Windows 7

[Second Chance]

Well let's see who is getting the new windows or has a new computer with it already installed. Lets leave some feedback so we can decide if paying $120.00 for the upgrade is worth it. Like most I will be waiting at least a few months, so all the bugs can get worked out............

[mtaylor]

I've had the 64bit windows 7 RC for months and it works fine. It's a huge improvement over vista.

[OfficerResource.com]

I am getting windows 7 because I purchased a dell a few months ago but they have not contacted me yet.

[KaiGywer]

My buddy who works for Best Buy got the Ultimate edition last week and installed it on his laptop. Then yesterday I bought a new laptop with Windows 7 preinstalled. Works fine for now

[gopherpuckfan]

I've been running the Release Candidate on my laptop and desktop for a couple months. I love it. I hated Vista so much that I "upgraded" my laptop to XP when I bought it. I'll definitely be purchasing the retail version in the near future.

[Jenna]

I've never upgraded an operating system; I just get the upgrade when I buy a new computer. I figure it's too much trouble to deal with the bugs that crop up when upgrading. I'm still using Windows XP.

[Jim1348]

Alright guys, sell me on it then. What will it do that XP won't do? I have read good things about it, but I will probably just wait until I get another computer.

[Odd]

Kinda depends what you're doing and how much your time is worth to you - and how much time spent fiddling with the PC is work vs entertainment.

Just as an example, Media Player has been updated quite a bit in Win7 and so is the Windows Movie Maker for Win7. XP versions aren't going to get all the updates, so if you want to watch a h.264 encoded movie, or edit with it or a number of codecs developed in recent years, XP's built in tools won't help you while Win7's will.

On the other hand, if you haven't run into a problem with that in XP yet you probably won't.

Security wise : who knows? Win7's structure is better in user accounts and such, XP has been hardened with a decade of patches. Depends what your use is again.

Performance : While Vista was a dog and Win7 is faster, XP is pretty quick on modern hardware. Pretty much a tie for most users.

User interface : Win7 is modern and pretty, XP is cartoonish. Fashion points to Win7

And so on. Basically if XP is working for you, no reason to change now. Unlike Vista, no reason to stay with XP vs Win7 when getting a new PC. Right now software isn't going to make you change, but expect XP support to be dropped for software and device drivers in the not distant future.

If you do want to put Win7 on an older PC, run the Window 7 Upgrade Advisor first. It'll check your hardware and tell you if it's supported, might save some headaches.

Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor

[thanantos]

I've been running the Release Candidate on my laptop and desktop for a couple months. I love it. I hated Vista so much that I "upgraded" my laptop to XP when I bought it. I'll definitely be purchasing the retail version in the near future.

Same here. I bought a 17" dell laptop about 2 years ago and at the time you could only get 17" laptops with Vista. I did not think the added beauty of Vista was worth the extra PITA or the system resources so I pitched a bitch when I went to order the same machine for a friend and found that because of the Vista backlash M$ had opened things up a bit and it was offered with XP.

So I up/downgraded, but love Windows 7 now.

It is important to note though that it works great on my lappie partly because it was designed for Vista. All the drivers are available, etc.

On the other hand, I have a thanantos built desktop that has an odd ball motherboard (socket 939), and I cannot find Vista/Windows 7 drivers for it. So that machine runs Ubuntu now.

[OfficerResource.com]

I just received my windows 7 disk and upgraded my laptop. I am very impressed with some of the features.

[triggerpull]

I just purchased a real nice dual core processor toshiba 13.3 in screen with Windows 7 pre-installed. I have two other home networked computers with XP and man you can really tell the difference. I enjoy the ease of applications and how nothing locks up. I've loaded a ton of programs on the laptop and put it through the ringer already. Plus I use it for most of my work files and Trigger Pull Tactical Tactical website design. Runs smooth as a babies butt. I don't know if I'd pay $120 for the upgrade just yet, but it's worth it down the road a month or so. Ask for it for Christmas!

[Odd]

Tip a (few) day late for upgraders. MS had the nicely priced "Family Pack" with three W7 Home Premium upgrade licenses for $150. In the spirit of the holidays they axed it a couple days ago.

If you were thinking about upgrading, or heck if you want to sell it for double MSRP on eBay and use the profit to buy something else, might check your mom and pop shops to see if they have any left.

Of course I finally converted a couple systems over with the Release Candidate and made myself use it to get a clearer picture. With classic timing, I do this just as the last of the deals dies, ha!

Oh...

On the other hand, I have a thanantos built desktop that has an odd ball motherboard (socket 939), and I cannot find Vista/Windows 7 drivers for it. So that machine runs Ubuntu now.

Out of morbid curiosity I stuck W7 on my old lapster. I've tried Ubuntu, Redhat on it before. XP was faster so I went back to it. Specs : PIII 1ghz, 384meg ram, SIS chipset...yeah, OUCH. (It was an auction rescue. I love rescue mutts in many varieties) Had to liberate some audio drivers from Windows Server 2003, never did get the modem working, but everything else worked with the default driver set or there was an update provided through Windows Update. Big kudos to MS on that. This thing came out in early 2002, but was sold with Win98 since XP was too much of a hog for it.

Now to say W7 is snappy would be lying. To say it's as fast as XP would be stretching the truth, though this is smoother about handling maxed out CPU/ram conditions. Flash video performance is down a bit compared to XP, but otherwise it's perfectly usable. Of course the "Windows Experience" rating is a 1.0, but then I just browse, download, listen to mp3s, etc on it anyway, no gaming and it never could do Hulu. Not bad for an install I had to do on another machine since W7 won't even let you install without at least 512meg. Still faster than Ubuntu: Redhat was painfully bad on this hardware, but then I don't know diddly about tweaking linux.

Anyway, that's what I've been up to. Been too much of a grump to mix with people so I've been playing with the toys. Just wish I'd done it a bit earlier before the 3 license pack deal died.

[Jenna]

I wish they would stop upgrading windows, it basically forces everyone to buy new software and/or computers just to stay compatible with the internet. But I guess that's the point.

[ProjectCamaro]

When I bought my computer it came with Vista but it also came with a free upgrade to Windows 7. I just recieved my email yesterday saying they have shipped the CD to me. I guess I'm one of the few people that doesn't have any problems with Vista but I am looking forward to Windows 7.

[thanantos]

When I bought my computer it came with Vista but it also came with a free upgrade to Windows 7. I just recieved my email yesterday saying they have shipped the CD to me. I guess I'm one of the few people that doesn't have any problems with Vista but I am looking forward to Windows 7.

I never had any problems with Vista either, but my Dell laptop was designed for it. I downgraded to XP because I preferred the extra horsepower over the limited extra features that Vista came with, but I prepaid for Windows 7 after previewing the beta and am happy for the upgrade.