seriously though if windows 7 lives up to my expectations (which are based on what people have said about it so far so that is very possible) it will be the first time i have enjoyed using a windows machine in a long long time

i'm not going to ditch my mac for it but i will be HAPPY to use my windows machine again instead of just going along with it out of necessity for a few programs that are too complex to run properly in a virtual box, and that is a good feeling

I'm fucking loving this guys. I don't think I'll even bother customizing my XP (which I reinstalled on dual boot).

So far most of my programs work as well as they did on XP, with some minor drawbacks (e.g. dialog sizes for certain firefox extensions). As long as foobar2000, MPC + porn, firefox, and mIRC continue work I'll be set.

oh and solitaire is sorta fun now

7-zip Benchmark
Windows XP
CPU Usage   184%
Rating/Usage   1592 MIPS
Rating      2937 MIPS

Windows 7
CPU Usage   181%
Rating/Usage   1569 MIPS
Rating      2852 MIPS

PerformanceTest 6.1 System-wide Benchmark
Windows XP   467.1
Windows 7   430.7

n2b, microsoft. n2b.

It's good in the respect that a lot of people were sold machines that came with intel graphics and 1GB of ram with vista installed - my laptop was like that until I upgraded it to 2 gigs and it was fine, but for all those people who don't know how to upgrade the RAM they have been seriously ripped off because of the OS. The whole rise of "netbooks" and low-power-consumption processor design by intel and ARM means that they've been forced to change so that their OS can run on lower spec machines.

If you remember windows ME/2000 then the release of XP. This situation is analogous to that.

It's funny you should mention Macs since the last OS I used was OS9 and I was very happy and creative with that (think macromedia studio/flash). XP caused me no end of trouble, Vista was a hog but it never caused me problems. 7 was the most streamlined install I have ever had! It found the obscure realtek drivers for my soundcard without me even asking.

Edit: AND THEY UPGRADED PAINT. WTF!

Edit: AND THEY UPGRADED PAINT. WTF!

Yeah, and it's about time.  I can't believe you can move objects now without doing the cut/paste routine. 

It's kind of funny that Windows 7 actually feels better even though it has fewer features than Vista.  I admit that I've liked Vista a lot, but that's because my systems have all been pretty powerful.  Still, since Windows 7 uses far less resources, my laptop runs so well now.  The processor isn't a monster, but now everything loads nice and quickly.  Even web pages seem to load faster. 

Also, for anyone who thinks they've missed out on the beta,

The beta will be available until January 24, regardless of how many people download it.

This has to be one of the biggest beta releases of all time.

I have just discovered the greatest flaw of all time with Windows 7.

Every time I unplug my laptop on Vista, I get this really loud BEEEEEP.  I love it.  It's the greatest thing about my laptop.  I look forward to hearing it every time.  It's the beep that means I am done with my work. 

But with Windows 7, there is only silence.  Nothing.  No signal that my work has ended.

H-how could you... Microsoft? 

HOW COULD YOU?



Also it sucks because I won't know that my laptop was accidentally unplugged, and that happens often on a college campus.  Anyone know how to fix this?

Adobe's installers and updaters are the most fucking annoying things on the planet.

Ah, not so keen on knowing the weather that i'll suffer from UAC. Fair trade.

Windows has precisely one advantage over other operating systems: historical compatibility.

Windows 7, and indeed, the entire glut of non-free software, does little but force more licenses down the throats of end-users for a marginal upgrade.

At least they are making measures towards the laughable "anti-monopoly" regulations by getting rid of their DRM-infested media player.

youre laughable

also windows 7 more like windows vista with the dock from osx owned 

hmm that screen looks pretty sharp! i'm way too lazy to switch my OS. i'm on vista now. after taking off al the stupid things it has (ie. gadgets) it's been running pretty smoothly. i have not complaints.

i plan on getting another laptop soon though, i'll probably look for one with windows 7.

I have to buy a new hard drive because both of the ones in my desktop are failing, does Windows 7 automatically find SATA drives because I remember having to try harder for XP to find my SATA drive.  I want to know before I buy one because I have no problem throwing down a good ol' IDE drive if it'll be an issue.

i got a SATA hard drive a few months ago- i've been using at an external in an enclosure. i had two computers at teh time- one was on XP one was on vista. the xp took some playing aroudn to get it to recognize it from what i remember, the vista one was automatic, so i'd assume windows 7 would also be easy.

though... when i bought the hard drive, it was a dud and i had to get a new one the next day :P

I have 2 IDEs and 1 SATA and all were recognised.

Speaking of recognition, it automatically downloaded and silently installed the proper geforce and realtek audio drivers. It sure beats having to do it all myself.

SPTD (what Daemon Tools & Alcohol use to make virtual devices) doesn't work yet, but an admin on their board said they would take a look at it. In the meantime I'll have to use the actual CD when playing Battlefield 2. I would use a no-cd fix if I didn't think punkbuster would nail me on it.

I have noticed more CPU usage, but when it comes down to benchmarks it's not too far apart from XP. I scored 430 on PerformanceTest 6.1 (everything except CD) compared to 467 on XP. My 7zip benchmark for windows 7 was 2852 MIPS and for XP it was 2937 MIPS. It's a fair price to pay for all the features.

God damn it this looks so nice. How big is it?

youre laughable

also windows 7 more like windows vista with the dock from osx owned 

Why are people who use Macs like this?  Whenever Microsoft does something like Apple, Mac users just LOVE to point it out, as if Microsoft users are getting screwed or something.  It's the same as people who hear others listening to a song they like, and then saying "Haha! I've been listening to that song since before it was popular."

Apple is a giant, money-hungry corporation too.  The only people who really have any right to act high-and-mighty are Linux users.  And they rarely ever do.


Anyway, is there a way to move the desktop quick button to the left side of the screen?  It feels weird having it all the way over to the bottom right.

Why are people who use Macs like this?  Whenever Microsoft does something like Apple, Mac users just LOVE to point it out, as if Microsoft users are getting screwed or something.  It's the same as people who hear others listening to a song they like, and then saying "Haha! I've been listening to that song since before it was popular."

Apple is a giant, money-hungry corporation too.  The only people who really have a right to act high-and-mighty are Linux users.  And they rarely ever do.

I Was Being Completely Serious

(theres a lot of thigns people claim are ripped off from apple which aren't really, however the new taskbar really does blatantly take a lot of influence from the dock. it is a good thing, though)

also wtf linux users never act high and mighty. do you live under a rock