So much negativity. What we really need is a group hug

Personally I'll give the hug a miss. I'll be waiting for Group Hug SP1...

Why always so negative kona?......chill bro!

Strange if you claim to be an OEM why do you tell him wrong things?

RTM simply means the code is 'final' enough to press the DVDs of it/build images of it and ship it stores and OEMs.

An OEM version basically means that Microsoft sells it to a manufacturer who in turn can put it on a prefab PC (or not), add some of his own applications. Dell, HP, etc are good examples of OEMs. The upside is that licenses are sold in bulk, and Microsoft doesn't have to support the system running it, the OEM has to, so the OEMs get the licence very cheap. The downside is that the Windows licence is only valid on the system you buy it for. You can change some hardware if you want but if you change platforms (that means, if you go from an old Intel to a newer one, or from and AMD system to an Intel one or any combination) Windows will not work anymore. That brings us to..

Retail licences. They are a lot more expensive but you can keep on using it after you change platforms. While both Retail and OEM versions can be purchased at shops nowadays, typically when you buy Windows in a shop you get the retail version. Also, because you buy it 'directly' from MS and not from an OEM you can ask Microsoft for support. IIRC you could install retail versions on as much as 3 PCs with 1 licence before, but now they changed that. Retail versions can only be installed on 1 system now. However, if you own more than once PC they now have a family pack, which is a pretty good deal.

I'm now running it on my production work system and my production home system.

This is one sweet system. It's been rock solid stable and very fast without doing any tweaking at all. Much better than Vista was on its best day. Just as good (if not slightly better) than XP was as well. Pay no attention to the trolls that bash it just because of its name. Most of us that have actually USED it have been quite pleased thus far.

Yeah, that word of mouth stuff...

It's amazing how the Windows Me disaster brought XP down to its knees from that word of mouth...

I've been ecstatic so far.

Btw, that is one LOW member # you are rolling!

I pre ordered the Home Premium Upgrade. Is it an upgrade only? I can't do a clean install? Upgrade from Vista or 7 RC?

I did also RND and i thought it said 'Upgrade', but who knows these days.

Did you look at the details of the order? it would say upgrade, if it doesn't you probably bought the full edition (which is probably recommended given this is microsoft) if you bought it for 119 US you got upgrade and more than you got full.

I just got legal access to the retail version of windows 7 from work...I'm thinking of installing it at home on my gaming machine. Should I do that now or should I wait? I'm running XP 64 bit right now. I have a geforce 8800 video card, so I imagine that running on XP's directx 9 on that card holds it back a bit. Should I expect a bunch of stupid little glitches since this operating system is still new? Or will it work nicely since it's been in testing for a while? I wanna play demigod and supreme commander on it mainly. I do have some other games I play though.

I'm running 7 x64 Ultimate. I primarily play WoW and it is performing faster on a Nvidia 8600. I suspect you'll have no worries.

For the upgrade all you need is to have Vista or XP installed somewhere on your computer and then it will allow a clean install I believe.

reneckdude, according to the ms rep i spoke to the other day, you can do a clean install with the upgrade version of professional and ultimate. i did not ask about home premium, so i can't vouch for it.

Windows 7 Upgrade Details for XP and Vista Users - Upgrading - Lifehacker

Well, I would certainly ask your boss about putting it on your home PC ...