OK Im new to this forum so can someone fill me in to this, I am investigating Windows 7 in depth, and I want to know some of the details. All I have heard is that it will have the stability of XP but the eye candy of Vista is that correct? or was my informant wrong.
Hello and Welcome to Windows7forums..
So your looking for the down low on Windows 7.. Well I can fill you in with what I think about it but that's not to say I'm 100% right..
As it's solely my opinion..
As far as the GUI goes.. yes it does share alot of similarities with Vista in that regard.. however, I still say it's cleaner, crisper, more polished and all around better than Vista's and XP's.. I also find it a little easier to navigate than Vista was..
Stability? That one's a no brainer once you've used Win 7 for 30 mins or so..
I say it's definitely as stable as Windows XP.. but to add to that I honestly find it a bit more stable than XP even.. It is definitely more stable than Vista.. no competition there.. But like I said, I really think Win 7 is more stable than Windows XP.. This becomes much more apparent after you use Windows 7 for a while then go back and use Win XP.. I hate to say it but Windows XP is becoming legacy VERY quickly now that Win 7 has seen the light of day..
Speed? Well, in my opinion this is much like the stability.. Windows XP was/is very fast indeed.. Windows Vista isn't all that fast when you get right down to it. You can tweak Vista enough to get it almost to the level of XP's speed but in my opinion one shouldn't have to spend an hour or so tweaking to achieve that, it should be as fast or faster than the previous version right out of the box.. And Windows 7 is IMO the fastest of the 3 hands down.. There are a few benchmarks out there already proving this but I think you'll notice this fact shortly after you start using Win 7..
Compatibility? Windows XP is no doubt the most compatible Windows OS out there.. But that's what happens when an OS has 10 years in the mainstream light to mature.. Vista is crap in this department in my opinion.. yes it has come along way from when it was released just 3 years ago but it's still not nearly as compatible as it should be.. Windows 7 is already extremely compatible and it's still in RC stages! I've installed Windows 7 on several different pc's so far (5 of which are my home pc's) and I've yet to run into a major compatibility problem.. I realize the same may not be true for enterprise and small business at this point but that will come most likely by the RTM and Retail.. Developers need to start pumping out drivers now to help remedy that... (Kudos to AMD and nVidia for getting Windows 7 drivers out as quickly as they did. And for not hurting the quality of the drivers in the process)
Functionality? Again, XP is most likely the most functional Windows OS out there for obvious reasons.. But I do have to say after having used Win 7 for a few months now, I'm actually having a hard time when I go back to Windows XP.. That's how functional Win 7 is in my opinion.. Vista.. well I unfortunately can't say the same for Vista.. Though it is very useable I still don't feel it's as functional, even now, as it should/could be.. Windows 7 is already extremely functional and I can only see it getting better from this point on..
That's a brief outline of my thoughts on Windows 7 at this point.. Now after having said all that I'm not saying that you might not run into a problem that will prevent you from using Win 7 until the Retail goes live.. it's certainly possible, as it is with ANY BETA/RC OS.. but with Win 7 the chances of that happening are far less then say with Windows Vista when it was at this stage of it's development.. I (with many others) find Windows 7 to be so far one of the best (if not THE BEST) Windows OS Microsoft has released to date.. I can only see it getting nothing but better from this point to when the Retail version goes live..
Hopefully this has given you the answers your looking for.. Please don't get discouraged by reading some of the negative comments about Win 7 posted on this forum as alot of those are a result of the lack of Win 7 drivers out at this point.. They will come, it just takes some time.. Like it does when any new OS is being introduced...
Keep in mind this is purely my opinion.. though most of it is factual, it's still my view on Windows 7 so if you don't agree with it that's fine.. I'm not saying you have to, I'm just trying to answer you the best I can..