Windows 7 launch day: what you need to know
By Paul Miller 
posted Oct 22nd 2009 1:38PM
posted Oct 22nd 2009 1:38PM
Read the reviews (Windows 7 review | Windows 7 Media Center review)
What's clear from the review and our look at what's new in Media Center is that this is an enhanced version of Windows, but not some sort of revolution that will have Linux users repenting of their open source sins and Apple fans dropping their photorealistic icons. The articles should give you a good idea of what enhancements are in store and whether Windows 7 could truly make your old machine sing.
Pick a version (Windows 7 official pricing)
An age old confusion for Windows users has been slightly simplified here -- most users will end up with Windows 7 Home Premium when they buy a PC, but folks buying a copy outright have some more soul searching to do.
How to upgrade (How-To: Install Windows 7 and live to tell about it)
So you've got a copy, how are you gonna get it onto your Vista or XP box without causing the complete ruination of your digital lifestyle? Microsoft has provided some pretty good tools for this process, but we break it down and help out where we can.
Pick a computer (Launch day hardware spectacular)
Decided to skip the upgrade route and go straight for the sexy new hardware that's accompanying this release, huh? Well, you're in luck. We've rounded up some of the more notable releases, particularly some of the stuff that's packing newer processors, lower price points and a whole lot more touchscreen than last time around.
Woah this article is like actually useful.
Engadget is rocking it today.
Win7 + Reviews + Show w/ Steve Ballmer = delicious blogspam.
ughh i should have got my computer today instead of waiting for an upgrade... I NEED 7
What I needed to know were my MSDNAA login details :D
It has been on msdn aa since rtm, man! :) u r late :P
I would really like to get off the MSDN Win 7 Build 7100 I've been running for so long. But every time I think of what it would take to reinstall all my apps and games from scratch, I shudder and put it off for another week--as I've been doing since August.
The one thing I've ever really wished Windows has that OSX has is XCOPY deployment or at the very least a viable way to transfer installed apps.
"I would really like to get off the MSDN Win 7 Build 7100 I've been running for so long."
Yeah, I run the 7600 version on my Mac and it's been marked as Non-geniune for some reason. Funny, because it hasn't shut down completely. Can someone explain to me what happens if you continue to ignore it? Doesn't it refuse to boot after a while or something? I don't plan on buying Windows 7 and I already have installed a couple games I play on Steam, so I'm pretty much don't need to do anything else with it.
@Detox, that is what happens when you pirate a copy of Windows 7.
In one of your previous aliases you claimed you were going to torrent it. Then you said that you had no reason to torrent because you had all you needed with Mac and OSX since you could run Steam with crossover.
You also said you never pirate software. So here you have said you have a pirated copy of Win7, upset because it is not genuine, and using Steam on Windows. Lies all around.
Detox, you asked a question, and so I answered it for you. You steal a copy, don't expect it to work.
Who wants to place bets on what PAC/Dr House/Detox's next alias will be when he is banned the next time?
Dickie, have you called Gray Squirrel yet? You probably should radio this in, STAT!
got my copy on the 20th! gotta love the preordering system in England!
Detox, aka, Paul Chapel trying to find a reason to put down Windows 7...and failing
Thanks, you guys have been tremendously helpful.
preordered mine off amazon. cant wait till it gets here!
so.... on another note, what happened to skyblaze?
so...who actually cares about skyblaze??
DroidDoes!
@AppleWhore: I am sure you DO have viruses...... and other malware....
preordered on amazon too and what do ya know? im getting it today. thats the first time ive ever gotten something day of release through the internets
dood was funny... talked weird, but you can't deny you laughed at atleast one of his comments
I pre-ordered mine off of Amazon and got it yesterday. Weird.
Last time I commented on one of his posts(asking why he didn't talk in the third person any more) he said he had been really ill lately. Hopefully nothing bad happened...
whoa! this thang is cool!
I prefer thongs. :P Just saying.
Congrats everyone, you've done nothing more than add to Microsoft's bottom line.
Functionally speaking, XP does the same crap.
every upgrade in its base form technically does the same thing as its predecessor, so in your logic we should still be riding model T's around. dumbass.
Wrong! A Model T was built in 1929. A Model T is not suitable for modern day transportation.You're just taking the argument to the extreme. So your argument is that XP is the Model T?
I can play that game too, clown ass.
xcrunk needs professional help, and it was my idea.
Ooohhh nice try at a burn. 1908 actually.
There isn't anything keeping someone from using a Model T for a daily driver. Might be interesting to fix at times but it would work.
Functionality speaking, Tiger does the same crap.
Actually, I have no evidence to back that up, I just felt like being snarky.
from your logic
MS DOS
Windows 1
Windows 2
Windows 3/3.1
Windows 95
Windows NT
Windows 98/98SE
Windows 2000
Windows XP
Windows Vista
Windows 7
are all just as good why bother upgrading to window 7 when you can use windows 95 instead, which has the same functionality (although limited by todays standards) as windows 7!!!
Yes I thank everyone for adding to the bottom line, as I own MS stock, but I also thanked everyone when Snow Leopard came out for I own that stock too.
So in the end keep wining like a fat kid wanting cake troll for I get to laugh the most.
Woah, really? How do I set up a HomeGroup in XP?
XP (32-bit) only supports 3gb of RAM, which functionally speaking, sucks for anyone who does video editing or uses large files in Photoshop. Sure, you can throw more RAM into XP64, but Adobe CS4 doesn't support that operating system.
So I'm looking forward to Windows 7, if for no other reason than actually being able to use a system with tons of RAM, and multitask Photoshop, Illustrator and Dreamweaver without my system slowing to a crawl.
Xenolion, I own shares in a zoo too.
Windows 7 = Jessica Alba in a white bikini coming out of the Mediterranean Sea ....
Loving the transparencies, they really did a good job ***clap*** Microsoft deserves an Oreo Cookie the Size of the Moon.
IT Students ! Don't forget to check if your schools offer Windows & for free through the MSDN Alliance.
I got my copy free, 1 month ago.
yaa....so did I. But whats all the excitement bout? I did not notice any thing change significantly since I started using 7....other than wasting a whole day finding drivers for my VAIO. There is a little improvement in speed but a wooooho for that...? I am not. I think partial reason from the improved speed is because my original OS vista came with a huge shit load of bloatware....I mean.....it was massive and once OEMs start shipping Win7 since today....the same bloatware is gonna find its way back and thus reduced performance. To all whos excited bout MS new 7, I will tell you this: enjoy it while your still waiting for your new PC to arrive...coz when it does, there is nothing much to go crazy about.
Windows 7 = Kirstie Alley in speedos chasing down a pizza delivery vehicle and collapsing in a blubbery heap.
In the background of the Microsoft Retail Store opening, amid all of the clapping, I distinctly heard bleating. I'm sure it was the sound from ALL those Ballmer-following, Microsoft Sheeples. Baaa-baaa. Such a pathetic, glassy-eyed herd. Once they were laughing at the Apple-cult faithful, now they have become a collective clone of the thing they both envied and hated the most. What will Microsoft copy next from Apple? Maybe the rumor is true that Microsoft is coming out with a MiPhone. When was the last time Microsoft did something original? Zune? Nope. Zune Marketplace? Nope. Microsoft Retail Stores? Nope. The Burger King 7-pattie Whopper is the only innovative thing Microsoft has done for the past nine years since Windows XP.
Ballmer = Monkey see, Monkey do, Monkey Dance.
@ Average White Boy:
Er...can't the same arguments be directed towards Apple? Apple didn't invent the mp3 player, the concept of a store, or even the mobile telephone.
But I feel your pain too Harsha. Microsoft is so unimaginative! I mean, it's an operating system! Why isn't it making me pancakes/doing my laundry?
Windows 7 is rocks!
No, it is software that rocks. :D
windows 7 is lamp! Windows 7 is Carpet!
lying in bed last night, i actually decided i'm going to replace xp with ubuntu, finally. strange timing, since i don't follow windows news, and had no idea today was windows 7 launch day. :)
Now, sir, you have an excuse to change plans and join the Windows 7 caravan
That's funny, because at 1:20AM this morning you wrote (http://www.engadget.com/2009/10/21/microsoft-makes-a-funny-with-marketplace-apps-lab/comments/22506735/) "sure, i use linux."
So what you are saying is that you used Linux, but you had an epiphany last night you should switch from Windows to Linux? If you already used it, why would you decide to throw out Windows and switch to Linux?
i don't understand the question.
the answer is pork, or 42
The rest is up to you.
You say you use Linux, then you say you are going to throw out Windows and switch to Linux. If you already use Linux, how can you switch from Windows to Linux?
It comes down to you either do not know what you use, or you are making up a story.
NohOne:
I suppose it's possible to have installed Linux on his computers in an hour and 20 minutes, assuming he already had a Linux install disc.
Of course, having Linux for less than two hours doesn't make you a Linux user. It makes you bi-curious (or tri-curious) in the OS realm.
kewl!!!
Best Windows7 Picture ever http://picasaweb.google.com/cschlaeger/JapanLinuxSymposium#5395400000458161906