Windows 7 is finally here

I dont know if anyone has posted a public link yet, or if you all just got it through your MSDN subscriptions, but the public BETA download can be found here: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/win...-download.aspx :)
I'm going to install it on VPC tonight :)

Oh and to answer Athiest's question earlier about whether or not upgrading from Vista to Windows 7 would be possible - Yes definitely! MS have always said that they want to make the upgrade from Vista to Windows 7 as seemless as possible and that whatever you have working on Vista should work on Windows 7 (unlike XP -> Vista)

Just found this interview discussing the changes in the kernel of Windows 7 - quite interesting :)
http://channel9.msdn.com/shows/Going...ide-Windows-7/

If I install Windows 7 on a vm, is there still a chance of it messing up my computer?

no thats the whole point of a VM, its a totally separate entity. You can think of it as just having an extra computer sat next to you and working on that :)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by chris128

Just found this interview discussing the changes in the kernel of Windows 7 - quite interesting :)
http://channel9.msdn.com/shows/Going...ide-Windows-7/

---

I watched that yesterday too. Quite good. :)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by chris128

I dont know if anyone has posted a public link yet, or if you all just got it through your MSDN subscriptions, but the public BETA download can be found here: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/win...-download.aspx :)
I'm going to install it on VPC tonight :)

Oh and to answer Athiest's question earlier about whether or not upgrading from Vista to Windows 7 would be possible - Yes definitely! MS have always said that they want to make the upgrade from Vista to Windows 7 as seemless as possible and that whatever you have working on Vista should work on Windows 7 (unlike XP -> Vista)

---

Its on the home page of the Microsoft site. ;)

MSDN private download was only published 2 days prior to the public release to non-msdn subscribers

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by red_bull_NRG

If I install Windows 7 on a vm, is there still a chance of it messing up my computer?

---

Just make sure you actually install it on the vm and not your actual system then you will be fine! :lol:

I just checked and my PC doesn't meet the requirements to install Windows Virtual PC 2007. Are there any other good and free virtual pc programs?

One thing that occurs to me is that VPC is not supported on Vista Home but will usually install and run there if you push ahead. Remember, it isn't supported so there is no guarantee.

VMWare is the other main virtualisation app so be sure to try that if VPC wont work

If your system cant support a type of VPC then you may not have a very good experience. Just to keep in mind.

On the lighter side, we bring you...

Microsoft Announces 20 Editions of Windows 7

:lol: Is that a spoof site?

Oh and why dont they make every edition a "Secure Edition" :lol:

"Pirated Edition" Sounds like its free as its pirated :D

Another good webcast related to PDC '08:

Developing compatible applications for Windows 7

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by RobDog888

:lol: Is that a spoof site?

---

We can only hope!

They need "Windows 7 ATM Machine Edition" :D

And of course we need "Windows 7, The Lunchbox."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvmZ9SPcTzU

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by RobDog888

:lol: Is that a spoof site?

Oh and why dont they make every edition a "Secure Edition" :lol:

"Pirated Edition" Sounds like its free as its pirated :D

---

:lol: I was about to post that!

Edit:

It looks like it is a joke site.

Just resize your HD using partition magic by about 50gigs, then install win 7 from the desktop onto that new partition.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Jmacp

Just resize your HD using partition magic by about 50gigs, then install win 7 from the desktop onto that new partition.

---

lol last time I used partition magic my PC blue screened at bootup and it took me about an hour to fix :(

I think im going to have to re-download the Windows 7 ISO as everytime I try and install it on VPC I get an error at about 50% of the Expanding Files part that says it couldn't read from the media..

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by chris128

I think im going to have to re-download the Windows 7 ISO as everytime I try and install it on VPC I get an error at about 50% of the Expanding Files part that says it couldn't read from the media..

---

Burn it to a dvd then you wont need to download it each time. :)

yes but what point is there in burning a corrupt ISO image to DVD lol

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by chris128

yes but what point is there in burning a corrupt ISO image to DVD lol

---

How the hell did you get a corrupt version? :p Well, download it again and burn the work iso to dvd. If you have downloaded it multiple times already and it is still corrupt there is something really wrong with our pc. Other people are downloading the whole download in working order. :D

Yeah I'm going to download it again, thats what I said in my original post :P
There's no point in me burning it to DVD as I'm just using it with a Virtual Machine so I can just tell the Virtual Machine to mount the ISO image and 'pretend' its a CD in its drive.

General availability for the Windows 7 Beta to end

@ dilettante

That is good to know! :)

Quote:

---

* Starting January 27th, the Windows 7 page will be updated with a warning that time is running out on downloading the Windows 7 Beta and that we will be limiting downloads shortly. People will be encouraged to register and start the download of the Windows 7 Beta sooner rather than later.
* February 10th, new downloads of the Windows 7 Beta will no longer be available. People who have already started their Windows 7 Beta download and have not yet finished will still be able to finish their download and are encouraged to do so.
* February 12th, people will no longer be able to complete their download of the Windows 7 Beta. Anyone who hasn’t finished downloading the Windows 7 Beta will be unable to do so.

---

There is still three weeks left though if anyone hasn't downloaded the Win 7 Beta yet.

I just re-downloaded it and it installed fine this time :) Although I have to say so far it doesn't really seem to be much different to Vista. I'll keep playing around and see what I can find though I guess..

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by chris128

I just re-downloaded it and it installed fine this time :) Although I have to say so far it doesn't really seem to be much different to Vista. I'll keep playing around and see what I can find though I guess..

---

Well the Beta wasn't made available primarily to satisfy rubberneckers anyway. The expectation is that different groups will use it to prepare for Win7's release and help identify bugs.

Some people are developers who get the chance to make sure their programs will work on Win7. Others might produce hardware that needs to have Vista drivers tested and changed until they work on Win7. Others might be corporate desktop support people making sure their management tools and procedures work, etc.

For Joe User there is an opportunity to send comments that will help Microsoft find out what is confusing or hard to use about the changes made in Win7. This might also include users who can't get some 3rd party software working on Win7.


I'm most surprised that Microsoft plans to continue dispensing keys for installing the Beta after the Feb. 12 downloads cutoff. My guess is that the demand was nowhere near as big as they expected, but they need to shut off the expensive download sites they had to set up because the demand came in such an enormous burst.

I'd also expect a 2nd public Beta later in the "season" as things are fixed or changed, probably well before this first one expires. The old keys should still be good for the new Beta though.

I guess we'll see.

They have not restored the MSSOAPClient in Win7 that was part of XP but removed in Vista. I didn't expect it, but I was sort of hoping.

Oh well, we can still deploy it from the Toolkit as we have to for Vista.


Another weirdie:

The Win7 Beta has a 2.8 interface TLB for ADOX. Vista does not.

There must have been some important application that early-bound to ADOX 2.8 at some point, so Microsoft added this for compatibility. Very strange because XP included a TLB for the ADOX 2.6 interfaces but no others. That TLB is in neither Vista (Vista provides no ADOX TLBs) or Win7 Beta. Programs early-binding to ADOX 2.6 will fail on both Vista and Win7 Beta, but we should expect that by now.

Remember: Never use early binding with ADOX. Microsoft does not provide a full set of interface TLBs as they do for ADO.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by dilettante

Others might be corporate desktop support people making sure their management tools and procedures work, etc.

---

I am a corporate desktop support guy and trust me pretty much no one will be using this OS until at least a year after it has been released so i expect there are very few people rushing to test the pre release version to see if their favourite management tools work on it :) not a single one of our support clients even has one PC on Vista yet lol

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by chris128

trust me pretty much no one will be using this OS until at least a year after it has been released

---

I remember saying pretty much the same thing back when Vista was first released! A lot of people I talk to a my school back then had a difference in opinion though.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by chris128

I am a corporate desktop support guy and trust me pretty much no one will be using this OS until at least a year after it has been released so i expect there are very few people rushing to test the pre release version to see if their favourite management tools work on it :) not a single one of our support clients even has one PC on Vista yet lol

---

I tend to be hard on desktop guys as a rule because they often seem to be lazy or fearful of change, though they may have their reasons! Moving to a new desktop platform can be a lot of work, and these folks often feel like the dog that has been beaten too much.

So :thumb: for making some effort to explore the road ahead a little.

One thing to consider is that in a year or so the economy may have brightened to the point where new desktop machines may be purchased again. By then Windows 7 is more likely to ship on them than Vista, and maybe for once people won't be so quick to back-port XP images onto the new machines.

Who knows, the vendors might not even have XP drivers available anymore by then. ;)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by chris128

trust me pretty much no one will be using this OS until at least a year after it has been released.

---

This is a piechart showing the users that have connected to my Web site this January (500 visits per day on average) indicating the OS that they use.

As you can see, 81.19% are still using XP and 15.34 have switched to Vista. This is the situation in Italy.

I wonder if Microsoft should have waited a little longer before coming up with a new version of their OS. A lot of people who were about to switch to Vista have told me that, at this point, they will wait for Windows 7 before abandoning XP.

Very few users actually upgrade anyway though. Vista and Win7 adoption will be primarily be driven by acquisition of new machines that arrive with a new OS preinstalled.

As far as Microsoft waiting goes, I think they feel that Vista has gotten such an undeserved bad name a fresh face can't hurt sales.

The Mojave Experiment

Windows 7 Application Quality Cookbook

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by dilettante

Very few users actually upgrade anyway though. Vista and Win7 adoption will be primarily be driven by acquisition of new machines that arrive with a new OS preinstalled.[/URL]

---

Not necessarily. Many people decide to buy a new computer because a new operating system has come out.

Has anyone else noticed that Windows 7 Beta doesn't detect the internet/network settings on your computer? That is unless I am wrong in assuming Win 7 Beta has internet access enabled! :lol: I just tried accessing the internet using IE 8 on Win 7 using a Virtual Machine. However, when I install Linux Mandriva on the VM it detected the internet and network settings. :confused:

I can access the internet just fine from Windows 7 using a VM.

Same here

As can I, you can see from my screenshot.

You may have to enable it in the VM software.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by dclamp

As can I, you can see from my screenshot.

You may have to enable it in the VM software.

---

I am thinking I have forgotten to to select something when I setup the Win 7 Beta machine and set the other machine correctly. I will go back and compare the VM settings and see if they are the same or not.

Edit:

I have double checked the settings on both virtual machines and they are the same! However, when I go in to Win 7 Beta and click on any menu item I receive a message "Windows cannot access the specified device, path or file. You may not have appropriate premission to access the item.". This is strange because being a Beta you would only have access to the main account on the system.

Edit:

As discussed in the "General PC" section IE 8 uses yet another set of style rules:

http://www.vbforums.com/showthread.p...86#post3432286

Why don't Micro Circus keep using the same styles that used for IE 7? I don't see any connection between resolution and css so why the need for new set of styles for each new web browser? :confused:

I think the idea is that IE8 will be more 'standards compliant' ... but you should still have a button that lets you switch it back to IE7 mode shouldn't you?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by chris128

I think the idea is that IE8 will be more 'standards compliant' ... but you should still have a button that lets you switch it back to IE7 mode shouldn't you?

---

Yeah, I agree! It would be a big pain if you had to create a new css style each time a new browser was released.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Nightwalker83

Yeah, I agree! It would be a big pain if you had to create a new css style each time a new browser was released.

---

Wait till CSS tables hit in a big way, the nets going to be more messed up than the Queensland Red rugby team :eek:

Anyone know if IE8 is including support for the CSS features?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by KiwiDexter

Wait till CSS tables hit in a big way, the nets going to be more messed up than the Queensland Red rugby team :eek:

---

Don't you mean sheets not tables? :confused:

Quote:

---

Anyone know if IE8 is including support for the CSS features?

---

I would think so! If IE8 couldn't support css then we would have to use big chunky pages.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Nightwalker83

Don't you mean sheets not tables? :confused:



I would think so! If IE8 couldn't support css then we would have to use big chunky pages.

---

The new CSS guidelines include a re-introduction of the concept of tables, no not the old html ones, it's already supported in the later releases of FF etc but not in IE7, i.e. making it pretty unusable to be honest.

The question is whether IE8 will support the latest CSS guidelines, it already supports existing CSS in version 7 so (albeit with a funky support in some places).

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Nightwalker83

How the hell did you get a corrupt version? :p Well, download it again and burn the work iso to dvd. If you have downloaded it multiple times already and it is still corrupt there is something really wrong with our pc. Other people are downloading the whole download in working order. :D

---

i think there's something wrong with a setting on microsoft's server. I've managed to get bad downloads from them before. One of them was server 2003 back when i had an 128k isdn connection that took me a week to download it. I had to redownload it!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Lord Orwell

i think there's something wrong with a setting on microsoft's server. I've managed to get bad downloads from them before. One of them was server 2003 back when i had an 128k isdn connection that took me a week to download it. I had to redownload it!

---

I though Microsoft would have multiple servers! Couldn't you use a download resume program (whatever they're called)? You could than continue download from when the download stopped instead of having to begin the whole download again.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by KiwiDexter

The question is whether IE8 will support the latest CSS guidelines, it already supports existing CSS in version 7 so (albeit with a funky support in some places).

---

Yeah, I hate having to write new styles for every different version of Internet Explorer. :mad:

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Nightwalker83

I though Microsoft would have multiple servers!

---

lol they will have loads.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by chris128

lol they will have loads.

---

Well they were probably having an off day if they were all having server trouble. :D

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Nightwalker83

I though Microsoft would have multiple servers! Couldn't you use a download resume program (whatever they're called)? You could than continue download from when the download stopped instead of having to begin the whole download again.



Yeah, I hate having to write new styles for every different version of Internet Explorer. :mad:

---

who said anything about the download stopping? It downloaded with no stops but was still corrupted. I think the problem though was i WAS using a download accelerator that broke the file into four parts. star downloader seems to have issues sometimes with really really large files.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Lord Orwell

who said anything about the download stopping?

---

:wave: Yeah, I find that annoying how some programs split you download or saved files (on your computer) in to multiple files. If one part stuffs up then you are in trouble and have to re-download the file. It is a rather stupid idea in my opinion.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Nightwalker83

Yeah, I agree! It would be a big pain if you had to create a new css style each time a new browser was released.

---

i believe he was pointing out that there IS a button.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Lord Orwell

i believe he was pointing out that there IS a button.

---

I know that! I was talking about:

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by chris128

I think the idea is that IE8 will be more 'standards compliant' ...

---

It is really stupid if IE8 will use yet another style!

Edit:

Just because there is a button doesn't mean I don't have to create an extra style for a website in-order for it to display properly.

Would anyone be so kind as to post some screenshots of Windows 7? Unfortunately, I don't have enough space left on my hard disk to install it with a virtual machine.

Thanks in advance.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by esposito

Would anyone be so kind as to post some screenshots of Windows 7? Unfortunately, I don't have enough space left on my hard disk to install it with a virtual machine.

Thanks in advance.

---

It looks pretty much identical to Vista...

A few here and you can Google for more:

http://arstechnica.com/microsoft/new...-windows-7.ars

Anything in particular you wanted to see?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by dilettante

A few here and you can Google for more:

http://arstechnica.com/microsoft/new...-windows-7.ars

Anything in particular you wanted to see?

---

Thanks. I think the screenshots in the Web site you have suggested can give a clear idea of what Windows 7 looks (will look) like. I have to agree with chris128: there seems to be no significant difference in comparison with Vista.

I wonder if there will be good reasons to switch to this new version.

Well there are a bunch of new features, just not a lot that you can see by looking at screenshots. If you wanna see a lot of the new features, watch these three short videos:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvoo31F98X0 (skip the 2 minute long intro...)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_E31dNtvHE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SK_gPg9AxYA