because it is the best.

Compatibility:
Installing the beta could be done by a 10year old with only two major questions to answer... save my documents? and save my old windows data? Only one program did not work for me, and that's because the installer did not recognise the Windows model number (Nokia software updater if you must know). Drivers update automatically in a way I have not seen in Microsoft ever. From my new Samsung tv to my 10year old bluetooth dongle, everything is up to date without a single visit to their websites. And this from a first build beta?

Usability:
This needs to be it's own topic, because people are dismissing possibly the second best part of windows 7 - After the fact that it just works of course (it's a big deal). There is no revert to old here. You have to learn the new system. It takes a few days, maybe even a week, but the little touches make major differences in productivity. The Apple like task bar/dock which allows you to pin and preview programs is nothing short of spectacular. The jump lists that remember recent files... even better. The auto maximise and minimise when dragging windows to and from the top of the screen, the preview desktop, the snap to side, and side by side scrolling, the snip program. It really is that great.

I might sound like some ridiculous fan boy at the moment, but it really is not that. I just cant understand how anybody has used this OS and can seriously argue that it is not worth the upgrade. People who have not used Windows 7, might as well not comment, because you will base your argument on what Microsoft has previously done with their OS's and this OS is not typical of Microsoft at all!

I heard horror stories for the longest time about vista, and finally got a Vista Home Premium 64 new pc about 2 months ago, very happy to finally be up to the joneses as far as computer and operating system goes, my thing scores a 5.9 down the line on that "vista experience" thing, and i've actually been very very happy with vista. I remember seeing people struggle with it early on, but i also recall the same woes with XP when it first came out, and by the time Vista rolled around everyone was holding on to their XP system for dear life, just a thought also i can't afford to upgrade to 7, can't afford a decent meal so where's my operating system stimulus package?? haha

Well, it's hard to say as it is just now showing it's features but my perception is that MS is actually more experiencing future technologies than upgrading Vista. It is giving the first trials to features that will (may) open the doors to a bunch of new possibilities in the future (and of course keep the money flowing in for now). I currently run Vista Ultimate 64 and contrary to what I read and hear here and there so far I find it to be better than XP. Maybe because I don't have to "squeeze" it to operate in a server condition but I definitely don't want to go back to XP.

Best regards

Marcio

I FEEL THAT THIS WAS TO BE A VENTURE IN FINDING THE BUGS WITH THE FIRST RELEASE BATA, AND IT HAD ITS FAIR SHARE, NOW ADDRESSED
AND SINCE FIXED. WOULD I CHOOSE IT OVER VISTA I DON'T THINK SO NOW
AS YOU KNOW THAT PROBLEMS THAT SHOW UP IN BETA TEST OFTEN RETURN WHEN
THE ACTUAL RELEASE HAPPENS. THERE ARE STILL ALOT OF SMALL TO MIDIUM SIZE BUSINESSES USING XP PROFESSIONAL AND SERVER 2003.

I really like Windows 7. I installed a clean install of 64bit on a new Harddrive. I have my old XP home on my original drive. If I want to go back to that OS I change my boot HD in my BIOS Harddrive boot selector. I still can access files and folders easily from the XP drive. I do find myself not going back to the old drive often.

Windows 7 is pretty. Windows 7 is fast; it boots in half a minute vs. several minutes for my XP OS. It shuts down very quickly too only 10 seconds or so. I did have some driver and hardware issues. My Creative Audigy ZS Platinum soundcard has lost some funcionality, but I have most of what I wanted. My Logitech WebCam doesn't have drivers and probably won't have any when windows 7 is officially released. Logitech has done that to me 2 times now, they don't release drivers for a new OS so you have to buy a new webcam. Fool me once, shame on me, fool me twice...I will buy a different BRAND cam.

Files are easily organized and accessed. The interface is much friendlier. I like the way Media and Music are organized and accessed. Windows 7 includes Media Center, a great way to integrate live TV (with a tuner card like I did) and enjoy watching, recording shows like a DVR. I even use a Media Center remote from my old Media Center 2005 Tuner card, and it works great. I can access music, tv, videos and all my photos with the remote.

In regards to your hardware I don't think you will have to upgrade a thing if you have VISTA now. Most drivers used by Windows 7 are just VISTA drivers. From what I can see though Windows 7 is not as Hardware demanding as VISTA was. I am running this older self built set-up for a system just fine, for gaming etc (remember I am 64 bit):

Opteron 165 Dual-Core Processor this is Socket 939 in an Asus A8N5X SATA I motherboard. This CPU is a factory clock of 1800 mhz- I am overclocked to 2.82mhz. Memory is 2GB of OCZ Platinum Dual Channel DDR 400 clocked to 527 mhz. GPU is an Nvidia 8800GT Video Card 512mb. Sound is a Creative Audigy 2 ZS Sound Card. Western Digital SATA II 640MB HD. My Windows Experience Index is 5.5, but that is due to the older and slower system DDR memory. My Aero and gaming graphics indexes are 7.9 and 6.0 respectively so in my world that is what matters. You shouldn't have any hardware issues beyond anything you have seen with VISTA and perhaps will see improvement with existing hardware and memory.

I like Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bit enough to want to buy it after the evaluation period is over.

I believe that Microsoft is in for a very rude awakening. Whether or not it will occur under Windows 7 is unclear, but that it will happen sooner or later I think is clear. I think that they are too quick to put out another OS before perfecting the previous one, ie. Vista, which from my experience and the experience of many, many others is far from perfect. I have begun to call Vista the new Windos ME. Just as Me should have never been put out neither should have Vista been put out. They can't even get IE 8 right before taking it out of beta for cryin out loud. There is already a brewing rebellion against all things Microsoft. I haven't joined in yet as I've only been a Windows user since about 98 and am unfamiliar with Linux enough to adopt it as my sole OS and drop Windows all together, but that is exactly what I'm considering doing. It agravates me to no end when a new version or OS is put out before perfecting the current one. XP is about as close as they've ever gotten and it is by no means perfect. I have no plans to buy Windows 7. The Linux community is getting closer than ever to having an OS that can be easily installed by just about anyone and will do the basic things most people do with their Windows computers. Ubuntu is as close as I've seen so far personally, but still is not there yet. In my opinion they are not there yet, but if and when they do arrive at that destination look out Microsoft, because your dreams of world domination will be crushed.