Are you going to buy Windows 7?

You should add into your poll: Yes, when I buy a new PC. I won't buy a new OS until I buy a new machine. I have the RC on a second drive and it works perfectly, exception of my Epson scanner. Windows 7 is worth the buy tho...much more then Vista.

I will eventually. Maybe wait until SP1 or SP2 comes within the next year or so. I'm going to use my Vista Ultimate for as long as I can to get my moneys worth. I don't want to spend the extra cash for a new operating system. I liked XP alot but it looked outdated graphically. I like Vista but I made a mistake of buying the Ultimate version. Totally not worth the extra money. I should have bought Vista Home Premium instead. I will buy Windows 7 Home Premium (Retail).

but poorly though out. you do realise that there are other options out there, right?
i already using win7, it is available for MSDN subscribers since july or so.

(We can only have five options for the poll, so we tried to the most common bases - Ed)

I've been using Windows 7 for a while now, and it is pretty good. However, I also use Windows server 2008, and I consider it better suited for my needs. It has all the eyecandy etc. one might need or want, but it is more efficient. Even on old hardware (it runs as a server on an old x4000 7+ years old) without any issues.

I do consider W7 for my laptop though as soon as I'll replace it.

I completely agree with Tank, a very poorly thought out poll - what about "I already have a copy pre-ordered thanks to the Inq's article on cheap advance pricing"?

B

In fact he stole the words right out of my mouth, but I wholeheartedly agree with him. I don't plan on buying windows 7 until I start building my new computer, and I'm waiting on the next iterations of SATA and USB to be released before I start building it. I really think they should have added that option to the poll.

I'm getting the pre-order copy & hopefully the postmen don't come out on strike,because it's suspiciously close to the W7 release date for my liking.

I strongly advise anybody to grab a copy,if, as seems likely,future versions of Windows may NOT run on existing hardware?

Why buy when MS is practically handing them out at their Launch Parties and anyone can attend?

Or you can get a new Dell/HP/Lemono

:)

Already rolling it out at work (Enterprise Edition) and I've got it on my home PC; which I use for gaming as well as working. Put it on SWMBO's Acer One and she loves it, says it's faster/better than XP Home! So yes I'm buying it!

pre-ordered 2 copies (home premium) for 2 machines. Just noticed the price on some e-shops is now only displayed at 'rrp £149.99' and I got mine for £60. I could of lived with the rc version (64bit) for as long as it lasted but didn't want to miss out on getting it for less than half-price, smart move by microsoft. I had my first taste of the mandatory reboot last night during an online game, with a little reminder kicking me out of the game every 10mins. That was probably a one off for now but it will eventually become constant.

My last favoured os was winxp 32bit but the memory limit bothered me and 64bit xp didnt work too well. Never tried vista never will. Vista reminds me back in the days of win 98 when a friend had win ME (though i know its a bit different technically).

I have been using the RC since it was released and I pre-ordered the home edition for £50, great value for a really nice OS.

I run a small repair shop. I've had the beta of Win7 for some time. I also have 5 to 7 copies of vista and roughly 15 copies of K/Ubuntu installed, along with a few Macs and many XP boxes.

I decided to take another long look at Win7. After some time of learning the ins and outs I decided that really there was little difference between Vista and Win7. Though I would not purchase a copy of it if I got my hands on it I would probably upgrade some of the Vista boxes. Otherwise, it isn't worth the money.

From what I understand, Microsoft has put quite a bit more spyware type apps on their to watch you. We are in a position with this type of malware to be called thieves and to be forced to prove ourselves as legitimate owners on a regular basis. That alone makes me want more involvement in Linux.

I've a Linux box that runs my TV. It is attached to a 47" HD TV with a desktop that is utterly beautiful. I use it for just about everything including security monitoring, playing hulu TV episodes, listening to music, impressing my customers. I have XBMC tied to my iphone as well as the VLC remote. I play games on it, write letters, browset he web, chat, make skype phone calls. Let's say it is quite impressive and it looks incredibly beautiful.

The reason behind me saying that is that there's really no reason to buy Win7. Though it is cleaner and better optimized it has the drawback of being associated with a company that regularly accuses everyone of being a thief and one that is a known criminal monopolist in more than one country.

My goal is to support the competition so that we can regain real choice in the market.

I use Windows for only 2 applications.
Internet Explorer 7 and IE8.
I use them sporadically to check websites.
XP does the job for me.
I find the price of Windows 7 to way too high just to run IE.

Upgrading from 98 to XP was a no-brainer. I tried Vista, learnt Vista, fixed Vista on my friends' laptops. Didn't see any new features. Does Win7 have *anything* that's new except the DRM? And by new I don't mean functionality that Total Commander already provides.

Pre ordered months ago, but will be buying 2 news hard drives (raid 0) next week, then i've still got a fully working copy of Vista ultimate on the current 2 drives

Already bought and using. This whole poll is pointless. It only brings out the naysayers and MS haters to light - with which the INQ will conclude nobody wants Win7.

Did I mention Win7 is 20x faster than any Linux distro out there and that its also 50x safer?

People who can't afford it, or the upgrading of hardware go back to using command line based OS on your rust buckets.

On behal of those of us who can pay and afford such prices (which are very reasonable) I thank Microsoft for bringing out another great OS to the masses, without which we would be stuck to the likes of a certain Fruit and Penguin brand.

It took over as my primary operating system some months ago, and i'll be installing it as soon as possible!

Really happy with the pre-order, Home for £45 was a bargain.

Once upon a time I would probably have leapt at MS Windows 7.0 if I agreed with its licence (admittedly a dodgy prospect) as finally having an upgrade path from Windows 5.0 (2000).

I have, however, fully migrated away from MS Windows already, and thanks to Microsoft's attitude about other operating systems, especially the one I migrated to, there are no Microsoft products I can natively run, meaning I'm now migrated pretty much away from anything Microsoft at all. All thanks to the EULA for Windows XP. I didn't stick around long enough to become personally acquainted with the dreaded MS Windows 6.0.

If they ever release, say, Visual Studio for Linux, I might need to seriously look at buying one of their products again.

No.

I like the compatibility of windows operating systems, with software and hardware; and, Win7 has some useful features here and there over WinXP. But, the cost for a new copy is way too high and the license is too restrictive. And, Win7 is STILL too vulnerable to security threats, from outside parties and MS spyware. So, I will be mostly using linux.

I wonder how many of the above commenters and poll voters are Microsoft's paid trolls. Windows 7 SUCKS BALLS JUST AS HARD AS VISTA. If you shell cash for it then you are a sheep.

Don't buy it and force Microsoft to release SP4 for Windows XP.

Why would I want to expose my files to yet another insecure mess that requires constant attention: Ubuntu all the way thanks!

if not the 50$ preorder scheme I would not even bother. at that price, I did consider the "upgrade" worth it - legit copy of the os I need for games, no WGA hassle (until next pc upgrade), hopefully no rootkits on the install media (somewhat of a concern when using "freed" copies). surely I'll be missing classing start menu (they take away our freedoms, again;)

The last M$ O$ I used cost me exactly $0, for XP, which I got through MSDN. However, doing all my work on linux, I REALLY see no point in jumping through M$ hoopla again.

@ GILGAMESH

20X faster and 50X more secure? You mean like those data servers running Sidekick that is? I find my Ubuntu to be faster than XP by a wide margin (boot to net). Maybe its EXT4 vs NTFS... Maybe it is because a 6 months old linux used 90% of the time doing actual work still runs as fast as the day I installed it. Or maybe it is that you are paid for by M$, in which case they wasted their money.

Wouldn't wait for USB 3 & SATA III, theres Not really much improvement. Nows time to order Seagate 72.000.12 1TB HDD's. Fill every available slot, if you have extising O/S, remove those HDD for emergency & fill each Hdd with 4 partitions of -=7=- 64. Each copy of windows should be good for 2 machines.

Then disconnect all add One or few needed for RAID 5. Save rest, Clones are good+, too. better at door than mere excessive installs & works similarly, only stronger against malvolent isp.

drashek

I also wonder as to how many of the above hateful comments about Windows come from ignorant dimwits and the streetdwellers incapable of a) paying for an OS b) buying hardware upgrades c) paying for security software that will keep their data secure d) making regular backups (as should be the practise) e) getting out of their TROLL caves.

GET A JOB and buy software instead of leeching and mooching and using the likes of LINUX because its free.

I would rather have my money spent on a product that works 9/10 times with little effort without compatibility issues than to use one that is free and quintessentially TRASH.

Mind you the bums and freeloaders here wouldn't mind digging for food in the trash bins either, so yeh they wouldn't mind using OS that belongs in the trash.

We'll be doing all our office machines. The third-sector upgrade pricing has just been announced which is a rather fantastic £5 for Pro, £6 for Enterprise.

ctxchange.org/windows_7/offer

For all the marketing hype it's just a new version of windows with enough new features to justify it being a new product (and not just a service pack).

M$ made a rod for their own backs by making XP such a great OS... the performance of Win98 with the stability of Win2k.

People didn't buy into the whole Vista "upgrade"... why fix something thats not broken. M$ tried to force people to adopt Vista with DX10 and withdrawing support for XP.

My Asus G1S came preloaded with Vista Home premium. Initially I was going flush it and load XP but after disabling UAC and a few days of readyboost/cache thrashing the hard disk it settled down and ran like XP but prettier with a few new features. The media center also kicks over the MCE edition I was running on my HTPC.

I've run the beta versions of W7 and it's Vista with a few new features and a marketing campain that doesnt involve forcing you to adopt it. I won't be upgrading my old PC's but my new PC will definately have home premium.

M$ made a rod for their own backs by making WINDOWS 7 such a great OS... the performance of WiN98 with the stability of WIN VISTA.

@ ABBADON.
"I've run the beta versions of W7 and it's Vista with a few new features..."

Whining about a product after having reviewed the BETA is akin to whining about about it being dark even though the lights are on.

Well hello OPEN your damned eyes and see that a BETA is very different from a FINAL release. For those with any knowledge, a BETA is part of the software development cycle to help iron out certain flaws.

And for the ignorant masses here - I bet they would have whined just as much if MS did not release a BETA. Its a lose-lose sitaution for anything that MS does (according to fanbois here) beta or no beta windows will inevitably suck through their hate-tinted glasses.

Unfortunately for the hatemongerers, sales volumes speak for themselves and the vast majority of consumers stick with an OS that works, an OS developed by MS.

Thank you and goodnight, btw my paycheck is not signed by MS but by Linux fanbois. Its a pity that idiots don't know that supporting Linux nimrods costs more than Windows support.

Imbeciles shall ever remain imbeciles and sheep shall ever remain sheep.

...Buy? Pff! Why bother when you can pirate Ultimate for free. :D

All our Windows PCs run Windows 2000. It works so we don't try to fix it. We have full licenses so when we retire old machines we format the hard disks and load W2K onto the replacement machines. We get great performance out of low-cost hardware and all out apps. run fine.

Fortune 500 company.

No. The coming of Vista made me investigate the possibilities of some Linux. My wife thought me a nerd, which I am only a bit. Now everyone in the family is using Mint7 and uses WinXP (dual boot) just for resolving some specific problems, like a Canon scanner.
If I have to buy 6 licences Win7, I can buy my daughter a laptop. In my household, the choice is rapidly made.

ALL THE BLACK/WHITE/YELLOW/PINK etc... PEOPLE AND THEINQ, LISTEN TO THIS. WIN7 IS THE BEST OS IN THE WORLD. SO STOP CRYING ABOUT MS AND THEIR BEST OS. FKING JEALOUS APPLE AND LINUX PEOPLE

I preordered for three reasons:
1) MS will be dumping support for XP
2) It's going on a games machine, and XP doesn't support DirectX 10 or 11
3) Home and Pro are only $30 for students

I'm not happy at having to replace XP, but us Windows users don't have much of a choice.

I have the RC and will probably use it a bit more. But $199 for an UPGRADE from Vista Bus. to Win 7 Pro is too expensive. I'm not a student so don't qualify for the $30 educational price. I guess that $30 is an OK price, but not $199.

Maybe MS will do the $30 deal for everyone on Cyber Monday.

I've been using the RC since it was released, and I already have the Windows 7 PRO in 32 and 64 bit forms. Got them for free from the msdn program.

I just haven't had the time or energy to install it yet.

@GILGAMESH
Beta versions are not so different from final releases. For the ignorant individuals here aka GILGAMESH, beta versions are for end user usability testing primarily for bug finding and fixing prior to release. Usually during a feature freeze.
The final beta's and RC's are 99.9% feature wise.
Whinge about linux all you want the big companies are never going to take it up unless someone sells it to them with support.

Wow! What great shit you must be smoking -- turns a microsoft experience into nirvana! If you've go any extra, I'll pay you $5k an oz. 20x faster, 50x safer. Hahahahahaha. On second thought just post a few more comments and I won't need the smoke.

i use Win XP na di just installed a skin conversion that make it look like vista.

et voila,

a provent OS with the beautiful graphic

you can even download skin packs to make XP look like OSX, so whats the point of upgrading?

as long as Software devloppers continue to support XP for their product, then XP it is.

if they were still drivers and patches for win98, i would still be with 98...

i would love a OS that only take 24MB of ram to use, and leave my 4GB to do something usefull...

i want support for DOS back!

...No, I'm not.

I'm happy with what I've got now. It works for me. That's all I need.

I have no intention in investing further with Microsoft solutions.

I'm not going to buy asap, BUT I'm not gonna wait forever for SP1. I plan 'to let the dust settle' a bit...but waiting for SP1 is a stretch. I'll probably upgrade after the first of the year.

Seriously, MS is stopping support for XP and how old is it now.

Vista XP
Win7 all.

XP works yeah if you call reinstalling it every six months working because the OS cannot look after itself.

Vista’s main benefit was that it took care of itself so it was an improvement for the non technical.
People who complained about performance and memory usage are noobs and know nothing about the way the system operates spurred on by the FUD that this website helps generate.
Fools for believing.

Win7 is what Vista should have been and it’s about time we crush all your heart ache stories and move to a 64bit environment.
This will benefit the IT environment which I bet is a large part of the Inquirer’s reader base.

Windows 7 operates FASTER than both Vista and XP and is more stable.
Is that not what we want in an evolution of an OS? Stable faster processing?
Otherwise go install win 95 you archaic junk man.

Best OS period………buying and company is moving to Win7 as its next platform.
Day dreamers get left behind while progress moves forward.go back under your rock and sulk.

I playing with the beta and RC, and loved it. And now i have a retail copy cause i am hosting a Windows 7 House Party. Yet today i see on mininova a house party copy is availiable. This makes me sick.

I'll get win 7 at half price(pre-order). I dislike Vista and having to reinstall it once a year ( because it become too slow or virus etc) and spend a full day on the updates, I find it easier to get the Win7 upgrade which is supposed to work better than Vista anyway.

When Amazon had a discount special a few weeks ago for $50.00 I ordered one copy, mostly because I could not live with vista.And because of that fact I downloaded Ubuntu 9.04 and it more than meets my needs. It is running on all my Pc's and one has another hdd vista vista for watching netflix. Since I no longer need windows I canceled my order.
I am happy to say I probably wont ever need that overpriced file of crap that MS calls an os again. Yahoo Freedom!!

Vista64 works well, and just because of that, I pre-ordered Windows 7 and will replace Vista with it. Something's not right when my OS just works - I'm hoping Windows 7 will give me a reason to gripe about MS again. My life's too empty without complaints about my OS.

Depends whether I can find a copy on usenet.

yes

i have been using the beta and rc and hate to say i like it. im even going to install it on my games machine. runs well on a old laptop as a media centre.
ive had a couple of driver issues with a couple of the machines i have installed it on but have been able to use vista drivers without any issues but mostly it was a quick and easy install.

i sold my soul to bill and will be hosting a party in exchange for said soul i received a windows 7 ultimate disk and key signed by the devils henchman himself last week.

no im not a ms fanboy im a pc lol

Im not going to "buy" an upgrade because I will just get it free from microsoft. .

I have never seen as many opportunities to get a windows OS free as I have with this launch. It seems everywhere I look I can get an ultimate serial number for free or very very low cost..

Since discovering the ease of use and capabilities of live Linux CDs, my next install will be a net install of Debian. The live CDs are a great back up capability and Windows will never be able to do this due to licensing.

been running the RTM of win7 x64 ultimate since it leaked months ago. Activated it using a bios mod. Good OS, but still slower then xp32. I will use it but wont pay for it... ;-)

Yes I pre-orde..... WAIT no I didn't pre-order it because Australia is apparently not worth of a pre-order copies. Unbelieveable! They make us pay the full wack.

I'll try and grab a student copy on Oct22 though.

Otherwise I've had no other choice but to buy a OEM or full retail copy for full price.

I've been using RC1 for a while now and love it, but if I can't get a cheap copy, I'm in no rush to get a proper version until the RC runs out.

Why would anyone still be using XP? I'm bored to hell of Vista already and I'm still waiting for it to give me a single problem so I can have an excuse to install Win7...I'll probably be bored with Win7 in a few months too.
Why use XP? It's old & ugly people. Maybe I'm just lucky, but I've never had a single problem with Vista. And who says it runs slow? If you're having speed issues with Vista, UPGRADE YOUR HARDWARE !!! What? Are you still running 2 year old hardware?
Forget about any software requirements, I upgrade hardware often cause it's fun.
My 5870 needs some DX11 loving.

It costs a small fortune in NZ, more so than the UK & US. Like Vista I'll give it a miss and spend the money on hardware.

Am I going to buy Windows 7? I already did when they sent me a promo email a few months ago. I bought 25 of them. As soon as they arrive, they will be listed on eBay for twice what I paid, yet it still will be cheaper than they can buy it retail. If Microsoft can make money, so can I. As for me, I'll keep dual booting between Windows 2000 Pro/XP Pro/Linux Mint/PCLinuxOS and Ubuntu 9.04. I'll take my $1875 in profit and buy a MAC to go along with what I already have. Thanks for the ride, Microsoft!

As of Oct 15, your poll indicates that over 40% of respondents are "going to buy Win 7 on day one".

To these people I would say: give your head a shake. If you are thinking of buying Win7 because Vista is so bad, WHO took your hard-earned money and sold you Vista, and WHO then has the "gumption" to demand more money from you to replace the broken pile of garbage that was Vista? Yes, you give Microsoft your money, and they have a good laugh at your expense, while you still continue to fight with viruses and malware. Kind of sad, actually.

Do yourself and your wallet a favor, and first try out a user-friendly version of Linux (such as Kubuntu V9.10: http://www.kubuntu.org/ ). It's free, and the KDE 4.3 desktop is amazing (and just "windows-like" enough to make it instantly usable to ex-Windows-users).

Dont need to buy it. As a student at the university IT department we get Windows 7 Pro for free, along with allmost all other MS software.

To buy windows seven is part of the normal everyday life.

I pre-ordered it (reduced price I hope).
because I want to switch to 64bit (more memory) and XP64bit isn't really an option (bad support).

I could go for linux but I need a windows OS anyway for some programs and I don't see myself using two different OS on one PC.

I think we all know what kind of comments populate these kind of articles, before even reading the comments...

1: Get Linux
2: Get previous OS
3: Get MAC

So bloody predictable!

@ LORD BEGGAR; Only people with things lodged in their anus type whole paragraphs in CAPS, and can't spell simple words such as 'granny' properly...

My option would be: I currently see no reason to switch from Vista (64-bit). Switching OSes is a hassle that is best avoided.

Maybe in a couple of years, or when I get a new computer (longer off still). Or maybe sooner, if some good reason were to emerge.

@ ABBADON

"Beta versions are not so different from final releases. For the ignorant individuals here aka GILGAMESH, beta versions are for end user usability testing primarily for bug finding and fixing prior to release. Usually during a feature freeze"

"Beta testing allows the software to undergo usability testing with users who provide feedback, so that any malfunctions these users find in the software can be reported to the developers and fixed. Beta software can be unstable and could cause crashes or data loss."

Which is exactly what I had stated in the first instance. Perhaps it would have helped if you remembered to use your understanding skills whilst reading instead of just glossing over it just to TROLL.

Fact of the matter is, the ignorant dimwitted freeloader bums here can stick with Linux. This poll is nowhere even scientifically or stastically accurate, nevertheless the INQ is obviously going to write some tripe on how few consumers are willing to buy WIN7.

ALL YOU DAMNED LINUX TROLLS CLAMBER BACK TO YOUR CAVES.

I am happy with my money, and I am happy to spend it on worthy products. Thats the difference between Linux and Windows.

Need another trashbin to pick from ABBADON? There are plenty of trasbhin distributions out there as there are plenty of trashbins in my neighbourhood, you can pick and choose your wastebin OS as you can pick and choose your next meal.

I already got a copy from msdnaa... i love win 7 but im not sure if i would pay any money from it..
over the couple of years and computers i bought i have payed microsoft for licences more than enough

lord beggar should be called lord bugger

he obviously has something stuck up his "muck-trumpet" to justify so much bitterness...

I've been using the RC1 version as my main OS on my main machine and HTPC since shortly after it was released.

As soon as the pre-order discount option became available I brought 2 copies 64bit Home Premium.

Its a great product and I'm really happy that Microsoft is acting on people's suggestions and feedback.

... nor could I find the correct option for me.
I'll probably get Win7 *When I can afford it*.
(Did chose the "Once SP1 is out" option instead, although I'll probably get it faster than that.)

...I'm gonna steal it like most normal people ;-)

Yes I will buy win7 64 bits, I already use on a new machine I built with I7 processor. It work very fine and together with premiere pro, it can render 50 minutes of video in only 7 minutes !!! great !!
the only remark is the procedure to install a network with machine running Win XP. To day I did not succeed to to talk to my others machines running XP. .

I'm running my business on Ubuntu, just love it! Saved a lot of time and money, bought two houses and rented them out to windows users LOL.

I see many people here whom try to come across as all knowing and got something over other people because they use xxx OS.

Linux users, the smug bar stewards, how long did you spend getting the drivers to work? Or perhaps searching for that elusive program and trying to get it to work? I guess it just worked right away eh? Tried it on many machines have you? I have, f**king nightmare.

Macs users, you elitist money burners, I'm so glad all your stuff works out for you and your completely immune to viruses, but FO commenting about how much better it is until the hardware it has to come with doesn't cost almost double.

I use windows, why? Cos I CBA to piss about with drivers, other programs etc. Oh it's not without it's problems, though I haven't found any yet (but I will, it's windows we are talking about).

I have tried a lot of OS's over many different hardware configs (desktops, servers, laptop, netbooks), and the one I choose is W7.

How people can say Vista is any good just beggars belief. Did you only try it on one system? Why don't you try it across many, and compare usage to W7?

Seriously - if your OS choice is working for you, that's great. But being a smug twat about it and pretending you got one over other people just makes you look like what you are.

And yeah, I'd buy W7, though I don't need too. Of course, I fully expect to get the usual 'how much is M$ paying you' comment simply because it's the one *I* like best.

I've pre-ordered an Ultimate edition to run on my MAIN rig and will probably have a Home Premium ordered for my laptop and secondary rigs by the end of the week.
I'm thrilled with the BETA and very happy with its performance on a mid-line laptop.

@GILGAMESH
You obviously didn't run the beta. If you had you would have known my comment was positive as I found it really fast and stable and was really impressed.

I WILL be buying W7 for my next PC but in my opinion not worth upgrading existing systems.

It's funny how in your posts you rant and rave and call everyone sheep then go out and buy a brand new OS when it's first released without even trying it out... sounds to me like someone hosted a W7 party and no one turned up.

So long as Windows XP OEM continues to be available or when I replace a dead computer I am able to active the old Windows XP code, I'll stay on XP.

The only non built machine I see buying in the next couple of years is a laptop. That will come with whatever it comes with, fine, not worth the hassle of downgrading.

@ABBADON

How did you come to know whether or not I have tried the beta? Oh, come to think of it, I must have emailed your mother regarding this.

In case she hasn't told you, I will now endevour to do so. Yes it is true, I have tried the beta, loved it - had no problems installing on my previous upgrade which had been made with Vista in mind. All drivers worked jolly well and software compatibility was just as dandy.

I had decided there and then to buy the software and show my support to the gallant company that is Microsoft.

Lastly, my WIN7 party had one attendance, your mother.

Though I did snag a Windows 7 Ultimate Signature edition from thier launch party scheme and have 2 more copies of Windows 7 Professional obtained via MSDN-AA, I don't see myself installing them for several years (and then only if I run into some application that absolutely requires it). Vista still has the good old clasic start menu and no ribbon interfaces for included applets, so I'll be sticking with that for as long as posible on most of my systems, and linux or XP on the rest.

@GILGAMESH
Come now mother jokes... i'm guessing you bought W7 with your pocket money?
You need to pull your head out of your arse... MS gallant? its an MLC ffs.

A

P.S. my mum passed away in 2005 from cancer.

Yeah... I got it for 20 bucks with the ACM MSDN Academic Alliance ; )

20 Bucks for the final version.
Pretty sweet deal, I think.

Got serial for the 64 AND 32 bits, also official ISO downloads from MSDN.

What more could I ask for? Orange juice and ice cream.

ps.: It works great on my Lenovo S10 netbook (32bits) and is pretty fast on my Phenom 2 x3 720. Going to throw a Core i5 750 on my desktop in a couple weeks, and I surely will redo a fresh install of 7 final on it. It's gonna shine like gold, bro!

@ ABBADON

Yes I acquired it with my pocket money. I also purchased all my hardware with pocket money, not to mention antivirus software, MS Office, Visual Studio, Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2007, Windows XP Home, Windows XP Pro, Windows Vista Home Premium, Windows Vista Ultimate.

All purchases were with my pocket money. Oh lets not forget Windows 3.1, Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows 98SE. Yep you guessed it, all with pocket money. Next you will inform me, I am Bill Gates' son.

Oh and I never said your mother came to my party in the flesh, why it was her ghost and don't forget it was breast cancer more specifically.

Night night.

Some of the comments are soo funny I get a laugh reading some of them it makes my day!
I bought mine for the very special price I was a testing windows 7 I have been using windows since 3.1 And I have tried to use lynx with issues that could just be mine. I tried Installing XP and I realized one big difference was installation the Drivers just all work in windows 7 in XP in order for me to get on the internet and use my graphic card and music I had to go digging out the drivers. Windows 7 everything worked right away. You tend forget these things until something new comes along and you go back to the old. I also have to say I really like windows 7 GUI better than XP for sure my opinion. I feel that each one was a bit better than its predecessor and windows 7 is no different. I like the fact they have made things like mail photo software extra to down load as an option this makes the system lighter. Which is also and improvement E.G.: I have digital camera and in XP I try to sort my pictures by month in XP no go there is no month you can sort by date created date taken Which this is a little confusing. So all in all I say Yes to windows 7 or any platform that works for you! To each it's own! I know it's a cliché.

I was thinking about it until I saw the execrable ad. I don't want to be identified as being one of those tossers.

Also, I ran the RC version, but what happens when you want to buy the real version? Can I downgrade to the cheapest option? Wasn't clear, so I left it alone for now.

The author didn't add an option in the poll for having Pre-ordered a copy.
I purchased (pre-ordered) a copy back in the summer when there was the %50 off sale. So, I picked the Day 1 option.

I game a lot, so I decided to move on from XP to Win7 since it will be supporting DirectX 11.

Hell no, i know there is a problem when I am having trouble installing Xbox and ps3 controllers in 64vista.

There's a missing option...

I pre-ordered it when Microsoft started that campaign when they sold it for about 60 pounds... It was supposed to be the version for EU markets, without IE, but they're supposed to send the normal version now.

I figured 60 pounds or euro or whatever it was is a great price for a good to very good operating system and a good way to get legal.

Sure, it would cost 0 pounds/euro to install Ubuntu and be legal but as a programmer of Windows applications, it's much easier this way.

not a single person here has said this so i will

1.) An OS is designed for nothing more than the running of other applications

nothing more nothing less so who cares what it looks like visually as long as it starts applications that is what i was designed to do.

all these people talking about MS taking away support for XP so what? if they pulled support for XP tomorrow do you think all your computers which is running XP is suddenly going to stop??? and never work again lol

Lets talk about Win7 and application compatability shall we.

1.) Acronis true image home doesn't work with win7,

2.) partition magic does not work with win7,

3.) adobe photoshop 5,6, does not work with win7

There is many many more applications that will not work with win7

kind of wondering why everyone is so happy about win7 when older applications dont work unless you use this virtualPC + xpMODE ... in that case why not just use XP?

do people here actually try to install applications ? or do you just have "windows" and nothing else what so ever?

i'm sorry an OS is designed to run games and applications and when it's no longer does this....

then what is the point

Why is Linux lumped in with Mac OS? After Windows fatally crashed and lost a bunch of data for the 'N'th time I pulled the trigger on Microsoft and installed Kubuntu on all six of my machines. I run an administration shop with Microsoft Windows, god I do not want that kind of stress when I come home.

For dx 11 and 64bitting more ram...

Only if my Uni decides to give me another grant for a PC. And only if windows 7 is declared as being better than xp.

I will upgrade to ubuntu karmic koala!
Ubuntu covers all of my needs without having to pay a penny.
It evolves nicely and I consider someone to be an idiot when he refuses to give it a try.

I pre-ordered it for my laptop and my wife's laptop.

It should be here next week.

However, I don't know when I'll actually get around to installing (upgrading) it. I'm frankly nervous.

from my last upgrade.

Let's see;
Vista killed my MusicMatch Jukebox software (not Vista compatible).
Vista killed my Video-camera (no driver support).
Vista is still nagging me with UAC alerts for multiple programs, even though I use them several times a week for over a year now.

The dust will need to be settled a very long time before I risk that torture again.

matey.

I like the look and feel of Windows 7, but truth be told, I'm running XP again. In the end the "...you have no rights..." in the end got to Me. It seems to be Microsoft's way, they blame us 'the user' for there own 'f***ups', and that is not true, and has never been the truth. The Windows operating system has always been more or less 'f***ed' up. What I mean by that is, that when a program installs, it spawns into all diferent kind of known and unknown places, and it writes 'bullshitt' (none human readable format) and contaminates. Windows has never been a 'User Oriented' operating system, I have to say, that people at Microsoft probably never understood the comsorium, for writing a good 'User Oriented' operating system. No files that user programs install on a PC need to go into the system or system32 folders. It's time for some honesty from Microsoft, and to show some balls, and make a new flawor, 'Windows 7 for Users', where we, the Users have rights. I'm not talking about rights to make pirat copies of the OS, and other criminal activeries. What I'm talking about is rights to stop processes from running to stop servises from running, deleting that are not part of the original system. As is now, manny of us already run Ubutu or other flavors of other OS'es on a USB drive or harddrive. The truth of the mather is, that when the problem start, and they will come. We, the Users know Windows by now, many of us have used Windows for approching 20 years by now. Then we, the Users are powerless, and can't fix the problems, '...you have no rights...' is the ansver we get from Microsoft. So we go back to XP, yes but we can alweys make a clean install of XP, and it byes us some time, it take some time for it to get 'f***ed' and(contaminated) and we still have some rights on it. But as I started I loved the user interface, and though IE? still is a 'f***ed' program, and has bin for years now, with memory and or process/tread managment problems and all, it did not realy bader Me. I just stressed it a bit to find out if they had fixed it, and they have not fixed it, and as I said, it has bin around for years now. The kind of Windows OS that we should get from Microsoft by now, is an OS that protects us from the 'f***ups'. Yes, the User must be separeted and isolated from the system, so that it is posible to know what is what.

Best wiches Poul

But only because i can get it for £30 as i am doing an open university course, otherwise i wouldn't be paying full price for it.

I understand those who are reluctant to move from XP due to the Vista disaster, I had the same attitude too, but after running the course with the beta and release candidate there were a few probs to iron out but instead of giving MS curses, for once they have done it right and made sure the public had time to test and report problems. I have now switched to the full Home Premium version 64 bit and unlike Vista after install it worked properly. I understand those sceptics who are thinking will it still run in 6 months time, but unlike Vista I dont feel that I am gambling this time, and at least the updates work lol. We will see if this is successful in time.