Windows 7 Damn you, Microsoft

[Azhrei]

Whenever I think about how Microsoft is trying to present networking in Vista and Windows 7, I get so angry I can't even formulate a proper post asking for help. I mean, what with all this crap about homegroups and public/private networking, having several different ways to go about setting folder permissions... whenever I think about it, I see red. It was so easy in XP by comparison. Setup the network wizard, create a name for the network, install the IPX protocol, and boom. Everything works as it should. Want to share a folder? Right-click, click on properties and select "Yes I want to share this folder on my unsecured network as far as you're concerned Microsoft now piss off" (or something to that effect) and it worked.

When it comes to sharing folders in Vista, I have to create a new guest user and make them a co-owner, and still some machines give errors when trying to connect to these folders. By and large, however, it worked. Media sharing was also easy between two Vista machines and Media Centre. Not so with Windows 7. They seem to have added yet more options to the Network & Sharing Centre. I mean, what's a homegroup? How do I get the Vista and XP machines in the apartment to connect to this homegroup? What if I want to create a workgroup with trusty old XP on one machine? How do I tell Vista and 7 that I want to join that workgroup and ignore all their bull****tery about private sharing access? Renaming the network doesn't seem to do it. What's with the network map? Why does one Vista machine show up on it, but the other gives a message about how it can't be explained? And then there's the sharing folders option in 7. To be able to even access, without changing anything, a shared folder, I seem to have to go through several different windows as the os tries to tell me in a condescending manner that anyone who doesn't do things Microsoft's way is a retard.

I right-click on a folder in 7. I select Share, and click apply. My Vista desktop can see it but not access it. I go back into the living room and attempt to set co-owner rights to the folder, except Microsoft have taken that bit out and replaced it with a read/write privilege for everyone. Except the Vista machine still cannot access the folder. Back into the living room again, this time heading for the security option after I right-click. Finally the Vista machine can access the folder, I can copy files into it and everything seems hunky dory. Except when I try to play a video file across the network, nothing happens. Zip. Same thing when I add those shared folders (where every possible option, of which there are several, to make sure that it is shared are selected) in Media Centre - just a black screen. Nothing happens. The red mist descends again. This is all because Microsoft just have to move in what looks like a more modern direction with homegroups and public networking and all that crap, and simply installing the IPX protocol and running a setup wizard just won't cut it these days.

Argh, I've tried to post about my problems with networking in Vista and 7, and again it's turned into a huge rant. Godammit, I hate you, Microsoft! One of the best things about the media pc in the living room was being able to store all of our media on a terabyte hard drive and being able to watch whatever I want in my bedroom, either wirelessly with my laptop or over the wired router on my desktop. Now I can't do this simple task because Microsoft have ****ed up the network options so badly in their attempts to make it "easier" and "clearer to understand even for retard doofuses like yourself, Azhrei. You doofus."

Why do they have to keep moving in a direction that actually makes it harder to network?

 

[sgurnani]

I'm having a severe problem with the permissions. I am the only user as Administrator on my comp. Got Win7 installed on my secondary drive.
The 3rd drive has all my data. Now I went into Windows Media Center and added several of my music folders so I could access it all in one place.
But now one of my folders shows State: Private, Shared With: Nobody. How do I change this status? I am the only user.
I have WinXP on my other parition and this data is inaccessible in any OS or even the command prompt; it shows 0 bytes when there
is at least 20-30GB worth of data in there. Do please help.

 

[Menippos]

Has anyone found out how to create a custom Workgroup or to rename the existing default one in W7?

 

[kevin from Chi-town]

try

1
.
Open System by clicking the Start button

, clicking Control Panel, clicking System and Maintenance, and then clicking System.
2. Under Computer Name, Domain, and Workgroup Settings, click Change settings.

If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.
3. Click the Computer Name tab, and then click Change.
4. Under Member of, click Workgroup, and then do one of the following:
•To join an existing workgroup, type the name of the workgroup that you want to join, and then click OK.
•To create a new workgroup, type the name of the workgroup that you want to create, and then click OK.
If you change the name of an existing workgroup, a new workgroup will be created with that name.

The Computer Name/Domain Changes dialog box

If your computer was a member of a domain before you joined the workgroup, it will be removed from the domain and your computer account on that domain will be disabled.
NoteIf your network includes computers running Windows XP, you might need to change the workgroup name on those computers to match the workgroup name on the computers running this version of Windows so that you can see and connect to all computers on your network.
This is for vista...see if it works

 

[stuigi]

Right click on my computer, select properties, middle of page is change computer name domain and workgroup, select change settings, then at the bottom of the window, select change

 

[LarryLaser]

Crackers or Hackers

I think that many people are still not understanding what is going on on this planet , there are thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of "crackers" out there, and there intent is to cause problems .

The reason you find so many Security Applications out there, that are limited to MS Operating Systems, is because of the Popularity of Windows. There are more than 10 times of individuals using their personal PC with a Windows based operating system than any other O.S. For this reason there are more crackers out there looking for a way to cause you problems.

Now Microsoft has decided to Improve on their Security protocols for all the processes running on their Operating Systems. Vista was a great start in these steps but I believe Windows 7 is going to show greater improvements, but with these greater Improvements comes a greater learning curve for detailed operations.

This is where the "Hackers" come to the sen. Hackers are YOU and I and pretty much everyone on this Web Site and Many other Sites, The more we learn about the operations and necessary protocols, the more information and instructions we share with everyone.
This is not a bad thing, because when we learn the safest way to protect our info and identity on our systems the harder it is for those crackers to cause problems.

So as for the Network Security, We Will Find the easiest ways to set up the proper protocols and that information will reach to MS and quite possibly be implemented by MS, or you all will receive the info you need to set up your personal networks up the way that you need, to protect yourself and family and still be able to work your systems the way that you like.

As of this Time I have 6 different computers on my personal network, I am running Windows 7 on only one of my laptops and all the res are running WinXPP x64 - x86 and WinXP home, and am able to communicate back and forth to all of them doing file transfers, streaming media and Backup and Sync files with not many problems now. Not a single drive or shared folder in my system has (Network) "Everyone" permissions or access. It has taken me about 3 days of different experiments to get it working the way I desire. I have also killed the IPv6 Protocols and drivers to limit the Wireless dificulties on some of my gear.

So, as for this I do not go for

"Damn, You Microsoft"

, If you do then why are you using any Microsoft Products, you do know that there are FREE O.S.'s and Programs out there, right??

 

[stuigi]

Ditto Larry

 

[Azhrei]

stuff

All I want to do is play videos across the network. I don't want Microsoft dictating what goes on in my private network at home because it might be "unsecured". What are people from outside the apartment going to do? Drill a hole through our wall, shuffle ethernet cable through it and hope the connector somehow manages to snake all the way around and into a port on the router? And what do crackers and hackers and what-not have to do with my trying to play a video file across my network? I understand Microsoft wants to make their os secure but when it comes at the loss of functionality, I have to draw the line and give everybody over at Redmond two fingers.

I don't know where you're going with this rambling post about current conditions in the world of computing because this still doesn't help me do something as simple as watch a goddamned video file across my network. I also couldn't care less if you don't have permissions set to everyone on the folders in your network. What has this got to do with me? If I want a lecture, I'll go to college in the morning. I don't want to have to post about a problem in three seperate forums (Microsoft's own Technet being one of them) and get no resolution but instead have some smart alec mouth off to me about how Microsoft must make this a securer world for everyone.

If you want to talk about this kind of thing, go to a general discussion sub-thread or maybe - gasp! - a topic started to talk about it. Don't come to me when I'm asking for help and not try to help in any way whatsoever. And as for open source, I've already tried it. It was ugly as hell, took over an hour to install (media distro of Kubuntu) and wouldn't recognise our graphics card. And I don't want to have to deal with command lines. And why should I have to look at open-source? I've paid for every copy of Windows I've used and I'll be paying for 7 when it is released. I don't think it's much to ask that they let me do with my network whatever I want.

Edit - And what's a sen?

This is where the "Hackers" come to the sen

What?

 

[sardog12]

I understand Microsoft wants to make their os secure but when it comes at the loss of functionality, I have to draw the line and give everybody over at Redmond two fingers.

Azhrei, I am guessing you are not an idiot since you can sensibly get your point across. The problem is that you are looking to put down Microsoft's product for doing exactly what it is designed to do and, more importantly, what it should be designed to do. The fact is you are using an Ultimate version, that is designed to have the tightest security, and faulting it working. If this were the Home or Basic version, you might have a gripe, but your displeasure is ridiculous given what you are complaining about. I understand that you are frustrated that you haven't been able to properly set up the software to do what you want to but you can't blame Microsoft for it's software operating in the manner it is designed. That being said, you really do have two options: learn to change the settings properly or move to another OS. This is not mean; this is the truth. Microsft does not design it's software with you alone in mind. You are not the center of the universe. Microsoft tries to design it's software to work properly AND safely on the 90%+ of the computers that are in operation throughout the world, not the .00000001% that is you. It is a free market. If you don't like the product that Microsoft puts out or the direction it is heading, you are free to look at alternatives.

All I want to do is play videos across the network. I don't want Microsoft dictating what goes on in my private network at home because it might be "unsecured". What are people from outside the apartment going to do? Drill a hole through our wall, shuffle ethernet cable through it and hope the connector somehow manages to snake all the way around and into a port on the router? And what do crackers and hackers and what-not have to do with my trying to play a video file across my network?

I have to assume by this statement that your home network is not plugged into an ISP? If it is, you must not have as much of an understanding of network security as I am giving you credit for. If you are connected to the outside world, do you really think it is that difficult for a hacker to get into your LAN through your Netgear or Linksys router?

If you want to talk about this kind of thing, go to a general discussion sub-thread or maybe - gasp! - a topic started to talk about it. Don't come to me when I'm asking for help and not try to help in any way whatsoever. And as for open source, I've already tried it. It was ugly as hell, took over an hour to install (media distro of Kubuntu) and wouldn't recognise our graphics card. And I don't want to have to deal with command lines. And why should I have to look at open-source? I've paid for every copy of Windows I've used and I'll be paying for 7 when it is released. I don't think it's much to ask that they let me do with my network whatever I want.

Why should we start a new thread to discuss this. You did not start this thread asking for help. You started it as a rant to complain about how your settings aren't working and you hate Microsoft now and the direction it is going in. You even titled it "Damn you, Microsoft" to show displeasure. If you had a question, it should have been titled more appropriately. Please show one spot in your original post that you are asking for help in your setup. And now you are upset that people are responding to your irrational rantings. And why are you going to pay for Windows 7 if you know "it is not going to do what you want it to do"? This makes no sense. You sound like you just want a reason to complain, even if you have to make a reason. Try looking or asking for solutions next time instead of coming across as a child throwing a temper tantrum because things aren't exactly how YOU want it to be.

 

[Azhrei]

Stuff

I understand that it is the beta version of what will be the Ultimate version of Windows 7. I do understand that. Now, I've been using computers for a long time. I've put quite a number of them together and installed countless copies of Windows on them. I don't spend hours upon hours every day trying to solve network issues, but I'm reasonably competent and until recently thought that I could get any network going properly. I remember first coming across the way Microsoft was moving when we were all at a pc gaming convention and all of us on desktops had XP Professional, and one friend had a laptop with Vista Home Premium. As the designated "fix-it" guy, they looked to me to get the damn thing talking with the XP machines.

It wasn't the Link Layer Topology issue - we all had updated copies of XP. His laptop could not see any shared folders on our pc's so he couldn't copy any game patches from us (the hotel's 8mb broadband connection quickly degenerated into much worse than dial-up when over two hundred computers were simultaneously trying to go everywhere over the 'net), and worse still, he couldn't see any of the games we were hosting. Vista's network options seemed labyrinthine next to XP's. We spent several hours trying to get Vista talking to the others. At one point, so frustrated with it, I even appealed to the network set-up guys for the 'con - very competent people. They told me they didn't want to go anywhere near it because "Vista's network settings are a balls to get right". In the end we did get it working but it took a fair while after that.

Now, I've had two copies of Vista installed on this media pc of ours. One came with it, because to save time we just bought this cheap little Acer. It had only two sata ports, the hard drive and the dvd drive. We had to swap out the hard drive and put in a pata drive as a replacement, as we'd bought a terabyte drive for media and an LG Blu-Ray/HD-DVD drive - Blu-Ray as it had won at the time and we could rent out films in that format, and HD-DVD as we could get them cheap now that the format was dying out. Anyway, before we swapped it out we had several odd issues with it. The wi-fi card kept picking up the signal as very weak, even though the Wii below the television and behind a glass door picked up a strong signal. The Radeon 3450 we'd bought came with ATi's audio over HDMI, and we'd bought a HDMI cable to take advantage of our 32" Mirai hdtv. Oddly, the HDMI audio device would appear and disappear on the device manager. I got it to work once - only once - and it worked fine. But then I had to reset after a Windows Update and bang! The device was missing, we had no sound, and we had to revert to the vga cable.

Cue the next drive to be put in. The Radeon HDMI device still wouldn't appear, but this installation had other issues. We'd sorted out the wireless card problem by running ethernet cable all over the apartment to the media pc - awkward, but it works. In Media Centre (and it wasn't a codec issue, believe me), videos would jump if we used zoom mode 3 on pan and scan files. Selecting something in the menu with the remote solved the problem for a few seconds, so it wasn't the television. I went all over the Internet to solve that one, even including recording three videos so people could see what I meant. Absolutely nobody had an idea what was going on. The Acer, it seemed, was cursed. While my flat-mate is also competent with computers, this was, as he put it, "your baby". I'd built a media pc out home before we moved out to the apartment and gave it to my younger brother as a birthday present. I promised myself that the one we'd have in the apartment would be better. But this one just seemed cursed. Things would just fail at random. And believe me when I say I've tried everything to solve it. For example, if everything was failing randomly, I thought, it might be a PSU issue. So I bought a good brand 500w PSU. Everything was exactly the same. See what I mean about cursed?

So, I began to resort to somewhat desperate measures. I tried that media-centric version of Kubuntu I mentioned - which was awful. I tried (because I'm impatient and despite having plenty of issues myself with Vista when it first came out, I grew to love it) the 6801 version of Windows 7. We bought a new television, all the jumping went away, we'd bought speakers in the meantime and so went back to the visual only HDMI cable (that audio device still won't appear, yet the 4870 in my desktop brings it up all the time, so I assume the 3450 is faulty... but eh, it does put out a nice image). Everything was hunky dory. Despite all the issues we've had with the pc, though, throughout the various os installations, we were always able to share media across the network. That's right, including the 6801 version of 7, which was also the Ultimate version if I recall correctly. When Microsoft announced that the 7000 beta would be given out free, I signed up to become a tester and decided to put the new copy of 7000 on the media pc in place of 6801. 6801 was working, but it was a fairly barebones copy, and besides, I wanted Windows Update support.

So, fast forward to last week. 7000 is installed. Everything looks beautiful. It's a really nice os. It seemed like all our problems with the pc had come to a close. Except they haven't. I can't share media across the network anymore. Oh, I can copy files across and back again, no problem. I just can't watch videos across the network anymore, neither through my desktop or when in bed, wirelessly using my laptop, like I always was able to. My flat-mate, with his XP-based machines, cannot see the media pc on the network. The media pc cannot see his machines on the network. Despite showing a .jpg of the co-owner privilege in the help files for sharing folders, 7000 does not have this privilege. It has replaced it with read/write. Which works. Except I cannot view videos across the network. The curse was back. So, you can understand my frustration and anger that, after all this time, after all the problems I've had with it that have lead me to tearing my hair out over trying to solve all those weird issues, everything finally worked but for something that was very important with our media pc. So hopefully you can see that, while asking for help, I have to think about the problem and I become so angry that it becomes less a plea for help and more of a rant and rave session at Microsoft.

More stuff

Our home network is plugged into an ISP. And I do have a fairly good understanding of how network security works, and how important it is. Sharing videos across our private, home network, which believe you me has a well secured adsl connection to the 'net, should not be an issue. That is not the issue here, though I understand why you brought it up. And I did come here (and to two other forums) asking for help, but every time I look at Windows 7's network options, every time I think about the problem, I have to think about all the measures I've gone through to get the damn thing to talk to the other machines in the apartment. It makes my blood boil not just because it isn't working, but because of the way Microsoft is going with networking. With XP, it was so simple. Setup the network wizard, type in the workgroup name, tell Windows you want to share a folder. Badda bing, badda boom. Further security was up to you. I understand Microsoft is trying to make the os secure for everybody (and, of course, being the Ultimate version, it's got to be very secure, I understand this) but if there was a way to turn all of this permission stuff off, I would be so grateful. Not everybody needs it. Not everybody wants it.

Microsoft and Windows 7 should not be concerned about how I share media across my home network. Because I have tried absolutely everything there is to try and solve this problem, and because Microsoft's new security measures are making it ten times harder, my post here and on the other boards has turned into a simultaneous cry for help, and a bitch session at Microsoft. I can't help it. I get so very angry when I think about the whole issue and how so simple it was in XP... and how though Vista and 6801 share 7's weird network setups, they had no such problems. They had their own problems of course, as evidenced by my long-winded response above (sorry), but they allowed me to share media. When new features come at the cost of such basic functionality, it steams me up even more. iroken22, who has been kind enough to reply to every one of my posts asking for help, has the very same beta copy and has no such problems with seeing XP machines, and media sharing. Maybe now you can understand? Nobody else is having this issue. Just me.

Well, obviously people are having network issues, but I don't see anyone posting about this particular issue. I even posted in Microsoft's own Technet forum and nobody replied. On the Penny Arcade > Games & Technology > Moe's Stupid Technology Tavern > Windows 7 thread, I posted the same rant. Someone said, "Well, let's start at the start. You have shared the folders, yes? What permissions have you given them?" I replied by giving a detailed look at everything I have done, everything I have selected in the network options, and hoped for a reply. I think he is stumped, and everyone along with him, because I have no reply yet and my post is now several pages back.

I withdraw my simultaneous begging for help/rant. Nobody seems able to help me (anywhere over the Internet, which is a first) and this is definitely not a constructive, helpful environment we've got going in this thread here. Sorry people, don't worry your heads about it, let's just pretend I never posted here to begin with.

 

[Issac]

Azhrei,

Believe it or not, I registered solely to reply to this thread. The very fact that you are ranting about a beta OS is ridiculous enough, but there's more still. Windows 7 Beta is free, and a privilege for you to be able to test it. It is not production ready. Now we all do understand that your point is that they changed network security to your displeasure, but that's not what I'm seeing.

Azhrei, things in life change all the time. Sometimes these changes please us, and sometimes they displease. This situation is no different. This change is great news for the majority of people using Windows. You can't go off and on and on and blame a corporation with the public in mind just because you're inconvenienced. From your latest post two hours ago you had made it very, very clear that you're competent. No one was threatening that, though. We're justr trying to tell you that the change is for the good.

Please stop, take a deep breath, and smile. It's not worth it to get this upset about something this small in the world. I mean, how would you handle your relative dying at war? How would you handle being mugged, or being robbed? If you prefer networking with Windows XP, simply go back to that and install windowsblinds to make it look pretty.

 

[Azhrei]

Azhrei,

Believe it or not, I registered solely to reply to this thread. The very fact that you are ranting about a beta OS is ridiculous enough, but there's more still. Windows 7 Beta is free, and a privilege for you to be able to test it. It is not production ready. Now we all do understand that your point is that they changed network security to your displeasure, but that's not what I'm seeing.

Azhrei, things in life change all the time. Sometimes these changes please us, and sometimes they displease. This situation is no different. This change is great news for the majority of people using Windows. You can't go off and on and on and blame a corporation with the public in mind just because you're inconvenienced. From your latest post two hours ago you had made it very, very clear that you're competent. No one was threatening that, though. We're justr trying to tell you that the change is for the good.

Please stop, take a deep breath, and smile. It's not worth it to get this upset about something this small in the world. I mean, how would you handle your relative dying at war? How would you handle being mugged, or being robbed? If you prefer networking with Windows XP, simply go back to that and install windowsblinds to make it look pretty.

What this thread is about, under all the anger and frustration on my side, is that I can't do something as simple as play a video file across a network, while others seemingly can. This isn't because Windows 7 beta is broken. It is because Microsoft is so concerned with security - and that's fine - that I have been navigating the seemingly hundreds of ways that will let me do this easy, simple task - and that is not fine. I am ranting and raving about their new system because, you know, it doesn't work.

When other people can play videos across their networks, you know something is wrong. I can only guess that Microsoft is at fault for being so security conscious. Security conscious is fine; ultra-paranoid security conscious is not. But that's not even it. Other people have no problem on their machines with what I'm trying to do on mine. I don't believe that the change is for the better when everyone else can do what I'm completely unable to do on my own private network at home.

And I'll thank you to leave your advice on calm and smiling and sunny things and rabbits and everything cute. I was asking for help, nobody can give it, I'd like this thread closed, please. Is there any mod or admin reading who can do that?

 

[kevin from Chi-town]

Microsofts fault?

I can only guess that Microsoft is at fault for being so security conscious. Security conscious is fine; ultra-paranoid security conscious is not. But that's not even it. Other people have no problem on their machines with what I'm trying to do on mine. I don't believe that the change is for the better when everyone else can do what I'm completely unable to do on my own private network at home.

Microsoft primary concerns are the proper implementation of secure systems for both residential users and commercial users. They become liable for not having systems secure. So whatever problems your encountering are probably due to the fact that you're using a BETA product, or, your implementation is wrong. I haven't come across anybody else with your time issues. So please articulate what exactly your trying to accomplish....hardware, software, and what type of video.

 

[Azhrei]

Are you sure you want to get into this? Alright, we'll give it another go.

What I want to do is share media across the network. Videos, mostly. Three folders are shared - Films, TV Shows and Music. I have added "guest" and given them read/write privileges - they seem to have taken out the co-owner privilege that I use in Vista, even though the help database, rather unhelpfully, points to an image of the co-owner privilege in these situations. I have gone through the security tab for each folder and made sure that everyone, including what Windows 7 reports as an unknown connection, has full access.

I have taken 7 out of the homegroup and connected it to the workgroup that my Vista and my flat-mate's XP machines are using. I have set the Network & Sharing Centre to private network, users can see and change files, turned off password access, turned on all possible options in media sharing, network discovery and file sharing are on. Same for everything in public network, just in case. In desperation I completely turned off the Windows Firewall in case it was interfering, but nothing.

The Vista machines can see and access the shared folders on 7. 7 can see and access the shared folders on my Vista machines. The XP machines cannot see 7, and 7 cannot see them. I can copy files across the network and access them on the media pc with no problems. Ditto, vice versa. I just can't play any video files over the network. On my Vista machines, opening a video file has VLC remaining in minimised mode, and after a moment the play button turns from pause to play. Pressing play does nothing. Adding the folders across the network in Media Centre on my desktop is successful - trying to play videos (or music) is not. When I try to play anything, I get a black screen that never changes.

It's driving me spare. If this was an issue with beta software I'd be alright with it, but I had the 6801 build installed previous to the beta and networking was just fine. I don't know what I'm missing... if I'm missing anything at all.

 

[kevin from Chi-town]

Staurday...

Listen since its the weeend i do have some running to do...but i di intend on trying to help. First thought was when I tryed to load xp over win 7 I was getting APIC errors. I know this controller has played havoc with some tv tuner cards on XP. Maybe theres an outside chance its interferring with your network. What your doing is perfectly legit...theres got to be one small thing missing. You can read about apic here...Link Removed

I'll be back

 

[Azhrei]

No worries, I work on weekends myself and am only just back. I doubt it's the APIC thing, and it has to be turned on for multi-processor systems anyway, which our media pc has (Pentium dual-core 2GHz). I'm pretty sure that this problem with playing videos or music over the network has to do with some unseen security feature or option that I've somehow missed. Something in the permissions, maybe. Going through the permissions list makes me feel like I'm going around in endless circles.

 

[kevin from Chi-town]

I've tryed...

what your attempting to do...and have come up with some networking issues of my own ( regarding shares and permissions).
I'm trying to work them out. Theres also another thread going that has similiarities to some of your symtoms. Its here... Link Removed I'm going to continue just out of curiousity and i'll post later

 

[iroken22]

Azhrei i can play videos over the network with no problems. It is not a built in security feature. You must have a setting set incorrectly or you have made an adjustment to the os that makes it not allow videos. Try disabling the firewall on your pc and see if that helps.

 

[Azhrei]

Yes, I know. Have disabled the firewall. Look four posts above you and see if I've left anything out.

 

[iroken22]

Give all users on both machines privileges for all users in the security tab. So make sure they are all admins, power users and everything else possible. Then try and share the video files over the network. Do you have a router firewall?

 

[jimbo45]

I'm not really sure I want to get involved in this but the OP actually stated (once you can extract the sense from the rant) he / she (sorry as an ignorant Englishman I don't know the sex of some of these "to me" foreign sounding names) wanted to do was to "Video Stream" content around the house.

You don't actually need a computer for this - there are all sorts of Cable Modem's / Satellite services etc that can do this wirelessly around your home -- Those Networked / Multimedia Disks can also be used. Choose the correct application / system for the job in hand.

Even if you do use a computer then a dedicated single purpose OS or something like Linux can also be used for this.

Windows 7 is designed for commercial (as others have said) as well as home users and as such needs to have loads of security built in to it --maybe you like having your Bank details / credit cards or even sex life broadcast over the Internet but most I'm sure are quite glad the security issue is being addressed even if it is a pain at times.

Try and look at things like Slingbox for Video streaming.

There's always the correct tool for the job -- I hope you wouldn't use a Steam Hammer to crack a nut with.

If you don't like W7 don't use it --there's a load of different systems out there - most of which work quite satisfactorily provided you spend a little time working at it rather than appearing to give up at the first hurdle -- however when installing Windows 7 it was quite explicitly stated that this is BETA software and you should expect problems.

The fact that it has relatively few glitches and judging by most of the posts on this Forum there don't seem to be too many 100% unsolvable programs is certainly a plus for Windows 7.

For the first time in ages I actually am looking forward from Microsoft - a company I've usually tried to avoid or use an alternative solution to Windows where I can - a fast efficient SECURE and Robust system -- which I'm sure Windows 7 Final will deliver in spades.
Cheers
jimbo