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Preston Gralla

Seeing Through Windows

Intel techie: Windows 7 is ready for prime time

5 comments

TAGS:Intel, Windows 7
IT TOPICS:Desktops & Servers, Hardware, Laptops & Netbooks, Operating Systems, Software, Windows & Microsoft

Here's yet one more piece of evidence you're likely to see Windows 7 launch in 2009, before the announced 2010 launch date: An Intel techie calls Windows 7 "incredibly stable" and is already using a version of it as his primary operating system on his own PCs.

Doug Holland, an Intel developer, writes on his blog that

I have now been using the Windows Server 2008 R2 beta and Windows 7 beta builds for some time and have found them to be incredibly stable. I am now using the Windows Server 2008 R2 Beta "Aero Enabled" Workstation as the primary OS on both my personal notebook and desktop and would do so also on my corporate notebook if our IT department allowed.

This is very good news for Microsoft, because Intel made big news in 2008 when it announced that it wasn't going upgrade to Vista, and would instead stay with Windows XP.

At the time Microsoft, to say the least, was not pleased. The news had to especially gall Microsoft because Microsoft had launched its ill-fated Vista "Junk PC" suit on behalf of Intel. Documents in the case show that Intel pressured Microsoft into putting "Vista Capable" stickers on PCs with Intel 915 chipsets, even though PCs with those chipsets couldn't run Aero or other parts of Vista.

Holland has no influence over whether Intel will standardize on Windows 7 when it ships, or when Windows 7 will actually ship. But just the fact that an Intel developer considers the operating system ready for prime time is one more piece of evidence that Windows 7 is getting close to being finished.

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I tried the Beta on a Dell

Submitted by miked on June 16, 2009 - 8:51 P.M.

I tried the Beta on a Dell Inspiron desktop, and the RC on both a Dell studio hybrid and Dell XPS M1330. So far I am not impressed at all. The Beta would just reboot on the Inspiron by itself. The video drivers for the Dell Hybrid Studio were just terrible. The wireless adapter on the laptop will never work after hibernation, bluetooth had to be installed manually. Speed was little improved from Vista, and slower than XP. RAM usage was better than Vista, but worse than XP. I see no reason to do an "upgrade" from Vista, and would go back to XP if I could.

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I tried the Beta on a Dell

Submitted by miked on June 16, 2009 - 8:51 P.M.

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“This isn’t a matter of

Submitted by tom on January 19, 2009 - 5:31 P.M.

“This isn’t a matter of dissing Microsoft, but Intel information technology staff just found no compelling case for adopting Vista,” the person said.

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/06/25/et-tu-intel/

It was a cost benefit analysis.

So what is the compelling case for 7?

Would be nice to see a list of new features, and what's compelling, what's better vs XP, OS X, Linux...

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Big Bang Releases never work

Submitted by Anonymous on January 19, 2009 - 10:47 A.M.

The worst possible software plan is to rewrite everything, debug it, and make a Big Bang Release. Especially when the LOC expands wildly upward from 30 meg and your "team" numbers into the thousands. Do this and you get Vista.

A Hail Mary Play, is to take the Big Bang Release, trim the cruft, and fix the rest. The result is Windows 7. Time will tell if its really a winning plan. At the very least it looks like a do or die.

The only thing that really works is limit your scope, release early, release often, listen to your customers, and have a SMALL team of competent people doing the work. Microsoft did none of these things. That's why Vista failed and Microsoft almost tanked.

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Thank goodness...

Submitted by Simon on January 18, 2009 - 5:00 P.M.

The downadup /conflicker outbreak's showing just how badly we - and the other orgs still running XP - need to start navigating a way off it (even though we're not affected (yet)).

I'm looking forward to migrating to 7, not words I'd have used about Vista. And if MS continue down this Apple-path - releasing new O/S's as smaller, less painful increments - I'll continue to be pleased.

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