Hasta La Gadget!

Good news, Windows 7 fanatics — Microsoft has decided to nix that 2.5 million download limit in order to a) calm everyone down and b) enable its servers to relax just a wee bit. After the Windows 7 Beta download was launched, it took just hours to bring the servers to a screeching halt as consumers ’round the globe attempted to get in before the 2.5 million mark was hit. Now, however, the team has removed that barrier for the next fortnight (through January 24th, being that it was decided on Saturday) in effort to make the download experience more ideal. Crisis averted. Just in case you’ve forgotten how good it looks, we’re including a gallery, and don’t remember how much fun we’ve all had running it on the MacBook Pro and the VAIO P.

[Via InformationWeek]

Filed under: Desktops, Laptops

Microsoft temporarily removes Windows 7 Beta download limit originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 12 Jan 2009 10:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

We just couldn’t help ourselves, and put this Windows 7 .iso we had lying around exactly where it belongs: on Sony’s VAIO P. After mucking around on “the internet” figuring out the best way to install it, we ended up going the lazy route and dragging / dropping the plain files onto a folder on a USB drive, hitting setup.exe and watching the installer do its magic — and it worked flawlessly! We weren’t timing it or anything, but we’d say 45 minutes or so is a good guesstimate for the install. A few thoughts:

• It boots fast! Not that Vista was that bad on the boot front, but we’re pretty happy with this.
• No Aero. That’s to be expected, but the lack of transparency and visual effects makes the OS look quite a bit different than most of the screenshots out there.
• It’s very responsive. To be honest, a lot of that could be from the fact that this is a clean install, minus all the crap Sony loads on. Still, we’re very happy for the start menu to pop open instantly, windows to redraw like God intended… it’s pretty great.
• Browsing is 100% better. Internet Explorer pops open in a flash, and pages load in times nearly on comparison with “real” computers. Also, scrolling is ultra smooth, whereas with Vista it was stuttery all the way down.
• There’s a lot more to explore. We’ve just scratched the surface, but we love what we’ve seen so far.

Update: both videos are after the break!

Update 2: for those who’ve asked: yes, the webcam works, and no, we haven’t had any luck getting Aero up and running, though we have the video drivers loaded — we’re not saying it’s impossible, in fact, it’s likely very possible, since plenty of other similarly specced netbooks can pull it off, but it’s just not happening for us just yet.

Continue reading VAIO P, now with more Windows 7

Filed under: Laptops

VAIO P, now with more Windows 7 originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 10 Jan 2009 19:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

But this time, you don’t have to head over to your favorite torrent tracker to get it. Microsoft just began its Windows 7 Beta Customer Preview Program, which means you can head on over to your favorite internet, download the ISO, burn a DVD and start living the ultra-fantastic lifestyle of a Windows 7 user. The Beta expires August 1, 2009, and Microsoft is of course pilling on the caveats in case this destroys your computer with fire — and limiting this first run of downloads to 2.5 million users. We’re hearing reports of sluggish downloads at the moment, but we’re sure with a bit of patience you can be rocking this OS — or, you know… find it on the torrents.

Update: Oops. Microsoft’s Windows 7 download servers have crashed under the strain as has the Microsoft blog reporting the crash. We’ll let you know when the servers (and Windows 7 beta) return.

Filed under: Desktops, Laptops

Windows 7 Beta goes public originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 09 Jan 2009 13:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Got an MSDN subscription? Interested in checking out Windows 7 without engaging in any shady downloading? According to some tips we’re receiving, keys are available right now through official channels — and they even work. Mr. Ballmer was widely expected to announce the release of the (so far quite well-received) OS into public beta at his keynote speech later tonight, so you might say they’ve let the cat out of the bag a little early on this one. Give it a try, if you would, and let us know what you find. Sadly our subscriptions were revoked for posting silly pictures of a certain CEO.

Update: Seems it’s gone. We’ll just have to wait for the official word. You know where you can find it.

[Thanks, Wayne S.]

Filed under: CES, Desktops, Laptops

Fresh-baked Windows 7 beta keys now available through MSDN? originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 07 Jan 2009 19:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

You might’ve heard that crazy rumor making the rounds that Microsoft leaked the Windows 7 beta on purpose to build some positive buzz, and while there’s no real evidence (or likelihood) of that of any sort, the seemingly-magical build 7000 is certainly doing well for itself. Following up on wide praise for the fledgling OS, ZDNet‘s Adrian Kingsley-Hughes pitted the beta up against XP and Vista in some informal “real-word” tasks like boot up, shut down, file maneuvers, installations and other common tasks. On both test systems, an AMD Phenom 9700 setup and an Intel Pentium Dual-Core E2200 number (with ATI and NVIDIA graphics, respectively), the Windows 7 install soundly bested XP and Vista task by task, with few exceptions. Performance testing is never an exact science, but it’s clear that Microsoft is taking performance very seriously this time around — we can’t wait for the next conveniently-leaked beta to bolster this rep even further. Next on the benchmarking agenda? Real World: Brooklyn tasks.

[Via Ars Technica]

Filed under: Desktops, Laptops

Windows 7 build 7000 already outperforming Vista and XP in “real-world” tasks originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 03 Jan 2009 17:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments