Windows 7

With every fresh install of a new computer comes the pain that is installation of all my applications. My old machine had well over 200 different things installed. Those things being applications, device drivers, and plug ins. Of course, we cannot forget Windows Update, which needs to be run periodically through the installation process. Given the number of installs that always loom large at the beginning of this process, I use this time to filter out those applications I no longer use. I also take this time to consider any alternatives to my standard toolset, which I will cover in a future. The good news at this time is that I have finished the vast majority of the installs I need to do. It was 111 separate installs, 6 runs of Windows Update, about a dozen Firefox plug-ins, and I am now running on my new computer. ...

The first step on this journey is to prepare the USB key. Having burned so many CD and DVD discs in the past when doing install, I feel that this is a long overdue feature from the folks in Redmond. Having done this for my RC install, I can tell you it is not too difficult, just poorly documented. Gather the right requirements. In order to do this you will need the following things: ...

I have been running Windows 7 beta than RC for many months now. Despite all the warnings against using it as my main machine, I have done so, and have had little to any issues. The few things, such as the Bluetooth driver for my laptop, I have chalked it up to the standard driver delays for 64 bit drivers. The RC has been reasonably rock solid. Yes, I still crashed once in a while, but much less than under Vista. In both Vista and Win 7, I have been running the 64 bit versions, and was surprised at how much better the Win 7 experience has been. ...