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Windows 7: What Happens Between Now & Oct. 22

Windows 7: What Happens Between Now & Oct. 22

Postby Grav!ty » Wed Jun 03, 2009 4:12 pm

Windows 7 Release: What Happens Between Now & Oct. 22

JR Raphael
Jun 2, 2009


Microsoft will release Windows 7 on October 22, the company has confirmed. The date will put Windows 7 on store shelves a full three months earlier than originally planned. It follows Microsoft's recent announcement that Windows 7 would ship "in time for the holidays" and matches rumors of a fall release spread around the Web in April.

Of course, there are still plenty of things that'll take place between now and October. Here's the breakdown of some key events and revelations leading up to the Windows 7 release.

Windows 7 Upgrade Option

Microsoft is expected to unveil an upgrade program for the Windows 7 release. The program will likely let you get Windows 7 for free or with a discount if you've recently bought a Vista-based PC that meets certain conditions.

So what are those conditions? That's not yet clear. Microsoft has confirmed the program will be called "Windows Upgrade Option." Early speculation suggests it may mirror the Vista Express Upgrade program, which provided free or discounted upgrades for users who'd bought XP-based systems in the months leading up to Vista's release. That program didn't exactly run smoothly, though: PC World expressed concern over hidden costs associated with the upgrade, and many consumers complained of delays and other issues in getting their upgrade requests processed.

Microsoft Corporate Vice President Steve Guggenheimer is set to deliver a keynote address at the Computex 2009 conference in Taipei on Wednesday. The address, entitled "Windows Makes Life Simpler," should provide additional details on how the Windows 7 upgrade program will operate.

Windows 7 Release-to-Manufacturing

Another step in the Windows 7 release process will be the transition into the release-to-manufacturing (RTM) phase of development. That's the final phase before the software becomes available to consumers, and -- as its name suggests -- entails Microsoft sending the Windows 7 code to PC manufacturers so they can start preparing new systems for the October 22 release.

Windows 7's RTM phase is expected to begin in late July or early August.

Windows 7 Compatibility Center

Microsoft's official Windows 7 Compatibility Center will launch in conjunction with the software itself, according to a FAQ posted on the site. The Compatibility Center will allow you to make sure your devices and applications will work with Windows 7 before making the upgrade.

Vista's Compatibility Center launched with a very different timeline: The service went online in July of 2008, a full year-and-a-half after Vista's release. In an ironic twist, the Vista Compatibility Center also seemed to have some compatibility issues of its own -- the site was completely inaccessible to users during its first days online.

Microsoft, no doubt, is hoping Windows 7's release and reception will be a far less bumpy experience. If early coverage is any indication, that wish just may come true.

Don't take our word for it, though -- try Windows 7 out for yourself. The Windows 7 Release Candidate is still available for download as of now. Microsoft has said the functionality and features will remain relatively constant from that version to the final release.


Source: PC World
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Re: Windows 7: What Happens Between Now & Oct. 22

Postby phileysmiley » Wed Jun 03, 2009 6:09 pm

Sooooo.....maybe it's time to try it? I've had Windows sevenophobia.
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Re: Windows 7: What Happens Between Now & Oct. 22

Postby augie » Wed Jun 03, 2009 7:41 pm

phileysmiley wrote:Sooooo.....maybe it's time to try it? I've had Windows sevenophobia.


I don't see why, it's way better than Vista which I am growing to dislike more and more. It's decent enough but to keep holding my hand in every little thing that I do is getting frustrating. Of course I could always turn UAC off. :roleeyes
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Re: Windows 7: What Happens Between Now & Oct. 22

Postby shreader » Wed Jun 03, 2009 8:17 pm

Windows 7 has some advanced features that are better than even Vista.
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Re: Windows 7: What Happens Between Now & Oct. 22

Postby JabbaPapa » Thu Jun 04, 2009 6:19 am

augie wrote:
phileysmiley wrote:Sooooo.....maybe it's time to try it? I've had Windows sevenophobia.


I don't see why, it's way better than Vista which I am growing to dislike more and more. It's decent enough but to keep holding my hand in every little thing that I do is getting frustrating. Of course I could always turn UAC off. :roleeyes


I *always* keep UAC switched off :pc

I prefer Vista to XP, but W7 just wipes the floor with both of them IMHO

W7 has changed my perception of Vista though -- both reminding me of the heady, awful days when they announced the rewriting of the Longhorn codebase to Vista Beta1, and putting me back in mind of how MS "betrayed" the promise of Longhorn because a lot of that promise is back in W7.

In many ways, W7 is the way that Longhorn was always meant to be (except maybe they're still keeping the WinFS in the lab for W8 ??? :whistle )

And who wants to keep running the Longhorn 6xxx Beta builds (aka Vista RTM, SP1, SP2) when newer better 7xxx ones are available and final release is just round the corner ??? :witch:
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Re: Windows 7: What Happens Between Now & Oct. 22

Postby phileysmiley » Thu Jun 04, 2009 7:15 pm

JabbaPapa wrote:except maybe they're still keeping the WinFS in the lab for W8 ??? :whistle

:rofl:

And who wants to keep running the Longhorn 6xxx Beta builds (aka Vista RTM, SP1, SP2) when newer better 7xxx ones are available and final release is just round the corner ??? :witch:

True. In my case, though, I gave up on Vista months ago. I'm just using XP (or x64) on all 3 of my computers. I just didn't have the time to play with it.

If W7 is a more intuitive OS (i.e., I don't need to set aside 40 hours a weekto teach myself how to use it) then I'm looking forward to it. I think most people had the same complaint as me -- unless you have someone standing over you to walk you through the day-to-day operations of it there was just too much work involved.

Why doesn't each new OS, especially now, come with a DVD tutorial? That would make it so much easier then just dropping it in people's laps.
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Re: Windows 7: What Happens Between Now & Oct. 22

Postby augie » Thu Jun 04, 2009 7:21 pm

phileysmiley wrote:Why doesn't each new OS, especially now, come with a DVD tutorial? That would make it so much easier then just dropping it in people's laps.
Check this out Larry

Perhaps not a DVD tut but still better than anything I've seen yet for free, not that I've seen pay for stuff yet. There will probably be a book out soon by O'Reilly.
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Re: Windows 7: What Happens Between Now & Oct. 22

Postby phileysmiley » Thu Jun 04, 2009 7:29 pm

Thanks Augie! This is cool and interesting to watch but it's a bit too IT-oriented. I was looking for something more along the lines of "Windows 7 for Dummies" lol.

I know there are books out there but for various reasons I can't deal with them. Last couple of years I got Steve Sinchak's book and Paul Thurrott's book and never even used them.

I really need a DVD or video.
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Re: Windows 7: What Happens Between Now & Oct. 22

Postby augie » Thu Jun 04, 2009 7:49 pm

phileysmiley wrote:Thanks Augie! This is cool and interesting to watch but it's a bit too IT-oriented. I was looking for something more along the lines of "Windows 7 for Dummies" lol.

I know there are books out there but for various reasons I can't deal with them. Last couple of years I got Steve Sinchak's book and Paul Thurrott's book and never even used them.

I really need a DVD or video.


Ya the first vid is too much IT as I mentioned in the thread though the second one is very user friendly. Give it a shot as W7 does pictures a whole new way which you might like.:)

I'm sure the 'Video Professor' will have some soon. Just try my free introductory video of your choice and you will buy the rest, I assure you.;) :P :lol:
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Re: Windows 7: What Happens Between Now & Oct. 22

Postby phileysmiley » Thu Jun 04, 2009 8:47 pm

Funny, I was actually going to mention the Video Professor in my early post but I deleted it since it's such a scam.

I'll wait for yours. :yesnod:
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