Windows 7, Vista or XP?

[argedion]

On a day to day basis it has replaced me need to drop down to the regular cmd prompt for just about ... anything. It's the main reason why my batch writing skills have grown so lax (I used to create custom DOS Shells using batch files - pretty little menus, blinky text, etc. - for when I needed repetitive tasks performed. Now? I have to look all the friggin commands up again - b/c so many parameters and switches have changed....)

Got my start with DOS 5 I remember buying Batch Files for Dummies and checking all the really cool batch sites. Man I had some crazy stuff going with Ansi and prompt commands. When 95 and the likes came out I started making really great menu driven boot disk that you could diagnose most problems with. I still have one or two of those around I think. I remember putting in hours and hours on a menu system getting it to work and look decent. Playing with colors and all kinds of craziness. Man those were great days of computing.

Parameters and Switches are not the only things that have changed a lot of the commands themselves have changed. Most can only be run in a Windows environment. No Real modes anymore.

now on the subject.
My Home server is Fedora 14
My download Computer is Fedora 15
My Wifes Laptop and My Laptop are Windows 7
My two girls have our old Windows XP

I've used Ubuntu, Linux Mint, Debian, OpenSuse, DOS, Dr DOS, BEOS, Winblows 3.0 - 7 (actually 7 is ok) , Caldera, Mandrake (Who later became Mandriva), PCLOS, Sabyon, Fedora.

Most I dealt with briefly. I did have DOS until 98 I did run 95 but mostly did stuff in DOS at that time. Only used the Gui to do internet stuff. I Would have like to played more with BEOS but really didnt get that much of a chance. I'm no expert or anything. I'm just a user. I did like doing the batch files and stuff that was fun. I started getting hardware that was no longer supported under DOS by the time 98 came out. Most of the new hardware then was pretty much Window Drivers. Linux Mint I installed looked at and said yeah not for me (KDE) And very very Green. I don't mind green but not that much. Fedora is my Fav OS even though I really want to give Gentoo a go. I just haven't read and learned how to install it. But that will be a project for me to do. Maybe with the old laptop.

Mac OS - Never been there
Windows - XP and 7 even though I did like 98
Linux - Fedora, Mandriva, PCLOS
Others - DOS 5 - 6.2

 

[zuben el genub]

Just out of curiosity, what do you use PowerShell for? I can't say that I've ever used it on my desktop and I don't know of any users who have ever used it either. Every once in a blue moon I've used it on a 2008 server for the odd scripting job, but not very often and certainly not often enough to claim I'm any expert in it's use. I've seen a couple of people on here talk about how great PowerShell is and I'm honestly curious what use there is for it on a day to day basis.



I had the opposite experience. When I built my box I had planned on using Linux as a virtual host and run several different Windows virtual guests. I was not thrilled with Ubuntu, used it for a few weeks and eventually went to W7 as a host. The OS worked, was stable, but I found I kept having to go back to the command line to do everything. The GUI was somewhat useful, but it was certainly not possible to do everything I wanted/needed to do from the GUI. I find the command line to be very user unfriendly and when I'm at home I don't want to have to constantly use it.



I have nothing but hate for Vista. I swear every Vista computer I've touched has been the most unstable piece of crap in the world. Crashing right and left. Hanging up. Generally non-functional. Honestly, the only difference between Vista and 7 that I've really seen is more stability. I've never had my W7 computer crash unless I've done something cute with the hardware and caused it. I have the occasional app crash like you see on any OS, but it never brings the OS down with it like previous versions of Windows did.



Will those apps run under XP mode on Windows 7? I'm trying to think if I've ever found an app that will run on XP, but not in Windows 7. I can't think of very many. Of course the problem would be getting support. Tech support is liable to tell you the reason is that you're running on W7 and then you're screwed.

I think they will run - BUT you have to buy the professional version of 7 to get XP mode. The same goes for the Cricut devices. They have the handheld Gypsy and a computer program that lets you combine from various cartridges. Right on the web site - XP and Vista only.

You have to turn off security, too. I helped a Pfaff person try to install Pfaff's computer suite on a customer's Vista laptop. The customer had taken the laptop to get the security (McAfee in this case) off, as she wanted to get the Pfaff 4D running and install Norton. She had taken the laptop to the Geek Squad.
Laptop kept telling our rep to disable security. I finally searched - not only was McAfee still in the registry, but so were traces of other AVs. I wrote down the paths, gave her the note and told her to raise hell with the Geek Squad. A supervisor cleaned it and credited the original charge. Once 4D was running, she took the computer home and installed Norton. Like I said - if you pay 2 grand for the software, this is a hassle.

An embroidery machine runs sort of like a CAD or a vector program. Every time you enter new stitches or hoop size, etc - all those coordinates change. So by the time all the bugs are out, the software is behind the curve. The first computer Pfaffs let you program in your own stitches. You did it with a graph and X,Y coordinates.

When you flash some of this, you do not use a browser. The computer connects directly to the machine's site for the flash download.

 

[Ac1D]

Win2K

 

[artaxerxes]

From my extended Windows experience, I'd say 7. It's a little more stable, although I sometimes find the UI slightly offending me, treating me like I'm an idiot. Vista is a piece of shista. But XP was pretty good.

However, in another sense, XP gave me a more usable 'god mode' (probably a result of the NT port). 7 locks things down a bit more.

 

[elbmek]

HP Pavilion Quad Core 3GB RAM 2 x 500HDD, (one on dock station) Win 7 Home Premium 32 bit on pc and Win 7 Home Premium 64 on laptop. Would never change back. Once you get used to Win 7 you will never want to use anything else again. The problems with Vista which I had many a time have vanished. XP can not handle a lot of modern software anymore, in fact some thing wont run at all.

You can not be faulted for not 'wanting to change' but is that because it something you are used to? Get Win 7, get used to it, takes a while, and then sit back and let Win 7 run your pc (you need 'big' CPUs). And, as I have just found out, if your video card stutters with Win 7, (its not Win 7) then upgrade your power pack from 300w (mine) to 450w; when mine arrives, it will provide my pc with the necessary boost it obviously needs.

I also recently made IE9 my default browser because there appears to be a major conflict between Firefox (latest ver) and Win 7. Firefox says its running when, in fact, its not and consequently won't open. PC is now a lot smoother.

If you are on IE8 or earlier, Win 7 does not like them.

 

[argedion]

HP Pavilion Quad Core 3GB RAM 2 x 500HDD, (one on dock station) Win 7 Home Premium 32 bit on pc and Win 7 Home Premium 64 on laptop. Would never change back. Once you get used to Win 7 you will never want to use anything else again. The problems with Vista which I had many a time have vanished. XP can not handle a lot of modern software anymore, in fact some thing wont run at all.

You can not be faulted for not 'wanting to change' but is that because it something you are used to? Get Win 7, get used to it, takes a while, and then sit back and let Win 7 run your pc (you need 'big' CPUs). And, as I have just found out, if your video card stutters with Win 7, (its not Win 7) then upgrade your power pack from 300w (mine) to 450w; when mine arrives, it will provide my pc with the necessary boost it obviously needs.

I also recently made IE9 my default browser because there appears to be a major conflict between Firefox (latest ver) and Win 7. Firefox says its running when, in fact, its not and consequently won't open. PC is now a lot smoother.

If you are on IE8 or earlier, Win 7 does not like them.

When i am on 7 I use Firefox and have never had an issue. All updated

 

[A.Nonymous]

I've had the bug in FF where it doesn't close. It just runs in the background after you click to close it. Then when you try to launch it later, it says it's still running. It's a FF thing that affects some configurations of Windows. Not sure why. I've not had it on every machine, but I've certainly had it on some.

 

[entrecon]

I am running Windows 7 and have been since pre-launch. I was able to get a copy by offering to hold a windows 7 "party" on launch day. It was an interesting gimick.

 

[mikedt]

On my Fujitsu UH900 Windows 7, because that's what it came with. Office desktop PC has XP in Chinese, but I usually use Linux Mint on that as I don't exactly trust Chinese XP.

 

[duncan12]

.

 

[Remeniz]

For me it's either XP or W7. Forget Vista totally.

I prefer W7 but if the machines hardware is a little lacking I'm happy to install XP with the latest service pack.

Both XP or W7 are super stable for me.

 

[Slug]

XP I got on fine with. Vista.... never used it myself, but hated it anyway 'cos so many others had problems and turned to me for advice. Windows 7 (x64) though I love.

What about DOS?

I've still got 3.5" installation diskettes for every version from 3.1 to 7.0.

I should have mentioned OS/2 Warp 4.0 ...that could have been a decent contender at the time NT4 was around.

Ahh OS/2.... happy days! If only IBM had shown a bit of backbone and stayed the course.

 

[saptech]

I've had the bug in FF where it doesn't close. It just runs in the background after you click to close it. Then when you try to launch it later, it says it's still running. It's a FF thing that affects some configurations of Windows. Not sure why. I've not had it on every machine, but I've certainly had it on some.

Are you sure that's not an MS thing? They've been known to do some tricky stuff with other companies software.

Netscape
Realplayer, just to name a couple...

 

[jraskell]

I believe the biggest problem with vista was really third party drivers. Microsoft implemented an entirely new driver scheme for vista, and third parties were not ready for.

MS did have some issues with vista, and UAC left a lot to be desired, but I built 4 systems with vista (2 for myself and 2 for friends/ family) and none of them had any stability issues.

The primary reason I finally upgraded to Win7 was for native TRIM support for my SSD upgrade.