Microsoft have allowed Windows 7 to be pre-ordered at a sizeable discount. Mayhem immediately ensued.
Customers were allowed to make advance payment for a copy of Windows 7 Home Premium (around £44.99) of Professional (around £88.99) prior to the official launch on 22nd October. Those prices are approximate as some suppliers have discounted below that. Almost immediately the websites concerned (Microsoft included) were swamped to the point of being unable to cope with demand. That's heartening as it means there are many folk out there who believe (as I do) that this latest version of Windows is well worth migrating to.
Many suppliers have sold their pre-order quota by now. I waited for my favourite supplier, ebuyer to offer the deal and promptly discovered it had sold up before I even got there. I eventually ordered from Currys online, not out of choice (they are really hard to deal with in the High Street) but out of necessity - the Professional version will retail at around £212.00 after 22nd October, a price I would be grieved to pay.
I see that Comet still have the offer on their site, but as I write the Home Premium offer has been withdrawn.
I think this is fantastic. Win 7 is certainly the best Microsoft operating system to date. Obviously many others share my opinion. And it is being rolled out early after a thorough Beta testing period so it should be stable. The only downside I can see is that a clean install is required (just did that for the Release Candidate), though that should not be too much of a hassle using my backup drive and the program disks I keep to hand.
At least the junk and clutter will have gone.
Oh, one last thought. Make sure you download Internet Explorer 8 before you reformat and install - European customers will find themselves browserless otherwise. You can use it to download Firefox ;-)
Thursday, 16 July 2009
Tuesday, 7 July 2009
Locked Files
One utility that I found invaluable when running Windows XP was WhoLockMe. It is a small utility with one simple purpose - to unlock a file in order to perform an operation on it, usually a file delete.
Normally, Windows protects a file from deletion when it is being used by another process (and quite rightly so). There are times, however, when it is necessary to delete a file that is in use - when dealing with malware, for example, or when a process stubbornly refuses to quit or release the handle on a file. WhoLockMe always came to the rescue. This utility installs as a Windows Explorer extension, so a right click on the file to be removed allowed the file to be unlocked and then deleted.
I recently found out that it didn't install under Windows 7. It appeared to install but there was no option to unlock in the right click context menu.
Enter Unlocker from Cedrick 'Nitch' Collomb. This is also a small utility - the install file is 255KB - and it performs the same task. And it works perfectly with Windows 7.
I'm not recommending unlocking and deleting files as a regular practice, but when you need to, this is the tool you wish you had.
Normally, Windows protects a file from deletion when it is being used by another process (and quite rightly so). There are times, however, when it is necessary to delete a file that is in use - when dealing with malware, for example, or when a process stubbornly refuses to quit or release the handle on a file. WhoLockMe always came to the rescue. This utility installs as a Windows Explorer extension, so a right click on the file to be removed allowed the file to be unlocked and then deleted.
I recently found out that it didn't install under Windows 7. It appeared to install but there was no option to unlock in the right click context menu.
Enter Unlocker from Cedrick 'Nitch' Collomb. This is also a small utility - the install file is 255KB - and it performs the same task. And it works perfectly with Windows 7.
I'm not recommending unlocking and deleting files as a regular practice, but when you need to, this is the tool you wish you had.
Saturday, 4 July 2009
Windows 7 - The Show So Far
So, I've had s couple of months living with Windows 7 RC as my main operating system, and I can happily say the good points far outweight the bad.
Actually, 'bad' is not the word as I have found no features I can't live with. Boot times are a vast improvement on XP. Similarly shutdown time is speedier. And I love being able to click the Shutdown button without having to confirm I really do want to shut down.
I recently upgraded my Adobe Photoshop CS to CS4 with no problems. In fact CS4 seems to run quicker than CS did.
So, what are my remaining problems in Windows 7?
Well, my accounts program still occasionally fails to display a button or two, though these reappear when I mouse over them. I admit I still use Quicken 98 so it's not surprising to find the odd glitch. Other than that, here's my list of outstanding problems:
- Winpatrol occasionally stops working (with a warning that Scottie is no longer on patrol). Not a biggie as it I can restart immediately, but something I must look up in the forums.
- WhoLockMe, a file utility I sometimes need for troubleshooting, should install to the right click context menu, but doesn't. Again, I need to browse the forums for a solution.
And that's it.
I was a keen XP fan before I installed Windows 7. Now, when I'm at work using XP I find myself wishing for Win 7 - it makes life easier in ways I don't notice until I swap over. Given the history of late and flawed offerings from Microsoft, I was skeptical (to say the least) of this one. It really is good. It makes life easy when I don't want to fiddle about yet it can be tweaked and altered when desired. Most drivers work, most programs work and I've never seen a BSOD (or even a recovery screen).
FOOTNOTE:
All these posts I make about Windows 7 must seem a little suspicious to the reader. Let me assure you I am not associated with Microsoft (apart from being re-awarded as a MVP this month). But if I thought it was crap then I would say so. I don't. It isn't. It will be overpriced over here compared with the US market, and it will ship without Internet Explorer in Europe. But I will be among the first to pay up when it goes on sale.
Actually, 'bad' is not the word as I have found no features I can't live with. Boot times are a vast improvement on XP. Similarly shutdown time is speedier. And I love being able to click the Shutdown button without having to confirm I really do want to shut down.
I recently upgraded my Adobe Photoshop CS to CS4 with no problems. In fact CS4 seems to run quicker than CS did.
So, what are my remaining problems in Windows 7?
Well, my accounts program still occasionally fails to display a button or two, though these reappear when I mouse over them. I admit I still use Quicken 98 so it's not surprising to find the odd glitch. Other than that, here's my list of outstanding problems:
- Winpatrol occasionally stops working (with a warning that Scottie is no longer on patrol). Not a biggie as it I can restart immediately, but something I must look up in the forums.
- WhoLockMe, a file utility I sometimes need for troubleshooting, should install to the right click context menu, but doesn't. Again, I need to browse the forums for a solution.
And that's it.
I was a keen XP fan before I installed Windows 7. Now, when I'm at work using XP I find myself wishing for Win 7 - it makes life easier in ways I don't notice until I swap over. Given the history of late and flawed offerings from Microsoft, I was skeptical (to say the least) of this one. It really is good. It makes life easy when I don't want to fiddle about yet it can be tweaked and altered when desired. Most drivers work, most programs work and I've never seen a BSOD (or even a recovery screen).
FOOTNOTE:
All these posts I make about Windows 7 must seem a little suspicious to the reader. Let me assure you I am not associated with Microsoft (apart from being re-awarded as a MVP this month). But if I thought it was crap then I would say so. I don't. It isn't. It will be overpriced over here compared with the US market, and it will ship without Internet Explorer in Europe. But I will be among the first to pay up when it goes on sale.
Monday, 15 June 2009
Windows 7 and IE8
Windows 7 Beta shipped with a version of Internet Explorer 8, The final release of Windows 7 will ship in Europe without Internet Explorer in order to satisfy EU competition rules. Read more here
The reasoning goes that Microsoft gains unfair advantage by integrating its own browser with the operating system. Fair point, you might think. Until you think some more.
Imagine the ordinary Joe (or Jill) who installs Win7 and tries to access the internet. No browser. No problem, he (or she) can download Firefox, Opera, K-Meleon or any one of a number of independent browsers.
Except it is a little difficult to download a browser when you have no browser to access the internet ...
Windows 7 Beta and Windows 7 RC both shipped without an email client. No problem there, I had the choice of installing Outlook (from the Office 2007 suite) or an independent program. I chose Mozilla Thunderbird. That was easy because I had a web browser (IE8) installed.
The inclusion of IE8 (which isn't a bad browser by any means) would allow people who use a computer in the same way as a DVD player or a TV set to surf the net. Anyone with a little knowledge will realise they can install a different browser (or indeed any number of browsers) should they so choose.
And here is a little secret many IE bashers seem to forget. There is no need to jump through hoops trying to uninstall Internet Explorer. You just don't use it. Simple as that. It takes up no resources apart from a bit of disk space but it's still there should you ever need it.
As I said above, I set up Thunderbird for my email, but I know many people who wouldn't know where to start searching for a program, downloading it, installing it, configuring it and then teaching themselves how to use it. They just want a simple, familiar solution.
Though I sincerely believe Windows 7 is by far the best version of Windows yet, I can't help thinking it will lack something in the usability stakes for the non-technical user.
The reasoning goes that Microsoft gains unfair advantage by integrating its own browser with the operating system. Fair point, you might think. Until you think some more.
Imagine the ordinary Joe (or Jill) who installs Win7 and tries to access the internet. No browser. No problem, he (or she) can download Firefox, Opera, K-Meleon or any one of a number of independent browsers.
Except it is a little difficult to download a browser when you have no browser to access the internet ...
Windows 7 Beta and Windows 7 RC both shipped without an email client. No problem there, I had the choice of installing Outlook (from the Office 2007 suite) or an independent program. I chose Mozilla Thunderbird. That was easy because I had a web browser (IE8) installed.
The inclusion of IE8 (which isn't a bad browser by any means) would allow people who use a computer in the same way as a DVD player or a TV set to surf the net. Anyone with a little knowledge will realise they can install a different browser (or indeed any number of browsers) should they so choose.
And here is a little secret many IE bashers seem to forget. There is no need to jump through hoops trying to uninstall Internet Explorer. You just don't use it. Simple as that. It takes up no resources apart from a bit of disk space but it's still there should you ever need it.
As I said above, I set up Thunderbird for my email, but I know many people who wouldn't know where to start searching for a program, downloading it, installing it, configuring it and then teaching themselves how to use it. They just want a simple, familiar solution.
Though I sincerely believe Windows 7 is by far the best version of Windows yet, I can't help thinking it will lack something in the usability stakes for the non-technical user.
Thursday, 4 June 2009
Windows 7 Release Date
22 October 2009
That is the date put out by Microsoft's Steve Guggenheimer. Upgrading from Vista will be an option but, to be perfectly honest, I would recommend a fresh install (after a full data backup, of course).
Microsoft have a track record of pushing operating system release dates back as the time approaches, but I feel they will hit this one - the product is good, there has been an unprecedented beta testing phase and (in my experience) the only problems may come with old hardware that perhaps should be replaced anyway. System requirements are reasonable so most systems running Vista at present should cope with Win7.
Read more:
http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/features/2009/Jun09/06-02SteveGuggenheimer.mspx
That is the date put out by Microsoft's Steve Guggenheimer. Upgrading from Vista will be an option but, to be perfectly honest, I would recommend a fresh install (after a full data backup, of course).
Microsoft have a track record of pushing operating system release dates back as the time approaches, but I feel they will hit this one - the product is good, there has been an unprecedented beta testing phase and (in my experience) the only problems may come with old hardware that perhaps should be replaced anyway. System requirements are reasonable so most systems running Vista at present should cope with Win7.
Read more:
http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/features/2009/Jun09/06-02SteveGuggenheimer.mspx
Sunday, 17 May 2009
Living with Windows 7
So I finally took the plunge and installed Windows 7 RC as the operating system on my main computer. The verdict? Fantastic! Obviously there are a lot of things to get used to, but overall it is very good.
I imaged my drives and reformatted the C: drive, did a clean install and then set about re-installing drivers and software. Not too painful on the whole and it was the perfect opportunity to clear out the junk I never used.
Good Points
*Taskbar previews of running programs
*Aero snap-to when using 2 windows (brilliant!)
*Ultra quick startup and shutdown
*One click shutdown
Bad Points
*ATI Radeon graphics card only went to 1024 x 768 resolution. Swapped to a cheap NVidia model and immediately got 1280 x 1024
*A couple of programs (Terrapin FTP and Quicken accounts) play up under Windows 7 - Terrapin just won't work, Quicken doean't always behave. Not really surprising as they were both written around the time of Win 98. Alternatives are easy to come by so not a big deal
*Ctrl + Alt + Del brings up a menu to start Task Manager. There is probably a way to cause that key combination to start Task Manager immediately, I just haven't found it yet.
*Firefox uses too many resources (up to 90% CPU and 100,000MB+ memory. This is my only big niggle but I'm working on it.
So overall I'm really pleased with it - Microsoft certainly have a winner here!
I imaged my drives and reformatted the C: drive, did a clean install and then set about re-installing drivers and software. Not too painful on the whole and it was the perfect opportunity to clear out the junk I never used.
Good Points
*Taskbar previews of running programs
*Aero snap-to when using 2 windows (brilliant!)
*Ultra quick startup and shutdown
*One click shutdown
Bad Points
*ATI Radeon graphics card only went to 1024 x 768 resolution. Swapped to a cheap NVidia model and immediately got 1280 x 1024
*A couple of programs (Terrapin FTP and Quicken accounts) play up under Windows 7 - Terrapin just won't work, Quicken doean't always behave. Not really surprising as they were both written around the time of Win 98. Alternatives are easy to come by so not a big deal
*Ctrl + Alt + Del brings up a menu to start Task Manager. There is probably a way to cause that key combination to start Task Manager immediately, I just haven't found it yet.
*Firefox uses too many resources (up to 90% CPU and 100,000MB+ memory. This is my only big niggle but I'm working on it.
So overall I'm really pleased with it - Microsoft certainly have a winner here!
Saturday, 25 April 2009
Windows 7 RC is Coming!
Windows 7 RC (Release Candidate) is due out 5th May, according to Brandon LeBlanc on his blog. This is earlier than I expected (September would have been my guess) and is most welcome news.
I have been testing Windows 7 on a spare machine and have been very impressed. Enough to have decided to take the plunge and install it when it is released, replacing Windows XP. The massive Beta testing program has been hugely successful. At the busiest time, Microsoft were recieving a feedback report every 15 seconds - that's over 40,000 reports in that one week!
Looks like I'm going to be busy sooner than I thought.
I have been testing Windows 7 on a spare machine and have been very impressed. Enough to have decided to take the plunge and install it when it is released, replacing Windows XP. The massive Beta testing program has been hugely successful. At the busiest time, Microsoft were recieving a feedback report every 15 seconds - that's over 40,000 reports in that one week!
Looks like I'm going to be busy sooner than I thought.
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