It is Vista improved.
Nothing that would impress -not WOW or something like that-).
It's early for a conclusion but my impression is that MS arrived to its best with XP...and now is only a long decline.

I ran Win7 in a VMWare virtual machine for a few days and then decided to take the plunge and put it on my main laptop. Overall it has been pretty impressive (definitely snappier than Vista, and this isn't a slow system), specifically with the waking from sleep option. I believe that was about 2 seconds. The only oddity I have found is with my main Vista system, if I connect to the 7 system (or vice versa), my Vista system dives out completely. The network connection slows to a crawl within an hour and then cuts off altogether and the only way to get it back is to reboot the Vista system. Others are able to connect to the Vista system just fine though so something on the 7 system is clearly not playing nicely with the Vista system.

Oh well, it's a beta. Overall it is quite nice!

Ba Mui Lam!

Installed Windows 7 Beta on three machines. (Laptop, Desktop and in a Hyper-V Virtual Machine).
Literally all my attached hardware works(Scanner, printer, card reader, Bluray drive) and it's faster than Vista SP1.
The annoying UAC pop ups are mostly gone.
Many useful features are now in Explorer: I like the "Libraries" feature specifically. I always wanted to have a handful of folders directly available in the left side explorer window. (it works on Vista too but it's painful to configure)

I think, a lot of improvements versus Vista are under the hood, especially preparation for the manycore CPUs to come - also in laptops.

HANS

We must remember its still beta, a very polished one at that. It will improve even more as we go towards RTM, so don't draw any negative conclusions on something that is still is in development. The OS has been very stable for me, like I said in my review it just works. More responsive, much faster.

One of the features I have fell in love with is Libraries where you can include locations that are not within the traditional locations. For example I have my music stored in the Public Music folder on my Vista partition, what I did was simply include it as a location and it indexes and populates programs like Media Player Library and MCE. Works great for other folders too. Really good stuff. Windows 7 is really functional.

Search federation is also another nice addition, I can utilize the Windows Search facilities on sites like Microsoft Watch or my own blog. Amazing stuff.

Joe, you should check out the new File Transfer wizard, its so seamless and makes moving your data a dream. The Windows Team has really focused making the experience for users coming from Vista easier while making it smooth sailing for new PC owners.

I am using windows7beta the xp lan system i had problem seeing other computer's on my lan system that were xp, in one day Microsoft fixed all the bugs i had by updates it works fine now but it's a test program expires in 8/09 that what Microsoft told me on the download page, i got my windows7beta from

Installing it cost me a day.. I let her run overnight seeing I needed some sleep eventually.
But by the looks of it''s just virtual PC throwing a fit. I'll be able to test as from now, albeit probably very slowly.

Having moved to an iMac at the beginning of last year, I shall be reverting to PCs on the strength of my experience with Windows 7 Beta 1 on VMware Fusion. This is partly because I have been disappointed with 'Leopard' (I won't go into details here) and with the quality of Apple's software (the latest updates are a disaster) and partly because I like Win7 very much.

Have been using windows since 95, I guess that makes me an antique, after experience with most of the Windows OS's as well as Non windows environments
Have finally had a belly full of Microsoft, eye candy looks pretty on Win7 Beta,it did too on XP,&Vista, the fun will start after the final release
when the fix to fix the glitches start, and the only way the popularity of the OS will increase is because the manufacturers of the PC's will shove it down the consumers throats...If I sound annoyed, You are absolutely correct.

Arthur Norton is an example of the new Microsoft ad campaign; Mac users that switch back because Windows 7 is so great. Previously, any post saying they switched from Mac to Vista was laughed at. Nobody believed it. With Windows 7 there is a glimmer of hope, and Microsoft has alerted the troops.

There is a brief window of opportunity, while Windows 7 is in beta, before it is released to the general public, and before Apple's Snow Leopard is released, that the tales of a 'rich, Windows experience' can flourish. Then reality will set in. Go for it, boys!

After running the beta for a few days my opinion is that Windows 7 is simply Vista with a service pack. Its all very nice and has some wonderful features but the big question Microsoft has to answer is why would anyone spend time money and effort to upgrade from XP.

I'm not sure who said it but I think Windows 7 will be the last consumer OS that Microsoft puts out as people in general do not have an appetite for change. It takes too much effort to move to a new version of an OS with what is being offered from Microsoft.

The average computer user sees a computer as a tool, like a hammer for example. If you own one and it works for you would you run out and buy a new one - not likely. With a lot of services moving to the "cloud" what is the value for moving to a new OS.

@ DougE
"the big question Microsoft has to answer is why would anyone spend time money and effort to upgrade from XP"
Very simple. Mainstream support on Windows XP will end on April 2009. Look at the jump people made off of NT to XP. NT worked, so they kept it. Support ended and they switched.
History will repeat itself.

I am yet to see any real benefits in the corporate world to upgrade from XP to 7 that weren't in Vista or the MDOP. That said not being a resourse hog will help.

@Charlie, I understand the point your making and it's valid for corporations but not for the individual. People will use what they are given and wont want to change unless there is a reason. Generally the main route for non-corporate acceptance is through buying new equipment and people are not doing that often enough to make a difference for Microsoft.

However I see the corporate world making the leap in a couple of years after the first service pack comes out.

Didn't Microsoft recently announce support for XP sp2 until 2014?

The Vista OS reminds me of Pink Floyd's lyrics "And the Worms ate into his brain..."
It is a virus disguised as an operating system.
Now MicroSoft needs money and they have a new scam.

The subliminal advertising usage of the number 7 will play upon peoples superstitious belief that it will be lucky to buy the new Upgrade. People will be lucky if they ever get what they pay for with MS. They could call the new os "PONZI" and the upgrades could be called upchucks.

I think Bernie Madoff is an amateur burglar compared to the multi-generational scam of Bill Gates. I have never got what I paid for even one time in 23 years, a working reliable OS.

He and his marketing slicky boys redefined the idea of the ponzi scheme where you never get what you pay for. That's why the "Queen" of government piratehood knighted him.

Has Gates gone the way of philanthropy to makeover his image to avoid being identified as the con artist he is.

Changes to start menu and taskbar (specifically removing the choice of using classic start button and a taskbar with full and clear separation between running application and a shortcut/pinpoint) makes Win7 something I don't plan to use. I will stay with vista, it works well for me and it certainly is much more structured when it comes to start/taskbar - the most important pieces of OS interface for me.
Dumbing down the interface to make it more appealing to novice users is a bad choice IMO. Sorry to see this trend continuing after Office 2007 that helps novice users but is a no go for most experienced of them.

I decided to go ahead and download the Beta of Windows 7. I mean its free (until August 2009) so why not?

There are 5 keys that "can" work with Windows 7. There are 5 keys for 64 bit and 5 keys for 32 bit. You can find the keys at.

http://winse7en.blogspot.com/2009/01/fr ... t-key.html

I only mention the keys because the one that I got when I downloaded Windows 7 was "not valid"...even though they are among the 5 "public" keys. The keys that did not work started with 6JKV2.

Speaking of activation, while you are installing the OS it asks for the keys. Then once the OS is installed there is that nag where it asks you to activate online even though you might have selected to activate online while installing.

Ah the joys of activation. I forgot how "joyful" activation was while trying out many of flavors of Linux over the last year. But anyway Activating online was successful.

While installing it asks you for a password to use for logging in. When you log in, the log in screen looks exactly like Vista.

Once you get things going, it will download some updates and there is a flag on the bottom right where it prompts you to click it and then a window opens up and requests to scan your computer for viruses.

Then it prompts you to install a anti virus program, and it even offers you to look online for anti virus programs.

Windows 7 version of UAC,.... the screen dims if you are installing something and asks you if you want to install it.

Overall the whole thing took about 20 minutes on a five year old Power Spec machine with 2.09 Ghz speed and 1.25 GB RAM.

There are gadgets that you can put on your desktop, the exact same ones used in Vista.

I put the CPU/RAM gadget on the desktop and it was reading 49% and all I was doing is downloading AVG. So about 600 MB of 1.25 RAM is being used just for the desktop. It is still way too much RAM for nearly hardly any activity.

I think some Vista type hacks might be in order here to improve RAM ....like disabling ...windows defender, system restore, indexing, and so on.

I haven't checked if the problem with Vista eating up hard drive space has been fixed.

If you are wondering, yes there is a windows experience number just like in Vista. The number ranges from 1 to 7.9 .

My computer average, is a 1 experience which is pretty poor...and this machine isn't ready yet for the trash heap....

The performance seems snappy and it is a improvement over Vista, but if you still have a XP machine for some specific Windows only applications...there is no compelling reason to pay for a upgrade.

But if you had to pay for a upgrade, it is better than Vista....from what I have seen so far...

My advice? Go ahead and download it, just remember it expires August 2009..so don't leave any important stuff on Windows 7.

Where else can you get a brand new and "free" operating system from Microsoft? Unless you are one of those astroturfers who writes favorable comments for MSFT. But now here is your chance to get free software too.

Installed on my slightly overclocked E8400 (3.4 GHz) with 2GB RAM in about 20 minutes.

I like the revamped Taskbar, it is much cleaner but not being able to get the old Win 9x/Me/2k Classic Start menu is a pain.

The driver for the RealTech HD sound on my motherboard won't install though the software for my Creative X-Fi Titanium sound card installed trouble free.......however music simply doesn't play smoothly at all. Win 7 beta seems to be unable to keep an uninterrupted data stream so it sounds a bit like XP when a defrag starts while playing music...pops, bubbles and stutters all the way.

Since my main focus is on music creation and editing I won't be using it for long.

Installed on my slightly overclocked E8400 (3.4 GHz) with 2GB RAM in about 20 minutes.

I like the revamped Taskbar, it is much cleaner but not being able to get the old Win 9x/Me/2k Classic Start menu is a pain.

The driver for the RealTech HD sound on my motherboard won't install though the software for my Creative X-Fi Titanium sound card installed trouble free.......however music simply doesn't play smoothly at all. Win 7 beta seems to be unable to keep an uninterrupted data stream so it sounds a bit like XP when a defrag starts while playing music...pops, bubbles and stutters all the way.

Since my main focus is on music creation and editing I won't be using it for long.

Installed on my slightly overclocked E8400 (3.4 GHz) with 2GB RAM in about 20 minutes.

I like the revamped Taskbar, it is much cleaner but not being able to get the old Win 9x/Me/2k Classic Start menu is a pain.

The driver for the RealTech HD sound on my motherboard won't install though the software for my Creative X-Fi Titanium sound card installed trouble free.......however music simply doesn't play smoothly at all. Win 7 beta seems to be unable to keep an uninterrupted data stream so it sounds a bit like XP when a defrag starts while playing music...pops, bubbles and stutters all the way.

Since my main focus is on music creation and editing I won't be using it for long.

"Arthur Norton is an example of the new Microsoft ad campaign". That's very patronizing, Anonymous.

I have been very critical of Microsoft's business practices and of the quality of its software - and I've said so here. My experience of Mac OS X 10.5 has not been any better than my experience of earlier versions of Windows (& I started with Windows 3 after using CP/M and DOS). Even the "Apple fanbois" have complained vociferously about the quality of Apple's updates to 10.5, to iTunes, to security, etc.

I genuinely believe that the developers are doing the right things in Win7 and only hope that the released version (Golden Master or whatever) is of the same high quality. Funny things seem to happen between beta, release candidate, and commercial release.

My primary reason for getting a PC is to get work done. I really don't care what OS I use just as long as it is stable, easy to use, and supported with good-quality application software. I'd have preferred that Microsoft had retained its "home" and "business" (NT) lines of OSs - XP would have been much better for it. Win7 seems good enough for me to plan a return to the fold and I really don't care if that upsets Apple fans.

When I was using DOS and first saw Windows 3.1 I said "Wow, that's better I want it!"
Same with Windows 95/98. They had a compellingly better interface and I wanted them.
When I first saw Windows ME I said "Why? It brings complications but no benefits, No Thanks."
When I first saw XP I said "Wow, there's some new complications but it's so stable I'll learn about the new stuff because in the long run I'll be more productive." I also loved that I could tweak it to make it do what I wanted and it would keep my settings.
Now I've seen Vista, kind-of, my old eyes do OK in Classic Theme. There's new things to learn but what exactly are the benefits of going to the effort? I haven't found any that seem compelling. Every time I read explanations of the benefits they seem trivial.
I'm too old to need the latest new thing just because it's new. I need to be drawn in by compelling feature(s) before I'll go to much trouble to learn something new.
I've put in about 12 hours with Vista and I've been playing with Windows 7 beta for about eight hours. It seems like a better performing update of Vista, performs about as well as XP, but I still can't see a single compelling feature that makes me want it over XP.
It was also quite an adventure trying to transition my XP's Outlook Express accounts, settings, and emails to Win7 & Windows Live Mail. That involved installing WLM in XP and letting it create a mail folder that WLM in Win7 can import, sort of.
For me Vista and Win7 both seem like lots of PITA, but no hummus.

CasWalker, I agree with most of what you say there. Windows XP is still an excellent OS, and unless I needed Vista for my job I wouldn't have bothered to update it.

However, as support for XP is almost over, that does make a compelling reason to upgrade when W7 comes out. If there was a hole left unpatched (and there have been plenty), it could cause so many problems.

Windows 7 is o.k. But Windows 7 is to Vista as XP SP2 was to XP. Difference: Several hundred dollars.

Win7,
It will be another missed opportunity for MS if the best compelling reason for installing 7 is because free updates for XP end.
Continuing free updates for XP, a product I bought six years ago, is not good business for MS. Selling a new OS is good business.
I believe MS could also make a business out of continuing to update XP on paid subscriptions. I would pay - something.
I know this is an unlikely thing for MS Mgmt to consider but even if overpriced it would be a nice olive branch to their millions of existing satisfied customers who are not feeling compelled to buy the current pig(Vista) even with the addition of lipstick(Windows 7).

Wow, I just wanted to say, as an IT prof and software tester Windows 7/IE8 are awesome!

I have been running Seven since the beta release. I installed it on my latitude D620 without any problems at all.

All of my drivers were built in and everything worked (sound, video, network, wireless).

IE8 in 7 is by far better than in Vista/XP. I have been running IE8 since beta release. I feel that IE8 is a superior browser once you understand all of its features.

To all of you haters out there, ive been running Windows 7 for more than 2-3 days and I can come to more valid conclussion. The biggest thing that people hate is change. It doesn't matter if it is change that increases productivity, provides easier access or is increasingly more difficult; it doesn't matter its change and people hate it.

I have been doing software testing and I have found that EVERYTHING works great (except online banking in IE8 with wells fargo- it doesn't work)

I also have windows 7 in a domain on my network and it is flawless and fast.

To the people with problems:

Network Issues (use a domain/get IPv6)

Gaming Issues (try taking it out of full screen, Directx9c will cause a screen flicker in SOME games)
Office Issues (use office 2007, it is beautiful in 7)

Wow, I just wanted to say, as an IT prof and software tester Windows 7/IE8 are awesome!

I have been running Seven since the beta release. I installed it on my latitude D620 without any problems at all.

All of my drivers were built in and everything worked (sound, video, network, wireless).
IE8 in 7 is by far better than in Vista/XP. I have been running IE8 since beta release. I feel that IE8 is a superior browser once you understand all of its features.

To all of you haters out there, ive been running Windows 7 for more than 2-3 days and I can come to more valid conclussion. The biggest thing that people hate is change. It doesn't matter if it is change that increases productivity, provides easier access or is increasingly more difficult; it doesn't matter its change and people hate it.

I have been doing software testing and I have found that EVERYTHING works great (except online banking in IE8 with wells fargo- it doesn't work#

I also have windows 7 in a domain on my network and it is flawless and fast.

To the people with problems:

Network Issues #use a domain/get IPv6#

Gaming Issues #try taking it out of full screen, Directx9c will cause a screen flicker in SOME games#

Office Issues #use office 2007, it is beautiful in 7)

In short, don't cut down a product you dont know anything about, don't fully understand, haven't tested, and don't do anything with other than check your AOL email.