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Taking the plunge into Windows 7

VinDSL

VinDSL

Diamond Member
Having used both for a while...

I would say that Linux et al is looking more like Windows on the desktop lately, but...

Windows 7 is surely looking more like Linux on the desktop too!

Whom is copying whom? 😉

SOURCE: Taking the plunge into Windows 7

Taking the plunge into Windows 7

It?s not an exaggeration to say that the upcoming Windows 7 is Microsoft?s most important release of its operating system in a decade.

That?s not necessarily because of its advances, or what it does for Windows users, but rather because of what it means for Microsoft as a company.

Although Windows Vista has sold relatively well ? if only because it?s the default OS that comes on most PCs now ? it has not exactly been embraced with open arms, particularly by big business, which is Microsoft?s bread and butter.

As I?ve written, this has more to do with perception than reality ? on a modern machine with decent hardware, I think Vista?s a pretty nice OS.

Still, Vista has the reputation of being buggy, bloated and intrusive. With Windows 7, Microsoft needs to release an operating system that specifically addresses those issues, and then some.

And now, you have the chance to find out for yourself if Microsoft has succeeded. Last week, during the International CES in Las Vegas, CEO Steve Ballmer announced that the first public beta would be released last Friday. Anticipation was so high that, on release day, the company?s servers were swamped. The beta was pulled and re-released Saturday, and you can now download both 32- and 64-bit versions at www.microsoft.com/windows7 through at least Jan. 24.

Of course, just because you can doesn?t mean that you should. I?ve been playing with Windows 7, and although it?s of impressive quality for a test version, installing and living with an unfinished operating system is not for the risk-averse. And, it?s certainly not a great idea to put something like this on a computer on which you depend for important tasks.

Still, if you?re the adventurous type, your machine is powerful enough (it has the same system requirements as Vista), and you are curious about what the future of Windows will bring, here?s how to get it and install it:

? Go to the link above and choose the type of Windows 7 you want. The safest choice is 32-bit, since it will also run on 64-bit processors. If you?re not sure what you have, check with the manufacturer of your computer.

? You?ll be prompted to enter a Windows Live ID. If you use Hotmail or Windows/MSN Messenger, you have one of these. If not, you?ll need to sign up, then log in once you have one.

? Next you?ll be given a product key, which will let you activate Windows 7. Unlike a finished version of Windows, you can put this beta copy on as many computers as you like. Print out the key; you?ll need it during the installation process.

? Click the download link under the key, then go away for a while. On my Comcast connection, which is pretty fast, it took about two hours to download. The 32-bit version is about 2.3 gigabytes; add another gig for the 64-bit version.

?What you?ll end up with is a file with an ISO extension. It?s a file-based image of a disc, and you?ll need to burn it to a writeable DVD. If you have disc-burning software such as Roxio Easy Media Creator or Nero, you can use that ? check the help files for details. If you don?t have the necessary software, try downloading ImgBurn, which is free and makes burning a disk image easy.

? Once you have the DVD burned, boot your computer from it. You may need to change some settings in the computer?s BIOS to do this; check the computer?s manual to see how. Once it boots, follow the on-screen instructions.

? Windows 7 will upgrade a Vista installation, but it won?t do that with Windows XP. Microsoft has decided that the only way XP users will get to put Windows 7 on their systems is to blow away the existing operating system and start over. Given that there are so many people out there who skipped Vista and are interested in Windows 7, I?m not sure about the wisdom of that choice. However, that?s the way it is ? if you upgrade an XP machine, here?s hoping you have all your critical documents and data backed up.

? I?ve been working with the Windows 7 beta for several weeks, and I like it a lot. It feels snappier and more responsive than Windows Vista. The User Account Control ? the popup that all-too-often asks if you really want to do that ? is much less intrusive, and you can control how often it nags you. There are design changes to the desktop and the taskbar that make Windows much easier to use. And it makes connecting devices and setting up home networks much easier.

? Next week, I?ll go into detail about these new features and more. You may also want to keep an eye on my blog, where I?ve written quite a bit already about Windows 7.
Click to expand...

This "authority" obviously doesn't get it! Do you?

I dunno, I'm venturing into uncharted waters here, but...

What do you think - the 1% of ppl on AnandTech that use both OS's???

I have a *feeling* that Windows n' Linux are melding in a single 'melting pot'... intentionally or unintentionally, as the case may be.

We can't wait for another 1000 years to talk about it, but I truly believe that virtually everybody is going to be using the same OS in the future, whether they would admit to it today or not!

Windows 7 is certainly the death of "Windows" et al and maybe the death of Linux et al too...

That's going to be the downfall of Linux... the failing that 'they' could never get it all together... like a band of Apaches!

Put another way, Windows 7 is going to become a 'better' Linux... and beat the rebels at their own game...

Put 'em side-by-side and tell me... which one are you using?

LoL! This is getting spooky!
 
Originally posted by: VinDSL
BTW...

Anybody see a single svchost on the task manager yet???

Windows 7... not Linux 😀
Click to expand...

Uhm, yes? Hit "Show processes from all users", I see exactly 10 right now.
What exactly are you trying to say about W7? 7 is just a modified Vista. If it looks like linux that's because the UI (KDE or GNOME) looks similar.

Linux
Windows
KDE
GNOME
 
I wish windows 7 had multi desktops like linux and mac 🙁 WTF

I like windows and linux and mac hehe. To bad only windows does everything i need. Well except multi desktop

gonna reboot in to win 7 now...
 
Originally posted by: KeypoX
I wish windows 7 had multi desktops like linux and mac 🙁 WTF

I like windows and linux and mac hehe. To bad only windows does everything i need. Well except multi desktop

gonna reboot in to win 7 now...
Click to expand...

There are plenty of multi desktop tools if you were really desperate to have it. Although naturally if it was native it would be better.
 
Everybody copies everybody. It's been happening for 20 years now with every OS manufacturer out there. Windows 7 doesn't buck this trend, it shouldn't come as a surprise.
 
Originally posted by: blurredvision
Everybody copies everybody. It's been happening for 20 years now with every OS manufacturer out there. Windows 7 doesn't buck this trend, it shouldn't come as a surprise.
Click to expand...

Yeah, for sure...

And, I'm NOT complaining! 😀

I'm still running W2K Pro mostly, on my LAN workstations - Slackware and CentOS on my servers - Vista and OpenSUSE on my lappy.

If anything...

VISTA was the surprise (been running it since March 2007). I was one of the first guys on AnandTech to actively defend Vista! Then everyone else came out of the closet...

I've been pleasantly surprised with openSUSE 11.1 Gnome/KDE 4 recently too! And, yes, Ubu 8.10...

The thing is...

Here comes Win 7 Ultimate beta x64 - I load it up - and the taskbar *looks* just like a Linux tray (minus the Linux features). LoL!

Anyway, I was just wondering if anybody else noticed it...

I'm gonna take another stab at triple-booting Vista/Win7/OpenSUSE today! 😛

I had it working the other night, but started PLAYING around with the bootloaders (which are always a mistake to PLAY with) and ended up borking my Vista install.

I *think* I got it figured out now. :thumbsup:

The 'trick' is to setup your partitions. Install Vista first, get it configured and running correctly, then hide the partition.

After you hide the Vista partition, install Win7. After you get it configured and running correctly, then you hide that partition.

After you've gotten the Vista and Win7 partitions hidden, then you install openSUSE (or whatever Linux flavor you prefer). Once you get it configured and running correctly, then you can go back and unhide (or 'activate' in the MS world) the Windows partitions.

I was trying to unhide/activate on-the-fly using GRUB when I borked the drive. Example:

title Vista
root (hd0,0)
unhide (hd0,0)
hide (hd0,1)
makeactive
chainloader +1

title Windows 7
root (hd0,1)
unhide (hd0,1)
hide (hd0,0)
makeactive
chainloader +1
Click to expand...

Actually, this WAS working great, until I decided to reinstall the bootloader in openSUSE, and I forgot to hide the Vista partition first. My bad!!!

Sooo... wish me luck!

I'm gonna get this lappy triple-booted yet...
 
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