Windows 7

vales · #1 07-12-2009, 08:42 PM

Good news:
MSDN, Technet and MS sites will have it available to download on July 24th.

The RTM is already on a handful of sites, but I'm going to wait on this one.

Bad news:
This is for the cheap $100 upgrade version, instead of the full-price one, of course. I sure as hell ain't paying them a few hundred for the OS.

The thing that gets me though, is the activation process. They royally screwed everyone over on this one. They made it so now you have to have a previously activated version installed every single time you install the OS. WHY?! Do they know how much of a pain that's going to be? Although Windows 7 Home Premium comes with disk imaging software that's included with it, it's still a freaking pain to have to go through a lenghty process just to install the damn thing.

Bottom line is that if you own a legit version of an OS you have previously bought, you have to install it, activate it online (or by phone yikes!), and then you can install Windows 7 once it's verified. So since they're ending support on Windows XP and eventually Vista, your legit cd key is going to be invalid once they stop supporting it. Then you have nothing left but to purchase the full-priced FULL version of the OS for a few hundred dollars.

See where this is going?

provocating · #2 07-12-2009, 08:45 PM

Well the problem is as a technician I seriously need to know the OS, and know it well.

**GeorgeS** · #3 07-12-2009, 09:24 PM

So far I have been running RC1 64bit for several months and never looked back.
Runs great on the Core I7 quad core and everything seems well polished for a beta.

I'll be buying 2 copies of home. Vista 32 was not worth it, and removed it from the laptop as well.

FYI - comodo (inexpensive) firewall and integrated virus checker has worked flawlessly. This is on a 64bit system.

Took a while to get mysql running on it, as well as PERL

GeorgeS

vales · #4 07-12-2009, 09:44 PM

I don't mean to sound crass, but...

You're saying you're a technician and have to "seriously" know Win7, but you never gave Vista a chance? Seriously? You nuked Vista after having it on your drive for 10 minutes? LOL.

Then you should have used Vista since it's using the same kernel.

There's nothing you can learn from Windows 7 that you couldn't have learned a few years ago with Vista. If you really need to know Windows 7, and you truly are a "tech" then there's a lot catching up to do since you skipped Vista all-together.

In all honestly, I seriously don't know why people say Vista is the crappiest OS. The ones who did say it is, usually didn't meet the hardware requirements, or their hardware manufacturers didn't fork out the necessary drivers to support it. It's not Microsoft's fault, it's the hardware and software companies. They've had more than enough time (more than 3 years) prior to Vista's release to get off their asses and support it, but they never did.

The Creative Labs company is the prefect example. They purposely crippled their hardware and flat out lied. They said that it didn't support Vista when all along it did, and made people shell out more money for a product that supposedly "supported" Vista. The community found out and were pissed off to say the least. And trust me, no company wants to pay an upwards of up to 400 dollars per WHQL license for drivers.

All Windows 7 is, is Vista 2.5, and it's what SP2 should have been. They didn't spend a whole lot on money in advertising Vista so it's their fault, really. But everyone has learned from Vista's kernel, and since pretty much all companies are using the same kernel to write their software now, they can finally get off their asses and support it, finally. Too bad Vista had to be the red headed step child for Windows 7 to succeed, though.

Anyways, in other news, Google's Chrome OS is coming out as well, and HP and Acer have already singed up to include the OS on their netbooks by the end of the year. The funny thing is that the CEO of Google is confident enough to leave Apple (where he current oversees the company) and return full-time to Google because of the pending OS release. HAHAHAHA.

Oh noes. What will the MAC zealots cry about now?

provocating · #5 07-12-2009, 10:04 PM

I am not getting into a pissing contest or explaining why I did not ever bother to learn Vista. I think it is self explanatory why I did not bother with it. There is no market to learn it. I also skipped learning Windows ME. Think I regret that ?

vales · #6 07-12-2009, 10:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by provocating

I am not getting into a pissing contest or explaining why I did not ever bother to learn Vista. I think it is self explanatory why I did not bother with it. There is no market to learn it. I also skipped learning Windows ME. Think I regret that ?

Hey man, that's your perogative.

But you're saying that from 10 minutes of having the OS installed? Hehe. It just sounded really funny when you said that. :P

And Windows ME... We've all been there and done that.

By the way, 6.1.7600.16384.win7_rtm.090710-1945 is out and it is final according to a few sources. Microsoft has denied it of course, but I guess we won't know till July 24th.

But damn, that's a huge jump from build 7200.

provocating · #7 07-12-2009, 10:36 PM

10 minutes of operation. Too many conversations with fellow technicians under the the same conclusion, it sucked. A year of keeping up with others opinions from forums, saying it sucked. I mean compare the boot time between Vista and Windows 7, it is not even comparable. I do not care if they are aesthetically similar, or they have a comparable kernel. The difference between the two are night and day.

Shendare · #8 07-12-2009, 10:46 PM

I used Vista for a month or so after it came out, but I felt that the bugs and driver issues forced me to revert to XP until Vista SP1 came out.

SP1 fixed the majority of the issues I was having, and manufacturers had finally come out with halfway decent drives by then, so I re-upgraded to Vista SP1 and have been using it on 2 of my 3 machines since then.

Vista has its pros and cons (with the pros being mostly aesthetic), but I'll be quite glad to upgrade to 7 once it's released. I'm consistently hearing good things about its performance and stability, Vista's main cons.

I'll almost certainly end up having to upgrade my work to Windows 7 in the next couple of years (70 desktops and 15 laptops), but I'm riding XP for as long as I can, for sanity's sake.

blackdragonsdg · #9 07-12-2009, 09:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vales

Good news:
MSDN, Technet and MS sites will have it available to download on July 24th.

The RTM is already on a handful of sites, but I'm going to wait on this one.

Bad news:
This is for the cheap $100 upgrade version, instead of the full-price one, of course. I sure as hell ain't paying them a few hundred for the OS.

The thing that gets me though, is the activation process. They royally screwed everyone over on this one. They made it so now you have to have a previously activated version installed every single time you install the OS. WHY?! Do they know how much of a pain that's going to be? Although Windows 7 Home Premium comes with disk imaging software that's included with it, it's still a freaking pain to have to go through a lenghty process just to install the damn thing.

Bottom line is that if you own a legit version of an OS you have previously bought, you have to install it, activate it online (or by phone yikes!), and then you can install Windows 7 once it's verified. So since they're ending support on Windows XP and eventually Vista, your legit cd key is going to be invalid once they stop supporting it. Then you have nothing left but to purchase the full-priced FULL version of the OS for a few hundred dollars.

See where this is going?

As far as I know the activation process MS uses doesn't really distinguish between an upgrade copy and a full version of windows it just checks for a valid cd key. That being said there is no reason why you can't install a full version of the OS using your legally obtained cd key. That should not violate any laws if you legally own the software. I am pretty sure that MS offers a trial version of windows on there website that you should be able to download and activate using your cd key. Just select the correct version during install and it should work fine.

vales · #10 07-12-2009, 10:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by blackdragonsdg

As far as I know the activation process MS uses doesn't really distinguish between an upgrade copy and a full version of windows it just checks for a valid cd key.

Try running the Windows 7 upgrade advisor.

Actually, it does. You need Windows 7 Ultimate Edition Upgrade in order to upgrade anyways, so you have to pay more for that version. And, it's checking a verified OS installation prior to it.

So you either shell out over 200 bucks for a version of the upgrade to Windows 7, or you pay full price. Either way, you have to validate it, is what I'm trying to say.

This is all in the name of Piracy, but Microsoft is shooting themselves in the foot, I think.

provocating · #11 07-12-2009, 10:20 PM

I personally do not have a subscription but why not just do Technet ? From what I understand you get 10 copies of just about every single thing Microsoft makes. You can download the ISO's, copy down all of your keys and you are set. You have access to everything for a year and the keys still work after that. From what I understand there is nothing illegal about it, it is something MS offers.

vales · #12 07-13-2009, 12:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by provocating

I personally do not have a subscription but why not just do Technet ? From what I understand you get 10 copies of just about every single thing Microsoft makes. You can download the ISO's, copy down all of your keys and you are set. You have access to everything for a year and the keys still work after that. From what I understand there is nothing illegal about it, it is something MS offers.

Yeah. A lot of people are trying to get MSDN subs, but it's not something that you can get that easily. If you're a student, it's much easier though.

I already have 12 CD Keys for Windows 7 for both 32 and 64bit, so I'm waiting to see if it'll stick once the RTM is out. You can still use the RC1 Windows 7 DVD and use that to upgrade to a RTM Win7, so a lot of people are going that route. If they still work, I'll toss one your way.

There was a limited time when the RC1 beta was closed, and they were giving out free CD Keys, so I snatched up a handful just in case. *OM NOM NOM NOM*

And about the 10 minute thing, you know I'm just ribbing ya. It just sounded funny, that's all. It's like me telling my friends, that after I was married my wife for ten minutes I decided she wasn't for me, both asthetically and performance wise, so I installed HotBabe 7.

Shendare, I did the same too. Vista out of the box (before SP1) was horrible - I mean in comparison to what it is now at least. And they issued SP1 too late, so the damage has already been done. Luckily I was still using WinXP as a dual boot, so I didn't get shafted much. After SP1, it was nice so I just made it my main OS.

I just can't go back to WinXP, though. They only way to go is forward, and that's with Windows 7. Damn, I sound like a commercial now.