Windows 7 Beta Now Available

(CNET)  Microsoft has apparently decided that it has enough server capacity and has made the code available for the Windows 7 beta.

I don't see a posting on the Windows 7 blog, but when I went to the Windows 7 page Saturday morning, I found the following message and was directed to this site to get the code.

"The Windows 7 Beta is now available for download," Microsoft said on its Web site. "Thanks for your interest and help with the beta."

The software was supposed to be made available on Friday, but the company delayed the release after a day filled with Web site problems.

Update: Microsoft offered up some recommended specifications for the beta, but cautioned those could change for the final release. It called for a 1GHz processor (either 32-bit or 64-bit), 1GB of system memory, 16Gb of disk space, support for DirectX 9 graphics with 128 MB memory, as well as a DVD burner and Internet access.

The software maker also cautioned users should have some technical skills, such as the ability to "burn an ISO file to make an install DVD. (A good example of what we mean by 'technical')." It also said folks should know how to install Windows (uh, yeah) and set up a network.

Furthermore, the company cautioned that the beta is not the quality one should expect from a final release. "It can be glitchy -- so don't use a PC you need every day."

I can see the Vista jokes coming now...

By Ina Fried

[legacyabq]

I still to this day, can''''t get the Vista SP1 to install on my laptop, and nobody can seem to figure out why.

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Posted by shanev137

Try the BIOS settings for your hard drive. Update, and if you are using SATA make sure the BIOS is set for it, I think Vista wants to default to AHCI or something like that, (though I dont imagine a Vista install should mess with your BIOS settings, somebody I know had a problem along these lines)

[MacTrek777]

I''m also a Mac user and I find the color scheme of Vista a great improvement over XP. It''s good to see Microsoft make improvements. Where I work we use PC''s and I''m getting tired of XP. Vista looks more like MacOS X and now hopefully it will work more like MacOS X. That makes things much more pleasant as I prefer the Mac OS when I''m at home and now even though I can''t have a Mac at work I can at least have a PC that comes close to it in looks and appearance.

[netofunk--2008]

I''m a mac user and my wife uses PC''s. I have used her new Vista Laptop and find that Vista is pretty nice. I don''t see the issue with it that everyone complains about. I had no issues getting our printer to work and after disabling some of the ballons; all seems fine. I don''t get all the negative press. I still prefer the Mac OS though.

[shanev137]

I still to this day, can''t get the Vista SP1 to install on my laptop, and nobody can seem to figure out why.

[clathrate]

Dear Microsoft: who cares? I have no intention of ever using your products again. You make junk, and apparently make money because 90% of the population is too stupid to try anything else.

Sorry, not interested, and I think before next year, Google will have an OS out that will effectively end your business, as if OSX and Linux already weren''t great options themselves. Go f yourself MS, you did it to yourself, just like Detroit. I can''t wait to see the look of dejection on the smarmy faces of your laid off legions of groupthinkers.

[centerfall94]

But Centerfall94, doesn''''t it bother you that Micro$oft will charge you for a brand new OS when, in fact, it is only a service pack?

Posted by Dan400Man at 02:31 PM : Jan 12, 2009

Oh, it does. Which means I''ll probably be sticking with my current os of Vista Ultimate 64 bit.

I don''t agree with Microsoft''s marketing, but they make a pretty decent operating system. Anyone who tells you different is probably typing on a Mac with a big chip on his shoulder.

[dan400man]

But Centerfall94, doesn''t it bother you that Micro$oft will charge you for a brand new OS when, in fact, it is only a service pack?

Sticking with XP Pro for the foreseeable future, until I can figure out how to get peripherals to work in Ubuntu. It helps that I''ve got kids in college and they can bring home free, legit XP licenses for use on their computers. In fact, just did this for a system we built several months ago, tried to get Ubuntu functional for my son''s use, and pleasantly discovered his school offers free XP licenses for its students.

[rwsmith29456]

By the way. This should be called a Vista service pack instead of a new version.

[rwsmith29456]

From the company that will never ''get it right'' but will perpetually be willing to sell you a ''new'' version that corrects the mistakes of the last and adds its own set of new problems.

[yongamerica]

Vista.1 is now available? Big deal, still the same over bloated over priced OS. Solaris offers a superior UNIX based OS for the PC for free. For almost a decade it has done everything MS has tried to accomplish with VISTA. The VISTA 3D interface is based on Solaris''s open source 3D user interface.

And don''t forget Linux. Another wonderfully mature OS that are supported by software giants such as IBM and Novell.

America, its time to wake up and see there is a whole world of computing options. "Why stare at a window when you can step outside" (tm geekeye).

The majority of software developers design programs using a UNIX based OS and port them to Windows because UNIX is a stable consistent operating base. Even MS is releasing UNIX based software (for the Mac) MS even considered making its Windows OS UNIX based but decided against it because it was too close to being too compatible with the other open source Linux, BSD and Solaris (all UNIX) operating systems.