Posted on 08/22/2010 9:53:41 AM PDT by JoeProBono
Last year at this time, Microsoft was in the final stages of preparing Windows 7 for its worldwide launch. The new OS was finally available to the public—well, at least that segment of the public with a TechNet or MSDN subscription. Those early adopters had to wait a few weeks after the official release to manufacturing date but still got a head start on the general public.
Those demanding and skeptical Windows users have now had a full year to stress-test Windows 7 and decide whether it’s good enough to replace Windows XP.
The verdict? Windows 7 has been a quiet success, maybe even a phenomenon. Last spring, a Microsoft executive told me that the company had sold 100 million Windows 7 licenses. As part of its quarterly earnings call in July, Microsoft announced that that number had risen to 175 million, and the company has projected that a total of 350 million Windows 7 licenses will have been sold by the end of this year. That’s a run rate of roughly 30 million copies per month worldwide, and it represents a lot of Windows 7-powered PCs.
Despite the big numbers, Microsoft has been almost eerily silent about its success. I didn’t hear a lot of bragging in advance of the Windows 7 launch, nor has there been much chest-thumping since.
The competition has been muted as well. When was the last time you saw one of Apple’s infamous “Get a Mac” ads? Hint: the last three ads in Apple’s campaign were released on October 23, 2009, the day after Windows 7 was launched to the public. With titles like Broken Promises and PC News, Apple’s marketing executives were hoping for a Vista-style wave of complaints, but they were as disappointed as Windows 7 upgraders were relieved. And then John Hodgman and Justin Long went off to spend more time with their families.
Meanwhile, Windows 7 keeps selling and XP usage is dropping. That’s certainly true at this site, where Windows 7 visitors now outnumber those using Windows XP and Vista usage has plunged in the past year. Here’s a graphic representation of how Windows 7 usage has increased among visitors to this site since its first beta release back in January 2009.
Perhaps it's because Microsoft knows that a HUGE percentage of those sales are a result of people desperate to recover from having a giant turd named Vista crammed down their throat.
I develop software for a living. The last PC I purchased was a notebook... HP (Compaq) ProBook 4710s. It came with Windows 7 upgrade CD and XP. Tried W7 for a week. Back to XP. For me, a computer is a tool and should work.
I hit snags with Vista and immediately went back to XP. Same with W7. I’m not a Microsoft beta-tester.... I need to make a living.
CC
True. I never mess with the “Home” editions, in case of traps like that. XP mode is essential for crap like this, unfortunately.
This is Win95 original startup... BUT!!! Do not click on it, rather copy/paste the URL. anglefire does not allow direct linking to the site :/
http://www.angelfire.com/games5/clockmaster/themicrosoftsound.wav
;)
Bikk
Here how the conversation goes:
"Brought you a new machine"
"YEA!"
"It's got Windows 7."
"Cool!"
"But that application you run 95% of the time..."
"Ya?
"...runs 1/2 to 3/4s as fast."
"......................Can I just have a wireless mouse and one of those Apple keyboards, instead?"
Interesting - I have yet to find any hardware that I couldn’t get drivers for - and I am running the 64-bit version.
Ditto
Works great for everything I have tried....even a blind hog finds an acorn once in a while.
“I’m not a Microsoft beta-tester.... I need to make a living.”
LOL. I’m a Mac user (with no respect for Apple, Inc.) but I also prefer to let the pioneers take the arrows. There came a time however, when the old system left me in the dust of those with newer systems. I was willing to accept the growing pains, but never let go of the older systems until I was 100% certain that I could duplicate or improve necessary applications.
The scanner was an issue because it got a lot of use in those days. VueScan (which is cross platform) worked immediately after download.
Cannot find a system, not special order, that does not come with 64-bit Home Premium.
Can I run my old copy of Office 32-bit on the new Home Premium?
Thanks in advance!
Thanks for the tip on VueScan....I’ll give it a shot.
As part of my turmoil, my IT guy loaded 32-bit Win7 Pro. Not many software apps need 64 bit, and a lot can’t run in 64 bit mode anyway. I’ve also had compatibility issues with older programs trying to run in an older mode.
Win 7 Pro should have no problems, its Win 7 Home.
Yes, you can run 32-bit applications on the 64-bit version of Win7 - you just need 64-bit drivers for any hardware.
You really don't need 64-bit unless you are going to be running more than 4 GB of RAM.
I forgot to add - or more than 2 cores. So if you have a quad-core processor, you should use a 64-bit OS as well...
Amen to that. A "driver" for an HP printer is an oxymoron. You typically cannot even find one - they come bundled with crapware only. When it comes to software and driver support, HP is absolutely the worst, bar none. I will NEVER buy another HP printer.
What’s the cheapest way to go from Vista to Windows 7 Pro?
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