1. 

   Stephen
   March 8th, 2010 - 20:21

   Let me preface this review with my qualifications so that you may understand the extent I’ve gone to with operating systems to end up proudly claiming, “I’m a PC.”

   I use Linux (RedHat) at work, I’ve tried Ubuntu and Lycoris long before it, I’ve tried Debian and Slackware and however many other flavors of *nix in the past just to say I tried them. I’ve messed with BeOS (Zeta development was an exciting time), I’ve played with Mac OS X on numerous occasions (beautiful OS), and I’ve tried countless obscure operating systems that I doubt even 1% of those reading this would know about (and trust me; there’s a reason for you not knowing about them, lol). Why have I messed with them all? Because I enjoy operating systems and I find them to be amazing achievements. There’s no denying that Mac OS X is a beautiful OS that performs quite well within the structured hardware environment Apple has created. Linux is hella useful on an enterprise level (though Windows Server is easily comparable these days) and even home flavors of Linux have become quite nice (Ubuntu)! The fact of the matter is that I’m partial to Windows through my experiences with having tried just about every flavor of every OS out there over the past 10 years or so. I used to collect beta versions of operating systems (not just Windows, but others as well), so I’ve not only tried the final products, but I’ve also gained appreciation for them by seeing them and playing with them through their development cycles. Where Windows is concerned, at one point or another, I’ve instally just about every build of every version currently out there (and trust me, there are TONS of builds – alpha and beta bits from every version of Windows, including obscure bits like Windows Neptune). I’ve ridden the roller coaster through the highs (Windows 95, 98, 2000, XP, and now 7) and lows (Windows ME, Windows Vista’s initial release) and I couldn’t be happier that I’ve stuck it out.

   Enter Windows 7.

   Windows 7 is amazing. There is no other way to put it. It’s being hyped as, “Vista done right,” or something of that nature. Well, Windows 7 is soooo much more than that. True, the user interface may resemble Windows Vistas, but only at first glance. The single-most revolutionary aspect of Windows 7 is the new task bar. It has provided so much additional functionality that you would never know you wanted (or needed). The ability to pin tasks, the ability to move items around on the task bar, the privacy of not having titles of your windows down in the task bar for anyone to see, the new interactive thumbnail previews, the new placement of the show desktop button… I could go on. It may take you a bit to get used to the new task bar, but trust me… you will and you will absolutely come to love it. Going back to anything less just won’t feel right.

   Next on the docket is HomeGroups. Look, file sharing between home computers has never been easier. NEVER. I have Windows 7 on my desktop and on my laptop. The desktop, I recently built, so while awaiting my wireless card for it, I wanted to see if I could tether my laptop’s internet connection. In the past, it wasn’t exactly difficult to set it up, but it was much more involved than it is now. All you need is a regular ethernet cable, connent one end to your laptop and the other to your desktop, give permissions to share (made simple through HomeGroups) and voila! I can use the internet on my desktop via my laptop’s internet connection. And not only that, I was able to set up the laptop and desktop to share files between one another via the same cable… and it was incredibly simple! I won’t walk through the steps here since this review is already getting a bit lengthy, but the long and the short of it is that file and resource sharing between Windows 7 computers is RIDICULOUSLY intuitive.

   Lastly, are you still on XP? Are you one of those business who decided way back when that you would just skip Vista and roll out Windows 7? Well, guess what? Windows 7 is here and it’s time you make good on your decision. As the title to my review implies, Windows 7 bests both Vista and XP. There is no longer any excuse for you to stick with XP when Windows 7 performs EVEN BETTER. The only learning curve for XP users will be getting used to the new user interface and the change in location of certain files/folders (which admittedly irked me at first, but those changes came about in Vista, so I’ve been long used to them). Bite that bullet. It’s worth it, trust me. Oh, and cost? Windows 7 is worth its weight in gold. It’s an operating system. Think about everything it does for you, all the applications it allows you to run, the tasks it allows you to perform… in the grand scheme of things, the cost of Windows is one of the best investments you can make for yourself, so go ahead and treat yourself to Windows 7. Seriously. Don’t buy into the stupid Mac hype videos of, “more of the same” and pay no mind to the Microsoft commercials where people say Windows 7 was their idea. Go try it for yourself. Download a free evaluation copy, install it, and give it a whirl. See for yourself.

   Since Amazon removes links from posts now, search Google for Windows 7 Enterprise 90-Day Evaluation. You will need a Windows Live ID and though it’s an evaluation of Windows 7 Enterprise, it looks and feels like every other SKU.

   -Stephen
   
   MSFTKitchen (Google it)

   I thought about placing this review on all the SKUs of Windows 7, but since I use Ultimate on a regular basis and not the other SKUs, I think it’s only appropriate to leave it here, as-is. Thanks for reading (if you made it this far, that is)!
   Rating: 5 / 5
2. 

   Rico
   March 8th, 2010 - 21:36

   When I got my copy of Windows 7 Ultimate, I really wasn’t sure what to expect. I had not been running any beta or release candidate, so I had no idea how I would like Windows 7 or even the install process. I am running a Dell XPS desktop, and I had recently installed 8GB of memory in anticipation of formatting and installing Windows 7 64 bit edition. Sounds like overkill I know, but I got a great deal on the memory and wanted to go to a 64 bit version when Windows 7 came out. I will get into some of the differences shortly, but let me just say that the installation was painless…I mean really painless. My desktop is a few years old, and I expected to be hunting device drivers online to get everything working. I didn’t have to! I was quite surprised when the install process completed and everything was working great. I didn’t have to download a single device driver…and that IS a first for me when changing operating systems!

   There is a small learning curve because some things have changed and you will have to spend a few minutes trying to find them, but it’s not a big deal.
   
   I wold suggest spending some time just looking around to see where things are located as well as what new shiny bells and whistles are available.

   The Start Menu: I was one of those guys who always changed my start menu back to the Windows 2000 type. I hated the XP menu with a passion.
   
   Imagine my horror when I figured out there was no way to change it in Windows 7! I was certainly upset at first, until I started actually using the new menu.
   
   I have a habit using the old start-run option and typing in some of the programs I use. For example, I would use start-run winword to open Microsoft Word. I know, it sounds crazy, but my computer days started with DOS, so I still have some love for the command line! I noticed in Windows 7, there is no run command…but after using it I realized it didn’t need one because the search box actually does the same thing. Once I figured out how to pin programs to the start menu, I realized that I am finally happy using a new menu interface.

   Windows 7 32 bit or 64 bit?

   Windows 7 comes with two disks, one for 32 bit and one for 64 bit. You can choose which one you want to use based upon your devices, and your needs.
   
   If you are upgrading from another version of Windows, you can’t change unless you do a fresh install. If your computer supports 64 bit and you aren’t using extremely old software, I would suggest going to 64 bit if you are doing a new install anyway. It will still run 32 bit programs, and you will may benefit from the 64 bit version. You might consider adding some memory as well if you want since you can use more than 4GB memory with the 64 bit version. If you are using an older computer with minimal memory anyway, I would just stick with the 32 bit version. Microsoft has a nice feature on their Windows 7 website to check compatibility with Windows 7 in both 32 bit and 64 bit, so you can see which of your programs may be an issue.

   Summary:

   I am really happy with Windows 7. Not only was it easy to install, without needing me to find any drivers, etc…but the interface is also easy to use. You won’t be having to make a hundred changes just to do something as you may have in Windows Vista. There are no more major issues with User Account Control for those of you who are using Vista now! Is Windows 7 worth the upgrade? I think it is. I have two versions, one is the full version of Windows 7 Ultimate and the other is Windows 7 Home Premium upgrade for my laptop (currently running Vista). I have found Windows 7 to be stable, with no cryptic error messages to stop me from doing what I want to do. I believe Windows 7 is an operating system that people will actually enjoy using…it’s a big improvement from Vista, and I think most people will be happy to finally have a reason to upgrade from Windows XP.
   
   Rating: 5 / 5
3. 

   Joel Ramnaraine
   March 8th, 2010 - 22:58

   It seems as if the unofficial tagline for Windows 7 is “Windows Vista done right!” Though that may be true, I’d say it’s more. With Windows 7, it is clear that Microsoft made performance their number one goal. After the tragic train wreck that was Windows Vista, Windows 7 offers much more in overall performance. Installing Windows was fast and easy; it took me exactly 12 minutes from start to finish. When Windows finally launched, I was pleased to see that my drivers, (ATI Graphics Card, HP AIO Printer, Audio Drivers, etc.) were already installed and ready to use on my system. Startup and shutdown times were noticeably faster–just as fast as Windows XP running on my desktop.

   I was also pleased to see that all of my software installed and functioned flawlessly. As a college student majoring in Digital Media, I was ecstatic to see that I was able to run Adobe Photoshop, Premiere, and Lightroom all at once without having much of a lag (if any at all). Switching from program to program was smooth and seamless. This was definitely a major improvement since Vista–I use to have to actually wait when jumping from application to application.

   Windows XP Mode (included in Professional and Ultimate editions) can be very useful if you’ve a program that runs only on Windows XP (though I’ve yet to find a program which runs on XP alone). You’ll be able to run XP software natively within Windows 7, having full functionality of the program and the operating system simultaneously.

   The user interface has been improved without altering or taking away from its usability. Everything including the windows and taskbar are crisp and clean. The best part, however, is that Windows Aero does not consume all of my computer’s resources. I can finally enjoy the sleekness and innovation of Aero without having the pay the cost of allocating the majority of my system’s RAM towards it.

   Many of the classic Windows applications have been revamped. The “Ribbon” concept, first introduced in Microsoft Office 2007, has been implemented throughout the operating system in programs such as Microsoft Paint or WordPad. Though I don’t know anyone who ever uses these, the improvements are quite nice; I even found myself using the new “brush” tool in Paint for a school assignment.

   Overall, improving functionality and performance were obviously a major priority for Microsoft when designing the operating system. Now I can actually enjoy using my PC without hoping it doesn’t crash on me midway through a project. We now finally have an operating system that not only looks pretty, but allows the computer to run like it should and the user to enjoy their computer experience.
   Rating: 5 / 5
4. 

   Jaime Moreno
   March 9th, 2010 - 01:51

   Having been a loyal Windows customer and paying full retail price for Vista Ultimate the pricing for this product when compared to the other versions of Windows 7 is a slap in the face first of all so one star off just for that! Microsoft should’ve provided some discount for prior Vista Ultimate customers at least.
   
   Charging an extra $200 or more for a couple of features that noone will use and some outdated ones like Subsystem for UNIX-based Applications is just plain tacky.
   
   The only one that really adds any value is the new feature called “VHD Boot”. With that you can boot your entire Windows out of a Virtual Hard Disk file as those used with Virtual PC or Virtual Server which can come in handy if you are a developer or like to install alot of beta products or games and want to make sure you don’t screw up your main install.
   
   If you are already running Vista I wouldn’t be in a rush to go out and grab a copy, especially not at the current price, since the improvements are little and subtle coming from Vista. If you are still running XP on the otherhand though you should’ve definitely upgrade asap.
   
   I’ve used the bitlocker feature on a 2TB drive and it works as advertised and that’s one area where the improvement compared to Vista are noticeable. For one you know longer have to create your own partition to install bitlocker since windows 7 takes care of it for you but it still takes forever to encrypt a 2TB drive, roughly several hours, but at least it’s a one time deal unless you need to decrypt it to clone it or update your bios for example. Actually, one of the less known new major technical features Win7 has over Vista is support for more than 256 processors. Future Intel processors are supposed to provide full decryption support for bitlocker but haven’t even been released, so maybe encryption/decryption speeds will be greatly improved then?
   
   If you are trying to scrimp on hardrive space or memory Win7 does use a bit less than Vista but still more than XP, since Movie maker, mail, and several other programs that always used to come with Windows have been removed and are now a optional download. That won’t make the few people that use or depend on those programs happy but for the rest I’m sure they are happier for a slimmer Windows. The other changes people upgrading from Vista will notice is the annoying sidebar is gone and the taskbar is huge and works way different than Vista so it takes some learning to figure out where Microsoft moved everything to. It took me a while to figure out where all my stuff went since Win7 tries to be helpful and hide more stuff from you like Macos x. For example your taskbar notifications are still there but hidden by default. Nothing else really impressed me since almost all the stuff in Win7 was already there in Vista. Problem Step Recorder is a nice addition for those that help others troubleshoot their computers or is a quick and dirty way to make your own tutorials. And contrary to what others are seeing Win7 is not noticeably faster than Vista for most stuff except maybe networking and hibernation does seem to work better now. Then again since it never seemed to work before now that it does work is certainly an improvement. Windows 7 is also alot more helpful in trying to troubleshoot incompatible applications and games since a little wizard pops up trying to help you but if your program/game didn’t work in Vista it most likely isn’t going to work in Win7 either. Oh and another thing I turned off right away was Aero snap since it kept trying to be helpful by rearranging my windows for me which I hated. Alot of others seem to love this feature though. Other little things that Microsoft finally got around to adding to Windows is native burn support for ISO so you don’t have to install Nero, usually one of the first pieces of software I install, and Blu-ray burn only support. This still doesn’t make up for the lack of virtual desktops support, which Linux and Mac OS X have provided for the longest time and is one of the most useful features ever devised. This is one of the biggest oversight Microsoft continues to make which each new release. Maybe if they threw in native Blu-ray playback support for the Ultimate edition it would make sense to charge more.
   
   So that’s my take from someone that used Vista since the day it was released and has been using Win7 since it was released roughly a month ago.
   
   Oh and finally I’m not too happy that even this latest more secure version of Windows can easily be rendered non-functional just by installing an old game. Any old game that using StarForce will install a driver that will immediately cause a blue screen of death upon reboot. For example Namco Museum 50th Anniversary Collection. Microsoft should really put a hardblock on this since I was only able to recover my system due to my technical skills. So much for compatibility with older games.
   Rating: 3 / 5
5. 

   Mute208
   March 9th, 2010 - 03:31

   Here comes Windows 7, nearly three years after Windows Vista and eight years after Windows XP. By most accounts, Windows 7 is what Vista should have been. Do we finally have a worthy successor to XP?

   PROS:
   
   - Fast startup and performance
   
   - Stable
   
   - Nice aesthetic and functional changes to the desktop
   
   - Improved networking, power management & security
   
   - 32-bit & 64-bit versions included
   
   - Windows Media Center
   
   - Windows XP Mode
   
   - Disk encryption
   
   - Multi-language support

   CONS:
   
   - User Account Control still annoying
   
   - Upgrade can be challenging
   
   - Expensive

   There are only two Microsoft operating systems I’ve personally skipped since DOS 6.x– Windows ME and Windows Vista. Windows ME was so terrible that PC World coined it the “Mistake Edition.” Vista, when initially released, was considered to be bloated, relying on higher hardware requirements than XP, while being outperformed by XP on identical hardware. With Microsoft fast-tracking Windows 7, I decided to skip Vista altogether and upgrade to 7. This review briefly touches upon some of the key features and enhancements of Microsoft’s latest OS.

   PERFORMANCE & STABILITY
   
   One of the welcome enhancements Microsoft made was start-up time. The shutdown time has been improved as well. Also, in my non-benchmarked experience, Windows 7 has been at least as fast as XP if not faster. The kernel changes and ability to run the 64-bit version probably has a lot to do with that. Most benchmarks from around the Internet seem to support my observations.

   64-BIT
   
   I am elated to finally upgrade to a 64-bit operating system in order to take advantage of more memory support and modern processors. I have Intel Core 2 Duo processors in both my systems with 4GB of physical RAM but XP only allowed 3.25GB for system use.

   DESKTOP
   
   At first login, you’ll notice the changes to the taskbar. The taskbar is no longer just a place to store quick launch icons and view open windows. It now provides functionality in the form of Jump Lists, which allow you to select your most frequently opened files or links from the apps you have “pinned” on the taskbar. The clock and calendar are improved and the Show Desktop icon is now integrated in the far right corner. Other desktop enhancements include Aero Peek, Aero Shake, Snap, new themes and wallpapers. You also get gadget support. All of these features combine to create a much improved and enjoyable desktop experience.

   LIBRARIES
   
   Windows 7 introduces a new feature called libraries. Previously, your system had shortcuts to My Documents, My Music, My Pictures, etc. which had files residing in only those specific folders. Files can now reside anywhere on your system and be organized inside libraries. It’s similar to how many music and photo applications organize files.

   NETWORKING
   
   Even as good as XP was, networking was cumbersome. Windows 7 makes connecting two or more Windows 7 systems together easy, using HomeGroup. This enables easy sharing of files and devices. One downside is that HomeGroup is only supported between Windows 7 systems. File transfer performance between computers has been vastly improved and connecting to a wireless network has never been easier on a Windows machine.

   SECURITY
   
   Security in Windows 7 is good and comes with Windows Firewall and Defender. Still, you’ll probably want to invest in a more comprehensive Internet security suite, Norton Internet Security 2010. User Account Control (UAC) has been tweaked in order to give user accounts more flexibility in controlling their own security as well as providing more detailed information so the user can make better decisions about whether to allow certain actions. Coming from XP however, it is still annoying and I chose to turn it off. Also, in Windows 7 Ultimate, you can encrypt entire hard drives as well as external portable storage devices, like USB thumb drives. Though this is a welcome integrated feature, much of the functionality can be found in a popular open-source program called TrueCrypt. If you want encryption but not multi-language support, you could just get Windows 7 Professional and use TrueCrypt.

   POWER MANAGEMENT
   
   Power management has been improved overall and you should be able to squeeze more battery life out of your laptop, even when using your DVD drive. Sleep and resume has also been improved. XP wasn’t always consistent when entering or resuming from sleep mode, but Windows 7 has been perfect.

   WINDOWS MEDIA CENTER
   
   I’ve only briefly played around with WMC but it looks promising. It has some fun options for media, especially when you’re connected to the Internet. It may even be an adequate replacement for component DVR’s should you choose to use it as the centerpiece to your entertainment center. The biggest advantage for me is that Windows 7 now includes a DVD decoder. This means that I can now watch DVD’s natively. WMC is available in all Windows 7 editions except Starter.

   WINDOWS XP MODE
   
   For applications that ran in XP, but won’t on 7, there is now XP Mode. It isn’t perfect and your system has to have virtualization support and turned on. Go to your system BIOS to check. If supported, then install Windows Virtual PC and Windows XP Mode. Check your hardware if you intend to use XP Mode.

   RECOMMENDATIONS
   
   If you’re an XP holdout, like I was, I recommend upgrading. Vista SP2 users may have less reason to upgrade but might want to just for the changes to the taskbar and the UAC improvements. For users who don’t need to use their computers in a corporate environment, then Windows 7 Home Premium edition is a good choice. I’m guessing most power users will choose Professional, which adds XP Mode and Domain Join. Ultimate also adds drive encryption and multi-language support. I suggest a clean install for best results. If you’re a Mac OS X user, there is probably nothing in Windows 7 compelling enough for you to consider switching.

   SUMMARY
   
   Windows 7 is the premium Microsoft OS that Windows users have been waiting for. It’s fast, secure, stable, visually appealing and fun to use. Windows 7 will make your old system feel fresh and new again. New system owners with Windows 7 pre-loaded can feel confident that they’re getting the best Windows OS ever produced.
   Rating: 4 / 5

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