Microsoft kills off public availability of Windows 7 beta Microsoft has slammed the door shut on its Windows 7 beta download program, though anyone still keen to get their mitts on it can simply trundle along to Pirate Bay or similar for a copy. The software giant put out a reminder late on Monday that those who wanted to play around with the beta, AKA build 7000, of its upcoming …
Microsoft Killed Windows 7 Beta? You can always download a fresh copy of Linux!
I just made this experience: created a virtual machine with just 256 Mb RAM and installed XUbuntu -- a lightweight desktop system.
When I turned the machine on, the operating system would use just 130 Mb of memory. Here's a screenshot:
http://i40.tinypic.com/vfj9k3.png
When I turned Firefox on, memory was still below 180Mb.
That's why Linux will dominate the low-end netbook market: not only because it is free, reducing the software cost by $30-$60, but because it also requires much less hardware, reducing the overall cost by another $30-$60.
If you consider software AND hardware, Linux is what will make it possible to sell netbooks for $200, while Windows netbooks will start
at $300. (Windows at $200 will be a non-starter.)
If you want to repeat this experiment, download XUbuntu:
http://www.xubuntu.org/
Couldn't El Reg just set up three articles, one for Windows, one for Linux and one for Mac OS?
Then those people who want to spout reams of prejudice could do it as a comment to the appropriate article, and Sarah the Bee could move fan-club or hate-mail comments to the correct area.
Or just lose them entirely...
Having heard mixed views (ie not all bad) I was going to give it a run in a VM (although not sure if that violates any T&Cs)
I doubt I will use it until it comes with a new computer now - which by then will be to late to decide if I want it or not.
Try before you buy N/A for windows. However as Capito mentions above , I can just try linux before I buy (well buy for 0).
We don't care.
Oh no wait, we do - just not in the way you're hoping for. Linux dominating the low-end netbook market? Hahahahaharharharhaarrrrrrrrrumph. Was that before or after HP, Dell, Lenovo and Asus (in the Benelux at least) stopped selling netbooks with Linux in favour of XP?
Thanks for the screenshot though, reminds me (again) why I wouldn't touch Linux with somebody else's bargepole.
"Microsoft recently reiterated it would not bring out a second beta for Windows 7 but instead would move straight to the release candidate stage."
Hold on there, they had 3 betas for developers called Longhorn back in '05/'06, 2 years of public beta called "Vista" and "Vista SP1" since. Forget about the RCs...
http://img299.imageshack.us/my.php?image=visevenlb0.jpg
The problem with Linux and the Linux monkeys never see this is that end users are pretty dumb, and they are happy that way. They want stuff that will turn on and send their e mail and that they are familiar with. Linux netbook sales are down, that is a fact.
Paris cos even she can run Win7
Funny that people with ZERO experience of computers get on better with ubuntu than windows.
Old farts and prissy morons with a tiny bit of knowledge shill for msoft
anyone else uses whats in front of them
fact ubuntu on a blanked dell laptop - 23 mins, installed, running and able to play DVDs etc
WinXP - 2 hours+ later still missing drivers (thanks a million dell for using a ton of different hardware over the lifespan of the laptop model - 4 sound chipsets (none compatible), 3 different modems and network chipsets etc) oh and valid key but "your key appears to be invalid, please contact msoft and speak to someone incoherent in india so wont let me activate the install.
Heck even my artist wife prefers linux - why? Amarok, no viruses, quicker, better battery life and no automatic sneaky reboots which caused her no end of annoyance (editing photo, get up to get a cuppa, come back to find windows has decided to reboot to install updates without permission, lose photo progress)
Its not all command line, heck I hardly use it. mostly I just use the Add / remove programs front end for synaptic. E.g. need something to play mp3s, type mp3 and up pops a heap of options with star ratings.
So yeah windows Vista sucks, 7 ok, XP not bad, Ubuntu almost a total replacement for any version of windows.
>>>Microsoft has slammed the door shut on its Windows 7 beta download program<<<
what you really mean is the period of availability (as clearly stated by Microsoft) fas come to an end
and why do the Linux freaks think they have to comment every time windows is mentioned, why ?
_BEGIN-WINDOWS7-REVIEW-FROM-A-LINUX-ADDICT:
And boy is it weired. First of all, the x64(why they refuse to call it AMD64 is beyond me) version refuses to play FEAR's sounds and WMFADist.exe refuses to work due to being a 32-bit app. Second, I had to hunt for a driver for my rt2500, which wasn't autodetected(they've got Ralink's drivers under TWO company names for some reason) - Linux has never required me to modprobe rt2500pci. Pinning apps to the taskbar is strange, since the windows replace the buttons - meaning you can have windows in the midst of buttons(I much prefer the quicklaunch toolbar, thank you very much). In addition, the breadcrumb address bar is a useless joke(why can't I use the up button to get to C:\?) and I've yet to figure out how to get explorer to show file extensions(or apply any customizations, for that matter). The run dialog requires FLAG+R to bring up since it has no menu entry and there's no way to go back to the more sensible style of days gone by. Finally, there's still now way to have a second panel. Still sticking to Fluxbox+xcompmgr, even though fglrx sucks so much that I have to use 3d-less drivers. At least Konqueror's a usable file manager, web browser and anything viewer.
_BEGIN-LINUX-RANT:
As for people calling Linux hard, hardware detection is pretty damn good - as I said above, I had to manually install my wireless card, where Linux automagically loads the correct driver. Give Knoppix or Mint a go before you bash Linux(just remember that KDE 4 is still in beta, despite being hyped as a release - Qt4 sure is perdy though). At least you get to try before you commit.
@ Brian Whittle -- "why do the Linux freaks think they have to comment every time windows is mentioned, why?"
It's either a) their god-given duty to proselytize and convert the world to the One True Penguin Way(TM), *or* b) out of genuine love and concern for the well-being of downtrodden humankind slaving away at those other horrible operating-systems <like whichever OS you dislike the most, you know Winblows or Crapple or whatever> , *or* it could be: c) just braggin' so as to feel superior, making up for lack of functionality in, erm, other areas perhaps. ;)
*If* it's choice "a" though, the Linux fans might not like it so much when they get their wish - say, if ten years from now 90% of people were somehow magically using Linux, and all the malware would then be written for Linux because hell why waste time writing spyware & viruses for the remaining 4% Windows users and 6% Mac users at that time.. or something like that. ;)
-- I wonder if Paris likes penguins... bad thoughts! *bad* thoughts! and how would that work, exactly, anyway... hmmmmm... haha you guys are corrupting me. :)
Could the Windows bashing be because redmond are making themselves an easy target?
I certainly wouldn't like to see microsoft die on it's arse completely, cos then we'd really only be able to compare linux and apple .(BeOS and opensolaris aside).
It could be also the case that the penguins can smell blood and are circling waiting to pounce .
(Pounce like a Penguin- nice alliteration? No?tough room.......)
I sincerely hope the w7 commercials in the future are not the "i'm a pc" crap... I want a fat lady singing ...preferrably wagner.One way or another, I have a feeling it's going to happen.
Well that settles it... Windows 7 is worse than Vista. Damn it.
I was hoping for something decent I could use as a gaming platform, but both Vista and Win7 suck at so many things (especially network file transfers).
Oh well. Valve's bringing Steam (and some of the Source engine games) to Linux soon, right? That's about all I need ;-)
Curious how (supposed) Linux users are all over the comments on Windows articles. One would think they have other things to do with a such a wonderful system than waste time reading articles about an inferior OS.
I'm a Windows user because Linux (any flavor) doesn't suit my needs. Yes, Capito, you read that right : neither Ubuntu nor any other Tux flavor does what I want to do, so I (shock) don't use it.
But you don't see me banging on about Windows in a Linux article. Nor do I see any other comments about Windows in Linux articles.
Oh wait . . there aren't any Linux articles, and Linux is insignificant, market-wise. I wonder if there may be a correlation there.
>*If* it's choice "a" though, the Linux fans might not like it so much when they get their wish - >say, if ten years from now 90% of people were somehow magically using Linux.
Well you magically used it to make this post - since El Reg appears to be running Debian. Hopefully 10 years from now, the illuminati will have dropped Linux in favour of a decent monolith - my money's on Microsoft Solaris 13 ;).
Perhaps you haven't noticed, but Linux already dominates the net and while far from invulnerable provides considerably more security for considerably less time invested than, say Windows or OSX offerings - and for serious malware developers, servers is where its at. At the desktop users are the weakest link regardless of OS and that's unlikely to change.
Also FWIW, Windows 7 builds remain available for download from MS Connect for a very large number of invited Beta Testers, myself included - and scenarios are still using the same build as public currently. This week the focus is the new server migration tools, not something the great unwashed are likely to be much help with.
Oh dear, Stevie B been on your backs about how bad your doing trying to do Linux down? You haven't been threated with redundancy, a pay-cut, or worse, a chair, have you?
It would be funny if it wasn't so sad. All that semi-illiterate trolling of Linux articles being undermined by clear answers from people who actually 'shock horror' currently use Linux, so you have to resort to pleading with Ms Bee. ' Please Miss no Linux comments on our article, please please'.
It was amusing to see the whining about the use of M$ be taken on board, but hey, FreeTard is fine as adjective to describe Linux users - even through the experience shows that the majority of torrenting FreeTards tend to use Windows.
But anyway, carry on. It gives me something to chuckle over while enjoying my morning coffee.
Yes, Linux works with fewer system resources, well done.
Thing is, I really quite like my iTunes 8 with genius playlists, my games, my music production software.
We use Windows for a reason! :rolleyes:
I love this Win7 beta tbh. Tis Vista with XP performance. It's only fallen over when I've tried running iTunes' visualisations (which I seldom do anyway)...
Go MS. You finally seem to be getting the hang of this OS malarky!
>>"It could be also the case that the penguins can smell blood and are circling waiting to pounce ."<<
Or maybe it's 'cause Linux users are a bunch of twats with nothing better to do than invade windows 7 articles and post useless comments which get in the way of reading what we want to read about...
linux twats: please get off the windows forums, we dont want to read about it and no, we're not going to start using it. Go and post in your own forums where you can chat between yourselves.
@Schroeder
so the use of one semi-vulgar word indicates i am semi-illiterate does it?! well, for one i wasn't aware we were being judged on the comprehensive use of our mother tongue and two, i believe a lot of the language exerted on this site well exceeds my own previous post.
In fact, I am far from some delirious teenage troll and am just incredibly frustrated that pretty much every article I read regarding windows 7 these days seems to have a non-stop flurry of people (who I have now termed ‘Linux twats’# reeling off useless information, which is neither relevant nor interesting to windows 7 enthusiasts. I am fully aware of the availability of the Linux operating system, and if I want to go and download it and use it, I will. It seems that a number of Linux users are using their spare time to try and ‘promote’ the operating system by posting irrelevant articles.
As another of the slightly bemused #and I presume also frustrated# users posted above, the distinct lack of Linux articles #possibly due to the smaller market share# means that there are less people posting irrelevant comments in them.
How much nicer #and more productive# would a forum be, if we could discuss the article in question, rather than having to ‘filter’ through all of the irrelevant information posted by people who obviously don’t care #nor like# Microsoft products.
Fortunately for me, I don’t bother with Linux and therefore have no interest in reading articles about it, let alone writing useless comments on Linux forums... #I have used it and didn’t like it compared to Windows, similar to the way I am proficient with Macs, but hey-ho I don’t use them either).
The fact that you are using silly and childish “M$” symbols and presume that anyone who comments on Windows articles doesn’t ‘shock horror’ use Linux indicates to me that you are somewhat blinded by what is happening in these forums... the reason people don’t want to read Linux articles in Windows 7 forums is because it has NOTHING to do with the article!
I am sure you love Linux and congratulations to you; I hope you enjoy a long and healthy life with it, but please... let the windows users enjoy their O/S too without all the Linux, Linux, Linux talk all the time...
Sorry, you remind me of my 10 year son, who is frequently reminded that 'just saying something, doesn't make it true' when asked if he's tidied his room.
I find it wholly amusing for you to suggest that Linux users are flooding windows articles due to a frustration due to the lack of Linux articles on The Register, rather than it being the case that any article about a Microsoft competitor is flooded by Microsoft shills desperate to talk down the competition.Look at any article on Firefox, Apple ( especially the iPhone ) or Sony. It sure would be nice to read the comments section on any those without having to ‘filter’ through all of the irrelevant information posted by people who obviously don’t care #nor like# those products.
But you already know this, if you've been reading The Register for more than a week.
Check my previous posts if you like, you'll find I'm not one to use the term M$ in their posts, and only referred to the attempt to get it banned on a previous comment section to highlight the hypocrisy of windows shills such as yourself.
The Register, to me at least, seems to feature a lot of articles about Linux and Open Source in general, reflecting it's expanding adoption within the industry. Hey look, there was even another Dziuba flamebait article posted today. No doubt some of your friends will be turning up with their 'FreeTard' comments shortly. The fact that people such as yourself now feel the need to have Microsoft comment sections locked down with only pro-windows comments shows, perhaps, how much Microsoft has lost in support from the people who it used to rely on to push it most - 'IT Professionals'.
Re-reading your comment, I'm actually wondering if its part cut and paste from Microsoft's current guidance, as you appear to have forgotten to replace the word 'forum' with something more appropriate to The Registers comments section.
Schroeder,
I do enjoy coming across as a 10 year old, it makes it so invaluable when communicating with people such as you, so that I can ensure I’m being understood. Pointless ‘Freetard’ comments and making silly assumptions about me and my ‘friends’ - whoever they may be - are proof of my requirement to talk to you as a child.
Posting comments which are IRRELEVANT in any article is pointless, be it Windows fans posting in Linux articles or vice versa. As previously said, I don’t read the Linux articles as I am not interested in Linux and therefore don’t feel the need to comment on them either. The fact that people spend so much time reading about something that they don’t like or aren’t interested in still surprises me.
At no time do I feel the need to ‘lock down’ windows articles, and they don’t need to be pro-windows either, BUT they do need to be RELEVANT... again I think something you are still missing here. People can be negative about a certain article, but it needs to actually be relevant to the article. Writing an article about ‘Windows 7 Beta availability coming to an end’ does not warrant “well try Linux”, “Linux is free”, “download Linux today” etc etc... Who cares, where is the relevancy? It’s not pro-Microsoft, it’s not anti-Microsoft, it’s just, well, totally and utterly irrelevant!
Bottom line matey, you ARE someone who uses silly and childish M$ symbols, regardless of how you try to defend yourself.
Thanks also for the last comment, glad my writing style is similar to a Microsoft guidance document, perhaps ‘el Reg should hire me.
oh, and ‘forum’ is a damn site quick to type than ‘The Registers comments section’
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