Yes, I know “RC” designates Windows 7 as a Release Candidate, but a better designation would be Reality Check.
Windows 7 is an improvement over a very bad Vista, OK? Big deal. Let’s not pretend it’s more than that. The signal-to-noise ratio from some quarters is getting ridiculous.
Let’s look at the reality check:
- Did they address that whole sluggish performance thing? Not really.
- Did they address that whole confusing number of editions thing? Not really.
- Did they address that whole XP compatibility thing? Not really.
I installed Win7 beta on my MacBook a few months back, and recently installed the reality check on my iMac. Most of the improvements Microsoft made in either version are fine (especially those that pay homage to Mac OS X), and driver support is better, but this would all have happened to Vista in 2.5 years anyway.
Steve Ballmer said it best: Win7 is just Vista done right. Fine, but the problem is that Vista was never anything more than a replacement for what was at the time a 6-year-old XP. It had long since lost the shine, promise, and propaganda of a Longhorn we never got. And even with the broken promises, Microsoft still couldn’t get it “right” until now.
I did not upgrade to Vista. It was a horrible release that had issues even with new hardware, let alone the 2-year-old PC laptop I owned then. My experience with Vista, like most peoples’ at the time, was a disaster. I went back to XP and never looked back. But at some point one must question the sense in using an OS struggling under the weight of issues and security concerns rooted in decisions made a decade ago.
The biggest thing Windows 7 has going for it, by far, is that while after six years XP was showing it’s age, after nine it’s almost comical. The hardest reality check for Microsoft is that XP had to become so dated to make their “new” OS finally look reasonable by comparison.
[Admin Edit: Name calling, flaming, and vulgarity won't be tolerated]
I have to agree with the above person’s sentiments (minus the vulgarity). This story is incredibly biased, and not in touch with reality. Personally, I use a Mac, but that’s not to say that OS X is the end all be all of everything. WIndows has its pros and cons, but so does Mac. This flame war people get into with with OS X versus Windows is lame; just as bad as Left versus Right when it comes to politics.
Hardcore Win user here. I’ve been using Win7 for the past few days and guess what? It’s frozen up on me as much as and perhaps even more than Vista! The same old ‘Not Responding’ BS. There are several other things Win7 has done that’s really pissed me off, but I’m not going to go into details. I had to do a forced restart once and, uh, nevermind. Let’s just say, I’ll be purchasing a Mac. My first Mac. Just waiting to see the June announcements. Win7 is not an improvement, IMO. I’ve had it with MS. Vista seriously put many new grey hairs on my head.
The PCWorld analysis, while probably technically accurate is flawed in spirit. Why? Well on machines as they had them configured Vista would outperform XP. People have tested and shown that Vista outperforms XP on modern new machines, especially with SP1. The real problem with Vista was on older P4 systems with 512MB of RAM that ran XP just fine. There Vista would get hammered, and it’s these systems that Win7 now excels.
I’ve used Vista since it came out and while it did have some issues it is a huge leap over XP. But really it was a foundational release. They fixed their driver model. They fixed their core security issues (notice how security is no longer something people rail against MS on… both Vista and IIS are as solid as the best you can find outside of MS). They’ve laid the foundation for pervasive .NET.
In Win7 they do quite a bit more including:
1) Fix their services model.
2) Fix their wakeup/standby resume issues.
3) Expand their Media Center capability drastically.
4) Fix core perf issues that likely aren’t apparent in tests as no one was using the features that exposed it (such as certain types of transparency effects).
5) Fix footprint issues.
6) Extended the threading model.
Etc…
Well, I think that Windows 7 is a huge improvment over Vista, Runs 3 to 4 times faster on the same hardware. (I’m using a 32bit Version on 64bit Proc, but I plan on trying the 64bit Soon) – Anyway, I do have to agree that their copying a lot from OSX, which I do use as well on my MBP. So, I love Apple, and I used linux on this PC for a long time, but it’s looking like Microsoft is making some good decisions with this, even if it is trying to copy OSX.
Hi hate to say it but having been a long time windows user I have last year switched to Mac and love the mac os x side of things.
BUT i have nothing against Windows per-sé. Granted, I wouldn’t want to work on it as it is way too unstable for my taste (win xp included, in comparison to os x) but it does hold its own merit and should be reviewed as such.
and while the vulgarity of the commenter #1 is somewhat counter effective at communicating his point I have to agree with him.
Using win7 on bootcamp mac pro i would say it is faster than vista & xp and relatively stable though in that regard os x is still far more advanced in my opinion.
lastly: My only and major criticism towards Windows 7 is that its UI is so amazingly glossy and big it feels like something i see at the Toys’r'us store with a made by fisher price tag targetting 5 year olds.
If an OS wants to be taken seriously (imo) it should offer some sort of alternate theme that is subdued and does not rely on hiding technical imperfections with cosmetic make up. And this alternate theme should also not be a throw back to win xp or come at a loss of features.
I mean look at OS X. Sure it has the glossy dock but it also has a very minimal ‘task bar’ that looks good yet professional. and with the dock being an app launcher of sorts it is not always visible anyway.
my 2 cents.
Jannis
All the above commenters are funny. They are at theAPPLEblog. What do you expect, Microsoft praise?
who let the macboys out of their cage?
I was a windows user since Win 95; I recently purchased the new unibody MacBook Pro and now I can proudly say that I am a fanboi..beach ball or no hour glass..
I read The Apple Blog because of the great tips and mac information.
Whenever this blog veers off subject they post typical, biased and non-objective articles such as these (especially when it comes to Microsoft).
Macs are great and Windows machines–well–their stability varies depending on the drivers. But one thing I think everyone can agree with is that Win 7 is a GIANT improvement over both XP and Vista.
No need for vulgarities, just sensibility. But I do have to agree: maybe Tom should be writing something other than Microsoft-related reviews. Please…