I just finished installing the Windows 7 Beta version released by Microsoft on Friday. I installed it on my Toshiba Intel dual-core processor with 4 GB of RAM. It was running Windows Vista which took more than 4 minutes to fully boot (I consider the boot up process to be finished when the hard drive stops spinning and I don’t have to compete with a still booting computer to do what I want to do), and running any applications was like walking through molasses. I can say that my expectations were pretty low, but I am pleasantly surprised…so far.
- It took exactly 21 minutes from when I inserted the install DVD until I reached a workable desktop. Very impressive! The setup was painless and required very little input. In fact, it was so easy, I think that the folks at Microsoft must have taken a page out of the Linux/Ubuntu installs. It was easily the fastest and easiest install of any version of Windows. I hope it doesn’t change much with the final version.
- Bootup time is faster than Vista too. With my fresh install of Windows 7 and no security software, boot time was just under 2 minutes.
- Overall, the new OS feels snappy and clean. I haven’t seen any User Account Control (UAC) pop-ups yet.
- On my Toshiba laptop, like Linux, I didn’t have to install a single driver. Once the quick install finished, my wireless, Ethernet, sound, video, SD card, and web cam all worked perfectly.
- Microsoft has revamped and simplified the wireless connectivity…again very Ubuntuish in my opinion.
- This beta version of Windows 7 also includes the new Internet Explorer 8 which doesn’t feel much different than 8, but is supposed to be more compatible and flexible than 7. I will test it a little, but still prefer Firefox. I will probably install Google Chrome as well to see how it runs in Windows 7.
- The revamped Start menu has a new feature that when you hover on a recently used program it will also present to you your most recently used documents for that program. Nice.
- The taskbar has also been changed, but I need to work with it some more before deciding exactly how those features affect uability and productivity.
- I plan on installing AVG or Avast antivirus and OpenOffice to test them and will report more about speed and usability.
I’m writing this article and took the two screenshots in Windows 7 using the Snipping Tool introduced with Vista. I did use picnik.com to edit the photos, however, since the updated Paint program, although it does have a new Crop and Resize feature, the resize feature doesn’t have much flexibility.
Stay tuned for more articles about Windows 7 leading up to its release later this year, or early next year. If there are questions YOU have about Windows 7, leave a comment below and I will test them out for you.
i just wanted to know if there is a release date for windows 7 and when that may be and what they might be asking for it im definately interested i hate vista so much that i downgraded to xp and have had my fingers crossed for a long time hopeing that microsoft would come out with something that wasnt such a hog
Windows 7 will be released in mid-October…I have a story on that here at HelpMeRick. And if the final release is like the latest betas, it will be eons better than Vista.
Windows 7 works phenomenally! I ditched Vista as soon as I could and never went back…In fact, I have used ‘7’ ever since beta as my Main operating system. My sister uses Vista and bitches everyday about it. I am trying to convince her to switch. Oh and the Release Candidate (RC) is avail until AUG 20 and will last until June 2010 before it deactivates itself (you get a two week warning first) and you must buy a copy or go to something else.
When everything is defragged and organized and no misc startup programs, my HP DV6446us Laptop will start in under a minute. I would even dare to say 30 seconds. My start up list includes Avira Anti-virus, utorrent, and some small utility programs.
It indeed is a pleasant surprise…I just wish Microsoft would test the beta version (Vista) on their own instead of releasing it on us! Thanks for stopping by!
I too downloaded the Windows 7 beta version but didn’t use it that long. I put it on Sun Virtual Box on a PC running Windows XP and surprisingly everything worked except Aero theme. It was fast only using a GB of memory and 20GB of install room. I liked the new start bar and menu. I used the jump lists the most out of everything. IE 8 integration into the OS was great, but I still prefer Firefox. I can’t wait until this version of Windows is released so I can buy it. I just wish it had workspaces like Linux and “Spaces” that Mac stole.
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