Comments on: Windows 7 – What Is It To You? http://www.computercourage.com/2009/11/10/windows-7-what-is-it-to-you/ IT Support, Web Design, Computer Repair in Berkeley, Oakland, San Francisco, Bay Area Sat, 21 Aug 2010 09:01:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 By: adam http://www.computercourage.com/2009/11/10/windows-7-what-is-it-to-you/comment-page-1/#comment-3924 adam Sat, 21 Nov 2009 17:55:59 +0000 http://www.computercourage.com/?p=349#comment-3924 Moving to a Linux distribution would have some interesting implications for any business. Of course there's no "direct" upgrade to Linux from any version of XP - you'll definitely need a linux enthusiast or expert to help you in the transition. We've been experimenting with different Linux distros and have been generally impressed by Ubuntu Linux. We use the server edition for some of our software, and we use the desktop edition for occasional PC troubleshooting and testing. Linux is fast - but it's missing a lot of critical applications that we rely on, such as Microsoft Office. You can get a lot done with web apps like Google Apps, and with OpenOffice however... Moving to a Linux distribution would have some interesting implications for any business. Of course there’s no “direct” upgrade to Linux from any version of XP – you’ll definitely need a linux enthusiast or expert to help you in the transition. We’ve been experimenting with different Linux distros and have been generally impressed by Ubuntu Linux. We use the server edition for some of our software, and we use the desktop edition for occasional PC troubleshooting and testing. Linux is fast – but it’s missing a lot of critical applications that we rely on, such as Microsoft Office. You can get a lot done with web apps like Google Apps, and with OpenOffice however…

]]> By: Helen Neely http://www.computercourage.com/2009/11/10/windows-7-what-is-it-to-you/comment-page-1/#comment-3913 Helen Neely Fri, 20 Nov 2009 20:03:40 +0000 http://www.computercourage.com/?p=349#comment-3913 We were thinking of upgrading from Windows XP, but in the last couple of week, there has been this discussions in the office about changing entirely and moving to Ubuntu Linux. Not sure how that's going to turn out, but I still think the latest Windows 7 has more to offer. We were thinking of upgrading from Windows XP, but in the last couple of week, there has been this discussions in the office about changing entirely and moving to Ubuntu Linux.

Not sure how that’s going to turn out, but I still think the latest Windows 7 has more to offer.

]]> By: adam http://www.computercourage.com/2009/11/10/windows-7-what-is-it-to-you/comment-page-1/#comment-3875 adam Thu, 12 Nov 2009 21:02:01 +0000 http://www.computercourage.com/?p=349#comment-3875 One of our readers, henry, asks: "MS offers a discount to previous Windows owners. Does that extend to owners of Win/XP, and what evidence of ownership does MS require?" Good question Henry, this is an interesting one. Windows 7 can be purchased as a "full version" or as an "upgrade". For Windows 7 Home Premium, the full version costs $200 and the upgrade costs $120. If you are a Vista user, it's obvious that you can buy the upgrade edition, but what about Windows XP users? Microsoft says that the upgrade edition is for anyone with Windows 2000, XP, or Vista. But they also don't allow a direct upgrade from 2000 or XP. So how do they know that you actually had XP? What if you formatted your hard drive and then went to install? The answer is somewhat fuzzy, but here's my best understanding. When the installer disc is run, it looks at your hard drive to see if there are any previous installations of Windows. If it sees one, such as Windows XP, it quietly takes note. At that point it will offer to reformat your drive if you want, or just install over the old version keeping your file structure in tact (which sounds messy to me). Later in the installation, when it asks for your product code, it will theoretically remember that it saw an old copy of Windows at the start of the install. This is the same method that Vista used, and is also susceptible to the old "double install" tactic which people use to put upgrade versions of Windows onto new machines. You can learn more about that through a simple Google search. So if you are an XP user, you are legitimately eligible for the upgrade price. Just be sure to BACK UP YOUR DATA before the install, since there's no "direct" upgrade, you'll have to back up, install, and then restore your data manually. One of our readers, henry, asks: “MS offers a discount to previous Windows owners. Does that extend to owners of Win/XP, and what evidence of ownership does MS require?”

Good question Henry, this is an interesting one. Windows 7 can be purchased as a “full version” or as an “upgrade”. For Windows 7 Home Premium, the full version costs $200 and the upgrade costs $120. If you are a Vista user, it’s obvious that you can buy the upgrade edition, but what about Windows XP users?

Microsoft says that the upgrade edition is for anyone with Windows 2000, XP, or Vista. But they also don’t allow a direct upgrade from 2000 or XP. So how do they know that you actually had XP? What if you formatted your hard drive and then went to install?

The answer is somewhat fuzzy, but here’s my best understanding. When the installer disc is run, it looks at your hard drive to see if there are any previous installations of Windows. If it sees one, such as Windows XP, it quietly takes note. At that point it will offer to reformat your drive if you want, or just install over the old version keeping your file structure in tact (which sounds messy to me). Later in the installation, when it asks for your product code, it will theoretically remember that it saw an old copy of Windows at the start of the install.

This is the same method that Vista used, and is also susceptible to the old “double install” tactic which people use to put upgrade versions of Windows onto new machines. You can learn more about that through a simple Google search.

So if you are an XP user, you are legitimately eligible for the upgrade price. Just be sure to BACK UP YOUR DATA before the install, since there’s no “direct” upgrade, you’ll have to back up, install, and then restore your data manually.

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