[HenryGale]

Has anybody heard any rumors to those who purchase a computer/Vista within a certain time period of the release of Windows 7 will be able to get a free/discounted upgrade to Windows 7?

[Fumblerooskies]

I saw something about that for those purchased after July 1.

[JMUDukes]

getamac.

also, staying with XP on Boot Camp.

yes, but then you have to fork out a ton more money and still buy windows 7 if you want it. it's illogical.

not if you school has a partnership with Microsoft that gives you anything but Office for free

[flamesbball84]

getamac.

also, staying with XP on Boot Camp.

yes, but then you have to fork out a ton more money and still buy windows 7 if you want it. it's illogical.

not if you school has a partnership with Microsoft that gives you anything but Office for free

true, but you are still paying a buttload for a computer when you could get a windows computer with the same or nearly the same hardware for 1000 bucks or even less and then download a bunch of windows programs and stuff to replicate many of the same features a mac would have. of course you don't have the full OSX experience, but you get a god bit of it...

[flamesbball84]

no it takes a standard RAM card...


http://www.laptopmag.com/advice/how-to/ ... i-ram.aspx

well that's certainly a change to their other computers. i hope it's the same with the mini 12

[El Scorcho]

Isn't Scorcho a mac guy?

Yes, but Scorcho has to use a variety of operating systems to do his job. (Since I've worked at LU I've had to use/maintain about 18 different OS's if you count the major version changes of each.) I have both Mac OS X (10.5) and Windows XP (SP3) installed on my MacBook Pro. I also have an XP box in the office. I gave Vista a shot. It just wasn't for me. Too much bloat. The Admin tools I need for my job all worked much better in XP (at least at that time) and it's just plain faster. So, that's where I'm at.

I haven't installed the 7 Beta yet, so I can't comment. I do plan to fire it up at some point, though. For what it's worth, the Windows guys who's opinion I trust are all saying pretty good things about it. That's probably a good sign.

true, but you are still paying a buttload for a computer when you could get a windows computer with the same or nearly the same hardware for 1000 bucks or even less and then download a bunch of windows programs and stuff to replicate many of the same features a mac would have. of course you don't have the full OSX experience, but you get a god bit of it...

You keep thinking that. (And I know you will, 'cause we've been down this road so many times already.) To each their own, but I buy Apple hardware for a reason. There's a lot more to a computer than the parts inside. Good solid industrial design and innovative engineering is worth the premium for me.

[JMUDukes]

yes, but then you have to fork out a ton more money and still buy windows 7 if you want it. it's illogical.

not if you school has a partnership with Microsoft that gives you anything but Office for free

true, but you are still paying a buttload for a computer when you could get a windows computer with the same or nearly the same hardware for 1000 bucks or even less and then download a bunch of windows programs and stuff to replicate many of the same features a mac would have. of course you don't have the full OSX experience, but you get a god bit of it...

except...I don't have to worry about security issues. ever. or various other Microsoft bugs.

[Fumblerooskies]

We don't worry either..we got Scorcho!

[flamesbball84]

except...I don't have to worry about security issues. ever. or various other Microsoft bugs.

i've never had a problem with security issues and i've never used anything but windows machines here at home. never had viruses ruin my computer, never had anyone steal my identity or credit card info, never had stolen passwords, never had anyone hack into my computer that I know of (if they did they did nothing to my computer). sure i've had problems with windows in the past, but 95% of the problems was because of something I did to screw it up.

You keep thinking that. (And I know you will, 'cause we've been down this road so many times already.) To each their own, but I buy Apple hardware for a reason. There's a lot more to a computer than the parts inside. Good solid industrial design and innovative engineering is worth the premium for me.

I want a computer that I can customize a lot, run all the programs I like to run, can run them quickly, and provide a vast amount of 3rd party support so I ccan use it to it's full potential. Macs aren't nearly customizable in terms of hardware as Dells are when you go to buy them (right now with the 2.1 ghz macbook the only major hardware to customize is ram and hard drive size) and many of the things I want to do i can't do unless I boot into Windows. So why buy a Mac? Sure they look better and have better engineering, but what good does that do if it can't do what I want it to do without getting another OS to run on it and I can't customize it much?

[El Scorcho]

I want a computer that I can customize a lot, run all the programs I like to run, can run them quickly, and provide a vast amount of 3rd party support so I ccan use it to it's full potential. Macs aren't nearly customizable in terms of hardware as Dells are when you go to buy them (right now with the 2.1 ghz macbook the only major hardware to customize is ram and hard drive size) and many of the things I want to do i can't do unless I boot into Windows. So why buy a Mac? Sure they look better and have better engineering, but what good does that do if it can't do what I want it to do without getting another OS to run on it and I can't customize it much?

And that is why I say to each their own. They're not for everybody. Aside from Jesus, nothing is.

I will say that even though Windows XP is installed on a partition on my MacBook Pro, I haven't actually used it to do anything in the last four or five months. I get that some people need Windows, but I am just not one of those people. Everyone has different needs. Macs best suit mine.

[Hold My Own]

except...I don't have to worry about security issues. ever. or various other Microsoft bugs.

i've never had a problem with security issues and i've never used anything but windows machines here at home.

Sounds like you were in the minority then and using something other then Explorer...did you read about their nightmare security breach? That was unreal...and when I say minority it's b/c even with all the options with browsers well over the majority are still using WIE

[flamesbball84]

no it takes a standard RAM card...


http://www.laptopmag.com/advice/how-to/ ... i-ram.aspx

well that's certainly a change to their other computers. i hope it's the same with the mini 12

actually, forget the mini 12. i'm going with the inspiron 13. i can get a ton more bang for my buck that way. for only about $125 more I get 90 gigs of more storage at the minimum, a SIGNIFICANTLY better CPU, 3x as much RAM, and a slotloading dvd drive built in as opposed to an external one, a N wireless card as opposed to G, the screen is bigger, and I can get vista home premium so I'll be eligible for the windows 7 free upgrade if i get it after july 1 and dell complies with the program.

the vista for the 4gb ram compatible system is 64 bit. does anyone know what is different between 32 and 64 bit?

EDIT: forget that question. i just found a way to get the 4GB without getting the 64bit version. this makes me hate my current computer. it's not even half as good as that one and i paid over $1k for it...

[flamesbball84]

except...I don't have to worry about security issues. ever. or various other Microsoft bugs.

i've never had a problem with security issues and i've never used anything but windows machines here at home.

Sounds like you were in the minority then and using something other then Explorer...did you read about their nightmare security breach? That was unreal...and when I say minority it's b/c even with all the options with browsers well over the majority are still using WIE

i've banned the use of internet explorer on my computer. i have it blocked on my firewall and have deleted every single shortcut to it i can find in case someone wants to use my computer for something, they are forced to use firefox or google chrome - unless they know to just go to run and type in iexplore, which the vast majority don't.

[Hold My Own]

FYI I just upgraded my Mini to 2gb (it's max) and it was simple to do...took about 10 minutes

did you have to buy the ram directly from dell? i know with every other computer me and my family have had they have to make all their parts just a tad bit different to force you to buy from them.

Just wanted to update you...I turned off compressing my hard drive (under system info) and after the 2gb install this thing is super quick...it's faster then my at home laptop that cost about 100x more

[flamesbball84]

FYI I just upgraded my Mini to 2gb (it's max) and it was simple to do...took about 10 minutes

did you have to buy the ram directly from dell? i know with every other computer me and my family have had they have to make all their parts just a tad bit different to force you to buy from them.

Just wanted to update you...I turned off compressing my hard drive (under system info) and after the 2gb install this thing is super quick...it's faster then my at home laptop that cost about 100x more

hard drive compression is idiocy - you can also get to it quicker just by right clicking on your C drive, click properties, then uncheck the compression box on the general tab. it would make since if you had like a 50 gb hard drive or less, but it's pretty hard to find a computer with less than a 120gb HD these days. when doing the research for a new computer, i found it essentially impossible to get a computer without a hard drive that was well over 2x-3x more than what I actually needed.

[Hold My Own]

Well the Mini's are 16gb SSD Hard Drive...they even come less then that but 16 is the max from the factory...I know people who have updated them too but I have no need since this is only for emails and web usage



I'm downloading Windows 7 on it now...the reviews of people using it on the Mini are very good and they even used the Mini as one of the examples when unveiling it...they talk about different things this has to help with netbooks and saves battery life too

[flamesbball84]

Well the Mini's are 16gb SSD Hard Drive...they even come less then that but 16 is the max from the factory...I know people who have updated them too but I have no need since this is only for emails and web usage



I'm downloading Windows 7 on it now...the reviews of people using it on the Mini are very good and they even used the Mini as one of the examples when unveiling it...they talk about different things this has to help with netbooks and saves battery life too

let me know if it gives you any difficulties. i don't have enough space on my hard drive to do a partition big enough for 7 (for some reason i cant use use 25% of my free space for a partition) and i don't want to install it and have it screw up stuff.

[Sly Fox]

Microsoft laid off 5% of its workforce today with more cuts likely unless Windows 7 is a major hit. The more I read the better I like the chances of them succeeding.

January 22, 2009 12:16 PM PST

Why I can't get enough of Windows 7
Posted by Don Reisinger

Anyone who reads The Digital Home knows that I have issues with Windows Vista. I think it's a sub-par operating system with too many quirks and far too many flaws to make it worth using. I only use Vista when I have to.

So I entered into the world of Windows 7 with some trepidation. Would it be the bloated mess that Vista is? Or would it bring me back to the golden days of Windows and whisk me away from the clutches of Apple? I didn't know.

But after using the beta (a term I use lightly, since this so-called beta is better than anything Microsoft ever shipped as Vista "Gold"), I can say with the utmost certainty that Windows 7 isn't only the best operating system I've used in the past decade, it might be my favorite of all time. And as a person with four Macs staring me in the face as I write this, that's something I never thought I'd say.

But I should note that so far, all we've seen from Microsoft is this beta. The company has a proven track record of promising, and even offering, features in betas that never seem to make their way to the finished product. Yes, I'm looking at you, Vista.

Regardless, the Windows 7 beta provided me with an unparalleled experience. From install to surfing the Web, it's fantastic.

Click Here for Full Story

[flamesbball84]

Microsoft laid off 5% of its workforce today with more cuts likely unless Windows 7 is a major hit. The more I read the better I like the chances of them succeeding.

January 22, 2009 12:16 PM PST

Why I can't get enough of Windows 7
Posted by Don Reisinger

Anyone who reads The Digital Home knows that I have issues with Windows Vista. I think it's a sub-par operating system with too many quirks and far too many flaws to make it worth using. I only use Vista when I have to.

So I entered into the world of Windows 7 with some trepidation. Would it be the bloated mess that Vista is? Or would it bring me back to the golden days of Windows and whisk me away from the clutches of Apple? I didn't know.

But after using the beta (a term I use lightly, since this so-called beta is better than anything Microsoft ever shipped as Vista "Gold"), I can say with the utmost certainty that Windows 7 isn't only the best operating system I've used in the past decade, it might be my favorite of all time. And as a person with four Macs staring me in the face as I write this, that's something I never thought I'd say.

But I should note that so far, all we've seen from Microsoft is this beta. The company has a proven track record of promising, and even offering, features in betas that never seem to make their way to the finished product. Yes, I'm looking at you, Vista.

Regardless, the Windows 7 beta provided me with an unparalleled experience. From install to surfing the Web, it's fantastic.

Click Here for Full Story

Yeah, I think W7 could be a major success. Everyday teh tech blogs I go to, some of which are major Apple homers, just keep posting positive stuff about be W7 and how it's so much vastly superior to Vista and that it is basically shockingly highly stable for a beta. Heard very few negatives, and the ones I have heard can mostly be chalked up to it being beta...

[HenryGale]

I recently got a laptop with Vista. After all the negative things I heard, I was pretty worried, but it has been OK. Nothing great, nothing terrible.

I will be upgrading to Windows 7 though when it comes out...

[El Scorcho]

Unless they screw up majorly, Windows 7 should be a hit. I feel pretty sure it will do well for them.

[Fumblerooskies]

Unless they screw up majorly, Windows 7 should be a hit. I feel pretty sure it will do well for them.

I think I just fainted.

[Sly Fox]

Nowhere in that sentence did see it stated that it would be better than Snow Leopard.

[Hold My Own]

Unless they screw up majorly, Windows 7 should be a hit. I feel pretty sure it will do well for them.

Schorchy after the Beta stage ends do you have to switch back to your previous OS? I saw this on the download page but wasnt sure if it was simply saying be prepared if you have to

[El Scorcho]

Schorchy after the Beta stage ends do you have to switch back to your previous OS? I saw this on the download page but wasnt sure if it was simply saying be prepared if you have to

It's a possibility. They've handled it different ways in the past, so it's hard to say. Chances are they'll let you purchase the final version at a discount or just purchase an upgrade to the final version from the beta, with the beta ending in a certain number of days.

I'm just speculating, though. I haven't really looked into the beta program in detail.