Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Well Win 7 Is Still Running

Actually it's boring, no hangs, no delays, nothing shocking as far as system stability goes, it just runs. It's been a few days now, I'm annoyed by the transparent gooble-d-gook a lot, I know you can turn it off or vary the degree of transparency but I wanted to try this install with the factory defaults and so far...
it all works for me except the transparent windows layers bullshit. It's there for a reason but I cannot fathom what the reason is. If I wanted to actually SEE the semit-transparent hidden background I'd close this window, instead I see a blurred reminder that there is something under what I'm actually looking at. Huh? Why? I will eventually turn the feature off if I'm allowed. What I plan to do is take you on a tour of it feature by feature, of course you don't have the thing actually installed but that's the point, maybe I can save you the bother!
___
I've discussed the openning screen, the sign on thingie and the rays of light fbeaming down to a Japanese Fighting Fish in mid screen. Excited? Hmmmm, something wrong there. So you click on the funny round thing with the Windows Banner inside...the un-named Start Button. Oh it's ok, a little bubble will show the name when you place the cursor over it. Click on it and a large dialog box appears with
the following listed:
Getting Started
Windows Media Center
Sticky Notes
Snipping Tool
Calculator
Paint
Windows Live Mail
Windows Live Writer (Here because I set it up allong the way somehow, don't ask!)
All Programs
___
That's it, not fancy, not all inclusive, sorta a huh moment while you try to figure out what you are going to do with this thing.
I'll take you thru each one as I experience them.
Getting Started...seems like a place to start don't you think? I did, so I clicked it...
l'viola! A dialog box appears

Sunday, January 11, 2009

Windows 7 Continued

The download completed, all 3.18 Gigs of code and bulk about 4.5 hrs later at 6:15am today.  I  had success negotiating thru the maelstrom of sign in activities and email checking and the download was finally on it’s way.  Then to sleep.   I awake about 7am and found that the iso file had indeed been downloaded.  I burned it to a DVD using Active Iso-Burner, a free utility from http://www.ntfs.com/iso-burning.htm .  A handy little gem.   The burn took off and I left the house for 907 where we are renovating a small rental house.  We returned at 4:30pm and I found Windows 7 properly burned and ready to install.  The install took about an hour on this machine, your mileage may/will vary.  After the usual raz-ma-taz of entering names and various passwords I had Windows 7 up and running at about 6:30pm.  It looks like Vista on steroids.  It’s actually named Windows 7 Ultimate.  The first noticeable thing is how much faster it is to power on and get to work, yes there’s a sign on but that can be bypassed easily enough with the settings…but it easily is the fastest booting Windows in recent memory.  The screen was the eerie blue of the sea with, of all things, a Fighting Fish in mid-screen, no kidding.  It’s the default theme. The start button is where it has been for the last bunch of versions, the lower right corner.  That’s where the fun begins.

Windows 7 Beta...Ohhhh No!!!

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-7/beta-installation-instructions.aspx

There it is up for the offing, a real Microsoft Windows 7 Beta Download URL and good luck to all those who venture forth. I've seen and used many of the Beta software from good ol' Microsoft and have to say that with the singular exception of Microsoft Bob...yes! they all worked until I pulled them off to mount the Real Deal.
I also always took the precaution of using a bare, new hard drive as my installation disk. I always do a Clean Install not wanting to drag old issues into the new OS environment. Given that here we are once again crowding Microsoft's ever busy server farm with millions of downloads of this not small Beta Release. It's 3.15 GB worth of software, fat brothers, fat! And it's an ISO file so you must burn it to to a DVD to make it function at all. Not for mere mortals this thing. You must sign in too to Windows Live. Verify your email address too past all those spam filters. And it'll die on 1 August so says Microsoft. Nice. You see it's for free alright but it is a Beta and they want you to buy it at the end of the Beta test. Fair enough. Now it only has to impress me more than my 64 bit Vista install (1 machine) or my XP Pro Installs (3 machines) and have a reasonable price for complete functionality not the goofy model offered by Vista of so many versions before you get the Real Deal. Awful that was, just awful. And...when you got thru with the Vista install often times it was slower than your old XP install. Makes one crazy doesn't it. So as Vista was a near bomb and many are still doing fine with XP and the 2nd Great Depression seems upon us how is MS going to get us to buy this puppy in numbers big enough to justify it's dvelopment cost? Therin lies the problem gentlemen and gentlewomen. Will it sell this time around?