Windows 7

[bryce]

Anyone tried it?

I've put it on the home laptop and it slamdunks Vista from a great height. Very stable and fast.

One word of warning - the beta licence expires in August 2009 and there is no way to revert to the previous OS. Then you either have to backup and clean install the old OS or upgrade to full 7 when it's released (or crack the beta).

 

[ACS]

Yes, we have and binned it almost immediately. The beta is full of bugs, it does not like Java. Typical M$.

 

[bryce]

Interesting. I've had no problems apart from having to switch off the Skype IE8 add-in and TMPGEnc not working. Everything else works fine.

 

[TheDoctor]

Yes, we have and binned it almost immediately. The beta is full of bugs, it does not like Java. Typical M$.

But...but...a beta will be full of bugs and bits that don't work!
That's why it's a beta!

 

[Carwash]

Is there anything innovative in it? (By which I mean anything new that you won't find in current versions of Linux/BSD/OS X/Solaris/etc etc.)

 

[ACS]

But...but...a beta will be full of bugs and bits that don't work!
That's why it's a beta!

Yes, I am aware that will still have a number of 'features' but most knowledgable users would expect the next generation of an existing web browser to be able to use Java functionality without issue. Its not like M$ are recoding IE7 from the ground up, more like sticking a new front on existing code while borrowing some of the best features of Opera and Firefox.

Bugs yes, complete failure to intergrate into a major componet of web technology, No.

 

[beanzontoast]

Is there anything innovative in it? (By which I mean anything new that you won't find in current versions of Linux/BSD/OS X/Solaris/etc etc.)

Meeee-oooooowwwww! Can I get you another saucer of milk?

 

[Carwash]

Meeee-oooooowwwww! Can I get you another saucer of milk?

It was a sincere question. I would really like to know. Vista didn't seem to offer much in this regard, and neither (from a ordinary user's point of view) will the next planned release of OS X.

 

[beanzontoast]

It was a sincere question. I would really like to know. Vista didn't seem to offer much in this regard, and neither (from a ordinary user's point of view) will the next planned release of OS X.

Only kidding!

I thought it was a brilliant question. I found Vista a complete disappointment (and paid to go back to Xp) - won't be rushing to try Windows 7. So I'd be interested in any answers too.

 

[yello]

I think the thing that bugged me (ho ho) about Vista, and made me finally ditch the Windows OS, was it's bloated nature for little pay back. MS appeared to me to be layering sophistication over the top of functionality but requiring the end user to shell out (ho ho) on memory and/or hard disk upgrades just to run it efficiently.

If Windows 7 (whatever it is called) is slimmed down then I would be interested... but I suspect not.

That's not to say that Linux is the saving grace either. Anyone that's messed around with it will know that it can be a right dog to get running on your own machine... such are the peculiarities and uniqueness of the various hardware component flavours out there. Unix does not always handle stuff straight out of the box. Ubuntu's pretty good in my limited experience but even that can require tweaking etc. The information is out there to do that but, and I don't care what anyone says, the Unix community is NOT friendly to the know nothing end user. It's intimidating and they assume a level of knowledge. And I say that as someone WITH a level of knowledge!

So, for all its faults, I can see why Windows is attractive to the home user. By and large it comes pre-installed, or you can install it yourself with a relative degree of confidence that it will work on your machine (albeit s..l..o..w..l..y in cases!). Windows doesn't do a bad job of protecting the end-user from the techy guff.

 

[beanzontoast]

I know what you mean Yello. There are times when I think to myself that I could really like Linux (Ubuntu's my favourite of those I've tried) if only I hadn't seen Xp first. I've never found Linux to be truly easy to use - and that's what it needs to be for the home user.

 

[hackbike 666]

But...but...a beta will be full of bugs and bits that don't work!
That's why it's a beta!

You have a point.

If I try anything now I will try it on virtual pc.

 

[jay clock]

I am a technically compenent ordinary user. My partner has Vista on her laptop and I can see NO benefit to her or me from the changes over XP. So my desktop (July 08) has XP on it. I cannot see how the new one will be better still.

ANd I have Linux on 2 mini netbooks (Acer and Asus) and that is a model in simplicity and speed of startup etc

 

[hackbike 666]

Does Linux run old Windows 98 progams though?

I see laptops have vista installed which means i'd give them a miss.

 

[Carwash]

Does Linux run old Windows 98 progams though?

If they really are from the Windows 98 days, you may well be able to run them under WINE, yes. Will probably be a bit hit-and-miss though.