Windows 7

From the RC download page:

Your PC, simplified. You told us what you want in a PC. We listened. And made hundreds of little improvements and a few big ones that add up to a whole lot less. Less waiting, fewer clicks, and less complexity. With less of what you don’t need, Windows 7 helps you do more. More work, more play, and more of everything in between. Making every task simpler and every day easier.

Maybe it's true.

But still, it may apply only to a few "illuminated" people working on Windows7.

I tried downloading the Windows7 RC.

The page does not work with Opera.

Gone there with IE, the page works.

Then, I get this:

Windows 7 RC Download Center

Please wait while the Download Manager begins your download.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you have not already installed ActiveX control or the JavaTM applet, an information box will appear in your Microsoft Internet Explorer browser prompting you to install "ActiveX control:...".
If the Download Manager can not install the ActiveX control or the JavaTM applet in your browser, you may have system restrictions.

If you have system restrictions, please:

Download products using the Web Browser method
Contact your organization’s Administrator to download products using the Download Manager method

OF COURSE I don't have and don't want a Java TM applet or a crappy ActiveX thingy on my system to download a §@ç#ing .iso file!

Please note how an alternate method:

Download products using the Web Browser method

is listed, but without even a hint on how it should work.

Copy the address in the IE bar and pasting it in Opera the .iso downloads gracefully without the stupid Java TM or ActiveX crap.

The file is named:
7100.0.090421-1700_x86fre_client_en-us_retail_ultimate-grc1culfrer_en_dvd.iso

And it's only 2.530.975.744 byte, taking only an estimated 6 hours to download.

Way to go, MS! You need several more years to understand and apply "the less is more" philosophy!

jaclaz

MS has been using the transfer manager since xp days. Its no different from one of the many download managers available for your browser.It also works within Firefox so is not IE dependent.

I have tried so much to like Opera - I even paid for a copy when it was not free. However its a closed browser; it is not extendable like Firefox. Until it supports Roboform then for me its unusable.They are also slow to fix security issues.

MS has been using the transfer manager since xp days. Its no different from one of the many download managers available for your browser.It also works within Firefox so is not IE dependent.

...and...?

I know that.

Is it needed? Answer: NO.

Is it a small example of the more (as opposed to the less)? Answer:YES.



jaclaz

A download manager is essential for a big download like vista or win 7. You would never be able to download it without the option to continue a failed download. However if you have a browser that contains that functionality built in then its not needed. Don't think MS however should rely on that. However I think they should make its use optional.

When they first introduced it the reason quoted was that it enables them to better share the available server resources.

Actually, the Windows 7 RC WIM is smaller than the Vista WIM.

However I think they should make its use optional.

That's the big complain I have since LONG time:

Billy the Door ALLWAYS knows better than me, what I need and what I want to do

Peter

One thing I think is lost on most people....

Linux = Power User that really knows a thing or two about computers and how they work, and can work with command line/code , etc.

There are people out there suckering little old ladies into Linux PC's, and when the crap hit's the fan, they don't know how/where to get support. Yes, Linux can break, I have done it.

Windows = People who don't care how it works as long as it works. And most of the time it does work, till the end user screws something up. Or they install some crap software, go to crap websites and click on every crap window that pops up.

I use windows and I have less than 1% of the problems that most people do. And all put a fraction are my fault.

The biggest problem for windows,,, backward compatibility (bloat) and the "everything works out of the box for the stupid people" which lead to less security in the beginning. It has gotten much better, but windows is so widely used and known that it is an easy target.

Also, vista is very stable and pretty darn secure, (they are trying to fix the oversight of all admin access all the time), if you are careful. The problem is the end user, not the OS , the user.

The user is the problem on all OS's.

Linux is getting more user friendly, not widely supported by a lot of hardware without knowing how to code linux yourself.
An this all depends on the distro. But, How do I really know which distro is the most secure/user friendly, going to cause me the least problems and be the easiest to get the software I want to use running? What about games for Linux?

BIG, HUGE problem with Linux,,,,, 100+ Distro's and growing. Which one is right for me? Or the person I might decide to set up for. When one distro's updates start going sideways or that community starts to die, which one should I change to? what is the flavor of the month? Being a bit facetious, but you get the drift.

I am not a full time linux user, but I can get around in it.

All OS's have their place in the world. People just need to realize that they may not be that particular OS's target audience.

Also,, slamming any OS and it's users doesn't win over to that communities side. That only works in polotics. Show me why a product is better than another with real facts and not degradation, I'll be more open to listening.

What I can't stand are Win-Nazi's, Mac-Nazi's and Lin-Nazi's.
I used to be a Win-Nazi. I'm not anymore. But the mere mention of Windows to most linux/Mac users sends them into a tizzy that makes me disrespect those communities as a whole.
It also helpped me realize how much of a Win-Nazi I was and I felt like I was looking in the mirror and didn't like what I saw. I have respect for all OS's now, it's the communities that drive the wedge between them. Much like Race Baiting.

If people want Linux to take over the world of computers, then civility will go a long way.

@Tepid

I am completely failing to see ANY relevance of your post with the thread topic.

Just to try re-conducting it on the original path, some Service Pack related news/rumours :
http://www.msfn.org/...howtopic=135036

jaclaz