5 ms·

Windows 7 set to break retail records

17 points by clutchski 17y ago

gbookman 17y ago
I'm a Mac guy but Windows 7 has impressed me. They've made the speed on par with XP and made the interface much less cluttered and non-sensical.
- steverb 17y ago
  I read the last word as non-sensual and was wondering WTH you were takling about. I need more sleep.
- axod 17y ago
  >> "They've made the speed on par with XP" That's impressive? :) being comparable to an 8 year old OS?
  - gbookman 17y ago
    Being able to keep speed the same after adding tons of features is very impressive for any software, let alone an OS.
    - kqr2 17y ago
      Yes, but computing power + memory has also increased dramatically over the past 8 years.
      - ZitchDog 17y ago
        So has the speed of Windows XP.
    - axod 17y ago
      I'm interested. Can you name some OS features (Not UI effects) that take a lot of CPU that have been added? :/ What are some of the 'tons of features'?
      - gbookman 17y ago
        Walt Mossberg from the Wall Street Journal explains it pretty well: http://ptech.allthingsd.com/20091007/a-windows-to-help-you-forget/ http://ptech.allthingsd.com/20091007/a-windows-to-help-you-f...
        RiderOfGiraffes 17y ago
        I admit that I've only skimmed the article you cite, but while there are a few GUI features mentioned there, and I'm sure they're pretty and help to manage windows, etc, none of them seem to be particularly CPU hungry. It's still a question of where 7 spends its CPU money compared with XP.
      - lionhearted 17y ago
        I installed the Beta version of Win7, and am running the Release Candidate now. The visible improvements are minor evolutionary things that won't sound huge, but lead to a generally faster and better experience. Like Vista, it has the search bar built into the start menu. The taskbar is improved - you can pin icons onto it in a way that makes them easy to click and load into. It speeds things up quite a lot for commonly used things. The Taskbar also uses icons now instead of words, which works surprisingly well. There's a new library feature where anything you save in different folders can be viewable in the same library. So, you can have all your financial spreadsheets organized by month in each folder, and then have a library that shows them all next to each other. For people that do certain kinds of work with lots of files and folders, this is a godsend. For instance, people who take a lot of pictures can have all the pictures feed into one library - makes it much easier to find things instead of hunting for them. There's some added security which is good, and they stripped out their bloat. It loads fast and doesn't lag. Crashes less. There's some other under the hood improvements. It's a solid OS overall, I quite enjoy using it. You get all the benefits that Vista had, new benefits, and performance is comparable to XP. Not sure about the status on drivers - I've had a couple older games not work, so that sucks. If you run some slightly more obscure and older hardware and software that runs on XP, you might not want to upgrade to 7. If you're using a more mainstream set of applications, Windows 7 is fantastic.
  - weaksauce 17y ago
    I was hoping that they made it faster than XP. Change some fundamental data structures or disk format that would make it operate an order of magnitude faster. The real problem with XP is the slowing down of the OS over time. It seems commonplace for people to just give up and reinstall after x amount of time. I hope they can continue to keep it as fast as a fresh install of XP.
  - electromagnetic 17y ago
    Agreed, we're not dealing with cars here. The advancements in computers are radical and happen quickly, hence Moore's law. I have to agree, a comparison here is 4-doublings of processor power, meaning Windows 7 can be 16 times more CPU intensive than XP and appear to be the same speed, because it still only occupies say 5% of the total CPU usage. The comparison here is between the Model T and a new Mustang, not between a '02 model and a 2010 model.
- nexneo 17y ago
  Come back and say same when installation 6 month old. ( If you don't reinstall meanwhile )
ecaron 17y ago
Am I the only one wondering how much Microsoft paid for this article?
- aantix 17y ago
  Why, because it's favorable towards MS? I'm a devout Mac user, Windows 7 really feels polished.
  - bad_user 17y ago
    Yes, but XP is also polished ... unless by polish you mean eye-candy. The problems with XP are more under-the-hood. They tried fixing some of those in Vista, like the UAC, but it was a complete failure. I also have a 5-year-old LCD that's pretty good, but it doesn't work well with their clear-type technology. I don't understand why they haven't added a classic anti-aliasing option like I have in Linux. So to make Vista bearable, I have to deactivate all the flashy stuff, because that's the only way to have sane fonts. So it really doesn't matter if Windows 7 feels polished. Normal people will have to have real reasons to switch.
  - ecaron 17y ago
    I'm using Windows 7, too, so shame on you for leaping to thinking I'm a fan boy of any type. Rather, I call shenanigans on this article because the only source cited is a person whose company personally gains from sales "break(ing) retail records." Quoting a tech analyst or someone who has deserved authority on the manner is journalism. Quoting a sales person on a product they're selling is either a rehashed press release or a paid product placement. If it was truly breaking sales records, wouldn't Google have more than 1 version of the story (http://www.google.com/search?q=windows+7+breaking+sales+records http://www.google.com/search?q=windows+7+breaking+sales+reco...)?
decode 17y ago
"Windows 7 has become the biggest-grossing pre-order in Amazon's history worth even more than the most recent JK Rowling book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows." That's cute and everything, but Win7 Pro costs 12.5 times as much as the Harry Potter hardcover. That means Win7 could have an order of magnitude fewer pre-orders than Harry Potter and the statement would still be true. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Microsoft-Windows-Professional-Full-Version/dp/B002DUCMTC http://www.amazon.co.uk/Microsoft-Windows-Professional-Full-... http://www.amazon.co.uk/Harry-Potter-Deathly-Hallows-Adult/dp/0747591067 http://www.amazon.co.uk/Harry-Potter-Deathly-Hallows-Adult/d...
- ryanwaggoner 17y ago
  Logic and rational comparisons are not welcome in the PR world.
gojomo 17y ago
Microsoft's contribution to economic stimulus for PC makers: From http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-7/get/upgrade-advisor.aspx http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-7/get/upgrade-advis... : On the other hand, if you're running Windows XP, or any other operating system for that matter, we recommend that you experience Windows 7 on a new PC. The Laptop Scout can help you find a great PC fit for you, or you can browse through these featured PCs that can run Windows 7. And further stimulus for local computer services shops: ...And while we don't recommend it, should you choose to upgrade your current PC from Windows XP or another operating system to Windows 7, we recommend that you get help with this process from your local computer service provider. You'll need to back up your current files and settings, perform a custom (clean) installation, and then reinstall your files, settings, and programs. But just think how that last quote can be spun with a little excerpting-without-context. Microsoft says, "[W]e don't recommend... upgrad[ing] your current PC from Windows XP or another operating system to Windows 7".

17 points by clutchski 17y ago

I'm a Mac guy but Windows 7 has impressed me. They've made the speed on par with XP and made the interface much less cluttered and non-sensical.

steverb 17y ago
I read the last word as non-sensual and was wondering WTH you were takling about. I need more sleep.
axod 17y ago
>> "They've made the speed on par with XP" That's impressive? :) being comparable to an 8 year old OS?
- gbookman 17y ago
  Being able to keep speed the same after adding tons of features is very impressive for any software, let alone an OS.
  - kqr2 17y ago
    Yes, but computing power + memory has also increased dramatically over the past 8 years.
    - ZitchDog 17y ago
      So has the speed of Windows XP.
  - axod 17y ago
    I'm interested. Can you name some OS features (Not UI effects) that take a lot of CPU that have been added? :/ What are some of the 'tons of features'?
    - gbookman 17y ago
      Walt Mossberg from the Wall Street Journal explains it pretty well: http://ptech.allthingsd.com/20091007/a-windows-to-help-you-forget/ http://ptech.allthingsd.com/20091007/a-windows-to-help-you-f...
      - RiderOfGiraffes 17y ago
        I admit that I've only skimmed the article you cite, but while there are a few GUI features mentioned there, and I'm sure they're pretty and help to manage windows, etc, none of them seem to be particularly CPU hungry. It's still a question of where 7 spends its CPU money compared with XP.
    - lionhearted 17y ago
      I installed the Beta version of Win7, and am running the Release Candidate now. The visible improvements are minor evolutionary things that won't sound huge, but lead to a generally faster and better experience. Like Vista, it has the search bar built into the start menu. The taskbar is improved - you can pin icons onto it in a way that makes them easy to click and load into. It speeds things up quite a lot for commonly used things. The Taskbar also uses icons now instead of words, which works surprisingly well. There's a new library feature where anything you save in different folders can be viewable in the same library. So, you can have all your financial spreadsheets organized by month in each folder, and then have a library that shows them all next to each other. For people that do certain kinds of work with lots of files and folders, this is a godsend. For instance, people who take a lot of pictures can have all the pictures feed into one library - makes it much easier to find things instead of hunting for them. There's some added security which is good, and they stripped out their bloat. It loads fast and doesn't lag. Crashes less. There's some other under the hood improvements. It's a solid OS overall, I quite enjoy using it. You get all the benefits that Vista had, new benefits, and performance is comparable to XP. Not sure about the status on drivers - I've had a couple older games not work, so that sucks. If you run some slightly more obscure and older hardware and software that runs on XP, you might not want to upgrade to 7. If you're using a more mainstream set of applications, Windows 7 is fantastic.
- weaksauce 17y ago
  I was hoping that they made it faster than XP. Change some fundamental data structures or disk format that would make it operate an order of magnitude faster. The real problem with XP is the slowing down of the OS over time. It seems commonplace for people to just give up and reinstall after x amount of time. I hope they can continue to keep it as fast as a fresh install of XP.
- electromagnetic 17y ago
  Agreed, we're not dealing with cars here. The advancements in computers are radical and happen quickly, hence Moore's law. I have to agree, a comparison here is 4-doublings of processor power, meaning Windows 7 can be 16 times more CPU intensive than XP and appear to be the same speed, because it still only occupies say 5% of the total CPU usage. The comparison here is between the Model T and a new Mustang, not between a '02 model and a 2010 model.
nexneo 17y ago
Come back and say same when installation 6 month old. ( If you don't reinstall meanwhile )

ecaron 17y ago

Am I the only one wondering how much Microsoft paid for this article?

aantix 17y ago
Why, because it's favorable towards MS? I'm a devout Mac user, Windows 7 really feels polished.
- bad_user 17y ago
  Yes, but XP is also polished ... unless by polish you mean eye-candy. The problems with XP are more under-the-hood. They tried fixing some of those in Vista, like the UAC, but it was a complete failure. I also have a 5-year-old LCD that's pretty good, but it doesn't work well with their clear-type technology. I don't understand why they haven't added a classic anti-aliasing option like I have in Linux. So to make Vista bearable, I have to deactivate all the flashy stuff, because that's the only way to have sane fonts. So it really doesn't matter if Windows 7 feels polished. Normal people will have to have real reasons to switch.
- ecaron 17y ago
  I'm using Windows 7, too, so shame on you for leaping to thinking I'm a fan boy of any type. Rather, I call shenanigans on this article because the only source cited is a person whose company personally gains from sales "break(ing) retail records." Quoting a tech analyst or someone who has deserved authority on the manner is journalism. Quoting a sales person on a product they're selling is either a rehashed press release or a paid product placement. If it was truly breaking sales records, wouldn't Google have more than 1 version of the story (http://www.google.com/search?q=windows+7+breaking+sales+records http://www.google.com/search?q=windows+7+breaking+sales+reco...)?

decode 17y ago

"Windows 7 has become the biggest-grossing pre-order in Amazon's history worth even more than the most recent JK Rowling book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows." That's cute and everything, but Win7 Pro costs 12.5 times as much as the Harry Potter hardcover. That means Win7 could have an order of magnitude fewer pre-orders than Harry Potter and the statement would still be true. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Microsoft-Windows-Professional-Full-Version/dp/B002DUCMTC http://www.amazon.co.uk/Microsoft-Windows-Professional-Full-... http://www.amazon.co.uk/Harry-Potter-Deathly-Hallows-Adult/dp/0747591067 http://www.amazon.co.uk/Harry-Potter-Deathly-Hallows-Adult/d...

ryanwaggoner 17y ago
Logic and rational comparisons are not welcome in the PR world.

gojomo 17y ago

Microsoft's contribution to economic stimulus for PC makers: From http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-7/get/upgrade-advisor.aspx http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-7/get/upgrade-advis... : On the other hand, if you're running Windows XP, or any other operating system for that matter, we recommend that you experience Windows 7 on a new PC. The Laptop Scout can help you find a great PC fit for you, or you can browse through these featured PCs that can run Windows 7. And further stimulus for local computer services shops: ...And while we don't recommend it, should you choose to upgrade your current PC from Windows XP or another operating system to Windows 7, we recommend that you get help with this process from your local computer service provider. You'll need to back up your current files and settings, perform a custom (clean) installation, and then reinstall your files, settings, and programs. But just think how that last quote can be spun with a little excerpting-without-context. Microsoft says, "[W]e don't recommend... upgrad[ing] your current PC from Windows XP or another operating system to Windows 7".