Posted on 10/04/2009 5:41:20 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
Microsoft Corp.'s new Windows 7 computer operating system hopes to pull off a major trick with memory.
Not computer memory, but ours.
It's supposed to make us forget Vista.
The Vista operating system, which Windows 7 will officially replace later this month, had a terrible reputation almost from the time it debuted in 2007.
Because of Vista's technical foibles, sluggish operation and inability to play nicely with some other programs, consumers and professionals shunned it in droves, refusing to update from Microsoft's old, reliable XP operating system.
Apple Inc. made fun of Vista in a set of hilarious TV commercials, and Microsoft struck back meekly with ads that proclaimed Vista wasn't as bad as you thought.
The Windows 7 upgrade, which will sell for $119 for the Home Premium consumer version, is a chance at redemption. But it's also a campaign to head off the first real competition Windows has ever had in the PC field.
Next year, Web giant Google Inc. will introduce its first operating system, Chrome OS. Because it will be a so-called cloud computing system -- with many of its operations living on the Internet -- it's already hyped to be extremely fast, with the ability to constantly evolve.
Like Windows, Chrome OS will work on PCs. But unlike Windows, it will be free.
At first, Chrome OS will be just for the small laptops known as netbooks. But if it is successful and is expanded to full-size laptops and desktop computers, it could be a formidable challenger.
Which is perhaps why, although there is nothing revolutionary about Windows 7, Microsoft has striven mightily -- and in some ways successfully -- to at least catch up with and foresee the competition when it comes to user friendliness.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
Microsoft needs to stop writing code and Congress needs to stop writing bills.
I currently have an HP notebook PC, windows vista, AMD turionx2, and NVIDIA GeForce GO 8200M graphics.
No problems so far. I was forced to buy it about a year ago when my previous laptop fried. Overheated CPU I think.
I think I will be buying a new one in about 6 months. Just to be safe. I don’t want to get stuck with a fried laptop ever again and forced to buy another without time to shop around. I tend to be hard on them since I use them in un airconditioned and dusty places at times.
What am I doing wrong? (or right?) never had trouble with Vista. I guess I got the super-secret insider version.
Most beta users including myself are very pleased with Windows 7.
My son is a linux wiz kid. As long as he loves me I’ll keep using it. All kidding aside I installed it myself (it was very quick and easy”. My printer,scanner,camera,external sound card,usb phone card,mouse, in other words all my hardware,old and new,was actual plug and play.It cruises the internet great. I have a virtual box installed within ubuntu to run a few windows programs with. It has been installed for a year without a sign of corruption or slowing.
We need a "Bill Tax" on congresscritters. $1/word, paid by the congresscritter from his own pocket, nondeductible. / s
Let me officially say: OY VEH!
Hugging my Penguin.
"blue screens" What's that?
(Back in the 80's I worked on real time embedded controllers. Even written in partial spaghetti assembly code, our only reboots were due to EMI-hardware issues that were eventually overcome.)
I did a brief consult with a potential customer to help with an Asterisk appliance, and the network was hosed. I whipped out my venerable (ancient) CentOS laptop and figured out his network for him. No way I could have done that on a Windoze boxen. I had 7 or 8 shell windows open running scripts on an old boxen that wouldn't support XP. But it does what I need, when I put on the network hat. All of my personal laptops have a version of Linux on them.
/johnny
Mac
It is great as long as you stick with Leopard. I am running 10.5.8 and it is very stable. I tried Snow Leopard and got kernel panics, so after a week of that, I reverted the system back to 10.5.8. I’ll upgrade to Snow Leopard when they come out with 10.6.2 and upgrade the kernel beyond 10.0.0.
“W2k works for most stuff, XP for slightly more.”
That’s the issue... what ELSE do you want an OS to do for you?
Microsoft hasn’t had a new innovative idea for at least a decade (some would say “ever”). Now they face serious competition for their office suite, server suite, and O/S markets from “free” alternatives. So, if you’re gonna change, why spend serious money for something that you don’t really like, and causes your computer to run slower?
Cuz it's purty.
I guess you don't run layer-2 network utilities or change network connections 50 or 70 times a day. Or need access to bare-metal kind of registers or things. How's that IP-v6 working out for you?
Which is ok. Machines for users don't need the functionality that I require.
Windoze of any version has never been my cup of tea, but I do support customers that use windoze, so I have to have a windoze box, in each major flavor that shows up. They don't get much use.
/johnny
But is it better than XP?
“I still have nightmares about DOS 4.0.... the LAST Microsoft product I ever bought without a year on the shelf.”
Microsoft Bob
Windows ME
Any version of Windows before 3.1
And yes, many techs have been fired for selling rumored future Microsoft products to management, only to find out that they were never released, or if released they don’t have many of the features, or if they do have the features then they don’t work. Server 2000 Active Directory, anyone? When is NT 5 supposed to come out again? Rip out Novell eDir in favor of a much slower early edition of Active Directory, or GroupWise in favor of Exchange that promptly got hacked?
I haven’t tried the snowleopard yet. I am happy with what I have and what I bought my wife.
I got her a Macbook and I only have to answer questions like: How do I do a screen capture?
With her old Toshiba laptop with Vista, I had to do so much tech support, getting rid of the thing was worth it.
I have it on three machines, including a netbook that could never run Vista.
It's been pretty near perfect. No BSOD, plays well with other programs and drivers, thrifty with resources and pretty fast.
My kids have just ordered it for $30 and get Window 7 Pro because of their .edu email addresses. Microsoft is targeting students in an effort to avoid loosing people to Apple and the new Snow Leopard pgm. I can buy licenses for my three machines with the $150 Family Pack deal.
I think Microsoft has a winning product here and that people are going to love it.
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