7 the Best?

[PwnFrnzy]

Windows 7 is very well constructed, but like others have been saying over and over it stall has it's faults. The only slap to the face I think Microsoft delivered to Windows 7 was all the validation stuff. I've seen people go insane when their genuine system goes non-genuine when they boot-up one day.
But looking past that and hoping I won't have to phone Microsoft (again) for a new key, then I'd say Windows 7 is still awesome.

 

[Maguscreed]

My problems with vista started immediately upon installation.
It took nearly 4 1/2 months for proper SLI support to come from a combination of nvidia driver updates and microsoft updates.

I think this was the key to Vista's failure. Personally I never had a problem with it, but then I have never installed it on an older machine. I got it factory installed on a new machine - and there were no problems. This approach has always worked for me in the past - I don't upgrade to a newer OS, just replace the PC (not when the new OS comes out, but when it's time to replace the machine) with whatever OS they happen to be installing at the moment. But lots of people tried to install it on their existing machines - and got into lots of compatibility problems.

Windows 7 was the first OS that I installed on an existing machine. That was that Vista machine. Vista is still there, but I hardly ever use it.

Finally, for the similarity with Macs ... There is one particular feature of Macs that I can't accept - there is basically one toolbar at the top of the screen that changes its content depending on which window is currently active. Windows themselves do not carry toolbars, just some close/minimize buttons. This is the show stopper for me - I will not willingly use a Mac until they change that (which is probably never). Therefore I do not agree that Windows 7 looks like a Mac.

Well see that's the thing, we are dealing with the same system I am using now, short the 8800's one of which I sold the other of which is in the media machine in the front room now, and win 7 has offered only one minor issue that I overcame within a hour or two of installation. (lack of proper support from asus was the actual cause, fortunately it's a nforce board so nvidia had updated chipset drivers) I've had no complaints about performance with this machine (which was a beast new, but now is starting to become dated) In fact, if anything I've had an increase in basic apps and gaming since making the switch from vista. Yet, another reason I'm far more fond of win 7. Even that old media machine (fx60, 8800gtx, near ancient dfi lanparty pro - expert board) runs fine in win 7, despite it really chugging along with vista.

In regards to the statement about the DRM. DRM in general is getting too heavy and really doing very little to prevent piracy. Though in my personal experience most the people pirating simply don't have the financial means to update properly, and do it as much from need as from a position of wanting to 'steal' a copy. Personally there are two things I would never under any circumstances consider a pirated copy of, and those are my security suite and my operating system. There are just too many unknowns. It's a touchy subject especially when discussed openly, but not unlike child abuse or abortion you can't really expect to do anything about it, if no one is willing to discuss it.

 

[gregrocker]

A big problem with Vista is that manufacturers decided to sit on their hardware and not update the drivers in order to force users to buy newer hardware, leaving MS scrambling to build stock drivers for installer.

This was one of the signal lessons learned for Win7. MS spent a fortune paying manufacturers to build the drivers under the Windows Hardware Quality Labs program, so that they could have them first in their installer with newer available quickly via optional Windows Updates.

Today Vista benefits from many of the Win7 developments via it's Service Packs and is a much more tolerable OS.

 

[Maguscreed]

A big problem with Vista is that manufacturers decided to sit on their hardware and not update the drivers in order to force users to buy newer hardware, leaving MS scrambling to build stock drivers for installer.

This was one of the signal lessons learned for Win7. MS spent a fortune paying manufacturers to build the drivers under the Windows Hardware Quality Labs program, so that they could have them first in their installer with newer available quickly via optional Windows Updates.

Today Vista benefits from many of the Win7 developments via it's Service Packs and is a much more tolerable OS.

I never argued that. The damage to it's reputation was done from the start though, of course apple jumping on it as a marketing ploy didn't help people's view of the operating system either. By the time sp1 was released pretty much every notable problem with it was fixed. It just came too late.

 

[pparks1]

It's hard to erase a first impression. With Vista, the 3rd party vendors weren't ready for drivers and such and that caused lots of problem right at the start. It got a bad reputation immediately and it never recovered. It did get better with SP1 and was reasonably solid. However, there have still been situations at work where Vista just goes wonky and when that happens I simply replace it with Windows 7 and things have gone smooth since. I don't seem to run into unexplainable issues with Windows 7.

 

[gregrocker]

I never argued that.

Wasn't referring to your post, just commenting.

 

[MWRed]

I've only had 7 for a few months and love it. BUT....i'm in the minority apparently that loves Vista also, if not more. Never a single problem with it, and it's on an older machine even.

I will say, i'd rather have 7 or Vista than XP now. 7 has it's little things that I just don't like, but all in all it's wonderful in general.

 

[KazeNoKoe23]

I've only had 7 for a few months and love it. BUT....i'm in the minority apparently that loves Vista also, if not more. Never a single problem with it, and it's on an older machine even.

I'm definitely with you here!

 

[Maguscreed]

Maybe not so large a minority, I know many common users that are actually quite fond of vista. I just never was, my initial problems with it were a source of a lot of pain and troubleshooting. I suffered one minor issue upgrading to 7 on this machine and none at all on the even older machine I use as a media streamer.

...I guess I'm just saying everyone has their reasons, and no one is really wrong in this kind of thing.

 

[WDAexodus]

I never used Vista intill after I had Windows 7. My wife's workstation has Vista and other then UAC being a pain it runs well. But I was one of the one's that set back in the beginning to see what Vista was going to do and after countless negitive comments decided XP was going to stay on my machine. If it wasn't for the beta/RTM for 7 I might still be using XP but thankfully I didn't.

 

[Imperfect1]

7 has it's little things that I just don't like, but all in all it's wonderful in general.

Like what? Maybe we can help you solve those issues.

 

[GARoss]

To answer the post, "Is Windows 7 the best windows yet?", I'd say yes; without a doubt! It's on par with Mac 10.6.6, which I have, too. All OS have issues from time to time.

 

[MWRed]

7 has it's little things that I just don't like, but all in all it's wonderful in general.

Like what? Maybe we can help you solve those issues.

Well, I totally skip the libraries, mostly because after so many years, I have somewhat of a "routine" of how my folders are, and how to get to them easily. Almost every time you open a folder, the libraries are shown first, and it drives me nuts. Sure, the idea is nice, having a centralized reference to get to things, and i'm not against change, but I'm so used to the way i move around in the folders that i'm not going to change it now. It's more of an annoyance than anything, it doesn't hurt anything in reality, it's just me.

I'm still not a big fan of the way UAC works. I still keep it on, but there really has to be a little bit of customization, or the ability to set rules for certain programs. I don't have it on a high setting, but it still does it's job. I hated it in Vista, but it's not "as" bad in 7.

There's really not a lot to complain about, just little annoyances. It doesn't help that it's on a laptop, and all of my other pc's were self built gaming desktops. Alot more room for error on the desktops, and if something went completely wrong, i'm out what, say $50 for a new HDD....not the end of the world. I keep everything on external hard drives anyway, so it wasn't a big deal.

I like 7 A LOT more than XP, but not more than Vista, but in no way do I regret getting a laptop with it on it.

 

[Imperfect1]

7 has it's little things that I just don't like, but all in all it's wonderful in general.

Like what? Maybe we can help you solve those issues.

Well, I totally skip the libraries, mostly because after so many years, I have somewhat of a "routine" of how my folders are, and how to get to them easily. Almost every time you open a folder, the libraries are shown first, and it drives me nuts. Sure, the idea is nice, having a centralized reference to get to things, and i'm not against change, but I'm so used to the way i move around in the folders that i'm not going to change it now. It's more of an annoyance than anything, it doesn't hurt anything in reality, it's just me.

I'm still not a big fan of the way UAC works. I still keep it on, but there really has to be a little bit of customization, or the ability to set rules for certain programs. I don't have it on a high setting, but it still does it's job. I hated it in Vista, but it's not "as" bad in 7.

I agree with you about the Libraries. To me also, they're just a nuisance. The good news is, though, that you can delete them. Take a look at this tutorial: Libraries Folder - Add or Remove from Navigation Pane. And here's what Microsoft advises about deleting Libraries: Windows 7 Libraries: Frequently Asked Questions.

Same with UAC. I've disabled mine and life is a whole lot less annoying without it. I know there are a number of very smart people on this forum who disagree, but I'm happy with my decision to disable UAC.

 

[MWRed]

Like what? Maybe we can help you solve those issues.

Well, I totally skip the libraries, mostly because after so many years, I have somewhat of a "routine" of how my folders are, and how to get to them easily. Almost every time you open a folder, the libraries are shown first, and it drives me nuts. Sure, the idea is nice, having a centralized reference to get to things, and i'm not against change, but I'm so used to the way i move around in the folders that i'm not going to change it now. It's more of an annoyance than anything, it doesn't hurt anything in reality, it's just me.

I'm still not a big fan of the way UAC works. I still keep it on, but there really has to be a little bit of customization, or the ability to set rules for certain programs. I don't have it on a high setting, but it still does it's job. I hated it in Vista, but it's not "as" bad in 7.

I agree with you about the Libraries. To me also, they're just a nuisance. The good news is, though, that you can delete them. Take a look at this tutorial: Libraries Folder - Add or Remove from Navigation Pane. And here's what Microsoft advises about deleting Libraries: Windows 7 Libraries: Frequently Asked Questions.

Same with UAC. I've disabled mine and life is a whole lot less annoying without it. I know there are a number of very smart people on this forum who disagree, but I'm happy with my decision to disable UAC.

I haven't gone that far yet, i've just got it turned down some. As far as I can tell, the only time it ever pops up is when I attempt to use CCleaner, which is understandable. A way to add permissions would be nice.

 

[eldinv]

Yes

 

[unifex]

Well, I totally skip the libraries, mostly because after so many years, I have somewhat of a "routine" of how my folders are, and how to get to them easily. Almost every time you open a folder, the libraries are shown first, and it drives me nuts.

You can always set Windows Explorer to open wherever you want it to. Just edit the shortcut properties and type the following into the Target field - in this example it will open in G:\home

%windir%\explorer.exe /n,/e, G:\home

Alternatively you can remove the Libraries from the navigation pane completely, just follow this tutorial.

I'm still not a big fan of the way UAC works. I still keep it on, but there really has to be a little bit of customization, or the ability to set rules for certain programs. I don't have it on a high setting, but it still does it's job. I hated it in Vista, but it's not "as" bad in 7.

UAC is much less intrusive compared to Vista. And you can in fact customize it. Shortcuts have an option to "Run as Administrator". You can use that. The confirmation window will still pop up, but that's the general idea, if you don't like that you have to disable the UAC, which is of course possible, but I would not recommend it.

 

[Imperfect1]

Here is exactly how you would direct the Windows Explorer taskbar icon to open to the folder you want it to: Windows Explorer ‘Taskbar Icon’ - Change ‘Open To’ Target

When you click on the Windows Explorer icon that is pinned to the Taskbar, by default it opens to the Windows Explorer Libraries folder. You can change the Open To target to open to the Computer folder (or any other possible location). Just edit the Shortcut Properties and type the following into the Target field - for example, in the example below it will open in C:\Documents:

1. Right-click on the pinned Windows Explorer taskbar icon, then right-click on Windows Explorer in the Jump List, and click on Properties.

2. Click on the Shortcut tab.

3. In the Shortcut tab, make sure that the field box to the right of “Start in” is empty.

4. To the right of Target, type or copy in bold the location where you want the Windows Explorer icon to open to instead, i.e. to open in the Documents folder, type: %windir%\explorer.exe /n, /e, /select, C:\ Documents
(NOTE: You can do this for any item that you know its {CLSID} registry entry for. You can also specify a specific folder e.g.: %windir%\explorer.exe /n, /e, /select, C:\ foldername)
Then click on Apply. OK

 

[Imperfect1]

PS MWRed, there's also this:
How to Make Windows 7 Start Menu User Folder Buttons Open to Users Instead of Libraries Location
This tutorial will show you how to make the Start Menu ‘My Documents’ ‘Pictures’ ‘Music’ and ‘Videos’ buttons open to the real C:\Users\(user-name) location instead of the default Libraries location.

 

[MWRed]

Sweet, thanks for the tips man. I haven't had it long enough to mess with it too much, but this will help quite a bit for a start.