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Windows 7
An open letter to all my customers that think they will be happy with Windows 7
This information is from Computerworld, a high end industry magazine.
http://blogs.computerworld.com/why_xp_owners_wont_love_windows_7
I have bolded and put in red type the items that make it an extremely bad purchase. I apologize for some of the comments that are somewhat coarse but still express the point. - Dale
January 12, 2009 - 5:24 P.M. Why XP owners won't love Windows 7Microsoft is betting that Windows 7 will succeed where Windows Vista failed. But there's one group of people who most likely won't like Windows 7 any more than they do Windows Vista --- Windows XP users. Here's why. One of the biggest complaints that XP users had with Windows Vista was its hardware incompatibilities. Older printers, scanners, network cards, and other peripherals simply didn't work with Vista. Here's the bad news: They won't work in Windows 7, either, because Windows 7 uses the same driver model as Windows Vista. So XP users will be out of luck. XP users also tend not to be fans of Vista's Windows Aero and other interface enhancements that they dismiss as so much frou-frou. Guess what --- there's even more frou-frou in Windows 7, such as a new taskbar and a nice new feature called Aero Peek. (For more details, see "Review: Windows 7 Beta 1 shows off new task bar, more UI goodies.") Those features won't make XP users happy. Some XP users I know simply don't like change. They'd like the old Windows Explorer back, or the Run box back, or would have liked to have seen the same desktop icons in Vista that were in XP. Even though Vista lets them customize it so that it had some old XP features, it was still different enough that they weren't happy. Once again, Windows 7 won't make them any more happy. It's different than XP --- and as far as I'm concerned, better as well.
See Also: IT Blogwatch: Wow, bloggers quite like Windows 7 Windows 7: Continuing Coverage
What People Are SayingWhat happen to Microsoft - The XP to Windows 7 joke...Submitted by Lasereye on August 23, 2010 - 1:26 P.M.
OBSERVATION: I work between XP and Windows 7. Bottom line Windows 7 is a piece
of crap-pola!!! And XP is still the best!!!!Submitted by Anonymous on August 15, 2010 - 4:34 P.M. Is Microsoft serious? I heard so many good things about 7, I decided to upgrade from horrible Vista. So this is how it went. Plugged in my WD My Book HDD. Stalled my computer couldn't run with it plugged in. I couldn't get it to run in Vista either but works flawlessly in XP. Still have no data on a 2 TB hdd because I can't get it to run on the recent OS. Next install my driver for my Fast Track Pro. I get the error "TBIA: Invalid". At least in Vista I could run the XP drivers on it to get it to work but not in 7, and you already know the drivers run flawlessly in XP. Now I install ffdshow and FLVSplitter to run flv videos for WMP. I get an error when trying to play them. I even got this to work in Vista, so you already know how it works in XP. Now I add music in WMP. I love editing the tags for my music by finding album info and then applying the tag editor to refine them. Guess what, no advance tag editor in WMP. You got to be kidding me? My computer actually ran fast on Vista, so 7 is just a little faster than Vista. So 7 was pretty much a waste of money. It looks better and a little faster than Vista but that's it. I'm limited it what I can do. XP I had full control of my computer and had no issues with hardware. I don't understand why they just don't make XP the same with an updated look that's it. Now, I actually might have to go back to XP. It's a shame that Microsoft can not come out with a good OS, and XP will live FOREVERRR I've been living withSubmitted by Anonymous on August 13, 2010 - 4:37 P.M. I've been living with dualboot for a while now, Ubuntu/Win7 x64 and XP/Win7 x86 (Ardent XP user before that). Just last month I ditched XP and Ubuntu alltogether. Reason? I never used them. I reformat every 2 months or so, for many reasons, including performance, cleanliness and typically after I am done with a particular project. Windows XP requires me to sit at the computer all weekend installing things, especially the myriad drivers for all my peripherals. Windows 7 on the other hand, does it all automtically, quickly, cleanly. Clunky third-party junk is a thing of the past. Native support for so many more things in Windows 7 was worth the price of upgrading alone. That and the fact that my Windows 7 has NEVER crashed on either system. I also noticed a significant boost in performance on the same machine. And the visual presentation is just really sleek. Vista was junk though, I skipped it entirely. For the odd, obscure XP-only proggy, I VM it. Given up on WindowsSubmitted by Anonymous on August 12, 2010 - 4:42 A.M. I was a Microsoft user since the DOS days. I started to become frustrated and angry with each new version of Windows. I grew tired of constant lock-ups and malware. I was spending more time and money trying to keep my computer running than actually using it. I recently bought a MacBook and was amazed at the quality of the computer and operating system. It just always works. And if I need to use Windows, I can load a virtual session using free software that is out there. After reading through The Free Software Foundation web site, I have decided to try PC-BSD on an older computer. There are thousands of programmers working on operating systems that are stable and don't invade your privacy. I believe that there is a backlash developing against large corrupt corporations that sell inferior products, invade your privacy and have the nerve to charge high prices for their junk. I'm fed up and going to do something about by learning Unix and only using free software. Windows products suck!Submitted by Ron Shea on August 4, 2010 - 10:45 P.M. I have been using Windows and Microsoft products since the beginning. I am now a power user, sometimes loading 50 to 100 applications. Windows does a poor job handling a large number of applications. Sometimes I forget the name of a particular program and have to scroll through a long list until I find it. Wouldn't it be better to organize the programs into categories, like graphics, internet, word processor, utilities, etc. I also run Kubuntu and this knocks to socks off of Microsoft. How about fixing some of the simple apps like notepad so I can edit multiple files at once like UltraEdit does. How about being able to highlight those programs that I use all the time so they are easier to find. Forget about all the fo-fo. They should create an executive OS with built in options like office. Kubuntu does this already. For Microsoft being at it for almost 30 years, the OS still leaves a lot to be desired. W7 Half-sucksSubmitted by Scoox on July 24, 2010 - 1:18 P.M. I was and still am a happy XP user but my HP Elitebook w8730 had loads of compatibility issues with my pro audio hardware. I recently switched to Windows 7 and all the problems were gone. I can't understand why MS have decided to remove some useful features, like the Up to parent button in Explorer. I don't see the need in having new icons, more stuff to get used to. I also hate hi-res icons, because all my old icons now look shit and I have to waste time getting new ones. I have to say there are some nice new features though, but some things which were fine before now suck. I particularly dislike the new task bar because I cannot group always show labels, I mean WTF? For me the big issue was hardware incompatibility and Windows 7 solved this so I am using it, but had XP not had any of these issues, I would have stayed with it. On my other machine I still run XP as it has no problems. Basically Microsoft could have ironed out the bugs in XP and have a really good OS, but I guess bug fixes are not very profitable. There should be a law whereby if a piece of software stops being supported it must be made open-source. That's the least they can do. I agree, there are severalSubmitted by jbisit420 on July 29, 2010 - 1:48 A.M. I agree, there are several things that Windows 7 have made worse, but overall, I like what they have done. I just wanted to second your last motion. If they aren't supporting a program or selling it anymore, they should make it open source. But I guess there are probably still some core programming that they still use in vista and 7 as well. Thirding the motion. (ISubmitted by Anonymous on August 3, 2010 - 10:20 A.M.
Thirding
the motion. (I don't think that's a word, though.) XP lives Microsoft is dead!Submitted by Chris on July 23, 2010 - 12:53 P.M. Everything that Microsoft is making today is garbage! It is simple really. They are over complicating the way the program their applications, for example: office 2000 was made with 2 million lines of code, today’s updated office with few new features and it does the same thing as the old one; was made with 16 million lines of code. (the numbers are an example, but the fact that they are writing more lines of code in their programs isn't.) The longer you make a program, the more the computer must process and go through each routine, each module, search for each module or dynamic link library via the windows active directory and so on. Windows XP was the ultimate balance between simplicity, functionality, and was sophisticated enough not to be over complicated and SLOW! like today’s MS OS's. Vista and Windows 7 are bogged down in many ways: comparing XP to vista or 7, the active directory (the way an os accesses info and routes it to the appropriate place) in XP was a single directory, like a single bus transporting people from a school to their homes and back, in Vista and win 7 this directory was made a multi directory so it could accomplish this much quicker, like using a fleet of buses to transport people from school to home and back. On paper this looks good, but in reality it didn't work thus that’s why you always see system idle rather high on Vista or 7 machines, and the hard drive is always chattering!!! To many buses! Guess Microsoft should have given those buses some traffic laws because as colorful as the analogy is buses crashing into each other is what is happening! Data is lost or corrupted and Vista's directory has to send more little buses out to ensure the data gets there so you can imagine the carnage going on in Vista's lawless streets (directory's). Simply put, if Microsoft can't accept a little humiliation and say ok everyone we screwed up Vista and 7 suck! Lets build off our brainchild XP and make a real next generation OS using it, than they are dead to me and apple will be seeing my business from now on. Its no surprise to me that apple is now surpassing Microsoft as the most profitable tech company in the world. Microsoft should follow this one easy principle: KISS. Keep – It – Simple - Stupid!!!! XP is still the best!Submitted by Jennifer on July 17, 2010 - 10:48 A.M. Hi all, I think Windows XP is still the best desktop O/S MS ever created, I count myself as an advanced user having done a lot of customizations and integrations to XP, I tried Vista and it was too buggy and slow, I tried 7 and it was very irritating and VERY bland! I removed 7 from my new laptop and installed XP although this laptop isn't "able" to run XP according to the tech guys where I bought it from and according to Acer's website (no drivers available from Acer's site) I downloaded the XP drivers for all devices and I am happily running XP on my new laptop. XP's s/w and h/w compatibility is awesome. I read a lot of complaints about Vista and 7 not able to accommodate many h/w due to driver issues. A 3rd party UAC (better than Vista's is available for XP from www.replaceuac.com) I am using it and it works superbly. I also customised XP's visual style to look close to Vista's so I also have much eye candy while working on my laptop. I use XP Pro SP3. XP is stable and keeps working reliably. Don't lend your ears out to all the sales talk out there, XP is adequate and capable! For those who also want the eye candy close to Vista's I have made my customized visual style available for download at www.mediafire.com/jenniferarden Here you can look at screenshots to decide if you like my visual style. I hope you like it, if you like it please mail me at jennifer_arden@msn.com and let me know. You will first need to disable XP's file protection to use my visual style. There are many utilities available for download to do this, afterwards you can re-enable XP's file protection again. This is a very safe way to change the appearance of your XP syste - Home / Professional. First do back up your original visual style files. If you have no experience doing this, please do some reading on the internet to obtain the necessary knowledge. Its merely a case of replacing a few files in your Windows folder. If the link does not work please try these ones:
www.mediafire.com/file/3s4jpb10yn4dkcy/Luna.rar
And now for a report from ZDnet another trusted industry journal
Some minor criticisms of the Windows 7 betaSummaryAfter using the finalised Windows 7 beta build (build 7000) for a good few days as my primary operating system, I’m exceptionally happy with it. I’ve tried to find bugs, as it is pre-release software, but so far have found none, which bodes well for the software giant. I do, however, have a few criticisms [...] TopicsMouse, Microsoft Windows 7, Beta,BitLocker, XPS, Size Option, Microsoft Windows, Mice,Operating Systems,Software, more + Blogger InfoZack Whittaker
Cut out the XPS nonsenseMicrosoft embarked on the XPS file type in Windows 2000 originally, but only really came to light with the release of Windows Internet Explorer 7, where functionality was integrated into the browser. With a standalone XPS viewer in Windows 7, I cannot foresee many people using it. It may be an open XML specification, but the PDF has a long way before it is knocked off the majority market share. It has potential, and it works well, with many manufacturers taking the specification and using it in their hardware. But to see the XPS as a “PDF killer” is incredibly unlikely, and personally think Microsoft should drop it. Have you ever seen a document provided in an XPS format over a PDF file? I can’t say that I have. Search sucksOf all the operating system search engines I’ve used, I still find Windows XP easiest to use. With some interesting “improvements” in Vista which had barely changed from beta to release, this complicated things for me quite a bit. Now in Windows 7, searching for a file has become increasingly difficult. Often when I search, it’s a specific file type or a file size greater than 30MB or so; to de-clutter my hard drive. The size option is still available, but for the life of me I cannot work out how to search by other parameters. Whether the Start menu search has replaced the main functionality of the F3 key, I am still unsure, but I just want a decent search box with plenty of options, please.
Make BitLocker a little bit easierI have always found BitLocker to be a right royal pain in the backside. You need a compatible chip on your processor otherwise the setup process won’t even begin, and having the compatibility between Windows and the chip is another problem. In theory, BitLocker is a great idea; locking your entire hard drive if it is stolen or misplaced. In practice, buying a whole set of laptops for your employees, may not even be compatible with the software because of the lack of a trusted-platform module (TPM) chip. There are hacks out there, but I’ve never seen a solution which actually works. Not only that, for those who have their computers already set up, may have difficulty because an extra hard drive partition is needed. Would you really risk your all set up and configured computer for the sake of an extra bit of security? Tempting, but when time is involved, it’s probably going to be “no”. “BitLocker to Go” works a treat. If only they had left a BitLocker enabled flash drive on that train instead of a wad of top secret documents, they (probably) would have been fine.
Consider the ergonomics of the taskbarFor decades, Windows users have learned the ways of the taskbar. Think about it; you don’t move your cursor to the Start menu to then click, you simply move your mouse towards the bottom left of your screen. The same with the clock; to access the clock you move your mouse to the bottom left, without even thinking about it. There’s no accuracy involved, there’s even little in terms of thought process.
With the added feature of “Preview Desktop” taking the clock’s place in the bottom-right of the screen, I fear some users may be thrown off guard by it. It’s only a little change, and it can easily be turned off. I cannot see why it can’t be placed to the left of the clock, keeping the taskbar layout the same. Although, with the taskbar changes already in the beta, maybe it is time for a change.
Compatibility woesCommon applications which were not fully supported when Vista first came out was a big step back for Microsoft. While their own brand of products; Windows Live, Office 2007 and the developing applications like Visual Studio worked a treat, many anti-virus companies felt the brunt of the sharp compatibility stick. A few of the programs I use and love do not work in this version of Windows. WLMLite, a portable version of Windows Live Messenger, ideal for those at work who can’t download it, doesn’t work. Nero 9 Essentials won’t even install without spitting the dummy out. Skype works, but only after a handful of warning messages telling me of the incompatibility, and I won’t even start on what iTunes does; suffice to say, “a world-class meltdown”.
Aero Shake and Tourette’sI have Tourette’s syndrome, as many of you are aware, and it’s the full whack of Tourette’s where you swear, shout, twitch, and generally look a bit of a nutter. When using a computer, my hand twitches and I occasionally smack the mouse onto the table, resulting in a number of mice being destroyed. But when I’m moving windows around my screen, my hand twitches, resulting in all but the active window being minimised; the new feature “Aero Shake”. Now, this is a good feature to have, but at least have an option where we can disable it easily. I’m sick of my windows being minimised without my conscious say-so. Is there anything I’ve missed? Update: even with a critical post, I have just discovered something aesthetically brilliant. Holding the shift key as you click on a taskbar icon opens up a new window, but does it in a mini firework show of vibrant colour. I have yet to discover though what this feature is called, or what it is meant to actually do.
And here is a typical new Windows 7 user’s comments:
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