Windows 7

Monday 26 October 2009
0700

Yesterday I downloaded and installed the upgrade to Microsoft Windows 7. It is Awesome!

I have suffered under Windows Vista for over a year, ever since I bought this new computer while on leave. I have never been quite sure whether the problems I was experiencing were caused by the hardware or the operating system, but I have always suspected that it was mainly Vista’s fault.

Slow startups, slow shutdowns, lagging performance (especially when opening new tabs in Internet Explorer), inexplicable crashes and lockups – it’s been a miserable year from a computing standpoint. For someone whose only connection with his family and friends is through my computer, this is a very big deal. Windows Vista totally spoiled the fun of purchasing a new computer last year.

I’ve been reading about Windows 7 for months in the Wall Street Journal, ever since Walt Mossberg started testing it. He has had good things to say about it all along, and I have been looking forward to the release. I had intended to buy it as soon as I got home in November, but when I read that you could download it from Microsoft’s online store, I couldn’t wait.

The download experience was a bit frustrating. I wanted a backup CD, but since I only have a PO Box to ship it to, that was a problem. They only deliver to street addresses. Once I gave them a street address, their website *still* wouldn’t take the order, because the billing address for my credit card is a PO Box. I had to wait until they opened at noon on Saturday (7 PM here) to get someone on the line.

I made the purchase and then waited for the promised email to come with the download instructions and the product activation code. It didn’t come, so I called back. After a couple dropped calls (after all, this was an IP call from a crowded, noisy public internet venue near the USO), I finally got someone who could help (well, his supervisor helped since his English and intellect just weren’t up to the task). The supervisor told me I could just go to a different page on the website and download it, and the activation code would be right there on the screen. Why didn’t they just tell me that in the first place??

I downloaded the software, after a number of false starts trying to decide what would be the best approach. First off, a screen came up telling me about a bunch of software I had to uninstall first because it wouldn’t work. Some of it was no big deal, but some of it was critical – e.g. the WiFi adapter device driver. How am I supposed to get online without that? So I decided to leave that in place, along with a couple of others that simply refused to uninstall themselves (the ATI graphics driver, for one).

Microsoft “strongly recommends” that you stay connected to the internet during the entire installation. I was concerned because this would require a choice between getting the upgrade and sleeping (with no internet in our quarters here, the only place to get online is a loud, raucous, crowded, smelly club environment). I went ahead and downloaded, and then once the software was on my machine and it said it was “unpacking” it, I headed for my room.

I left the machine running all night. When I woke up, it was waiting for me to put in the activation code. I had written it down, but somehow dropped a character. So I had to wait until I got back to the internet place to read it online again. Fortunately I had my iPod Touch, and could get online and back to the website (I guess I could have used one of the public internet computers as well).

Once I put in the code, it proceeded with the installation. I had to search for some device drivers and reboot a couple times, but it was fairly straightforward. I’ve been through this sort of thing enough times and experienced enough pain with other conversions that this one felt pretty painless and quick.

Once it came up, I was very impressed. The interface is overall fairly similar to Vista, with some noticeable changes in how applications are displayed on the task bar. Overall, it is *much* faster – faster to load, faster to respond, faster to enter “Sleep” mode. Very snappy and responsive.

Most importantly for me, opening multiple tabs in Internet Explorer is not the excruciating ordeal that it has been with Vista. You actually regain control of the pointer fairly quickly and can move on to open another tab. This is a daily thing with me, as I read the Wall Street Journal online. Dow Jones refuses to provide a downloadable version for offline reading, so I have to open each article in a separate tab so that I can read it at my leisure later when I’m not online. (I guess they just can’t imagine that somebody might not have an internet connection 24x7 – how to they expect people to read it on the train?).

I’ve only used Windows 7 for a couple of days now, but it hasn’t crashed or locked up yet (which was at least a daily occurrence with Vista). So I’m an enthusiastic convert.

Over the past year, I have quite often found myself cursing Steve Ballmer and Bill Gates into the deepest reaches of Hell as I struggled with Vista. Now, for what it’s worth, I just went online and bought a bunch of Microsoft stock in my retirement account. I think this is a solid product that people will feel much better about than Vista. Microsoft still may not be my favorite company (after all, I’m an ex-IBMer), but at least they're off my sh*t list.

Mood: Happy
Music: HVAC noise