Forums Forums Enthusiast Forums A - Z Gadgets & Tech Windows 7 - Anything but Vista

yellow dog on the ps3 atm, want to build a proper pc with it installed

As much as I love Linux, I prefer to use it from the command line and have yet to find a single GUI that actually feels comfortable or negates the need to use the command line. Whenever I use Ubuntu, Fedora or Mandriva at the GUI level, I have always found it far simpler to just do everything through the command line, the GUI methods always seem clunky and haphazard.

As far as Linux goes, it will be many year's before it is in a position to seriously challenge or compete with Windows or OSX, in the home-consumer market. Mind you, we in the industry were saying that 8 years ago and it still hasnt happened.

The most promising attempt I ever saw was conceptual and BETA versions of Lindows (now Linspire iirc) - that must have been getting on for a decade ago now, and after a promising start they got lazy and eventually it went the same way as all distro's and became a half-hearted attempt at building a GUI on top of the commend line. It reminds me of the iPhone GUI I can get for this phone, it works okay but delve beneath the surface and you soon realise its still Windows Mobile running everything. The same with all the new HTC (including the SE Xperia) devices that are trying to move their GUI's away from the standard Windows Mobile GUI.

Linux plays a massive part in my life, but I doubt it will ever be a serious contender for me within the home enviroment. I use Windows at home on both the laptop and media centre and even on my phone, long live the king lol.

Any reccomendations for a Linux that can actually do wireless WPA2 PSK AES, tried Ubuntu and Fedora, that has been the sticking point with me for the last two years, the wireless network needs to be as secure as possible.

I've been using Win7 in lab at work, I know many will disagree with me, but I think it's the best o/s yet. Also used it on a netbook and it flies. Haven't found fault with it yet - but still using in lab environment. I know work will need me to update my certs so I have to get nitty gritty with it for 70-680.. I will keep you posted with how it performs in the "real world" Looking forward to installing at home, mind you I dont have to pay for it...
I used to like W2K, wasnt keen on XP, then liked XP, wasn't keen on Vista, liked Vista and now.... Like Win7...

i take it thats using wicd network manager? as there are knows issues with it but no fix as of yet

yea im using the terminal when adding new stuff but find it easier to mod the command files on the GUI, its my first crack at linux an has impressed me, bugs fixed instantly if u know what ur doing. somethings just confuse me tho, but getting used to it now, hence y i dont want to go back to winblows.

Does anyone know why Windows 7 is currently thrashing my hard drive for an hour before it settles down (maybe). I've turned indexing off, but I can't find anything else. It's a new Windows installation and it's been pretty much doing it since it was on.
I don't really want to lose my hard drive.
I'm not impressed, it's such a pain in the arse to use and I'll put XP back on when the trial is over.

Windows 7 Has arrived,

Well my pre ordered on has with 32bit and 64 bit discs on DVD.

Not installing it until i find out its cons.
But i have it at work on virtual pc and its not WOW
from what i can see. But then again i still love XP

cool

Tell us when Windows 7 SP2 comes out,then I might change from XP

For my main system, im sticking with Vista till I get a new laptop (probably 3 years away tbh as this is an untra-portable only just bigger than a netbook but with a full fat Core2Duo on Merom and I only use it for business, and it never ever slows-down).

I was reluctant to leave XP, only ditched that last year due to me wanting an ultra-portable laptop and the new lappy coming with Vista pre-installed.

Got it how I like it now, severely hammered it down and it does as I tell it, no longer what it wants, and runs all my proggys both modern and old-school, with ease and no hassle.

The media centre is XP still, and it is staying that way forever, the OS has been installed since May 2003 and has only ever given me one problem, a few weeks back, which was quickly fixed with a quick RTLKGC.

7 has no advantage for me or my needs, XP/Vista/2000 do everything I need, and more besides.

I don't disagree with you. Win 2000 (NT 5.0) Was a joy especially after NT4, Win95 ,98 & ME not to mention Win 3.1. It worked straight from the box so to speak so it is Windows 7 (NT6.1).
Have been running it (Builds 7100 & 7600)for over 6 months now and once the the third parties fixed their drivers and software it it remarkably stable and considerably faster than XP or Vista.
Don't expect it to be XP & Vista, once you get the hang of it you will find it so much easier to use.
Just because it doen't do things in quite the same way doesn't mean it no good. Go with the flow and you will find its their best yet.
I have 2 clients one aged 86 and another 90 (both regular surfers) and they both love it as they found a lot easier to use than anything before, especially the libraries and being able to pin icons to the taskbar keeping the desktop tidy.

Just been watching the Windows 7 promotional video's, and I have to say, the vast majority of the "new features" that they are touting, are already present in Vista and have been since it's inception. They would only look good if you were running XP... so how is 7 more usable and functional than Vista? It seems they are actually trying to educate people to use the features correctly, instead of just laucnhing a new OS with no clue's as to how to use the new features. The "Start Search" for instance, is being touted as new and vital to Windows 7 increased usability, yet it is in Vista... the problem with Vista, is nobody really uses it, because everyone is used to using the start menu, and Microsoft never promoted or educated users about the new and much faster way of getting to programmes and files.

The few isolated changes that are different to Vista are generally unimportant, and certainly do not warrant me to pay £60 to upgrade to it. £20, maybe, but £60, no way.

If the backend has been changed to make it more stable and secure, that does not really interest me - my install of Vista is 100% stable and my security... ive only had one problem in the last 5 years that I can remember, and that was when I knowingly and stupidly downloaded one hell of a virus a few weeks ago and spend a few hours fixing it all manually.

They say a big improvement is that it only takes a few seconds to come out of standby??? Errr, yeah, every NT OS only takes a few seconds to come out of standby, in fact they should take less than 2 seconds, you usually end up waiting longer for the screen to warm up than the OS itself. That's why its called standby - and standby is for losers or people who simply like wasting electric. For people like me anyway, I hibernate, and it takes Vista what, 20 seconds maybe, to come out of hibernate. Say 7 cuts down to 16 seconds, big frills.

And the new way of just clicking "Connect" to connect to a wireless network... well XP with SP2 and Windows Vists both do that as well.

Oh yeah, Windows 7 incorporates Windows Media Centre... er, so does Vista! As for arranging icons and customizing your desktop, yeah, been able to do that since time began. Amazing, isnt it!

It appears to me a lot of people will buy it simple because "its the new system". Windows 7 has not moved on all that much since Longhorn was in BETA in all honesty, I think Microsoft are going to play on Vista being regarded as a failiure and 7 being the saviour, rather than 7 actually being any good or better.

Unfortunately for Microsoft, they lost their way quite a few years ago. It's been known for quite some time that the OS market will become limited and releases of new OS's will have to become further and further apart to remain sustainable. I always said that the reason Microsoft won't release Win 2000 as their main OS is because they would find it hard to improve upon it, or move customers away. And it seems they are hitting this idea now - they are clutching at straws to make changes, and in some cases, like Vista, making changes (such as the start menu) simply to make it look and feel different, and these changes more often than not wreck the usability of the system and make no sense at all. Red Dog will be their make or break OS for me.

Good stuff Matt. Being just an ordinary user it does my head in when they keep changing OS just as you get used to the last one. I'm sticking with Vista now, didn't like it at first but comfortable now. I've only got it because I couldn't get my XP back on so it was a cose of the devil driving. It's good to have a heads up from someone who knows their stuff though, cheers.

Just look at it this way, Windows 7 is essntially a glorified service pack for Windows Vista. But one that Microsoft are hoping to make shed loads of money out of, and remove the stigma that has become attatched to Vista.

Im no massive Vista fan myself, still prefer XP and overall I still prefer 2000 Professional to anything. But Vista isnt all too bad, once it's been kicked into touch, and you have disabled the little annoyances it has (UAC and folder view problems for instance - easily fixed) and learned to deal with the start-search utility instead of using the somewhat Microsoft-damaged start menu.

£59.00 for a fookin service pack? Errr, no thanks, and ill remember in the future how shady Microsoft are being with Vista customers/users. Its probably not far off a scam in all honesty.

And before you all start slating me as just another member of the "anti-MS" crew, read through my postings on Wiki over the years, I am a strong supporter of Microsoft as a whole and have had many run-ins with Microsoft haters, but I don't agree with everything they do or say and use Linux on a daily basis as the main OS my business is built upon, so I do feel I am in a very good position to understand one of the two main opposition systems to Windows (the other being OSX which im not so familiar with - we can't be a master of all trades), just like ive been a proud member of the Conservative party since I was 16 and a lifelong supporter but I don't agree with everything they say or do or disagree with every labour policy or objective and am not afraid to voice my opinion either way.