Microsoft Confirms October 22 Release Date For Windows 7 182
techwrench was one of several readers to send word that Microsoft has officially announced Windows 7 will be generally available on October 22nd. They also mentioned the Windows 7 Upgrade Option Program:
"This program enables participating retailers and OEMs to offer a special deal to upgrade to Windows 7 for customers purchasing a qualifying PC. I'll be doing another blog post about this program with a date and more details when we get closer to availability. Obviously, Release To Manufacturing (RTM) is an important milestone on the path to GA. We anticipate that we'll be able to make the RTM code for Windows 7 available to our partners sometime in the 2nd half of July. We also expect to be able to make RTM code for Windows Server 2008 R2 available to our partners in this time frame as well."
Great (Score:3)
Re: (Score:1)
Re: (Score:2)
I'm very skeptical. (Score:3, Interesting)
I'm very skeptical. Our October 22, 2011 adoption date may be delayed. Let everyone else have the hassles, as they did with Vista and Windows ME, and several versions of DOS. Bringing out unfinished versions has been very profitable for Microsoft.
Windows XP had very serious, but not obvious, problems until SP2.
Windows 7 is just another version of Windows NT, but Microsoft calls it an entirely new operating system, and most people accep
Re: (Score:2)
Vista SP2 is already out there.
Re: (Score:2, Insightful)
Even a gold plated, extra shiny, polished turd [discovery.com] is still a turd at heart.
Re: (Score:2)
As I work in a mostly Novell-based environment, I won't be advocating anything past XP32 yet in a while.
There is no Novell client for XP64 and the Vista (and thus also W7) client is a complete disaster that is more or less useless.
Re: (Score:2)
I've been stalling buying a laptop because of the Vista debacle. I refuse to pay for a Vista license, plain and simple. That includes paying for a Vista license plus some extra fee to allow me to upgrade to either XP or Windows 7.
Because of this, I have not been able to buy the type of laptop I am looking for for several years now.
Yes, I know that there are Windows-free laptops available. I also know that they are either A) lousy hardware/low-end specs; B) off-brand, or C) too high-priced, i.e., Apple.
Re: (Score:2)
I refuse to pay for a Vista license, plain and simple. That includes paying for a Vista license plus some extra fee to allow me to upgrade to either XP or Windows 7.
That's not how it works.
Go look at business class machines from Dell.com right now.
The price for Vista Business and Vista Busines w/ XP Pro Downgrade are the same.
More than enough time... (Score:3, Interesting)
Does anyone else have this issue? Am I insane? Will Dudley Do-Right save Nell Fenwick?
Re: (Score:2)
Aside from the history of Creative Labs, I'd suggest you get a new sound card. Not that it's any fun or anything to do so, but it'll be less aggravating in the long run.
Even the poor performance of having an integrated sound system beats a sound system that you don't even turn on, and there's plenty of alternatives.
The history of Creative Labs is anything but creative: they're a vendor. They have other people make their chips, and all they do is brand the product (and maybe, maybe, write a program or two
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
It's good to hear that there are drivers out there that are usable. Kudos on the dedication of the community support!
Re:More than enough time... (Score:4, Insightful)
...for Creative Labs to get on the ball and release 64bit audio drivers for the X-Fi series that don't cause constant crackling and odd behavior. I swear, past their XP drivers, the drivers for Vista and Win7 are horrid. Least I got a USB headset that works well. The rest of my Win7 RC test machine works wonderfully though, save for the sound, which is driving me insane.
I'm told (2nd hand anecdotal evidence: I've not used a Creative sound card in some time) that Creative have been somewhat lacking in the quality driver department for some time, so I wouldn't hold your breath.
If you are having trouble with their Vista drivers after all this time what makes you thing they'll get good quality Win7 drivers released in the next six months?
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Any suggestions on a good 5.1 card?
In recent years (since a Creative card refused to work with any driver I tried after I'd upgraded my main desktop machine to XP in ~2005) I've been using the on-board sound support on motherboards and finding it good enough for my not-very-good ears not to care about the difference.
Re: (Score:2)
turtle beach cards have been orders of magnitude better than creatives best cards for several years now.
The cheapie Montego Bay back in 2005 was far better in every way to creatives best and most expensive card made.
Re: (Score:2)
(...) so I wouldn't hold your breath.
I would imagine it's very difficult to hold someone else's breath.
I find a good pillow and the element of surprise work wonders.
Re: (Score:1)
I am having sound issues as well. 1 out of every 3 times (without fail) I put my Win7 machine to sleep it wakes up w/no audio claiming it cannot find the device. I'm using an Asus motherboard with onboard sound. The C-Media CM6501 Audio Driver is what I would be using, and have tried, but to no avail.
I'm also having problems with disc encryption. I whole disc encrypted my XP partition which is fine, accept when it is mounted in my Win7 partition Win7 can't "fall asleep". This has nothing to do with the
Re: (Score:2)
Now that MS, once primarily an OS developer, is seriously in hardware business [xbox.com], Creative needs to think about a graceful exit strategy from the MS Windows market. Just look at what happened when MS decided to sell software. Previous partners like Lotus and SSI saw what happens when MS want market share.
Re: (Score:2)
Um, no, the tabloid you linked to said that. Microsoft only said that they have new keyboards, mice, and webcams that leverage some of Win7's snazzy new features.
And why the hell would Creative get out of the PC audio market because Microsoft makes game consoles? That would be like Chrysler throwing in the towel on automobiles because they couldn't compete with Braun razors.
Oh, BTW, Microsoft did an own-brand sound card back in the early 1990s, and it was an also-ran. They left the market and never came bac
Re: (Score:2)
Re:More than enough time... (Score:4, Funny)
...for Creative Labs to get on the ball and release 64bit audio drivers for the X-Fi series that don't cause constant crackling and odd behavior. I swear, past their XP drivers, the drivers for Vista and Win7 are horrid.
Until Microsoft can deliver drivers for popular off-the-shelf peripherals, Windows will never be more than a niche toy for geeks who like to spend more time tinkering with their OS than actually using it.
Re: (Score:2)
Oh, right, Microsoft should write all drivers themselves...yees, thats right! hahah :D
But that's the standard people hold Linux to. Fair's fair: if Linux is expected to support everything in the world itself, then Windows should be expected to as well.
Acer actually wrong then? (Score:5, Funny)
That statement could not possibly be more precisely wrong, as it turns out. They will actually be selling Windows 7 a day before the 23rd of October.
Re: (Score:2)
"'We won't be actually selling [Windows 7] a day before the 23rd October" [slashdot.org] That statement could not possibly be more precisely wrong, as it turns out. They will actually be selling Windows 7 a day before the 23rd of October.
Actually what they said is quite factual. The "23rd October" would have started on roughly 10/01/0023 and there's no way they'd be selling Windows 7 before then. If they meant the "23rd of October" then that's a different case entirely :P
Re: (Score:2)
Am I the only one... (Score:3, Funny)
... to discover that?
10/22 = 10 2 2 ... Maybe a subliminal message?
substract 1 to each number: 9 1 1
yeah... should stop working and go back home.
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
Re: (Score:2)
It is especially easy to do it with irrational numbers like pi or e. Since they do not terminate and are not periodic, you can find quite literally anything you want in them.
Re: (Score:2)
you can find quite literally anything you want in them
Quite true, and there's even a nice little tool to help you do that : http://www.subidiom.com/pi/ [subidiom.com]
Re: (Score:2)
I'm sure it will be (Score:2, Insightful)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Yeah well, other software products "go gold" and then ship it off for printing and a prerelease leak of that is rare but windows is different. In addition to go off to CD printing, basicly they ship it to all the manufacturers to test out on all their computer models. That version (called RTM) is essentially the same as the retail version and always leaked on torrents because it's in fairly wide distribution. I doubt Microsoft cares, I mean first to play the latest FPS game or watch the latest blockbuster s
Wow (Score:2)
Microsoft has officially announced Windows 7 will be generally available on October 22nd
Boy, I think that was the loudest collective yawn I've heard in years!
Re:So? (Score:5, Funny)
Re:So? (Score:5, Insightful)
If you work in IT, it's difficult not to care about Windows when it's 90% of the market.
Re:So? (Score:4, Insightful)
If you work in IT, it's difficult not to care about Windows when it's 90% of the market.
Before people pounce on him like the lynchmob this website is, it's rarely the people in IT who want to stay with windows. It's almost always the PHB or CEO who has been sold on it because he went to a big conference and they had a Windows 7 booth that gave him a free light up pen. I want to move to Linux in the company I work for, but people in the various departments will always drag their feet and be resistant to it.
Re:So? (Score:5, Funny)
That gives me an idea. We should set up a Linux light-up pen giveaway program. The pens will come disassembled in the package, and there will be no instructions on how to put it together. Oh, and the package will include the wrong size batteries. We can also include a little fold-up card that says "Open and read only as a last resort" on the outside. And when they finally give in and open the card, it will say "Figure it out yourself, noob! It's only a pen!" That's a surefire way of giving PHBs and other management the "true" Linux experience. : p
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
That's a surefire way of giving PHBs and other management the "true" Linux experience. : p
That, my friend, is what consultants are there for.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
I install windows:
Have to install raid drivers - reboot
Have to install various MB drivers - reboot
Have to install audio drivers -reboot
Have to install video drivers - reboot
Have to close out of (3?) wizards to get to the desktop and online
I install linux: done and online
Re:So? (Score:4, Interesting)
Before people pounce on him like the lynchmob this website is, it's rarely the people in IT who want to stay with windows.
I work in IT and like to stay on Windows. I use Windows at work and with my lab at home for both workstations and servers. There have been times that I have used Linux for certain play projects, but honestly at the end of the day I end up going back to Windows. The only Linux/BSD variant I'm currently running is Monowall for my firewall. The last time I ran Linux as my primary workstation is when I played Quake and Team Fortress, and connected to the Internet through Netcom and my 28.8kbps modem :) I feel that I am a true IT geek too. I love working with computers, no matter what platform it is running. I love working with routers, firewalls, switches (I have a CCNA).
Maybe one can say that I'm not a real IT person, or that people like me are not that common, but the truth is there are a lot of people in IT who prefer staying with Windows.
Re:So? (Score:4, Funny)
(I have a CCNA)
I do too, and I have karma to burn so I am going to say this joke:
How do you get a CCNA off your porch? Pay for your pizza.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
saddly that is what it has turned into..
i didn't even bother renewing my CCNA 6-8 years ago..
while the NP's are still worth it and the IE is still a simi exclusive club..
Certs can only get you so far..
honestly i think these cram and coaching classes for certs should be banned
Re: (Score:2, Redundant)
I don't want to move to linux on the desktop for the ordinary users. With the range and amount of crappy software (designed for windows 98!) that their managers insist they MUST have that is windows only and doesn't have a linux analog, I can live without the grief of desktop virtualization.
Add to that the many staff than can't handle when an option moves two places down in a menu on office, or how to fix the 'problem' that I've already shown them how to fix three times this week, I'd spend my entire day ju
Re: (Score:2)
and the big e IS the internet)
On my Dad's computer the only way I got him to use Firefox was by deleting all icons to IE. The only way to run it at this point was by Start>Run iexplore.
Re: (Score:2)
and the big e IS the internet)
On my Dad's computer the only way I got him to use Firefox was by deleting all icons to IE. The only way to run it at this point was by Start>Run iexplore.
I don't understand. Was your dad unhappy with Internet Explorer? Why were you forcing one option on him over another. I don't care what technology it is, I make sure I give the user what they want. I biggest pet peeve is when an "IT" guy will come in and change someones desktop to meet the "IT" guy's need and not the users.
This was before IE8 came out. Firefox 3 + Adblock+, along with the immunuzed system from Spybot will save me the trouble of having to clean his computer of virus' and spyware every few months.
Actually... (Score:5, Informative)
They used LTSP and tftp to boot the image off the server, essentially making the desktops terminals.
If I were setting up an office, that would be the way I would go. Everything is centralized and easily backed up.
It is an office environment, after all. The users probably complained the first month, then got over it and did their work.
Re:So? (Score:4, Informative)
Re: (Score:2)
you know you can go out and buy light up pen's with anything printed on them.
get some "linux" pens and other marketing crap made up. drop them on the brain-dead CTO and even rewrite some of the MSFT FUD campaign materials to target Microsoft with linux as the savior.
Oh and throw out every copy of Information Week that arrives. That useless RAG does more damage to IT than anything else.... well maybe CIO magazine, that one is typically nothing but damage as well.
I always find that the dragging of feet is ba
Re: (Score:2)
Before people pounce on him like the lynchmob this website is, it's rarely the people in IT who want to stay with windows. It's almost always the PHB or CEO who has been sold on it because he went to a big conference and they had a Windows 7 booth that gave him a free light up pen. I want to move to Linux in the company I work for, but people in the various departments will always drag their feet and be resistant to it.
All of which is well and good, but have you actually analysed business needs lately? Most businesses have all sorts of boring admin needs which nobody writing free software would be even remotely likely to find interesting - and nobody writing commercial software could justify the man-hours for the return.
I can give you a few cases in hand:
I defy you to find me a payroll and accounts package suitable for the small business which runs on Linux. There exist legacy systems which only need a terminal emulator
Re: (Score:2)
Ever hear of a little company called Novell? eDirectory does everything you've considered.
As for spending a fortnight figuring out how to get started... well, frankly, if you're setting up any kind of directory service, you SHOULD be spending a good amount of time figuring things out. That kind of thing shouldn't be setup or a
Re: (Score:2)
Nope, haven't discounted anything from Microsoft. My point was that there ARE other solutions, even commercial, out there. Whether you think they are deficient or not probably shows that you haven't even bothered to look at the alternatives.
Re: (Score:1, Troll)
There are a few of us fortunate to work in Mac shops. :)
Re:So? (Score:4, Insightful)
If you work in IT, it's difficult not to care about Windows when it's 90% of the market.
True, but I am getting better at it every day.
Re: (Score:2)
If you work in IT, it's difficult not to care about Windows when it's 90% of the market.
Yeah. It feels like driving a Ferrari. It's difficult not to care about the other cars when they constitute 90% of the traffic.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
If an IT department is savvy enough to be installing Linux on their servers, then why the hell are they purchasing Microsoft licenses that they don't need? I work for an organization that runs Windows Server. We buy HP Proliant hardware. Every server box that we buy from HP comes as a bare metal box that we then load Windows onto. We also have a Proliant running Ubuntu for the web guys to do their dev work on. That came into the building as a bare metal box also.
Where are you getting the numbers to bac
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
I've never worked in huge enterprises that is for sure. My experience has been in medium sized organizations with budgets between $1-100 million a year. At the top end of the scale, the people doing the purchasing aren't the people doing the administration. No matter what the size of the organization, if the people in charge of purchasing are purchasing licenses they don't need, and spending money they don't need to be spending, then they are incompetent. Are you telling me that people putting Linux on
Re: (Score:2, Troll)
It doesn't matter that someone uses Firefox whenever they corrupted a DLL you have to re-install.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:3)
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
/Raises hand/ That would be me. I want a stable 64-bit OS so I can run AutoCad with more than 3.5 GB of usable RAM. Our IT people intend to skip Vista so, yes, the advent of Windows 7 is indeed of interest to me.
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
Wan can't you use XP 64bit?
Re:So? (Score:4, Informative)
XP-x64 is really Windows Server 2003 with the XP appearance tacked on top. It's a fine OS, but it's also an orphaned child that's often left aside. It was cooked up as a temporary stop-gap until Vista64, and it served its stopgap purpose.
Drivers are non-existent for some pieces of hardware. Pretty much any hardware needs to have XP and Vista drivers, but XP-x64 isn't actually XP (it requires 64-bit drivers), so the drivers aren't necessarily a drop-in replacement. With the release of Vista-64 as Microsoft's 64-bit desktop OS, XP-x64 is also a complete dead-end in the driver department; new hardware comes out, and since Vista64 and Windows Server 2008 already exist, there's not as much reason for companies to bother with driver support for XP-x64. It's not worth the testing or support resources necessary for an OS that only ever commanded a tiny fraction of the market. On top of that, plenty of install applications fail because they check for XP or Vista but not XP-x64; even though the program will run, it can't be installed without some irritating workarounds.
On top of that, his IT department may be unwilling to dedicate the resources necessary to maintaining one or a few workstations with a totally different OS and image than the rest of the systems. You may argue that it's IT's job to do that, but they also need to weigh costs and benefits; perhaps they've already determined that the hardware or critical software isn't supported under XP-x64, or perhaps they're about to migrate to Win7 and it simply isn't worth the extra cost and hassle until they start migrating people in 9 months.
Re: (Score:2)
XP x64 drivers are hard to come by for a lot of hardware; most OEMs didn't bother with the OS, and while Vista can load most XP drivers, the reverse is not true (typically, the OS, not the driver, is backward-compatible).
Technically it's the same kernel as Server 2003, so if that works on your hardware (in x64) then XP x64 will too. That isn't something you can count on for a desktop machine, though.
I agree w/ you. (Score:2)
Once Vista64 is set up, it's Effing fast!
I've never been happier w/ a computer. I can alt-tab between multiple 3d apps in seconds! You know hardcore apps like UT3, WoW, and TF2!
8')
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
I run Kubuntu. I consider other distros, I consider Gnome, I consider getting a Mac, I'll consider Windows 7 too. I did switch to Linux because of Vista but it's not like I've seen the light and would never ever use anything else ever again. It works, it has warts, if other companies are better at fixing their warts eventually I'll switch away again. Overly optimistic? No, but XP followed Windows ME, Intel Core's followed Pentium IV, in short I'm not ruling out the possibility that Microsoft learned a lot l
Re: (Score:1, Troll)
Re: (Score:2)
Sometimes less, is more.
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Frankly, some of the window management techniques are crazy awesome, imo. Move it to the side, and it takes up half the screen? Easy side-by-side comparison! Have a custom desktop that has your system info displayed? Move to the bottom right for a quick look without minimizing or alt-tabbing. Minimize other windows by giving the current one a quick shake? Could be useful if you need more screen space and a bunch of open windows. Maximize by dragging to top, then minimize by moving it away again? Yeah, if I
Re: (Score:2)
Move it to the side, and it takes up half the screen? Easy side-by-side comparison!
I discovered that one when playing with "Windows" keys (I'm using a MacBook Pro). Windows-Left moves it to the left side of the screen, Windows-Right moves it to the right side of the screen, Windows-Down minimizes, and Windows-Up maximizes.
Re: (Score:2)
Not neccesarily, it is time for a new core. (Score:5, Insightful)
But XP is nearly 8 years old now. Yes I understand that if a software isn't broken, then don't fix it approach. (look how long windows 3.1 lasted) But the fact remains that there is software coming out that has built in native support for newer hardware types and can better take advantage of what the hardware has to offer. XP has 3 service packs that increase the ability for the operating system to fully take advantage of current hardware. Even still, XP64 doesn't fully scale to fully utilize more than a 2 core processor.
I am not advocating that windows 7 will be all glory and shine. But I am merely expressing that as a whole the XP platform is becoming dated and should be replaced to better support emergent hardware.
Before you start going off and saying "With Linux you don't ever see this" Wrong. When XP was released in 2001, the linux market was comprised of Redhat, Debian and Suse. From then, in 2004 Ubuntu was released. Ubuntu was a great leap in consumer level linux desktop enviroments. I would like to see people running the original Ubuntu 4.10 with only hot fixes.
The thing I am getting at, is that no matter how much you hot fix a operating system. After some time the underlying core will have to be rebuilt.
Re: (Score:2)
I happen to be running my 4.10 Warty install just fi
Re: (Score:2)
Heh, so was Warty written by Candlejack or someth
Re: (Score:2)
Huh? Providing the kernel is upgraded (which I'm presuming it is with even the older Ubuntu long-term releases), yes, you will get support for quad core processors. The Linux development model isn't bound by the Microsoft-style "major innovation release" business model, where every four or five years, you rewrite the kernel to support newer hardware, put on some new screen candy and declare it the Next Big Thing.
Re: (Score:2)
The point is that unless you are running a server with multi-year uptime (which means that you are likely running with an unpatched kernel), you are probably not running the same linux kernel as you were in '01, when WinXP was released.
There is always progress in OS design. XP (in retrospect) is a good OS, but it likely cannot be patched to take full advantage of the latest hardware without breaking something. Hence Vista and 7.
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Not neccesarily, it is time for a new core. (Score:4, Interesting)
Does Vista run poorly on older hardware? Yes. Would you complain that blu-ray video doesn't look good on your 14" CRT?
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
You sir are a genius!
Re: (Score:2)
Yeah, I just installed the current Ubuntu on some old PIII's I had in my garage. My intention was to sell them as "Facebook machines" for all of $25 in the big, yearly neighborhood garage sale. Unfortunately, it ran as well as I imagine Vista would on those machines, and I gave up hope of selling them. (And I sure wasn't going to put Win98 or 2000 on them!) Now they can just rest as backups for my "servers" that run Gentoo -- with no GUI.
Re: (Score:2)
Yeah, I remember when MS showed up, put a gun to everyone's head and forced them to buy~
Re: (Score:2)
(which means that you are likely running with an unpatched kernel)
Patch the Linux Kernel without reboots [slashdot.org].
Note: I know very little about the subject of kernel patching.
Re: (Score:2)
look how long windows 3.1 lasted)
2 years.
I said it in 91 and I'm still saying it now: Good Operating systems mature, bad ones age.
Re: (Score:2)
Re:Finally the time (Score:4, Informative)
And it will finally be time to argue definitively how fast and slick Windows 7 is. I'm tired of people saying "Windows 7 is great!" when it isn't even out yet.
You are tired of people talking about how nice a release candidate is? Perhaps you should stop reading about operating systems. Tech websites talk about OS's all the time before they release. That's a major part of what they do. Its been this way for 10 years at least. Not just about Microsoft either. They talk about Mac OS's, Linux OS's, Microsoft OS's and more. If you don't like hearing about Operating Systems, and what people think about them, perhaps you are on the wrong site by accident or something.
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
Re: (Score:2)
No, Windows 7 does not feel anything to you. The RC does. Nor have I any idea why you think stability or speed implies honesty in a beta or RC.
The reason I've been wondering if W7 is a bit of a rigged demo is that it would be so convenient for Microsoft to have W7 pre-release impressing people. They could well be waiting for the release to implement DRM or something obnoxious.
Re: (Score:2)
Why? It isn't part of Vista(I'm running Vista SP2, if that's what you are hinting at). It is a different OS. It shares much of the code and appearence with Vista but it behaves very differently.