Dell Windows 7 desktop computer Review

Monica Chen, Taipei; Joseph Tsai, DIGITIMES [Friday 6 November 2009]

Demand for PCs and hardware did not turn strong after the launch of Windows 7 in late October and is unlikely to do so in 2009 due to most Windows Vista users not needing to replace their PCs in order to upgrade to Windows 7, while some users are waiting for Microsoft to release Windows 7's first service pack, according to sources at PC vendors.

From the technology perspective, Windows 7's touchscreen capabilities are currently unable to provide significant value in terms of usage on notebooks and netbooks, while sales of tablet PCs have also not seen any dramatic growth since the launch of the software, leaving large-size all-in-one PCs as the only PC segment to benefit from the technology so far, the sources claimed.

However, since the all-in-one PC segment is expected to only reach 5% of the PC market in 2009 and 9% in 2010, vendors are likely to see limited sales growth, according to previous reports.

Some notebook vendors are also facing surplus inventory as they placed a lot of Windows 7-based notebook orders in the third quarter hoping to satisfy demand during the peak season, but market demand has turned out to be weaker than expected.

With both notebook and desktop vendors affected, most of component partners are also expected to be impacted with shipments in the fourth quarter to stay flat or drop sequentially

Oh, Windows. You inform and entertain us. You are inescapable, and your Start menu is full of items relevant to our productivity. You move us. Sort of. To be honest, we're not sure what sort of state this fair planet of ours would be in without the ruggedly functional operating systems the folks at Redmond have handed to us over the years, and while Windows Vista might have proved that Microsoft wasn't invincible, it did nothing to demonstrate that Windows as an idea -- and for most, a necessity -- was at all in jeopardy.

Windows 7 arrives on the scene three short years after Vista, shoring up its predecessor's inadequacies and perhaps offering a little bit more to chew on. We've been playing with the OS ever since the beta, along through the release candidate, and now at last have the final, "release to manufacturing" (RTM) edition in our grubby paws. Does it live up to its understandable hype and the implicit expectations of a major Microsoft release? Let's proceed on a magical journey to discover the truth for ourselves.

It's the most base of operating system functions. Install, turn on, turn off. But first impressions matter, and Microsoft made sure to give Windows 7 a nice sheen when it came to these things. You can read through our full installation guide for an in-depth look at the pitfalls and triumphs of Windows 7 in this department, but in short: it's fast and lightweight, but the real performance gains can be found on netbooks and with clean installs. Otherwise there's really nothing to put Vista to shame -- though the amazing breath of fresh air a clean install provides should really set cruftware-happy vendors to a bit of soul searching