Windows 7 Milestone 3 Build 6801 Review

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KSoD

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So as many people know this was handed out ath the PDC conference this week. Well some MVP's were also invited to test this out and give feedback on this build to help make the testing process better. This is all happening before the Official Beta Begins. So let me begin then.

First i must say this. This is a Pre-Beta build. So lots of things work. While others are still buggy at best. Within 2 hours i had already installed it twice cause of a fatal crash. So without a doubt this isnt for the weak or those that hate to constantly reinstall. To show you thta i am currently running this here is a shot of my system properties.



This build comes with the Aero interface. But not like the one previewed at the PDC. That is a newer internal build previewed there while we have a older M3 build that we are testing.

With that being said this does look a lot like Windows Vista right now. There are lots of similarities. But also lots of differences. Most notably the use of the Ribbon type interface in applications such as Paint.



The next item on the list that you will notice a change in is the Theme selection menu. This one you will notice the posting form for Tech-Forums in the background when i took the screenshot. So while you may say that the System Properties Image was photochopped. It would be kinda hard for me to go thru all the trouble to doctor the image for this screenshot.



Next the Start Menu. Right now there isnt much difference. But what is included is. The Start Menu setup screen is a bit different now.

http://www.majhost.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?i=1944967

That is just the setup selection menu. It gives you a nice clean interface to choose what you want to do. I then went to customize and added just about every option while only taking off 2 items. The Help and the Recently added Items. This is what the Start Menu looks like with all the new items added for Windows 7.



So far i have installed Opera, Silverlight, Flash, Shockwave, Java, WinRar, WLM, WinAmp and have not had any issues. Sadly the reson this is already my 2nd install is cause on my first attempt i tried to install a Anti-Virus, namely Avast. This caused a catastrophic fatal error. Upon restart i could not access the start menu, or any items in it. I could not even get a run box. So that caused the force of the install i am on now.

I am in the process of installing more software along with maybe a set of Sound Drivers. Not sure if i want to test that water yet.

So far my first taste of Windows 7 has been pretty much what i expected. Buggy in respect to certain items. As was the Vista Beta. AV's were always a issue with that beta. So i expected that. Aside from that expectation i would say my experience has been plesant. It is stable enough for testing but not for everday use. There isnt much changed in this setup from Windows Vista. Not enough right now for people to get all excited and hasty over to want it enough to download it and put their system at risk.

With that being said. I am enjoying every minute of my time on it. I am still picking up on some new things here and there. Notcing little differences between this and Vista. But at the same time it has the familiar feel of Vista. No sidebar anymore. But there are now desktop gadgets that you can place anywhere you want. As i find more i will post.
 
There fixed. Use Photobucket and Majhost. So if you cant see it on one it is on the other.

Here is something interesting. The Taskbar is different now. It isnt locked anymore. It is a more free standing section now. There isnt that whole section locked like it was in XP/Vista and the older versions of Windows. Let me show you.



That is how the area looks. Just click on a icon. I clicked on the up arrow.



This is what it bring up. The items are not necessarily hidden anymore. But they do not extend the taskbar to lengths that great. There is only the clock and 3 items now shown. Never any more. Which i like. I think that is a great idea.

Again will post more when i find it.
 
Bah. I think my friend was 100% correct when he said: Vista is just a beta for Windows 7. Nothing more.
 
This is just the Milestone Build. This is Pre-Beta. This is a old build. At PDC the build they previewed was 6933. I got 6801. I do not have all the new features that are now in Win7.

Vista is the stepping stone yes. But it wasnt the beta.
 
Why do people still diss Vista :mad:

Anyway looks good hopefully more differences will appear when the beta is released :D
 
How has the performance changed? I have heard that there was a lot of work done to speed up windows 7. Would you say they succeeded?

As of right now i can not comment. I mean it is Pre-Beta. WIth WLM, Windows Live Mail, Opera, IE8, WinAmp, 3 desktop gadgets and some other stuff runnign i am almost at 50% RAM usage of my 3GB.

While it does "feel" faster. It can not be seen just yet. The code is definately more optimized for usage. I have seen things run better on here per say. But to say that yes tehy succeeded at this stage would be a lie as there is no way to fully compare a Pre-Beta to a final product.

*Edit*

Interesting find. Trying to install Firefox 3.0.3 i get a message:

runas.png


Now what makes this prompt interesting is that i was never asked during setup to set the Admin password. Trying to just click Okay gives me a error that the password field cant be left empty. Strange. I cant install it cause of the admin rights needed yet i dont have the Admin password on. So i fexed this by unlocking the hidden admin account like i do in Vista. Then i set a password adn got it installed.

Just tried to install the 3.1 Beta and got the same thing. Easier fix. Right click Run as Admin. Went to the installer without that prompt. Interesting...
 
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