Windows 7 beta now available
Microsoft has apparently decided that it has enough server capacity and has made the code available for the Windows 7 beta.
I don't see a posting on the Windows 7 blog, but when I went to the Windows 7 page Saturday morning, I found the following message and was directed to this site to get the code.
"The Windows 7 Beta is now available for download," Microsoft said on its Web site. "Thanks for your interest and help with the beta."
The software was supposed to be made available on Friday, but the company delayed the release after a day filled with Web site problems.
You can also download the Windows 7 beta from CNET Download.com.
Update: Microsoft offered up some recommended specifications for the beta, but cautioned those could change for the final release. It called for a 1GHz processor (either 32-bit or 64-bit), 1GB of system memory, 16Gb of disk space, support for DirectX 9 graphics with 128 MB memory, as well as a DVD burner and Internet access.
The software maker also cautioned users should have some technical skills, such as the ability to "burn an ISO file to make an install DVD. (A good example of what we mean by 'technical')." It also said folks should know how to install Windows (uh, yeah) and set up a network.
Furthermore, the company cautioned that the beta is not the quality one should expect from a final release. "It can be glitchy--so don't use a PC you need every day."
I can see the Vista jokes coming now...
During her years at CNET News, Ina Fried has changed beats several times, changed genders once, and covered both of the Pirates of Silicon Valley. These days, most of her attention is focused on Microsoft. E-mail Ina. 
They are right enough to crush tremendous server capacity with those people.
How right can you be?
PS no one really cares if your sick or not. We are too busy attempting to download MS software.
So how 'wrong' is that?
Microsoft products work at least.. On OSX Leopard server, the only thing that worked was Apache (which wasn't even coded by Apple). And wireless on OSX 10.4 even in late builds had issues. Even on 10.5 they can't get radius right. Also, Apple charges for windows Drivers (bootcamp beta is no longer available and you need to pay for leopard for the final) and 802.11n drivers, and everyone thought that it was acceptable (not sure why, especially considering the hardware costs MUCH more). Security in OSX is also a joke. Basic mechanisms such as automatic updates aren't there, so I have noticed MANY people (especially the older crowd), haven't installed any updates in ages. Even worse, Apple has no mechanism in place to deliver monthly antiviral checks as microsoft does (Microsoft's windows updates checks and removes the latest common viruses from peoples computers per month).
On linux, most hardware only has basic support, and well.. Not much to say. Lets just say that many diehard linux fans think endusers should use programs with less functionality simply because the programs are open source (even though many of them haven't looked at the code themselves). Also, a swap partition is still used (which has a magnitude of problems), and you STILL can't install programs on another drive (something so simple, that was solved in windows 95).
If you want to be a fanboy, at least argue with facts
Grow up people. Get a life.
A standalone swap partition is a bad thing?? You mean I should have my swap memory on the same partition/disk as my programs and data? Do you even know what swap is or how it works? You probably don't even know what the difference between swap and virtual memory, let alone how they work. Go check your computer, it's page faulting as we speak.
And yes, check "Auzy" under Ubuntu brainstorm.. I think its pretty clear I know a mount point is (but by the sounds of things, you don't sound pretty experienced using them), and no, it doesn't solve the problem. Because all the programs are fudgepudged together into directories like /bin (which is for binaries, not a trash bin like users expect). And yes, a standalone swap partition is a terrible thing. It means if you run out of swap, there is nothing to do except kill programs (a swap file can be easily expanded), there is no easy way of expanding them later, it makes partitions more complex, and users can't possibly know how much swap they need (because it can't be expanded, for systems with only 16GB HDD, its important knowing exactly). I used to work in an Applecentre, and people came in all the time who were told by people like you garbage like "OSX/unix can't really get viruses". Constantly..
Sorry, but we need some people to play devils advocate and that will be me. I've seen too many OSX/linux network installations fail (due to numerous technical reasons), that I really think Microsoft deserves at least a bit of respect.
And like I said, I worked for an Applecentre before, so this is actually someone coming from the other side..
Anyway, stand up for your beliefs, but from experience, I have found Windows to be the least painful OS to deploy (the changes in fedora 10 have certainly made it much better, but as mentioned, some areas and OpenOffice is still letting it down a bit, but will get there possibly. ).
It seems it is rather _you_ who needs some basic education.
Windows has a swapfile, called pagefile.sys (or something like that, I'm not on a Windows machine at this time.)
Further, Unix systems like Linux don't even need such a broken concept as a "drive". Even if the system spreads across different partitions and/or different physical drives, it is all visible as one directory tree.
And, as anybody writing kernel drivers for Windows knows, Windows nowadays internally doesn't use drives, either. What is called / in Unix is \??\ in the WIndows kernel. The "C: drive is \??\C\.
So, next time, learn things before making a fool of yourself...
Who cares how you obtain the iso? (unless you are paranoid about viruses, but then just do a MD5 or CRC check on the file you downloaded and compare it with known good values which can be found on the web.)
Who says that MS isn't using bittorrent anyways? Suppose Microsoft decided to help market Windows 7 by getting as many copies as possible into as many hands as possible. So leak a copy to MiniNova and Pirate Bay. Provide a trial key. When people see Windows 7 is better, which from many reports that I've heard is true, they'll be ready to abandon Windows XP and Vista when the trial key expires.
1) World of Warcaft uses BT. RedHat and Canonical use BT.
2) FTP has been more widely used throughout computing history for copyright infringement than BT, Kazaa, gnutella/emule, and Napster ...combined, yet MSFT supplies an FTP client bundled in with IE. While you are correct about reputation, the tech itself is legit.
3) re: "Who says that MS isn't using bittorrent anyways?" Actually, MSFT has been trialling a download manager with their volume license clients. While it isn't bittorrent-based, it does use some of the tech in that it spreads the downloads among multiple (MSFT-owned) servers. Same way Sun does with Java and Sun's download manager. If anything they'll likely go only that far, and that's it.
4) The rest is speculation (though maybe it is a tool for hype, nobody with a working brain is going to trust it unless the seed is known to come straight from a legit source).
"When people see Windows 7 is better"
That's more an "if" at this stage... there are still widespread incompatibilities, and lots of bugs to get killed. IF you spec the machinery specifically for Vista, it should work, though.
What's weird is **every time I visited the ISO download page, it gave me a DIFFERENT product key**.
I'm wondering if M$ is giving away only 2.5 million product keys, or infinite to 2.5 million Live accounts.
It's been hinted on the Windows Team Blog that the download limit was either removed or there never was one to begin with. In fact, I think there are only 10 unique beta keys, 5 for 32-bit and 5 for 64-bit.
But seriously, if users of other competing web browsers are unable to access the files, then Microhoooo will have a heck of a time getting Mac users to switch.
In other words, it won't happen!
Mr. Ignorant: Plenty of games are available for the Mac (you really should visit an Apple retail store before posting nonsense on CNET).
@ferretboy88:
Running OS X on a generic PC is illegal.
Good luck in prison!
You probably ordered two 17" Macbooks, this may explain the $5200 price tags.
Apple is too strict about their EULA, Psystar is already launching lawsuits at Apple
Games on Mac are existent, but come on, Mac hardware isn't gaming hardware
Why in the world would Microsoft worry about getting Mac users to switch? Apple has less than 4% worldwide market share. The only thing Microsoft cares about is retaining its customers and despite all the Mac fanboys bashing Vista and all the negative press it has gotten Microsoft isn't losing ground.
The best thing about OSX is that it can run Windows.
Hey Machom go hang out at a apple store .......do us all a favor.
@ZetaZeta_:
Yeah, it generated a new key sometimes while giving me an already issued key that I had already obtained other times. I just grabbed five of each and closed the window lol.
- by Greg465 January 10, 2009 2:23 PM PST
- Direct download here
- Reply to this comment
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- by piermaranza January 12, 2009 7:09 AM PST
- simply great .... is 3 day that try to download this ****** software and redirect, register ..... redirect and nothing ...... tanks
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