Byte Me by Marv Dealy
Windows 7 - So Far, So Good
It’s only been a week now that I’ve been using Windows 7, the latest operating system from Microsoft. I can report that it’s a whole lot better than its predecessor, the unlamented Vista which has infected my laptop for the past half year or so.
Several folks around the shop had been using the pre-release version for some time, and had extolled its virtues, but I thought to myself, “sure, they’re geeks, they’ll like anything as long as it’s new.” But it turns out the geeks are right, and the reviews are glowing. From Ed Bott at ZDNet.com, “Windows 7 is impressive.” That word is rarely used in the same sentence as ‘Microsoft’ and ‘Windows’ – certainly not in recent years. But it fits here.” (tinyurl.com/yeohhay ).
Bott goes on to say that “Unlike its predecessors, this Windows version feels as if it were designed and built by a single, coordinated team instead of being assembled from interchangeable parts. In daily use, Windows 7 feels graceful and often (but not always) elegant. Although it builds on elements that debuted in Windows Vista, it fixes many usability sins and adds consistency and polish to an interface that had too many rough edges.”
Bott writes that some eight million people have been using the Windows 7 Release Candidate, which is about four times the number who signed up to be beta testers of Vista while it was still under development. Apparently lots of people are buying Windows 7 as well, as reports are that retail sales for Windows 7 are 234% higher than for Vista in its first few days of release.
Bott lists a good series of talking points to help you decide whether you should upgrade your Windows computer, starting with, “If you’re running Windows Vista and gritting your teeth over it, you should upgrade as soon as possible. The relief will be immediate.” I can agree with this point without equivocating. One “feature” of my Vista-infected laptop that regularly drove me crazy was its inability to work with whatever network I had to access, whether I was at my home office, my office, or somewhere on the road. Restarting the computer came to be the watchword of the day, and even then it wasn’t able to log on to some network printers even when told to at gunpoint.
Bott points out that if you’re shopping for a new Windows computer, you’ll want to make sure it has Windows 7 and not Vista on it. He also says that if you’re happy with XP, stay put, and adds that “if you’re feeling gun-shy about switching, it’s OK to wait. Most people forget that the venerable Windows XP was unpopular and unloved for its first two years in the marketplace.”
I’d add to Bott’s notes that you need to think about your hardware before deciding to upgrade to Redmond’s latest. From Microsoft.com, here’s a list of the official system requirements for Windows 7:
• gigahertz (GHz) or faster 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor
• gigabyte (GB) RAM (32-bit) or 2 GB RAM (64-bit)
• 16 GB available hard disk space (32-bit) or 20 GB (64-bit)
• DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM 1.0 or higher driver
You can read more about additional requirements that may apply at the Microsoft webpage at tinyurl.com/yb334zc.
New desktop and laptop reviews: If you do happen to be in the market for a new laptop or desktop for yourself or possibly as a holiday gift, you’ll want to sift through the confusing number of computers available before plunking down your hard-earned cash. Or even your bent, smoking credit card.
To help you sort through all the noise, CNET has an expansive review written by Dan Ackerman and Rich Brown that concentrates on, as they put it, “scouring the shelves of big retail stores to find boxed versions of popular PCs, from entry-level systems starting at $349 to Core i7 powerhouses.”
Ackerman and Brown list reviews of netbooks from Toshiba, HP and Asus, ten different laptops up to $699, nine laptops priced between $700 and $998, and four laptops above $999. Desktops are grouped with six choices under $699, six computers between $700 and $998 and three above $999. Here’s a link to the table listing all these computers – tinyurl.com/y8tco55 – find the computer you’re interested in, click on the link and read the reviews.
For MacHeads, reviews are also available for the latest MacBooks, iMacs and Mac Minis – see the link on the page noted just above and click on the link of your choice (they are hidden in the text, just above the list of PC laptops and desktop computers reviewed).
Apple hacks back at Hackintosh netbooks: The newest release of Apple’s operating system, OS X or Snow Leopard, puts an end for now to users who want to use the Mac OS X on an inexpensive laptop using the Intel Atom processor.
Numerous articles have been written about how to go about hacking the Mac OS X operating system to force it to work on one of the inexpensive laptops, and if you want to read more about how to go about that hack, you’ll have to Google it yourself – I’m not going to give you a link.
Apple’s attempt to maintain an iron grip on what hardware its operating system runs on may be viewed by some as overbearing, but PCWorld’s Tony Bradley points out that “Apple has built its reputation on providing a solid user experience, and if users start modifying the Mac OS X operating system to work on alternate hardware Apple can no longer guarantee the same environment. Users may have issues and start complaining about the Mac OS X operating system when the problem is really the fault of the untested hardware.” (tinyurl.com/y8lfznu).
Bradley continues, “This is probably not the end of the hackintosh story for Apple though. They hacked it before, they’ll hack it again. Apple can look forward to a tug-of-war similar to the dueling updates it has been going through with Palm over syncing the Pre with iTunes. But, if Apple wants to maintain the user experience perhaps it’s a small price to pay.”
Email questions to Marv at: marv.dealy@throck.com.
Marv Dealy founded Throckmorten Enterprises in San Francisco in 1988 and moved the company to Big Oak Flat in 1996. Open Monday through Friday, 9-ish to 5-ish (209 962-7308). The company provides technical support for a large Silicon Valley company’s webinars, as well as providing professional website design, and computer and network maintenance. The company also publishes the Yosemite Gazette.
