All of the transformation packs are straight forward and easy to install.

Note: We recommend creating a restore point or backing up the files manually before attempting any of these transformations (list of files affected can be found on the author’s page)

Update: Transform Windows 7 to Snow Leopard

Transform Windows XP to Mac OS X Leopard

Download – The Pack is developed by kampongboy and does a beautiful job at tranforming your Windows XP SP2 to Leopard. The author recommends applying transformation in safe mode.

If you need any assistance in customization, you can reach us @taranfx on twitter.

Additional software needed to get the exact look as in the screenshot: Windowblinds, ObjectDock and IconPackager.

WindowsBlinds Theme: Leopard Glass by ~neodesktop
Wallpaper: Leopard Wallpaper by ~vsdigital
Dock Skin: OS X Leopard for ObjectDock by ~reverse84

Transform Windows 7 to Mac OS X Leopard

Download – Developed by alkhan, is relatively easier. All you need to do is install the transformation pack and then use ObjectDock for the Dock at bottom. [Dock Skin: OS X Leopard for ObjectDock by ~reverse84]

Transform Windows Vista to Mac OS X Leopard

Download. Developed by Hydrattz, this Transformation pack lets the Vista’s pathetic glory go away in minutes. I remmend using the same dock: ObjectDock for the Dock at bottom. [Dock Skin: OS X Leopard for ObjectDock by ~reverse84] though you are free to choose your option. Do checkout optional things you can do with this theme at author’s page.

Related: Transform Ubuntu to Windows 7

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Microsoft is still living in the happiness driven by Windows 7 launch. Call it Marketing Pioneer or the Product Miracle, they are no longer worried of Windows products. They know that they are going to sell them well, like never before. But there are still two things underneath that bites Microsoft: 1. Bing - Overhyped search engine. 2. Windows Mobile.

Unluckily, both fights go with Google, and one of them with Apple. The Phone market driven by Apple’s iPhone is almost impossible to capture in the current situation. However, Android could be a difficult competitor but with Android gaining popularity, it gets harder each day.

All this have come to picture because Windows Mobile is starting to resemble a disaster driven by Windows Vista-style proportions.

Here are few points on Why Windows Mobile Resembles Vista:

1. Delays: Like Vista, repeated Windows Mobile 7 delays are frustrating Microsoft’s longtime industry partners. Windows Mobile 7, originally planned for release last year, isn’t expected to arrive until spring of 2010.

What is the impact? Motorola, earlier this year, shifted its business away from Windows Mobile and favored  Google Android devices. Verizon, which has been tied to Microsoft’s  Pink smartphone project, recently kicked off a huge marketing push for Droid, Motorola’s new Android powered handset. What makes it worst, for Microsoft, is they will continue to push the same vendor.

2. Lack of Worthy Innovation: Every product that comes into market is full of innovation. But how much of it is worthy? This decides the market.

Microsoft’s channel partners are seeing decreasing demand for Windows Mobile-related business. Stuart Crawford from Bulletproof Infotech quoted:

“We’ve stopped working with Windows Mobile because our client base isn’t asking for it. We’ve gone to Blackberry internally, and we’re seeing a lot of clients asking for iPhone. I’m a strong Microsoft advocate, but there are too many challenges with Windows Mobile.”

3. Mobile 6.5 = Vista; Mobile 7 = Windows 7: Windows 7, which shows what great things can happen when Microsoft and its partner ecosystem are collaborating. The pressure is on Microsoft to hit jackpot with Windows Mobile 7, but that could conceivably lead to the kind of bloated, complex feature set that helped doom Vista. Microsoft is so far behind in the mobile game at this point that it needs to at least get a couple rockets on base before it starts catching up with Apple, Google.

Tim Huckaby, CEO at InterKnowlogy, said “When Windows Mobile ships, it’s got to be a winner, it cannot be another Vista, and Microsoft knows it.”

4. Wrong Claims

In April 2008, CEO Steve Ballmer described Windows Mobile 7 to MVP partners as “as an area of major excitement and innovation.” But in a meeting with Silicon Valley venture capitalists last month, Ballmer spoke of Microsoft’s Windows Mobile missteps in frank terms and said Microsoft has taken steps to correct them.

This is the exact they they did with Windows Vista. They claimed, it’s innovation and blah blah But we all know Vista is now Dead.

What is yet to be seen

Microsoft partners aren’t happy with the way things are moving in the Windows Mobile group. On the positive side, they’re still expecting Microsoft to make a comeback to make up the lost battle.

“Windows Mobile has troubles that are out of our control, and it’s now a matter of how quickly they can bring Windows Mobile 7 to market before the clock runs out.”

We would like to know what do you think? Can Microsoft come back with a bang? Will Mobile 7 be lucky for them like Windows 7, so far, did?

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[Note: This post is Inspired based on points by Kevin, CRN.]

Optimus Prime has returned to save the World from The Fallen!

Microsoft lost it’s long built impression with Windows Vista. Vista is the best example of a Software development failure. It showed the world, no matter how good your hardware is, your software is crappy, you cant do anything, it will fail to perform.

Windows 7 RTM [Final] Review. Benchmark vs. XP, Vista

Microsoft learned lessons, and this time before coming up with Launch of Windows 7, they had their Home Work done properly. What does it mean for you? You will get a better OS than what you had previously. I don’t even want to compare 7 with Vista. The fact is that most corporates and home user never moved to vista or upgraded back to XP. The real question is will XP users migrate to windows 7 ? Read on to find out.

It’s stable, smooth, and well-cooked, brings-out new graphical features — a new taskbar that is inspired from Mac OS X dock, and  much improved security enhancements and device management that make it both easier to use with inherited security.

The important aspect – it won’t require the hardware upgrades unlike Vista. As buggy and irritating as Vista was, Windows 7 isn’t. Instead, it’s the brave, mature successor to Windows XP, and finally places it on competition with the best operating systems like OS X and Linux.

Windows 7 Flavors – Microsoft, like in Vista, is offering six versions of Windows 7: Starter, Home Premium, Professional, Ultimate, OEM, and Enterprise.

Our Guide: Choosing the Right Windows 7 Version [Flavor]

Platform - Windows 7 will run both on 32-bit and 64-bit systems.

Hardware Minimum Requirements –  The minimum requirements for 32bit are: 1 GHz processor, 1 GB RAM, 14 GB available hard-disk space, and a DirectX 9 graphics device. 64-bit – Atleast 1 GHz processor, 2GB RAM, 18.5 GB of free space , and a DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM driver.

Compare that with that of Vista and XP. It’s pretty near to XP. So most PCs that can run XP, with minor or no upgrades, can run windows 7. Some users have claimed to have limited success running the Windows 7 with less than 1 GB of RAM, but that’s not recommended, though it will run. If you’re not sure if your current computer can run Windows 7, you can download and run the Microsoft Security Essentials from Microsoft.

Optional – A Touch-screen monitor is required to take advantage of the native touch features.

Installation – New and Upgrades
You can buy a new computer with the operating system already installed, upgrade from Windows XP or Vista, or do a clean install on a computer the user already owns. A Typical installation takes around 30 minutes, but that will vary depending on your Hardware.

Features:

Enhanced Taskbar and Aero Peek UI
Now this is the first thing that might attract you – All new Look – Mac OS X like feel. This is a full replacement OS, and more than just “Vista done right.” From driver support to multi-touch groundwork for the future, from better battery management to the most easy-to-use interface Microsoft has ever had, Windows 7 is surely full-baked.

The first thing that you would probably find eye-candy is the new taskbar. This is one of the best improvements. It features pinned programs using large, easy-to-see icons. Mouse over one and all windows associated with that program appear in preview. Mouse over one of those preview panes to reveal an X to close the window. Hover over the preview to show a full-size preview of the program, or click on the window to bring it to the front. Because of the button size, people with touch screens should find it especially easy to use. Though I prefer changing this to conventional takbar items where it’s wider than the default button and Grouping set off. I never liked Grouping in XP too, it makes things slower. It’s totally a personal choice.

Jump lists is another new taskbar improvement that make recently opened documents easier to get to. Right-click or left-click and drag on any program icon pinned to the taskbar to see a list of files that you’ve recently used in that program. In Media player, it shows recently played media – Music, video, photos, playlists. For IE, it shows recently visited Web sites, although it doesn’t seem to work in Firefox, yet.

Show Desktop icon got a new place- the right corner. Mouse over to the right corner. Hovering over the Show Desktop box reveals the desktop, and then hides it when you mouse away. Click on the box to minimize all windows.

Windows 7 comes with bundled theme packages, which makes it much faster to change. From the Desktop Right Click >,select the theme under Appearance and Personalization. You can customize the themes to get different colors for taskbar, etc, wallpaper rotation, sound packs. You can also download them.

Windows Media Player
Windows 7 comes bundled with WMP 12. I didn’t like it much from UI though. It’s not as easy to use as was WMP11. Aprat from that, you can now stream media files from one Windows 7 computer to another, across the Internet and out of network. Even better, the setup procedure is dead simple. A New definition to Media sharing/streaming.

Streaming - In Windows Media Player, there’s a new Stream option. On toolbar, Click Stream, and you’re presented with two choices. Both require you to associate your computer with your free Windows Live ID. When you’ve associated a second Windows 7′s WMP with that same ID, you can remotely access the media on the host computer. Windows Media Player’s mini mode looks much slicker, emphasizing the album art–sometimes at the expense of clearly seeing the controls, but it’s a definite improvement.

Another WMP improvement is the new Device Stage makes managing peripherals significantly easier, combining all your installed hardware — printers, phones, and portable media players, USB drives into one window. Device Stage support for older devices makes one of Windows 7′s best features applicable to peripherals and externals that don’t need to be upgraded. One annoying change is that Bluetooth driver support no longer comes baked into the operating system. If you need a Bluetooth driver, you’ll either need the installation disc on hand or you’ll have to go download it.

Search
Search has also improved. The Proof:- Files added to the hard drive were indexed so fast that they were searchable less

than 5 seconds later. Search result snippets now include a longer snippet, and highlight the snippet more clearly. It’s a useful feature for anybody who wants to find files faster. However, the search field is available by default only in the Start menu and in Windows Explorer, and cannot be easily added to the taskbar.

Touch screens

Touch-screen features worked surprisingly well. The hardware sometimes misread some of the multitouch gestures, occasionally confusing rotating an image, for example, with zooming in or out of the image. Overall, though, there were few difficulties in performing the basic series of gestures that Microsoft promotes, and this places Windows 7 in an excellent position for the future, as more and more computers are released with multitouch abilities.

XP mode

Probably if you are upgrading to 7, your business and home applications should run on 7. Windows 7 should run most of you apps as it is. If they fail to, 7 has a special feature to tackle this – XP Mode. XP Mode creates a virtual environment within Windows 7 that should assuage any fears of upgrading without backwards compatibility.

Security – How Secure is Windows 7 ?
The crappy troublesome User Account Control, or UAC, is back in Windows 7. But the good news is, Microsoft has tweaked the feature so that it’s less intrusive, but it’s not clear whether that means you’re actually more or less secure than you were in Vista. UAC was one of the biggest changes in Vista. It tightened program access, but did it in such a way as to frustrate many owners of single-user computers. Windows 7 provides more options for user customization of UAC.

The default setting is to notify users only when programs try to make changes to the computer, one step below the most restrictive setting of Always Notify. Under Always Notify, anytime a program tries to access the Internet, or you try to make changes to the computer, Windows 7 will require user confirmation. The second-least restrictive option doesn’t dim the desktop when UAC is activated, and will only notify the user when programs try to make changes to the computer. When the desktop dims, Windows 7 is locking it down and preventing access. Never Notify is the most relaxed option, and is only recommended by Microsoft for programs that aren’t compatible with UAC.

UAC also displays a blue banner when confronted with a program from a known publisher versus a yellow banner and exclamation point when the program is from an unknown publisher. The number of clicks it should take to use UAC safely has been reduced, However, it’s important to note that it’s a less-aggressive default posture by UAC.

A less glitzy, but no less important, change to how removable drives are handled also can impact your media. Unlike Windows XP and Windows Vista, Windows 7 will no longer AutoRun external hard drives and USB keys when they’re connected. This kills off a risky vector for malware infections that has been the bane of many security experts.

It’s possible that Windows 7 will eventually ship with additional programs, including the revamped Live OneCare antivirus and antimalware program now called Microsoft Security Essentials, but Microsoft has given no indication if that will happen. For now, users will have to download a third-party antivirus and antimalware program, although the Windows Firewall remains intact. As with many features in Windows 7 that have been carried over from Windows Vista, people will notice there’s far more granular settings control than before. Features like filtering outbound traffic, which were available in Vista but not exposed, are easier to access in Windows 7.

Performance

Windows 7 feels faster than Windows XP and Vista, but it turns out that’s not always the case, sometimes, it’s the slowest out of the three operating systems. CNET Labs, ZDnet tested: Windows 7 RTM build 7600, Windows Vista with Service Pack 2, and Windows XP SP3.

Hardware used: Core i7 quad core @ 3.2Ghz

Graphics- ATI Radeon HD, 6GB RAM

Memory management and Cache performance

Cache & Memory benchmark - Source: ZDnet

With Vista, Microsoft introduced a new technology called SuperFetch, for caching applications and speeding up boot times. This feature preloads frequently-used applications into memory, so they can be accessed quicker when they’re needed.

For conventional magnetic hard drives, most common, this technology makes sense. But if an SSD is used for mass storage, it’s better to turn SuperFetch off. The superior access times of SSDs mean they launch applications much faster than magnetic drives, so SuperFetch makes little difference.
In the RTM version (7600.16385), only Defrag is in fact inactive for SSDs — SuperFetch and ReadyBoost start just as they would with a magnetic disk.
The SuperFetch feature in Windows 7 differs significantly in approach and cache usage from its counterpart in Vista. Under Vista, the caching of applications starts immediately at launch. As the graph below shows, after three minutes just over 1GB of memory has been allocated. In Windows 7, SuperFetch starts after five minutes and after 10 minutes a little more than 600MB has been allocated. By that point, Vista’s SuperFetch has allocated more than 1.5GB.
Even without SuperFetch turned on, Windows 7 makes fewer demands on cache. For operating system-related functions, it uses 333MB, while Vista without SuperFetch uses 519MB of cache.
Windows 7 clearly makes do with fewer resources, so its cache usage is significantly lower than Vista’s.

Overall Performance: PCMark Vantage Benchmark

Benchmarking the applications that are integrated into Vista and Windows 7.

PCMark score: longer bars are better source: zdnet

The benchmark is based on several usage scenarios, with the default PCMark Suite simulating everyday PC usage. Here’s a key areas of the tests:

Memory utilization, TV, Movies, Gaming, Music, Communication, Productivity, HDD

More information about PCMark Vantage benchmark is available in this PCMark white paper.

Roughly, every application will work 20 percent faster under Windows 7 on average, bare minimum.

Windows 7 performs better than Vista and is faster than XP. Although XP is still more capable for devices with limited/outdated CPU, memory and graphics.

Faster system startup and shutdown, improved parallel processing(specially for Multi-core), and faster loading of drivers and operating system components.

Enterprise users will observe the faster login to a domain.
Windows 7 is more cache-efficient because of improved display drivers. Even with multiple open windows, the memory usage of the Desktop Window Manager, DWM remains same.  This is so because the video card’s memory taking on the load of opening of additional windows. Fact is, under Windows 7 this load is half of Vista. Direct2D, further speeds up 2D graphics rendering. For graphics cards containing ATI and Nvidia chips, this is not an issue. However, these drivers are not yet available for older Intel graphics chipsets and pretty helpful for them.

Users can employ the built-in Windows 7 DirectX 11 interface to access the graphics power of the GPU using appropriate graphics hardware – useful to those who provide video-encoding tools.
In Windows 7, Microsoft has succeeded in providing an OS that’s likely to meet the performance requirements of consumers and business users alike. The early signs are that Windows 7 will enjoy a much better take-up than Vista.

Windows 7 looks like the operating system that both Microsoft and its consumers have been waiting for. By fixing most of the perceived and real problems in Vista, Microsoft has laid the groundwork for the future of where Windows will go. Windows 7 presents a stable platform that can compete comfortably with OS X, while reassuring the world that Microsoft can still turn out a strong, useful operating system.

For Pricing, follow here.

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Vista is Dead

Microsoft has declared it. And For anyone still burning a candle for Windows Vista, in the dark, its time is rapidly approaching. Buy now or forever hold your Rest in Peace, Windows 7 is coming to the rescue.

I’m not surprised that this has turned out. After all, it was all buggy. When it first arrived just in 2006, it was late, bloated. It may have looked pretty on the outside, but critics quickly pounced on it for driver incompatibility, sluggish performance on mainstream and  even high-end hardware was left unfelt. And not to forget, enough bugs to fill a family-sized tent on a weekend camping expedition. Microsoft didn’t help matters with its ill-fated “Vista Capable” designation, a public relations debacle that convinced buyers who were too lazy to read the fine print that Vista would run just as well on hardware barely suited for XP.

It’s Hardest to change the first impression

Since first impressions are often the only things that matter in today’s attention-deficit world, Vista got stuck with a reputation it’s never quite been able to shake. Which is somewhat unfortunate given how nicely Vista has padded Microsoft’s bottom line since then. It’s sold hundreds of millions of copies and it runs on the vast majority of laptops on display at the average big box electronics retailer. Service Packs and updates have fixed most of the major bugs and security gaps and more devices than ever are Vista-friendly now that hardware manufacturers have gotten into the driver game. Vista hasn’t been the failure its detractors long said it was.

But memories are funny things, and despite its market performance over the past two-and-a-half years, no one seems willing to forgive Vista for being inadequately baked and improperly messaged when it first arrived. So Microsoft, recognizing that the era of the operating system is past middle age, is killing Vista. There’s been no press release, of course, no official announcement that it’s ending production — because it’s still churning out retail boxes and pre-loaded builds for OEMs just as it always has. But last week’s announcement of the Windows 7 Upgrade Option Program signals the likely death knell for Vista.

Free, cheap, and desperate

The Windows 7 Upgrade Option Program is a promotion under which customers who buy a PC equipped with Vista Premium, Business, or Ultimate between now and October will be eligible for a free upgrade when Windows 7 ships. It’s designed to prevent the usual drop in demand for a current OS that precedes the launch of the next generation — a critical move in the middle of a recession, when no one’s buying anyway. To further stoke interest among folks not interested in picking up new hardware anytime soon, Microsoft is pricing pre-orders for Windows 7 Home Premium at $49 and Professional at $99 — as close to fire sale pricing as we’ve ever seen on a Windows product.

Microsoft needs to move fast, because the age of selling a full-featured OS that fetches a triple-digit price is drawing to a close. We run applications, not operating systems, and Apple’s $29 upgrade for Snow Leopard signals just how commoditized the OS has become, and how little the average cash-strapped consumer or business owner is willing to pay for it. While you still need an OS to run the hardware that allows you to get online and run the applications you need, the slow evolution of increasingly network-centric computing points toward a future where what’s powering our hardware is less important than it is today.

Tomorrow’s operating system won’t be the headline-grabbing, Mick Jagger-attracting retail superstar that Windows once was. As long as it connects all the underlying pieces together (and stays out of our way while doing it) that will be enough. A leaner, meaner, cheaper Windows 7 bridges Microsoft toward this somewhat uncertain future. Likewise, big and brash Vista no longer has a place in the line-up, hence Microsoft’s all-hands effort to make us forget it ever existed.

Windows 7 Evolution

Call it anything you want, as long as you call it Windows. That’ll be good enough for Microsoft as it figures out how to make money in a post-Windows, post-Office landscape. With Vista out of the way, the company at least stands a fighting chance of convincing jaded consumers and enterprises alike that the OS is still relevant. Windows 7 is indeed a leaner and better product than Vista. The question on everyone’s mind is whether that’s enough to sustain the franchise. Will windows 7 be a big success? Our Earlier Benchmarks and solid proofs had shown +ve results. Will Windows 7 will it live upto the mark ?

Much of the excitement about Windows 7 relates to an assortment of user-interface improvements: a little eye candy here, a few window-management tweaks there. Here are some of the highlights, along with the tools you’ll need to get them for your current OS.

Aero Snap
When you drag a window to the left or right edge of your computer screen, Windows 7′s Aero Snap feature automatically resizes the window to fill that half of the screen. To “undock” a window, simply click and drag it away from the edge. This feature is especially convenient for PC users who have widescreen monitors, because it enables them to put a pair of windows side by side in just two quick mouse clicks.

The free AeroSnap download makes automatic window anchoring and resizing available to Vista and XP systems. And it emulates Windows 7 in another way: If you drag a window to the top edge of the screen, the window maximizes.

Invisible Windows
Need to peek at your desktop? Clicking Vista’s Show Desktop button will minimize all of your open windows, but Win 7 can make them temporarily become transparent–great for glancing at, say, one of Windows’ new floating Gadgets. All you have to do is mouse over the Show Desktop button in the bottom-right corner of the screen, and presto: Your windows turn invisible, with only the borders remaining. Slide your mouse away, and immediately the windows become opaque once more.

The freebie AeroPeek (the link goes to a downloadable zip file) for XP and Vista works a bit differently–you have to click to activate it and then click again to deactivate it–but the end result is much the same: Your open windows turn see-through, allowing you to view the desktop behind them. Of course, you can always press Windows-D to minimize all open windows (and afterward press Windows-D again to restore them), but what fun is that?

Window Shake
Want to minimize all but one of a group of windows on your desktop? In Windows 7, you can accomplish that feat by clicking and holding the title bar of any open window, and then shaking your mouse back and forth a few times. All of the other open windows will funnel down to the taskbar. Shake the lone window again, and its counterparts will reappear.

The free Aero Shake utility from Lifehacker brings Windows 7-style shake-and-bake windowing to Vista and XP. Though the feature isn’t quite as smooth as the version built in to Windows 7, it’s still a useful little amenity–and you certainly can’t beat the price.

The Pinnable Taskbar (replacement for quickLaunch)
Arguably the most visually noticeable change in Windows 7 is its overhauled taskbar, which sports oversize program icons and lets you “pin” favorite applications and documents (when you pin a document, it joins the corresponding application’s Jump List, a context-sensitive pop-up menu of shortcuts to commonly used documents and/or tasks.) If you like the idea, you can set up an almost identical taskbar in Vista (but not in XP, sorry), simply by introducing a few minor modifications.

If your system doesn’t already have a batch of program icons located just to the right of Vista’s Start button, right-click the taskbar and click Toolbars, Quick Launch. Next, unlock the taskbar by right-clicking again and clearing the check mark next to Lock the Taskbar. This operation adds a handle (which looks like three columns of tiny dots) to the right side of the Quick Launch toolbar. Drag the handle to the right to make more room for icons. Finally, to make the icons larger and closer in form to the ones in Windows 7, right-click the taskbar a third time and choose View, Large Icons. (Make sure that you click in an open area of the taskbar, and not directly on an icon.) Besides adding new icons for programs, you can attach icons for folders and even for documents to your newly improved taskbar. Just drag an icon down and drop it in. If you need extra space, you can always drag the toolbar handle farther to the right.

The Icons-Only Taskbar
The Windows 7 taskbar consists exclusively of icons, even for programs that are currently running. That’s a significant change from old-style text-enhanced program icons, but it frees up lots of extra space on the ol’ taskbar.

Instructing XP’s or Vista’s taskbar to show only icons entails taking a trip into the Registry. Here are the steps to take once you’re ready to boldly go forward:

1. Click Start, type , and press .

Important note: Before I go any further I feel I need to make a point, and make it clear. The build I’m testing of Windows 7 (build 6.1.7000.0.081212-1400) is a beta build, and as a rule beta builds are usually more geared towards stability than performance. That said, the performance of this build should give us a clue as to how the OS is coming along.

Rather than publish a series of benchmark results for the three operating systems (something which Microsoft frowns upon for beta builds, not to mention the fact that the final numbers only really matter for the release candidate and RTM builds), I’ve decided to put Windows 7, Vista and XP head-to-head in a series of real-world tests to find out which OS comes out top.

The tests

There are 23 tests in all, most of which are self explanatory:

1. Install OS – Time it takes to install the OS
2. Boot up – Average boot time to usable desktop
3. Shut down – Average shut down time
4. Move 100MB files – Move 100MB of JPEG files from one hard drive to another
5. Move 2.5GB files – Move 2.5GB of mixed size files (ranging from 1MB to 100MB) from one hard drive to another
6. Network transfer 100MB files – Move 100MB of JPEG files from test machine to NAS device
7. Network transfer 2.5GB files – Move 2.5GB of mixed size files (ranging from 1MB to 100MB) from test machine to NAS device
8. Move 100MB files under load – Move 100MB of JPEG files from one hard drive to another while ripping DVD to .ISO file
9. Move 2.5GB files under load – Move 2.5GB of mixed size files (ranging from 1MB to 100MB) from one hard drive to another while ripping DVD to .ISO file
10. Network transfer 100MB files under load – Move 100MB of JPEG files from test machine to NAS device while ripping DVD to .ISO file
11. Network transfer 2.5GB files under load – Move 2.5GB of mixed size files (ranging from 1MB to 100MB) from test machine to NAS device while ripping DVD to .ISO file
12. Compress 100MB files – Using built-in ZIP compression
13. Compress 1GB files – Using built-in ZIP compression
14. Extract 100MB files – Using built-in ZIP compression
15. Extract 1GB files – Using built-in ZIP compression
16. Install Office 2007 – Ultimate version, from DVD
17. Open 10 page Word doc – Text only
18. Open 100 page Word doc – Text and images only
19. Open simple Excel doc – Basic formatting
20. Open complex Excel doc – Including formula and charts
21. Burn DVD – Win 7 beta 1 .ISO to disc using CDBurnerXP
22. Open 10 page PDF – Text only, using latest Adobe Reader 8
23. Open 100 page PDF – Text and images, using latest Adobe Reader 8

These series of tests will pitch Windows 7 build 7000 32-bit against Windows Vista SP1 32-bit and Windows XP SP3 32-bit. The scoring for each of the tests is simple. The winning OS scores 1, the runner up 2 and the loser scores a 3. The scores are added up and the OS with the lowest score at the end wins.

The test systems

I’ve used two desktop systems as the test machines:

• An AMD Phenom 9700 2.4GHz system fitted with an ATI Radeon 3850 and 4GB of RAM
• An Intel Pentium Dual Core E2200 2.2GHz fitted with an NVIDIA GeForce 8400 GS and 1GB of RAM

The results

Here are the results of the tests for the two systems:

Conclusion

The bottom line is that the more I use Windows 7 the more I like it. Sure, we’re looking at a beta build here and not the final code, so things could change between now and release (although realistically final code ends up being faster than beta code). Also I still have some nagging issues relating to the interface, and some concerns that the UAC changes will break applications and other code, especially installers, but overall Windows 7 beta 1 is a robust, solid bit of code.

Sure, Windows 7 is not XP, and never will be (thankfully). And if you’re put off by things such as activation and DRM, then Windows isn’t the OS for you (good news is there are others to choose from). But if you’re looking for a solid OS then Windows 7 seems ready to deliver just that – a fast, reliable, relatively easy to use platform for your hardware and software.