"Windows 7 'took ideas' from Apple"

[dtugg]

I hope Chrome is another nail in Microsoft’s coffin.

I highly doubt it. Chrome OS (thus far) sucks; Windows 7 stomps all over it.

 

[dudalb]

I highly doubt it. Chrome OS (thus far) sucks; Windows 7 stomps all over it.

Chrome is not going anyplace. Too Limited. The people who designed it do not get that not every use for a computer is internet based.If you must have open source, Linux is still a lot better.
I love the way that every time some new Opensource OS comes out, all the Microsoft Haters say it's "the end for Microsoft".
I have no love for Windows, Gates, or Microsoft but Windows will remain the main OS for PCs for general use for the foreseeable future .

 

[jsiv]

2. The Product Key they package with Upgrade editions won't work if you do a clean install with them. They make you obtain a separate key.

It's called an upgrade version because it's intended to be used to update a machine that's already running Windows. That's also why it costs less. While you can't do a clean install on an empty disk, you can wipe the disk and repartition/format from inside the installer once it has checked for an existing install.

 

[not daSkeptic]

It's called an upgrade version because it's intended to be used to update a machine that's already running Windows. That's also why it costs less. While you can't do a clean install on an empty disk, you can wipe the disk and repartition/format from inside the installer once it has checked for an existing install.

It used to be that the upgrade gave one the option of putting in the install disc from the previous (full) version and using that as verification. I guess this has changed somewhere along the line? Probably to ensure the prior version was legally activated?

 

[GreNME]

That is exactly what it is. If you don't have WIA drivers for the scanner, and only TWAIN drivers, then scanning is disabled in Windows-included applications.

You can still scan stuff using third party programs.

Ahh, okay. I can see how that would be annoying.

I shall try that. But, it's still pretty silly to have to go through that.

This was an "unofficial" nod to people who wanted to go through the trouble of clean-installing from an update disk. The benefit (unintentional, MS says) is that you can install clean from an upgrade disk. The down side is that they removed the other older way of checking isn't what's used any more. Microsoft still "encourages" users to do full installs from a full install disk, but it can now be done with an upgrade disk as well.

It's not my end. It is apparent on all Win 7 and Vista machines I have ever seen. The titlebar text is usually white when maximized, and black when not. Though, sometimes that switches around depending on the color scheme.

Very weird. Would you be able to show screenshots? I'm trying to replicate it on both and can't replicate what you're explaining. For me, whether Aero is on or off makes no difference-- text in the titlebar remains black for me.

 

[GreNME]

Except that Apple took the embryonic concepts of Xerox and ran with them, with Xerox’s blessings. As I recall, a couple of Xerox’s development team signed on with Apple to improve upon the Xerox design which, I believe (going from memory) Xerox had lost interest in.

The reason Apple didn’t prevail in the lawsuit is because they had already allowed Microsoft to license most of the concepts that made the Macintosh unique, and way too cheaply. Like I said, a bad business decision on Apple’s part. Xerox entered the suit as a strategic move.

The wonders of confirmation bias and selective memory. However, your pedantry isn't interesting enough to have a full-on debate. Sour grapes because Microsoft does some things better now is now way to go through life.

Bill Gates has built the Microsoft empire on imitation, undercutting and out-marketing. Innovation is not part of their game plan. Netscape, Wordperfect, RealAudio and many others were the innovators. Microsoft first outmaneuvered Apple, which had led the way in making computing easy for the average person (the original sin that made Apple hated by geeks all across the land), imitating the Macintosh interface but promoting it much more successfully, then used the popularity of their OS to crush software innovators. Shrewd, but not admirable. I hope Chrome is another nail in Microsoft’s coffin.

 

[Whiplash]

An ugly truth of life is that some people hate those who are on top and most successful, simply based on that fact.

I'm not saying there isn't any truth to the idea that Microsoft has been unscrupulous at times. I'm just saying that there are also people out there that hate whoever is number one in any field. The richest person.. The biggest company.. The greatest country on earth.. ok I'm being a bit sarcastic on the last one.

 

[fullflavormenthol]

Just about any electronics can comfortably survive a wash as long as it's not on at the time, and isn't turned on again until it's dry. That's kinda obvious though.

I've experienced dozens of MP3 players, cellphones, flash drives, cameras, and so forth take a dunking, get dried out, and continue to work without any issues.

The mistake most people tend to mistake when they drop their phone in the sink or whatever is they immediately turn it on to "make sure it's okay". Pull that sucker apart, remove the battery, and leave it in the hot water cupboard for a couple of days, then see if it's okay.

So my unplugging that TV and then leaving it alone for hours was actually a good thing? I always laughed about that, but given your explanation I suppose my instinct that day was correct.

 

[ThatSoundAgain]

It used to be that the upgrade gave one the option of putting in the install disc from the previous (full) version and using that as verification. I guess this has changed somewhere along the line? Probably to ensure the prior version was legally activated?

Whoa, I'd be wary of upgrading with that new scheme. How about they check upgrade eligibility once, at point of purchase, or through a phone / web connection at first install?

I wouldn't pay for software that essentially gives me one chance only to install and no reinstall down the line (full wipe in the case of an OS). I mean, I've heard that Win 7 is an improvement, but to the point where a clean reinstall is never necessary or desirable?

 

[dtugg]

Whoa, I'd be wary of upgrading with that new scheme. How about they check upgrade eligibility once, at point of purchase, or through a phone / web connection at first install?

I wouldn't pay for software that essentially gives me one chance only to install and no reinstall down the line (full wipe in the case of an OS). I mean, I've heard that Win 7 is an improvement, but to the point where a clean reinstall is never necessary or desirable?

I'm sure you can do a reinstall with the upgrade disk. If the license key didn't work for some reason during the install, you can continue without entering it and it will install unactivated (I believe the upgrade and retail disks are identical, only the license keys are different.). You could then activate from the desktop, either by entering the key, or failing that by phoning Microsoft.

 

[GreNME]

Whoa, I'd be wary of upgrading with that new scheme. How about they check upgrade eligibility once, at point of purchase, or through a phone / web connection at first install?

I wouldn't pay for software that essentially gives me one chance only to install and no reinstall down the line (full wipe in the case of an OS). I mean, I've heard that Win 7 is an improvement, but to the point where a clean reinstall is never necessary or desirable?

I addressed this question in an earlier post. Win 7 upgrades do allow a "clean install" type of installation. However, it requires a slightly different set of install steps to do so.

 

[ThatSoundAgain]

All right, my mistake.

It just sounded like you could do a clean install once. The discussion of not being able to use a previous retail disc as verification is what prompted this misunderstanding.

It's not like I'm moving to Win 7 anytime soon, and if I do I won't be upgrading, so it's academic for me anyway. But thanks for clearing it up.

 

[jsiv]

It used to be that the upgrade gave one the option of putting in the install disc from the previous (full) version and using that as verification. I guess this has changed somewhere along the line? Probably to ensure the prior version was legally activated?

Ah, I see. Yes, that could be a confusing change, even though it happened years ago with Vista.

Whoa, I'd be wary of upgrading with that new scheme. How about they check upgrade eligibility once, at point of purchase, or through a phone / web connection at first install?

Where is it going to store this information though? If you format the hard drive, there is nowhere left to store the license status. What it does right now is check when you launch the installer, and then writes a flag in the registry of the new installation that indicates that it was a licensed upgrade install (because the activation happens once the OS is actually up and running, not during the install).

I'm sure you can do a reinstall with the upgrade disk. If the license key didn't work for some reason during the install, you can continue without entering it and it will install unactivated (I believe the upgrade and retail disks are identical, only the license keys are different.). You could then activate from the desktop, either by entering the key, or failing that by phoning Microsoft.

No, you can't. If it doesn't detect a valid install from the installer, then your install becomes a retail installations that cannot be activated with an upgrade key. Trying to do so will just give you an error (although you could simply set the registry key I mentioned before yourself.)


GreNME describes the way out if you ever want to reinstall though, which is that you can actually upgrade from Windows 7 to Windows 7, and thus reinstall that way without having to first reinstall Vista.

The installer simply has to detect an existing Windows install on the disk to allow you to upgrade. That's what changed. In XP and earlier, it would let you supply installation media as evidence, whereas from Vista and on it requires an actual installed copy of Windows.

If people don't want this, then they should buy either an OEM version (cheap, but tied to one machine) or a full retail one (more expensive, but can be transferred to new systems).