Comments on: Why I can't get enough of Windows 7

Don Reisinger has been using Windows 7 beta for quite some time, and after working with it, he's surprised to say that he's excited for the final release.

[tuxmonster]

Windows never had any "golden days" but you're an obvious M$FT shill.

Can't wait for Microsuck to follow Lehman Bros., Circuit City and the rest of the corporate losers down the economic toilet.

[chris_d]

After reading one of Don's previous columns, I decided to download the beta and try it. After working with it a little, it's a nice improvement over Vista. It has improved boot time, the interface is more responsive, and it seems to have lower CPU usage, as the fans don't run as much as they did on Vista (they were constantly cranked up). I'm glad it is because that means I can just avoid vista completely. It also seems to have less stability problems than vista. I helped a family member last week whose laptop had vista on it and... wow, just wow. She tried to open a second copy of IE (minimized and then double-clicked the 'e') and it froze, saying "internet explorer not responding". So she closed it and opened it again. Again, it froze. Third time, same thing.

So as far as Windows goes, 7 is definitely a step in the right direction, and it might not be bad to use. It's what vista should have been. But is it worthy of all the hype? Based on my experience, no. I haven't seen anything compelling enough to make me giddy like Don here, who seems to feel compelled to shout from every rooftop that windows 7 is the love of his life. Maybe it's just that vista is so bad, that anyone using it every day would be dying to upgrade to Win 7, and since I don't have to deal with vista, I don't have the perspective.

[tm_anon]

Unfortunately he claimed to be a Mac lover. He shouldn't have that perspective either.

[jezzali]

This sort of breathless article over beta software from Microsoft appearing with increasing frequency from all the usual suspects (cnet, zdnet, computerworld, you get the picture) screams only one thing: paid advertising. Where I work we also have been testing the Windows 7 beta and it certainly has not inspired the kind of adulation we see in dishonest articles like this one. The reality simply does not correspond with this. If readers who are ordinary users don't buy your BS, how much credibility do you think you have with people like me who work in the industry ?

Here's a hint: 0%.

[homercles82]

Conspiracies abound! Evil M4 is paying off websites, editors and magazines to love their product! EVIL IT ELL YOU

let me get back to drinking lattes while I make trumpets sounds in this awesome mac program that came free with my $3,000 powerbook the shake my revolutionary iphone around while rolling some dice on it. I am a unique little flower among the garden of mac users.

[Kabukii]

All well and said, Microsoft the ibm of computing, don't know what you got till its gone.
Well, I listened to friend and family about Windows Vista. Now just because they think they
have it right?, don't mean I'm going to buy it. Today money is tight, should of been right the first
time.

[drhowarddrfine]

Let's see. You like Windows 7 because:
1) It installs well. Of course, after installation you should never visit that again.
2) You like the taskbar. Well, I'll remember that while I'm running my applications.
3) It's fast. Well, that's important.
4) UAC is almost gone.

Um. Where's the meat and potatoes? 1) doesn't count. 2) is cute 4) is convenient but out of all those, only 3) makes a difference and even then it says little about Windows7 as an operating system and applications platform.

This story does no better than saying Windows7 is cute.

[homercles82]

Numbers 1, 2, and 3 are all reasons people say I should drop $2,000 on a mac. Why not spend $600 ona PC with Windows 7 to get the same performance and be compatible with over 80% of the world?

[realneil]

I like it too. Everything you said about it is true and I've made a few discoveries on my own.
What concerns me is the price that they'll ask for it. Yes, I know that we don't know how much it is yet, but if it's the same as Vista Ultimate was, then I'll have to pony up major bucks for the four computers in my house. It's so much better than Vista, that I'm afraid they're really gonna rake us over the coals this time, and I feel that I never got my money's worth with Vista!
I still resent Microsoft at this point,....let's see how they treat us,......

[prometx]

Best ever huh? Be careful, that Microsoft Brand Kool-Aid has a wicked kick on the backend...
;)

[homercles82]

I am typing a new consipracy theory about Microsoft. It involves kool aid, editors of popular tech websites and everyone who has tried windows 7 beta. Maybe we can set our lattes down, mac books made with recyclable aluminum and work together.

[Throgged]

W7 has been great. Way better than vista. here's my gripe with it so far. I don't know if there's a fix for it just yet because i've been too busy to look for one so whatever. If you turn off UAC, your gadgets stop working. YAY beta problems. Secondly, again with the UAC, while i like the different levels of UAC i would love for the user to be able to specify "safe" applications and not be asked about launching an app that i use on a regular basis. or maybe even just a "remember this option for this application" checkbox. That would rule. I have sent in the feedback so hopefully it's something that gets implemented in the final product.

[aissacf]

I laugh at these promotional articles trying to generate hype for Win7... they all compare to the VISTA BLOAT and say "OMG it is much faster" yeah right, but faster compared to WHAT?

It boots much slower than XP64, that's for sure. By the time XP64 shows the log-in screen Win7 is still showing its glowing logo.

XP64 is the "last known good" OS from the Redmond monopoly. It uses the same kernel as Win Server 2003 and the familiar XP user interface.

So stop comparing to the Vista menace and do the REAL benchamarks: Win7 beta vs XP64

[tm_anon]

Or try comparing to Ubuntu 9.04 or another beta version of a Linux distro. I'd mention OS X, but finding a beta of that is next to impossible.

[homercles82]

did you stop typing on your environmentaly friendly macbook to test it out on your PCs? You seem to be the only one saying that Windows 7 does not boot faster than any other real Os out there.

[jtaylor13]

MICROSHAFT.What can i say?OL i know.Instead of fixing vista.They make commercials on how to fool non pc users into thinking they are using mijova .NICE WORK!! They have screwed up Internet Explorer.Why do you think fire fox is kicking there butt.And they will release 15 diffrent versions.Another scam.Or i know they will release more crap and charge you $60.00 a hour for HABBEEEB.to NOT fixover the phone.And yes i am a vista user.Bill gates should be rolled into a mudd hole with his crap.,Vista should be renamed not MOJAVA. but BOUE CIRCLE OF CRAP. Someone remake kid rocks song.KEEP ROLLING. INTO a vista video KEEP SPINNING.Hey we should sue microshaft for unfair business practice.Failure to attempt to fix vista.Last comment. Hey BILL GATES. GIVE ALL OF US VISTA VICTIMS A FREE COPY OF YOUR NEW JUNK.

[Throgged]

Hukt on funiks werks fer heem!!!!

update, found the fix to run gadgets after UAC is disabled... BYE UAC!

[realneil]

what was that fix?

[webuser0001]

The new taskbar seems like playing catchup with the doc. I watched a demo of it and it's execution wasn't all that elegant.

[jeffguevin]

Jesus Hussein Christ. I really like Linux, use XP for work, and am unlikely to ever use Windows 7 unless it comes installed on a work computer...but you zealots with your shrill, automatic cries of "ZOMG M$ SHILL!!" are not really helping your case. Don likes a non-free OS, oh noes. He even acknowledges that the beta may have features that don't make it into the final product, and promises to detail his reservations shortly.

And, seriously--Don is a paid shill? Did you notice what a cheerleader for Vista he's been?

[ogman]

It's to little, too late for me; at least where notebooks are concerned. I moved to a MacBook and I'll never waste time or money on a Windows laptop again. On the desktop, I thought the beta was impressive, although there are driver problems. However, this is a beta and Microsoft has previously released betas that were better than the finished product. Time will tell. I can say, for a fact, that if they stick to the same greedy pricing structure as they have in the past, I won't think twice about moving on to Apple desktops.

[colloquor]

Known in house at Redmond, as Windows 6.1, Windows 7 is Windows Vista SP2. In fact, Microsoft said as much today, along with their announcement they were laying off 5,000 people!

Windows 7 is a brilliant marketing move by Microsoft. They are moving past, and burying Vista, but more importantly, they will be able to sell a Service Pack of an existing OS for real money, rather than giving away the Service Pack as a free Windows Update as usual. Amazing... this move may be studied in business schools for years to come. However, others will look upon this as a vindication of their belief that Microsoft is the Evil Empire.

Windows 7=Vista SP2

[homercles82]

You know nothing about the development cycle.

The actual successor to XP was to be what is Windows 7 now, which was named as Blackcomb at first. It became delayed when bugs iN XP pushed bback development in favor of fixes for XP. Then came longhorn which was an intermin minor release that eventually became Vista.

Blackcomb development picked up again in 2007 and the name changed to Vienna then it officialy inhouse became known as Windows 7 as it will be the 7th official release of a Microsoft OS.

Parts of development for Blackcomb (windows 7) became a part of Longhorn (vista) which is why Vista and Windows 7 on the surface look the same. The 6.1 name has nothing to do with actual OS names but BETA stages.

1.0
2.0
3.0
95
98
XP
Windows 7

Those are the offical MS operating systems. All other releases are minor steps between the official major OS releases.

Do some reading next time.

[homercles82]

In addition to above tell me that the Major OS's by Microsoft were not some of the best of the last 30 years.

[hvle]

Nice compliment on windows 7, but based on past experiences with Microsoft, I'm not getting too excited.
My prediction for Microsoft Windows 7 (tm) life cycles:

June 1, 2009: Windows 7 on retail's shelf. Everything is great, fast and beautiful!
June 2, 2009: Microsoft announced first patch for W 7 to fix 1,000,000 bugs
June 3, 2009: Another patch
...
patch
...
Sept 1, 2009: Windows 7 SP 1 released. (W 7 not running so fast)
... patch

June 1, 2010: Windows 7 SP 2 released. (W 7 now running at comparable speed as of XP sp2)

Bottom line is, back to XP.
Microsoft needs to create new products to feed their giant stomach. Otherwise they'll die.
New product means new name, new look, and new advertising strategies, doesn't meant better quality.

[homercles82]

All the while apple sells a bradn enw $2,000 mac that has a new program that helps pictures match together to make panoramics while telling everyone it is revolutionary.

Thanks,

[waltermiller69]

I think Don let the Windows7 paperclip write the article for him.

[the Otter]

Sounds pretty cool, but I?m very curious: why don?t you just use Exposé on your Mac? That?s a heck of a lot easier than Spaces, right-clicking, or even the Windows 6.1 (oh wait, that?s right; ?7?) functionality you describe.

[protagonistic]

"I can say with the utmost certainty that Windows 7 isn't only the best operating system I've used in the past decade, it might be my favorite of all time."

You don't get out much OS wise do you? I also have been using the Windows 7 beta for awhile now and I have to say that I agree with you when you say it is probably the best OS MS has done so far, but that sets the bar pretty low. I do like Windows 7, but I have had a number od reproducible problems that will lock up the system so that you have to use the power button to shut down or reset.

Most of my problems have come with trying to access my networked HD. I can lock up Windows media player at will and I have yet to successfully complete a backup with the new MS backup software. As for the new features, Windows 7 is almost caught up to where the rest of the OS world has been foe several years now. But, by the time it is released it will be behind the curve again.

All things being equal Windows 7 is a very nice offering even in beta, but there is nothing compelling enough in it to make me want to go back to using Windows as my main OS again.

Better OSs of the past decade:
1. BeOS
2. OS X
3. Ubuntu
4. FreeBSD

But keep up with Pro MS rhetoric. They are firing people and really need your help. But I did notice that both IBM and Apple are doing quite well during these troubled times. That shows there is still hope that superior technology will trump poor quality. :-)

[rapier1]

BeOS? Seriously? Don't get me wrong it was exciting when it was coupled with the BeBox hardware but once they moved it on to a generic platform it sort of lost its thrill. The lack of applications sort of undercut its functionality as well.

[pithenumber]

Windows 7 is better than OS X 10.5, 10.6 around the corner though
Ubuntu, nice, but its starting to get a bit bloated, tie wit

[Dalmatian28]

This writer seems to have a death wish... how dare you say Windows is better than Mac!!!! I am afraid that with so many Apple's (Mac) Zombies running around one of them could get you! hehe I am actually impressed! Are you sure you are working for CNet. That goes against everything that they believe! I thought that everything that comes from Apple and Google is automatically sacred at CNet. Thank you! This was refreshing! Finely writer with a bolls! Not bad at all!!!!