Installed Windows 7... My review after a few hours of use...

[krash]

I'm a Mac user, and vista made me even happier to be a mac user. But I've been hearing alot of good things about windows 7 and I'm glad that microsoft finally got on the ball again. Even though I think OS X is better than XP, I think XP was loads better than Vista. I would get a migraine just from using vista. I'll have to use it so I can deduce that OS X is still better Good review dude

[HashiriyaS14]

Garbage like Vista will never happen again.

LOL, I'm sure I can search the intarwebs for someone saying "Garbage like WinME will never happen again"

It'll happen again, but it's okay, because Win7 is really good and we'll just stick with it, just like we stuck with 98 when ME came out and XP when Vista came out.

M$ gets it right often enough. Apple is so many flavors of wrong (compatibility, price, everything about the hardware) that a decent OS every decade from M$ is enough to make them "t3h winrar"

[MinisterofDOOM]

I remember, when Window ME was still very new, one of my friend's parents bought a new family computer, an HP Pavilion, with Win ME. He thought it was so awesome. I think he was disappointed that I wasn't impressed.

[Jesda]

A guy I know missed out on a pretty important job opportunity because he praised Windows ME.

[lino]

IE8 is better than IE7, but that is like comparing which dump I took was better.

[Jesda]

M$ gets it right often enough.

MS gets it wrong more often than right, but healthy profits from Office and Windows products make any other failures financially irrelevant. A minor threat comes from the open source community and from Apple, not enough to matter to shareholders, but enough to put a small dent in Microsoft's "street cred".

And that's just enough, fortunately, to get them to finally give a damn. There's research and collaboration -- no more "make whatever the hell we want and throw it over the wall".

[MinisterofDOOM]

I don't understand why IE and Chrome seem to think the STOP button needs to be relocated. I want that button where it has been for over a decade. Quit screwing around and trying to be cute. The nav buttons go at the top left, TOGETHER, not scattered all over the damn screen.

And why the crap does MS suddenly think I want the File/Edit/etc. menus hidden from me? What the hell is this? STOP BEING STUPID. Leave s*** alone. Stop trying to fix what's not broken in order to be "different." I don't want different. I want it to f***ing work.

As for the "minor threat" from Apple...no. Apple is not a threat to MS, they're a curio. For proof of this, you need look no further than MS's advertising. Apple's is hostile and douchebagalicious. If MS cared one iota about Apple they'd be making some kind of marketing rebuttal. But they act like they're not even there. Tells you a lot about how MS sees Apple as far as competition goes. Apple has openly attacked MS in marketing for years. MS has never once felt the need to defend themselves. Elephants do not respond to insults from flies.

Apple's ads make me want to murder innocent babies. That alone drives my hate factor for the company higher than most others I can think of.

[Jesda]

As for the "minor threat" from Apple...no. Apple is not a threat to MS, they're a curio. For proof of this, you need look no further than MS's advertising. Apple's is hostile and douchebagalicious. If MS cared one iota about Apple they'd be making some kind of marketing rebuttal. But they act like they're not even there. Tells you a lot about how MS sees Apple as far as competition goes. Apple has openly attacked MS in marketing for years. MS has never once felt the need to defend themselves. Elephants do not respond to insults from flies.

I watch more TV than you. You've missed out on an entire year and half of Microsoft's ad campaigns.

There's been criticism of Microsoft's latest round of "I'm a PC" advertising, especially commercials where people are given money to go purchase a portable computer and specifically explain why they didn't go with an Apple product.

Its a VERY OBVIOUS and DIRECT response to Apple, and a lot of it has to do with corporate pride. Steve Ballmer is a pretty passionate guy who seems to take things personally. I'm thinking he had a hand in choosing to respond to Apple in a public way.

It comes across as petty, and to consumers it gives Apple much more legitimacy than its meager market share suggests.

http://www.crn.com/retail/2106...32JVN

http://www.techpinas.com/2009/....html

http://channel.hexus.net/conte...17813

[EvillE423]

I don't know why so many people had problems with Vista. I actually liked it. It never gave me ONE problem. I think most of the problem was most people where using Vista on an older PC that just didn't have the hardware to run it. I've got 4GB of RAM, 2.4 Core2Duo, 1GB GeForce and it ran just fine. My cousin had 1GB of RAM, integrated graphics, and like a 1.8 AMD and it ran like a**.

That being said, I've had 7 for about a week now and I do think it is a step up from Vista. Things are much simpler and easier to use. My sister is a HUGE Mac fan and we get into arguments over PC vs. Mac all the time. I keep trying to get her to put them side by side and see which one works better, but she won't.

[Jesda]

I don't know why so many people had problems with Vista. I actually liked it. It never gave me ONE problem. I think most of the problem was most people where using Vista on an older PC that just didn't have the hardware to run it. I've got 4GB of RAM, 2.4 Core2Duo, 1GB GeForce and it ran just fine. My cousin had 1GB of RAM, integrated graphics, and like a 1.8 AMD and it ran like a**.

Again, the problem is that it came installed on PCs that ran it poorly, because of poor communication between Microsoft, the public, and manufacturers. My Acer came with Vista installed and it crawled and occasionally froze. The same machine runs OSX and Win7 very well.

Your cousin's old PC would get a huge boost from Windows 7.

Even with a capable system, its a waste of what you paid for your hardware to expend CPU cycles, battery life, and memory on inefficient code and poor engineering. Its like burning extra fuel to haul around a pile of granite that you'll never use. Just because you can doesn't mean you should.

[ka24boos13t]

LOL, I'm sure I can search the intarwebs for someone saying "Garbage like WinME will never happen again"

It'll happen again, but it's okay, because Win7 is really good and we'll just stick with it, just like we stuck with 98 when ME came out and XP when Vista came out.

M$ gets it right often enough. Apple is so many flavors of wrong (compatibility, price, everything about the hardware) that a decent OS every decade from M$ is enough to make them "t3h winrar"

http://xkcd.com/323/

[HashiriyaS14]

http://xkcd.com/323/

I LOL'd

[Red coupe]

I watch more TV than you. You've missed out on an entire year and half of Microsoft's ad campaigns.

There's been criticism of Microsoft's latest round of "I'm a PC" advertising, especially commercials where people are given money to go purchase a portable computer and specifically explain why they didn't go with an Apple product.

Its a VERY OBVIOUS and DIRECT response to Apple, and a lot of it has to do with corporate pride. Steve Ballmer is a pretty passionate guy who seems to take things personally. I'm thinking he had a hand in choosing to respond to Apple in a public way.

It comes across as petty, and to consumers it gives Apple much more legitimacy than its meager market share suggests.

http://www.crn.com/retail/2106...32JVN

http://www.techpinas.com/2009/....html

http://channel.hexus.net/conte...17813

To be honest I was kinda glad when they starting talking back to apple.

Every apple commercial is directly aimed at putting down microsoft, instead of making themselves look good.... To the point of making fun of appearances.

Kinda like to see MS stand up for itself and punch apple in the face.

[Jesda]

To be honest I was kinda glad when they starting talking back to apple.

Every apple commercial is directly aimed at putting down microsoft, instead of making themselves look good.... To the point of making fun of appearances.

Kinda like to see MS stand up for itself and punch apple in the face.

The ads accept that Apple products are more stylish and appealing: "I'm not cool enough to own a Mac". Then, they mention the price advantage but fail to explain why you still get just as much for a lower price. Microsoft positions itself as the software provider for low-cost computers with no desirability.

In the end, the viewer is left to believe that Apple products are the more appealing but more expensive choice, reaffirming Apple's brand strategy."Well, if I want to settle for something cheap and ugly, I can save a lot of money."

It would be like Toyota comparing the Corolla to the BMW 3-series. "I'm not cool enough to own a BMW. Plus, I can save $20,000 and buy a Corolla!"

Its a really sloppy way of going after Apple. Microsoft should have focused on actual advantages of Windows, like corporate compatibility, hardware options, user friendliness, and a vast selection of games and other software.

[Jesda]

Wow, I wish I could ban certain members from a thread.

Oh well, I just edited the stupidity from it.

If you want to discuss Apple vs. PC, (or how simply awesome and spectacular that you think Apple is, even though you don't support them) start a new thread.

Try to keep this on topic about Windows 7. Thanks.

Are you new to the internet? Threads go in whatever direction the people posting in them want them to go.


Modified by Jesda at 3:54 PM 11/3/2009

[Beancooker]

Apple's ads make me want to murder innocent babies. That alone drives my hate factor for the company higher than most others I can think of.

[Beancooker]

Are you new to the internet? Threads go in whatever direction the people posting in them want them to go.

Yeah, actually it's the first day I have ever ventured into this place. What do you people call it... The World Wide Webs?

Meh, whatever. It's a lot better after the immense amout of dumb was edited out of the thread.

At this point I don't really give a fook.

[Red coupe]

The ads accept that Apple products are more stylish and appealing: "I'm not cool enough to own a Mac". Then, they mention the price advantage but fail to explain why you still get just as much for a lower price. Microsoft positions itself as the software provider for low-cost computers with no desirability.

In the end, the viewer is left to believe that Apple products are the more appealing but more expensive choice, reaffirming Apple's brand strategy."Well, if I want to settle for something cheap and ugly, I can save a lot of money."

It would be like Toyota comparing the Corolla to the BMW 3-series. "I'm not cool enough to own a BMW. Plus, I can save $20,000 and buy a Corolla!"

Its a really sloppy way of going after Apple. Microsoft should have focused on actual advantages of Windows, like corporate compatibility, hardware options, user friendliness, and a vast selection of games and other software.

I don't really agree that the ads make it look like settling. All the ads show people realizing the can get a machine with better specs that they will be really into (including people just looking for something stylish), for less.

I do think they should go after games though.... play on the fun apple guy not being able to play at all, and the geeky business guy being the place to go for games.

[headhunt3r]

Yeah, all the Nehalem (core iX) chips use turbo boost. The i5 and i3, by my understanding, actually have a "stronger" version of it to make up for their shortcomings in other areas.

The i5 is a REALLY REALLY good chip, especially considering the pricetag. I would be very happy with one. The i5 outperforms the still-crazy expensive Core2 Extreme.

It's not the best chip for building a monster gaming machine, since it has only 2 memory channels and significantly fewer PCIE pipelines than the i7 900 series. But up to that point it's fantastic.

I just checked, i3 does not seem like it will have TurboBoost. Looks like i5 is the way to go.

http://www.anandtech.com/cpuch...=3585

[Jesda]

Yeah, actually it's the first day I have ever ventured into this place. What do you people call it... The World Wide Webs?

Meh, whatever. It's a lot better after the immense amout of dumb was edited out of the thread.

At this point I don't really give a fook.

LMAO, after I read your post I thought the last sentence said "I dont really give a damn, gook"

Watch out for tubgirl

[Beancooker]

LMAO, after I read your post I thought the last sentence said "I dont really give a damn, gook"

Watch out for tubgirl

I LOL'd. Actually out loud, not just the abbreviation.

[BusyBadger]

Apple's ads make me want to murder innocent babies. That alone drives my hate factor for the company higher than most others I can think of.

Just for the record I own a Mac - I owned two up until a few weeks ago.

I got into an arguement with an Apple K-12 salesperson once at work about the deceptive "Switch" campaign a few years ago and how it didn't really tell the complete story. His response was that I was a "power user" and the ads weren't really aimed at me or other power users. I said, "Maybe not, but by practicing this deception you risk alienating the power users who do know better and purchase the higher ticket items."

Then the sleek G5 tower came out and we had to listen to Jeff Goldblum's geeky voiceover telling everyone how it was the fastest personal computer on the market. Then the truth came out...Apple was testing the dual G5 model which wouldn't be avaialbe for another 4 months or so against single processor PCs that were currently available. Not even close to a fair test (or Apples to apples if you like).

Thanks for the solid review of Win7, Noah. I planned on checking it out, now I'll just buy it.

[MinisterofDOOM]

Yeah, you're exactly right about the alienation of "power users". Most sensible self-thinking people have a strongly developed distrustful reaction to anything that tries to convince by omission. And the marketing guy was right, too: that kind of advertising is not designed to change minds. It's designed to make up minds. Apple is targeting people who don't know what they want...by telling them what they want.

But that doesn't make my reaction to it--and, by extension, Apple--any less negative.

It also has a really negative affect on people who do know what they want, because it gives the brand the image of being the "trend" brand.Years ago, Apple was the go-to platform for productivity. That's no longer the case. But having that qualification to call on was beneficial for the brand. Today, no one looks at Apple and sees productivity. They look at Apple and see a product that makes its whole existence through being "cool." And which side of the fence you sit on ("power user" or sheep) decides whether that's a good thing or a bad thing. Apple's superiority in FUNCTIONALITY has become irrelevant, shoved aside for superiority through vanity.

[BusyBadger]

Years ago, Apple was the go-to platform for productivity. ***snip*** Apple's superiority in FUNCTIONALITY has become irrelevant, shoved aside for superiority through vanity.

I agree with all of that, but that last bit is priceless.

When potential clients & employers and peers check out my portfolio a lot of them (most of them?) throw out the "What kind of Mac do you have?" comment and we talk hardware & software for a while, then I let the other shoe drop...

...and I tell them that anything post 1999 was designed on a PC. I can almost hear their mental stammering. Then there's the design students I run into form time to time that put Mac fluent or something like that on a résumé and I bring up the fact that its no longer a Mac or PC world, if you can't use both you're better off not saying anything at all. The thing is once you're inside InDesign, Quark, Photoshop, Illustrator, etc...its all the same.

To me a Mac is like a RHD drive car, its cool to own but the LHD (PC) works just as well. The controls are all there in a RHD, they're just not in the same place and you can still get where you're going in either one as long as you know where all the controls are and you know how to drive.

One of my favourite comments is, "The Mac never crashes" one, I think I've even heard it the new series of hipster vs suit commercials. Funny, I wonder if any of the Apple folks have ever come across any of these...





...or this old school gem.

[takethewall]

One of my favourite comments is, "The Mac never crashes" one, I think I've even heard it the new series of hipster vs suit commercials. Funny, I wonder if any of the Apple folks have ever come across any of these...

I see them, I'm not going to pretend like I don't. However, I like my mac. The multi-touch trackpad is probably my favorite feature, besides being able to run:

Oh, and I'm pretty sure people think I'm cool because I have one.