Windows 7 launches first in NZ

[bill]

Windows 7 launches first in NZ [nzherald.co.nz]

Hundreds of people descended on events in Auckland and Wellington this morning to mark the world's first launch of Microsoft's Windows 7 operating system.

In Auckland's Queen Elizabeth Square in the CBD throngs of people tried to win Hewlett-Packard computers loaded with the new operating system, given away every 10 minutes throughout the event by All Black captain Richie McCaw.

The operating system is now available in Japan and most of Australia as well.

[encyclo]

My upgrade version is in the mail - and seeing as 7 is basically just a Vista service pack, I'm going to risk a simple upgrade rather than a full install. The upgrade advisor [microsoft.com] gives me the all-clear anyway.

I can't say I'm excited by the release of Windows 7, but it looks like a good upgrade from Vista, and in usability it will certainly be a big step up from XP.

[BillyS]

I'm going to wait this one out a bit. My laptop has Vista on it and I'm very satisified with the product. Yes, the nag screen are a pain, but the system is VERY stable.

I'm going to build another PC workstation in 2010 with all the bells and whistles (Core i7, SSD...) around July. I can't justify spending the money on a new system when the one I'm using XP Athalon X2 is "fast enough." I can wait for the prices on the hardware to come down a bit.

[grelmar]

Hey, thanks for reminding me to check encyclo... Upgrade Advisor is finally compatible with XP 64bit (it wasn't as recently as a month ago).

[grelmar]

Wow... upgrade advisor is an epic fail of a piece of software.

It listed my GFX card as not compatible (and it most certainly is), and only checked compatibility for 8 installed programs (out of nearly 100).

OpenVPN not compatible? Say what?

No VPN = No Win7. Sorry, but I have to earn a living.

[MaxM]

Arrived in the mail today (thanks to Amazon UK for sending it out a day early due to the postal strike).

Managed to get the Full Retail for £47 during the cut-short one day European pre-order campaign in July.

[dreamcatcher]

Received my full copy on Monday. Ordered through Dixons in the UK for £43.

Probably won`t install it until next year.

dc

[Calculus]

Typical Microsoft producing no way to upgrade from XP to the new version. Can you image Google treating its customers this way?

[bateman_ap]

I got mine yesterday via Amazon in the UK. Although it'll remain in the box as I've got it installed via my TechNet sub. I like it a lot, especailly the Media Centre

[tigger]

>Can you image Google treating its customers this way?

you really think G gives a dam abouts it customers LOL

[maximillianos]

I heard it is pretty lean and a decent OS. I switched to Ubuntu last year, so I probably won't get to try it out. Though I'm in the market for a netbook, and I hear MS is selling some with Win7 on their website now. Might check them out.

[ddogg]

In case anyone cares, you can't upgrade from Vista Home Premium to Windows 7 Professional. Oh the box says all versions of Vista can be upgraded, but that is not true at all. It will make you re-install all programs. It forces a clean install. So if this was something you were planning on doing, DON'T waste $200 like I just did.

[weeks]

There many positive reviews about Vista when it came out three years ago. The NYT's David Pogue in an newsletter noted today that, "Blogger Harry McCracken looked up all of the major reviewers' write-ups of Vista (including mine). All but one liked Vista. Nobody foresaw its tanking in the public eye."

So, I'd wait. I'm on a Mac and upgraded to Snow Leapord a few weeks ago and wished I had waited a bit. These days, it takes a while for everyone to get their hands on a new OS and have their upgrades ready.

[goaliegirl]

I've been running Win7 on a netbook since for a while. Didn't really get to use it as I normally would because the netbook was for browsing/general internet access.

Last week I was forced to reload my PC so I took the plunge and loaded Win7. Wow, it is SO much more user-friendly than Vista. And I'm a Vista fan. Win7 gets a lot of the little things right. Like creating and connecting to VPN. No more bajillion clicks.

[MrSpeed]

In case anyone cares, you can't upgrade from Vista Home Premium to Windows 7 Professional. Oh the box says all versions of Vista can be upgraded, but that is not true at all. It will make you re-install all programs. It forces a clean install. So if this was something you were planning on doing, DON'T waste $200 like I just did.

That's what I suspected. It's too bad because I really don't feel like going through the hassle of installing my apps again. I'll just wait until I buy a new PC to experience W7.

[moTi]

Nobody foresaw its tanking in the public eye

i bet big time that the ONLY thing which really put down vista in the public eye - all other minor things apart - was the user authentication nagging screen. for the rest, no essential problems with vista.
"little" things matter.

[bill]

The UAC was an issue, but it was probably more of a combination of other issues that tarred Vista's image. A lack of drivers on launch and vastly underpowered system requirements published didn't help either.

The great thing about Windows 7 is that it uses the Vista kernel and many drivers are available already. That's going to ease adoption.