First: A hardware upgrade is not needed to run 7...it has been ran on Pentium IIs and above with no issues. Drivers may be an issue but that is a fault of the manufacture not Microsoft
The odds of Win7 running well or even at all on a pentium II are very slim.
It has been done, but in most cases you'll end up with a lot of unrecognized hardware, and chances for drivers that work are slim.
You are right that in most cases manufacturers are reluctant to produce drivers for Win7 or even Vista.
They rather sell you new stuff.
But Microsoft has done it's fair share to make upgrading older hardware a daunting task.
The artificial barrier for graphics cards they have built to run Aero, is nothing short of ridiculous.
Any geforce 4 is more than capable of running Aero's transparency smoothly.
They run Vista's Aero without a glitch, but Win7's demand for 64mb, Directx9 and WDDM1.1 has rendered those cards useless for Aero.
And let's face it. If you are going to pay 199 bucks for Win7, you want to run it with all the eye candy.
Personally I think Win7's biggest opponent will be Vista, even if that sounds crazy.
Despite the negative comments on Vista, a lot of people made the switch and with SP2 it has actually developed into a mature and stable platform.
Most hardware finally have Vista drivers, and people can run aero without having to spend money on a new graphics card.
A well tuned XP system is nothing to be ashamed of.
If you are not a geek like us, why on earth would you spend money on a new OS, while the old OS is running fine on your older stuff?
Chances are you will be disappointed when you run into trouble with the drivers or other incompatibilities, and you end up bashing W7.
Second: When Windows 7 launched Oct. 22 it sold more than Vista or XP did in the same launch period...the demand for 7 is higher than the other two.
In case of Vista you're right.
In case of XP you are being mislead by the media.
The reason XP saw less global sales in the first weeks or even months,
especially in Japan, is because it took quite some time for it to be released in peoples native language.
Win7 is released with the languages already supported.
Just give it a year, and you'll see that Windows 7 will not beat XP in global sales.
From windows 98 to XP was one of the biggest steps in MS history,
because it was the first consumer OS that would be based on the corporate architecture.
With all due respect to Win7, (I love it to pieces), you could hardly call it a giant step from Vista, or even XP.
From a average user's or small business perspective, there isn't anything win7 can do that XP can't.
Burning CD's/DVD's, Office tasks, Internet, Email, Music production, Photo and Video production, CAD/CAM, you name it.
XP can do it equally well, and after SP2 and 3 it does it rock solid stable.
So Xzaviar may be more right than you think.
Fourth: Your issue with hybrid sleep IS A DRIVER ISSUE!!!!!!!!! This is not an issue with Windows. WHY CAN'T PEOPLE COMPREHEND THIS!!!
Probably because you are first one to tell him.
Greetings.
" :roflmao:
