2009/2010 will be interesting years for Operating System releases. As most people know, Windows 7 is Microsoft's latest OS, available to the public come 22nd October 2009.
As well as that, Google have announced that they are creating their own OS, namely "Chrome OS".
Personally, I'm a little bit excited about both.
I'm excited about the Windows 7 release because when I get a new laptop, it will have Windows 7 on it. Simple as that. I'm in no rush for a new laptop though, I'll probably get it next year, and it would be no bad thing as by then, a Service Pack may have been released.
It's funny when I look back at my initial thoughts about Vista. XP did everything I needed it to do - in fact, present tense... does - as I use it on my laptop every day! I know the ins and outs of XP, so much so that I don't need to be at my laptop when people call asking for advice or how to do something on it.
When people asked me about Vista when it was first released, I was somewhat sceptical - I think we all were a little bit. The BIGGEST annoyance for me, was how places like PC World sold "Vista Capable" laptops with absolutely pathetic hardware capabilites. Celeron processors and 1GB of RAM?! Or less in some cases! Please(!!)
It doesn't take a computer buff to know that if you've 512MB of RAM on XP, 1GB makes a big difference. In fact, on all my XP machines I have at least 2GBs.
So imagine how RAM affects Vista. Vista "capable" meant that it could run Vista... barely. Forget about running Aero on a "capable" machine, by the way - Home Basic only!
On those types of machine, Vista performed just about as well as a rowing boat on a dried-up river.
Working in the IT industry and having 3-month-old laptops brought in for servicing because they were "too slow to use" became very, very irritating. I once even saw a laptop with Vista with 512MB...
However, once the hardware managed to catch up with the requirements of Vista (and became affordable), I started to become more impressed with Vista.
Working with a few Vista machines in the office, I decided to get a copy. By then, SP1 had come out of course!
I got a 64-bit version and installed it on my custom built machine (quad-core, 8gigs, blah blah blah), and with SP2, yes, it runs like a charm. I couldn't be happier.
Vista surpasses XP in every way. I feel daft that I ever resented Vista!
Installing Windows 7 RC1, I can see that it's going to be better than Vista again. Quicker, smoother, easier. I like how it looks like Vista, so it's not as big a jump as XP > Vista, but it's been re-defined, like a well tuned car.
Those "vista capable" laptops could run Windows 7 Home better than they could ever have run Vista.
So, in my world, Windows 7 is a very welcome release.
Now... what about Chrome OS? Well, the reason I'm excited about that, is because it's free.
I'm also a little bit excited, because it's Google, and Google are very innovative. Who knows what they could potentially create?
Once I get my hands on it, I'll be installing it on a Pentium 3 machine, 768MBs RAM, just to see how it runs.
Of course, Google will most likely release minimum specs of say a 1.4Ghz processor, 1GB RAM (or possibly more, depending on how graphically intensive it is), but I wouldn't mind trying it out, even on an older machine.
I have my doubts of course, of whether Chrome OS can provide the same functionality that XP offers.
I've also read that it's to be based on the Linux kernel.
If it IS going to be based on Linux, I hope it's nothing LIKE Linux. If ever I have used a user-friendly OS, Linux was NOT it.
I could barely install the damn thing on my computer without having to resort to support forums and the like!
The Linux mentality appears to be a superior one. This annoys me. No, Linux, I am not a super-geek, I just want to install a functional OS on my PC that will allow me to use the internet, type documents, do my emails, and print things. I know your OS is free, but that's no reason to not make it simple.
This is why I dislike all open-source software. Including Joomla.
I'm not a Windows "fan boy", but I do know a good thing when I use it. It's functional, it's accessable, it's easy to use. It supports nearly every hardware device/software program ever created. My grandparents use XP - they send emails, scan documents, create labels, the works. This is the ultimate test for any piece of sofware - if your grandparents can understand it, anyone can.
Tried to find a driver for *anything* on Linux? In some cases, they actually expect you to write your own driver.
...
My rant is over. I apologise for it, sometimes it's easy for me to get carried away. To summarise, Windows 7 will be what it needs to be, and Google's Chrome OS has a lot to achieve if it wants success.
When it does come out, I'll definitely be installing it for a play. I have high-hopes for Chrome, and I'm sure I won't be disappointed.
Digiman out.
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