Microsoft's Steven Sinofsky is in silhouette while explaining their latest software, Windows 7, during its press preview in Tokyo on October 22, 2009.
(Toshifumi Kitamura/AFP)Photos (1 of 1)
Windows 7: Review roundup
Survey of Windows 7 reviews from across the Web
By Chris Gaylord | 10.22.09
Happy Windows 7 day! The long-awaited operating system finally arrives Thursday. Unless you scored a Windows 7 free upgrade or plan to go PC shopping soon, the new software will cost a pretty penny (up to $319 for the “Ultimate” edition). So, is Windows 7 worth it? Here’s what the early reviews say:
Better than Vista?
Most reviewers made the inevitable comparison to Microsoft’s last operating system, Vista, which was widely considered a dud. And, most reviewers were happy to announce that Windows 7 is a big improvement over its predecessor. “The first thing you’ll notice about Windows 7 is that it looks like Vista,” writes the Guardian. “It also works like Vista, in the sense that it has the same plumbing underneath, except for a very welcome graphics upgrade to DX11. However, it works much better than Vista, and most of Vista’s annoyances have either been removed, or (mostly) can be changed so the system works the way you like. It takes personalisation to extremes.”
Cleaner look
“Windows 7 introduces real advances in organizing your programs and files, arranging your taskbar and desktop, and quickly viewing and launching the page or document you want, when you want it,” says The Wall Street Journal. “It also has cool built-in touch-screen features. It removes a lot of clutter. And it mostly banishes Vista’s main flaws—sluggishness; incompatibility with third-party software and hardware; heavy hardware requirements; and constant, annoying security warnings.”
Speed test
“Windows 7 feels faster than Windows XP and Vista, but it turns out that’s not always the case–sometimes, it’s the slowest out of the three operating systems,” reports CNET. “As you can see in the chart, we found that Windows 7 RTM was the fastest to shutdown, and was tied with XP for iTunes encoding. However, it was slower than XP and Vista for both booting up cold by a bit more than 1 second, and slower than either of its predecessors in its Microsoft Office performance.”
Compatibility with old software and hardware
Engadget maintains a Windows 7 upgrade guide, but in their review they say that “anything we found to work in Vista seemed to work just fine (in some cases better!) in Windows 7. That goes for hardware and software, but of course the real test will be when this OS is unleashed upon the masses — your mom’s brother’s 25 year old printer might not make the cut, and we’ll be sure to pour out a 40 upon its behalf. In truth, Microsoft does a very good job with keeping a truly insane quantity of hardware and drivers and vendors happy, but we still think they could do better.”
Where are the programs?
“Out of fear of antitrust headaches, Microsoft has stripped Windows 7 of some important accessory programs,” writes the NYTimes. “Believe it or not, software for managing photos, editing videos, reading PDF documents, maintaining a calendar, managing addresses, chatting online or writing e-mail doesn’t come with Windows 7…. Instead, you’re supposed to download these free apps yourself from a Microsoft Web site. It’s not a huge deal; some companies, including Dell, plan to preinstall them on new computers. But a lot of people will be in for some serious confusion — especially when they discover that the Windows 7 installer has deleted their existing Vista copies of Windows Mail, Movie Maker, Calendar, Contacts and Photo Gallery. (Mercifully, it preserves your data.)”
The final word
“Windows XP was a great OS in its day. Windows Vista, once it found its feet several months in, was a good OS. With Windows 7, the OS is great again,” concludes Gizmodo. “It’s what people said they wanted out of Windows: Solid, more nimble and the easiest, prettiest Windows yet. There’s always a chance this won’t be a huge hit come October, given the economy and the state of the PC industry, but it’s exactly what Microsoft needs right now. Something people can grab without fear.”
Humorous (worrisome?) sidebar
Reuters reminds us that, “Like Windows 7, Vista got good reviews too: As Microsoft Corp’s Windows 7 release approaches, early reviews are generally positive. But so were reviews for Windows Vista just before its launch…. Vista got high marks before its release as well, with writers back then praising a new visual design — and glossing over quirks that later became common gripes.”
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2. Jim | 10.22.09
I’ve used Vista since 2007. I’ve experienced no significant problems. I fail to see why it has such a bad reputation. The complaints listed here never occurred in my experience.
3. Loren | 10.22.09
Bottom line: You have to run virus protection on a Windows computer. In 24 years of owning a Mac, never a virus.
4. Vincent Sabina Jr. | 10.22.09
Windows 7 stripped ( Removed ) Windows Mail ( Like Vista removed outlook express and turned it into Windows Mail ) , Windows Movie Maker, Windows Photo Gallery, And Windows Messenger. Instead… They have made those programs seperate to download under the Windows Live Group of programs. You still have Windows Media Player, and U also have Windows Media Center which shows your videos, pictures, music, live tv, movies and extras… which offers touch screen action like a itouch or iphone.
Being seperate allows the Live program team to be more focus on these programs making them more secure and faster. Also you have the choice to download them, meaning if you don’t use them you don’t have to and can save the room. ( This is a first without uninstalling the programs if you don’t use them ). Or you can use a 3rd party email client, or use the Office Outlook for emailing..
And the best part is there Free.
5. Wingpilot | 10.22.09
Is it a real problem? Take a look around. Here is tons of good free mail software as well as media players.
6. Jake Jermaine | 10.22.09
Who cares if it doesn’t come with an email program anymore. Everyone uses webmail for the most part. Who cares if it doesn’t come with anything, nearly any accessory program Microsoft provides is inadequate in some way or another and usually needs to be replaced immediately upon installation, it’s better if it’s just not installed at all.
7. Alissa Boyer | 10.22.09
In response to Steve Sponsler, a direct quote from the text:
“Instead, you’re supposed to download these free apps yourself from a Microsoft Web site.”
I assume they chose to market the OS ‘naked’ this way for a few reasons.
First, it would probably save some amount of install time if you’re replacing Vista or a later OS on your computer.
On newer computers, like the article mentions, the computer provider may choose to pre-install these apps anyways.
But what I like most about this plan is it gives you the raw, most basic necessities without bundling together a bunch of programs you might never use and have to spend time uninstalling before actually getting to fiddle around with the new OS. It also means you can pick and choose which apps you want to add which contributes to the higher customization capabilities with Windows 7 in comparison with later OS models.
The only downside I see to this so far would be complications with navigating to the website to download the programs, and perhaps difficulty with installation for consumers who aren’t very computer savvy. And of course you’ll get the people who want everything upon installation and complain about having to install everything manually, but there are pros and cons to everything.
8. Andrej | 10.22.09
I installed Windows 7 Ultimate 64Bit Retail, fresh formatted install.
Your desktop has a Recycling bin, and an barrage of customization options to some amazingly high levels, nice pre-loaded graphics, and a small lower-left organization with a Media center and player, a folder that organizes Documents, Videos, Pictures, your hard drives, networks, etc… incredibly well, and Internet explorer. Windows Update will fill you in on a few more things, and you have basic app’s like Notepad, Paint ( new and improved o_o ), DVD maker, and the accessories folder.
PDF files, get Adobe Reader. Anti-virus? For performance fap’tasticness, AVG Free 9.0 or Microsoft Secutity essentials. Need photo organization, movie making, etc? That’s what the internets for.
One thing I love about this OS… It’s faster then XP, I haven’t had one driver, software or speed problems. Everything is fully customizable, and from the start, your UI is clean, simple, and ready for the user. The OS is the people’s again- but it seems some newer generation PC users are a little caught off guard by the entire concept of “the PC is yours, you make it what you want”, and for that, Windows 7 has begun.
10. Alan | 10.22.09
The Win 7 upgrade costs 9 times what the Mac OS upgrade costs (you have to buy the most expensive Win 7 version to almost equal Mac OS functionality. But Win 7 doesn’t provide built in support for MS Exchange and Mac OS does.). Then you have to buy a number of programs to provide the everyday functionality you’ll want - video editor, web page creator, music composition, photo gallery and editor, music library. You can download free versions from MS but they’ll lack the quality, functionality, and integration that iLife provides for free. Then you have deal with the virus riddled Windows i=environment. By the time I do all that — I can maybe afford a PC but I can’t afford all the added cost that’s required to approximate a Mac.
11. Jerri | 10.22.09
MMMM cost over $300, doesnt come with anything, runs slower then vista and XP, just exactly what is so great about it and why should I waste my money.
I want a mony back guarentee from Microsoft before I soend a dime on windows 7
12. Tom Browder | 10.22.09
You read right…. welcome to America the land of crooked lawyers and being sued beyond logical bounds. Some people can’t accept a sucessful business such as Microsoft. Sadly in almost every economoy class taught the first word for monopoly back in the day is Microsoft… but I’d argue otherwise.
13. CB Marshall | 10.22.09
Windows 7 does not come with a built in e-mail program, you need to download one, it does however still come with IE
14. Alex | 10.22.09
I have to say, I am very surprised at just how good this OS is. I actually went back to Windows from Linux and while being a huge Ubuntu fan, I love Windows 7.
15. Lynamo | 10.22.09
It comes with Internet Explorer, Media Player, Media Center and a few other tools. Everything else like email, movie maker and so on can be downloaded for free at Microsoft’s website.
16. damien | 10.23.09
Yep, Steve you read correctly. As annoying as it is, in order to keep the government (Department of Justice) off their backs, you go and download the email, video editing and photo editing software from Windows Live. It’s free, actually:
While you’re at it, go ahead and download Windows Security Essentials, which is a set of malware/anti-virus software that is also free and is really good
17. Fenella | 10.23.09
My husband just installed it last night and says it’s a vast improvement on Vista. It’s just much faster and more able to handle large amounts of information, also using the PC to its maximum capacity. He is a bit of a computer nerd, but it definitely seems like a very positive review from him.
18. Kathryn | 10.23.09
The accessory components, such mail, are available (free download) to add to your computer, but are no longer built directly into the main operating system.
19. Dag Nabbit | 10.23.09
I think it’s great they haven’t loaded a bunch of MS junk preinstalled. Use Mozilla Thunderbird for email, Firefox for browsing, Scribus for DTP, GIMP for image manipulation, Picasa for image organization, and OpenOffice for word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, drawing and basic databasing. VLC media player works great and supports just about every media format there is. Acrobat reader for PDF’s.
You can replace all that software you used to buy for free, and you don’t have to uninstall all the useless stuff. I’ve been running windows 7 on a virtual machine and it’s pretty slick, easy to use.
20. Hegemon | 10.23.09
The antitrust suits from various governments against Windows began way back in the first browser wars between Netscape [remember that?] and Internet Explorer; the argument went that Microsoft was illegally getting an advantage in browser market share. Microsoft then had to pay many millions [billions] in different decisions in the US and especially Europe [where the antitrust regulations are much stricter].
So when the article says that there’s no default desktop email program, they mean there’s no “Windows Mail” [previously named Outlook Express] or Eudora or Thunderbird. Most people these days don’t even use a desktop email client; they just use the web interface of gmail, hotmail, or their company/university’s email system. Of those that do use a desktop client, those on Macs tend to use AppleMail, those on various distributions of Linux, Thunderbird, and those on Windows often use Outlook [which is part of Microsoft Office, not Windows, and is not to be confused with Outlook Express, which was part of Windows and has since been renamed “Windows Mail” — yes, it is confusing].
All this means is that, for those people who still used Windows Mail, they’ll have to download a (free) copy of it. Though I do think they’d be better served to download Thunderbird, which is a much better programme.
21. Chuckles | 10.23.09
Well, I’ve been using Win7 for only one day or so but I am very, very pleased with it. It was as if Microsoft actually read my complaints and responded with this new OS. I have to admit some surprise with the performance of Win7 - many apps work noticeably faster in Win7 than they did with XP. IMHO this is what Vista should have been. Anyhow, in my opinion from limited experience, this is a very, very good OS.
Apple makes nice computers but I believe that hands-on experience with Win7 will nullify the criticism in these latest ads.
22. Victor Swindell | 10.23.09
To the person who spoke about a lack of Mac Viruses. You have to remember that unlike a biological virus, computer viruses are computer programs written by malicious programmers that can copy itself and infect a computer. The term “virus” is also commonly but erroneously used to refer to other types of malware, adware, and spyware programs that do not have the reproductive ability. The apple market is much smaller than that held by Microsoft with its Windows platform, so there is less reason to create a virus in the first place - why create something to attack Mac’s when the same effort could be expended making one that attacks many more machines. If one day Mac overtakes windows..expect more viruses.
24. JakeMan | 10.23.09
Let’s be honest…I wouldn’t trust any operating system for which I don’t have source code for any real commercial application. I don’t have the time or the money to have my engineers sit on hold while some idiot without a college degrees tries to answer their questions in a round about way.
Linux is the future of embedded systems. Gradually it will make its way to be a predominant desktop solution. Good bye microsoft
25. Crimson | 10.23.09
I find it very good that Windows 7 doesn’t come with the dangerous and unstandard Outlook that is source of so many virus infection spread problems.
Just download Thunderbird, Firefox and other open source gems and you’ll be much safer (apart that the fact that they are great software). On top of that, you’ll be promoting standards.
Majority of poeple don’t know but default settings in Outlook use non-standard encoding (TNEF). Consequence: Poeple using software that comply with open Internet standards will see your e-mail as empty body and infamous “winmail.dat” attachment. At least, if you still insist of using Outlook, configure your e-mails to use HTML encoding.
As for Internet Exploder, it is a bad & dangerous design from ground. Source of virus spreading too… And another important thing: Use Open Office instead of MS Office and its non-standard file format! MS succeeded at imposing OOXML as an ISO standard (by buying traditionally non-voting poor countries) but IT IS NOT AN OPEN STANDARD. Yeah there is a spec but it is unusable by anybody but MS… What does it means? MS 2007 was not able to “render” perfectly Office 2003 and previous versions and MS 2003 is not able to render perfectly Office 2007 files even with the 2007 Compatibility Pack plugin. Bottom line: MS Trick to push sales of Office 2007 by the “not perfect” and annoying rendering problem…
26. Sergio | 10.23.09
You can get Windows 7 for $30 bucks if you are a student. You just need that .edu email address. Just FYI, so no students out there pay 120-200 or whatever everyone else has to pay for it. http://www.microsoft.com/student/en/us/software/windows-7.aspx
I’m getting it today! Can’t beat $30, you have til sometime in January to do it.
27. NickM | 10.23.09
I was hesitant about Vista, but Windows 7 seems to be a much better product, not only recommended by the media but also by fellow users. I think I’ll give it a try.
28. Archie1954 | 10.23.09
I don’t find Vista at all intuitive. I was able to use XP with absolutely no problem but trying to find things on Vista is very frustrating. I will definitely try Windows 7 and hope for the best.
29. Chester Wisniewski - Sophos | 10.23.09
I have been working with Windows 7 for several months, and am quite impressed in general. My focus has been on the security aspects, which Microsoft has pointed out is not a major area of focus. Despite this, they did an OK job. I published a round-up of security related content for Windows 7 here -> http://www.sophos.com/blogs/chetw/g/2009/10/21/windows-7-security-roundup-ready-launch/
Chester Wisniewski
Senior Security Advisor
Sophos Inc.
30. Mosskat | 10.23.09
Any operating system that lets me choose what I want to be ON there instead of shoving programmes I never use down my throat is a good operating system…
31. Rjerryc | 10.23.09
I can say, “I hope it is better than Vista.” But I only say it because anytime something is improved, it’s a good thing. I have had Vista on 3 machines since it was introduced - all are Vista Home Premium - and have not had any problems with the OS. So, if Windows 7 is better than Vista, I will be glad I spent the price of the pre-orders back in June. Much cheaper that way too.
32. eesn | 10.23.09
the big question remains - can MS also stop the OEMs from preinstalling the bloat they usually add on top?
-then- a new PC might make sense out of the box.. (bar the obvious lack of email etc)
33. Jay | 10.23.09
Having used every single version of Windows since its inception I can honestly say I had more problems with Windows 7 yesterday than all the rest of them combined! Simple routines would hang with the infamous (Not Responding) that I got so tired of in Windows Vista, but this time I had to shut down the computer manually in order to get rid of them. No mail program? No flash plugin for 64 bit browsers? AS slow load time, AS slow shutdown, AS slow to connect to the internet! Some bizarre behavior with the desktop going almost white when things would occasionally hang! What CRAP!!
It’s amazing to me that after, what 25 years Microsoft still can’t get it right?
34. Steven Block | 10.23.09
I hope for office that they bring back the good old fashion menu bar and that for the file system that they make searches work again. XP and office 2003 were good products and Microsoft had to ruin them.
35. Toad | 10.23.09
The reason that you have never had a virus on your Mac is that the writers of a virus like to have it propagate across as many computers as possible. I live in a city of 29,000 people and install internet daily in homes. I have come across only four Macs in three years. There are viruses written for Macs but they are few. If Mac sold more computers, as many as PC, you’d be firing up Norton weekly too.
36. Joe G. | 10.23.09
to Steve: Previous versions of windows came with a mail program (outlook, or outlook express) out of the box. making getting to your email simple. 7 simply does not come with that optoion preinstalled, requiring you to visit the microsoft website and download a copy of windows live mail. Internet Explorer (a web browser) is separate from a mail program and still comes with windows 7. It still comes with windows media player, but does not come with windows movie maker. you read into that a little too much. 
37. monkey | 10.23.09
i can buy a quad core pc system for 400 bucks. a mac cost 3 times that and i preordered my win7 for 49.99 so shutup machead and go find another place to pitch your macfit.
38. Eric | 10.23.09
As an IT professional I can’t help but chuckle at Loren’s comment:
Loren | 10.22.09
Bottom line: You have to run virus protection on a Windows computer. In 24 years of owning a Mac, never a virus.
A - if you had a virus on your Mac you’d never know it because…you don’t have any antivirus software.
B - Macs are no more immune to computer viruses than PCs are, however; since the majority of Mac users believe they are immune the Mac community will be hit extremely hard the next time a virus for Mac is released.
39. Sy | 10.23.09
Loren, when Apple’s OS is on even half as many systems as Windows you will become a target and you will start seeing virus attacks.
The reason it is “immune” now is because the low number of systems w/ it are not worth the effort to go after.
40. WindowsUser | 10.23.09
There’s no reason to spend almost the cost of entirely new computer (a cheap one) on an operating system when your old Win XP will work fine and you don’t have to piecemeal things together. Having to download an e-mail client after you’ve paid hundreds for the operating system is ridiculous! And to many it will be confusing. Not to mention the fact that there is bound to be compatibility issues since they aren’t providing you everything all together…then the problems that occur will be blamed on different programs - no one will have to take responsibility. Really bad move, whatever the reason (read “excuse”). I plan to keep my Windows XP as long as possible! Besides, don’t trust all the positive comments - MS seems to be behind at least some of them.
41. Steve Farley | 10.23.09
I paid $150 for Vista and installed it on my Dell laptop, nothing worked on my PC after that. I had to buy a new copy of XP and pay a guy to install it for me because like I said nothing worked, no C drive. All total, $300 for NOTHING. I don’t think I’ll fall Microsoft hype about how great W7 is. I can’t afford it.
42. rockon0921 | 10.24.09
Well the time I’ve had with 7 it is by far better than vista. Run like xp with some nice eye candy. Tons of options to personalize to your liking and not really alot of software compatibility problems and for those out there with mac I mean I don’t have 1200-1500 to spend on a cpu. I got my laptop for 300 and a free windows 7 upgrade at best buy. so can’t really be compared but for its money it is a hell of a bargain.
43. ZeDragon | 10.24.09
Yes, mail is stripped out. Thanks to those lame anti-trust laws. Apparently these regulators haven’t even looked into Apple OS X yet. Apple sure do a lot more integration than Microsoft these days. And a boat load of shady and misleading advertisements.
44. grblogger | 10.24.09
I have been running Windows 7 since January and could not be happier. I like the clean interface, the ease of use, and speed. I cannot compare it to Mac OS as I do not have much mac experience. But I do think it is the best Windows yet and worth the upgrade, especially if you are unhappy with the Windows version you have now.
45. Reggie | 10.24.09
“Bottom line: You have to run virus protection on a Windows computer. In 24 years of owning a Mac, never a virus.” - Loren
When did Microsoft make a dedicated computer for Windows? We run PC’s which can run various Operating Systems, Windows being only one choice so they are not “Windows computer(s)”. Our computers are made by computer company’s, not a music player and cell phone company like Apple, which is only still in business because of those other products. You do realize your 24 year old Mac was made by Apple don’t you, and that our modern PC’s are orders of magnitude more powerful and orders of magnitude faster?
The True test for W7 will be the test of time, I read great reviews for Vista at first and know how wrong they were.
So far W7 sounds like another Vista Bug Fix that MS is pawning off as a new OS so they can sell it instead of giving it to disgruntled Vista users. This is their typical tactic, never admit their screw ups and never give the actual fix away.
46. Mac user | 10.24.09
OH MY GOD!!!!….. hahahahahahahahahha no e-mail program !!!!!!!! ????????????????????
COME ON !!! windows users.. you don’t even get an e-mail program out of the box that seamlessly integrates with your brand new copy of Windows 7
That is just about the suckiest thing I’ve ever heard.
So so happy to still be a Mac user. (and actually, don’t get me wrong— I do use Windows for work– I develop computer systems— so I have to use Windows, Mac and Linux.
I would use Linux if I didn’t have Mac… but I’d only use Windows if I was in jail.
Come on people.. think a little bit more of yourselves.. spend the extra couple of hundred dollars on your computer and have a better experience. You and your family will benefit tremendously from the small investment in having a computer that gives you everything you want, smoothly, without having to worry about CRAP like viruses.
But, hey, if you like worrying about virus protection software, adware, and making your computer operate sluggishly because it has to run virus protection— then be my guest, BUY A PC !! don’t say you weren’t warned.
47. Bob | 10.24.09
To, Victor Swindell
…. but until then I will stick to a Mac. It’s fully UNIX complaint too and anything you can do on Windows can be bettered on a Mac.
48. Tom | 10.24.09
Historically it has been seen that 75% users using UNIX or or any of it’s flavors (like Mac OS, AIX, HP-UX etc.) are computer science graduates and are very interested in the way a computer works - that explains why people come across only 3 Macs in 3 years where they live
49. drew | 10.24.09
Bottom line: You have to run virus protection on a Windows computer. In 24 years of owning a Mac, never a virus. _ Loren YOU ARE AN IDIOT!! - It is Mac that is a waste of money - They had to drop their processor to stay in business because PC has won the race - You are just another Mac Yippie whom cannot understand that viruses come from being popular.
50. Jesterton | 10.24.09
This review sucks. Nobody cares about bootup speed or performance with MS Office. How does Windows 7 do with GAMES??? What are my FPS gonna be when I play Crysis?
51. b | 10.24.09
I’m just astounded at all the people that say “no one uses email any more” that “everyone” uses webmail - well, maybe for play, but no one, and I mean no one, who cares about security and preserving that which they choose to save can trust free web mail - if you ever want to go back 5 or 6 years in your archives, you won’t do it on web mail.
52. yogi-one | 10.25.09
I’m wary. I have a new Dell laptop and so far Vista has run fine. I had a problem with a friend’s Vista installation, but that turned out to be because Fry’s Electronics had put a third party firewall on the machine that kept blocking the internet even after I disabled it.
I have the free upgrade option from Dell, but so far I have no reason to upgrade unless I want an afternoon of doodling around with a re-install on a machine that already works well.
On the extra programs - philosophically it is better not to have them. Users should get over being lazy and dependent on MS to provide everything for them automatically. Open Office is a true MS Office killer. Gmail rules the webmail. Flikr, Picasa, and Picnik have become very easy to use and they offer much more flexibility than the Windows photo software.
With your emails, photos, etc in the cloud you don’t have to replace them whenever you upgrade or re-install. Keep your works doc for your job on THEIR server and get a login. Or now we have 4- and 8-gigabyte thumb drives which can easily transfer files from your work machine to your home machine. Or some companies have cloud-based office apps.
Microsoft’s money makers are Windows, Office, Exchange Server and SQL server. Oh yeah, and XBox. That’s enough. They should learn to stick with their strengths. Zune and all the rest of the “catch-up to Mac and Google” crap they should forget about, because they won’t catch up.
A lean mean OS, a fast internet connection, and easy to use cloud-based apps are where the world is headed. The companies that wake up and smell the coffee and see this are going to make money. The 1990s are over. Welcome to the new world where people don’t have big budgets to blow, and don’t have time to waste. Make stuff that is competitively priced, installs easily, works right the first time, and doesn’t hog up resources and you’ll get a market share. That’s the message from consumers.
54. Aerorox | 10.26.09
Mac kids should quit crying because they never had a chance for win 7,the enlightenment, to run on their systems
55. brad | 10.26.09
I got to agree. Windows 7 won’t really impress me until the test of time.
Vista was praised upon its release. I only want to pay that kind of money
for a very stable OS.
The drag on resources just isn’t worth it if it isn’t stable.
57. Chet | 10.27.09
Sounds good! As a Mac OS X user at home, I use Vista at work and at school. I like Vista! Sounds like I’ll like 7, too.
To the angry Windows users: don’t get so up in arms about your OS! One of the things I like about Windows is that “quantity has its own quality.” There’s something to be said for using a standardized system.
There’s another maxim that applies to the OS wars: You get what you pay for.
58. Patrick | 10.27.09
I like the customizable windows OS. Also, I like to hear that the computer does not come pre-loaded with a whole bunch of crap. The old saying is: use Windows if you want to learn about computers and use a MAC if you want to refuse to learn about them.
Computers are confusing, to get the most of out of a desktop the OS should be complex with many options, and thus many things that “could go wrong” if you are an idiot.
59. Crapzilla | 10.27.09
I would like to add a warning to anyone considering a move to Mozilla Thunderbird. I downloaded it last week. The install was slick, it brought in all my mail from Outlook Express and looked good. Day two I power up the PC and all my mail and settings are gone. This is apparently a known “quirk” of Thunderbird. Now however clunky you may think Outlook Express is, it won’t loose all your emails.
60. Mich | 10.27.09
Since I’m buying a new laptop, I think I’ll buy the upgrade to Windows 7. Sounds like enough kinks have been worked out. Next I suppose comes having to move files to Office 2010 though - not sure about that yet.
61. barry | 10.27.09
i just find it humorous that vista couldn’t find my ethernet card and asked if i would like to look online for a driver…
62. NakedWindow | 10.27.09
….i just find it humorous that vista couldn’t find my ethernet card and asked if i would like to look online for a driver…
Nice one Barry
After working with Microsoft systems since MSDOS and everything else Linux, Mac etc… I would say every OS has its strengths and weaknesses. One thing I have yet to see from Microsoft however is an ORIGINAL thought. And what is with the “Making easy things hard to do” shouldn’t it be “Making hard things easy to do”?
Don’t let lawyers run the company Microsoft! That is the difference between a Mac and a PC. :>
Oh, and descent memory management in code, hence no viruses.
Microsoft user SHOULD expect more. I do, a lot lot more… Speed, reliability, COMPATABILITY (Why can’t I access my Linux files in windows?), usability, simplicity, beauty…
Ohh well, I have a life at least, so I am going outside to enjoy this beautiful day, the clean air and sunshine… Bliss.
63. capngp | 10.27.09
Gentlemen,
As I remember, OSx is a closed OS based on Unix, while Windows is an open system. The intel processor running in protected virtual mode has 4 rings of hardware enforced memory protection. A program in one ring simply has no access to the memory that programs running in another ring are using. The hardware forbids it, and it is damn hard to program around hardware. So Unix uses the 4 ring protection model, while Microsoft in it’s wisdom, wrote windows to run entirely in one ring; no protection. I believe this is still true, it once was true and I have never seen any info that Microsoft changed the design of Windows. So with all those Unix and Linux machines out there, where are the viruses attacking them? Why, after all these years of MS development, should I even have to buy Norton virus protection for my Windows box? Why can’t Windows fix this virus issue once and for all? Change the design of Windows or buy Norton, Microsoft!
64. Nuku | 10.27.09
Purchased Windows 7 Family Pack. Installed on 2 machines, including one XP upgrade. Package did not contain a license key. Take it back. Start over. Ugh!
65. John | 10.28.09
Windows 7 has improved its stability, even in the Beta release.
I use my machine for streaming real-time audio through ASIO (1.0ms), and I have to say that Windows 7 performs better than Vista and XP.
It accesses disk, memory and resources faster than any other previous operating system. It works even faster and better than Mac OSX Leopard, in leopard, using Traktor DJ Studio 3, it isn’t posible to lower the latency below 7.5ms or you can start hearing clicks and pops. And even with a MacBookPro 17″ Core2Duo 2.4, nVidia Go8600, 4GB ram, etc.
66. Jonathan | 10.28.09
Just a thought for all the people saying if Apple took over then there would be man viruses… You think someone would make a viruses for the Mac just to spite all the Mac users who says Mac OS is wayyy better. Apparently Mac is just that safe…
67. Matt | 10.28.09
I’d like to know how CNet did their tests. Windows 7 has been faster in everything in comparison to both Vista and XP. It boots quicker, runs faster, shuts down in a snap.
68. Marc | 10.28.09
CS graduates who use macs obviously have no idea what they are going to be doing for the rest of their lives. Mac-based computers simply are not used at the workplace. They are not versatile enough. They are made for the computer illiterate. Look at their commercials, “well, I don’t know how to use a computer, so I’ll do the easy thing instead and spend more money for a toy rather than a computer.”
69. Casey | 10.29.09
Man, its great. And it only cost me $20 bucks. I don’t know where yall see 300 at. I’d say 20 bucks well spent!
70. ntmisback | 10.29.09
HI all, I have swap my machine last night from Windows XP to Windows 7 ULTIMATE.
WOW amazing, really impressive. I had no trust in Vista at all but decide to check out Windows 7. First part why I swapped my CPU is that XP was not supporting my 6GB of live memory.
Make me laught how people as saying WOW no email program. It easy to download guys and windows messenger is so easy to download! Common guys give it a change to live
I really liked the interface and the way it works. I am really happy to see how microsoft found a way to give this operating system a new way of life. I feel it much faster but will still bring graphic down and app for faster and easyer way of working! Put it a little as XP cause its weird moving arround with 7. Gotta get use to it.
The annoying thing at the beginning was how windows was always asking authorization, but in one click, no more.
If any has question i’ll try to help out!
Thanks
71. Mic | 10.29.09
Eric | 10.23.09
A - if you had a virus on your Mac you’d never know it because…you don’t have any antivirus software.
but if you have a virus on a Windows box, you know it cause you loose everything. So what if you dont know if you have a virus if it aint doing anything?
72. Denis Lpez | 11.02.09
CBS is a Microsoft company Isn’t it? Well I’m testing Ubuntu 9.10 an is really great. For a review of this two O.S. look:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/blog/2009/oct/27/ubuntu-koala-windows7-review
In the other hand, $319 for ultimate Vista, is another risk like whe I paid form my Windows Vista bussines in 1 year I have to pay more money for an OS than for my TV and Internet connection.
Then I will wait.
73. Kevin | 11.07.09
“well, maybe for play, but no one, and I mean no one, who cares about security and preserving that which they choose to save can trust free web mail - if you ever want to go back 5 or 6 years in your archives, you won’t do it on web mail.”
I’ve used MS Outlook and Mozilla Thunderbird for both work and personal use. I also have webmail accounts for personal, school, and work use. I don’t know where you are getting your information from, but I was curious so I checked just now. I have tons of e-mails dating back from 2001(when I got the account) till present.
I have nothing against installed e-mail clients, but security and storage space is hardly a reason to criticize webmail, maybe ten years ago, but not anymore. It’s also nice to access your e-mail wherever and whenever you want so long as you have an internet connection.
74. Shen | 11.14.09
Windows 7 with no mail client which works with other business application is a serious problem for offices who depend on sending confirmation or notices to their clients. Outlook Express allowed small batches of email to be placed in the outbox to be sent. Vista Mail also allowed small batches of email into the outbox. Outlook has never allowed batches of mail to be placed in the outbox unless you manually approved each single post - then it would put them one-by-one into the outbox. Outlook Express had a box to uncheck which would then allow other programs to send out mail. This box has always been missing from all versions of Outlook.
Now we come to Windows Live mail which will put the emails into the outbox but will NOT allow the email addresses to appear.
Windows Live Mail IS NOT FOR THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY who depends on sending email to multiple parties. This is not spam but notices and confirmations to clients.
I do not recommend Windows Live Mail for anyone but kids, for it is not compatible with the business community software programs we all use to operate our business.
This is a huge BUG in Windows 7 and there needs to be a fix to the problem. Otherwise, we will be donating all of our PC’s to charity and purchasing new computers that are business friendly!
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1. Steve Sponsler | 10.22.09
wait a minute..no email program? That doesn’t make sense. Are you saying excessory email program other than one that comes with IE…or does IE even come with it? Don’t understand this tid bit. And Adobe reader is easy enough to download…photo organizing is different than a photo editor. Does it have that? But no Windows Media Player…or did I read into that.