More Windows 7

Well he should be happy!

Source: here

After the slating Microsoft received resulting from the introduction of Vista (a deserved slating I should add) I imagine that spirits are high in Redmond following the launch of the public beta of Windows 7.

Reactions have been most favourable - here are some examples: LINK

And HERE is an excellent summary of many of the features of the new operating system.

For myself, well as I reported the other day, I have been using it and I have to say that apart from the almost incredible fact that Google has not yet provided a version of Chrome that is fully compatible with the 64-bit version of Windows 7, I am delighted and would very much like to buy the finished version when it appears.  

Finally for the academic and technical types, this site provides a great deal of detailed and fascinating information.

Once again I must express the hope that Microsoft moderates its prices; 7 is a great opportunity for the company to restore its battered reputation.

Until the next time

Windows 7

Those of you who are interested in computing developments have probably been following the news about the progress of Windows 7, Microsoft's soon-to-arrive replacement for Vista.

The extent of the failure of the latter may be judged by the fact that 7 will probably arrive late this year - less than three years after the release of Vista whilst the very successful XP is still going strong after eight years!

Microsoft has offered a beta version of 7 as a free download, both in the 32- and 64-bit versions; you can find the download here.  I have been trying them out.  Despite the fact that the new operating system is in beta, I have had no trouble and so far it seems that the claims of improved performance are fully justified.  I installed it on a separate partition as a "clean install" but the option of an upgrade installation which is reversible is also offered.  Of course certain programs have not yet been modified to work with 7, but some providers, Skype for instance, have been quick off the mark to offer compatible versions of the software.  And in 7 one is directed automatically to a site to download the appropriate software.  The other good news is that one does not need a supercomputer to run 7 (as one does with Vista) -1 gigabyte of RAM is plenty.

Here is a short video review (by Cnet) of 7 which should give you an idea of how the OS works.

The free beta download version of 7 unfortunately expires in August; I hope that Microsoft will not be charging the earth for the new OS - I for one would be happy to use it - at least based on my experience so far.

Until the next time

XP - Likely to Outlive Vista!

Source: Here

A fascinating article arrived today. Published in Redmondmag.com the article suggests that XP is not showing signs of lying down. The article even suggests that with its current 87% usage figure, it is likely that users will wait for the arrival of Windows 7 in 2010 -11.

A factor in the equation is the fact that given the current economic gloom, companies are most likely to hold back on new hardware purchases, and since it is well known that Vista's "bloat" requires considerable hardware resources, the companies will be obliged to continue with XP.

And since Microsoft will not be keen on upsetting the potential huge market for 7, it follows that support for XP may well be maintained.

Not good news or the hardware manufacturers, or for Vista, but good news for XP fans like me.

Until the next time.

Evidently I am not Alone!

Gizmodo reports that a survey of 3000 users has revealed that no less than a third have removed Vista and replaced it with XP on their computers; the article actually says "downgraded" but of course I cannot agree with this!

My past market research experience tells me that a sample of 3000 is statistically robust even in such a large "universe" so the results can be taken as representative.

There is a large number of comments following the Gizmodo article, I have selected one which brings back vivid, but not fond, memories of my Vista experience:

I had Vista for a few weeks before removing it. For me it draws a ridiculous amount of system resources but didn't perform any faster. With 2gb of ram it took longer to load aps than on XP with only 1gb. I did like the look of it but it seemed to me like that's all it was, an overblown facelift that really wasn't needed. They changed things around just for the sake of changing them to make them LOOK better. I was really drawn into it initially when I had heard about the ReadyBoost feature of using flash drives to be allocated as RAM, but quickly realized that the OS is so inefficient in regards to the usage of system resources that it was a necessity. But the biggest annoyance was dealing with crap like this:

Me: (drops file in the Recycle Bin)

Vista: Are you sure you want to do that?

Me: (clicks yes)

Vista: By doing this action you permanently delete this file. Are you sure you still want to do this?

Me: (click yes again)

Vista: Are you sure you don't want to hang on to this? You have plenty of space available I would hate to see you need it later and not have it. Do you wish to continue with the deletion of the file?

Me: (click yes yet again)

Vista: Maybe you should check with your neighbor Ted. He knows more about this kind of thing than you do. You should get his opinion first before proceeding. He is home right now. Go ahead and call him and then click yes or no.

Me: (clicks yes 8 times really fast)

Vista: First of all there is no need for an attitude. You want me to delete the damn file, I will delete the damn file, but I know that due to your response time you didn't bother to call Ted.....jerk.

Me: (format C:)

Until the next time