So Microsoft offers a downgrade to the Windows 7 pre-predecessor Windows XP for everyone buying a computer until end of April 2011. Nice.
Maybe the fellows at Redmond should take a minute or two and ask themselves why people are so reluctant to upgrade to Windows Vista and Windows 7. While Windows Vista was generally said to be slower and bulkier, the same holds for Windows 7 from my tests of the Beta and the RC. It’s also very nice to have an operating system and not require the amount of disk space a Vista or Windows 7 wants you to have. Apart from that older Windows versions did have a way to get rid of components you didn’t like. Nowadays it’s merely possible to deactivate such components, but it doesn’t seem to free any disk space whatsoever. Just like when buying Nero Burning ROM and expecting to get a CD/DVD-recording software and not a fancy-shmancy multimedia program suite, I expect my operating system to offer me the support to run the compatible programs. Sadly all this bulky and fancy-shmancy stuff comes already with the “lower” Windows editions, so no actual choice there either.
But the killer argument against Windows 7 for me is the lack of the classic start menu. As much as others may like the fancy new start menu, be it in XP, Vista or Windows 7 … I hate all of these. And up to and including Vista I could simply return to my classic start menu setting – which, by the way, is one of the first steps along with adjusting the Windows Explorer “Folder Settings” and autocompletion in console windows on any freshly installed Windows. I (and after a web search it seems I’m by far not alone) have yet to find a way to make this happen. Oh yeah, not to mention that the new start menu looks gross once you turn off the fancy styles/themes.
Too bad Microsoft decided to scrap it. However, the “customizable” new start menu is probably more of a PR gag than a brilliant example of usability. But well, Redmond does it and we follow, right? I guess no more.
// Oliver
I take the Buddhist approach to Microsoft harebrained, half-baked novelties. I watch and shake my head in wonder. Not always in a positive way, of course.
Ever since my employer had to (reluctantly) furnish me with a laptop — which was around the time I got my first kid, and thus lost any prospects of playing current games — I’ve been using it for all day-to-day activities. I don’t worry about costs of legitimate software, although I need to take in stride the harebraininess. Sadly, we’re pretty much a MS shop and deviations from Windows are frowned upon.
Apart from that, a storage and web server sits in my home and runs Ubuntu. Life is good.
Totally agree: I always want Classic menu, I do like however the search option in Vista’s (and 7’s) start menu. So Classic with search that would be nice…