OT: Windows 7 beta (64bit)

blink3times wrote on 1/12/2009, 9:29 AM
Well... for the most part it looks and acts like a re-bagged Vista. There are a few pluses though.

First thing I noticed... (for my machine.... 8 gigs ram) the default install was with 0 paging file.

Got a few more features, Bitlocker now works on all drives without the previously necessary bios hardware. This is nice; WMP now plays TS, M2T, M2TS.... and all the other TS's and it does it smoothly. If you use WMP as the default you now get thumbnail views of ALL video files.

It's got the option to install "location sensors"?!? (a GPS account of where the computer is)... I guess for employers checking on the location of their staff with the company laptop????3

Both Vegas 8c and 8.1 seem to work... although I couldn't test the audio... couldn't install my Vista sound card drivers.... which may be a setup for further driver issues and updates required.

The dreaded and hated UAC system now has a slider so that you can either turn it off or leave it on and adjust its strength.

The machine rating system now goes to 7.9 instead of 5.9

Windows 7 also default installs with an automatically timed desktop background changer.

Overall though... unless something massive has changed under the hood that I have yet to discover... i don't see any real advantage to Windows 7 over Vista (64) at all.

Comments

apit34356 wrote on 1/12/2009, 9:56 AM
Thanks, Blink! We need more info from everyone's experience with MS 7. The zero pagefile sounds good, but 1,2-4 gig memory systems will probably show how much bloat code has been refined. ;-)
Xander wrote on 1/12/2009, 10:05 AM
The lack of thumbnails in Vista and before has always been my biggest gripe. Basically had to switch to Adobe Bridge to find stuff. Thumbnails in Windows Explorer will definitely be a welcome addition.
eVoke wrote on 1/12/2009, 10:22 AM
I downloaded both versions Friday night and installed the 64bit version on an old 120GB HDD I had laying around. I've been impressed with what I've seen so far [I've only had about 90 minutes to toy around with it so far] this weekend. Even with somewhat limited driver support I'm still impressed with what i've seen so far.

Stats between Windows 7 Ultimate 64 and Vista Ultimate 64

Install time:
Vista Ultimate 64: 42 minutes
Windows 7 Ultimate 64: 29 minutes



Boot time:
Vista Ultimate 64: 35 seconds
Windows 7 Ultimate 64: 35 seconds +/- [I haven't officially timed it yet but it's extremely close to my Vista boot time - perhaps slightly faster]



Processes:
Vista Ultimate 64: 50 - 55
Windows 7 Ultimate 64: 30 - 33


GeekBench scoring: wanted to see if there would be any gains in system performance with less processes running in the background
Vista Ultimate 64: 5800
Windows 7 Ultimate 64: 5890
ddm wrote on 1/12/2009, 10:50 AM
I installed the 32 bit version on my 5 year old Toshiba laptop and it works very well, for the most part. DVD's crash the thing, but everything else is a good deal faster than Vista. I had to install the XP video driver for my Nvidia 5200 Go chipset (32 mb shared ram max), but that worked, too, but is probably the reason that dvd's lock up the system.

Sebaz wrote on 1/12/2009, 2:10 PM
I installed it mostly to play with it, but I kept installing my software and everything seems to work really good so far. It's impressive for a beta 1 OS from Redmond. Vegas seems to work just as good (or as bad) as in Vista 64. I think I will take some homebrew benchmarks to see if Vegas is slower or faster than in Vista 64 and post them here.
ushere wrote on 1/12/2009, 5:31 PM
curiosity....

what happens at the end of the beta period? i realise it probably ceases to function, but if i've installed it, set it up, etc., can i purchase (on line?) and download full version and simply 'upgrade' my installation without losing anything?

i've beta tested in the past, but it was always software, not os, and never suffered any ill-effects (apart from loss of hair) installing / uninstalling such software.

might add i'm NOT thinking of trying it out on any of my 'working' pc's!

leslie
Himanshu wrote on 1/12/2009, 8:16 PM
Leslie,

Remember the purpose of beta testing is to find bugs and give feedback, not to end up with production software/system at the end of the beta cycle.

Even if you purchased Windows 7 after the beta, I would strongly suggest that you discard the beta installation. There's no substitute for a clean install of a released product. Continuing usage of a beta product (OS or any other beta software) is going to get you in trouble at the most inopportune time!
ushere wrote on 1/12/2009, 8:58 PM
thanks himanshu....

point taken. as i wrote, it was more out of curiosity. as it is, i'm unlikely to move from xp pro till win 7 is out wth perhaps its first sp!

i'm more concerned at the moment in trying to decide whether 7, let alone vista (32bit) offer me any advantage using my normal editing tools, ie, vegas, ps cs3, etc.,

i shall watch the bpard with great interest....

leslie
Himanshu wrote on 1/13/2009, 4:37 PM
i shall watch the bpard with great interest....

Excuse my ignorance, but what's bpard?
Cliff Etzel wrote on 1/13/2009, 4:56 PM
I think it's a typo for board... (O & P keys are next to each other)

Cliff Etzel - Solo Video Journalist
bluprojekt | solo video journalism blog
ushere wrote on 1/13/2009, 8:47 PM
thanks cliff....

my mind races along at twice the speed of my fingers, and if you think my five remaining (functioning) brain cells can cope with my finger typo's, that's asking way too much......

leslie
Matt Houser wrote on 1/14/2009, 8:02 AM
If you have a fast enough machine, you can use VirtualPC (free) or VMWare ($$$) to setup a Windows 7 "machine" running inside your normal production machine. This allows you to play on your production machine without messing up the real thing.

...Matt
kentwolf wrote on 1/14/2009, 8:30 AM
Question: Are these betas of Windows 7 a downloadable thing?

If so, from where?

Thanks.
MozartMan wrote on 1/14/2009, 9:25 AM
Windows 7 download:

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-7/beta-download.aspx
blink3times wrote on 1/14/2009, 6:54 PM
"After selecting "download" I don't see a download window. Is that normal for this?"

no.
I had the same problem with firefox. I had to switch to IE