Friday, January 09, 2009
Microsoft + Windows 7 beta + Public = Major Failure; but not Microsoft's fault

I spend much of the day in front of my computer on this site: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/evalcenter/dd353205.aspx. (My F5 key might be broke after today.)

This is where the public can download the first public beta release of Windows 7 for both x86 and x64 systems. When selecting the version, I received an error each time: "Server too Busy."

I beta tested Windows Vista years ago, and it was great. Seemed like Microsoft thought out how to release it to the public. There was no server down time and I had both versions on DVD about a day later. Demand was high back then in 2006, but nothing like what I witnessed today.

Just how bad is the demand for a new version of Redmond's latest OS offering? It took down many parts of Microsoft's Web site, including the Windows 7 web page, the Windows Team Blog and the RSS feed of that very blog.

The thing is, Windows Vista is not that bad. It's actually a really good operating system...just not for people with single core CPUs, 1GB of memory, intergrated graphics and anything not purchased in the last year. My system I was using was primarily built in 2006 (before Vista was released), and subsequently updated since. There was no way I was going to put anything other than XP because I knew better. This past summer, I made the jump from Windows XP Professional to Windows Vista Ultimate (with all new parts except for the case) and haven't looked back since.

There are many things that I adore about Vista. First, the sidebar. Sure, people complain that it is a resource hog (these are the same people with an Intel Celeron processor), but it works better than both the Google Desktop and Yahoo! Desktop applications without the additional bloat of their search tools.

Secondly, the new start menu is easy and efficient. I can search for a program or a file, without having to look for it. Along the lines of organization, Microsoft finally got the user folder right by having one place for music, videos, downloads and other user files. Granted this is a blatant rip-off of MacOS X, but it works.

And finally, Windows search and indexing tool. Some low-power users acutally power this off to save system resources. These people are insane, mind you. I've had my system up and running non-stop since August and it finds everything--even stuff I've long forgotten about like a paper I wrote back in 1999 for my freshman biology class.

Let's face it. Today's meltdown of Microsoft's servers is not their fault. People are using computers with Vista that shouldn't have Vista. They are looking for something that will be faster than Vista, more efficient than Vista and a software excuse for not building or buying a faster machine.

I have a Windows Experience Index of 5.7. I can process massive files quickly in Adobe Photoshop CS4. I can encode a full-length movie in 5 minutes. I have all of the processing power I need. A new shiny OS is no going to make it any faster.

I want Windows 7 because I like new...not because I want Vista to run faster.

Labels: Technology

posted by Jon Hayden at 3:49 PM |