Ryu-ka Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 Original story from: http://www.efluxmedia.com/news_Windows_7_O...tory_33264.html We are on the verge of entering the post-Vista era, but before even thinking of what's ahead, we need to take a step back in time and realize one thing: Microsoft has created the most popular operating system in the world (according to last year's statistics), and yes, I'm talking about Windows XP. Then, there was this little thing called Vista, which smelled like trouble from the beginning, and in which case even the most reticent of predictions proved right. Two years of Windows Vista can be resumed in frustration from users, and accusations from computer makers that Vista was rushed and consumers were deceived about their PCs capability to run the OS, but also one unforgettable acknowledgement from Steve Ballmer, who, at one point, said Windows Vista was still 'a work in progress.' Well, it was 'nice' to know that, especially one year after its release (it's still worth mentioning that an estimated one third of Vista users downgraded to XP after trying their luck). Anyway, not even Bill Gates seemed happier about what they've managed to come up with, and if Gates himself called it "a mess," what can we, mere users, say to resume it even better? But while Microsoft's 'crash and burn' attempt to revive Vista and consumer confidence ended up in becoming Apple's laughing stock last year, this year started on a more positive note, with the announcement of Windows 7 public beta. Just to make a little comparison, Windows XP has been around since October 2001, and has managed to stay on top ever since, even when Windows Vista came out in November 2006. The five year difference suggests that while far from being perfect, XP has kept us warm for more than 5 years, and unfortunately, that's not something we can say about Vista. Microsoft didn't even give Vista two full years before announcing its successor, and that says a lot. Rumors have it that Windows 7, whose beta testing will end in August, will be out by the end of this year. This possibility has also raised a lot of questions on whether Microsoft will wait some more or will be rushing in again, and on whether Windows 7 is some kind of Vista in disguise or an operating system capable of offering a completely different (and less frustrating) experience. Windows 7 needs to be taken one step at a time (since it's going to take quite a while to figure out all the glitches), although I must admit the start looks promising. We must not forget that Microsoft has been more than generous by removing the 2.5 million keys limit and by opening up the beta testing to all users. And this means that those who want to give it a try must expect some things to go wrong, that's why it's called beta, and that's why feedback was invented. Just to give an example of that, the first things I noticed on my short Windows 7 experience was that my Chrome browser just wouldn't work (the installation went smoothly, but the pages just stay blank), however, Mozilla's Firefox browser works just fine. I've just mentioned the two browsers above because they're my personal choice, instead of Microsoft's Internet Explorer 8, which is still too unstable for my taste (I must admit though that I've never been to keen on it either). My 7-Zip archive utility software isn't available anymore in my right-click menu, but aside from that, things went well for me so far (my World of Warcraft runs just as smoothly…phew!). But, at the end of the day, the new operating system remains controversial. Another aspect that raises question marks on Windows 7 is its background: how much of Vista is the new OS? On a first look, it doesn't seem very different (this also means that if you're used to Vista by now, Windows 7 will be easier to manage). On the other hand, Microsoft has acknowledged that Windows 7 comes with the same basic architecture as Vista, but it also said it will not make the same mistakes, and there will be no more compatibility issues - Microsoft explained at one point that the idea of Windows 7 started after receiving so much feedback on Windows Vista. And another thing… perhaps not making a launch this year will be the best thing Microsoft could do, since no one wants to see the Vista story repeating itself. All in all, I don't believe Microsoft can afford to go wrong with Windows 7 at this point, neither do they afford to lose any more users. Furthermore, how bad can it be, it's not like we're going to downgrade back to Vista… So from here, Windows 7 (due Q4 2009) looks very promising. Then again, Microsoft has "pushed back" releases before... Remember Halo 2? But if Microsoft rushes Windows 7, it might go from catching up to Mac OS X, to falling behind Vista. Posting opinions and remarks is welcome Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maverick_pranav Posted February 13, 2009 Share Posted February 13, 2009 One thing i always fail to get is why is there so much against Vista??? I remember when xp came out around 2001-2002, even it was slow on the machines back then..even it had requirements which were on a higher side for an average pc at that time!!!.. I am using Vista with sp1..and have had no compatibility issues!!.. Here are a few facts about Vista... 1)In most of my games i have got 10-15% higher frame rate than XP..including flight simulator X,unreal tournament 2004 etc.. and i dont have a DX10 gfx card..i have a gforce 7400... 2)Have heard a lot of stories regarding Aero being resource hungry..and Utilities like windows blinds give the same effect without eating up the resources! and Also Aero being called a copy!!... ->What Aero provides is glass effect...and not just transparency!!!..transparency is there in windows platform since the release of Windows 2000.... To give the glassy feel it takes about 4-6 operations like blur,etc!..So its not a copy and is much more than transparency! 3) Most of the programs which refused to work when Vista was released(like Acrobat Reader for example) have been been given an Update and work perfectly... 4) Vista requires more resources than XP...thats true and i feel nothing wrong in it..Vista came 4 years after XP... Its common to hear people talking that vista doesnt run properly with less than 2 Gb ram.. ->After SP1 performance has improved tremendously!!..and i would confidently say that Vista runs well on a system with 1Gb ram!...I a software developer,Use photoshop to designing large posters for my university..and every thing works smoothly. Vista needs a little bit of careful usage..Get SP1,make sure ur drivers are upto date...and make sure you have limited tray apps..and Vista will be a charm!! And finally,Vista doesn't need to catch up with OSX...Windows has its own plus points..like gaming for example..OSX has to go a long way before it catches up with windows in this arena...And wine is not a answer...all games don't run...and basically its the windows services that are make wine a reality!!... I am not a Windows fan..but have worked with all the releases of windows from chicago beta(windows 95 beta.) to Windows 7..and at same time have also used Mac OS7,OS8,OS9 and OSX(10.0(beta),10.1,10.2,10.3,10.4 and 10.5). Pranav Kapoor Author:InSight Desktop Search www.theinsightexperience.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Metrogirl Posted February 14, 2009 Share Posted February 14, 2009 Vista is one of those things that make evangelists out of ordinary people. You either hate it or love it, and as with most things in life, the haters tend to be the more vocal. Windows 7 will go the same way. I think Vista was the first big step for Windows into the world of "you don't need to know what's going on under the hood". Up till then the operating system had kept its components accessible and you could tinker and fiddle to your heart's content. Vista took a lot of control away from the user - quite rightly so in many cases, because people will always screw things up - but of course that didn't please the techies and those who knew how to tailor things to their own taste. In that sense Vista was more like OSX but "MS knows best" came as a shock to the corporate world and Vista's poor sales outside the home market stem from this perception. There's already a growing subculture intent on keeping XP alive for as long as possible; grafting-in Vista drivers and updating it to support newer technologies and I predict this fanbase will allow XP to last for several more years than Microsoft would like. The fact is that for all Vista's pretty interface many technical users don't want what they see as clutter and obfuscation. For the same reason a lot of technical people don't care much for OSX. Control is what it's all about for them and these new super-graphical operating systems have taken control away from the user. So it all depends on what you know and want to do. If it's just runing a spreadsheet, browsing the web or sending email - particularly if you don't want to know much about computers - you should go for OSX, Vista or W7 when it's live. You'll get impressive stability, reliability and the OS will save you from making mistakes. But if you want ultimate control, customisation and flexibility, XP will still be your friend for a long time yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pirateo Posted February 14, 2009 Share Posted February 14, 2009 I didn't stick with Vista due to it's performance. However, I kept Windows 7 on my laptop for a month and was extremely pleased with it. I'm going back to XP until the final release of Windows 7. I didn't once have a crash or error on Windows 7 either. Windows 7 will definitely be on my laptop when it releases Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryu-ka Posted February 14, 2009 Author Share Posted February 14, 2009 I didn't stick with Vista due to it's performance. However, I kept Windows 7 on my laptop for a month and was extremely pleased with it. I'm going back to XP until the final release of Windows 7. I didn't once have a crash or error on Windows 7 either. Windows 7 will definitely be on my laptop when it releases I'm currently a Windows 7 user too. The only problem I've encountered, is that when I run uTorrent and Spore, there are occasions where my computer gets really slow, and a few times, I've faced the blue screen of death, which I ignore. I might or might not downgrade back to XP until the final version is released. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pirateo Posted February 14, 2009 Share Posted February 14, 2009 I'm currently a Windows 7 user too. The only problem I've encountered, is that when I run uTorrent and Spore, there are occasions where my computer gets really slow, and a few times, I've faced the blue screen of death, which I ignore. I might or might not downgrade back to XP until the final version is released. That's odd. I ran uTorrent a lot and had nothing go wrong. Maybe one of your RAM sticks is defected? That's what happened to me on my old computer when running XP. It would crash to a blue screen of death while playing CS for a few minutes or doing anything for a while. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwi89 Posted February 18, 2009 Share Posted February 18, 2009 THe problem that I find with all this "windows 7 was announced not even 2 years after vista was out" is that generaly it only takes 2 years before MS do another release. I mean... win95 - 98 about 3 years, 98 - 2000 2 years. 2000 - XP was only 1 year. So when you look, its not really any different from any normal release. They dont seem to be rushing any more then usual. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hecker Posted February 18, 2009 Share Posted February 18, 2009 I found the text to be very interesting, but then my brain automatically tuned out once I read: My 7-Zip archive utility software isn't available anymore in my right-click menu, but aside from that, things went well for me so far (my World of Warcraft runs just as smoothly…phew! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
littledragon Posted February 18, 2009 Share Posted February 18, 2009 THe problem that I find with all this "windows 7 was announced not even 2 years after vista was out" is that generaly it only takes 2 years before MS do another release. I mean... win95 - 98 about 3 years, 98 - 2000 2 years. 2000 - XP was only 1 year. So when you look, its not really any different from any normal release. They dont seem to be rushing any more then usual. 2000 wasn't really a successor to '98. If you remember, there used to be two Windows lineups and good 'ol Bill announced that they'd be merging them together at some point. There was 3.1, 95, 98, 98SE and Millenium for the home user. For the corporate side, there was 3.11 Windows for Workgroups, NT3.51, NT4 and NT5 which was later renamed to Windows 2000. Windows XP was the first attempt to merging the two together. I like your point about the timing of their announcement. 2 years is the norm for MS but people seem to see it as being rushed to put out an OS that fixes the "problems" with Vista. Why is it that MS is shunned for announcing a new OS after 2 years yet Apple is praised for announcing Snow Leopard last June... only 8 months after the release of Leopard? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cain. Posted February 19, 2009 Share Posted February 19, 2009 Well, I guess it's because Apple's versioning is totally different from MS's - OS X is on the market since 2001. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottishduck Posted February 19, 2009 Share Posted February 19, 2009 My 7-Zip archive utility software isn't available anymore in my right-click menu Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
impulsion Posted February 19, 2009 Share Posted February 19, 2009 I currently am running Windows 7 on my HP Pavilion without any problems what so ever. only issue i have encountered is trying to install virtual drives (daemon tools, magic disc, alcohol 120%... etc) otherwise thumbs up!!! uses less resources than vista and runs much faster as well!!! looking forward to the final release!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M Y Awan Posted February 22, 2009 Share Posted February 22, 2009 a good and balanced reviews of windows 7: http://ibuymobile.co.uk/reviews/2009/02/14...ndows-7-review/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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