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Windows 7 Pre-Orders / Deals are up.

Posted: June 26, 2009, 7:40 am
by Animalor
Windows 7 Pre-Orders started this morning. The Home Premium Upgrade pre-order pricing, normally 119$ is going for 49$ US until July 11th (Or supplies last apparently).

I just pre-ordered from Amazon.ca.

The site below has links to online retailers in the US offering the deal.

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/buy/of ... order.aspx

Re: Windows 7 Pre-Orders / Deals are up.

Posted: June 26, 2009, 12:35 pm
by Stonie
Bleh, upgrade versions =(

Windows7 Ultimate full version is $319, double bleh

Re: Windows 7 Pre-Orders / Deals are up.

Posted: June 26, 2009, 12:42 pm
by Animalor
Why would you want Ultimate? At the most I could see people going with Pro for home domains or XP mode. The only thing ultimate has over that is bitlocker for full drive encyption but you can get Truecrypt for that.

Re: Windows 7 Pre-Orders / Deals are up.

Posted: June 26, 2009, 1:36 pm
by miir
Home Premium is what I ordered.

Re: Windows 7 Pre-Orders / Deals are up.

Posted: June 26, 2009, 1:57 pm
by Animalor
Same here.

Re: Windows 7 Pre-Orders / Deals are up.

Posted: June 26, 2009, 2:25 pm
by Bubba Grizz
Do they have that for 64 bit as well? Right now I'm running Vista Ultimate 64 bit. Is it an upgrade to go to home premium for windows 7?

Re: Windows 7 Pre-Orders / Deals are up.

Posted: June 26, 2009, 2:51 pm
by Animalor
From what I'm reading, the disk will include both a 32bit and 64bit version.

I've been running the 64bit version of the RC1 at home and Have not noticed a single difference(other than the additional Program Files(x86) folder.)

Re: Windows 7 Pre-Orders / Deals are up.

Posted: June 26, 2009, 2:52 pm
by Aslanna
Which one has Remote Desktop in it? That's one place they screwed you on for Vista. imo!

Re: Windows 7 Pre-Orders / Deals are up.

Posted: June 26, 2009, 3:18 pm
by Animalor
According to this page, the media includes 32 and 64 bit versions.
http://www.staples.ca/ENG/static/static ... ename=win7

Aslanna -
According to this page, All Editions of Windows 7 will have remote desktop..
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/wind ... Connection

A bit more info on Remote Desktop.
http://www.winsupersite.com/win7/win7_skus_compare.asp

According to Paul Thurott, you can remote desktop into something else will all versions of Windows 7.
However, only The Pro and Enterprise and Ultimate editions will be able to act as RDP hosts/accept connections. This obviously doesn't take into account Windows Home Server/Windows Server 2003/2008.

Re: Windows 7 Pre-Orders / Deals are up.

Posted: June 26, 2009, 4:06 pm
by Aslanna
Animalor wrote:According to Paul Thurott, you can remote desktop into something else will all versions of Windows 7.
However, only The Pro and Enterprise and Ultimate editions will be able to act as RDP hosts/accept connections. This obviously doesn't take into account Windows Home Server/Windows Server 2003/2008.
Being able to accept RDP connections is key!

Re: Windows 7 Pre-Orders / Deals are up.

Posted: June 26, 2009, 4:32 pm
by Winnow
The Remote connection always screws me over. I use it every day from work.

Looks like hackWindows again.

Re: Windows 7 Pre-Orders / Deals are up.

Posted: June 26, 2009, 4:33 pm
by Fash
Just go Pro.

I wish they'd let me pre-order the full version... I don't own vista aside from the oem copy that came on my asus laptop.

Re: Windows 7 Pre-Orders / Deals are up.

Posted: June 26, 2009, 5:09 pm
by Aabidano
Doesn't seem to be much difference between home premium and pro.

Re: Windows 7 Pre-Orders / Deals are up.

Posted: June 26, 2009, 5:20 pm
by Ashur
Winnow wrote:The Remote connection always screws me over. I use it every day from work.

Looks like hackWindows again.
We're shocked...

Re: Windows 7 Pre-Orders / Deals are up.

Posted: June 26, 2009, 5:44 pm
by miir
I use dameware~

Re: Windows 7 Pre-Orders / Deals are up.

Posted: June 26, 2009, 7:12 pm
by Stonie
Fash wrote:Just go Pro.

I wish they'd let me pre-order the full version... I don't own vista aside from the oem copy that came on my asus laptop.
You can.

http://www.amazon.com/Microsoft-FQC-001 ... 906&sr=1-6

Amazon doesn't have a "Windows 7" subcategory yet under Software > OS. So it makes finding their full pre-order list a bit more difficult. The "upgrade" versions are the only ones with discounts. I suppose with using imaging as a backup meathod, an upgrade version would be ok to own. But I still always have this urge to buy a full install version. I like to do a fresh OS install. The last upgrade type install I did was Windows 95 to 98. I think I might have tried an NT to 2000 once too.

Re: Windows 7 Pre-Orders / Deals are up.

Posted: June 26, 2009, 7:17 pm
by Sargeras
Fash wrote:I wish they'd let me pre-order the full version... I don't own vista aside from the oem copy that came on my asus laptop.
You can't install these W7 upgrades over an OEM?
Aabidano wrote:Doesn't seem to be much difference between home premium and pro.
Some, but not much.

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/wind ... e-editions

Re: Windows 7 Pre-Orders / Deals are up.

Posted: June 26, 2009, 8:26 pm
by Fash
Sargeras wrote:
Fash wrote:I wish they'd let me pre-order the full version... I don't own vista aside from the oem copy that came on my asus laptop.
You can't install these W7 upgrades over an OEM?
I'm sure you could, but I want to order it for my desktop, not the laptop. I'd buy 2 copies if they were priced right... otherwise, I'll just pirate them. :?

Re: Windows 7 Pre-Orders / Deals are up.

Posted: June 26, 2009, 9:02 pm
by Sargeras
Here's a more detailed comparison of the W7 versions:
http://www.pcworld.com/zoom?id=167444&page=1&zoomIdx=1

Re: Windows 7 Pre-Orders / Deals are up.

Posted: June 27, 2009, 8:13 pm
by Spang
I placed a pre-order for Home Premium at Amazon.com.

Re: Windows 7 Pre-Orders / Deals are up.

Posted: June 27, 2009, 8:24 pm
by Kluden
If you're near a microcenter, you ask a sales dude for the coupon for windows 7. no money down, they just take your name, email, address, and give you a coupon that will make W7home $40 and W7pro $80. 10 bucks cheaper...worth it IF you have a microcenter close by, and don't want to pay a reservation amount.

Re: Windows 7 Pre-Orders / Deals are up.

Posted: June 27, 2009, 9:08 pm
by Spang
Has Windows 7 been released yet?

Re: Windows 7 Pre-Orders / Deals are up.

Posted: June 27, 2009, 10:09 pm
by Animalor
The release date is scheduled for oct 22nd

Re: Windows 7 Pre-Orders / Deals are up.

Posted: June 27, 2009, 10:56 pm
by Spang
Animalor wrote:The release date is scheduled for oct 22nd
I hope it's not obsolete by then.

Re: Windows 7 Pre-Orders / Deals are up.

Posted: June 28, 2009, 3:39 am
by Aslanna
I'll stick with XP. Maybe Windows 8 will be better.

Re: Windows 7 Pre-Orders / Deals are up.

Posted: June 28, 2009, 3:55 am
by Winnow
Windows 7 is definitely the way to go but I'm in no rush to upgrade.

Still not looking forward to migrating from 32 bit to 64 even though it's long overdue.

Re: Windows 7 Pre-Orders / Deals are up.

Posted: June 28, 2009, 9:56 am
by Fash
I'm loving Windows 7. I have zero complaints. Ran 32 bit during the beta, 64 bit since the RC came out. It is very fast and stable, and the new task bar is the best. I fucking hated Vista.

Re: Windows 7 Pre-Orders / Deals are up.

Posted: June 28, 2009, 5:53 pm
by Aabidano
For the most part, you'll get better performance from 32 bit apps. And 32 bit kernel for that matter if you aren't utilizing 4Gb+.

I've seen very few consumer and office-type applications built for 64 bit, and don't really expect to anytime soon. No point really at present.

Re: Windows 7 Pre-Orders / Deals are up.

Posted: June 28, 2009, 6:24 pm
by Winnow
Aabidano wrote:For the most part, you'll get better performance from 32 bit apps. And 32 bit kernel for that matter if you aren't utilizing 4Gb+.

I've seen very few consumer and office-type applications built for 64 bit, and don't really expect to anytime soon. No point really at present.
For memory as you said. Virtual OS(s).

Re: Windows 7 Pre-Orders / Deals are up.

Posted: June 28, 2009, 8:44 pm
by Aslanna
64bit versions of MAME run stuff faster too!

Re: Windows 7 Pre-Orders / Deals are up.

Posted: July 1, 2009, 8:18 am
by Fash
Image
<3

Re: Windows 7 Pre-Orders / Deals are up.

Posted: July 1, 2009, 10:23 am
by Boogahz
I can't remember the last time I even used more than one or two desktop shortcuts...that is too many!

Re: Windows 7 Pre-Orders / Deals are up.

Posted: July 1, 2009, 11:33 am
by Fash
Everything close at hand... I almost never need to use the start menu, and I love the new task/quicklaunch/bar.

Re: Windows 7 Pre-Orders / Deals are up.

Posted: July 1, 2009, 11:49 am
by Winnow
Hmmm, I prefer to have everything on my taskbar:

Image

Taskbar is hidden on left side of screen making for clean/max desktop. What I don't have on my taskbar, I search for quickly using Start/Search. This is Vista, hopefully can do something similar in Win 7.

Re: Windows 7 Pre-Orders / Deals are up.

Posted: July 1, 2009, 11:58 am
by Fash
Eww

Re: Windows 7 Pre-Orders / Deals are up.

Posted: July 1, 2009, 1:22 pm
by Winnow
Fash wrote:Eww

It's beautiful! Especially when you know where the general location of your main apps are on the bar. All those huge icons blocking the desktop....no good! Remember the "IT Guy" video?

Re: Windows 7 Pre-Orders / Deals are up.

Posted: July 1, 2009, 1:25 pm
by Fash
What do I need to see on the desktop?

Showing/Hiding that task bar is slow.

Re: Windows 7 Pre-Orders / Deals are up.

Posted: July 1, 2009, 1:27 pm
by Xatrei
I have no icons on my desktop. I have the 25 or so most commonly used shortcuts as medium-to-large icons in a single row on my taskbar, which is located at the top of my primary display and set to autohide for max desktop real estate. Anything else I can access through the start menu. I can appreciate your motivation, winnow, but that taskbar arrangement is hideous and would cause me to have convulsions heh.

Re: Windows 7 Pre-Orders / Deals are up.

Posted: July 1, 2009, 1:59 pm
by Winnow
Fash wrote:What do I need to see on the desktop?

Showing/Hiding that task bar is slow.
Hmm how old is your processor/video card? My task bar opens instantly. Maybe turn off animated transitions or something?


As for the ugly icons on desktop, I have dual monitors and sometime leave one monitor open while using the other, I'd rather see a nice desktop pic on a 46" screen than a bunch of icons. Plus, I can find things faster on taskbar than scattered on desktop (or using search)

Re: Windows 7 Pre-Orders / Deals are up.

Posted: July 2, 2009, 4:34 pm
by Dregor Thule
Will the upgrade copy install a new, fresh, full version of windows just using the old key, or will it need to have a vista install first and then install 7?

Re: Windows 7 Pre-Orders / Deals are up.

Posted: July 2, 2009, 7:54 pm
by Stonie
Unless they've changed the way upgrade installs work, it must have a qualifying older version of Windows already installed. Back in the 95/98/ME days, you could fool an upgrade install by having a floppy or another partition with a specific uncompressed file from the older OS. But they stopped that trick long ago. There may be other tricks out there, but since W95 to W98 transition, I've always just used a full install.

Re: Windows 7 Pre-Orders / Deals are up.

Posted: July 2, 2009, 8:06 pm
by Winnow
No tricks needed for upgrade. Just install a hacked version.

If you're going to lie about upgrading, you may as well go for the Full Monty and install a pirated copy.

Re: Windows 7 Pre-Orders / Deals are up.

Posted: July 2, 2009, 8:09 pm
by Dregor Thule
Oh, I have a legit copy of Vista, I just don't like the idea of having to install it first and then installing W7 every time I have to reformat. But the price is so good I guess I'll have to deal with it.

Re: Windows 7 Pre-Orders / Deals are up.

Posted: July 2, 2009, 8:17 pm
by Winnow
Ah. kk. I feel your pain.

That sucks. I've been stuck in that situation before.

Re: Windows 7 Pre-Orders / Deals are up.

Posted: July 2, 2009, 8:58 pm
by Stonie
Dregor Thule wrote:Oh, I have a legit copy of Vista, I just don't like the idea of having to install it first and then installing W7 every time I have to reformat. But the price is so good I guess I'll have to deal with it.
The next best option is to make an image of your W7 install, and store it on another partition or even better, another drive.

My usual gaming machine's C partition is only as large as it needs to be and contains only my OS, no program files or data. I make an image of that partition just after a fresh OS install with the latest OS updates and drivers. You could even go one step further and do a "sys prep" of the newly installed OS before you make your image. That clears machine specific things from the OS, like your hardware list and it's drivers. As long as it's not an activation copy, you can install that image on any machine.

Re: Windows 7 Pre-Orders / Deals are up.

Posted: July 3, 2009, 1:31 am
by Siji
New taskbar sucks balls.

That is all.

Re: Windows 7 Pre-Orders / Deals are up.

Posted: July 5, 2009, 1:46 pm
by miir
Siji wrote:New taskbar sucks balls.

That is all.
Well then it's a good thing they give you options to configure it however you want.

That is all.

Re: Windows 7 Pre-Orders / Deals are up.

Posted: July 6, 2009, 12:41 pm
by Animalor
miir wrote:
Siji wrote:New taskbar sucks balls.

That is all.
Well then it's a good thing they give you options to configure it however you want.

That is all.
I have mine setup to expand to normal size then the all is open and shrink back down to an icon when the app is closed.

It's glorious. The Taskbar setting is called "Combine when taskbar is full"

Re: Windows 7 Pre-Orders / Deals are up.

Posted: July 6, 2009, 6:32 pm
by Kluden
On the clean install, you probably just have to "trick it" like you could do with Vista. Basically, it was installing it without plugging in the authenticity code, which installs like a "trial" version of vista. Then you do the upgrade, which just unlocks stuff, and you enter the code in then. Total time was less than 45 minutes for a fresh install this way. I can't remember, only did that once for a friend. I have a full version disk.

This works, because every disk is exactly the same, the code on the packaging determines what it installs/unlocks.

Re: Windows 7 Pre-Orders / Deals are up.

Posted: July 6, 2009, 7:11 pm
by Winnow
Windows 7 full installs super fast (if you have the hardware (fast HD etc)

It's super smooth running virtually in the VirtualBox for those that have a decent PC and don't want to fully install it yet.