Friday, June 12, 2009

Windows 7 Release Candidate 1

Well, I got hold of the Windows 7 Release Candidate 1 today and my first impressions are WOW, Microsoft has really simplified things. Gone are the days of Vista's ridiculous in-your-face security settings. Now some of you may disagree, especially the hardcore Linux enthusiasts but this version of Windows feels less like Windows and more like a smooth Linux distro more than ever. The RC1 that is available now for download HERE is the 'Ultimate' version, so you can do pretty much everything with it. Speaking of versions, I would prefer Microsoft not have so many as it basically muddles things and is a blatant attempt at making as much money as possible without justification or a proper cause. Just release a Home edition and a Pro edition and everybody is happy.

I can see that I will have to redo some or all of group policy based logon scripts because Windows 7 uses a slightly different method of scripting. This shouldn't be an issue even with a mixed OS environment if you utilize your AD properly in terms of OU and Groups. You could have several different scripts based upon different OS groups in AD. More to come on this...

In a nutshell, lots of fun little nifty features and the ease of use for most people will be much appreciated. I still have many things I'd like to test and will take my notes here. Rather than blab on and on about the little details here is a nifty video by Microsoft that has done all the work for me :)