Windows 7 shipping this Fall... according to Compal, anyway

While Steve Ballmer himself declared that Windows Mobile 7 would be coming out next year, we've got a somewhat less reliable source suggesting that the desktop version of Win7 will be landing this fall. Ray Chen, president of Taipei-based Compal Electronics, was quoted as saying that "according to current planning," Windows 7 should be on its machines by "late September or early October." For those unaware, Compal is responsible for crafting HP and Acer laptops, and honestly, we're not exactly sure how this bigwig secured these dates. Of course, it stands to reason that everyone else in the industry is either 1) clueless or 2) just better at keeping secrets. For what it's worth, we're taking this with a huge spoon of salt, and just between us, you should probably do the same.

[Via Electronista]

[Nathan Sweeney Posted Feb 26th 2009 2:11AM]

Huh? I'm not trying to be biased, what do you mean? I really do own a Mac (actually 2 at the moment, 3 purchased total). I really like the OS, though I think that Tiger was just as good as Leopard, my older Mac still runs great with Tiger.

But I finally wanted a notebook, and the least expensive 15" Mac notebook is $2000. Yes, they look great with the aluminum and glass, but I'm more interested in the specs and OS. If Apple made a 15" MacBook (not pro, same specs as the 13") for around $1000, I'd have bought it.

When I bought the HP, I thought that Vista wasn't all that bad - it's ok, but Windows 7 is, in my mind, good. Maybe it's the similarity of the new taskbar to the dock on OS X, the increased speed, or I don't know what.

So, biased? Last year, I never read Engadget, I stuck to TUAW. I'm ashamed to admit that I was a fanboy. I told everyone to buy a Mac, blah blah blah, the usual spiel, Steve Jobs was god, everything. But Windows 7 has opened my eyes. I still think OS X is a great OS, but I can no longer accept the price premium on the hardware.

[Chris Aubeck Posted Feb 26th 2009 4:19AM]

cough 'cough' cough 'cough' cough

[pokes Posted Feb 26th 2009 7:31AM]

@Nathan

The thought on here from certain people is that if you have been turned away from Apple by something else then you were never really into Apple.

Its ridiculous - I see no bias in his post at all - just someone who is objective and see computing for what it is, cost and performance (not design).

peace out!

[Silverfox2000 Posted Feb 26th 2009 12:07PM]

@ Poke

If you don't know the answer to my question then just say you don't know.

As you've seen from stalking my posts, no one is responding to the question yet, so I keep asking. And btw, I'm choosing to ask people instead of researching the info on my own. What business is that of yours?

[victorstuber Posted Feb 26th 2009 5:26PM]

chrome works fine for me

[(Unverified) Posted Feb 26th 2009 1:47AM]

on an aside- is there some like list of who makes what for who ? eg Compal ->HP and Acer

[bolix Posted Feb 26th 2009 2:57AM]

If it's not made by Compal, then it's probably made by Qanta.

[ZuneHD Posted Feb 26th 2009 1:49AM]

diggin the zune in the taskbar

[BetterThanBozo Posted Feb 26th 2009 2:22AM]

Uh, I don't see anywhere in the article the year - maybe he meant September/October 2010.

[KAL326 Posted Feb 26th 2009 2:15PM]

Nope, that would be 2009. I have been working on getting a quote for about 1000 laptops in the fall and Lenovo and HP have both indicated that Windows 7 would be available on the machines then. This is good because XP would no longer be available and we did not really want to have to deal with Vista on just one generation of machines and/or have to upgrade them to Windows 7 when it was released under the upgrade rights of the machines that are rumored to start up in July.

[Silverfox2000 Posted Feb 26th 2009 3:47AM]

But seriously, what technological innovations/enhancements is W7 bringing?
and no, I don't mean support for touch screen stuff, I mean the real beef.

[Michael Scrip Posted Feb 26th 2009 4:15AM]

An OS is supposed to be a stable platform for you to run your software.

So... your software is where you want technological innovations/enhancements... unless you plan an looking at your desktop wallpaper all day.

[pokes Posted Feb 26th 2009 7:45AM]

@Fox

Do you have nothin else to post? I suggest you go and do some research rather than ask this inane question over and over again across different blog posts.

Dont make yourself appear to be mindless.

peace out!

[(Unverified) Posted Feb 26th 2009 7:52AM]

actually, I number of people (e.g. check out http://www.winsupersite.com/win7/) have been predicting that Windows 7 will be RTMed by about June and, as usual with MS OSes, be widely available a couple of months later. MS is obviously very reluctant to publicly annouce this after all the Vista release schedule fuck-ups but they have already decided to skip Beta 2 and go straight to RC

[ryaninc Posted Feb 26th 2009 8:19AM]

So the beta is expiring in August and we won't get the real OS until October-ish? That sucks...I plan on buying it immediately when it's released.

[dcoaster Posted Feb 26th 2009 8:20AM]

Hey! My suggestion for a new Win 7 screenshot must have worked. haha

[shintopig Posted Feb 26th 2009 9:08AM]

I heard it from a Microsoft Salesperson that Windows 7 is also coming out before the years end.

[(Unverified) Posted Feb 26th 2009 9:56AM]

Cant wait to get my Windows 7 home super machiatto low fat soy expresso edition...whoooohoooo...

[KeegdnaB Posted Feb 26th 2009 3:24PM]

But....what will I do for the 1-2 months between when the beta self-destructs and final release? ;_;

Either reinstall Vista or pirate XP so I have something that will alow me to sync my Zune and go back to Linux mostly full-time I guess

Unless someone manages to find a workaround for the self-destruct

[(Unverified) Posted Feb 27th 2009 3:55PM]

Steve Balmer has already said that Windows 7 will arrive in 2010.. pfft.