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Windows 7 beta

AprecheApreche
edited January 2009 in Technology
I'm installing Windows 7 beta in VMWare just to see how it goes. I'm currently playing the waiting game. So far it's the best Windows installation ever.
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Comments

  • AprecheApreche
    Well, I only have the free VMWare player. That means I don't have VMWare tools. That also means I don't have a network card driver. The install went well, and it started up just fine. lack of network support prevents me from really doing anything else.
  • OmnutiaOmnutia
    edited January 2009
    I suppose I would have made the same mistake so I'll refrain from saying "Ha! Thought that one out, didn't ya.".

    In related news: I'm looking forward to having something I can replace XP with to match my Ubuntu 8.10 install (or 9.04 by the time it comes out.).
    Post edited by Omnutia on
  • kiwi_birdkiwi_bird
    I installed Windows 7 a week ago and it works great. The most pleasant Windows experience I've had in long.
  • ......
    Gratz Scott, I did the same a few days ago, now debating whether I want to burn it to a dvd and install it in full to my laptop HD. Then I could also determine its battery life, which is supposedly better than Vista.
  • JasonJason
    Where did you get the said beta? Perhaps from a certain bay, matey?
  • AprecheApreche
    Where did you get the said beta? Perhaps from a certain bay, matey?
    Where else?
  • Nine BoomerNine Boomer
    Where did you get the said beta? Perhaps from a certain bay, matey?
    Where else?
    Yarrr! We be pirates!
  • TommyVTommyV
    I've been running Windows 7 for about a month now on a dual-boot, and just upgraded to Beta (build 7000) the other day. It's been wonderful.

    I've hit a bunch of issues (mostly with Apple products and Skype) and it doesn't seem to like my laptop's battery, but I'm running it as my full-time OS now and haven't hit anything huge yet.

    That said, I'm still trying to get used to the "superbar".
  • Nine BoomerNine Boomer
    I knew that the beta was leaked, but I didn't know it was actually usable in a day per day basis. I thought it would be something you would isntall once to check it out but it seems to be good enough to warrant use by everyone. A friend of mine said that it no longer has legacy support, so some programs in XP will no longer work. How is the program support?
  • TommyVTommyV
    It's certainly stable enough for day to day use. I've only seen 1 full crash, but that was in M3, not beta. There's talk that the "official" public beta will be announced this week at CES and be downloadable by the end of the month.

    Program support is pretty decent, actually. Like in XP and Vista, you can run troubling apps in compatibility mode, either for a single user or all users. I've installed all of the programs I use on a regular basis (Though, admittedly, I do most things in a browser), and the only one I'm having real issues with is Skype. Skype 3 (current version) yells about being not compatible but runs well enough in vista compatibility mode. Skype 4 installs without the compatibility warning, but slows down my system substantially while it's running. Apple products are acting funny with the live preview stuff, and my system goes to sleep if I try to sync my iPhone while it wants me to enter my unlock code.

    The classic start menu is, at long last, dead, and the XP/Vista personalized start menu is your only option. QuickLaunch is dead, too. The taskbar defaults to the new "superbar", though you can tweak it back to the classic on if you work a bit - there is no "classic taskbar" setting to turn on, though, you have to manually set the options to make it feel like the old one.

    I think that's everything. I'll report back any other issues. :)
  • AprecheApreche
    Anyone know how to get My Computer, Recycle Bin, etc. on the desktop?
  • BronzdragonBronzdragon
    Anyone know how to get My Computer, Recycle Bin, etc. on the desktop?
    In vista it's in the control panel somewhere under folder options....
  • TommyVTommyV
    edited January 2009
    Anyone know how to get My Computer, Recycle Bin, etc. on the desktop?
    The Recycle Bin is on the desktop by default... I don't know how to get make it not appear, unless you've hidden all desktop icons. If you have, right click on the desktop, select "View", then make sure "Show Desktop Icons" is selected.

    Your "Personal" folder (Likely "Scott") and "My Computer" can be added from the start menu. Start > Right-click on one of them > Show on Desktop.
    Post edited by TommyV on
  • TechparadoxTechparadox
    Well, I only have the free VMWare player. That means I don't have VMWare tools...
    Wait, so you too the time to bootleg the W7 Beta from the 'Bay but haven't taken the time to snag a bootleg of VMWare Workstation or Server? Sounds to me like someone did not think their cunning plan all the way through. ;) In all seriousness, though, how's it working out? From what I've seen of it so far it's pretty comparable to Vista in look and feel, but I haven't had a chance to actually play with it yet.
  • RymRym
    but haven't taken the time to snag a bootleg of VMWare Workstation or Server?
    Any bootlegs you get of those applications are most likely compromised.

    Windows 7, being what it is, would be difficult to competently compromise. Furthermore, as it was to be installed in a sandbox anyway, a compromise presents no real problem there.
  • TechparadoxTechparadox
    edited January 2009
    Any bootlegs you get of those applications are most likely compromised.
    Paranoid much? ;) Just because I said "bootleg" doesn't mean you have to go to the nearest torrent site and download the first shared version you see. With a little legwork on your own you can get a copy registered without having to worry about anything piggybacking on it. Download the installer for a trial version from VMWare, get yourself a keygen and run said keygen through several a/v programs before you even think about executing it. Or better yet, just install VMWare as the trial, throw XP on it, run the keygen in the sandboxed OS a few times to get a nice pack of keys, and then wipe VMWare and reinstall. Badda-bing, bootlegged version, no chance of infection.

    Anybody who goes around running apps from an untrusted source and doesn't take precautions deserves to have their box 0wned.
    Post edited by Techparadox on
  • JoeLamerJoeLamer
    Application compatibility should be just the same as in Vista since Windows 7 is based in same core code than Vista. So if you are moving from XP to Windows 7 you face the same (possible) compatibility problems as with moving to Vista. For hardware you should be able to use Vista drivers if there are some drivers that you miss. I haven't yet installed Windows 7 because I'm waiting for the official beta that should come out any day now through MSDN.
  • AprecheApreche
    I haven't yet installed Windows 7 because I'm waiting for the official beta that should come out any day now through MSDN.
    I thought this was the official beta, but it just got leaked. Also, not everyone has MSDN.
  • TommyVTommyV
    I thought this was the official beta, but it just got leaked. Also, not everyone has MSDN.
    As far as was known, build 7000 was to be the official beta - both internally, and publicly as expected to be announced this week at CES.

    With 7000 leaking, they could issue a new build for the public beta. I don't expect them to, but it's possible.
  • ......
    I thought this was the official beta, but it just got leaked. Also, not everyone has MSDN.
    As far as was known, build 7000 was to be the official beta - both internally, and publicly as expected to be announced this week at CES.

    With 7000 leaking, they could issue a new build for the public beta. I don't expect them to, but it's possible.
    All the information we have point to build 7k being the Beta. MD5SUM was the same for me as those found before at the official locations.
  • TommyVTommyV
    With 7000 leaking, they could issue a new build for the public beta. I don't expect them to, but it's possible.
    All the information we have point to build 7k being the Beta. MD5SUM was the same for me as those found before at the official locations.I agree, still doesn't mean they won't change it before the CES announcement.
  • OmnutiaOmnutia
    Does it matter that much?
  • BronzdragonBronzdragon
    Does it matter that much?
    YES!!! (note that I've used three exclamation points, rather than one. This is because I want to express my sincerity beyond any doubt, even though it is grammatically incorrect.)
  • OmnutiaOmnutia
    I meant: Does it matter if they change it again before their CES talk?
  • ......
    I meant: Does it matter if they change it again before their CES talk?
    Not for the consumer. Microsoft would have to compile a new beta, from which they have nothing to gain. I don't think they'll bake a new one when they've already let out information concerning what the beta build would be. The 7k build is indicated as Beta, unlike the pre-7k builds which were all Pre-beta.
  • AprecheApreche
    So I got a new 1TB hard drive in the mail today. I decided to unplug my other drives, and install Windows 7 on the new one, just to test it out. When I'm done testing, I'll reformat it and go back to vista.

    I must say, this isn't anything revolutionary. The homegroups feature is nice, and should make sharing files around the house easier. The new taskbar thingy is nice in some ways, and takes some getting used to in some other ways. I don't think I'm going to keep using this beta, though it would be fun.

    I'm a bit skeptical about it, though. Whenever you make a fresh install of Windows, it's always stupid fast. 95, 98, 2k, XP, Vista, heck even Me is stupid fast when it's a fresh install. I highly suspect that if I keep using this Windows 7 it will eventually slow down and grind like every other Windows ever.

    However, despite not having any obvious life-changing features, I would still gladly update to this when it is out for real. Considering that the final release is definitely going to be better than this, I have to give it a thumbs up. If Microsoft can find some way to add life-changing features to it, I might even give it two thumbs up. How about real virtual desktops please?
  • JoeLamerJoeLamer
    I haven't yet installed Windows 7 because I'm waiting for the official beta that should come out any day now through MSDN.
    I thought this was the official beta, but it just got leaked. Also, not everyone has MSDN.
    By official I'm mostly referring to the fact that I can get some unique installation keys with the beta and I don't have to worry so much about WGA or any other anti-piracy stuff that's inside Windows 7. The build will be probably just the same because it takes some to make the beta installation CD's that MS is going to give out. Making a new build is pretty easy but printing new DVD's takes time & money.
  • AprecheApreche
    By official I'm mostly referring to the fact that I can get some unique installation keys with the beta and I don't have to worry so much about WGA or any other anti-piracy stuff that's inside Windows 7. The build will be probably just the same because it takes some to make the beta installation CD's that MS is going to give out. Making a new build is pretty easy but printing new DVD's takes time & money.
    Yeah, it's probably a good idea to get some unique keys if you can. However, I actually think it's kind of silly for Microsoft to use WGA on this beta. I mean, it's a beta. Nobody smart should be using it as their full-time OS. The worst they can do is block it from working. Oh no! You disabled my test installation! All they are doing is reducing the testers out there. If anything, they would be smart to have an open beta.
  • ......
    However, despite not having any obvious life-changing features, I would still gladly update to this when it is out for real. Considering that the final release is definitely going to be better than this, I have to give it a thumbs up. If Microsoft can find some way to add life-changing features to it, I might even give it two thumbs up. How about real virtual desktops please?
    This is why people were/are calling it, jokingly, Windows Vista SP2. I'm glad that Microsoft is coming out so quickly this time with a new OS, I'll gladly try out Win 7 in full, Vista, no thank you.
  • Nine BoomerNine Boomer
    I just can't bring myself to buy it unless it's totally mind blowing. Maybe I'm just holding on to the past with windows XP, but it works with all my games and I'm not missing out on anything, from what I see. I already have all the features I need, so there needs to be a long enough jump of awesome in order to warrant the high price of windows. I thought maybe I would get the next version after Vista, but Windows 7 just doesn't seem to cut it as well. Maybe once the next version of windows comes out, the thumb up for both Windows (8?) and windows 7 will add up to two, and I will buy it.

    The problem is just that for every incentive, I see a problem. Granted, Vista isn't as bad as it was on launch, but I feel like for every step forward I take, I go backwards half a step. Of course, every new version of an OS will lose features of some sort - most likely legacy features - and there will always be problems especially during the release of a new OS. What I find strange is that the release of a new version of a linux distro never seems to bring that many complaints. Perhaps it's because windows is more mainstream, but since when has anyone complained about a distro getting upgraded?
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