Windows 7 - Improvement on Vista?

[Bluebeard]

I just got a copy of Windows 7 (Enterprise) through an associate at work, and have recently uploaded it to replace Vista. So far (about a day in) it seems to be working smoother and generally better all around.

Some nice features (auto combining of apps under the icon for the new look toolbar, showing pages rather than text when hovered over on the toolbar), and a faster running speed. However, I am a complete newb to it so far and have yet to find the nightmares which may be awaiting me, as sure as it is Microsoft.

Anyone else have any experiences / warnings / advice / sneaky tricks to share?

[Mr A]

A few of the lads here were at a Windows 7 launch event the other day and it seemed to be pretty impressive. No real 'wow' features but it was running fine on a pretty low spec netbook.

Feedback seems to be that it's a slightly improved Vista with vastly improved performance.

[tetsujin1979]

and it's all you need to host an excellent party: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cX4t5-YpHQ

[Block G Raptor]

fack sake they could have re-packaged windows 3.0 and that would have been an improvement on vista

[dahamsta]

Windows Me was better than Vista...

...ok, that's probably taking things too far.

[Mr A]

I've never really had any major problems with Vista. XP was and is a great OS though.

[tetsujin1979]

Windows Me was better than Vista...

...ok, that's probably taking things too far.
Windows Me wasn't hit by the MSBlaster worm from a few years ago that crippled everyone else.
Probably the only good thing about Me TBH

[DmanDmythDledge]

Is this going to be on new computers soon? I'm about to buy a laptop but there's no urgency so would it be worth my while to wait?

[John83]

Should be out this month, Ro, so hold off if you like.

[DmanDmythDledge]

Should be out this month, Ro, so hold off if you like.
Kool and the Gang. :) Would PC manufacturers make changes to their specifications or just simply replace Vista with Windows 7? Want to look into it first obviously but don't want my efforts to be a waste of time. :)

[John83]

Kool and the Gang. :) Would PC manufacturers make changes to their specifications or just simply replace Vista with Windows 7? Want to look into it first obviously but don't want my efforts to be a waste of time. :)
They change specs all the time, but the two won't be related.

[Jofspring]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BpOvzGiheOM Thought this was a good ad from mac called broken promises, its about Windows.

[TheBoss]

There is nothing too much wrong with XP, no need to buy Vista or W7 imo, if you want a new PC/Laptop/Netbook, than XP should be first choice.

[dahamsta]

Mildly amusing video, but I think there's actually a good chance of it being inaccurate this time around. By all account v7 is what Vista promised to be. The critics are raving about it.

[Bluebeard]

It is the first time since I had windows 95 that it does what I expect it to within the time I expect it to.

I'd also expect that you'll have no choice in having win7 if you are buying new from the shelf. I was nearly in tears when i got Vista on the last purchase, so I was relieved when I got a copy of 7, and it worked.

[paul_oshea]

Oh blue one, whats the definition of purchase in bearded language usage?

[Bluebeard]

Oh blue one, whats the definition of purchase in bearded language usage?

In this case, when last I bought a computer, it came presintalled with evil Vista. The damn thing had a single gig's memory, a max of 2 and Vista really needs 4+ to work properly. Fortunately I did not have to buy 7 owing to an associate.

In short, if you are on XP, keep going until you upgrade the computer, or need to upgrade it owing the usual microsoft incompatibility flim flam. If you are on Vista with anything less than 4 gigs of RAM, consider an upgrade.

[OneRedArmy]

In this case, when last I bought a computer, it came presintalled with evil Vista. The damn thing had a single gig's memory, a max of 2 and Vista really needs 4+ to work properly. Fortunately I did not have to buy 7 owing to an associate.

In short, if you are on XP, keep going until you upgrade the computer, or need to upgrade it owing the usual microsoft incompatibility flim flam. If you are on Vista with anything less than 4 gigs of RAM, consider an upgrade.That seems to be the consensus out there.

It seems that you need to do a clean install from XP and I really don't fancy going through all my programs to load them up again and see what works and what doesn't.

Also for netbook owners, whilst not as power hungry as Vista, W7 is a step or two up from XP and can slow things down a lot from what I've read.

[dahamsta]

Clean install is always the best way to install Windows ORA; most OS's in fact. It's a pain in the arse but getting rid of all the cruft and crap can be liberating! I reinstall XP at least every second year.