The upcoming beta release from Microsoft for Windows 7 has seen its availability soar this week on BitTorrent sites. A copy of build 7000 was first spotted last Friday. The latest Windows OS isn't expected to go on sale until late 2009/early 2010.
Ed Bott of ZDNet.com, who has downloaded a pirated copy of it, says the EULA identifies the build as the answer to their promise of supplying a beta early this year. Earlier last month, Microsoft's Web site hinted at a release by January 13.
There is brisk speculation that the announcement may come Jan. 7 when CEO Steve Ballmer goes before the Consumer Electronics Show, but the software giant said in an e-mail that it's "still expected in early 2009."
Build 7000 was on ISOHUNT about 3-4 months ago. So why is computerworld only writing about this now.
I also recommend people trying it but the great thing is that you don't need a cd-key to install. But the down side is you will need a Cd-key to activate the copy so it lasts longer than 30 days
History will show the many failures of and Microsoft OS. I can't imagine this will be any different. It makes me squirm to to see Microsoft release Vista (FAIL), and then a year later they begin to beta a new OS. This must be what they wanted Vista to be, except they rushed it, like EVERYTHING else. They always have to be first, not the best.....just first.
I've talked to a couple people that have downloaded it and they say it's everything vista wasn't. It's supposed to have far less overhead and be quite a bit quicker then vista as well as having several features vista was supposed to have.
I figure i'll check it out at some point, but right now I don't need anything new.
It was well noted long before Vista was released that Vista was just a side project to keep people from knowing about the actual project, now known as Windows 7.
Seriously give it a try using a virtual box. It is really quite good. I never had a problem with it and it seems more stable and faster than vista. Also they removed that annoying side bar so now the gadgets can freely move around the screen
I never implied you mistook windows 7 for vista, I merely said build 7000 wasn't around months ago and if you saw it months ago, it was a fake. As dook said build 67xx and 68xx were around a few months ago.
And i have to say for a beta, it is real real smooth. I ran it with VM just to check it out but after seeing how smooth it is i am considering duel booting with it. I didn't have a great deal of time to thrash it but with no noticeable flaws it seems pretty promising. The one major advantage that windows 7 will have over vista is the fact that all your old programs and hardware that you were using with vista should be compatible. I found no issues installing vista software or vista VM drivers on 7. The sad thing is that even 7 as a beta seems more efficient and refined then vista did and this is compared to a 4 gig machine with vista to a 1 gig VM. Any who i am sure there will be some flaws but just as XP built on windows 2000, windows 7 will build on vista.
The new GUI is fantastic and really really helps manage your taskbar. If you're anything like me (Dual screening, with 2 taskbars that are still always full and unmanageable) then you'll find the new layout fantastic.
I really can't praise it enough.
I couldn't use it as a stable OS just yet though, it has trouble with games and has some major compatability issues.
Something that did take me aback was things like my Network card and Soundcard not automatically being picked up by the OS like they were in Vista, but i'm hoping that's just because it's a Beta.
It's fast booting though and definately a huge step forward in terms of being a very usable operating system.
I didn't test 7 with games(i was too scared), i would test it with my duel 22inch monitor setup but i am running it in VM. ZDNet did a speed test comparing XP, Vista & 7, 7 came out as the clear winner, despite the fact it is a beta which are usually build for performance rather then speed, article is here: http://blogs.zdnet.com/... .
Using Vista 32bit was just too slow as a result i had to use 64bit which is really good but Windows 7 32bit seems really fast. It's like using Vista(minus any bugs) with XP's performance/stability. Navigation is definitely improved, i left a windows 7 vm open and found my girlfriend using it for her work and surfing the net and organizing her music and pictures, this was pretty impressive considering she isn't very tech savvy.
Windows and mac both, but microsoft needs to step up because macs are taking over. I like a challenge of technology so hopefully we get more good stuff soon. where in the world do people find these beta versions and leak them. Vista just came out, maybe microsoft should wait, and finish something before it turns to visterrible.
