After months of speculation, Windows 7 was finally unveiled last month at Microsoft's Professional Developers Conference (PDC).
Test Center benchmarks: Windows 7 unmasked
Through a series of well-orchestrated keynote presentations and supporting breakout sessions, Microsoft walked conference attendees through the highlights of its new desktop OS: better performance, an improved user experience, and some nifty media-sharing features. Overall, Microsoft's pitch was quite compelling, and the PDC crowd was practically salivating at the chance to play with Microsoft's latest and greatest.
But after the stage props came down, and after the projectors finally went cold, attendees were left with a pre-beta copy of something that looked less like a new OS than the repackaging of an old one. At least that was my impression after I started exploring the Windows 7 M3 (Milestone 3) bits that came on my shiny new 160GB Western Digital USB hard disk.
Go straight to the Windows 7 benchmarks
The more I dug into Windows 7, the more I saw an OS that looked and felt like a slightly tweaked version of Windows Vista.
Just what was so new about Microsoft's next Windows, apart from a rejuggled UI? Windows 7 appeared to suck memory like Vista, to consume CPU like Vista, and to have the same consumer focus. How would this product be received by enterprise customers, the vast majority of whom had soundly rejected its predecessor? After all, if Vista wasn't good enough for big business, then surely a Vista-derived encore would meet with a similarly chilly reception.
If any pre-beta software ever called for a close look and benchmark testing, Windows 7 M3 was it. With so many questions to answer, and the fate of Windows hanging in the balance, I rolled up my sleeves and dove in. I started by examining Windows 7's innards - the kernel and other low-level structures - then slowly worked my way out to subsystem behaviour and application runtime characteristics. Because one of the focal points of Microsoft's keynote presentation was improved performance, I looked for signs that Windows 7 would be faster, more responsive, and less resource-intensive than the bloated Windows Vista.
Page 2: The view from inside: a minor tweak to Vista
Page 3: First Windows 7 benchmarks
Comments
Korziak said: MS Windows looks very much like a Dead Donkey and Microsoft will continue floging it for as long as they can I think the experts at Microsoft have run out of original ideas and they must be a bit panicky after the Vista flop watching Linux getting better and better and Google about to jump into the OS market If they dont come up with something really new it probably will be the end of the road for MS Windows
Poit said: Microsoft couldnt possibly win with many of you lot If they put in the kitchen sink youd call it bloated if they produced a stripped-down OS youd say its under-featured and over-pricedWell I wish you luck as you trot off to your boring and limiting Macs or your just need to tweak this and then it might work Linux installations Im happy where I am thanks The fact is I spent an hour or so turning off or removing the features I didnt want in Vista I now have a very attractive and stable OS which goes plenty fast enough in every application I throw at it and as I run a music publishing firm thats quite a lot of apps I can play games on their highest settings and hey Directx 10 is jolly pretty
Skidz said: I am not against microsoft David i just think they lost the plot after XP I have used windows in some form since 1992 and I love XP so i am definitely not Anti -Microsoft I used Vista for months at work and at home and it felt like Millenium Edition all over again And after using ME it wasnt a great feeling of nostalgia Even after tweaking it to death i still thought it was botched What i think they should of done is come out with a truly fresh and innovative idea not next year or the year after but maybe in 2011 so that they could at least fix Vistas woes a little for all the people inc myself who bought it and to make it seem like they werent rushing out another OS to cover up the disaster Vista was and is I also agree with a lot of your points David its just some feel a little cheated as you can tell by some of the other comments people have made here Its only natural isnt it Anyway its good to hear other sides i like that so thank you
David said: skidz maybe you should just go by a Mac if you are so against anything Microsoft now I am not saying that they havent done anything wrong in the past but come on almost everybody that was in charge of developing vista at the top end has now either gone or been pushed aside to make way for a new directionYou might say that this is just a reworking of vista but others are saying that this version is what vista should have been in the first placekeeping the majority of the operating system the same as before so as not to confuse people but at the same time add features to it that makes the operating system that much friendlier to usewhich if Im not mistaken was one of the criticisms of users and techo journalist alikeWell anyway thats my point of view for what it is worth
Skidz said: DavidBy all accounts it is just a reworked Vista and no matter how many improvements they implement it is still only going to be a repack isnt it Not a new OS as such Now some of us here were hoping for a hell of a lot more than the initial picture we are getting If the picture we are seeing is distorted well then i apologise and think that maybe Windows 7 shouldnt even be getting aired yet in that case But If it isnt and this is exactly what 7 will be like then when the hell will users on XP finally get an Operating System worth ditching it for Can you blame us for being sceptical after the last 2 years
David said: Skidz in case you didnt know but windows 7 is not going to come with all the so called crap your talking about that is Microsoft is leaving out applications like Movie Maker Photo Gallery and others and allowing the user to either use other photo editing programs or using its Windows Live equivilents which I believe are much better than the originals Anyway people lets stop putting the cart before the horse like others seem to be doingfancy writing negitive comments about an operating system your never going to use or have never used slightly hyopcritical wouldnt you sayIm lookin at you skidz
Skidz said: Why cant we have a nice sleek unbloated OS If idiots want all the extra crap that MS in their wisdom put in Vista Why cant they have a section on Windows Update called Extra Crap that No Serious User Wants Pre-Installed Here Makes sense to me Then they can install whatever crappy extras they want inc defender
Sylvan said: Well I dont jump on the anti-Microsoft bandwagon Vista has flaws like anything else but it runs very stable on my system and gives me very few crashes Of course if youre using old outdated junk hardware youre gonna get poor performance Another tip is to not get the new version at release Theres usually bugs at first and Vista had quite a few probably the source of most of the Vista-hate Plus Microsoft and the various hardware manufacturers are really slow at updating drivers for new windows releases I waited at least 6 months to get vista and most of the major problems were fixed by then
uk said: No way im buying this rubbish if its repackaged vista All i want its to have email surf the web SAFELY and play games - why the hell would i want a operating system that takes 600mb of system ram just to sit there and run my desktop and then to suck the processor power out for no valid reason Rolll on a simplified Google operating system or something - I hate msoft They desert XP and their loyal customers with a wave and say upgrade or else basically - well i wont - i wll stay with xp and hope that someone out there is developing a proper operating sytem please Google make it like the apple macs
darrenrichie said: Most pointless article ever Just gives Vista-haters ammo to go on with themselves even more This article has already been blasted by windows experts who have realised that you cant judge the OS by this pre-beta relase alone Get a grip people and stop using this as an excuse to have a go
Andrzej Bania said: WINDOWS 7 AT LEAST 35 SLOWER THAN XPThat should have been the headlineSeriously why mess around with several hundred words trying to describe nuances when the bottom line is WINDOWS 7 AT LEAST 35 SLOWER THAN XPBiggest complaint with Vista Too slowDoes Windows 7 counter that issue NoSimple
David said: Agree with you 100 Paul Greyhead people this author is so anti Microsoft it is not funny you know the old saying you cant judge a coat by its colours well you shouldnt judge an operating system via a couple of still shots from websitesPaul Thurrot Windows Expert when talking to Leo Larporte enthused about the upcoming windows as well as the vast majority of developers that were at PDCHowever he did say there was 1 person who did seemed rather miffed off that he was not invited to the developers workshop and thus was scathing in his review of the operating systemI bet that Mr Kennedy was that person
Skidz said: Well if it smells like Vista and tastes like Vista to the testers then thats enough to put me right off it for good
PaulGreyhead said: People what are you whingeing about This is a pre-beta version of Windows 7 You cannot judge the OS just by this test Wait until the final version or at least a late beta before you slag it off This test is hardly a fair test seeing how the pre-beta 7 is up against an OS that has been out for almost two years
Selwyn Glick said: Like Vaughan Roberts have been waiting to go from XP to Windows 7 but now it looks like a Mac for me too
Vaughan Roberts said: Thats it then Ive been waiting for months before upgrading my Win XP system but based on this Windows 7 is not going to be worth the wait I think Im going to have to give a long hard look at the Mac offering and say goodbye to Microsofts bloated zeppelin of an OS
Jurgen Klingemann said: Microsoft believe they are unapproachable and therefore untouchable so why should we Microsoft take any notice of anyone whos not MicrosoftWhen I can get my head around installing third party software on Linux Its bye bye Microsoft I rather deal with Open Source Computing seeing how they do listen to their end users unlike Microsoft
katz49 said: More anti MS sour grapes 7 is a huge step forward
Skidz said: I wont be using it and i dont use Vista but i have to say i feel genuinely sorry for anyone who was looking forward to this repack MS should be ashamed
Skidz said: ITS JUST LIKE VISTA Run to the hills