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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2009

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DAVID POGUE: SO LONG, VISTA

Windows 7 Drops: Microsoft Is Back

Redmond can be proud of its new OS: Pogue

By Jason Farago| Posted Oct 22, 09 7:41 AM CDT|

(Newser) – At last, you can put your Vista woes behind you. Microsoft's new operating system, Windows 7, which drops today, takes what's good about its predecessor—especially security and good looks—and eliminates the parts that drove users bonkers. Windows 7 isn't just substantially faster and more compatible with users' machines, it also dumps Vista's awful habit of "freaking out about every potential security threat," David Pogue finds.

Instead of the "alarmist" dialog boxes that popped up in Vista for even the most trifling actions, Windows 7 collates all warnings into a quiet "Action Center." It sure isn't perfect; you'll need good antivirus software, and it comes with almost no programs, not even an email client. Still, "Windows 7 is mostly great news," especially if you're in the market for a new computer at the holidays.

[Images (3)]

[Quotes (1)]

Windows 7 is a substantial improvement on its predecessor, says David Pogue. (AP Photo/Microsoft Corp., file)

A computer running the Windows 7 operating system, Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2009, in Redmond, Wash. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

A screenshot of Windows 7, which was released today. (©Infodad)

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

Windows 7 represents a departure from Microsoft’s usual 'success is measured by the length of the feature list' philosophy. This time around, it was, 'Polish, optimize and streamline what we’ve already got.'
- David Pogue

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

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41 comments

VIEWING:

shonangreg
Oct 22, 09 8:17 AM CDT

Unless you need some software that only runs on Windows, then you don't need Windows. Linux works for anybody who is willing to look under the hood and try to diagnose problems in online discussion groups. And if you're not comfortable doing either of those, Apple is a better choice. There is no niche for Microsoft to fill anymore. Reply

-5

IN RESPONSE:

yellowjeep
Oct 22, 09 12:01 PM CDT

Microsoft has around a 90% market share. They are the company that creates niches for others to fill.

IN RESPONSE:

JoeQ
Oct 22, 09 12:16 PM CDT

Microsoft has always been anti-competitive. Their techniques are vicious and clever. That is the principal reason why their market share is so large. The only reason to have a Microsoft OS is because the machine comes with it. If you are required to pay real money for an OS and you are tech-savvy, its time to switch to a Linux variant. If you are not tech savvy, you will probably be much happier with an apple product though will pay more for the same capability.

| 0 minutes ago

d3wd
Oct 22, 09 8:21 AM CDT

Other than for games that need Windows, I don't see any reason to buy Windows. Linux works well for me, even on older computers. Reply

| 0 minutes ago

bewilderbeast
Oct 22, 09 8:23 AM CDT

Mahvelous! It still has LOTS of security threats but hey! it "collates all warnings into a quiet "Action Center" where they don't irritate you. Gee, I can't wait to run out and buy this. Sorry, David Pogue but it sure LOOKS like you were paid for this review. Reply

-2

| 0 minutes ago

AOgan
Oct 22, 09 8:29 AM CDT

I agree, Linux is great. However, can you imagine a company converting all workstations to Linux from a Windows environment? That will not happen overnight and the cost (training, turnover, support, etc) to do something with an enormous impact is very unlikely to happen in most companies. Reply

IN RESPONSE:

Ted_Sheckler
Oct 22, 09 9:20 AM CDT

This is why most corporations are still on XP with no plans to switch off.

IN RESPONSE:

shonangreg
Oct 22, 09 10:44 AM CDT

Exactly. Migrating from one version of Windows to another is perhaps even more difficult than migrating from Windows to Linux. ........... And not everything works in Linux. MS Excel files do not work right under OpenOffice.

-4

IN RESPONSE:

AClotfelter
Oct 22, 09 12:45 PM CDT

"Migrating from one version of Windows to another is perhaps even more difficult than migrating from Windows to Linux." Absurd!! Hogwash!!!

IN RESPONSE:

shonangreg
Oct 22, 09 5:21 PM CDT

Reinstalling *the same* version of Windows (Win2000) from scratch was more difficult than changing to Linux (Ubuntu) for me. That is what catalyzed my switch.

-1

IN RESPONSE:

AClotfelter
Oct 22, 09 5:26 PM CDT

"Reinstalling *the same* version of Windows (Win2000) from scratch was more difficult than changing to Linux (Ubuntu) for me. That is what catalyzed my switch." I don't know what to say to that...

IN RESPONSE:

shonangreg
Oct 23, 09 9:05 AM CDT

I'm not exaggerating. Reinstalling the base Win2000 OS was to be followed by the OS updates, in order from the last SP update, and then Office from the original CD and then a separate MS Publisher and then their updates sequentially . . . get the order wrong here or there and you have problems -- taking quite a bit of research and then 4-5 hours of updating. ........................... Ubuntu. I installed the most recent version from a freely downloaded CD; OpenOffice was included in the base install -- other software easily added; it updated itself *and all its software* the first time I ran it. Finished. Less than an hour and very little intervention, as I recall.

| 0 minutes ago

cochiserocks
Oct 22, 09 8:30 AM CDT

It's a shame that given their resources and brains they have working for them, they can't come up with anything better - maybe Microsoft is just too established and too large to move sideways anymore Reply

IN RESPONSE:

AClotfelter
Oct 22, 09 9:17 AM CDT

Better in what way?

-1

IN RESPONSE:

cochiserocks
Oct 22, 09 10:27 AM CDT

You know - like ......er.....better! As in - not just the same thing but faster, but some innovation, something which is going to change to playing field a bit, something which is as equally revolutionary as their original concept - you know - Better!

-2

IN RESPONSE:

psycada
Oct 22, 09 9:39 PM CDT

Fully Integrated Multi-Touch capabilities. We have had dablings into touch screen for the past few OSs from MS, but full touchscreen support will make it infinitely easier for regular consumers to transition to touch screen input devices, which will help drive the price down drastically. Not sure if how well MAC or Linux implement this so far, but I think it will be huge the company with 90% market share has made this standard from here out.

| 0 minutes ago

Mia
Oct 22, 09 8:30 AM CDT

http://whatreallysucks.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/n82000825-30548566-1635.jpg Reply

IN RESPONSE:

drlarrymitchell
Oct 22, 09 8:57 AM CDT

That was perfect.

-1

IN RESPONSE:

stavi82
Oct 22, 09 9:46 AM CDT

Heh, website is blocked thanks to Vista. My co-worker can see it just fine on XP!

IN RESPONSE:

Wills
Oct 22, 09 11:08 AM CDT

Yep that about sums it up. Not that vista was good, but all the people saying "Linux works fine" just do not understand that no matter how customizable and open it is, the average computer user doesn't want to dick around with a bash prompt for half an hour just to get a program to work.

IN RESPONSE:

Galileo
Oct 22, 09 5:02 PM CDT

I don't argue that if you know what you're doing you can get along fantastically with a PC, but something being intuitive doesn't make it impotent, and something being complicated doesn't make it powerful.

| 0 minutes ago

SemperFI
Oct 22, 09 8:32 AM CDT

God....anythings better than Vista Reply

| 0 minutes ago

bewilderbeast
Oct 22, 09 8:35 AM CDT

It gets worse, reading the rest of Pogue's article: Although there is LOTS more wrong with 7, he writes: "Otherwise, though, Windows 7 is mostly great news". Hello-o? ------ The clincher: It doesn't matter anyway. Microsoft is not going to try and sell it to you. You're just going to get it anyway! MS will pre-install it in all sorts of PC's. Where are the anti-trust people when they should be working? Reply

-1

IN RESPONSE:

AClotfelter
Oct 22, 09 8:45 AM CDT

MS doesn't pre-install it on any PCs, the PC manufacturers do.

IN RESPONSE:

bewilderbeast
Oct 22, 09 10:12 AM CDT

Why?

-1

IN RESPONSE:

Wills
Oct 22, 09 11:09 AM CDT

Um, because its a stable recognized OS with a solid UI and good program compatibility?

| 0 minutes ago

Citrixguy
Oct 22, 09 8:36 AM CDT

been running win 7 for months now and no issues. Reply

IN RESPONSE:

Timinator2K
Oct 22, 09 8:41 AM CDT

I'm still going to wait for SP1.

IN RESPONSE:

AClotfelter
Oct 22, 09 8:44 AM CDT

Waiting for an SP is obviously your right, but since Win7 is really just an SP for Vista in the first place, I don't think it is necessary.

IN RESPONSE:

Timinator2K
Oct 22, 09 8:57 AM CDT

Yeah, you're right...all "New & Improved!" versions of anything are, as you say, just fixes for the old. Might as well go for 7, I liked it at a conference I got to dink around with it.

IN RESPONSE:

AClotfelter
Oct 22, 09 9:02 AM CDT

If you use Vista, there is no reason not to get 7, if you use XP or "other", than it will be more of a learning curve, but still a good bet. Vista users will be right at home with the Win 7 interface...

| 0 minutes ago

AClotfelter
Oct 22, 09 8:42 AM CDT

Vista has been great for me for 3+ years, and 7 has been even better for the past 6 months... Win7 is definitely based on Vista, and that is a good thing. Too many people who have never used it, or only used it for a short time, have bashed Vista into Edsel status. I definitely see why MS decided to reband this Vista update as Windows 7... it is vastly similar, and just look at how much everyone thinks it is soooooo much better! It is better, but not the vast differece you would expect given reviews like this. Reply

IN RESPONSE:

AClotfelter
Oct 22, 09 8:48 AM CDT

The manin difference between Vista and 7 (other than some cosmetic changes) is that the Win7 code is cleaned up a little, and runs on lower-end PCs better than Vista. You are still going to want a reasonable amount of RAM (1-2 GB should work, and 4+GB is excellent)

| 0 minutes ago

drlarrymitchell
Oct 22, 09 8:55 AM CDT

We'll see... Reply

| 0 minutes ago

BOPOH
Oct 22, 09 10:02 AM CDT

Windows 7 third best 7. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_of_Nine http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mickey_Mantle Reply

| 0 minutes ago

djs
Oct 22, 09 10:04 AM CDT

Use the program WINE to run Windows programs on Linux (Ubuntu). Reply

IN RESPONSE:

d3wd
Oct 22, 09 3:32 PM CDT

Unfortunately, WINE simply won't work with many Windows programs. It's not a big deal for me, but potential Linux users should know this.

| 0 minutes ago

alkaseltzersammich
Oct 22, 09 11:17 AM CDT

I game quite a bit so I'm actually excited for Windows 7. When the new DirectX comes out I'm building another PC. Reply

| 0 minutes ago

lolpie
Oct 22, 09 1:34 PM CDT

Vista wasn't THAT bad. If you're mildly computer literate and have common sense it's a pretty good OS. This is not counting Vista for work/schools, etc Reply

| 0 minutes ago

embersyc
Oct 22, 09 3:43 PM CDT

I am buying a Windows 7 Laptop this weekend most likely. Reply

| 0 minutes ago

Forderon
Oct 22, 09 9:26 PM CDT

XP til I die! Reply

| 0 minutes ago

View all 41 comments »

Microsoft • Microsoft Vista • PCs • operating system • upgrades • David Pogue • Windows 7 • Windows 7 review

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Windows 7 Drops: Microsoft Is Back