Windows 7?

1. 83

   Lily Roseposted 13 years ago

   I know Windows 7 has not yet been released, but I received a Signature Edition of it today and am nervous about installing it.  Not because it isn't legit - it came from Miscrosoft - but because it's new and I have no idea what to expect.
   
   Any techies (I'm NOT one) out there have any knowledge about Windows 7 that can advise whether I should install it or not?
   
   Thanks!

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   1. 72

      sunforgedposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Windows 7 has been receiving great reviews (I have a computer running in the house with every OS, i dont play favorites!)
      
      Apparently, they were able to make a smooth, visibly appealing OS that jumps (performance wise)...Im sure  I have a beta or pirate version around here somewhere maybe ill look into this weekend
      
      If I where you. my main concern would whether the programs you used regularly are compatible with the OS
      
      And what are you upgrading from? Vista, than absolutely do it. XP. maybe not

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   2. 90

      SimeyCposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Windows 7 is supposedly better than Vista - removing a lot of the problems and fixing a lot of 'stuff' - compatibility is supposed to be a lot better, even with the 64 bit version.
      
      The question I'd ask myself is: Does the OS I have now work perfectly? If it does, then what advantage is there to installing Windows 7? If there are none, then I'd wait for a few months, find out what problems 'new installers' are having and then make an informed decision at that point.

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   3. 60

      J. Kummposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      I think you should not install it and send it to me instead.

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   4. 58

      Pr0metheusposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      I LOVE it!  It is fast and reliable.  Way better than vista.
      
      Check out my hub (my first hub ever!) on this topic.
      
      http://hubpages.com/hub/Windows_7_Review

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2. 0

   mtsi1098posted 13 years ago

   Windows 7 is supposed to be the Vista without all the hardware requirements...As a Linux person, I can only say that read the requirements on the box and match it against your computer to see if it is a fit.  Ideally, if you have a spare computer to test it on then you would not have to worry about your day-day...Good luck

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3. 83

   Lily Roseposted 13 years ago

   Thanks for the advice.  I'm upgrading from Vista (32-bit).  How do I know if the new OS is compatible with my regularly used programs?

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   1. 59

      bloggerad1970posted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Don't worry.  7 is based on Vista basically, so the drivers usually work, esp. if they are 32-bit. 64-bit drivers may give problems.
      
      And usually, a new installation of Vista or 7 doesn't really need drivers, unlike in XP.
      
      You could dual boot both if you were really paranoid about it..Cheers!

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4. 65

   WeddingConsultantposted 13 years ago

   Lily, thanks for posting the question. I was just thinking about starting a thread on Windows 7.
   
   Probably the best way to learn about Windows 7 is to attend a Windows 7 launching party. Not to worry...I'm hosting three next week and all hubbers are invited.
   
   But seriously, I'll probably be buying Windows 7 because as a student I can buy it for $30! Let's hope it's good...

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   1. 83

      Lily Roseposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Actually, I am hosting a launch party, which is why I received it for free.  I was just getting nervous and having second thoughts because I'm afraid to screw up my computer.  I'm net very tech-savvy!

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      1. 65

         WeddingConsultantposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         Wait, are you serious? Because I was joking about hosting a launch party...

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         1. 83

            Lily Roseposted 13 years agoin reply to this

            Yes, I AM serious!  I applied through houseparty.com and was notified that I was a finalist ... received the box in the mail yesterday with the installation disk for the 32- AND 64-bit versions and lots of "goodies" to give out to guests.
            
            I suppose I actually have to go through with the install since I actually have guests coming over for the launch party - I am just nervous about doing it!

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   2. 59

      Ron Montgomeryposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Did you mail the invitations?  Mine must be on its way......
      I'll make the W7 punch!

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      1. 65

         WeddingConsultantposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         Invitations are in the mail. Hope you don't mind the wedding invitation theme of the invites- it's all I could scrape up
         
         What's the punch taste like? With as *lame* as this party might be, we might need to spike it and all...

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         1. 59

            Ron Montgomeryposted 13 years agoin reply to this

            The wedding theme is appropriate, I feel like the groom wed to MS with Bill Gates holding the shotgun.
            
            No need to spike the punch, I have extra cold pills available since I no longer manufacture Meth.

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               WeddingConsultantposted 13 years agoin reply to this

               So who would officiate then?
               
               Yes, I've seen what Meth does to people...not good. Glad you're out of that market

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               1. 59

                  Ron Montgomeryposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                  

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5. 0

   zeenathposted 13 years ago

   Thanks for the information on Windows 7 release

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6. 0

   Louidam1posted 13 years ago

   From speaking to someone in Best Buy Windows 7 is going to be a whole lot better then Vista.  Pretty much a better XP.  But I would wait until other people has it to see what their opinion is.

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7. 60

   deartfuldodgerposted 13 years ago

   i just saw this in my hubtivity
   
   http://hubpages.com/hub/Windows-7-Touch-Gestures
   
   Looks like there are some great touch screen features

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   1. 83

      Lily Roseposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Thanks for that link - just read and and that's pretty cool, except why would I ever want to lean over and type on a keypad on my monitor instead of the convenient one sitting in front of me? 
      
      This might be a stupid question, but is a special monitor needed in order to use the touch screen feature?

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         deartfuldodgerposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         yes a special monitor would be required, such a feature is best for people who use tablet PC's - but there are lots of features besdies typing...for example selecting a picture, or zooming by simply touching the spot

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8. 77

   Uninvited Writerposted 13 years ago

   As with all Microsoft programs, I would wait a while before installing the new system.
   
   I usually stick with my operating system for the life of my computer. I have had bad experiences in the past with upgrading computers.

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9. 64

   Mishaposted 13 years ago

   I am running it (beta) for almost half a year on one of my machines. Aside for a few minor bugs works great, and all my software works, too.

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10. 65

    WeddingConsultantposted 13 years ago

    hahaha Lily, I'm curious- what goodies came in the mail for your launch party?

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    1. 83

       Lily Roseposted 13 years agoin reply to this

       Well, besides the "signature edition of WIndows 7" for me, it included balloons (Microsoft's colors, of course!), logo napkins, Windows 7 large "shopping" bags, logo playing cards, puzzle and lots of discount offers for microsoft products, including the OS.  Oh, and streamers, too!
       
       Hey, did you call my party lame??

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       1. 65

          WeddingConsultantposted 13 years agoin reply to this

          wow, lots of sweet goodies. They don't mess around, do they?
          
          And I was saying my party would be lame if I threw one, but truth be told I think the idea of a house party over an operating system is ridiculous!

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11. 68

    jenblacksheepposted 13 years ago

    This is probably a stupid question but ... if I install Windows 7 does it have things like Microsoft Office on it? I bought a new laptop recently and it had a version of Office on it which I guess was just a trial type-thing. But thats run out now and I don't have Office. I was wondering if I install Windows 7 would it fix that problem?

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    1. 65

       WeddingConsultantposted 13 years agoin reply to this

       Although I don't have Windows 7 yet, I'm 99% sure it doesn't come with Microsoft Office.

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12. 61

    Cirdonposted 13 years ago

    First of all, no it doesn't come with Office. No boxed version of Windows comes with Office (personally, I love Open Office and tend to avoid MS Office, Open Office is free and can read/create MS Office documents, although I do have to admit that OneNote is awesome if you have a tablet). The only reason you get a host of programs (usually trial versions) on pre-fabricated computers is because the manufacturer has loaded them onto their images. This is also why when you use the recovery CDs created from your pre-fab computer, it still has all that trial software and other junk.
    
    That said, I've been using the Release Candidate version of Windows 7 (64-bit) as my primary computer's OS for 6 months now and not only do I love it, but I've had zero problems with it (and for the record, I am by no means a M$ fangirl, I only use Windows because I'm a gamer and programmer and haven't had much luck getting Linux to run like I need it to; as it stands, Windows and Visual Studio are the only M$ products I have on my computer).
    
    The general rule of thumb that has thus far worked for me is that if it can run on Vista, then it can run on Win7 (and that includes accessories, most of which that I own have explicitly refused to write Win7 drivers yet for some bizarre reason). Win7 has a compatibility mode that actually works for things that don't like to install natively, and oftentimes, if the installer fails, there will be a dialog that will prompt you to retry in compatibility mode. I've found that it usually uses "WinXP SP3," even with Vista drivers, but it gets it working as intended. *shrug*
    
    In regards to 32-bit programs, Win7 64-bit can run in 32 or 64-bit mode, so running 32-bit programs even on 64-bit isn't an issue.
    
    The only programs I've seen/heard of not working are really old programs that were built for, like, Win9x. And Internet Explorer 6, but if you're using IE6, you need shot. I'm sorry, but there's so much better out there to use in this day and age.
    
    In regards to the touchscreen/multi-touch features, yes you need a special monitor to use it, a regular monitor does not have the sensors required to send touchscreen input to the computer. As others have said, though, this feature is primarily designed for tablet PCs and large multi-touch setups (ala NCIS) or even small multi-touches (ala iPod).
    
    Personally, I say even if your computer is running "perfectly" under Vista, it's still worth the upgrade. Win7 makes so much better use of resources than Vista. Like, it rivals WinXP's resource usage (for comparison, Vista uses about twice as many resources as XP). This goes doubly so if your computer was one of the lower-end machines (single-core Athlon or Pentium D processor) when you bought it (you can see the usage of Vista by going to task manager can looking at the charts on the "Performance" tab, the "CPU Usage History" section shows how much processor power is being used and the "Physical Memory Usage History" shows how much memory is being used, if you don't have anything running and you're using more than half of the memory, then the OS is likely taking up too much).
    
    As far as visual looks go, when my husband first installed it on his computer (he installed it first), my first thought was "KDE!" (KDE, or K-Desktop Environment, is one of the shells that Linux OSes use). If you're using Vista, then it won't be much a difference as far as getting around. They kept a lot of the Vista look and feel, just improved upon it. They also freed the sidebar widgets, so if you liked them, you'll find you can now always put them wherever you want. The taskbar is probably the biggest change basic users will notice. By default, there are no longer bars with the title text in the taskbar. They're now just icons, but when you mouse over them, you get a thumbnail (live) preview of all the windows of a given program that are open. They also double as the quicklaunch bar. You simply drag your shortcuts onto the taskbar to pin them there as quicklaunch icons, when they're open, there's a highlight around the icons to let you know. The notification icons (the ones next to the clock) have changed a little too. For one, instead of expanding out across the taskbar, they expand into a little popup or "flyout" dialog. You can also easily customize what programs are always visible or what ones are only visible when they have a message for you from the flyout.

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13. 61

    Cirdonposted 13 years ago

    Oh, and for those programs that can't run natively, Microsoft offers Windows Virtual PC, which is built to run, seamlessly, any program that can run on Windows XP. It takes a tad bit of know-how to get the programs the first time (because it is a virtual machine), but there are ample tutorials available to show you how to access programs through it, and after you've accessed the program the first time, a shortcut appears in your Programs menu, so you can just run it straight from there.
    
    If I understand Microsoft's wording, the Professional and Ultimate Editions of Win7 come with it, so your version might have it already. If not, it's available for download (at least for now, as it's also in Release Candidate stage) at the link above.

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14. 0

    comp3820posted 13 years ago

    I've been using Windows 7 Release Candidate for a while now. I initially put it on my laptop (A tablet) and since you can put the RC on three computers with one license, I also put it on my desktop.
    The funny thing is that Windows 7 was the best OS I've ever used when it was on my laptop, but I am typing in XP on my desktop because Windows 7 won't start! (Besides having many other problems before it stopped starting )
    I think M$ gave out the release candidate for reason: anyone who had troubles like me could report them, and they would be fixed in the final release, which you have.
    I would definitely go ahead and install... if it crashes, M$ will have a house-party of mad users!

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15. 59

    bulletbutterposted 13 years ago

    You have nothing to fear with Windows 7. Even after installing the OS whether you choose custom install or upgrade, none of your old data will be erased. It's all put in a Windows.old file in your Users folder.
    
    Also, Windows 7 isn't much of an upgrade from Vista. Since Vista actually works now, there is no reason to update unless you want to update for the sake of updating.

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16. 57

    mktannyposted 13 years ago

    well if you want to speed up your work and your vista runs slow then you should go for it.And in case you need any help on it may be i could help, as I have whole section of my blog on it and personally speaking I love the way windows 7 works,its real fast and creates less fuss.

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