Windows 7

[quarkx]

I see one or two...

DirectX 10 and soon 11... much nicer graphics in games....

I have a laptop with a Nvidia 7950 GTX card. No  reason at all for me to "upgrade" or infect my machine with VISTA 2.0 I will stick with XP. and besides DX 10 CAN run on an XP machine, just google it.
I did the whole beta test for win 7 and was not impressed at all with it. XP ran faster and way more stable on my laptop, and everything just worked. A WHOLE bunch of things had no drivers in Win 7, so after the beta was over, I went back to XP and have no regrets at all. Everything just works. I can even use my (non USB ) Zip drive. Win 7 can't at all see a "Non USB device"

[quarkx]

I actually came here to post a similar thread...

Since the PS2 I've felt like Gaming was finally cool again as the 64/Amiga days.

Since Mac OS X Tiger, I've felt that there was an OS out there that totally blew away the Amiga.

And now to my amazement, Windows 7 puts Microsoft on par with Apple.  I've been using it for awhile both at work and at home, and it's just really a big change for Windows.  

I'm using my Mac, with Snow Leopard, right now to type this.. And it's still my main machine..      And you have to give Apple some credit here..  They really have started to take off lately, and this was giving Microsoft some real competition, that drove them to make Windows 7 what it is.

This is awesome.  We don't want to be ruled by one OS..  We want competition because that's what makes things better.  

Thanks,

Neofree

So are you saying it's" Windows for Mac users?". My biggest "pet Peeve" with it was in the beta, there was no "Classic" mode (like all the other Windows up until and including XP). Because they moved and re-named many things, I couldn't find things or it took a while to guess where things would be.



tone007[QUOTE:]
Originally Posted by tone007 View Post
If you're still using a parallel port Zip drive, you deserve an outdated OS.
[/QUOTE]


Why on earth would I throw away perfectly good hardware just because it is not USB? Maybe you can burn your money away like that, but parallel port hardware works, and if it aint broke why screw with it? BTW some of the BEST printers ever made were never produced in USB. And also the beta of Windows 7 couldn't even find a parallel port never mind use one. MS had in one of its KB papers a reason why it "dropped support" for any and all parallel devices, basically, it was too hard for them to implement it and most devices had switched to USB.

[quarkx]

XP users will migrate to Win7 or get left behind...

They said the exact same thing about VISTA and Windows Millenium Edition, BOB etc... It is just a big cycle and we see the same thing over and over again. come back after you have used it for 6 months and then tell us if you feel the same way. I HAVE used it for over 6 months, and I WAS a die hard MS supporter. Windows 7 is just some of VISTA fixed, but no where near what XP is period. All the maketing fluff in the world can't hide the facts. In a year we will just be pumping Windows 8, because Windows 7 is VISTA all over again.

[quarkx]

It's completely awesome they didnt put a classic mode.  You're missing most of the benefit of the new Taskbar (which is much like the OS X Dock) with it.  It doesn't take long to understand the benefit of your program always being in the same place, instead of a scattered ADD mess of tabs.  You can quickly go down to the same icon that's always in the same place, and quickly see the windows that are open from that icon.. Or.. if none are open you are using the icon to start the program.  It really merges all the redundant systems, Start menu, Quick Launch, Taskbar (old), etc.   The Mac has had this for years but Windows has finally got with the program.  Just waiting for Linux to get a clue.

A friend of mine sounded exactly as you.. He went ahead and tried it for awhile (pre-release) after realizing he just couldnt do classic and realized it was much better.

Thanks,

Neofree

 I am not talking about the TASKBAR, I am talking about things you need to use when fixing computers like the control panel. If you have things that are in the same place for 15 years, it gets to be a repetitive task to find and fix things. Easy and a lot less time waisted for you and your customers. Also A classic start menu is another thing also, but someone will make these tings in Windows blinds and make a ton of money. I don't care what the kernal is like, make the gui look close to XP so we can find things easily, with little or no fuss.
Again, I have beta tested it for over 6 months and found it extremely frustrating. Since I went back to XP, my laptop has been running stress free and 10X faster and everything just works. You cant argue with those results.

[quarkx]

A parallel port zip drive is not "perfectly good."

Tell us WHY? it sounds like you are trolling at this point (no I am not trying to make anyone mad here- it's just frustrating to see points like this with nothing to back them up). Please tell us why you think that a parallel ZIP (or any Parallel port device is "bad). I am open, but to throw out hardware, just because a USB version is available is just plain waistful-especially in this day and age. When it finally dies, I will get (if I decide to) get a USB one. BTW- if anyone is compelled to throw away perfectly working hardware, just send it to me instead of putting it into a landfill.- the only caveat is printers you cant get ink or ribbons for. The only thing I can do with those is pull chips if any.

Any printer worth a damn will have a network port, and if it doesn't and you're that attached to it, you stick a parallel to network print server on it.

I argee to a point with that statement, but some of the best (non-network) printers ever made were parallel, for example, the HP laserjet 4 and most Okidata dot matrix. 30 years later and being used daily, these printers are still going at 100% in a ton of corperations, banks and such, if you need network the HP Lj 5 is still king.But I wasn't talking about networked printers back then.

I read that as "I don't like learning new things, and Microsoft is making me look stupid in front of people by hiding all my icons! Nothing should ever change!"  Not the attitude that'll get you anywhere in IT, dude, you're on your way to being one of the useless users who can't find the internet without starting up AOL.

Nope, its all about efficentcy. When a customer is paying by the hour and you can't find something, it is pretty bad. I don't know about you, but I certainly don't have another 20 grand to spend on anothet MCSE course from MS -did that back in the NT4 days (I still say NT 4 was a better OS then XP, but thats a whole other thread for another day)

It's true, Microsoft has already even refused to patch certain issues in XP, and no longer provides licensing information via the Microsoft Partner website for enterprise versions of XP.  I imagine downloads will get pulled sooner or later.

Remember, we have been down this same road just 2 years ago with VISTA and we will be down it again as the Corporate customers refuse (again) to upgrade. I am sure if you look back at the threads on VISTA, they will mirror the exact same thing said here today.
BUT, OTOH, I have not, and can not comment on a 64 bit machine (my comments have been solely based on my 32 bit machine). I don't know how Win7 runs on an 4 or 8 core system with 16 gigs of ram. That XP can't do (and I don't think XP-64 was ever truely "finnished"). For that, you need to go to server 2003 for that was the last major upgrade to XP's kernal.

[quarkx]

Parallel port hardware is slow, and not particularly plug and play compliant.  Storage devices using parallel port were a cheesy hack at best.  Want some backup?  Go try to buy a laptop with a parallel port, they don't make them anymore.  No point designing an OS to use hardware that doesn't exist anymore.  If you like playing with old junk machines at home, have fun, but don't expect them to be supported forever.  The Zip drive itself is a reject from the 90s, people can't give them away.



Dot matrix is a special case, where impact printing is required.  Laser technology, however, has come a long way since the LJ4 and 5 printers.  Any business hanging on to those dinosaurs is cheap, and doesn't need much in the way of printing apparently.  Plenty of businesses use outdated junk in day to day operations, until it fails catastrophically and they need a new solution.  



Right, makes you look dumb (and inefficient) when you can't find something.  You can blame Microsoft, but the client is going to (rightly) blame you.  Unfortunately, you have to keep up with the new stuff or get out.  XP is going down, son, enjoy it while you can.

well if FORD decide to put it's accelerator  peddle in the trunk, because people were speeding too much- (which is the exact same thing in my and a lot of other peoples mind), and then re-named it something way out to left feild would that be ok with you?
But thats ok, I have retired from the tech support field because of VISTA and Windows 7. If a client has XP I have no problems supporting them. If a client has Vista or windows 7 and really wants me to work on it, I charge $300/hour min 2 hours work.

 Fair enough,( i concede, we are getting way off topic here, but I whole heartedly disagree on the ZIP,now putting a scanner and a printer on parallel- that was a nightmere) BTW I just use the Zip at home, was using it to sneaker net to the zip I had on my Amiga.
One of the biggest things that annoys me is the need for people to toss working hardware. no matter how old it is. If it works, use it.

BTW I see nobody here has any issues with the extreme amount of DRM and such in Windows 7 (it was a huge issue in VISTA -especially for home theater systems). For me it is just down right scary, but I guess the Win7 lovers have no issues with it.