Microsoft's latest OS is barely even two months olds, yet early adopters have given Windows 7 the thumbs up. We look at why they're happy and any issues they've got.
What early adopters think of Microsoft's new OS
Windows 7 isn't even two months old yet. Most of the people who will eventually use it haven't gotten around to trying it yet; those that have are still settling in.
And the Windows 7 experience will change rapidly as remaining bugs are squashed, missing drivers arrive, and compatibility glitches are ironed out. Even so, it's not too early to start gauging what real people think of Windows Vista's replacement.
So are Windows users better off today than they were a few weeks ago, back in the Vista era? We decided to ask the our readers.
Starting on November 16, respected Technology blog Technologizer surveyed its readers (and Twitter followers) about their experiences with Windows 7.
The goal: to do a reality check on the mostly favourable initial reviews of the new OS.
The 550+ Windows 7 early adopters who took the survey mostly echo the positive response that the upgrade has received from professional reviewers, pundits, and users of pre-release editions.
A sizable majority say they're extremely satisfied with the OS and rate it as a clear improvement on both the now beloved Windows XP and the widely panned Windows Vista.
Crippling installation problems - the bane of every upgrader's existence, and always a legitimate reason to postpone switching OSes were rare.
Our full report follows. But first, some quick facts on the people who took the survey:
- Prior to using Windows 7, 46 percent of respondents ran Windows Vista, 32 percent ran Windows XP. 17 percent ran Vista and XP about equally, 5 percent ran an OS other than Windows, and a whopping 0.7 percent used a version of Windows other than Vista or XP.
- 73 percent upgraded an existing PC to the final version of Windows 7, while 8 percent are running it on a PC that came with the OS pre-installed. 14 percent are still using a pre-release version, and 6 percent are running it on a Mac via Boot Camp or a virtualisation program.
- 64 percent of respondents rate themselves as expert Windows users; 35 percent say they're intermediate ones. Less than 1 percent call themselves beginners.
- 61 percent are using Windows 7 entirely or mostly for home/personal use. 25 percent are using it about equally for home/personal and business use. Just 14 percent are using it entirely or mostly for business use.
- 61 percent are using a 64bit edition of Windows 7 and 31 percent are running a 32-bit version.
- 82 percent did a 'clean' install of the OS from scratch; 19 percent installed it over Windows Vista.
- 59 percent say they've used Windows 7 extensively, and 36 percent say they've done so a fair amount. Just 5 percent say they've used it just a little so far.
It's important to note that the goal of this piece wasn't to survey a representative, projectable, normalised sampling of all Windows 7 users. The responses that follow are from members of the Technologizer community who chose to take the survey.
Their opinions are their own - but we think they make for interesting reading even if they're not the last word on how average users will react to Windows 7.
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NEXT PAGE: Getting up and running
- We look at just what early adopters think of Microsoft's new OS
- Getting up and running
- Judging the features
- Comparing and contrasting
- Since you asked
- The bad...
- The mixed
Comments
Ugley jon said: Installed W7 Its better than Vista BUT I hate losing my Outlook Express The e mail in Windows Live is a nightmare I still dont understand it after 8 weeks HATE IT
Unhappy said: Aplogies to all that was my own fault second try worked fine
Unhappy said: Got the upgrade after checking if it would be ok The install failed
Windows7User said: RE Sputnicks commentsYou can interchane between 64 bit and 32 bit as per elua and install requirements You can use either 32 or 54 bit on a computer even adter you have activated it provided it is retail version I have a retail version on my system and statrted on 64 bit downgraded due to hardware drivers not yet availible so you are not limited in your options
Sputnick said: After being impressed with W7 RC I took the plunge and did a clean install of W7 64bit version having previously used XP for many yearsInstall was effortless all internet services worked without having to install Sky broadband softwareOnce I found my way arround W7 I was very pleasedDownside my Canon scanner was not compatible with 64 bit OS Bought a new release scanner only to find W7 drivers not included and have to be dowloaded from Canon SiteLooking through canon downloads there are quite a few products without drivers availableIn fact the very new Canon EOS7D SLR still hasnt got drivers available for 64bitAlso had to change my Adobe photoshop elements to version 8So beware it might cost you more than you first thought especially with 64bit You only get 30 days to activate and I assume that once you do activate you cant change to the 32 bit if you bought the retail version with both 32 and 64 bit discs
g.cramp said: I have just bought a new pc with windows 7 home premium and find it veryvery goodand no problems so farHad x p on my old p c
bobo said: Hi rorr503if they havent released drivers for W7 yet that should tell you that they just cant be bothered with it after all its not like they havent had usable code to work with for more than a year
rorr503 said: My motherboard failed so I was forced to rebuild Originally I had a dual boot XP and Vista system I still had some legacy software that wouldnt work with Vista Rebuilt with a dual boot XP and Win 7 system I really like the Win 7 but there are driver issues I cant get either of my network printers to work on the Win 7 partition It may be Ethernet drivers or printer drivers who knows If you think that Vista printerscanner network drivers work on Win 7 then youre in a cloud It looks like Microsoft really didnt communicate the changes that were made to the network kernel and many printer folks put out certified drivers that just will not work If you are on a network and need to printscan it is probably best to wait and give the drivers a chance to catch up
rorr503 said: My motherboard failed so I was forced to rebuild Originally I had a dual boot XP and Vista system I still had some legacy software that wouldnt work with Vista Rebuilt with a dual boot XP and Win 7 system I really like the Win 7 but there are driver issues I cant get either of my network printers to work on the Win 7 partition It may be Ethernet drivers or printer drivers who knows If you think that Vista printerscanner network drivers work on Win 7 then youre in a cloud It looks like Microsoft really didnt communicate the changes that were made to the network kernel and many printer folks put out certified drivers that just will not work If you are on a network and need to printscan it is probably best to wait and give the drivers a chance to catch up
Rob_08 said: Hi JakeYep Leopard is very good and one of the reasons for that is that the developers actually listen to their customers unlike MS who just do their own thing regardless of what people really want
Jake said: Windows 7 boots faster than Vista and XP in that order Their test also revealed that Mac Leopard loaded faster and performed better in every category except gaming
Jake said: I compare my old windows xp 64 bit up to date with hundreds of installed programs with my copy of Windows 7 64 with the same amount of programs and multiple networks and the Windows 7 boots up faster and opens programs fasterI have formatted hard drives and re-installed xp just to see at what point it starts to slow up and their is no particular program its just slower because of the amount of programs installedPC Advisor did a test a month ago and they found this to be true as well
Rob_08 said: Squillarynone of the newer OSs are worth upgrading toWell at least we agree on that point
Squillary said: Having used XP for the previous 5 years I got a Vista desktop last year and a W7 laptop a few months ago using all 3 in different places XP is by far the most limited especially in connectivity Vista was a bit unfamiliar but clearly best once I worked out where everything was W7 is straightforward having gone through the Vista learning curve but doesnt offer anything much extra The ENTIRE issue with Vista was 3rd party providers peripherals hadnt got themselves set up for Vista but W7 is largely the same so Vista drivers 2 years on and with new equipment having been bought that support the new OS from scratch work on W7 The good feeling about W7 is solely over the support of drivers and Id expect no different None of the newer OSs are worth upgrading to but if you buy new hardware theres no problem going for the latest Anyone who downgrades to XP would have to be a bit retarded in line with that OS
Rob_08 said: Jake when you say system is overall faster than XP did you compare your fresh W7 install to a clean installed Xp one Or just to an old updated to the max xp one I think XP is much faster on a high end pc
Jake said: First the ProsTaskbar is less cluttered over VistaStart menu is more organized over XPSystem is overall faster than Vista amp XPNew Calender is handyUser Rights Management is less annoyingConsDoesnt support all DVD drivesCauses explorer unresponse and wont installConnecting to networks was easier with Vista Vista had a connect to option in start menu while 7 makes you go through control panelWin 7 wont re-connect to remote desktops without a restart
jackhenry said: Well have gone and done it Installed Windows 7 that is Have to say the install went smooth as silk I could not believe what was going on before my eyesEach stage installed with no hiccups odd reboot finally finished 15 hrs later with smug satisfactionPrior to the upgrade I was bombarded with doom and gloom system crashes huge sums of money on MBs etc Couldnt be farther from the experience I had After thinking through it all I came to the conclusion to a good upgrade is keep the system up to date with MS Updates ensure your hardware drivers are bang up to date and compatible Its no good trying to use the Upgrade version of Windows 7 when your old OS does not have all the Service Packs etc and then moaning about a resulting failure for example Can only speak from experience this time a great result Oh and by the way since completing a little housework my machine works more smoothly and my Start Menu has all the links the previous OS had
Rob_08 said: Bought the Pro version of W7used it for about 6 weeks and now moved back to Xp Pro Just couldnt get on with it and found it too close to the lousy VistaW7 sold on ebay for a third more than i paid So no harm done