Posted on 04/23/2009 12:25:37 PM PDT by aft_lizard
New build hasn't been leaked to torrents -- yet
Microsoft's Windows 7 is perhaps one of the most hotly anticipated tech products of the year. Its beta builds have thus far showcased both polish and Microsoft's willingness to improve and take constructive criticism. Microsoft has over 2,000 planned bug fixes for the Release Candidate phase, and recent builds have given users just a taste of the promising new OS's potential.
Hot on the heels of the leak of RC build 7077 to the torrent world earlier this month, Microsoft has delivered a major milestone build to OEM partners and TAP gold customers. Microsoft reportedly compiled the new build, 7100.0.winmain_win7rc.090421-1700 (build 7100, for short), on Tuesday, and has already began distribution.
While some are likely eagerly awaiting the build to hit torrents, for home testing, Microsoft may actually beat leakers to the punch. Microsoft announced via its Partners page plans to launch a semi-public distribution of the release candidate by May 5th to MSDN/TechNet customers. The official release will invariably also be shared by these customers over torrent. The 7100 build seems a likely target for the release.
There's potential, though, that the posting could be a mistake, as a Microsoft Online Chat Concierge spokesperson commented, "Currently the Windows 7 RC has not been available through the TechNet subscription yet, only the Microsoft OEM partners such as Dell, Siemens are taking part in the RC's this period of test."
Regardless, whenever DailyTech get its hands on release candidate 7100, a features update piece can be expected. Until then, like the rest of community, we have to wait and see.
If the final product sold for $50, and didn’t have product activation, I’d be interested.
No - but the release candidate will be made available for the general public to download sometime in the next 45 days - I believe.
In my consulting and professional life, I've never advocated using "upgrade" versions of Windows ever.
IMO, it's ALWAYS worth the extra work to back up data and do a clean install of the new OS. Upgraded Windows installs have frequently had strange issues pop up over time.
Vista / 7 doesn’t cost 300 and it has a considerable number of improvements over XP.
That is the problem. If MS continued to allow in place installs over old OS’s the systems get bloated and contain gremlins, eventually they have to do a Apple and say enough is enough let’s start from scratch. The importance is educating the public about this. Make sure that those who don’t want to start from scratch or to take the time to back up and reinstall applications that this is not for them.
Otherwise go find a Vista Upgrade for XP, install that(no need to register) and then install 7 over that. But that is too much bloat IMO or you can install on a new partition or just bit the bullet and start from scratch.
Careful, you shouldn’t mess with someone else’s religion.
Suggested Retail Price (MSRP)
Home Basic .......... $199.95
Home Premium ...... $259.95
Business ............. $299.95
Ultimate ............. $319.95
Looks like the MSRP is pretty close to $300 to me.
No one pays MSRP so don’t pretend they do.
Notice you didn’t respond to the other half of my post.
“If the final product sold for $50, and didn’t have product activation, I’d be interested.”
If it sold for $50, activation would not be necessary for sure. I would think they could do this if they wanted. I doubt Dell/HP/etc are paying the $100+ OEM license price an individual has to pay.
Microsoft may have much deeper problems with the Vista/Windows7 track though. Non-profits I deal with are looking seriously at Mac even though it will cost them more initially. They perceive Mac as a safer platform out of the box, less prone to virus/malware/etc threats and for general office needs it solves their problems as well if not better than Microsoft. They also think there will be a shorter training curve. Since most are XP based now anyway, they are looking at fork-lift upgrades now matter what they do. I think Microsoft will have their work cut out for them to not loose significant market share over the next few years.
I don’t know what corporate customers are considering but sooner or later, they will need to leave XP as well. I don’t know if Mac or Linux are truly enterprise ready, but the fact people are beginning to look around should concern Microsoft.
What major Virus issues has Vista had?
I always suggest people to purchase OEM from stores. Just go buy some cheap computer part(a fan for instance) and save about $200 off the OS, well not that much but pretty close.
For instance Home Premium is $99 OEM.
Yes, you’re correct... most of the Microsoft MSRPs come in below $300. And we all know MSRP is a “guideline”.
Features...........MSRP
Home Basic......$199.95
Home Premium....$259.95
Business........$299.95
Ultimate........$319.95
Please tell me though what kind of improvements are worth spending my time re-installing about 40+ some-odd applications.
“What major Virus issues has Vista had?”
Most threats out there can smack down pretty much any Microsoft platform in use. Conficker was just the latest.
Conflicker only hit those who had not installed updated in months.
Take your pick.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Features_new_to_Windows_Vista
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technical_features_new_to_Windows_Vista
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Security_and_safety_features_new_to_Windows_Vista
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Management_features_new_to_Windows_Vista
Yep mostly the OS thieves in third world countries, although some others who did get it but turned off their updates out of paranoia or disconnected their internet got hit too but very few of them did.
“Conflicker only hit those who had not installed updated in months.”
Or had no antivirus software in place, I agree. And even though it was addressed by Microsoft in a timely manner, still the perception is that organizations with limited dollars are better off going another way, even if it costs them more in up front costs. They see dealing with Microsoft products as being insecure, buggy, and bit behind in taking advantage of high performance hw out there. No, I’m not kidding about that. It surprises me that Mac is being seen as ahead in performance, but that is what I am hearing on the street.
Which is why 7 is so very important to MS. And so far the word from most people,MAC users included, is that it performance exceeds there expectations. This OS spells trouble for Apple in that it dispells the Vista perception and will be hard to downplay even though it may or may not be a better OS overall than OS X, for MS it just has to be better than XP and Vista which it is by a mile.
I hope it is. I like Windows 7 pretty well myself. :)
Thanks for the links. However, I consider Wikipedia to be “informative”, not “authoritative”.
Time will tell... all the best to you.
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