Once again we didn't melt-down. In fact, this earth-shaking event went by largely unnoticed despite attempts at hype which fell flat. I guess what was missing was Mick Jagger and the Aging Stones warbling, "Start Me Up."
That's right, I'm talking about the release and delivery on schedule of Windows 7. If nothing else, this comes as a landmark event because it happened on time and without a couple of months of delays for animosity to build. That alone ought to make it a success. There's also the very positive factor of PC Magazine's John Dvorak not liking it. Anything he hates is sure to be a winner!
Windows 7 a "Vista Martini"
What amazes me is that he gripes about how nobody from Microsoft seems to care about him and send personal PR releases directly. What part of "journalist" doesn't he understand? And, why would a company which you keep trashing over decades seek to help you out?
On a More Positive Note
Apparently the conclusion there is that for those of us happy with Vista (and surprisingly there are a lot of us, despite the propaganda), it doesn't make much sense to cough up the $120 for an upgrade. If you bought a PC during the summer with a free upgrade, they suggest you go for it. If you're still running XP, you've got a tough decision to make.
The XP problem is that for the first time an OS upgrade won't be simply plug-and-play but will require a "clean" installation. You'll basically have to give up all of your current installation and settings, install Windows 7 and then re-install all of your applications and configuration choices. Cumbersome, but it will give you a big performance boost as you'll wind up with a virginal registry. The whole process will kill a day of your time easily.
So, your choice becomes whether to upgrade to the new OS or finally buy a new computer. If your XP system is pre-Vista then you probably would benefit from the new hardware. If, on the other hand, you were one of those who exhibited the knee-jerk animosity to Vista and went searching for a new PC with the legacy XP operating system then possibly you are getting a bitch-slap from Microsoft.
Shopping Center for Win 7 Systems
Good news is that there will be a lot of buzz in the marketplace for Win 7 equipped machines and prices are pretty competitive.
If you choose the upgrade, here's some help:
Backup Before You Screw It Up
As for me, I'm ambivalent. I tend to be an early adopter when it comes to operating systems. It was a necessity when I was doing Ziff-Davis work for several years. The company required it and having the latest software and hardware was kind of neat--at least until Windows ME showed up.
I did wait a year for Vista after release, following the common wisdom that the best thing is wait for Service Pack I before upgrading. I took the opportunity to buy a new full-house system at that time. Vista runs well for me and the computer remains quite capable.
My guess is that if I really think about it for a while, I'll recognize that I don't need Win 7 yet. But, maybe I'll get a wild hair or see a deal I can't refuse and take the leap. I'm not driven yet.
2 comments:
Starting the process from XP in just a few minutes, but hey, it'll be Miller time when I get finished. Passed on Vista based on the hype. We finally had to go to it at the school district since we couldn't get XP licenses anymore. Severe PITA. Still having printer and other driver issues. We've been testing Win7 on our development boxes for a month or so with no problems so far. If that continues, we'll skip Vista for the rest of the district and install Win7 throughout.
I've been running Vista 64 Ultimate for about a year now. It's all patched up and honestly...I have had NO problems with it in that time. All my devices work, and the programs I want to run zip along nicely. I am frequently puzzled by people who trash Vista...sort of remind me of the people who follow Obama...
I will probably update to W7 eventually, but Im not in a rush.
Post a Comment