Windows 7 RC1 in May

ThraxThrax 🐌Austin, TX Icrontian
edited May 2009 in Science & Tech
Β«1

Comments

  • jaredjared College Station, TX Icrontian
    edited March 2009
    You donÒ€ℒt need to rush to get Windows 7 RC. The RC release will be available at least through June 2009 and weÒ€ℒre not limiting the number of product keys, so you have plenty of time.

    Meaning, please don't rape our servers for 3 days straight after the release. :vimp:

    Glad they wised up this time.
  • QCHQCH Ancient Guru Chicago Area - USA Icrontian
    edited March 2009
    Yep... they already pulled the page. :D
  • BuddyJBuddyJ Dept. of Propaganda OKC Icrontian
    edited March 2009
    Oops. Nice catch.
  • MiracleManSMiracleManS Chambersburg, PA Icrontian
    edited March 2009
    Well, good to know the time schedule of things in any case. Wonder if they'll email you and say "take it down nao!"
  • QCHQCH Ancient Guru Chicago Area - USA Icrontian
    edited March 2009
    We didn't break any laws in gaining the information. I was in public view...
  • BuddyJBuddyJ Dept. of Propaganda OKC Icrontian
    edited March 2009
    Any thoughts on the 1 year expiration. Does that mean it'll be at least a year before it sees release, or is it merely an arbitrary suggestion?
  • QCHQCH Ancient Guru Chicago Area - USA Icrontian
    edited March 2009
    I believe Release Candidates have a longer expiration to allow for testers to really beat the crap out of it without having to worry about running into the expiration. Software vendors, hardware vendors, and such need the extra time.

    I think MS is still on course for a November release... Extra boost for the x-mas season.
  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited March 2009
    The word is that Win 7 is still on track for September/October RTM and November release (as Q points out). It is not uncommon for an RC to operate a 6-8 months past its launch; Vista did this.
  • LincLinc Owner Detroit Icrontian
    edited March 2009
    Makes sense to me. While I was certainly in no hurry to try the beta with the knowledge I'd be wiping twice, I could definitely see trying out the RC if I know I can stick with it for a while.
  • MiracleManSMiracleManS Chambersburg, PA Icrontian
    edited March 2009
    @Q

    I wasn't inferring what we did was illegal. That still wouldn't prevent a polite "plz taek it down? NAO!" :-D
  • QCHQCH Ancient Guru Chicago Area - USA Icrontian
    edited March 2009
    MMS.. I know you knew but for the other... Many tie "Take Down Orders" with something illegal and we all know that MS is not above pretending to make an issue sound illegal and request a "Take Down Order". :)
  • SnarkasmSnarkasm Madison, WI Icrontian
    edited March 2009
    Spurt. Won't be rolling back OSes in August for me! Looking forward to RC and a couple bug fixes.
  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited March 2009
    Note: I learned today that you can perform a repair install with a new build to update the installed copy of windows 7.
  • Mt_GoatMt_Goat Head Cheezy Knob Pflugerville (north of Austin) Icrontian
    edited March 2009
    Thrax wrote:
    Note: I learned today that you can perform a repair install with a new build to update the installed copy of windows 7.

    That is outstanding news. It would certainly be worth a try!
  • AlexDeGruvenAlexDeGruven Wut? Meechigan Icrontian
    edited March 2009
    This makes me think more about putting one of the interim builds on my main system at home. If I can essentially backdoor-upgrade to the RC, and possibly the final release, it would make it a lot easier for me.
  • kryystkryyst Ontario, Canada
    edited March 2009
    This is definitely good news and smart for Microsoft. For most of the people that have jumped on the Windows 7 bandwagon since the beta came out. We've been faced with a rather big what-if when August comes around and the first beta expires. Come may we'll be able to upgrade to RC1 and extend our end-date. Which means people won't have to revert back to XP or Vista.

    Furthermore the more people Microsoft can keep using Windows 7 and by that extension want to keep using it when the final retail version comes out. More people are likely going to buy it.
  • GooDGooD Quebec (CAN) Member
    edited March 2009
    kryyst said it right :)

    The more you let people play with win7, the more they will buy it.

    Personnally i've never bought a OS, until now. Microsoft will have my money for a copy of Win7 for sure :) It's a way to prove them they did it right this time, and maybe it'll affect the way they think of "what should be the next OS" from now on heh
  • Cliff_ForsterCliff_Forster Icrontian
    edited March 2009
    GooD wrote:
    kryyst said it right :)

    The more you let people play with win7, the more they will buy it.

    Personnally i've never bought a OS, until now. Microsoft will have my money for a copy of Win7 for sure :) It's a way to prove them they did it right this time, and maybe it'll affect the way they think of "what should be the next OS" from now on heh

    Do I wanna know how you have gotten through life without buying an OS?
  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited March 2009
    I got my copies of Windows 2000 and Windows XP for the price of shipping. Completely legal.
  • SnarkasmSnarkasm Madison, WI Icrontian
    edited March 2009
    My copies have all come preinstalled or from my university licenses. :)

    Will buy 7.
  • GooDGooD Quebec (CAN) Member
    edited March 2009
    Do I wanna know how you have gotten through life without buying an OS?

    Well, maybe you don't...


    And if you really want then i'll tell you that i dont want to go on with the piracy topic but when i was a student i was a bit short on money by moment and when you can have a friend that come home and save you some bucks so you can go out on weekends because you have enough money... Well you see the picture.

    Now that i think of it my first computer came with win95 and i paid for it :P

    Anyway i just feel like Win7 is totaly worth my bucks now. Vista was not. XP is the beginning was not (if you keep in mind that i was really short on money at that time)

    Im the kind of guy who buy to "support" when i feel they really did the work i was hoping them to do...

    For exemple : I've bought a game (Galactic civilization) just because the maker went on a rampage against DRM and that the game was DRM Free. I didnt play the game that much, but they deserved my money.

    But im going out of topic so i'll stop here heh
  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited March 2009
    I'm the same way, GooD. I bought Sins of a Solar Empire because there was no DRM. So happens it was also a good game, but Sins was pleasantly DRM free, and that was totally worth my $$.
  • Cliff_ForsterCliff_Forster Icrontian
    edited March 2009
    GooD wrote:
    Well, maybe you don't...


    And if you really want then i'll tell you that i dont want to go on with the piracy topic but when i was a student i was a bit short on money by moment and when you can have a friend that come home and save you some bucks so you can go out on weekends because you have enough money... Well you see the picture.

    Now that i think of it my first computer came with win95 and i paid for it :P

    Anyway i just feel like Win7 is totaly worth my bucks now. Vista was not. XP is the beginning was not (if you keep in mind that i was really short on money at that time)

    Im the kind of guy who buy to "support" when i feel they really did the work i was hoping them to do...

    For exemple : I've bought a game (Galactic civilization) just because the maker went on a rampage against DRM and that the game was DRM Free. I didnt play the game that much, but they deserved my money.

    But im going out of topic so i'll stop here heh

    I don't judge Brotha!!

    I think we all try to find creative ways to save a bit where we can. The great thing right now is that most anything you do on a PC can be obtained with a free application. Great browsers, Open Office, Picassa, Media and file sharing software of all kinds, the Gimp, AVG Anti Virus, realy mature user friendly Linux distrubutions, flash content is improving all the time, the surge of free advertising supported internet video with services like Hulu, its amazing how much great stuff is out there for the price of zero. We have come a long way from the days of having to pay $300 for office software, and paying for a netscape browser in a box at your local software store.

    I have said to a couple other folks in the forum, if I could only get all my 3D games to run inside of Linux without a major workaround in Wine. If I could, I might not even pay for the OS anymore, but until then, I will do the right thing and hand Microsoft the cash for my retail copy when they demand it.

    My hope would be that they at least give Vista users a discount for participating it what essnetialy feels like a 3 year beta program and less of a full release. But somehow, I don't see that being the pricing model.

    Even better, If I were Microsoft, I could use windows 7 as an oportunity to realy spread my product base. Why not include the windows 7 OS for purchases for other Microsoft services? Would you buy a Zune, and a 12 month Zune Pass subscription if they threw in the OS? That might take a bite out of Apples online music monopoly? What if they gave you the destop OS with the purchase of a Windows Mobile devise, and realy use it to gain some mobile market share, I could see that offering a better consumer value and being a win/win for MS as they would expand their bag of tricks to be a viable competitor in other markets.

    Okay, I am now officialy way off topic.....
  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited March 2009
    Windows 7's pricing is the last critical piece to what has been thus far a masterfully-executed grassroots campaign of positive buzz.

    Each successive build -- almost assuredly leaked by Microsoft -- has yielded impressive improvements in both the speed and function of the OS. The heart of Windows 7 is built upon series of modular and independent stacks that have breathed new life into Windows architecture. Stephen Sinofsky, the Win 7 product chief, has rallied the troops with an unbelievable show of transparency and craftsmanship.

    Windows 7 is built right, managed right and runs right. The proof is in the product: It runs as well or better than XP. In beta. A Microsoft OS besting its most popular predecessor is a feat that Microsoft has never been able to claim.

    Windows 7 is converting Mac people, it's seducing Linux people, it's reviving the faith of Windows people and the positive feedback has been positively overwhelming. I've only read three disparaging comments about Windows 7, and all of them were from people who would probably personally service Linus Torvalds at the asking.

    But Microsoft cannot stumble on price. If Windows 7 Professional is anything more than $150 (even that may be too steep), they will halt and destroy all of their momentum. Windows 7 Professional needs to be $100, or else the finest campaign in Microsoft's history will have been for nothing.
  • GooDGooD Quebec (CAN) Member
    edited March 2009
    Hahah Thrax Sins is of the same compagny :) Seems like a good game but i didnt try it.
    Even better, If I were Microsoft, I could use windows 7 as an oportunity to realy spread my product base. Why not include the windows 7 OS for purchases for other Microsoft services? Would you buy a Zune, and a 12 month Zune Pass subscription if they threw in the OS? That might take a bite out of Apples online music monopoly? What if they gave you the destop OS with the purchase of a Windows Mobile devise, and realy use it to gain some mobile market share, I could see that offering a better consumer value and being a win/win for MS as they would expand their bag of tricks to be a viable competitor in other markets.

    Great Idea ! I also think that the more peolple will move to win7, the better it will be for everyone ! This kind of deal could help them achieve this goal. It would be better for game and application maker, less support for microsoft. Better product overall because they only need to test it on ONE OS.

    As a side effect, Win7 will support directX 11 and 10, but since XP doesnt support it, if the majority of XP users (me included) dont take to boat to win7, games will need to still support directX9 on PC, and some wont even use the power of directX11 because of that, and for a gamer like myself, its a very bad thing.

    Since they made the switch from vista to win7 so easy (everything that work on vita will work on win7) and that they hardly try to extend the support of XP applications on win7. My bet is that they will succeed, eventually, but i think it will take a LONG time (like 4 years).

    So any marketing ideas to try to reduce the time it will take to have a majority of users on win7 are good to me :) And yours is a good one, for both us consumers and Microsoft. I would too, give a good rebate to everyone would bought Vista if they update to win7, cuz Win7 is basicaly what Vista was suppose to be IMO.
  • Cliff_ForsterCliff_Forster Icrontian
    edited March 2009
    Thrax wrote:
    Windows 7's pricing is the last critical piece to what has been thus far a masterfully-executed grassroots campaign of positive buzz.

    Each successive build -- almost assuredly leaked by Microsoft -- has yielded impressive improvements in both the speed and function of the OS. The heart of Windows 7 is built upon series of modular and independent stacks that have breathed new life into Windows architecture. Stephen Sinofsky, the Win 7 product chief, has rallied the troops with an unbelievable show of transparency and craftsmanship.

    Windows 7 is built right, managed right and runs right. The proof is in the product: It runs as well or better than XP. In beta. A Microsoft OS besting its most popular predecessor is a feat that Microsoft has never been able to claim.

    Windows 7 is converting Mac people, it's seducing Linux people, it's reviving the faith of Windows people and the positive feedback has been positively overwhelming. I've only read three disparaging comments about Windows 7, and all of them were from people who would probably personally service Linus Torvalds at the asking.

    But Microsoft cannot stumble on price. If Windows 7 Professional is anything more than $150 (even that may be too steep), they will halt and destroy all of their momentum. Windows 7 Professional needs to be $100, or else the finest campaign in Microsoft's history will have been for nothing.

    Are we talking $100 for an upgrade copy, a single use OEM copy, or for full retail privilege.

    Even then, what I would also love to see is a good online distribution model for those of us who know how to burn an .iso, but I don't see them going there either.

    What do you think about the oportunity they have to package in some other goods with the OS? The new OS is obviously very desireable, I love the Beta, and have high hopes for what it will provide consumers as a final retail product.

    That being said, if I am Microsoft, I might have to face the music that its only a matter of time before Linux starts digging into my market share. People love free, absolutely love it, and Ubuntu is prooving that Linux is not just for geeks anymore. So if I am Microsoft, I want a broader product focus, they obviously missed the boat early with online music distribution, but that does not mean they can not recover to become a force in that market. What about keeping thier share high in console gaming? How about Windows Mobile? What Potential new market oportunites that they may have are not in the OS, they are going to sell the OS one way or the other, why not piggback it on some product they don't compete well in currently? I would honestly love to see a buy a Zune, and X months of Zune Pass, heres your copy of Windows 7 Promo. Or buy a windows mobile device, here is your copy of Windows 7, knowing that that gives them an extended revenue model for mobile applications that would more than make up for the discount on the desktop OS? Buy a lifetime subscrition to Xbox Live for $200 maybe, here is your OS, knowing that the live service is an extended revenue model.

    Every financial analyst on earth says the same thing about Microsoft, great company, but if they lost significant share in the OS or office software market they would fall hard and fast. Free Linux and Free Open office are realy compelling options for alot of users at home. Perhaps its not the larger picture with buisness computing being the large market it is, but its not something Microsoft can afford a major loss of share in, then bounce back because they have all these other profitable ventures. I think it makes sense for them to leverage windows 7 to diversify their market offering.

    I doubt it will happen though, I expect they will just hang their hat on a realy solid OS and gouge us for it because they know we will be powerless against it.
  • GooDGooD Quebec (CAN) Member
    edited March 2009
    Thrax wrote:
    But Microsoft cannot stumble on price. If Windows 7 Professional is anything more than $150 (even that may be too steep), they will halt and destroy all of their momentum. Windows 7 Professional needs to be $100, or else the finest campaign in Microsoft's history will have been for nothing.

    Since we talked about pricary sooner on, i'll say that for the first time i've read everywhere that even the most "pirated-mind" is willing to BUY OS on release date. That says a lot. The buzz is on and keep growing every week.

    If i was MS, i would see there a potentiel to sell A LOT MORE of legit OS. If they overprice the version that most people will buy (i also think it will be PRO) they will ruin the buzz. They cant sell it for more than 200$ (full price, without rebate or any kind) IMO or the buzz is dead.

    I wish for them that they will understand it, sooner better than later.
  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited March 2009
    $100 for a full copy, ideally, but an upgrade would work as anyone w/ XP and Vista can get a clean install of Windows 7 by using an upgrade disc.

    As for Windows 7 bundling, it's a good idea, but I can't speak to the financial merits of such a plan. I can see it being successful, and I can see users throwing their disc in a corner and never installing it.

    As for Linux, it has made strides, but it will never bite Microsoft significantly on the desktop. It can't. It doesn't have enough momentum, Microsoft has too much incumbency, and users can't get the same experience on Linux, and they don't want to learn something new.
  • GooDGooD Quebec (CAN) Member
    edited March 2009
    Linux wont hurt microsoft that much, not for now at least. Even if Ubuntu is really easier to use, most normal people see Linux as a complicated black box hard to use more than anything else. They think it because the only people they hear talked about Linux are Tech. people.

    Until they change this idea that most people have, they won't do too much opposition to Microsoft. Most people that have a Linux OS also have a Windows OS too anyway atm.
  • Cliff_ForsterCliff_Forster Icrontian
    edited March 2009
    Thrax wrote:
    $100 for a full copy, ideally, but an upgrade would work as anyone w/ XP and Vista can get a clean install of Windows 7 by using an upgrade disc.

    As for Windows 7 bundling, it's a good idea, but I can't speak to the financial merits of such a plan. I can see it being successful, and I can see users throwing their disc in a corner and never installing it.

    As for Linux, it has made strides, but it will never bite Microsoft significantly on the desktop. It can't. It doesn't have enough momentum, Microsoft has too much incumbency, and users can't get the same experience on Linux, and they don't want to learn something new.

    I would not proclaim Linux as any serious threat, but if I am Microsoft today, whats a 3-5% share of my OS buisness worth? Probably a heck of alot considering that my only enterprises that are realy profitable are the OS and Office software buisness. Sure I have other products, but they all loose money. Zune despite being a great product, just has not gained momentum, the Xbox360 despite having its finer points with the revenue stream from Live service and downloads, still is a looser because they did not take the time to properly design the hardware on launch. Windows mobile has lost to Iphone, and even Android feels like its a more viable mobile platform than Windows can offer. All three areas that I am sure Microsoft will want to capitalize on if they are to continue to grow, because the OS market, is gonig to expand, even if thier he #1 player, they are going to be less the #1 player, its just inevitable.

    Even if MS does everything right twice the users that are on Ubuntu now are on it next year because its simple, secure and free. Worst case, Microsoft drops the ball on competitive pricing, I would bet they are down in OS market share 3-5% by this time next year. Does not sound like that big a deal, but when so many of your eggs are in that basket, its huge. I honestly think Microsoft should leverage windows 7 as a product diversification oportunity. The desktop OS can only remain the viable cash cow for so long, they need to diversify thier revenue stream to remain a strong company.
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