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Windows 7 beta now available

news.cnet.com — Microsoft has apparently decided that it has enough server capacity and has made the code for the Windows 7 beta available.

Who dugg this? Made popular Jan 10, 2009

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  • nwoolls, on 01/10/2009, -2/+206The system seems to just give everyone the same five keys if you keep refreshing, so here you go:

    32bit:
    QXV7B-K78W2-QGPR6-9FWH9-KGMM7
    6JKV2-QPB8H-RQ893-FW7TM-PBJ73
    GG4MQ-MGK72-HVXFW-KHCRF-KW6KY
    TQ32R-WFBDM-GFHD2-QGVMH-3P9GC
    4HJRK-X6Q28-HWRFY-WDYHJ-K8HDH

    64bit:
    RFFTV-J6K7W-MHBQJ-XYMMJ-Q8DCH
    482XP-6J9WR-4JXT3-VBPP6-FQF4M
    JYDV8-H8VXG-74RPT-6BJPB-X42V4
    D9RHV-JG8XC-C77H2-3YF6D-RYRJ9
    7XRCQ-RPY28-YY9P8-R6HD8-84GH3
  • scy1192, on 01/10/2009, -9/+132Hasn't all of Digg that wants a copy gotten it?
  • FlyingCaveman, on 01/10/2009, -5/+109forgot to add "AGAIN" to the title
  • mclewell, on 01/10/2009, -0/+103It still seems to be having some problems but this worked for me:

    Go here to register for the key:
    http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/evalcenter/dd35 ...

    Go here to download the actual ISO. The link on the Microsoft page is broken, this site has a direct link:
    http://www.mydigitallife.info/2009/01/10/windows-7 ...

    Finally, there is a critical hotfix that deals with mp3 corruption that must be install before playing an mp3 file (see bottom of page for direct download from Microsoft):
    http://www.mydigitallife.info/2009/01/08/fix-windo ...
  • fandyboy, on 01/10/2009, -4/+104What build is this beta? Is it 7000?
  • Chris_F, on 01/10/2009, -27/+126I love how you people, who bashed Vista without ever using it, think that Windows 7 is going to be the great OS, even though it's just Vista with a slightly altered UI and some new unimportant features.
  • inactive, on 01/10/2009, -13/+91Ive been using it for a week, and IMO it's a solid OS, even as a beta. I'm curious to see how the Digg community is liking it. If you've tried it and like it Digg me, if you tried it and don't like it, bury me.
  • mclewell, on 01/10/2009, -1/+60Correct, Beta 1 is build 7000, but if you want to get technical its build 7000.0.081212-1400
  • Danltn, on 01/10/2009, -4/+60Code? You mean the binary.
  • Khast, on 01/10/2009, -2/+55I am running it below recommended specs, and am having no problems yet. Only 512MB RAM, and a video card which doesn't support DX9....so far everything is working fine. (I don't get Aero, or any graphical enhancements...but it is running smoothly.)

    For those who are saying it won't run on your computer....I am calling your bluff. If it can run on the old POS computer I installed it on, it will run on anything made since 2000.
  • maleficdog, on 01/10/2009, -3/+53Dugg down? Not anymore, my friend, not anymore.
  • YodaOfDarkness, on 01/10/2009, -0/+50Tried it multiple times on each, got the same ones. I guess they're going to show the same ones 2.5 million times and then think we won't tell each other... nice.
  • Premier, on 01/10/2009, -3/+50Am I the only one at the download page using Firefox and nothing happens when you click download now?
  • jobeats, on 01/10/2009, -2/+47http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-7/beta-do ...
  • fandyboy, on 01/10/2009, -3/+48OK, thanks, God knows why I'm being dugg down, it was a simple question.
  • inactive, on 01/10/2009, -4/+48Digg description: Microsoft has made the Windows 7 CODE available.. lol, you act like it's open source.
  • getisboy, on 01/10/2009, -7/+48Windows 98 is the *****
  • dcipjr, on 01/10/2009, -3/+41I got a key this morning, and have it up and running on my MacBook. It's actually very nice. The install was smooth, the Boot Camp drivers loaded without any issue, it coexists well with OS X and the OS as a whole looks pretty polished. I like it so far.
  • sickthoughts, on 01/10/2009, -4/+40It is quite amusing to see this kind of hypocricy isn't it.

    I used Vista, and now I use 7.
  • rutvik1, on 01/10/2009, -2/+37All I can say is, for the 5 hours that I have been using Windows 7, I am completely satisfied. My laptop could barely run Vista properly. I had to turn off graphic enhancements in order to save RAM (1 GB). Such is not the case in Windows 7, it is running the graphics enhancements without taking up all RAM. I even have a few widgets running.

    Let's hope the next beta is even better.
  • sickthoughts, on 01/10/2009, -1/+34remember to install this hotfix if you do not wish to have your mp3 files ***** up by windows media player

    http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/96136 ...
  • MJDub, on 01/10/2009, -1/+33Dugg for legitimate/unsarcastic tech question.
  • adkenc, on 01/10/2009, -1/+32"what do YOU mean 'YOU PEOPLE'? "
  • inactive, on 01/10/2009, -5/+35Sounds like you are stupid and don't know how to partition correctly.
  • TheSabre, on 01/10/2009, -2/+32If by "the *****" you mean "great as long as you don't need more than 137 GB of hard drive space", then I agree!
  • bagboyrebel, on 01/10/2009, -3/+33You might even be the only person in the world that actually liked the sidebar.
  • johnomaz, on 01/10/2009, -1/+30HAXOR!! HOW DID YOU GET MY KEY!! /sarcasm
  • PNooch, on 01/10/2009, -27/+55I'm tired of using a 10 yr old OS, this one better work
  • ShoulderKnight, on 01/10/2009, -2/+28Mac and PC user here. Window's 7 just feels right. Google "switcher 2.0". Its a great app that gives you the expose like feature on Vista or Windows 7. Really that's the only major thing I missed from OSX.... Microsoft has something here.
  • sickthoughts, on 01/10/2009, -1/+26why do u need the sidebar? just dock some gadgets on the right hand side and you've got the same thing.
  • Sanctums, on 01/10/2009, -2/+26@clickmyface

    Windows 7 may look like windows vista, but under the surface its much lighter, I have it running relatively well on an asus N10, save for a few driver issues. And at this point, Vista isn't bad.
  • fandyboy, on 01/10/2009, -0/+24That's because it only works in IE.
  • Danltn, on 01/10/2009, -0/+23That doesn't justify block caps.
  • inactive, on 01/10/2009, -0/+21no

  • rocketz, on 01/10/2009, -1/+21Its fast.... It creams VISTA and I am running it against OSX. From a Coldstart to FF Homepage it beats my Imac...
  • Awspire, on 01/10/2009, -3/+23Just installed the beta. Its fan-frigin-tastic! Cant believe the hardware support. All my hardware supported out of the box, not that grabbing drivers is a big deal (except for my tv tuner), just a little more convient.

    Windows Media Center is ABSOLUTLEY FANTASTIC! The best media center on the market. I had it fully configured in about 5 minutes (tv tuner ATI 650 PCI). Watching/Recording TV on my PC has never been easier, and the features are overwhemling.

    For a beta this is an incredible release. Just pissed I gotta wait a year for RTM.
  • bluecube, on 01/10/2009, -2/+22lol

    right from the MS page "Backup and restore your PC (There's a chance of losing files, so it's a good idea to do a backup of anything you want to save.)"

    "It can be glitchy—so don't use a PC you need every day."

  • Memnochxx, on 01/10/2009, -6/+26Sorry, things don't work like that. Do you start counting your age from the day you were conceived?
  • inactive, on 01/10/2009, -0/+18Well, I am seeing those keys over and over today, but yesterday, after mashing F5 for about an hour during the server onslaught, I managed to get a 64bit key that does not match any of these. So, they may have originally planned on giving out unique keys, but maybe it's just too overwhelming for them to do so at the moment.

    Whatever - a key is a key as long as it works. This is just beta, after all.
  • mclewell, on 01/10/2009, -2/+20I do believe that Beta implies that is test software.
  • theone3, on 01/10/2009, -4/+22XP developer preview released in 1999. Current year: 2009. Hence - ten year old OS.
  • Delphium226, on 01/10/2009, -1/+19That's what the article says
    'Microsoft has apparently decided that it has enough server capacity and has made the code available for the Windows 7 beta. '

    It is pretty lame. The author is clearly not the sharpest.
  • inactive, on 01/11/2009, -2/+19I'm still waiting for Mojave.
  • Chris_F, on 01/10/2009, -3/+20@ThantiK

    Vista is in no way comparable to Windows ME (maybe in some degree to it's marketing success, but how well they marketed it is irrelevant, the operating system itself is what we are discussing.

    ME was an unnecessary expansion to Windows 98 that contained all of 98's flaws and introduces more of its own, while not adding anything worth mentioning.

    Vista is it's own new operating system. The list is quite extensive, but a few things to point out would be a true 64-bit operating system, without a 2GB or 3GB user space restriction. That is to say it can dynamically allocate address space to user or kernel. Supports 4GB or more ram. Vista does not allow unsigned kernel mode drivers, making it much harder for rootkits. User account controls to prevent software from making important changes without the users authorization. Many changes have been made to the API, with new subsystems for graphics, sound and UI which are going to become the new standard.

    Vista is nowhere near the same as XP. Vista is as close to XP as 98 was to XP. If anything WIndows 7 is the Windows ME equivalent to Vista. That is, Windows 7 is completely unnecessary, adds nothing worth mentioning, it's only purpose is a marketing jumpstart, and if ypu can't see this then you are blind.

    Yeah, and I'm not sure what you are talking about by journaled filesystem. NTFS is a journaled filesystem. You could only be referring to WinFS, which last I heard, that project died a long while ago.
  • TheSabre, on 01/10/2009, -1/+17Microsoft has said MANY times that WinFS is postponed because it wasn't working as well as they had hoped and they want to work on it more. Would you rather them put out a filesystem that is not in working order or would you rather them say "hold on, we're going to keep working on it to make it better before releasing it."

    The problem with people like you is that you bash them if they release it and it doesn't work and you bash them if they wait and make sure it works before releasing it. Damned if they do, damned if they don't.
  • deskimo, on 01/11/2009, -0/+16I don't know of anyone who uses the term 'code' or 'machine code' when they mean the compiled binaries in common parlance. It's not incorrect, but the simplest explanation here is that the author doesn't know WTF s/he is talking about. When people say the 'code is available' they usually mean the source in a high-level language.
  • stockjones, on 01/11/2009, -0/+15There are differences that arent "visual". The memory/cpu utilization is better, boot time seems a bit faster and copying files on a network have been improved which is good. Vista copy/move files changes from XP to Vista were horrid. Its definitely improved.

    Its not bad, but honeslty for someone who owns Vista 64 Its more like a super service pack. This is just like the whole windows 2000 to windows XP thing. Microsoft is becoming notorious (in a bad way) for doing this. They release an OS thats not quite polished because of pressure to get it out the door. Then after a year or so they work on polishing it up and release it as another new version of windows. I say people who own Vista should get this as an update for free or the update better be damn cheap.

    And for the love of God Microsoft there better not be a million variations of the OS. 2 or 3 is more then enough.
  • matlock, on 01/10/2009, -0/+15Been using this for a few days on my MSI Wind netbook (stock except 2GB of RAM). Runs MUCH better than Vista on a 1.6Ghz Atom processor. I'm pretty damn impressed so far.
  • Danltn, on 01/10/2009, -2/+16[Citation needed]
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