[Shizu]

Is anyone using Window7 right now? I think it's beta. I heard Window7 is coming out on Oct. 22. I'm going to buy a new laptop for my daughter's college use and we are debating to buy now or wait for Window7. I hate Vista. lol. So I'm wondering if anyone can tell me anything about Window7. We should wait or not. Thanks.

 

[KCFoggin]

I haven't but I sure hope it is more like xp than vista.

 

[kevin63]

I have to agree here.  I have XP on my desktop and Vista on my laptop.  I use my laptop most of the time and I've never taken the time to really learn Vista.  I get by OK, but with the XP operating system, it's always a no brainer.

 

[NogDog]

Next PC/notebook I buy will be Linux. I've stuck with Windows this long just because of the Windows apps I needed to use; but now I no longer have that need and Linux has matured to the point where you don't have to be a total computer geek to install/use it (though it still helps), so M$ will no longer being getting my money.

 

[Shizu]

Next PC/notebook I buy will be Linux. I've stuck with Windows this long just because of the Windows apps I needed to use; but now I no longer have that need and Linux has matured to the point where you don't have to be a total computer geek to install/use it (though it still helps), so M$ will no longer being getting my money.

Can Linux use all the software that are on Window right now?

 

[Shizu]

I haven't but I sure hope it is more like xp than vista.

I know. I have Vista on my other daughters laptop and it is pain. I usually buy XP from Dell when I buy new pc.

 

[NogDog]

Can Linux use all the software that are on Window right now?

There is a Windows emulator you can install in Linux that can run many Windows programs with varying degrees of success and performance.

With OpenOffice you have access to all the stuff you get with M$ Office, but at the open-source price (free), and it is compatible with files generated by Office (Word, Excel, etc.). And of course web browsing can be done with Firefox, Opera, and other mutli-platform browsers, as can email. You can do image manipulation with "The GIMP", etc. (In fact, there are Windows versions of all of those, too.)

But if you have certain Windows applications that you have to use, I would find some way to test them under the Linux before making any commitment.

Note also that you can set up a dual-boot system to run either OS (making the choice when you boot up the PC), but of course then you still need to invest in the Windows software. However, that can give you a chance to experiment with Linux without having to have a separate PC for it.

 

[tbsteph]

I have been using Windows 7 RC since its release awhile back.  The installation has been very stable and works with all my programs and hardware.  I find it to be a significant improvement over Vista along with a number of new improved features.

If I were ordering a new Windows based computer, I would wait until Windows 7 is available (10/22/09) or, until vendors begin offering upgrade coupons (Rumor has it they will start to appear in early July.).  You may also want to look at an Apple Macbook Pro.  They just recently upgraded their notebooks along with some price reductions.  One advantage of an Apple notebook is the possibility or running both OSX and Windows on the same machine.

Now, back to my Kindle 2.

 

[Shizu]

XP software that I have will work with Window7? I know some XP software won't work with Vista, I tried...  So Window7 is better than Vista.

I don't know anything about Mac but if I buy Mac, I need to buy all the softwares again? My daughter doesn't know anything about pc so I'm the one doing everything and if she gets Mac, I'm afraid I won't be able to fix if there's a problem.

 

[NogDog]

There is a version of Linux called "Knoppix" that is designed so that you can run it from a bootable CD or DVD without having to do anything to your Windows installation. You might want to give it a try and see what you think.

Knoppix site

 

[geko29]

I've been running the Beta since the day it was released; likewise with the RC.  It's everything Vista should have been at release.  At work we've decided to skip Vista entirely, and we'll be migrating from XP/2000 straight to 7 in the 2nd quarter of next year.

7 has significantly lower hardware requirements than Vista did, and only about 20% more than XP.  Which is impressive considering there's a 7-year span between the two.  I've actually gotten it to boot with 128MB of RAM and a 400Mhz processor.  It took 10 minutes, but it started and didn't crash the moment you tried to move the mouse.  That's pretty impressive for a modern Windows OS.  The XP virtual machines we give to our users have 512MB and 1.86Ghz, and in our initial testing it doesn't look like we'll have to bump that up much, if at all, when we make the switch.

Overall:  Highly recommended.

 

[Shizu]

Thanks geko.

I think we'll wait for Window7. 

 

[Kathy]

Good info. My daughter has Vista and it has never worked right. I bought a new laptop a couple of months ago from Dell and paid an extra $100 to get XP. I'm glad I did. They also included a cd of Vista if I wanted to upgrade with it. 

 

[Geemont]

Windows 7 is getting a lot of good press from the computer gurus.  As a rule of thumb, though, never adopt a new operating system when it is still new; you should wait a year or so until the first or second patches come out.  For Windows 7 this will probably mean waiting until about October 2010.  You probably can't wait that long, but whatever you do, don't buy a Vista system, and don't depend on upgrading latter.  If you must get Windows 7 have it be a clean install and not upgraded from XP or Vista.

If you want to go Mac or Linux, you can always install a Vmware virtual machine to run Windows.  I've got Fusion 2 on my MacBook Pro running Windows XP Pro as a virtual machine and it does a pretty good job.  When Windows is in full screen mode it can be hard to tell it isn't a real Windows desktop.  I don't do any heavy gaming, but I heard the virtual machine that can slow it down considerably with 3D games.

You can download a free app from Vmware that convert an existing Windows system into a virtual machine.

 

[Shizu]

If you must get Windows 7 have it be a clean install and not upgraded from XP or Vista.

If you want to go Mac or Linux, you can always install a Vmware virtual machine to run Windows. I've got Fusion 2 on my MacBook Pro running Windows XP Pro as a virtual machine and it does a pretty good job.

I don't like to upgrade OS so I'll just buy Window7 installed machine.

My daughter was telling me that she had a discussion at school about which pc is the best, Window or Mac. She said many people said Mac. I didn't know you can use XP as a virtual machine on Mac. This is very interesting. I think I'm going to look into this more. XP is installed on Window7 as a virtual OS too, I think.

 

[NogDog]

LOL - be careful when you start getting into the which is the best computer/OS discussion. It can get as contentious as political or religious "discussions," with everybody evangelizing as to why their favorite OS and/or computer is the one true platform, and how all non-believers will burn in the Hades of viruses, crashes, and bad apps.

My personal viewpoint is that they are all "good enough" for my needs, and my preference for Linux is purely financial: it's free.

 

[Scheherazade]

I have the Windows7 trial downloaded and burned to a disc but I haven't had the nerve to install it.  I was thinking of trying it on my second harddrive but having issues getting it to recognize it after having a failed backup of XP try to install to it and get stuck on my loging selector screen (so annoying).  I've heard it's more like an upgrade to Vista than a throw back to XP, but I also heard it was vastly improved.  It's pretty hard to get anything new with XP on it now, so I would go for Windows7 on your new laptop.  They'd have to try really hard to make it worse than Vista.

 

[Sweety18]

I haven't but I sure hope it is more like xp than vista.

Same here, I skipped Vista all together. Will be buying a computer later in the year, hopefully there will be plenty of reviews by then.

 

[Geemont]

Well, just to let everyone know what is truly important about a virtual Windows XP on the Mac... I can plug in my Kindle to the USB port and the virtual machine recognizes it and allows me to transfer files back and forth, just like it was a regular system.

 

[pidgeon92]

Well, just to let everyone know what is truly important about a virtual Windows XP on the Mac... I can plug in my Kindle to the USB port and the virtual machine recognizes it and allows me to transfer files back and forth, just like it was a regular system.

I don't get it?