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Windows 7 evaluation

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Innuendo:
It's most interesting you're aware of the corporate motivations.  Guess you must be on the BOD?-MilesAhead
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f0dder doesn't have any crystal ball or inside track on information. When the public beta cycle for Windows 7 was announced the motivations (corporate and otherwise) were prominently announced on various blogs of the Windows 7 development team members.

All I can tell you from personal experience is that I'm running Windows 7 on a four year old computer with a graphics card that is at least four generations old and this OS is running better, smoother, and faster than any version of Vista or XP ever did.

I can also tell you that which version of Windows 7 that is installed in the beta versions so far released is mandated by the contents of an .ini file. People have hacked the .ini file and installed the home flavors of Windows 7 with no difference in performance. The only differences from the Ultimate install were missing features (which is understandable and by design) and the Ultimate serial numbers don't work on those versions (which is also understandable and also by design).

Unless one has a vertical app that requires a special version of Windows or is deadset on living in the past (OMG! Classic Mode is gone! [darth vader voice] Nooooooooooooooooooooooo! [/darth vader voice]) most people are going to be very happy with the new OS.

And to give you a personal perspective on my words, I really, really enjoyed Windows XP when it was released, but when Windows Vista came along I was very ambivalent about the whole Vista experience.

40hz:
Ran into a fun one yesterday. I tried a 32-bit install on an old Toshiba Satellite laptop. The installation went smoothly. I installed other software, rebooted it several times, and was quite happy with how quickly it came up. 

Everything seemed to be working correctly until I accidentally killed the power (it needs to run on AC since the battery is shot) while I had the Users control panel open. I hadn't selected any specific user, nor was I changing any of the user settings. I just had the panel open when the plug got accidentally pulled.

When I rebooted, I went straight into the desktop per usual. But any time I tried to open anything, it informed me I no longer was allowed to do so. Nor could I access the Control Panels for the same reason. Basically, all I could do was look at the desktop, restart it, or shut it down.

But most seriously, I could no longer log on as Administrator since it wouldn't accept the password which I had set up and successfully used for it previously. In the end I had to reinstall.

Bizarre. Something got corrupted during that power outage.

I submitted the details to MS.

f0dder:
MilesAhead: BOD? I'm just guessing anyway, but it seems like a reasonable reason.

Innuendo: actually, the preinstalled versions are usually done with sysprep - which is kinda an image, with the possibility of preinstalled software (usually tons of crapware yes >_<), but the sysprep stage means driver database is wiped clean (and thus rebuilt), and some other stuff. I definitely do clean windows installs myself, but it isn't always possible - oftentimes you don't get any re-install media (but get a recovery partition on the system), and the last time I saw a re-install media that was a clean windows disc was back with Win98... :(

MilesAhead:
BOD = Board Of Directors.  I think you guys get me wrong.  If I say Vista SP1 ain't so bad as Vista before SP1, I'm not saying Windows7 sucks.  If I thought that I wouldn't keep it on my dual core machine.  Just saying where possible people should compare similar levels of product.

And yes, before I chucked my old HP with one GB ram and Pentium 4 CPU I did put Windows7 Beta on it and it ran fine.  I experienced that first hand so I wasn't trying to say it didn't happen. Just saying I wished I could've tried the Home Premium equivalent to see if I got the same. I don't particularly care for gadgets but I do have to admit I like the Superbar.  Plus it's nice I don't have to hack anything to put themes on.  I was never much into exotic desktops and skins but since the Glass was there I figured I might as well try out some of this Visual Styles stuff.  I'm not doing galactic calculations on this machine anyway so I can spare a few cycles for bells & whistles. :)

Innuendo:
f0dder, yes, the sysprep...I was trying to be simple. Maybe I over-simplified it. It's a dang shame that most OEMs do not give clean re-install media to customers. I usually tell people that the sticker on the side of the case is their license for the OS software. If their OEM won't give them satisfaction with reinstall media there's usually some place on the internet where they can find it. Just so long as they install the version of Windows they bought using their key then they should be in the legal clear.

Dell used to include a clean Windows install disc with each machine. Then I think they went to a $20 charge for it. These days I don't know if you can get such a disc at any price.

MilesAhead, I understand what you are saying now. If you do a Google search I'm sure you could find the change you need to make to the .ini to get Windows 7 Home Premium. You'd be limited to 30 days as there are no Home Premium keys right now, but you'd get an idea of what to expect.

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