Windows 7
 

Does anyone know when Windows 7 is due for release? I am about to buy a new laptop and don't like the idea of Vista - i use XP Pro at the moment. I just don't like the idea of buying an LT and then finding that Windows 7 is released shortly afterwards.
I want to buy my Grandson (11 yrs old) a laptop during a short visit to UK and as I will be in Accrington for at least one day, are there any shops around that sell decent second hand machines?

Re: Windows 7
 

The latest version of windows will be available to buy off the shelf and on new computers from 22 October .
Microsoft announced the launch date at the Computex trade fair.
An evaluation version of the operating system is available so home PC users can decide whether they want to upgrade.
It is a fully functional test version that will last until June 2010.
This is taken from an article in computer active magazine.
www.computeractive.co.uk

Re: Windows 7
 

runs a lot smoother than vista and to be honest i think they realised what a disater vista is and rather than kep trying to fix it quickly launched a new operating system with a lot of mistakes fixed from scratch

probably just like every other OS microsoft release will need a service pack once they start getting feed back but it is an improvement on vista

Re: Windows 7
 

IE isnt going to be part of windows 7 in europe ....

BBC NEWS | Technology | No IE onboard Windows 7 in Europe

Re: Windows 7
 

I understand that they are releasing a prview version - but, it will have automatic reporting procedures direct to MS, therefore they have the possibility to see anything at all on your computer

Re: Windows 7
 

plenty of people are using windows 7 already and have reported no such thing infact my guess is that the claim they can see everything on your computer is paranoid bullcrap spread by idiots

xp and vista have an error reporting service which is probably all that windows 7 has and that can be turned off if you choose

from microsoft

Re: Windows 7
 

Well guess you would have to buy a really good laptop to run vista or windows7 My laptop came with vista on it and it really really sucked (and i love vista, if you have a **** hot x64 pc it runs great) I would stick with XP on most laptops unless it was a really great machine

Re: Windows 7
 

It wont matter, all the dodgy copies will come from the US anyway so many people will be stuck with IE anyway :D

Re: Windows 7
 

hehehe yeah.

They should start intergrating Firefox into the dodgy copies instead :D

Re: Windows 7
 

For people looking to get Windows 7 when it's released in October, Microsoft are offering preorders at a reduced price until the 9th August. At Amazon it's just under £45 for the Home version, which is a cracking deal and removes the need for pirate copies in my opinion.

Amazon.co.uk

Re: Windows 7
 

Apparently Microsoft are limiting the number of copies available at this pre-order price. Amazon and other online retailers keep showing out of stock, as pre-orders pile in! Apparently Japan sold out of these low price pre-orders in less than 48 hours, so I'd be quick if you want one.

Re: Windows 7
 

Amazon now saying that all pre-orders have been filled and the same goes for nearly all online retailers. I hope a few people managed to get in on the deal.

Re: Windows 7
 

I would not buy Windows 7 until it has been out for a while anyway. Look at the state of Vista, anyone who has a copy of Vista should be given their money back.

Its a bit like buying a car without a test drive in my opinion.

Re: Windows 7
 

I agree on the post refund for vista buyers, i bought the Vista64 first and was too early so installed the 32vista as well, for months 64 had Photoshop on and nothing else, nothing else was happy on there. Win7 has been installed 64Bit version and has run everything bar my beloved BF2 which is Punkbusters fault not EA's. The system sends back info like every version of windows that preceeds it, no personal blah blah will be sent with this blah blah blah but the 7 version seems to be working better, any problems i have had have been sorted very quickly with the backpass of information, and hope it will be an upgrade for vista owners as this seems like the finished article we missed out on. Shame it wont come with IE as i find it the best browser for my needs and to include Firefox would annoy all the people who have moaned about software being forced on people. ;) The unit id number uses an algorithm obtained from your motherboard, chipset etc, if you change your motherboard or try installing on another machine it will complain and you will have to phone Bombay or Mumbai as i think it is now called, its the same in Vista.

Re: Windows 7
 

As I understand it Firefox isn't being bundled with Windows 7, only that IE is not being included. The interesting bit is how you get a browser without one installed or a package management system such as Linux provides.

if they aren't careful it will end up with some weird welcome wizard asking you which one you want and having to go and get it for you .

Re: Windows 7
 

Suppose its one way of cutting the virus infections down a bit :rolleyes:

Re: Windows 7
 

How do you get on the internet to download a browser then.
:enough:

Retlaw.

Re: Windows 7
 

LOL, thats what I meant, if you can't get on the internet it will cut your chances of getting a virus down a hell of a lot
:D

Re: Windows 7
 

believe it or not there is a LOT of ways of being on the internet and downloading stuff without using a browser. They just happen to be the 'easiest' way.

e.g.

(s)ftp
wget
scp


You can even get web page source code over telnet if you know the right syntax ( I use this as a test of HTTP servers as we don't have GUIs never mind browsers on our servers)

Re: Windows 7
 

Maybe they will include a torrent client so you can download a browser :D:D

Re: Windows 7
 

They are still including an email client so we are still screwed :D

Re: Windows 7
 

BBC News - Microsoft investigates Windows 7 'screen of death'

just saw this on the bbc website ... so its going from the blue screen of death to the black screen of death .... and its just not windows 7 users .. it can affect XP, Vista and Windows 2000 ...

Microsoft has confirmed that it is investigating a problem described as the "black screen of death", which affects its latest operating system.

The error means that users of Windows 7 see a totally black screen after logging on to the system.

The firm said it was looking into reports that suggest its latest security update, issued on 10 November, was the cause the problem.

Reports suggest the flaw also affects Vista, XP and other systems.

Software firm Prevx, which has issued a fix for the problem, says "millions" of people may be affected.

"Users have resorted to reloading Windows as a last ditch effort to fix the problem," the firm's David Kennerley wrote in a blog post.

"We hope we can help a good many of you avoid the need to reload."

Unknown problem

The firm said its fix did not work in all cases.

"There can be many causes," said Mr Kennerley.

"But if your black screen woes began in the last two weeks after a Windows update or after running any security program (including Prevx) to remove malware during this time then this fix will have a high probability of working."

Mr Kennerly said the firm had identified "at least 10 different scenarios which will trigger the same black screen conditions".

"These appear to have been around for years now," he said.

The firm reports that the problem affects editions of Windows 7, Vista, XP, NT, and Windows 2000.

Microsoft said that people who are affected by the problem should contact its customer service line.

A spokesperson said that the reports did "not match any known issues" documented by the firm.

It has not issued a fix for the problem, which causes the desktop, task bar, system tray and side bar to disappear, according to reports.

The "black screen of death" moniker is a play on the "blue screen of death", which appears when Microsoft operating systems crash.

Re: Windows 7
 

theyre now saying the problem is malware ... not due to the latest security fix ..

BBC News - Malware suspected of 'Black Screen' issue

Re: Windows 7
 

Like many of you I bought my current set-up preloaded with the 32-bit Vista system, which was then marketed as the be all and end all for computer users. I soon found out that all the files I had built up from the Lotus Suite were incompatible with Vista and had to rehash the lot into Microsoft Office from hard copies over an extensive period of time. Vista seemed okay apart from the constant updates which over time have taken up a large proportion of my hard drive ( Out of habit I have now backed up the system and saved all my important files to an external hard drive). The pundits are now advising me to upgrade to Windows 7 which they insist will not affect my periphals or settings. Are they pulling my plonker yet again?

Having heard it all before, I would be interested to learn from anyone who has upgraded from Vista to Windows 7 and if the promises made by Microsoft are indeed as good as they say!!!!