[mcbarker]

WinTard said:

Anyone can obtain Windows 7 for a very reasonable price. $50 or so... Regardless of which OS version you used prior to that...

Is all this brouhaha worth $50?

I'm not so sure about that. As far as I know, there's no "upgrade" path from a 32-bit version of XP to a 64-bit version of 7 Ultimate (same as the RC1 candidate), and the $319 fresh install version price is a little over the top for an OS.

[Boomshadow]

How are Vista's issues "what could have been, what should have been, what may have been"? While millions of people ran Vista trouble-free, millions of other people had major trouble with it right out of the box. Thats' what was.

Windows 7 is what is, and what it is is expensive. The only "what should have been" about this is that if Microsoft had gone straight from XP to 7, the price bump and lack of clear upgrade path would not have gotten quite the volume of complaints, because of the major changes done right. Yes, the only should have is that Windows 7 should have come out in January 2007. :)

[WinTard]

Boomshadow said:

>Yes, the only should have is that Windows 7 should have come out in January 2007. :)

I concur. And have been enjoying Windows 7 Ultimate x64 since January 13th 2009, in beta form (build 7000) ever since! For free until June 30th 2010...

That was an eye opener, that completely got me sold. It's like driving the right car for the first time, and thinking, 'where have you been all my life?' ;)

[WinTard]

mcbarker said:

>

Quote

I'm not so sure about that. As far as I know, there's no "upgrade" path from a 32-bit version of XP to a 64-bit version of 7 Ultimate (same as the RC1 candidate), and the $319 fresh install version price is a little over the top for an OS.

Please see the PCWorld article: Microsoft to Sell Windows 7 for $50

Windows users in the U.S. will be able to preorder Windows 7 Home Premium for US$49.99 starting Friday.
...
It will begin letting people who buy PCs with Windows Vista starting this Friday upgrade to Windows 7 for free, once it becomes available in October.
...
The discounted preorder offer lasts from June 26 through July 11. People can choose from the discounted Home Premium offer or Windows 7 Professional, which will run for $99.99.
...

Okay, Microsoft has not announced the pricing for "Ultimate" yet. But what is available to ANYBODY, regardless of the OS you use, is to pre-order Windows 7 Home, or Windows 7 Pro for $50 and $10 respectively. x86 (32-bit) or x64 (64-bit) are included in the current promo.

And when Microsoft announces something for Windows 7 Ultimate, it will apply to both x86 and x64 alike...

Why speculate? Let's wait. Some morons predicted $800+ right here in PCWorld forums. Ha! I've always stated that for around $200 or so, I would buy Windows 7 Ultimate x64. Just look at my posts, and you will see I am quite predictable, and steady... But I expect street prices to be lower than that, (sorry I'm speculating) perhaps in the $150 range for a full license (not upgrade) to Windows 7 Ultimate x64. As evidenced by current prices for Vista Ultimate x64 of $104.95. (Please see for substantiation: http://www.pcworld.c....html?id=10230) And I surmise that an upgrade would cost less than a full license, as is usually the practice nowadays...

Since Windows 7 isn't released yet (except in Ultimate beta RC form), there certainly is an upgrade path from XP x86 (32-bit) to Vista Ultimate x64 (64-bit) today.

In addition have you checked Microsoft website concerning the upgrade option?

Windows 7 Upgrade Option

Looking for a new PC?
So you want a new PC and you want Windows 7? No problem. We've worked with PC manufacturers to help you protect your PC investment. The companies below offer selected PCs that qualify for the Windows 7 Upgrade Option.* Buy a qualifying PC today, then follow the manufacturer's instructions to get the software upgrade. Prices and delivery methods will vary, please check the manufacturer's website for full details.
Acer, Asus, Dell, eMachines, Gateway, HP, Lenovo, Samsung, Sony, Toshiba, Other PC manufacturers

Love your current PC?
Buy a Windows Vista upgrade now. Get a Windows 7 upgrade later.
Are you happy with the PC you have, but haven't updated its operating system to Windows Vista yet? There's never been a better time. With the Windows 7 Upgrade Option, you can get the benefits of Windows Vista today, and be ready for Windows 7 when it's ready. Here's how it works:
- Make sure your PC is ready for Windows Vista.
- Download and run the Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor.
- Purchase a qualifying version* of a Windows Vista retail packaged product from your favorite retailer between June 26, 2009 and January 31, 2010.

{Snipped}

Good luck!

~~~~~~~~~~~
Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.
~ Leonardo da Vinci, 1452-1519, Italian Painter and Sculptor

[Boomshadow]

Windows users, then, would benefit if Microsoft would just not hand out the "Designed for Windows" logos like candy. ;)

[rgreen4]

WinTard -

Actually on the MS Website, the Windows 7 Upgrade is listed at $219.99, but no pre-order discount. The "normal" upgrade price for Professional is $199.99, and the "normal" upgrade price price for Home Premium is $119.99, some $20 less than the normal Vista upgrade price.

McBarker -

You qualify for the upgrade with any previous version of Windows from 2000 Pro on, and you can upgrade from XP 32 to Win7 64 if you want. The only restrictions is that an inplace upgrade by stating the DVD withing Windows will only work in Vista. Others require a clean install. But, as a professional, you probably always do a clean install anyway.

[WinTard]

rgreen4 said:

Actually on the MS Website, the Windows 7 Upgrade is listed at $219.99, but no pre-order discount. The "normal" upgrade price for Professional is $199.99, and the "normal" upgrade price price for Home Premium is $119.99, some $20 less than the normal Vista upgrade price.

Yes, but list prices are also known to be inflated by as much as 50% or more... I never buy retail, full list price. I always wait for an opportunity. Timing is critical in everything in life.

Right now, there is an opportunity at hand...

Also note that I would rather purchase the full Windows 7 Ultimate x64 OEM media at tigerdirect for roughly $200 instead of any 'upgrade' media, as the upgrade will attempt to verify you already have Windows installed. What if you want to install it from scratch? Onto a brand-new virgin HDD? In case your existing system got toasted? HDD failures are known to happen for whatever reasons...

Anyway I never upgrade, only do pristine bare metal installs, from scratch. I keep the system and data separate.

~~~~~~~~~~~~
Luck happens when preparation meets opportunity...

[rgreen4]

You posted the critical specs, but not the manufacturer of your machine or the model. There is nothing posted that would keep Vista from running nicely. If there is a problem it my be with the installed applications that came with it.

I would invite you to open a new discussion in the Window section by clicking [here|c-2000] and then on the blue button labeled start a discussion. There are a number of very knowledgeable members of the forum, most of whom will never visit the News Discussion forum. Explain what it is or is not doing, and give them the opportunity to help you.

BTW - the differences between Ultimate and Home Premium in Windows 7 are the Windows XP mode (also found in the Pro edition), ability to join a domain (also found in the Pro edition), automatic backup (also found in the Pro edition), BitLocker and the ability to switch between 35 languages. So, basically, if you need the BitLocker feature, you need the Ultimate. Otherwise the Professional edition will do, and if you don't need to join a domain, use the XP compatibility feature or the automatic backup feature, then Home Premium will suit your needs.

[ngompa13]

Unfortunately, my university actually requires the Ultimate edition, as I found out a couple days ago, so I'm still screwed. And my laptop is a Sony VAIO VGN-FZ220U

[smax013]

WinTard said:

Also note that I would rather purchase the full Windows 7 Ultimate x64 OEM media at tigerdirect for roughly $200 instead of any 'upgrade' media, as the upgrade will attempt to verify you already have Windows installed. What if you want to install it from scratch? Onto a brand-new virgin HDD? In case your existing system got toasted? HDD failures are known to happen for whatever reasons...

Anyway I never upgrade, only do pristine bare metal installs, from scratch. I keep the system and data separate.

Windows Upgrade disks do allow you to install "from scratch" on a brand-new virgin hard drive. That is precisely what I did with my Upgrade version of Vista.

[rgreen4]

Well, since you have Vista Ultimate, stick with it. The University is not forcing you to change are they? I don't understand why you have to have Vista Ultimate, except to join the domain at the University and possibly have Media Center, and the automatic backups.

[vallor]

[kenjstarr|m-234884]: Right on.





If there was healthy competition in the OS marketplace, prices would be much lower...and the only way Microsoft will ever get rid of the bloat in their OS organization (racket?) will be that healthy competition.


I think the next two years will be very interesting for users of MS products. Remember when they hired all those VMS programmers to build Win NT?


Well then: where is VMS today?


Cheers,


-vallor

[ShannonVanWagner]

You said it best!

FREE YOURSELF, Use GNU/LINUX! | linux.com | getgnulinux.org |
ubuntuguide.org | whylinuxisbetter.net | openoffice.org |
humans-enabled.com

[lutra]

Linux -- Because who wouldn't want to spend ten times as long to install a program that almost works?
Macintosh -- We care enough to provide you quality products, as long as you pay a premium price!
Windows -- Hey! Every other operating system works....

When it comes to technology there is no such things as freeing yourself. You can either slave for the Egyptians, or get lost in the desert for 40 years.

[ngompa13]

I guess I could, but it is still extremely annoying that my laptop takes 5-10 minutes to completely start up and the strange bugs like the Programs and Features control panel is stuck not even half way populated with the applications installed. Applications are really slow to load and file transfer is slower than it was in XP, much slower. When I was testing Windows 7 RC, the only bug I saw from Vista was the odd delay in UAC, where the delay would cause the window to be hidden until you actually "switched" to it.

I fight more with my computer than get stuff done on my laptop. And since my university also requires Office 2007, I gotta go out and buy that too.... ugh...

[rgreen4]

Well at least you can get a discount on the Home & Student version. It has Word, Excel, PowerPoint and One Note. From Newegg you can get the multi computer package for $92. This is authorized for installation on three machines.

We have some members with a fairly good record of solving problems. Please open a thread in the Windows area listing the make, model and specifications of your machine. Please also list the installed programs, especially the anti-malware programs. Some are noted for slowing down machines, and also some maleware will do that as well.

Give them a chance to help you, all you have to lose is a little time, all you have to gain is improvement in your machine.

[bosamar]

Like Apple never screws anything up. I hope you get what you ask for.

[W707]

Hello to everyone in the forum, i have been useing Vista Home Premium since day one and i'm not to happy about it because to this day i am haveing hardware issues because one has to be a computer Tech to get Vista to come close to working like XP Pro works.


When i found out about the Windows 7 UpGrade i jumped at the chance to rid myself of haveing to use Vista any longer than i have to, i gave computers to all three of my GranDaughters with XP Pro installed and i'm sure glad i did because of all the compatability issues. The girls have found out just how bad Vista is when they use my computer to do certain things that they do with XP and they cant get Vista to get the job done.


I feel this is an awesome deal , $50.00 to Upgrade to Windows 7 and say goodbye to Vista forever.





store.microsoft.com/microsoft/Windows-7-Home-Premium-Upgrade/product/B0F9E641


Some of the Vista owners can get a free UpGrade without haveing to spending a dime





https://om2.one.micr...ocaleCode=en-us


I wish everyone a safe and fun 4th of July B-)

[OshkoshJohn]

I had already responded to this post, but I thought of something that might be relevant. When I took delivery of my new PC in March 2008, I asked the OEM to not install any of the crapware on my machine, and to rather put it all on an ancillary disk or two; and if I changed my mind about any or all of it, I could still install it. When I got the computer it had MS Office 2007, Windows Vista Ultimate 64-bit, Invidia drivers, HP drivers, Firefox/Thunderbird, and Roxio. The crapware was on four extra CDs.



I submit that many of the problems less-experienced new Vista users have may come from the software they insist on installing at the recommendation of the many available computer magazines and websites, in hopes of gaining fasters boots, faster program loading, whatever. Some of these "free" and trial programs will mess you up



Another good tip is to uninstall software if it doesn't work the way you want, instead of letting it fill up your hard drive. Don't forget to run CrapCleaner to chase the extra DLLs and such from your registry after you remove anything! Those unnecessary lines in the registry get read at boot-up, too!

[anthonyx26]

"So long as you're willing to try something different..."

This is one area that all linux advocates greatly underestimate. "willing to try something different" is a euphamism for "willing to spend countless hours, days and possibly weeks and months of frustrating time tinkering and trying to get your apps which work just fine on Windows to work in linux, or getting the linux apps to do what you've grown to expect from your mature Windows based apps".

"you can't go wrong."

Uhhh yes, you can go wrong. There are plenty of pitfalls with Linux, especially if you try to use it as a mainstream business PC. While there are benefits to Linux, the drawbacks clearly outweigh them unfortunately. As a web server, it can be a great asset to a company, but as a Windows PC replacement, it still lags way behind.

MS' crappy upgrade policy for Vista Ultimate users says nothing of the effectiveness of their software vs say linux.

- anthonyx26