I just finished installing Windows 7 on my machine. So far, I think I like it.
A little background, first. The computer I'm installing it on is about 7 years old, or so. It was a Windows XP, Dell machine I bought many moons ago and has served me faithfully for the last several years. I recently got a RAM and video card upgrade for it, and had a copy of Vista Ultimate lying around. (Something I got for submitting bugs during the Vista beta test.) I was pondering finally installing Vista, when it occurred to me that I could get a copy of Windows 7 with the MSDN license I have. That, combined with the SQL 2008 developer edition, sounded pretty cool, so I downloaded, burned and installed.
Installation wasn't too bad. A few standard questions and it was off and running. It recognized all my hardware, set everything up, and was good to go in a matter of about 45 minutes. Not too bad, given some of the previous 2+ hour installs I've had to endure on similar operating systems.
Yes, it's several year old hardware, but the machine is now no more or less responsive than it was during it's XP days. If anything, since it's a fresh install, it's a bit faster than it was earlier tonight. I'm in the process of setting up my apps, so we're far from done, but I am enjoying the experience so far.
More thoughts as I play with things more. First impression = Good.
Thanks,
-David.
2 comments:
I have been debating upgrading our home computer's memory and trying Windows 7. I have the new MS Office 2010 and I would like to get it installed soon, not sure how it would run on XP Professional.
I've been working with the system for almost a year at work, following a preemptive update by one of our floors. For the most part, Win7 is works way better than Vista, but this is mostly because they chopped a lot of things out that should never have been there in the first place. It still bothers me that you have to search through the Control Panel for things that should be at the top of the stack in the first place as well as elevate to administrative privileges to do relatively basic things like reconfigure a printer. Also, compared to XP, it's a total RAM hog, so make sure you have lots of it on hand to run the system.
One thing I've found it really hard to forgive the manufacturer for lately has been Office 2007 and onward to 2010. Performance for the same amount of RAM and processor dropped dramatically, especially when trying to do very basic tasks in Outlook. I also loathe the ribbon, with the result that I recommend OpenOffice for anyone who will listen, which is few inside the enterprise.
Glad to see you blogging the experience. Take care...
Post a Comment