It’s not outright praise, but Dell testers call Windows 7 beta code “promising.” The VAR Guy values Dell’s opinion because the PC giant had the nerve — and the confidence — to ship Ubuntu Linux on selected PCs the year Microsoft launched Windows Vista. Fast forward to the present, and here’s what Dell has to say about Windows 7.
In an April 3 blog post, Dell’s Daniel Judd writes the following about Windows 7:
- On many systems we are seeing noticeable improvements in boot to desktop times (versus Vista)
- Almost all existing Vista drivers are working – great sign in terms of compatibility
- Vista Application compatibility is promising as well (including the IE 8 compatibility mode)
- Transcoding (ripping) media files is faster than Vista
Sounds promising. And truth be told, The VAR Guy thinks Microsoft is going to get Windows 7 right, restoring consumer confidence in Windows desktops and mobile systems. But the world has change since the glory days of Windows. Kids and business owners now look to the web for next-generation applications. So the Windows 7 upgrade cycle will likely involve scheduled PC purchases rather than impulse buys.
Still, Dell’s spin on Windows 7 is reassuring — especially since it involved beta code.
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I will stick with Kubuntu 9.04. Love KDE 4.2.2 and fast boot speed and you can’t beat FREE.
BR: Free is nice, but it’s not going to pay the bills for Linux distributions (Canonical, Novell, Red Hat, etc.).
Well, thats why they (Canonical, Novell, Red Hat, etc.) all sell services besides Free Software (as in freedom). One would think that “The VAR Guy” knew this.
Please keep in mind that “The Dell Ubuntus” was NOT available in most markets. It was a jippo to keep a few linuxers sweet. It’s the same story all over the place – No one buys Linux netbooks because: They are not available, OR the spec is dirt poor.
The result is that vendors states: We have LinuxMachines but nobody are buying!
I hope they get it right. I installed it and thought it was okay, though there were a couple things I didn’t like. Part of the issue is that I like XP and have it set up to be pretty darn productive. I don’t want to get stuck in the past, but it just works for me. Of course I have it pimped out just like the pimp I am
HAHA, just kidding.
But seriously, XP rocks in my books. I have my home PC set up to triple boot so I am familiar with various Linux flavors. Don’t get me wrong, I like Linux and run Ubuntu Server on an older PC as a home server. I like it a lot.
But when I want to get down to business and get things done, I’ll take my XP with 3×3 virtual windows grid (VirtuaWin) and all the other niceties I have added (allSnap is great if you like snapping windows, and TaskswitchXP is a great alt-tab replacement. Anyway, that is my take. Glad I have a few more years to keep XP running smooth and cool.
Who knows. 7 for a gaming rig perhaps? And give it a nice hefty firewall to hide behind. I’ll stick with Fedora for my main PC and laptop. Plenty of time for them to muck it up yet. It’s still only a beta OS. A few additions from premium partners like the music and movie industry perhaps, and tney can make it just like Vista.
I have only read 1 extensive test of Win 7 wrt gaming, and it comes out approx even with Vista : Performance is identical or 3-4% better.
Agree with Var: Linux needs money thus donate!
)
I use Linux because I like it – not to avoid payment.
People in our office are fast switching to Linux. I have helped lot of people to switch from Vista to Ubuntu and they are preety happy. Till the time Windows 7 comes, people will start loving Ubuntu and will not go back to windows …;-) Lot of Laptops are coming without OS now, especially Acer. People buy them and use Ubuntu….All set. Go to any engg college, they are all running Opensource now ( Open Solaris, Ubuntu, Apache are fav). Student community is big strenght…..of OpenSource…
“The VAR Guy thinks Microsoft is going to get Windows 7 right”
I think they will get it right too. Right by Microsoft’s standards. No matter how “right” Microsoft gets Windows 7, the World’s expectation of what is right is changing. Microsoft still wants it to be 1995 when they were the indisputable King of computers. Microsoft’s marketing mussel is unmatched. So how could an operating system with zero marketing cause indigestion in Steve Ballmer? Because Open Source and Linux is where the World is going. It might appear as though Microsoft is gaining ground, but they’re not. They are being left behind.
What a non-article! Seriously, do you expect Dell to say “Oh Windows 7 is a rubbish as Vista?” No. Do Dell say “We recommend Vista” (or something along those lines)? Yes. You simply cannot take seriously any notice of things vendors say in relation to Microsoft when they are so dependent on the income from Redmond’s proprietary poop!
Anyone in Microsoft’s pockets as much as Dell are will be bound to say it’s promising.
I also think that the general population is so incredibly lazy that even were Win7 an amazingly good OS – and pigs started to fly – most people would still complain it wasn’t XP. It makes you wonder how people coped with the transition from Win2k to XP.
Thats funny. A company that makes crappy computers thinks a crappy operating system is ok too. Go figure. Crappy computer + crappy OS = dells traditional pc experience.
Who cares…
7 IS a huge improvement over Vista. As much as Windows CAN be “right”, 7 is pretty close. I ran the beta, I was actually impressed by the beta. The only issues I had were due to driver incompatibilities. Why? My old video card became unsupported by ATi as of Vista, and that means 7 doesn’t like it either. But that’s not a Windows issue, that’s a hardware manufacturer’s issue. (Sound familiar from years back with linux?)
It’s faster, it’s lighter, the interface is cleaner, and overall I found it quite usable. This is one I might consider purchasing retail to install on my Vista laptop. Because Vista is an evil mutant of an operating system that should die a horrible painful death.
No surprise here. Windows 7 is expected to be better than Windows Vista. What I’d like to see are real world performance comparisons with Windows XP. What’s keeping me away from upgrading XP are two things: performance and DRM. So Windows 7 would have to improve on both fronts.
Before you ask, between work and home, on a daily basis, I use flavours of Windows from XP Home to Vista Ultimate, Mac OS X Tiger, Leopard, Snow Leopard beta and 3 of the latest Linux distros. I do believe that’s sufficient grounds for me to compare.
Guess which ones I end up using the most? Ubuntu with KDE 4.2.2 and Mac OS X Leopard. I’m sorry, but Windows anything looks dated in comparison. The Mac has its uses and between the two, the only place I cannot escape using Windows is to play games (for now). I have found that has actually started affecting the games I choose to buy – I will not buy a game that does not support Linux. Sure, I’ll fire up Windows to check out a demo if I don’t have anything else to do, but that’s a rarity.
Honestly, I do not see the need for Windows these days. So unless you can give me a damn solid reason for Windows 7, I’m going to keep using my combination of Linux and the Mac and will keep recommending that combination to everyone I meet.
The doctor thinks The Var Guy is right. But Microsoft do have plenty of money and enough industry control that to get it wrong like they did with Vista was incompetence on another scale.
Although FOSS commons in software production terms will still out produce closed source Microsoft programming teams buck for buck. Just a matter of time before it’s all being made that way.
Dells Crap. Microsoft is Crap. A combo made for eachother. I can’t stand dell and their cheap over advertised crap boxes. And Microsoft hasn’t made a decent os in years. The only thing that keeps them going is their lawyers and their money. What a joke.
Jimothy: So everything Dell and Microsoft produce is *rap? The VAR Guy begs to differ. Both companies have some solid products in their portfolio. Your opinions are welcome on TheVARguy.com, but back them up with specific evidence. And please, there’s no need to use inflammatory language. The VAR Guy tries to keep his comment areas family friendly.
I could give a rodent’s rectum about how 7 is “huge improvement over Vista”. Of course it is; *anything* is an improvement over Vista.
This is of some comfort for those home users that got shafted with Vista because it was the only thing available when they bought their PC, unless they paid over the odds for XP “downgrade” rights that is. They deserve something better, and it looks like they’ll get it. Here’s hoping against hope that Microsoft doesn’t shaft them a second time by charging full whack for a Vista to 7 upgrade.
For the rest of us, who stayed on XP, and/or moved to Linux or Apple, the Vista Vs 7 comparison is irrelevant. How 7 stacks up against XP is what matters to us. The same is true for the vast majority of business users, who avoided Vista like the proverbial plague.
Chilly Penguin: Um, can you find other forms of alliteration?
At least I didn’t say “rat’s arse” on your family-friendly site.
Oops.
I like Dell machines. I’ve owned 3 myself over the years. At work, I bought nothing but Dell when I began replacing old workstations.
I don’t like Vista that much. Too danged slow. But I will give Windows 7 a try.
In closing, I also like Linux. My main OS at home is PCLinuxOS 2009, Gnome version.
That is all.