About a month ago, Microsoft came out with Windows 7 RC. RC stands for release candidate and it is the almost-finished version that will be for sale sometime in the future. I have been running it on my netbook computer I got last Christmas. The netbook is a very good, small, low-cost computer that I wrote about at the end of last year. Basically, it isn't quite powerful enough to run Windows Vista so it comes with XP.
So with some apprehension, I rebuilt my netbook from the ground up with Windows 7. After I finished the rebuild, I held my breath, uttered a prayer and started the computer up. Guess what? It has worked perfectly ever since. It runs Windows 7 very fast, and all of my software and hardware continue to work. Yea! This is great news since Vista failed both of those tests when it first came out. The wireless connection to home and office started working immediately, and I can't really find much to complain about.
If you have been putting off buying a computer due to fear of Vista, fear no longer. I energetically approve of this latest and greatest operating system from MS. Most of the smarter and more famous Windows geeks are happy about this upcoming operating system, too.
It looks and acts similar to Vista. If you have used Vista in the past you will be right at home when you switch; although, the speed increase will both surprise and delight you. If you are coming from the XP operating system it will take a little getting used to, but the learning curve shouldn't be too bad and will be worth it.
Off and on during the next few months I will be talking about some of the new things in W7, but I may wait for it to actually get into the market. If you are brave and want to play with it before it comes to the stores, you can. Just Google, "download Microsoft Windows 7" and you may download it from MS through July 2009. A neat thing is that you will get updates to this RC and be able to use it to run your computer until June 1, 2010. Basically they are giving it away for about a year. Microsoft has not announced how much it will cost.
As to when it goes on sale, Microsoft has been stating for the last week or so that it will be available before Christmas. I have heard others say anytime between August and November, but only MS knows for sure... maybe.
Contact Ron Doyle at ron@doubleclicks.info.
