Over the past couple of nights, we’ve been asking what we can give; what we can do to help our loyal visitors, because we collectively don’t consider ourselves to be just a release site – oh no. We like to think we listen to you, and one of the things we heard a lot of, was the request for more apps, more operating systems – so I thought we’d start it off with a bang and kick off with an intro into the very latest software, and then introduce you to desktop publishing, anti virus software, audio and visual and of course, office and the options that are out there, as well as an informed consensus on each to provide you with the tools to get your system at its very peak performance. In this post, which looks at the most vital part of your PC that isn’t software, we’ll cover the Operating System; the kind of specifications you should look at for a pleasant running experience, and of course the tools you should install straight away to get you up and running.

Big Article after the jump.

Release name: Microsoft.Windows.7.ULTIMATE.x86.Integrated.October.2009.OEM.DVD.PROPER-BIE
File name: bie786109
Size: 2.09GB @ 47 Files
OS: Windows Core OS
NFO: Here
Homepage: Here
Download: Torrent Search - Rapidshare Search - Download Search - Usenet Search

Release name: Microsoft.Windows.7.ULTIMATE.x64.Integrated.October.2009.OEM.DVD-BIE
File name: bie764109
Size: 2.74 GB @ 61 Files
OS: Windows Core OS
Homepage: Here
NFO: Here
Download: Torrent Search - Rapidshare Search - Download Search - Usenet Search

Release name: Windows XP Mode
File name: WindowsXPMode_en-us
Size: 469.8mb @1 files
OS: Windows 7 Only
Homepage Download: Here

Get the Napalum Bootloader Here

Windows 7

Now, let us begin with the one which is guaranteed to be most relevant to everyone at the moment – Windows 7. Designed from the ground up to be a rich media experience, the argument that this is merely an upgrade from Windows Vista has simply been blown out of the water and stated as the operating system Vista should have been; I find this invalid, as I’m apparently one of the few people that prefers the way Vista runs to windows 7, but even I can’t argue that Windows 7 does include substantial improvements over its predecessors. For example, When Microsoft say that Windows 7 can run out of the box, they mean it; most hardware will be found by the device manager quite easily, it runs on hardware that Vista would find positively archaic, and is already the preferred choice for most net books because of this fact alone. To boot, the minimum specs are impressive, to say the least:

• 1 GHz processor (32- or 64-bit)
• 1 GB of RAM (32-bit); 2 GB of RAM (64-bit)
• 16 GB of available disk space (32-bit); 20 GB of available disk space (64-bit)
• DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM 1.0 or higher driver

Not just a pretty face

In addition to this codecs aren’t exactly a worry either. Linux and Mac users may be used to plug and play, but even the most ardent Microsoft support would admit that plug and play was more a “turn off, plug, install, reboot and play” affair in the past. Windows 7 has basic support for X264 and H264, XviD and DivX out of the box – but you will need the full product for all the fineries that the codecs provide. In addition to this, compatibility is absolutely guaranteed, as Windows 7 virtualises Windows XP to guarantee absolute compatibility with all of those old applications you might have been afraid to lose when upgrading from an old operating system to a brand new shiny one. This initially was intended for business users, but I think you’ll agree that the implications for anyone who likes playing age of empires or command and conquer as an example, are massive.

Installing Windows 7

The first question you should ask, in the simplest possible term is if you should use a 64-bit or 32-bit operating system; we could get complicated and go into a lot of technical jargon, but it all boils down to one thing – does your system have more, or less than 4 gigabytes of ram? You can find this out by simply right clicking on my computer (found in the start menu) and selecting properties. This screen will detail the hardware profile of your system. If you have more than 4 Gigabytes of ram installed, use the 64-bit version…If you have less, you’ll be fine with the 32-bit version, although this doesn’t mean you can’t install the 64-bit version if you intend to install your own hardware later.

I personally always suggest that it’s a good idea to make a clean install when making the jump to a new operating system, but I realise sometimes that can be time consuming, frustrating and a daunting task if you’ve collected a good decades worth of documents, images and video, so, for the sake and sanity of all concerned, and to save me from typing the instructions out and possibly getting it wrong, I’ve included some videos that walk you through the installation process – from Vista to 7, Installing 7 on OSX, and even Upgrading  to Windows 7 from Windows XP. Enjoy.

Warning: Some of these methods require a certain level of proficiency – if you’re determined to try these methods, make SURE you have the instructions memorised first. You should also note that using the BIE versions of Windows 7 does not facilitate an upgrade path, you will need to use an alternative disk with the orbit hacker or the napalum winloader if you intend to attempt upgrading as opposed to a clean install.

Upgrading to Windows 7 from XP
Upgrading to Windows 7 from Vista
Installing Windows 7 with Bootcamp
Installing Windows 7 on a Netbook
Making a Clean install of Windows 7

From this point, in theory your PC should have a fresh copy of Windows 7 present for you to enjoy. From this point, you’ll have to reinstall all your applications, organise your backups and get your preferences set up in a way that you find your PC enjoyable to use; over the coming few articles, we’ll walk through different areas of protecting your system, helping you remove the old preconceptions that a PC with windows is going to be an unstable prospect.

Introducing your new desktop

The very first thing you’ll note about Windows 7, is how different it is to its predecessors; firstly, the task bar has more function, and the grouping is more logical; the peek function makes it easier for you to decide which windows should be closed, and maximise your work flow, and the start bar has evolved from its humble beginnings in vista, to a function that competes in pretty much every way with Apple’s Finder. Let’s spend a few minutes getting you familiar, and give you an idea of what to expect.

The Superbar

In Windows Vista, the task bar could potentially be a nightmare; it didn’t group folders very well – this meant that it was extremely easy to close the wrong window, costing you hours of work. In Windows 7, this has been rectified by a simple pin and hover tactic; pin your favourite applications to the task bar and they’ll interact with environment more organically than ever before; hover over an application with multiple windows, and your mini view now has a cross in the corner to allow you to remove single windows without accidentally selecting “close group”. In addition, you can also assign your middle mouse button to close windows by simply pointing at the desired object and clicking.

The Start Menu

When Windows XP was nearing its life, Microsoft introduced desktop searching as a concept to Microsoft users for the first time. Google had no small hand in this, but Microsoft differed in that desktop search indexed your entire computer, so you could simply type in something, and a result would appear, giving you options to run, view or play that fit the parameters; Windows Vista expanded upon this, and even though I personally find the indexing a lot better to use in terms of work flow efficiency, it still needed work; Windows 7 completes this. With certain applications such as Adobe and office products, instead of having a recent items folder on your start menu, there’s a simple, understated arrow which, when pointed at, expands to reveal recent projects; this allows for an optimisation of recent documents, and frees up some of the clutter that was previously evident, while still allowing you to have all relevant articles to hand. In addition to this, the search function is a lot more efficient in its indexing, meaning that results for past articles that don’t show up is almost instantaneous.

Final Impressions

To be honest, aside from the initial aesthetic differences in windows 7, when you get away from what’s under the hood there is very little difference; people will argue blind that Windows 7 runs marginally faster, and I would suppose that might be true if I were a gamer – but I’m no gamer. I have a dual core machine with 6gb ram, and the only difference I find Windows 7 makes to my experience, is that admittedly the little things that matter to most people are easier to access, and easier to modify; UAC for example doesn’t require a reboot, changing themes with the default changer is easier, and it remembers preferences for different desktop settings a lot more beautifully; the transitions are more artistic, and the mediaplayer is more logical – but as an example, myself and over both own amBX lighting systems, and the transition from Windows Vista to Windows 7 would at this moment be woefully painful, as the only support to have reared its head has been unofficial support from the community – and phillips aren’t alone in this. This time, the fact that some hardware isn’t supported genuinely isn’t the fault of Microsoft, but of the manufacturers who’ve had the SDK sitting in their in-tray for months along with development copies of 7, and still have the bare faced audacity to turn around and claim they didn’t know when they get caught with their pants down when they’re found to have not supported 7 on launch day.

That said, they are in the minority, and 90% of all hardware I’ve used with Windows 7 has indeed worked right off the bat, and it’s nice to see something that’s obviously had a lot of passion and work gone into it out of Microsoft; Apple can no longer claim that it’s the only good looking operating system on the market any more, because it’s evident that a lot of thought has gone into Windows 7 from the outset. That is a comforting thought for someone who spends most of his time working with a Windows OS, and even more comforting that even though I can’t honestly say I’ve had a major crash I’ve never recovered from in Vista, Windows 7 is winning even the most sceptical minds over as a stable competitor to its cousins.

Next: OSX