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Win7: FREE trial, and then 1/2 price from Microsoft

Sun Jun 28, 2009 1:00 PM EDT
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By SoCal-406312
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I have been using the free version, which is the ultimate version includes all of the great features, such as video, support for more than 2 monitors on a laptop (depending on the hardware) and many other features.

If you want to give it a try, and the resources required are much less than the Vista requirements, for instance I have been using it on an eee PC Netbook with 1 gigabyte of RAM, and it works GREAT!

Installation is almost instant if you follow the instructions at:
http://blogs.technet.com/coolfactor/archive/2009/06/05/installing-win7-using-a-usb-drive.aspx

(But do this type of install only if you want to start with a "clean" build, that is everything is wiped off of the drive.)

The free Windows 7 is at:
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/products/home?os=win7
If you want to buy it for half price directly from Microsoft, you can get it at the Microsoft Company store for a limited time:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/buy/offers/pre-order.aspx

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Sgt C USMC

I've been using windows products since 2.0 (Yes, 2.0) I've also used OS/2 , Unix, multiple flavors of Unix, and this is without a doubt the best Pre-Release I've ever seen (Yes, I'm actually using it now to type this post.) It's clean, concise, doesn't seem to have the hundreds of memory leaks that Vista had, and almost ALL of the software that runs in XP runs in 7. With the implementation of the Windows XP Virtual Mode (Virtual PC with a pre-included licensed version of XP) it just might be that final security blanket businesses needed to move away from Windows XP Professional and to newer software. That combined with lower system resources, easy backwards compatibility, and easy administrative abilities give it enough pros to consider a worthwhile upgrade without breaking the bank on replacing existing hardware.

Now , if Microsoft just prices it competitively, and doesn't abandon the promised perks right after release (Think Vista ultimate and all of the 'extras' they were supposed to get for their added $99. They ended up getting 3 games and a version of silverlight that crashed the computer whenever you'd try to use it.)

  • 2 votes
Reply#1 - Sun Jun 28, 2009 2:00 PM EDT
Roy Batty

this is without a doubt the best Pre-Release I've ever seen

Actually, I know people at MS are verty excited/proud about 7. For all the reasons you mention. I mention this because, believe it of not, some of the worst critics work for MS itself.

  • 1 vote
#1.1 - Mon Jun 29, 2009 1:13 AM EDT
Reply
bondibox

Any word on compatibility with Apple's Boot Camp?

  • 1 vote
Reply#2 - Sun Jun 28, 2009 3:24 PM EDT
Roy Batty

Somehow I imagine MS does not test for that! :-)

  • 2 votes
#2.1 - Mon Jun 29, 2009 1:14 AM EDT
bondibox

The RC is installable on OS X via Boot Camp.

    #2.2 - Mon Jun 29, 2009 9:12 AM EDT
    Reply
    Karl_

    I wonder if Microsoft will offer a good deal for us Windows Vista's martyrs out here.

    • 1 vote
    Reply#3 - Mon Jun 29, 2009 9:59 AM EDT
    Sgt C USMC

    Oh Vista wasn't THAT bad...the biggest problem with Vista was the fact(s) that 1. it was nearly impossible to use without SP1 (very unstable) and 2. manufacturers felt compelled to install it on EVERYTHING! (Got a Celeron laptop with 512 MB of RAM and an internal graphics card ? Here's Vista Home Premium! Nevermind that it took up 3/4 of your 20 GB hard drive, you have VISTA! (Tada!))

    I've installed Vista on many machines, and the best luck I had (before slipstreaming SP1) was to install the OEM version, set it for update, and NOT TOUCH THE THING until SP1 (and all required updates) were installed. (Meaning the computer was MIA for 2-3 days)

    Also, I never ran it on anything less than double what the box calls for, mostly because I know Microsoft under-specifies their hardware requirements to increase their market shares and while legally those requirements may run the OS, they don't allow you to use it. (Pentium 4 3.0ghz with 1024 MB of RAM and 40 GB HDD was the lowest spec'd machine I've installed Vista on)

    • 1 vote
    #3.1 - Mon Jun 29, 2009 11:04 AM EDT
    Karl_

    I have quad CPU with 3 gigs of RAM, a few megs short of a terabyte in hard disk space. At idle, 1.29 GB of RAM are tied up. I have the impression that it will go for almost half your worth, no matter how high.

    "Oh Vista wasn't THAT bad..."... LOL... I have ranted enough in the past. I will keep my list of gripes for myself this time.

    • 1 vote
    #3.2 - Mon Jun 29, 2009 12:13 PM EDT
    Reply
    MinnieApolis

    The beta is only available for another week. The RC version is available thru July at least but it will expire in 2010 -- no idea what kind of offer you will get from MS at that point to get the full install.

      Reply#4 - Mon Jun 29, 2009 2:35 PM EDT
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