Windows 7

I ended up with 7 after getting a new computer - it's not bad, but I dearly wish I could've just stayed with XP (no Vista for me, either). It isn't as easy to navigate, and they went a little too "techie" in adding and renaming things in the control panel area. The search function sucks as far as "easy to use". I also get a lot of "Windows Explorer has stopped working" errors, which I'd never heard of before (with XP). Overall, it does the job, it's just clumsier than XP.

I too will be getting a new computer and windows 7 will be on it. I have heard good and bad about it. I hope you that have it will share anything you can. Do most programs have compatibility patches for it for things like printers, etc.?

There are some good things about Windows 7. When I installed it for a friend, everything ran without adding drivers separately. Just like Linux, heh. For compatibility I think it depends on what version you get -- IIRC you don't get the XP compatibility mode on the cheaper versions. For better or worse, though, it's the unswerving path to the future if you're happy to pay the MS tax.

I'm not, but to each their own.

ETA:
Lol, I actually forgot that Windows 7 starter came with my Eee PC. Yeah, it must've made a real impression. I did boot it a couple times until I installed Archlinux.

What can I say? It's not bad. You can write a book with any OS. I'm just glad I have options.

blacbird said:

Just a curiosity, based to some extent on this article:

http://www.newsweek.com/id/235725

I refused to upgrade to Vista, like many people, and, for once, it seems that Jabba the Microsoft received the message. From which emerged 7. I haven't yet upgraded to that, either, but will likely be getting a new laptop later this year, undoubtedly with 7 installed as operating system. So, who here uses it? And what do you think about it? How good is its backward compatibility (Vista apparently was awful at that)? For business purposes I have to run a fair amount of older specialized software, and it would irritate me greatly if 7 won't handle such things well; XP does them fine. In fact, XP really does everything I need, so my temptation to upgrade operating systems is not great.

caw

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Can you still get an XP "downgrade option?" Do Netbooks still come with XP? The one I got in November has XP. I recall 7 has some sort of "compatibility mode" but of course that sort of thing doesn't always work.

I got this desktop with XP on it just before Vista came out. I still don't feel the need or desire to upgrade. Maybe if/when I get an app that needs 4+ gigs of RAM I'll get a new machine with 7 on it.

From the article:

Perhaps for the first time ever, Microsoft is actually putting some energy into trying to promote its operating system.

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I wonder if that guy recalls the $20 million Microsoft paid for the rights to use the Rolling Stone's song "Start Me Up" in the Windows 95 advertising campaign.

ejket said:

ETA:
Lol, I actually forgot that Windows 7 starter came with my Eee PC. Yeah, it must've made a real impression. I did boot it a couple times until I installed Archlinux.

What can I say? It's not bad. You can write a book with any OS. I'm just glad I have options.

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This article might interest you:
http://www.netcraft.com.au/geoffrey/toshiba.html

benbradley said:

This article might interest you:
http://www.netcraft.com.au/geoffrey/toshiba.html

Click to expand...

Ah, I remember those stories from years ago, but I value my time too much for that kind of thing. Anyway, it's possible the Win7 (which survives on a shrunken partition) might come in handy sometime since it comes with some special utilities for the Eee PC. When you consider the total cost of the netbook ($340 CD), what would the refund value of the very crippled starter version amount to anyway?

Windows 7 isn't that bad as I said. My beef is with MS the company, who I despise due to long familiarity. But that's not on topic.

I wouldn't continue to cling to XP. It had its day, and it was a pretty good day, really. Vista was a mess, but more due to the debacles of broken and unavailable drivers, questionable "Vista capable" stickers, etc. Quite the tragicomedy, really. But those days are over, too.

blacbird said:

For business purposes I have to run a fair amount of older specialized software, and it would irritate me greatly if 7 won't handle such things well; XP does them fine.

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Sorry for posting twice in a row, but I could've responded to this better, and so now I will.

An especially interesting idea if your older software doesn't require a net connection is to run XP in a VM. I use VirtualBox quite a bit for various things, and it's pretty handy. You see, if you don't need the net, you can turn that off and run your legacy software in a completely safe, sandboxed environment forever. Security updates aren't necessary if you're offline, so when they're discontinued for XP you don't have to care.

You'll have trouble with the old software for sure.

I like Vista, I'm very comfortable here. I've made it a lot like my previous XP environment, with some little differences and the need for a few small hacks and workarounds.

Every time I venture into 7, I am frustrated by the added complications that make it harder to get down to the real stuff behind the Microsoft nosering. I've been saying I'll wait for 8, but I think it might be more like 9 or 10. As long as Vista (and sometimes a virtual machine) can run what I like, I'll stick with it.

*Sigh* XP is becoming the new 98. Ah, nostalgia.

The most annoying thing about Microsoft is that they stop supporting their older systems. I know its only a matter of time before they completely ignore XP, so I ended up going to Windows 7.
I like the new OS. I think its better than Vista, but probably not as nice as XP. It works for all the programs I run on it, so I have no complaints.

Matera the Mad said:

You'll have trouble with the old software for sure.

I like Vista, I'm very comfortable here. I've made it a lot like my previous XP environment, with some little differences and the need for a few small hacks and workarounds.

.

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Same here. My old laptop has Vista and I've been perfectly happy for the past three years with that, apart from a few hiccups right at the beginning. I would not have changed at all but I've been having a lot of hardware problems with my old laptop. I need to use an external DVD drive and an external keyboard with it and the battery doesn't charge at all so it's become a drag to use.

Anyway, I bought myself a brand new laptop on April 1st and it's a joke. It looks real nice and everything's real snazzy and stuff but I just don't know why they have to make things complicated that were easy, fix things that weren't broken. I came to this board this morning hoping that someone can help me with some specifi problems; I don't want to sidetrack the thread so feel free to create a new thread if I'm in the way.

For a start: I like to use a mail client to receive my mail. On XP it was OUtlook and on Vista it was Windows Mail. & has Live Mail and it's a total mess. I went to their message board and it's full of people complaining about this or that but theere are so many threads there nobody has even bothered to answer my own questions. First of all, Live Mail wouldn't send mail though it was refeiving it. Then suddenly it stopped running altogether and sent me all kinds of error messages which I don't understand. Plus, you can't sort your mail according to "rules" any more.

Then there's this Windows Media Player thing. It's totally changed. I used to put in a favourite CD and then copy it straight to the hard drive. The new Media Player lets you play and that's it. There seems to be some extra device called Roxy which you can use for copying but I can't do that because apparently you need to connect to the internet to do so. and that's my third problem. It doesn't like to connect.

I don't know if that's a hardware problem or what, but just about every day since I got it it has refused to connect with wireless. All my other wireless stuff is connected: the old laptop, a radio and a printer. 've had to call BT twice to sort this out and today again it wouldn't connect.

Like I said, an April 1st joke. I want my old Vista back on the new laptop! I don't do anything complicated at all ob my PC but if it can't handle the easy stuff what then?

I'm glad I moved away from XP. I liked Vista and did not see any problems with it, I guess it was just the 'follow the crowd and dislike XP' that won out there.

I moved to 7 and it was even better. I would say to upgrade to 7 and forget XP you really will love the new windows. Forget the nay sayers.

I have XP on the laptop, Vista on the PC, and 7 on the netbook. If I had to choose only one, I'd go with 7. I've been using it since December and I've not had any problems so far. Does everything I need and then some.

I just upgraded my work computer to Windows 7, and it's far and away the best OS I've ever used. Much, much better than XP, and certainly better than Vista. It is, in many ways, Vista with the problems removed.

It's blazing fast, and navigation with the Library system is so easy and simple that I knew the entire computer in a few minutes.

So far, I've found only two old programs that won't run on 7, and that's fine with me. Software eventually becomes outdated and dies, and well that it does.

One program, Q10, gave me fits because it wouldn't run, but then I right clicked on the exe, clicked "run as administrator" and it worked fine.

There is a problem with Internet Explorer, but when it stops working, it really doesn't stop at all. If you tell it to do so, it does an invisible restart, and saves all the web pages you were on. If not for the pop up box that says it stopped working, you'd never know it.

But this isn't a Windows 7 problem, it's a problem with the latest version of Internet Explorer, which, for the first time, actually outperforms Firefox, and all the other browsers out there.

I can't guarantee that all your old software will still work, but sooner or later all old software has to die, and you have to get new software to replace it.

Hey Aruna,

I can't tell you anything about Live Mail -- I've never used it.

I don't think Windows Media Player is the problem. It sounds like the manufacturer that sold you the laptop installed some other software and it's loading that software by default. I use Windows Media player on Win7 to rip CDs all the time (I ripped the new Gorillaz CD just last night). If you want to rip the CD using Windows Media player, then open it up using Start button > All Programs > Windows Medial Player.

Personally, I'm with Jamesaritchie on this one. I love Windows 7. I've had very few problems and I've been using it since it first came out. It's much snappier than Vista for sure (running on the same hardware). I like it much better than XP too.

Aruna, to follow up on my last post, you can change the autoplay option (what pops up when you insert the CD) by going to Start > Control Panel > Hardware and Sound > Autoplay. You can change that to set the behavior you want when you insert a CD with music on it.

PEBKAC said:

Aruna, to follow up on my last post, you can change the autoplay option (what pops up when you insert the CD) by going to Start > Control Panel > Hardware and Sound > Autoplay. You can change that to set the behavior you want when you insert a CD with music on it.

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Thanks, pebkac, I'll look into it. I've only had it a few days and am still discovering everything. When I put in a CD it asks me if I want to play with Windows Media Player, or save files or copy with Roxy Central Data. I did try the latter once, but it tried to take me online and I couldn't. Yes, I'm also having wireless connection problems with the new laptop, and not with the other.

As for Live Mail: i figured out how to uninstall it and instead I've installed Mozilla Thunderbird -- it's perfect! Better that Outlook and Mail.

The thing is I'm too old to have to change familiar stuff on a new computer. I don't need the latest bells and whistles, and if something works I don't need a "better" version.

It really is Window Media Player that opens and it looks quite different than on my old computer. No tabs for copying files or visualisations, for instance.

I was able to copy the disc through this Roxia tihingee but I can't get it to play on the Media Player, or else I can't find the copied music anywhere. This is rubbish. I'm thinking I have the version 12 of Media Player in which case I want to uninstall it and install an earlier version, one which is easy to use and a techidiot like me who is not interested in learning new techie stuff can use.
I found this information on how to switch from version 12 to 11 but after Step 2 it all sounds complicated and something I'm likely to mess up, knowing me. Any other tips?
Oh, how I long for the simple life.

Live Mail can be made usable, if one has to. I think. I've toyed with it a little just so I can help the helpless. I loathe and despise it, of course.

It would be easier if they didn't change terminology so much. Calling something by a completely different name is the same as hiding it. Hiding the Contacts in a "Go" menu is just plain hiding, IMO.

Matera the Mad said:

It would be easier if they didn't change terminology so much. Calling something by a completely different name is the same as hiding it. Hiding the Contacts in a "Go" menu is just plain hiding, IMO.

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That's my biggest problem with 7 - I looked at the Control Panel and actually recognized 3 items out of the what - couple dozen they have listed. And trying to find anything within those 2 dozen folders is strictly by guess (unless I remember to write it down - high tech all the way!).

aruna said:

I was able to copy the disc through this Roxia tihingee but I can't get it to play on the Media Player, or else I can't find the copied music anywhere. This is rubbish.

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That Roxio thing comes under the category of crapware that was bundled on your machine to lower the unit price of the OS. If I were you I'd just uninstall it and then see what your options are.

All I have to say is that my Win 7 machine is every bit as stable as my Mac. I've had zero hassles, no crashes, and no problems with older programs.

I think Windows 7 is fantastic. I was having a LOT of crashes with my previous OS, and 7 has been stable as hell - not a single glitch.

Besides the occasional older printer not being supported, the Windows 7 Compatibility Mode has handled my apps okay.

If you find you have problems, if you have an XP CD you could always install the free app VirtualBox and create a virtual XP PC inside your laptop to run the old apps. Bit of a hassle but if you only use those apps occasionally, it might be a passable arrangement.

I, too, passed on Vista but am happy with 7.