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Windows 7 RTM Reviewed & Benchmarked
An anonymous reader writes "The code is final, and CNet has reviewed the final version of Windows 7, with benchmarks to support the case that it's not only the fastest version of Windows to shut down, but also looks like 'the operating system that both Microsoft and its consumers have been waiting for.' The review continues: 'By fixing most of the perceived and real problems in Vista, Microsoft has laid the groundwork for the future of where Windows will go. Windows 7 presents a stable platform that can compete comfortably with OS X, while reassuring the world that Microsoft can still turn out a strong, useful operating system.'"
We know our operating system sucks so we've decided to help our customers by making it even easier to shut it down!
That's just it though - any PC manufacturer worth a damn releases all the drivers required for a fresh install of XP 32-bit and Vista32/64. Sure the drivers aren't always great, and quite often have horrible bugs, but they're still nowhere near as horrible as what I've had to go through in Ubuntu - and I only used that junk for about half an hour at a time (tried 3 times or so) before giving up and going back to XP Pro...
For instance, I've never installed a display driver in Windows that refused to switch resolutions... or rather, refused to switch to the resolution specified. Selecting 1680x1050@60hz and getting 1342x923.345 with 1280x800 shown on the screen (scrollable) at a refresh rate of 67.5453hz is VERY frustrating!
Sorry, I don't shill for Microsoft or hope to continue to use its products but if we ever hope to talk intelligently about Linux as a desktop operating system we have to be able to step back and look at what the #1 desktop operating system gets right.
Indeed, and once you analyse it that comes down to just one thing - its manufacturer does deals to get it installed by default on pretty much all hardware. This is and always has been Microsoft's sole USP - right back to the days of MS-DOS. Microsoft is first and foremost a marketing company, and always has been. The software is incidental.