Windows 7 Beta Testing

[Winchester]

I just hope that it maintains the proud Microsoft tradition of poor production and security vulnerability.

[Theologian in Training]

[quote name='Winchester' post='1755171' date='Jan 19 2009, 11:21 AM']I just hope that it maintains the proud Microsoft tradition of poor production and security vulnerability.[/quote]

And, charge twice for what it is worth by packaging it as "Ultimate"....mustn't forget that

[Ziggamafu]

[quote name='Theologian in Training' post='1753623' date='Jan 17 2009, 02:39 AM'][Geekspeak]Much improved from Vista, probably what Vista should have been from the beginning. IE 8 takes some getting used to, all the drivers were found, except my Nvidia card (used Vista's worked fine)

A lot "snappier" than Vista and programs actually load quickly. The CPU load is lessened (got a monitor) and the memory is less taxed.

The ISO was easy to create, though I could only use it from within Vista rather than booting from the DVD itself.

You need to register if you want to try, they are letting people give it a shot for free until later on in January.

All in all, much improved from Vista. Looks a lot like Vista with a few changes, but the response time with programs and the better performance is noticeable

I partitioned a drive (not using it as my primary OS) with Vista. Surprisingly, their partition manager is not half bad...score 1 for Vista...only 1

Give it a shot while you can [url="http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-7/"]http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-7/[/url]

[/Geekspeak] [/quote]

Can you keep the beta permanently or does it expire?

[Theologian in Training]

[quote name='Ziggamafu' post='1755195' date='Jan 19 2009, 12:13 PM']Can you keep the beta permanently or does it expire?[/quote]

It expires in August, August 1, 2009 to be exact. Just don't use it as your primary OS, either take an old desktop (since it can perform well with little RAM) or dual boot it with another OS.

[url="http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-7/"]http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-7/[/url]

[Ziggamafu]

Any word on initial pricing?

[Theologian in Training]

[quote name='Ziggamafu' post='1755328' date='Jan 19 2009, 02:48 PM']Any word on initial pricing?[/quote]

Nothing definitive.

[T-Bone _]

[quote name='Ziggamafu' post='1755328' date='Jan 19 2009, 11:48 AM']Any word on initial pricing?[/quote]

If you have to ask, you can't afford it?

[ReinnieR]

[quote name='Theologian in Training' post='1753623' date='Jan 17 2009, 02:39 AM']The ISO was easy to create, though I could only use it from within Vista rather than booting from the DVD itself.[/quote]sorry i don't really speak geek but uhm so you're running the DVD within vista? so you didn't install the whole operating system?

Edited January 19, 2009 by ReinnieR

[Ziggamafu]

[quote name='T-Bone _' post='1755347' date='Jan 19 2009, 03:07 PM']If you have to ask, you can't afford it?[/quote]

Yeah, probably not. If they put out a cheap edition upgrade (say, $50), I would definitely spring for it.

[T-Bone _]

[quote name='Ziggamafu' post='1755630' date='Jan 19 2009, 02:27 PM']Yeah, probably not. If they put out a cheap edition upgrade (say, $50), I would definitely spring for it.[/quote]

There's always student editions. Take a college course you're interested in, and bammo! Discount software.

[Theologian in Training]

[quote name='ReinnieR' post='1755458' date='Jan 19 2009, 04:11 PM']sorry i don't really speak geek but uhm so you're running the DVD within vista? so you didn't install the whole operating system?[/quote]

No, I created an install DVD but it would not boot directly from the DVD so I had to run the initial install from within Vista. Once it restarted, however, it was installing Windows 7. So, I am dual booting Vista and Windows 7 and running both natively.

[LouisvilleFan]

Well, I installed the Beta on a VirtualBox drive on my MacBook and downloaded some Windows Live software. There's a program called Writer for creating and editing blog posts. I haven't tried installing any other software. It seems like a good, solid OS... but I guess there isn't anything that makes me really want to use it. The one thing I would like is having Office installed so I wouldn't have to deal with the formatting issues that come with switching between OpenOffice and MS Office. Unfortunately, my last attempt to boot Windows 7 was painstakingly slow... wonder if boosting the video memory setting in VirtualBox well beyond the amount of video memory available on my MacBook caused problems.

[Apotheoun]

[quote name='Ziggamafu' post='1755328' date='Jan 19 2009, 11:48 AM']Any word on initial pricing?[/quote]
I'm sure MS will do everything it can to make it overpriced!

[LouisvilleFan]

I'm pretty sure Microsoft charges about $129 for a new OS, same as Apple charges for a new copy of OS X. Maybe it'll go up to $139.

[Theologian in Training]

[quote name='LouisvilleFan' post='1766627' date='Jan 30 2009, 09:59 AM']Well, I installed the Beta on a VirtualBox drive on my MacBook and downloaded some Windows Live software. There's a program called Writer for creating and editing blog posts. I haven't tried installing any other software. It seems like a good, solid OS... but I guess there isn't anything that makes me really want to use it. The one thing I would like is having Office installed so I wouldn't have to deal with the formatting issues that come with switching between OpenOffice and MS Office. Unfortunately, my last attempt to boot Windows 7 was painstakingly slow... wonder if boosting the video memory setting in VirtualBox well beyond the amount of video memory available on my MacBook caused problems.[/quote]

It is only slow because you are running it virtually. You really cannot get the full effect of the OS until you run it natively. Just create a small partition of about 20gbs, try it out, then delete the partition. I happened to have an extra computer around and dual booted it with Vista (the nightmare OS) and the difference it literally like night and day.