Windows 7 Released Early In UK 194
CNETNate writes "UK customers have been reporting that they received their copies of Windows 7 in the mail today. Currently the British postal service is threatening industrial action over pay, and planned walkouts may result in Windows 7 not being delivered on its release date. It is understood that Microsoft has agreed to let some retailers send out copies early to avoid disappointment, and to make the UK the first country in the world to have Windows 7 in customers' hands."
Who'd have thought... (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Who'd have thought... (Score:3, Insightful)
I've noticed a few companies using this as a marketing device.
"Free UK delivery" (for a limited time)
"No postal delays!" (posted using a different service)
I'm sure there is a succinct, yet cheesy marketing term for using current events as a selling points.
Re:Who'd have thought... (Score:3, Insightful)
If I were to hazard a guess, it would be so that any possible show-stopper bugs would be found and hopefully fixed before the public got their hands on the copy and the rumor game started up.
MS was bitten by this with Vista. Once Joe Sixpack heard from his friend who is slightly more technical than he was, that Vista sucked (even though the reasons why were not listed), Vista rapidly got a bad reputation that it could not shake even with multiple service packs and several generations of hardware. With Windows 7, should there be any real nasty issues (and so far, there are not), Microsoft has some lead time to get them pushed to Windows Update before the product faces judgment by the masses.
Re:Who'd have thought... (Score:5, Insightful)
Microsoft is carefully stage-managing the hype.
They are well aware that they need a win, some way to coax computer users off XP without frightening them into jumping off the Windows ship altogether. They can't take a risk by producing an innovative or interesting OS, but they still need to generate some excitement to erase all the bad feeling generated by Vista.
So they release a mildly facelifted version of their failed OS, rely on improved hardware to mask the worst of the sluggishness and hype it to the max.
Profit.
Re:The UK isn't a country (Score:2, Insightful)
You just met one. I do it all the time, and I'm not alone.
And American's do it a lot - "How's everything in England?" even if the person is in Wales, and referring to those people as "English". It's part-ignorance, part-fuzzy-definitions and part-convenience.
Re:The UK isn't a country (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Who'd have thought... (Score:2, Insightful)
I don't use Microsoft's OS or any of their other products for that matter.
The people who make the software I use already listen to my feedback, and don't have a history of abusing my trust.
Why would I help Microsoft? They've done nothing to earn my loyalty and a lot to earn my contempt.
Re:Who'd have thought... (Score:5, Insightful)
I know it's heresy on /. but Windows 7 is actually quite good. Seriously.
Maybe we can now just stop all the holy wars and live in peace and harmony while celebrating the diversity of software available. I can dream can't I? :)
PS. Steve Jobs smells.
Re:Who'd have thought... (Score:3, Insightful)
It's all wrong.
Your OS shouldn't be shiny, showy, or dazzling. It shouldn't be interesting. It should exist simply as a framework for launching other programs, and it should do so in as unobtrustive and as small a manner as possible. If you're taking up resources that should otherwise go to productive programs, you are stealing from me.
When I'm diving, I wear fins so I can move around underwater and I use a regulator so I have air. I don't want to be thinking "wow, this is a great regulator" or "these fins are fantastic". I want to be thinking about what kind of fish that is, or how that coral looks in the light.
When I'm doing renovations on my house, I don't want to think about how nice or innovative the power company is. I want to think about how to cut the wood to fit or what colour to paint the finished product.
By the same token, I don't want to think about how my OS works. I want to use the tools that the OS allows me to use.
Re:Who'd have thought... (Score:3, Insightful)
Not going to happen. For large business needs, maybe. But even then, the Royal Mail beats its competitors hands down on price, which really matters when you start talking in bulk terms.
Is it really worth paying up to 10 times as much to get it one day early? Especially when you consider the sorting offices for post offices are local and often within 1-2 miles of you address. Whereas the FedEx style companies have only one office/distribution centre and its always outside of town/city in some crappy industrial estate with no bus service to it. So if you miss the package you have to fork out almost as much as it cost you to have it delivered in the first place and go through the inconvenience.
I've had no problems with company itself (it's a private company btw, despite its name) just a few of their staff. My problems with my postie were dealt with extremely fast and not only was he fired, but they promptly called the police in and my stolen mail was returned :)