free (for now) Win 7 O.S beta

[cdheller]

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/window ... nload.aspx

Linky to windows page for beta testing of win 7.

you know the drill, or shouldn't probly dink with it .

not a forever thing ,,expires in oct. I think so I put mine on a spare serial drive with xp and suse on main drives , it's supposed to perform better on a faster drive .,,,don't know but what I heard

I think a somewhat limited number of testers ,so sooner is better than later.

for what its worth

edited to add( first impressions better than vista,, jurys still out on xp,, linux still out runs .
my box amd 64x2 4200 ,3g ddr2 mem)

[Hotwired]

Someone's going to need a crowbar and an increase in OS requirements past XP Pro for all newly released programs I'm interested in to get me to upgrade.

Seriously lacking in incentive to move. All I'm going to get is a hole where that couple of hundred quid used to live.

[ALIHISGREAT]

I'm happy with Vista, as i don;t really use my Laptop for anything other than internet and the usual powerpoint, word and excel... i haven't had any problems... although XP would run faster... its too much effort to change.... and i doubt i'll change to windows 7 either.

[Ragnarok]

You know, the last numbered version of Windows was Windows 3, then you had Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows 2000, Windows Me, Windows XP and Windows Vista. (Ignoring named NT and minor releases)

Now, I may not have got full marks in my maths classes every time, but I can count a lot more than 3 versions of Windows between Windows 3 and Windows 7. Not sure I trust Windows 7's reliability on the basis of Microsoft's maths.
(Yeah, I know that things like 95, 98, and Me are lumped as based around Windows 4 builds, and 2000 and XP are under Windows NT 5 builds - each of the later versions based around a build being more like an update than a "from scratch" point. Windows Vista is of course part of Windows NT 6)

Seriously lacking in incentive to move.

Well, XP leaves mainstream Microsoft support in April, so hanging around on XP for too long could cause trouble.

[Hotwired]

2014 is where it is rumoured the extended support ends.

Means little to my computer use. I could fish out a windows 98 disk, install that and run most things acceptably. The only issues would be with programs that require a newer OS.

A lack of official support could be a problem for professional users though.

[Tidbit77]

personnally I cant wait until windows seven is out of beta testing, although people put down vista, i really like it. Its only bad if you run it on a computer that cant handle it or isnt made for it. I run vista on a XPS 420, and Ive never had a problema or a crash, even befor sp1. So, i would only recommend upgrading to vista if your computer can handle it

[Lentamentalisk]

Its only bad if you run it on a computer that cant handle it or isnt made for it.

Right.
That is why people don't like it.
A computer that can handle it, can handle it, you are correct.
We are talking at least two processors, and 2ghz minimum processor, not to mention a minimum of 2g of ram, 4g if you really want it to run programs.
Here are people buying these new fancy dancy computers with all of this great equipment, and my computer, built in early 2000, running Ubuntu, that I got off of craigslist for $100 cold boots faster then theirs comes out of hibernate, and within 15 seconds of being "on" is completely ready to use, with no processing power going into startup programs, or any of that garbage that Windows. As opposed to having to wait a full minute or often more, before windows finally gives up control of the processor to you (unless it decides to do a random disk check.)

Now don't get me wrong. I could not live without Windows, but I still hate every bit of it. I am a photographer, which means that Photoshop and Lightroom 2 are my lifesblood. I just won't touch that computer for anything but photo stuff, because Linux is so much faster.
[/rant]

[inonickname]

I'm not downloading it. Perfectly happy with my windows xp pro, skinned to look like vista. Will upgrade to vista or windows 7 when xp support ends though. (what limited support they give).

[Lentamentalisk]

lol I did exactly the opposite. I have vista on my laptop, which I inherited from my aunt, and skinned it to look like xp. I can't stand the colorful roundness of vista.

[Hotwired]

I can't even be bothered with XP's round cornered windows, I change the appearance to look like 2K (spruce colour scheme) and tell all the (unwanted) animation of little actions such as opening menus to put a sock in it and just open the menu.

Unlikely to make it notable faster but at least it feels faster without small animations jumping in after you click which delay the action you wanted done.

[TurboSuper]

Well, if Windows 7 is really lighter than Vista, I'm all for it. Vista runs pretty well, though.

[Hailfire753]

LAWL!!! Vista < XP < Windows 7 < OS X leopard

I agree windows 7 is much better than vista for gaming...
it would be my choice for bootcamp on a Mac.

[TurboSuper]

Yeah, I'd have stuck with XP if it supported Dx10.