Windows 7

[anotheoldgit]

Anyone went out and bought Windows 7 today?

Is it better than XP or Vista?

I have XP on my main computer and Vista on my lap top, if I bought the new Windows 7 could I put it on both computers?

[another-view]

I wouldn't buy it unless you have to. We trialled it and had loads of incompatibility issues.

[TTG]

I would wait a year or so. When I get a new machine it will hopefully have a stable version of Windows 7 on it.

[Rollo]

Stick with XP for as long as possible!

[Androcles]

It is estimated that only 20% of users worldwide are using Vista with 80% still using Windows XP or earlier systems. Most commercial businesses will not upgrade until late 2010 or 2011, to allow the bugs and problems to settle first. Experts reckon 19% of users will be on W7 by the end of 2010. "Early implementers" often pay the price for the developer's anxiety to get the income coming in.

How much it would cost you to upgrade? The problem (and true cost) comes when you find out how much it will be to replace any software (or hardware) which will not work with Windows 7, and if the experience with Vista is anything to go by, it might be quite a lot. The industry is likely relying on people wanting the bells and whistles to get a new PC to run it on. (The test on my new PC when Vista came out, told me that I needed to download and install 17 new drivers and 3 pieces of hardware would never work)

Experts quoted in the Times this week reckoned that it wouldl cost the average home user between £633 and £1018 to upgrade from Windows XP to Windows 7, with replacing bits and software that won't work, plus W7 itself.

For the non expert user the choices are difficult. Upgrading needs you to have the right specification PC and be sure that all your peripheralsand current software will continue to work, for it not to cost you an arm and a leg. Get it wrong, it could cost to get it fixed. At least you may need to download and install new drivers to make your current hardware work, not easy if you are not an expert.

The alternative is buy a new PC and probably replacement software and hardware as well in some cases.
For most of us I suspect that the solution may be to stick with what you know until you actually need a new PC when it will come already loaded and you will have no choice. Or buy an Apple!

[VHG]

You have to ask yourself, are XP and Vista so bad I need to replace them with Windows V7.

For most people the answer is no. Even Vista (which has had some bad publicity) is now pretty stable and my family and I find it fine to use on a day to day basis.

Lets be honest, it is only an operating system, and as long as the ones you are using work for you, dont get dragged into the Microsoft bandwagon.

On a technical level, upgrading from Vista to W7 may not be a big issue, but upgrading from XP to W7 WILL be a big issue as you have to do a clean install, which means backing up EVERYTHING on your computer before installing Windows 7 from scratch.

I suggest stay as you are, and only upgrade to W7 when you buy a new computer.

[VHG]

The other thing to consider, is that the operating system is now becoming less important as we do almost everything via the web.

In a few years most of us wont know or care WHAT operating system is on our laptop or netbook as we will do everything via the web.

Lets face it, how many people know or care what operating system is on their phone or blackberry or PDA or whatever (yes there is one), they just want them to work.

[jno]

Personally, I'd never buy a brand new system or hardware or anything. The people who do that tend to be geeks who are smart enough to figure out if anything's going wrong and how to fix it. Me, I couldn't change a fuse. Pretty well everything new has issues of some sort or other. I'd wait a while to see how it's going in practice.

And as VHG says, do you actually need to replace anything? If what you have does what you want, stick with it; I do.

[fbg40]

"If it ain't broke - don't fix it !!"
FBG40

[Mobius1]

How many people here who are providing an answer have actually used Windows 7? I would go out on a limb and guess that the answer is "very few", especially given the sort of comments that people are making.

I was sceptical at first, being a die hard fan of WindowsXP and loving how stable and lean it is compared to an OS like Vista. I have been using the Release Candidate of Windows 7 Ultimate for about 3 months now, and I was so impressed with it after the first month, I pre-ordered the Home Premium version for £60 and have it here now.

Unlike Vista, I had no hardware compatibility issues with 7. Not only that, but after startup, Windows 7 has a very similar memory footprint to XP, which is amazing considering how much more modern and refined it looks. For a software company to bloat and then shrink the software like that is quite remarkable.

I would liken Windows 7 to XP in much the same way that I would liken Vista to Millenium Edition. The failed versions are a stepping stone. A place where Microsoft experimented with new ideas but got caught up on the execution. XP and 7 represent refinement from what was learnt and the feedback that was received. So yes, I would say that 7 is better than Vista for sure, and at least as good as XP only much more intuitive and a hell of a lot prettier.

[rojash]

Well, I feel I'm qualified to comment, as I too was running the release candidate, and last week installed the release version of Windows 7 Pro. It is vastly superior to Vista. I've experienced no compatibility issues (hardware or software). If my main machine was running Vista, I'd definitely upgrade to Windows 7.

On the other hand, my main machine is actually running XP, and I can see absolutely no reason whatsoever, to upgrade it.

As fbg40 said "If it ain't broke don't fix it". In my (ok, not very humble) opinion. XP ain't broke, Vista is.

[anotheoldgit]

Thanks to all for your valued answers, personally I will now stick to what i have got, until the foreseeable future that is.