Microsoft Windows 7 discussion

[beesonthewhatnow]

PS: I really don't understand why they thought those 'frosted' glass window borders were ever a good idea. They just confuse the visual field

I can't stand fancy graphics full stop. I want a simple, clean, uncluttered interface, not animated windows, translucent effects and so on.


Both OSX and Vista look fucking awful imo.

 

[editor]

thought this was about windows 7 ?

You're the one banging on about Linux, chum.

Back on topic, there's a wobbly Johnny Foreigner video here showing Windows 7 interface with a bit of multitouch thrown in. Have to say that it looks v.slick
http://www.nowhereelse.fr/?p=11997

 

[editor]

Looks like it's living up to its promise with Laptop reporting that it runs very well on a low powered Asus 1000H netbook.

So how is Windows 7 on an Intel Atom netbook? Two thumbs up for the new wireless manager and the new visual cues that are incorporated throughout the OS. We wouldn’t give up Windows XP just yet considering the video playback, but the OS is still in beta and it is our hope that final version will be even better for Atom-based PCs.

http://blog.laptopmag.com/eee-pc-1000h-runs-windows-7-well

 

[editor]

The Guardian is reporting that early reports are *very* enthusiastic!

Paul Thurrott's SuperSite for Windows has probably the biggest analysis: his Windows 7 Preview is in five parts, four of which have been posted so far. He says: "Clearly, Windows 7 is to Windows Vista as was Windows XP to Windows 2000. And that's true on a number of levels."
Active Win also goes to town, with more than 13,000 words on a single page. There, Andre Da Costa excitedly concludes:

It's safe to say I am overwhelmed, overjoyed and most of all excited about Windows 7. This is the release of Windows everybody has been waiting for, it's what Vista was meant to be and beyond that. Windows 7 puts the user first; it's about going back to the fundamentals of what an operating system must do. Managing and maintaining your PC is exceptionally seamless in Windows 7 and users will appreciate the tremendous improvements and advancements this update will offer on both existing and new hardware form factors in the future.
​

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/blog/2008/nov/02/windows7-beta-previews

I'm looking forward to Windows 7, having avoided Vista.

 

[Crispy]

That taskbar looks good. best parts of Start menu and the OSX Dock.
'Jump Lists' are not new though are they? You get 'FFwd, Pause etc." commands when you right click the Media Player task button.

 

[kained&able]

so is the 64bit support better then on vista.

that will be the decider.

Then i could do a decent upgrade of my computer.


dave

 

[Crispy]

6-4bit support for what? the main barrier to adoption of 64-bit windows is drivers, afaik. with a 64-bit kernel, you need 64-bit drivers, and there's still so much hardware out there that doesn't have 64-bit drivers yet.

 

[gnoriac]

Has it got that unremovable DRM layer like Vista? If so, Microsoft can stick it where the monkey sticks his nuts.

 

[Crispy]

The curious can get the latest beta of windows 7 from all the big torrent sites. This is the release handed out to WDC attendees.

 

[kained&able]

6-4bit support for what? the main barrier to adoption of 64-bit windows is drivers, afaik. with a 64-bit kernel, you need 64-bit drivers, and there's still so much hardware out there that doesn't have 64-bit drivers yet.

so its annoying companies not releasing drivers thats too blame for me not being able to do what i want with my pc

i've been blaming microsoft(default posiiton on everything|)


dave

 

[Crispy]

That's the gist of it, yeah. The hardware support issue has been the weight round MS's neck for ages. Most complaints about windows stability come from dodgy hardware drivers, or unforeseen clashes within certain combinations of hardware. Impossible to test them all.

Apple gets round this problem by severely limiting the range of hardware on which the OS will run. It means that the next release of OSX will be 64-bit through and through - no 32-bit version at all. The downside is that you have a limited hardware choice, and older peripherals with no 64-bit drivers will stop working.

 

[Detroit City]

i'll upgrade when win7 is tried and tested

 

[UnderOpenSky]

How do Apple get round the 4gb of ram issue if there OS is still 32 bit?

 

[Crispy]

The 4GB of ram issue in windows is an artificial restriction in order to maintain driver compatability. PAE (physical address extension) is the technology that lets 32-bit OSes access >4GB and windows doesn't have a very good memory model in order to play well with it. Windows Server has no such restriction and can access 32GB of ram, just like OSX. However, both OSes are limited to a maximum of 4GB per process (in 32-bit mode, anyway)

 

[ovaltina]

I only got around to buying an xp computer in late 06/ early 07 so I expect I'll get around to taking up Windows 7 some time around 2015, by which time you'll all be on something else.

 

[Detroit City]

I only got around to buying an xp computer in late 06/ early 07 so I expect I'll get around to taking up Windows 7 some time around 2015, by which time you'll all be on something else.

theres nothing wrong with that as long as your current machine meets your needs

i know someone still running Win98

 

[ovaltina]

theres nothing wrong with that as long as your current machine meets your needs

i know someone still running Win98

True. And despite working in lots of different clients' offices around London, I still haven't seen a computer running Vista. Not even once. Everyone seems happy with XP.

They're going to have to give people/businesses convincing reasons to upgrade, something stronger than 'it's new'.

 

[WWWeed]

They're going to have to give people/businesses convincing reasons to upgrade, something stronger than 'it's new'.

A free phone might do it for some people:

Carphone Warehouse looks set to give away free smartphones running Windows Mobile 7 with copies of the upcoming Windows 7 PC operating system, Register Hardware has learned.

A phone manufacturer source familiar with the phone retailer's plans told us that the Windows Mobile 7 phone and Windows 7 bundle boxes will be released on the same day that the new desktop OS is launched in the UK, which he said could come during September or October 2009.

http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/11/03/w7_wm7_carphone_warehouse_bundles/

There gonna have to give me something better than a shitty windows mobile if they want me to use their bs 'cloud' based os.

 

[untethered]

Really? So how come the battery life on Asus Eee 901 is superior when the machine is running XP over Linux?

At its simplest, try comparing an operating system with power management features to one without.

 

[untethered]

i'll upgrade when win7 is tried and tested

Round about Windows 9, then.

 

[Detroit City]

Round about Windows 9, then.

exactly

 

[Crispy]

At its simplest, try comparing an operating system with power management features to one without.

yep. linux has pretty shitty power management support

 

[Detroit City]

i still say WinNT 4.0/2K were the best versions evah

 

[Jonti]

Linux power management is fine; it's written to open published specs, just like you'd expect. BIOS writers don't necessarily follow the specs mind, especially in a monopoly situation, so just like you wouldn't necessarily expect to run apple on a pc, so you wouldn't necessarily expect all hardware to support linux.

But when linux comes pre-installed, of course stuff like power management Just Works

 

[Crispy]

you're probably right. I was just passing over received wisdom

 

[editor]

At its simplest, try comparing an operating system with power management features to one without.

So Windows really does give a better battery life compared to Linux.

Hang on, isn't that what I said ages ago?

Round about Windows 9, then.

All the initial reports have actual been very positive, Mr Doom'n'Gloom.

The new taskbar looks great too.

 

[untethered]

So Windows really does give a better battery life compared to Linux.

Hang on, isn't that what I said ages ago?

It depends on the particular hardware/OS combination. PM is generally better on Windows than Linux, but not always.

All the initial reports have actual been very positive, Mr Doom'n'Gloom.

The new taskbar looks great too.

That means it looks fancy. Well so does Vista. How many people have actually used it for any extended period that aren't paid by MS or otherwise beholden to them?

 

[editor]

That means it looks fancy. Well so does Vista. How many people have actually used it for any extended period that aren't paid by MS or otherwise beholden to them?

I linked to a Guardian article earlier which had a selection of positive comments from reviewers.

What is your specific criticism of the new style bar? It looks a handy innovation to me.

 

[untethered]

tbf, most modern OS's have come about as far as they can in terms of features. Major releases are now about fixing bugs or tinkering around the edges of the interface.

True. Windows 7 doesn't look like anything to get particularly excited and no "must have" features yet that would persuade most people to upgrade from Vista or even XP (perhaps, especially XP).

I wonder when or whether we will see the end of GUIs with windows as the dominant UI paradigm. Possibly not until "computers" as we know them (things with obvious I/O devices like screens, mice and keyboards) disappear.

In The Humane Interface, Jef Raskin suggests that modern OSes are flawed in that they run applications that are (locally) modal. The affordances in one application (or even in one context of an application) are not necessarily available in another. His solution is to eliminate applications entirely and provide an OS in which content can be manipulated with a discrete set of commands or "transformers" which are installed as required and available in all contexts.

Hard to see how this would work in practice.

 

[untethered]

What is your specific criticism of the new style bar? It looks a handy innovation to me.

Icons are generally less legible than text labels. Try teaching a new user using Vista and getting them to remember that the thing in the bottom left hand corner is the "Start Menu".

I'd have to actually work the thing to give more meaningful feedback. It's a bit like trying to do architectural criticism based on viewing a single photo of the front elevation of a building.