Windows 10 vs Windows 7
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So all opinions on 7 and 10 aside, here are two things you need to know, especially as an Apple guy not steeped in the Windows world.....
(Two posts coming.)
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@WrCombs said in Windows 10 vs Windows 7:
everyone here hates Windows 10 like the plague, but I love it. To me, It's simple and easy to use.
I don't hate it, but the longer I've been a Windows user, I've become more interested in other options.
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I prefer 10, but it's honestly due to little things that I like better.
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Windows 7 is a version of Windows/NT (preceded by Windows Vista, followed by Windows 8, then 8.1)
Windows 10 is a rebranding of Windows/NT. It is not a version of Windows, but the name of the product family.
This is identical (even in the number used) to what macOS did after macOS 9. They renamed it Mac OSX (10 was in the name, and was not the version number) and versions started over.
Windows 10 has version numbers similar to Ubuntu, so 1709, 1803, and 1809 as examples.
So current Windows 10 1809 is solidly into its lifespan with the next version due in just four months, and is something like six or seven releases after Windows 7, not three like it seems. It's a big gap between the two.
Windows 7 is the desktop version of Server 2008 R2. So was released in 2010 and is ancient by software standards.
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@EddieJennings said in Windows 10 vs Windows 7:
@WrCombs said in Windows 10 vs Windows 7:
everyone here hates Windows 10 like the plague, but I love it. To me, It's simple and easy to use.
I don't hate it, but the longer I've been a Windows user, I've become more interested in other options.
Fair enough, I did mean at the office (work), I've always seen mixed reviews on Win10 in ML.
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I'm trying to not care about the OS at all. Just like on the phones - who gives a shit? As long as the OS doesn't get in the way of your work, whatever. That said - learning the basics of moving around in each definitely requires time and patience.
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Like it or hate it, Windows 7 is old. Ancient. It's a popular "mid stream" stop on the Windows timeline. But Windows 7 and 1809 are not "different systems", one is just the fully updated version of the other. Intentionally deploying a nine year old OS "snapshot in time" borders on insanity. It's not that it is a bad system, it is that it is nine years old, has not had major updates in forever, will increasingly have support issues with new software (it's only a few years ahead of XP!!) and is about to go completely out of support making it move from insanity to unthinkable.
We are at a point where running Windows 7 for "special cases that can't be upgraded" should cause eye rolls and IT concern. IT should really never even consider putting it out intentionally.
For people who prefer Windows 7 to 10, that's fine. We all have our preferences. I prefer NT 4 Workstation. But I can't deploy that, that's crazy. Using Windows, or any OS, means using it properly. You can't stay on ancient versions and refuse to keep up, that's not viable with software.
You can stall on updates a little, while old versions are supported; while training, application support and other issues are verified. But that's about it. Past that, staying back just adds issues. It makes updates harder, it creates risk, it increases training costs and the pain of updates. It's bad in so many ways, many ways we don't anticipate.
So viewing this from a "what users like" perspective doesn't make sense. That makes sense when comparing Windows and Mac, not releases of those individually. If you don't like Windows 10 1809 (I don't), then your alternatives are macOS, Ubuntu, Fedora, etc. Not older versions of Windows.
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@Dashrender said in Windows 10 vs Windows 7:
I'm trying to not care about the OS at all. Just like on the phones - who gives a shit? As long as the OS doesn't get in the way of your work, whatever. That said - learning the basics of moving around in each definitely requires time and patience.
That's why a lot of us dislike Windows 10. So much "getting in the way."
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@EddieJennings said in Windows 10 vs Windows 7:
@WrCombs said in Windows 10 vs Windows 7:
everyone here hates Windows 10 like the plague, but I love it. To me, It's simple and easy to use.
I don't hate it, but the longer I've been a Windows user, I've become more interested in other options.
"The more you use Windows, the more you want to stop using Windows."
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well, you upgraded late, so most weird stuff got fixed. That said you dont have choice anymore, its not like you can
install Windows 7 on ryzen or latest intel CPU due to rare circumstance of chipset incompatibility according to MS that we have to take very seriously, something about USB drivers not being able to work on Windows 7 and MS wont provide the drivers for Win 7, cause it is very bad and outdated system, and you need to jump on Windows 10.
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That said, if your users really prefer Windows 7, likely this is interface related.
Consider getting a replacement shell for Windows 10 that makes it look like 7. Often that is all that they mean.
Or, if you have the flexibility, check out either Fedora with Cinnamon, or Mint Cinnamon for a Windows 7 like experience, but modern.
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From an IT Pro perspective the problems with Win 10 generally seem to be that they've pooched many many updates and a lot of the scripting / automation that was working wonderfully in Win 7 appears to have been broken for no good reason.
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We're flipping all of our clients over to Windows 10. It's a lot easier to maintain patch wise though the recent move to split-out .NET gives us a bit more complexity.
Whether Win7 or Win10 it's important to disable SMBv1. The following is PowerShell:
# Disable on Windows 10 Disable-WindowsOptionalFeature -Online -FeatureName smb1protocol -Restart # Check Get-WindowsOptionalFeature –Online –FeatureName SMB1Protocol # Check and Disable on Windows 7 Get-Item HKLM:\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\LanmanServer\Parameters | ForEach-Object {Get-ItemProperty $_.pspath} # Disable SMBv1 on Windows 7 Set-ItemProperty -Path "HKLM:\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\LanmanServer\Parameters" SMB1 -Type DWORD -Value 0 –Force Restart-Computer # Disable on Windows Server 2012 RTM # Check Get-SmbServerConfiguration | Select EnableSMB1Protocol # Disable Set-SmbServerConfiguration -EnableSMB1Protocol $false -Confirm:$False -
Weve got lingering Windows 7. But all new installs are 10. Big migration from 7 to 1903 planned for June.
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I prefer the previous update method, and not the windows as a service updates.....every time it makes me want to bang my head against a wall... The start menu is better in windows 7, although task manager and copy progress are a lot better in windows 10..
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I like both when they are running has a VM guest on my Fedora Workstation.:grinning_face_with_smiling_eyes:
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As said, there is not much of a choice for new installs. You're either running Windows 10 or you're not running Windows.
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I think there are pros and cons to each.
Patching has degraded on both, so there isn't a clear distinction on one being more stable when it comes to patching.
There are definitely better/more modern features in 10, but some of the stuff that I use take more clicks to access than it used to. They are hiding things that average people don't use, but I wish there were a setting or mode that would allow me to pick to bring those now hidden features to the foreground.
Windows 10 is faster on the same hardware, in my experience.
Customizing it is kind of a pain for administrators. Using xml files for customizing the start menu, task bar, etc is not super reliable.
In 1703 (maybe later versions, too), when you have a laptop with its lid closed, the start menu doesn't scale and is super tiny and cut off in certain sections. Pretty much unusable. -
@scottalanmiller said in Windows 10 vs Windows 7:
@EddieJennings said in Windows 10 vs Windows 7:
@WrCombs said in Windows 10 vs Windows 7:
everyone here hates Windows 10 like the plague, but I love it. To me, It's simple and easy to use.
I don't hate it, but the longer I've been a Windows user, I've become more interested in other options.
"The more you use Windows, the more you want to stop using Windows."
I dual booted Xubuntu recently, and wanted to full switch in light of new STEAM proton API, which is amazing it makes all games on steam for windows magically work on Linux, just make sure to download and choose latest BETA proton api.
The bad news, while the API works, and fixes the game. Most modern games come with proprietary anti-cheat engine, and that simply does not allow the game to play on multiplayer.
So I either need to change my games . or do Graphic card pass through which is too much of hassle even for tinkerer like me. However having said that I should stop wasting my time with games...
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@scottalanmiller said in Windows 10 vs Windows 7:
That said, if your users really prefer Windows 7, likely this is interface related.
Consider getting a replacement shell for Windows 10 that makes it look like 7. Often that is all that they mean.
Or, if you have the flexibility, check out either Fedora with Cinnamon, or Mint Cinnamon for a Windows 7 like experience, but modern.
Classic Shell
