Camera Labs

Hi folks,

The Release Candidate of Windows 7 is now publicly available and can be found here.

Note the following, which are the first two bullet points on the Windows 7 download page:

• You don't need to rush to get the RC. The RC will be available at least through July 2009 and we're not limiting the number of product keys, so you have plenty of time.
  
• Watch the calendar. The RC will expire on June 1, 2010. Starting on March 1, 2010, your PC will begin shutting down every two hours. Windows will notify you two weeks before the bi-hourly shutdowns start. To avoid interruption, you’ll need to install a non-expired version of Windows before March 1, 2010. You’ll also need to install the programs and data that you want to use.

And here's one from the FAQ section:

• Can I upgrade from the RC to the final version of Windows 7? When you install the final version of Windows 7, you'll need to do a clean installation. So plan on backing up your data then reinstalling your applications and restoring your data.

Please use this thread to share your experiences, both good and bad, with Windows 7.

Bob.

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OM-D E-M5 + ED 12-50mm, H-PS14042E, H-F007014E, L-RS014150E, M.ZUIKO DIGITAL 45mm 1:1.8.
Gitzo GT1541T, Arca-Swiss Z1 DP ball-head.
Astrophotography: TEC 140 'scope, FLI ML16803 camera, ASA DDM60 Pro mount.

Hmm... the 2 hour shutdown wasn't mentioned before as far as I know. So the true useful period is until March, less generous than the headline June date but still plenty enough to give it a try I guess.

Shall have to download and give it a try when I get home from work...

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Canon DSLRs: 7D, 5D2, 1D, 600D, 450D full spectrum, 300D IR mod
Lenses: EF 35/2, 50/1.8, 85/1.8, 135/2+SF, 28-80 V, 70-300L, 100-400L, TS-E 24/3.5L, MP-E 65, EF-S 15-85 IS
3rd party: Zeiss 2/50 makro, Samyang 8mm fisheye, Sigma 150 macro, 120-300 f/2.8 OS, Celestron 1325/13
Tinies: Sony HX9V.

Hi popo,

The kicker for me is the need to do a fresh install of the final release version. Shouldn't really have been a surprise but I'd been thinking of installing the RC on a new machine currently in construction. Now I think I'll stick with Vista for that one and maybe try the W7 RC on the machine it replaces once everything is transferred across.

The download went very smoothly this morning, although it was done at a time before most of North America was awake.

Bob.

_________________
OM-D E-M5 + ED 12-50mm, H-PS14042E, H-F007014E, L-RS014150E, M.ZUIKO DIGITAL 45mm 1:1.8.
Gitzo GT1541T, Arca-Swiss Z1 DP ball-head.
Astrophotography: TEC 140 'scope, FLI ML16803 camera, ASA DDM60 Pro mount.

Just got home... windows site definitely not what I'd consider fast responding now

edit: LOL! Getting about 30-40 kb/s. Estimated time 20 hours Think I'll check out the waddles while I wait...
edit2: since the original post, the 32 bit download is now on 26% and 64 bit download on 46%. Speed seems quite erratic. Now where did I put my blank DVDs?...

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Canon DSLRs: 7D, 5D2, 1D, 600D, 450D full spectrum, 300D IR mod
Lenses: EF 35/2, 50/1.8, 85/1.8, 135/2+SF, 28-80 V, 70-300L, 100-400L, TS-E 24/3.5L, MP-E 65, EF-S 15-85 IS
3rd party: Zeiss 2/50 makro, Samyang 8mm fisheye, Sigma 150 macro, 120-300 f/2.8 OS, Celestron 1325/13
Tinies: Sony HX9V.

I have installed the 64 bit version of the RC(got it down from the windows official site in about 10 mins)

The first thing I want to report: It has a monitor calibration software right under your right click
It installed swiftley and detected all my hardware corectly
My system: Athlon 64x2 5200+(2600mHz)
4 gb of DDR2 800
MSI K9N Neo V3
ATI 4850 512 MB
250GB + 160GB HDD
Samsung 2233SN
Logitech Comfort Cordless Set
5.1 Sound

I still have my vista x64 on o diffrent partition(my current work-horse with all the programs instaled).

Still testing the interface.Will report back as soon as I widen my view of it.
Happy testing folks!


EDIT: spelling errors.Sorry for my bad english...

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BDS Photo Blog
flickr
Nikon D90 | Nikon F-401s |Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 | Nikkor 50mm f/1.8 | Nikkor 70-300mm | Raynox DCR-250 | Nikon SB-600

The file I've downloaded is named:

7100.0.090421-1700_x86fre_client_en-us_retail_ultimate-grc1culfrer_en_dvd.iso


any ideas what "grc1culfrer" means?

[APPEND_EDIT]:
From someone named "BuzMack" on

http://forums.prophecy.co.za/f174/windo ... hed-66378/

Apparently it means:
"
No, the names are actually not arbitrary. Taking your one example:
GRC1CULFRER

Very basically it's broken down to this:
G.RC1.C.UL. .FRE.R

Written as individual fields for this example:
Field 1: G
Field 2: RC1
Field 3: C
Field 4: UL
Field 5: (blank)
Field 6: FRE
Field 7: R

Field 2: indicates which branch. RC1, Beta1 (B1) etc.
Field 3: C or S (client/server)
Field 4: what version (UL=ULtimate, HP=HomePremium, etc)
Field 5: architecture. x86 is blank. X64 gets an 'X'
Field 6: debug build or not (FRE/CHK)
Field 7: Retail or OEM (R/O)"
[/APPEND_EDIT]

The downloads finished last night but too late for me to start an install.

I threw a spare hard disk into my laptop, took the lot into work and it installed fairly fast, maybe 30 mins. Out of the box it didn't install drivers for wireless, graphics or sound, but it grabbed them off windows update and all seems to be working. Using it now! So far 9 GB of the hard disk is used.

My laptop isn't the newest either getting on for maybe 4 or 5 years now. It's an old Pentium M 1.5 GHz, 2 GB ram, 30 GB test hard disk, Radeon mobility 9700 gfx.

Even with the new drivers now in place it isn't running in full eye candy mode. Will have to see if it will or not, but I know the gfx on mine is very limited in ram which might not be enough to support it. Edit: I ran the windows rating thingy and got a score of 2 limited by aero graphics rating. Afterwards, eye candy mode was on.

Of course there's nothing other than the OS installed so far, but responsiveness is good. I'm not seeing any Vista-lag.

Argh! UAC is still as annoying as ever. It might appear less, but there still isn't any form of "always allow" button for specific actions other than turning it off globally.

_________________
Canon DSLRs: 7D, 5D2, 1D, 600D, 450D full spectrum, 300D IR mod
Lenses: EF 35/2, 50/1.8, 85/1.8, 135/2+SF, 28-80 V, 70-300L, 100-400L, TS-E 24/3.5L, MP-E 65, EF-S 15-85 IS
3rd party: Zeiss 2/50 makro, Samyang 8mm fisheye, Sigma 150 macro, 120-300 f/2.8 OS, Celestron 1325/13
Tinies: Sony HX9V.

Ok, i have just installed the RC 64 bit and so far i am impressed, i have installed it on a partition on my main PC.

Specs:
C2Q 8200 @ 2.33Ghz
3GB 800Mhz RAM
ATI 3650 GC with 256MB dedicated Video RAM
640GB 7200 rpm HDD

This is the first time i have used and installed a 64 Bit OS, so so far so good. Secondly i was VERY impressed with the installation time, as i timed the installation, from when i pressed the 'Install' Button,(after booting from the DVD), to getting to the screen when it asked for what User Name i wanted. That took just 16 Mins and 4 Secs, very impressive! Anyway so far the 64 Bit 7 install, seems more responsive than my other 32 Bit Vista install on the same machine, although i have nothing personal installed on the 7 OS. I am currently downloading a Trial Version of LR, to see how responsive it is.
Anyway i'll keep you posted as to how i get on!

_________________
Ed


Canon 40D + Grip | Sigma 10-20 EX | 17-85 | Sigma 70-200 f/2.8 EX II | 50 F/1.8 | 430 EX II + Other Stuff
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I wonder if some of the apparent snappyness may be due to lack of installed running applications, unlike what you have on your other partition's OS. Will be interesting to know if after Windows 7 has been "finely aged" if it bogs down just like past windows OSs.

I installed number 7 last night after vista began bitching again. I installed it in my number one computer (don't have any other one) so I cross my fingers, but first impressions are good

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www.pimvandevelde.com

windows 7 felt faster to me than a fresh vista install. (by fresh I mean truly fresh, not loaded with crudware from PC manufacturers)

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I take pictures so quickly, my highschool was "Continuous High".

I've installed this as a virtual machine in Vmware Fusion on my MacBook and it runs well. I've not had much time to compare it with XP running as a VM but will report back when I do.

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Nikon D80, Nikkor lenses: 35mm f1.8 G AF-S DX, 50mm f/1.8 AF D, 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5G ED-IF AF-S DX, 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G IF-ED AF-S VR, SB800 flash
My photos on SmugMug

Hi folks,

Beginning May 12th Microsoft will be pushing "fake updates" via the Windows Update facility. All they do is replace system files with exact copies. Some updates will install automatically, if automatic updates are enabled, while others will result in a prompt for the user to allow installation.

Bob.

_________________
OM-D E-M5 + ED 12-50mm, H-PS14042E, H-F007014E, L-RS014150E, M.ZUIKO DIGITAL 45mm 1:1.8.
Gitzo GT1541T, Arca-Swiss Z1 DP ball-head.
Astrophotography: TEC 140 'scope, FLI ML16803 camera, ASA DDM60 Pro mount.

Does it work with your calibration hardware straight out of the box? What calibration device are you using?

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PhilipGoh.com

I've taken a look at the monitor calibration in windows 7 but it's nothing of the sort like a datacolor spyder.
It just gives you a few images (white/black/gray scale ladders) and you are the one calibrating your monitor, it's not like it hooks up to some sort of hardware (for now) that looks at you monitor and interacts with the software.

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www.pimvandevelde.com