Weekend Open Forum: Have you upgraded to Windows 7 yet? What is there to like/not?

[Julio Franco]

Inevitably the past few weeks have been a lot about Windows 7. We have contributed our fair share of information and resources in the process, from nifty tips and tricks for those of you coming as far back as the first public beta, to a complete round-up of information to get you up to speed if you are upgrading to Windows 7 just now.

But what makes Windows 7 different from previous releases? First of all, Windows 7 has proved in a relatively short time span that it’s no dog, and no Vista for that matter. Vista suffered all the incompatibilities and supposedly necessary transition needed to open the path for a next generation OS. In the process, the average PC also became much faster.

Furthermore, consider this… over 90% of PCs worldwide rely on Windows. A big chunk of those computers are still running XP or even older versions. A majority of businesses didn’t go for Vista and are now showing more willingness to move to 7 eventually, which will also require more modern hardware. Finally, in the consumer end, a majority of the PCs currently running Vista came with the OS pre-installed, and that hardware is more than capable to handle 7, one less obstacle that is showing in preliminary sales statistics for retail boxed versions of the new OS.

In this edition of our weekend open forum we ask you: Have you upgraded to Windows 7 yet? If yes, what’s your favorite feature so far? If not, what’s keeping you from doing so?

Note: This is the last news story that applies for our current Acer Aspire One giveaway. The winner will be announced this Sunday.

Permalink to story.

https://www.techspot.com/news/36856-weekend-open-forum-have-you-upgraded-to-windows-7-yet-what-is-there-to-like-not.html

 

[treeski]

I took advantage of the Windows 7 student deal, and picked up professional 64bit for the $30. I own a pretty powerful gaming rig and used to run Vista on it. I didn't have any problems with Vista, but I have noticed certain performance boosts with 7. My computer's start up time is a lot faster. Transitioning from software to software seems smoother somehow.

I'm also digging the 7 interface. The new taskbar is really awesome. I love that you can move programs around on it. The various Aero features are great.

I haven't run into any compatibility issues, so no problems there.

Not sure what else to say. It's a great operating system, and I would really encourage everyone to make the move from XP/Vista/(macs) to 7. You won't be disappointed.

 

[elroacho72]

If you have a 64 bit capable system, don’t wait. This will streamline your system so quickly you won’t believe it. Allowing you to multitask with the best of them and have no bottleneck doing it. To fully utilize everything 4GB of RAM should be used but with RAM so cheap now upgrading shouldn’t be a problem! W7 is crazy! Running it on a P4 in one room and a dual core in the other! Using windows media center with mediabrowser plugin for ALL media in the house! Music, videos (including blu-ray), tv, you name it! I Picked up a remote and I'm good to go! W7 uses less resources than vista therefore runs a lot easier on my machines! I've been using it since beta testing and absolutely love this OS!

 

[SinOfDeath]

I haven't upgrade yet, but i know i like it

 

[guyfred26]

This upgrade from Xp to Vista to Windows 7 cost too much for comapanies.That is why companies are reluctant on upgrading to windows 7. Hopefully windows 7 will give a promising performance to all its consumers.

 

[klepto12]

i love windows 7 it has to be the best OS i have used easily beating vista and XP yes i said it better than XP. what i like about win7 is the fact that it basically installs all your drivers for you and its boot time is also very nice. i think the only thing i dont like is the fact that you have to have all drivers digitally signed by microsoft or they wont even work

 

[Rick]

klepto12 said:
what i like about win7 is the fact that it basically installs all your drivers for you

You're going to be disappointed in about a year. This is less an OS feature and more just being 'new'.

i think the only thing i dont like is the fact that you have to have all drivers digitally signed by microsoft or they wont even work

Not true. I've even used beta Vista drivers... heh.

This upgrade from Xp to Vista to Windows 7 cost too much for comapanies.That is why companies are reluctant on upgrading to windows 7.

Most companies aren't going 'upgrade'. Any company with a real IT program is going to backup, format, reinstall, image Windows 7 onto their computers. Upgrading is often not an option in a corporate environment.

 

[Xclusiveitalian]

I also took advantage of the student deal, I feel the $30 was worth the upgrade from vista. I also got the hard disk just in case as I like to have a hard copy just to be safe. I really like Windows 7, and I especially feel if your going to get a newer computer to have windows 7 installed. Vista feels heavy, but unlike the past vista isn't that buggy, it's just not as smooth as win 7 is. Pick just one fav feature? lol thats a hard one, I love the new task bar, but the snap in screen is addictive to use especially with Itunes and aol at the same time, or better yet what I did, have techspot open, and watch some youtube videos. The starup for windows (for me) is amazingly faster then Vista. MY laptop shuts down in a record 9-11 seconds, a first. The new look of the menus and such I like, it feels very organized and simple to understand. Like my laptop is connected to the internet through a network, and I can easily switch with 2 clicks to another network. I use this for school and because my house has 2 as well. The easily way to describe windows 7 is a upgraded smoother lighter Vista. I recommend anyone, especially using a laptop to upgrade (if they can) to Windows 7. As it's been proven it takes less power to use....more battery life!

 

[Whiffen]

I have been using windows 7 since the first beta was available. Love the OS and will be purchasing Home Premium 64 for 120$ Lucky its not to expensive since I get a discount for buying a 1TB HDD not to long ago.

 

[BlindObject]

About to up grade soon...I have a x64 XP pro, how's gaming on W7? Better than XP? I have a powerful gaming rig, and that's 80% of what I do on here.

 

[lynxon]

I had access to an MSDN account when they first released it to developers back a few months ago, and I can you guys that I'm glad I did. This thing is FREAKING AMAZING. The new taskbar, areo peek and stuff, just amazing.

 

[Deso]

I upgraded to 7 but my pentinum 4 was to slow :/ so I installed back to xp :/

 

[Rick]

I upgraded to 7 but my pentinum 4 was to slow :/ so I installed back to xp :/

I don't think it is your P4, unless you have an old first gen Willamette or something. It's probably your RAM/memory and/or graphics card and it could be something as simple as a driver issue or just adding more memory.

Windows 7 is almost every bit as meaty as Vista. It really should have 2GB of RAM or more to play with. It handles that meatiness better than Vista though, with things like starting services during startup in an 'intelligent' order etc... But XP is going to run better if you have an old video card and/or less than 1GB of RAM.

 

[skitzo_zac]

I ran the public Beta and Release Candidate and then bought Professional x64 with the student discount a couple of days after it's public release.

I really like it being visually more pleasing to use than the aging XP. New taskbar may take a while to get used to for some people but it really is superior IMO.

I love being able to move around items in the taskbar and the system tray, small thing for some but it really is great IMO.

Snapping windows to either side of the screen, really simple idea, but it makes organizing and moving files around A LOT easier.

Drivers being moved from kernal to user space (I know this was done in Vista, but I never used Vista. Upgraded from XP to 7), this was a pretty big problem for me in XP as I would get BSODs from driver crashes. Now in 7 it just re-initializes the driver without having to restart my system.

Windows 7 really is a great operating system. I would recommend everyone to upgrade to it if your hardware can handle it. And if you can get the student discount it is really cheap!

 

[jrronimo]

Windows 7 is just plain good. It feels snappier and more consistent when compared to Vista. Further, it *feels* shiny and new. XP feels like a dinosaur and looks like play doh by default.
Win7 is quick, modern and looks good, to boot. I wouldn't trade the new taskbar for anything.

 

[mailpup]

I bought three copies of Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit OEM but have not installed any yet. In my next computer build I will.

 

[anonemus]

When I first RC came out I installed it on my office laptop. It was very impressive! Haven't done it yet on my Home PC as I'm too busy to reinstall everything. Besides, the home PC is mostly used for websurfing and Office applications, so WinXP is still capable.

Maybe when I need to upgrade to a bigger HDD I will install Win7.

 

[Alokasi]

I bought the 1/2 price upgrade back in ?July?. Upgraded the day it came from Vista 32 to Win7 64-bit. No regrets. I, however, never had any problems with Vista either, so I guess I was one of the lucky ones. I'm not a big fan of the new task bar, but it is quite simple to make it behave like the vista (or XP) task bar but with MUCH improved previews. The tray icons are managed better in my opinion. I really like have the screen resolution as a primary option on the desktop right click menu since I dual monitor fairly regularly. Win7 boots and shuts down WAY faster than my Vista ever did. Its no longer painful to restart the computer. Wireless seems to connect to networks faster too. All said, I'm pretty happy with the new Windows.

 

[BorisandBailey]

I'm staying on XP because, for me, Windows is for specialized programs like the Adobe products. I have Illustrator and Photoshop and I really don't need Windows for anything more than that. Everything else I can do with Linux Ubuntu. If Adobe made its softwares available for Linux, I would leave Windows in a heartbeat.

 

[Guest]

I'm really digging Windows 7 so far. Before this, I used XP. I never touched Vista. One thing I miss is the Quick Launch Bar that was removed. They replaced it with the "Pin To Taskbar" feature, but this isn't really a replacement. The buttons representing running programs get mixed in with the buttons representing Quick launch options, and it can be a real mess.

Really though, Windows 7 is awesome.

 

[mattfrompa]

I have more copies of Windows 7 than I can currently use...even putting all my spare stuff together...but yes I did obtain them legally, through student discount, attending a conference, and becoming a Windows 7 launch host. I think I was able to help spread the word fairly well (all students at my university get Pro for free) so with that kind of price there isn't a whole lot keeping them from upgrading. I haven't not liked a Windows OS this well at launch before. I have no dillusions though, there are compatibility issues and bugs to be addressed. There is also always more they could do. Overall I think Microsoft deserves a lot of credit, and they have been receiving it. Even Apple decided to make 2 Windows 7 commercials. Yet they didn't even make one for their own OS release! They must really care *tear

 

[blackcat77]

We operate a not-for-profit group and got three copies of W7 Pro for $8 each, which is the best bargain around. I've only installed it to this laptop since we're in a busy time right now and need to keep our desktops fully-functional for a while. I'd used the W7 beta and RC earlier but re-installed Vista because of some stability issues. I'm happy to report that the problems seem to have been addressed. This laptop is my browsing computer and I've had zero crashes since installation five days ago. I still believe this is actually Vista 1.1, but even if we'd have had to pay the $150 for a Home Premium upgrade 3-pack, it still would be worth the money. Improvements to the taskbar and lots of other little things make everyday tasks a lot easier.

 

[cardriverx]

I got 7 64bit premium, upgraded from vista. Did a clean install (always do) and it runs great! I love the task bar, mated with the expandable dock app. Yay!

 

[zaidpirwani]

blackcat77 said:
We operate a not-for-profit group and got three copies of W7 Pro for $8 each, which is the best bargain around.

Am still using the release candidate, but hey, where did you got this $8 deal...

About Windows 7, I really like the new taskbar, but still am getting used to it..

 

[Guest]

To give a frame of reference, I'm a college student in a general engineering program. I have also, like many people, taken advantage of the student deal to get 7 Pro.

One thing that I would like to note is the sensationalism caused by the release of 7. I just installed Vista 32 bit Professional about a week ago(with the purpose of using it for awhile so that I am able to say i've used every windows OS since 3.1) and posted it on my facebook. Within a few hours I had at least 4 different people apologizing to me for my "bad luck", and how I should have upgraded straight to 7, even though they have never even used it before. This kind of bias is interesting when analyzing the differences between the 3 OS's(XP, Vista, and 7) and i would simply like to bring that thought up.
Also, a day later when i went on and did some research for 7 I did like how the successive editions of 7 have the same functions as the previous versions(so Pro has all of Home Premium functions plus added features and Ultimate has more features than Pro). This was one of my issues with vista once I had gotten it installed and realized the Professional version didn't have some of the features I had expected (like Media Center). So the student rate deal is actually amazing being a little less than 1/6 the price for Pro which includes all features of Home Premium along with some additional ones. It's similar to one of those deals too good to be true.
From my research I think this will be a good upgrade and am having issues not installing my download immediately... So when I feel I've used Vista long enough to meet my purpose for installing it I'll click this little Windows 7 upgrade icon on my desktop.