I own a HP Laptop that I bought about a year ago summer 2008. Back than I already new Microsoft was coming out with a OS, but hard to say when back than.

I have a HP Notebook Laptop with 2GB of RAM and, a Intel Centrino Duo Processor with Vista Business, and 160GB of harddrive storage, all for around $575 at Staples, with a 4 year warranty from Staples at about $250. All in all about $800+ bucks I paid for a Vista Business Laptop.

By checking Amazon.com it seems that the features that they show seem very promising, and several sites like PCWorld or Computer Tech have been giving very good reviews, when several of their testers tried out the Beta version of Windows 7. Some are saying that Windows 7 is even better than Mac's new OS Leopard. With an even simpler interface and a even faster start up time than anything before. Why Macs Can't Beat PCs?! From PC World.com

I am very curious about if people have tried the Beta version yet, and what are your experiences if it is worth it buying an upgrade? Or just getting a new computer all together?

Windows 7's development has been mostly an exercise in restoring Windows' reputation. Vista launched a broken mess and although two service packs later most complaints levelled at Vista by the home user have been addressed, it's reputation has not improved. Microsoft have salvaged the situation by using the core and back end of Vista and to hasten the development of Windows 7.

Minor features aside, Windows 7 is little more than a re-written GUI for the Vista core. Like all iterations of Windows, it will launch broken but most users are unlikely to encounter show stopping issues. Despite claims of improved performance over Vista, the gains are minimal and exaggerated.

I'd have a difficult time justifying the cost and the pain in the butt factor of upgrading a year old laptop from Vista to 7 as retail copies of Windows tend to be expensive and upgrading involves formatting and starting again. Additionally you have a warranty to consider as I'd expect an upgrade of this nature will void it.

If warranty isn't an issue and you can justify (or avoid) the cost and are willing to start fresh, then by all means go for Windows 7. Just don't go expecting massive improvements in performance, reliability and usability.

hatesyou

Windows 7's development has been mostly an exercise in restoring Windows' reputation. Vista launched a broken mess and although two service packs later most complaints levelled at Vista by the home user have been addressed, it's reputation has not improved. Microsoft have salvaged the situation by using the core and back end of Vista and to hasten the development of Windows 7.

Minor features aside, Windows 7 is little more than a re-written GUI for the Vista core. Like all iterations of Windows, it will launch broken but most users are unlikely to encounter show stopping issues. Despite claims of improved performance over Vista, the gains are minimal and exaggerated.

I'd have a difficult time justifying the cost and the pain in the butt factor of upgrading a year old laptop from Vista to 7 as retail copies of Windows tend to be expensive and upgrading involves formatting and starting again. Additionally you have a warranty to consider as I'd expect an upgrade of this nature will void it.

If warranty isn't an issue and you can justify (or avoid) the cost and are willing to start fresh, then by all means go for Windows 7. Just don't go expecting massive improvements in performance, reliability and usability.

I figured as much. Just about every site I went to that talked about Windows 7 gave positive reviews on the OS, however they kept on talking about the Beta version of of it all. To my, average ability about computers, it seems far from a finished product.

And your right about my warranty I would have void it if I changed the operating system on the computer. I forgot about that.

My friend who fixes computers for a living absolutely loves Windows 7, and another friend of mine who's a huge Mac guy (owns Mac laptop, iPhone) has Windows 7 installed on his PC at home and loves it too. I personally haven't used Windows 7 yet. I've used Vista Home Premium for my laptop and the only complaint I had for it was it was slow (2GB of RAM) until the first service pack came along and now I feel like I'm running on 4GB of RAM. I'm still running Windows XP Pro on my PC right now, and unfortunately it's only a 32-bit. I haven't reformatted my computer ever since I built it two years ago and I'm considering a reformat, but I haven't made my mind about switching to 7 yet.

I've already upgraded my Vista PC's to Windows 7 (I got early copies from Microsoft). It's definitely worth while.

Vista was a big step up from XP, and 7 is a step up from Vista.

I would recommend anyone who has Windows Vista to either downgrade to Windows XP 64Bit or upgrade to Windows 7 as soon as possible because Vista is really slow and really limits the user's experience.

Most Windows Vista users must feel trapped into a building in flames, desperate by a practically useless OS. In that situation, jumping through the window to Windows Seven could be relieving at the beginning, but latter the undertow would make them regret of their decision. Vista is that bad that is making Seven look wonderful, just like Obama after Bush. As with presidents, time will tell us which decision is better.

Meanwhile you wait, downgrading to XP is for me the best choice, or even considering Linux or any other OS would be wiser. Like a friend says, "the more I know Windows, the more I love Mac"

XbanditX1993

I would recommend anyone who has Windows Vista to either downgrade to Windows XP 64Bit or upgrade to Windows 7 as soon as possible because Vista is really slow and really limits the user's experience.

Would you care to explain how? I mean, statistics prove you pretty much wrong on the performance point. I'm very curious to to how Vista "really limits the user's experience" though.

Gvnkwyr

Most Windows Vista users must feel trapped into a building in flames, desperate by a practically useless OS.

Aside from being on Apple's payroll, can you please explain this?

While I can hardly justify downgrading from windows vista to xp 64 bit, the Vista operating system does have some major compatibility issues with just about everything, I would recommend getting the system builders Upgrade edition once it comes out, it is going to retail for just over $100 which, while a bit expensive, is not that bad considering what it would cost if you were to buy it in a store. While I can not speak for laptops, my computer runs 64 bit vista quite well, but that is because I have a couple thousand dollars sunk into it lol, even with that though, I can not wait to get vista off my system, even though it runs ok, it has been nothing but a pain since day one.

FoxMcCarther

the Vista operating system does have some major compatibility issues with just about everything,

Can you give some examples?

I'm also going to point out that Windows 7's compatibility is almost identical to Vista's.

I'm a Mac user. Pardon me while I smirk and gloat. Considering how Microsoft® pushed to get XP users to switch, and the short lifespan of the the Vista OS, don't some of you Windows users think that Microsoft® should offer Vista users a free upgrade.

Seeing people propogate the same misinformation becomes annoying.

Vista is stable. Two service packs have seen most issues addressed. What hasn't been effectively addressed is public perception. Yes it takes more resources than XP. The same complaint was levelled at XP when released. It happens every release. Get over it.

Vista has compatibility issues with old hardware and some software. Again, the same happened with XP. It is not Microsoft's responsibility to support hardware and software that is not their own. The changes made in Vista's architecture are for the greater good of stability. Backward compatibility is a nicety. It is not a responsibility.

The key difference between a Mac and a PC (OS aside) is that the Mac hardware is limited to a select basket. Because of this, there exists a smaller number of potential configuration and obstacles to stability. This strength is also OSX's biggest weakness. Consumers lose the flexibility to build to or buy to their own specification. If you do not value this flexibility then so be it. Enjoy your Mac; just don't go thinking it gives you bragging rights as OSX is only the other side of the same coin. It too is a comprimise between flexibility and usability.

Agreed hatesyou, your technical argument is flawless. My complaint is the cost of the upgrade/conversion to Windows 7. The standard Microsoft practice is to introduce a new OS as, "The answer to God's prayer" and tell all interested bystanders and users of the most recent past version that you absolutely must upgrade for reasons of technical necessity and innovative advancement.

The new version then hits the market and it has bugs. The bugs usually get fixed and presented as a completed masterwork in a newer version that is supposed to be, "The answer to God's prayer" (again) and you have to pay a small fortune for it, (again). Wouldn't you agree that occasionally; if the user buys into the Microsoft hype, he or she deserves a conversion freebie.

The Mac allows you to run the Windows OS, under an application called Bootstrap; and I considered buying Vista (I simply like having access to both operating systems). This was about 10 months ago and I was turned off by the price. Rest assured, now that Microsoft has presented Windows 7, Vista will be an unsupported OS, in about 12 months, and had I purchased I'd feel cheated. I would like to have my software last longer than 18 months before being forced to pay for an upgrade.

proxima

Rest assured, now that Microsoft has presented Windows 7, Vista will be an unsupported OS, in about 12 months, and had I purchased I'd feel cheated. I would like to have my software last longer than 18 months before being forced to pay for an upgrade.

Well, what you'll find is that the Windows ecosystem supports versions of Windows much longer than the Apple ecosystem supports copies of OS X (which I bring up since you mentioned Bootcamp).

Not only will Vista be supported by Microsoft beyond 2012 (indeed, there are rumblings of another service pack already), but DirectX 11 (including Direct2D and DirectWrite) are being backported to Vista, ensuring that it isn't eclipsed by software utilizing those API's.

proxima

I'm a Mac user. Pardon me while I smirk and gloat. Considering how Microsoft® pushed to get XP users to switch, and the short lifespan of the the Vista OS, don't some of you Windows users think that Microsoft® should offer Vista users a free upgrade.

Why should 7 be a free upgrade? Also, how is Vista's lifespan short? Being a Mac user, you no doubt are used to short OS lifespans, but if you use Windows for a version cycle, you'll find that the average Windows lifespan is several years beyond the average OS X lifespan (since the ecosystem, and Microsoft, support Windows longer).

Vista was released in 2007. It was replaced three years after GA. This is normal so far. It will be supported in the mainstream until 2012 (or, in other words, it'll be mainstream supported until Windows 8 arrives). Up until that point, Windows Vista will remain viable as an operating system. Indeed, you probably won't even realize that you're two releases behind (in terms of software compat.).

If you are using a business version of Vista, then you will continue to receive security patches until 2017, which is a ten year lifespan.