More good stuff... the UAC in Win 7 has user adjustable levels... something Vista should have had.  By default it prompts for permission for programs to install/make changes to the systen, but does not seek permissions for user prompted changes.  There is a higher lever which prompts for both, another similar to default but without screen dimming, and then off entirely. The default setting, as I alluded to before, does not prompt for elevations anywhere near as often or persistently as Vista's default, so MS has listened to users wants, needs as well as complaints.

I also read somewhere that Win 7 would not install someone's Creative soundcard, but I was able to install my Soundblaster X-fi Extreme Gamer Pro using the provided setup disc for Vista, without administrator rights or special permissions.  Given that Win 7 is based largely on Vista architecture, the drivers and all apps installedand work seamlessly, as I suspect other software and hardware designed for Vista will also.  If anyone has issues installing Vista designed software in Win 7, I have been advised that setting compatibility to Vista and running as administrator should in most cases resolve it.

Another improvement on Vista is the more customisable System Tray.  Instead of simply hiding icons, Win 7 gives the option to show individual icons and notifications, meaning they both display in the sys tray; to. to show only notifications, meaning the icons are hidden offscreen while still showing notices but are accessible via an 'add button; or icons and notifications are hidden, meaning all are hidden off screen and only the clock shows in the sys tray, thus effectively reducing/eliminating taskbar/sys tray clutter. Yup, a big improvement on Vista and earlier Windows versions

Was that because you have DSL 2 or... had MS take out all the bits you wouldn't like.

I read on the Windows 7 home page somewhere that interrupted downloads can be resumed where they left off by simply reactivating the download link... if you have not cleared your cache or temp files you should be able to do this.  If not, but you already have a license key, it would still be OK to restart the file download from the beginning... and let me say, it'd be worth your while as Win 7 has been a pleasant computing experience for me all 'round.

starkers...are you running 32 or 64 bit and how much ram do you have? I'm running the same sound card and the static is unbearable. I understand it's could be due to having over 3 gb of ram and I'm having a hard time resolving it.

You mention some great points there, starkers in your reviews. I'm glad you found the same thing as I did with the sound quality improvement in Windows Media Player. I found this incredible. I've been using some sound enhancing software to improve the sound quality in both Windows Media Player and Winamp in XP but 7's new player just takes this to a whole new level. For someone, like me, who loves to listen to music when tapping away at the keyboard, this is huge.

That long?

Yup, the new media player is something, isn't it... crisper, clearer and cleaner.  I love my music as well, so WMP in Win 7 will get a lot more use than earlier versions for sure.... and with 5.1 surround set up with the rear speakers behind me it's awesome.

Oh, and has anybody else had a problem with Win 7 going into sleep mode and freezing, requiring a hard boot to reatart it?  It happened to me yesterday, and I also read on the Win 7 blog about someone else experiencing it as well.  Anyhow, I thought that I'd mention it for those wondering why they can't wake their PC with the usual mouse/keyboard gestures.

First off thanks to starkers for saying to redownload it..... cos i was'ent going to!!!!!!! BUT ´'m glad i did now cos this is real cool and going to be a realy a great op system..... Windows 7Woo-hoo!!!!!

oh i have a spare key if anyone needs one.

No worries there, Rob, I'm glad to be of help... by the sounds of it, you are rather impressed with Win 7, as am I, and will enjoy using it to no end.

Also, for anyone who is not aware of it and fear they have missed out, Microsoft has done away with the 2.5 mill limit and will continue to offer betas to anyone wanting a copy until Jan 29.

Another observation...

Win 7 x64 seems to have a lower memory and CPU footprint than Vista x64.  While my copy of Vista x64 hovers around 7% - 13% CPU usage on Idle, sometimes peaking higher depending on background services, Win 7 x64 hovers around 1% - 3% constantly, peakinghigher only when running various apps  Similar differences for RAM too... in Vista x64 the used RAM usually sits on 23% to 29%, whereas in Win & x64, used RAM sits around 20% - 25%.

Anybody else noticing a reduction in resource usage in Win 7 to Vista?... ie;  32 to 32 bit, 64 to 64 bit, or 32 bit Vista to Win 7 x 64 bit, etc

Are you running dreams in Vista? That would account for higher CPU usage.

I find all in all, Win 7 runs about the same for me. 

One thing...my experiance scores are alot lower for my hard disk. In Vista I have a 5.9, Win 7 is 3.0. More than likely it's chipset drivers causing the differance.

yes. vista x64 sp2 to win 7 x64. About the same as yours, must be said though vista sp2 doesn't run AMD C&Q anymore, whereas win7 does

No, not running dreams at the time of observation... the posted readings were taken while the systems were idle, only background services, etc were running at the time.

Were you running the 32bit or 64 bit version of Vista... and which version of Win 7 are you running?  The reason I ask is that when I went from 32bit to 64 bit in Vista, my CPU score was higher by .2%, but my primary HDD was lower by .1%... so if you went from 32bit Vist to 64bit Win 7, that may account for the slightly lower score in Win 7.  Just a thought!

My copy of Vista Home Premium x64 is only SP1 as I have not ventured to use the SP2 beta as yet, but given your observation, SP2 does little or nothing to address the higher CPU usage in Vista x64 from SP1.

Having said that, it would seem that Win 7 has improved hardware support over Vista all 'round.  While I had issues getting Vista to recognise my external HDD in a X-craft case, no matter which USB port I used, Win 7 recognised it instantly in one of the ports Vista refused to see it in.

Also, I've been over to the nVidia home page and, for those not aware of it as yet, nVidia drivers for Win 7 can be downloaded via Windows Update and going to 'optional' downloads.

Another plus with Win 7, not having to reboot after large/important updates.  I just installed the nVidia drivers for my 8800GT and did not have to reboot afterwards, not like in XP and Vista.  I also did drivers for my Viewsonic monitor and Netgear wireless receiver at the same time... no reboot required.

For those who are not keen on the depth of the new taskbar, going to properties and clicking on 'small icons' reduces it to normal size... and yeah, it looks much better, plus the interactive thumbnails remain.

OK all is going great here!!! CPU Useage is the same on both Vista and windows 7 "2-3% max 5%" when idle......

everything but my hot keys and cam on my laptop is working ok

oh and i don't mind the new taskbar it dose not look so big on my monitor 1680x1050........

i'm likeing alot this new op system.....