Windows 7 O/S...when will it be released....

[StevieC]

From what I understand Vista has quite a few networking issues. Aside from getting it on the internet wirelessly or wired it has a big problem sharing printers, drives and seeing some attached computers for random reasons. The Knowledge base on microsoft's website is full of these known issues!

 

[Pablo]

Mine networks just fine in the home....but I can't see ALL the printers.....so that is a bugger. OTOH, the machines with XP have even more issues.

TnS's last sentence makes sense to me. If Win 7 is that much better, then GREAT!

 

[MONKEYMAN]

Vista seems to be doing great, especially on my Toshiba laptop. It came with Service pack 1. But I am mostly just surfing the Internet.

After Windows 7 is released, how long will it take for HP and others to have appropriate drivers? Or will it not be a problem with Vista being around a while?

The comments on corporate users or lack of adoption to Vista is enlightening. I know the large teaching hospital I frequent has XP, as well as at work. All with new Dell's bought in the last year or so.

 

[ToyotaNSaturn]

The driver models for Win7 are the same for Vista. Smart move on MS's part not to make developers change their ways again.

 

[7TFord]

Great news! I guess I'll put off my switch to "Apple" then. Didn't want to take the chance on Vista so had decided on an iMac for a new machine. Nervous though being a first time user as I can usually get out of a bind on my own with issues in Windows, but wouldn't know where to start in Mac OS. I'll take a chance and upgrade from my XP to 7 first.

 

[uc50ic4more]

Originally Posted By: 7TFord
... as I can usually get out of a bind on my own with issues in Windows, but wouldn't know where to start in Mac OS.


That's common for Windows users to think that, as you're conditioned to think that stuff is going to be inconsistent, of poor quality, unfriendly and counterintuitive to use, and will break all the time. It doesn't. You just kinda turn on an iMac and use it; there's really no, or at least very, very little maintenance and repair knowledge you need.

I was like that when I made the switch, too, some years ago. I had no idea what to do with myself for all those hours I had used to spend every week cajoling my Windows system to please sweet lord keep working.

 

[7TFord]

Originally Posted By: uc50ic4more
Originally Posted By: 7TFord
... as I can usually get out of a bind on my own with issues in Windows, but wouldn't know where to start in Mac OS.


That's common for Windows users to think that, as you're conditioned to think that stuff is going to be inconsistent, of poor quality, unfriendly and counterintuitive to use, and will break all the time. It doesn't. You just kinda turn on an iMac and use it; there's really no, or at least very, very little maintenance and repair knowledge you need.

I was like that when I made the switch, too, some years ago. I had no idea what to do with myself for all those hours I had used to spend every week cajoling my Windows system to please sweet lord keep working.


I didn't mean to insinuate that I was expecting poor quality, just maybe more of the same. After all a Mac is similar hardware in a different box. Maybe better fit and finish and quality control possibly considering that they are involved in the design of the components, but after all still the same configuration of components with a different OS.

As you likely were at the start I was just concerned with learning something considerably different and about how to deal with any issues. I would be quite content to have it function flawlessly and not to have the dreaded "Blue Screen" every time I installed something! I still may make the switch. I might just opt for the extended warranty though.

 

[Buffman]

windows 7 beta is running fairly well on my 4yr old machine. I have a copy of vista that I purchased a year ago(heavy heavy discount) but haven't installed yet. I can't really do much with W7 as I can't get it to recognize my Nforce2 ethernet controller. Got to see if I can get a spare card to work..

 

[Volvohead]

Looks like Vista is the Win2k of this era from a deployment perspective. A short window, no pun intended.

Although I really preferred Win2k over XP for many years.

Too much OS churn with MS platforms.

 

[BearZDefect]

I used Windows 2000 for four years, and was mostly satisfied with it. Since then I've used Windows XP, which I've now used for 4+ years without much trouble. I hope Microsoft's next major release is a good one!

This may sound silly, but part of my scheme to keeping my XP stable is to NOT apply all the updates all the time. Some updates cause problems. It is time-consuming to update selectively, but I also don't do it often.

So, you say my PC is more vulnerable then. Maybe, but the last malicious software that got me was back in my Windows 2000 days, probably year 2002, before the advent of ubiquitous firewalls.

I don't use regular anti-virus software either, can't stand how they grind the PC down to a snail's pace. I like the CPU and disk to serve my activity, not the endless activity of some AV software.

 

[Nyquist]

Originally Posted By: BearZDefect
I used Windows 2000 for four years, and was mostly satisfied with it. Since then I've used Windows XP, which I've now used for 4+ years without much trouble. I hope Microsoft's next major release is a good one!
...

I don't use regular anti-virus software either, can't stand how they grind the PC down to a snail's pace. I like the CPU and disk to serve my activity, not the endless activity of some AV software.

Bear, I'm happy to report that some antivirus companies have finally listened to our complaints about slow-downs and are incorporating 'white lists' into their scheme. Some how this program can tell if a file or application has changed. If it hasn't, it ignores it. This really makes a big difference in speed. When I upgraded I noticed that boot time was cut down by 8-12 seconds for the 'usability' criteria, and all applications started faster.

As for Windows 7 (W7), I'm really pumped about this OS. There are a few minor bugs that need to be taken care of within the power settings of some notebooks I have it on, but otherwise it is very solid. Boot time is about 40% less than Vista on my notebook running all the same apps sans Office and Photoshop.

Also, anything that works in Vista pretty much works in W7. This includes device drivers and various other fixes/workarounds for older equipment.

I'm not a Microsoft fanboy by any means, but I can appreciate a nicely tuned operating system. Now if only manufacturers would stop cluttering up the darn things with needless add stuff. . .

 

[Volvohead]

Originally Posted By: BearZDefect
I don't use regular anti-virus software either, can't stand how they grind the PC down to a snail's pace. I like the CPU and disk to serve my activity, not the endless activity of some AV software.


A big concern, heightened with the addition of ASW apps. Guys running an AV and three or four ASWs simultaneously are burning up a lot of CPU cycles just watching things.

There ARE small footprint AVs out there, NOD32 foremost among them. I also consider it more effective than the big pig AVs, who we all know about.

 

[BearZDefect]

Nyquist, Volvohead, thanks for the information.

Nyquist, whenever I get a new PC it takes me a whole weekend to weed out all the trash the OEM and MS drown it with, and set up my essential applications.

My current PC is approaching two years in service, I hope it goes another two years so W7 is settled by the time I need a replacement. I seem to get about four years out of them.