Posted on 05/10/2017 4:34:07 PM PDT by dayglored
[[The pressure is being applied already.]]
Not to me it isn’t- love my linux for all online work- don’t miss windows one bit for online stuff- for windows only games and programs like photoshop- i dual boot to windows 7 but don’t allow it to go online except only very briefly for updates or program downloads is needed- i get everything the way i like it- all programs installed- tweaks done, updates done- and then do a macrium reflect clone- easy peasy- If anythign happens, i just install fro mthe clone backup for hte windows, then clean install linux right next to it as primary OS- up and running in no time at all now-
windows 10 has nothing i want and loads of stuff i don’t want- I was windows only for a goodl ong time- but windows 10 finally pushed me to linux and windows 7 dual boot system- haven’t looked back-
linux does everything i need it to online- and looks and acts just like windows doing so- no differences really except that i have to use firefox and thunderbird now instead of IE- but no big deal- firefox works fine-
Quick question - is the graph you posted from netmarketshare.com OS Share/Desktop?
"Desktop Top Operating System Share Trend"
That includes fixed desktops, portables (laptops), and other "full" computers, but excludes mobile devices (handhelds).
Thanks!!!!! For me Fedora looks best. But will use CentOS for stable servers.
Something to watch out for on newer hardware.
Stock Win7 is now rather old -- the latest SP1 install CDs are from 2009. As a result, it is common that when you bring up Win7 on new hardware:
But since you don't have any networking yet, and might not have USB, it can be a bit challenging to get the drivers onto your new Win7 installation. Some investigation may be required to find the chip maker's VendorID (VID) and ProductID (PID) values from the Windows Device Manager utility.
I've done all the above. It's certainly possible. But it's time-consuming and requires patience and full knowledge of device driver installation.
i have an older computer- 4 years old now- and i downloaded windows 7 ISO back when it was available for download- (you can still get it- but have to jump through hoops to get it from the MS site)- it is just hte stock windows 7- no drivers or anything- except generic ones i think- it had enough to get me online to get the specific drivers i needed- didn’t have to do anything special to get online- it connected automatically- I do remember having some issues with hardware such as my usb3 (wonky brand card- and drivers weren’t the greatest- had issues with that)
My graphics were generic to start- and a pain to deal with 640x480 screen lol- but i circumvented the problem by downloading graphics driver onto internal second HD- and installed that right away-
[[Special features like camera, audio, fingerprint, etc. will not be recognized. ]]
I wasn’;t aware of those- don’t use them except for audio of course- but i believe the generic drivers are all I’ve sued for sound- don’t recall installing specific drivers for it-
The biggest problem i had with scratch install of windows 7 was getting the lousy rotten good for nuttin windows update working- In order to get it working, you need certain KB files- but in order ot get those files, you have to have windows update working- but i did manage to find them online- downloaded them, and installed them right away and was able then to get the next needed files from updates- eventually got it to where it would download updates say 20 updates, in about 1-2 hours
Of course you need a couple hundred update files- so you can imagine how long all that took-
linux i had all updated in under an hour- all specific drivers on- everythign working- an most tweaks done (I use a specific program called easystroke that uses mouse gestures- what a time saver that is when you get used ot doing gestures for htins like closing webpages, programs with a downward drag of mouse- going forward and backerds by dragging mouse left and right- opening certain programs by drawing say an “S” or “V” or soem letter-
Absolutely fantastic program once you get used ot using gestures to navigate- Can even do things like ‘Select All” by drawing say an “S”, or pasting something by drawing a “P” instead of right clicking and selecting from menu- Anyways0 it’s a must have for me- but takes a little knowhow to install it- but not too bad- just wish it had a feature ot save all the commands so i could just import them whenever i install the program so i don’t have to do it all manually- one by one- but oh well-
[[But since you don’t have any networking yet, and might not have USB, it can be a bit challenging to get the drivers onto your new Win7 installation.]]
Speaking of which- i wondered about creating an iso with specific drivers on the CD- not sure how one would do that?
I do have windows backed up with macrium reflect clone though- now that all the updates and such are done- i suppose that would constitute an installation ISO in a way?
There's a process called "slip-streaming" https://www.google.com/#q=slipstream+windows+7 where a standard stock ISO image is combined with a set up selected updates (Windows updates) and drivers, so that the installation includes those items automatically.
I've thought about doing that numerous times in the past, but these days it's less necessary with Win7 in a VM since for a new VM, I just clone the VM that already has everything in it. :-)
Of course the punchline is if you’re losing to yourself you’re not really losing. All those Win7 boxes hanging around means they’re still selling Office and anybody that wants to actually make money selling software needs VS.
Good point. Which is why I find it puzzling (and annoying!) that MS is working so desperately hard to blow off their Win7 customers, e.g. by cutting off the supply to OEMs, forcing them to use older processors, making silly pronouncements about how Win7 is suddenly insecure, etc.
Their customers know the truth -- Windows 7 is a GREAT operating system, and it's absolutely clear to the world that most Windows users prefer it to Windows 10. (If that weren't true, the uptake on Windows 10 would be twice what it is.)
If MS was smart, they'd keep selling Win7 for at least another 12-18 months, with the clear proviso that the support stops in January 2020.
Instead, they're losing those customers to Apple and Linux. Dumb, if you ask me.
The more versions you support the more money you’re spending on stuff that’s been juiced out. While 7 is still useful for the overall ecosystem it’s direct revenue days are over, there’s 2 versions since then, going back and fixing stuff in is an expenditure with no reward.
In the end nobody really wants to support 3 versions. It’s industry standard (current plus 2), but we’re all finding way to try to squeeze those people forward. My company outright stops selling the 2nd one back when there’s a new current, and we largely only close existing deals for the former current that’s now 1 back. We still support it, but we don’t want more people on it. So the fact that MS kept selling 7 at all is kind of bucking against the grain.
They aren’t losing that many customers to Apple or ‘Linux. A lot of people SAY they’re leaving but the charts like the one you posted show it’s not really happening. They’ve still got close to 90% of the market share, Apple can’t even beat XP, and Linux (assuming for the sake of discussion that “other” is almost entirely Linux) can barely beat it. Noise isn’t equating to actual conversions. Because in the end we just kind of suck it up. Windows is like our roads, we complain every time the city screws with the roads but we keep on driving. Every new version of Windows gets bitched about endlessly, and lands 50% of the market.
Yes. The place my wife works at has Win10 computers and iOS tablets. Win7 is completely gone from their network.
yeah vms are cool- love beign able to save them/back them up quickly- but unfortunately in my case, i need windows to be it’s own os/host etc because the work i do needs it’s own graphics card - photoshop only runs ‘o.k’ in vm- and windows games- nope- no way- if i could run vm with full graphics power- I woudl do away with dual boot altogether- as vm is way more convenient-
I’ll check out that slip streaming process-
Your observation is true in general, but I don't see that it applies here.
The real problem is that Microsoft has released new versions of Windows that are far less attractive to customers than the existing ones. Win8 sucked, and Win10 sucks less, but it's still not attractive to most Windows users. That's why an old version like Win7 still holds the majority of the users by a 2-to-1 ratio. My God, Win7 is 8 years old! And yet almost 2 years after the release of Win10, Win7 is still the king with no signs of a coup. That's a huge clue as to who is screwing up.
> In the end nobody really wants to support 3 versions. It’s industry standard (current plus 2), but we’re all finding way to try to squeeze those people forward. My company outright stops selling the 2nd one back when there’s a new current, and we largely only close existing deals for the former current that’s now 1 back. We still support it, but we don’t want more people on it. So the fact that MS kept selling 7 at all is kind of bucking against the grain.
Eh, I dunno. They are in a situation where they HAVE to support what their customers are actually using.
IMO, Microsoft totally blew the opportunity to get customers off Win7. It's entrenched, and it'll be all-out war to get folks to change to something they know ahead of time they DO NOT WANT.
> They aren’t losing that many customers to Apple or ‘Linux. A lot of people SAY they’re leaving but the charts like the one you posted show it’s not really happening. They’ve still got close to 90% of the market share, Apple can’t even beat XP, and Linux (assuming for the sake of discussion that “other” is almost entirely Linux) can barely beat it. Noise isn’t equating to actual conversions. Because in the end we just kind of suck it up. Windows is like our roads, we complain every time the city screws with the roads but we keep on driving. Every new version of Windows gets bitched about endlessly, and lands 50% of the market.
I'm very interested to watch the Win10 uptake curves the next year or two. The upgrades from existing Win7 and Win8 machines are done and over. I suspect the growth of Win10 will be identical to "new machines sold with Win10 preinstalled". And as we all know, that's a diminishing market, compared to the mobiles. What will it look like in 2020 when Win7 loses support?
Windows is far from dead, and no other operating system is a serious threat to its dominance on existing computers. But Microsoft can still manage to kill it if they keep screwing up their chances to keep it alive.
Each new version of sucks, until the next one comes out. It’s a lot like Dr Who, everybody bitches about the new Doctor for the first season and by the time he leaves he’s an irreplaceable talent. Everybody hated XP when it first came out, by the time MS was announcing EOL it was the best Windows evah. I use 8 at work, right now, not that big a deal, I like 7s (7 is what I run at home, boy I made that upgrade box go away a lot of times) GUI better but once you’re running you’re running. 8s biggest problem is it came out too soon. With that long gap after XP MS seems to be trying to make up for lost time. One OS every 5 years is really the right speed, which MS just can’t seem to find.
Pretty much the only circumstance under which we have to support an old version is $$$. Throw enough benjamins at us we’ll support a 90s version of our software. Of course we never deprecate features either so there really is no legit reason for somebody not to upgrade.
For MS though there is basically zero reason to support an old version. It’s out, they got their money, it’s time to move on. I don’t really think they blew an opportunity, I think they maximized it. A lot of people didn’t have hardware that could run 10, and there’s a lot of folks (like me) who just plain don’t do major version upgrades to OSes. I’ll be on 10 when I get a new computer, unless the 10 replacement is out by then. I feel no burning need to be on the latest and greatest, I’ve used 10 at work, it’s OK, I’ll get there when I get there. Meanwhile they actually had a pretty good start to the adoption rate. And the rest will get there, eventually. Yes some will hang onto it with their dying breaths, like the XP junkies, but whatever. Some people refuse to get rid of their 20 year old cars too, but not enough to actually effect the industry.
I expect the 10 adoption chart to remain relatively flat, just like for Vista, 7, and 8. The fact of the matter is the PC business is in a different mode. It is no longer driven by the latest technology, computers are appliances now and people generally only replace appliance when they break. People don’t look at the new microwave features and decide to replace their old functioning microwave, and people no longer look at new PC spec sheets and replace their old functioning PC. But they do break eventually and get replaced. The fact that they got so many people to upgrade at all is impressive, people really aren’t into that anymore.
Obviously every company can screw up a market share. But so far MS has not. Sure they’re one of the most complained about companies on the planet, but they’ve been in that spot for 25 years and actually are at a HIGHER market penetration than when that started.
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