Windows 7: Microsoft's Linux killer?

[soumya]

Linux has been making inroads into PC sales lately because it runs so well on lightweight netbooks with limited RAM and processing power. Windows 7, though, appears to run well on lightweight hardware as well, which could mean that it's Microsoft's Linux killer.

At the recent PDC, where Windows 7 was unveiled, Windows and Windows Live senior vice president Steve Sinofsky claimed that Windows 7 used less than half of the 1 GB of RAM on his Lenovo S10 netbook. Making the new operating system lightweight has clearly been Microsoft's goal. In addition to light RAM use, Windows also strips out a variety of applications, including Windows Mail, among others.

Of course, it's one thing for Sinofsky for claim Windows 7 runs on a netbook. But how does it work in real life? According to this review, Windows 7 pre-beta works well on an ASUS Eee PC 1000H with a 1.6 GHz Intel Atom processor and 1GB of RAM.

The writer found that Windows 7 uses 485MB of RAM. Despite that light RAM use she notes:

things are pretty smooth in terms of performance...in my use of the Eee PC 1000H for the entire evening I didn't have any hang ups while simultaneously chatting on Skype, writing this post in Wordpress, editing pictures in GIMP and uploading video files using Filezilla.

She did say, however, there were some problems with video playback. Keep in mind, though, that Windows 7 is pre-beta.

I expect Microsoft to push Windows 7 for netbooks hard. It's a tremendous growth area, and it's where Linux has been gaining traction. I wouldn't even be surprised to see a netbook-specific version designed for lower-powered processors and less RAM.

Given all that, Linux's growth in netbooks may be just a blip on the radar after Windows 7 is released.

Source

[Cool G5]

Linux killer.. Lol

It won't even stand a chance in front of Arch or Gentoo.

Maybe MS should call it Vista Killer, it seems more apt.

[ravi_9793]

and apple killer too.............

[CadCrazy]

Lol MVP banne ka ye matlab thori hai kuch bhi anab shanab bakte rahoge.

Linux FTW
Window$ FTL

[amitava82]

With less than 10% market share, let Linux live first then we can talk about killing it.

[Faun]

http://blogs.computerworld.com/user/preston_gralla

lol

[NIGHTMARE]

vista dustbin hai dekho yeh kaya banaya hai

[IronManForever]

I expect Microsoft to push Windows 7 for netbooks hard. It's a tremendous growth area, and it's where Linux has been gaining traction. I wouldn't even be surprised to see a netbook-specific version designed for lower-powered processors and less RAM.

Netbook-specific? Its already so low in requirements. (I hope things dont change for the worse in final release..) And if they are optimising it for a lower footprint, by the time it releases; Mobile phones should be able to run it..

Though yeah; Windows 7 does seem promising.

[Tech.Masti]

Thats better....

[chesss]

The writer found that Windows 7 uses 485MB of RAM (with no applications running

err my xp is using 340 mb with all applications(8-9) running . Ofcourse xp is pretty old now..
but I just don'tsee how 485mb idle usage is low...

[NucleusKore]

Originally Posted by soumya

The writer found that Windows 7 uses 485MB of RAM.

Ok, so that's the OS. What about installation of an antivirus and firewall which is mandatory if you want some peace of mind? How much RAM will be used then? The whole 1 GB I suppose?

And with third party apps? I see a 2 GB minimum RAM requirement here !

You can run your linux with built in firewall (idling) comfortably on 0.5 GB RAM

[IronManForever]

^^ But then again BY the time Windows 7 is out; it wont be a pain in teh ass to upgrade RAM. Because Vista requirements have raised the bar so much that Windows 7; despite being a 3 year newer OS to vista; will be featherweight to the hardware.

And I do not think that a good antivirus + Firewall will take more than 100 MB RAM. I have 1 GB RAM and AVG Free + Comodo Firewall. And the AV takes around 20 MB ram during idle. The firewall manages at 10. And I doubt that it would increase to even a total of hundred while background scanning.
Also I have Opera 9.61 running with 7 tabs of the forum open in 1 window, 3 tabs of CNET.com in another window and bbc.co.uk 5 tabs in 3rd window. And the RAM usage is just 73.6 MB.

And Windows 7 is taking 485 out of 1 GB because there is FREE ram, its just utilising it while its Free. If programs ask for ram, there are a lot many un-essential parts of the OS that can be offloaded.

[chandru.in]

There was a time when people used to tell different Linux distributions were potential Windows killers.

Now here is an article which says Windows is a gonna be a potential Linux killer. Anyone noticed how fast the world has changed?

Also, development has just started. From what I see in screenshots and read on sites, current state of Windows 7 desktop is greatly incomplete. Let's look back at its performance after its final release with all apps (as in Linux netbooks) loaded and other Windows specific resource hogs like an anti-virus which on-access scans and scheduled full-system scans. Even my XP system at office dies when the scheduled AV scans start.

Ah... after all it is posted by Windows' books author and posted here by an MVP. How will they have time to analyse such real-world facts?

Note: Though Ubuntu 8.10 is just a small evolution from 8.04 (unlike Windows 7 which sounds like total re-make of Vista), the RAM requirements have gone down by a notch in release notes.

[tuxybuzz]

VISTA Killer is definitely more appropriate..but linux KILLER..lol!!

[MetalheadGautham]

Linux killer ? Lolz, what kills windows is the volume of windows users who are n00bs. N00b windows users outnumber pro windows users with a magnitude such that if the whole of India is full of windows n00bs, only the whole of south africa is full of sensible (or above) grade windows users.

For example, I know this girl who users windows for 2 hours every day, and tried to press the monitor button to restart windows

Luckily, linux is complicated enough to be n00b proof (though ubuntu is changing all that, but then, you can always migrate over to archlinux like I did ) so that no user does something silly like download random shell scripts off the net and execute them with sudo, nor do we have each and every software distributed with installers which are in the form of shell scripts which HAVE to be run as root.

[desiibond]

guys, stop creating overhype out of the demo given by MS.

If you think that running it on netbook makes it linux killer, take a break.

Price: a netbook with windows 7 will cost lot more than one with linux
review: All that we saw is demo from MS and not review in tech sites. So, don't come to a conclusion
Don't get too much into the demo. Media created too much hype around Vista OS initially and then started doing too much -ve publicity. So, chill out and stop creating assumptions out of thin air.

[gxsaurav]

Originally Posted by NucleusKore

Ok, so that's the OS. What about installation of an antivirus and firewall which is mandatory if you want some peace of mind? How much RAM will be used then? The whole 1 GB I suppose?

No. You are wrong.

If you install 3rd party apps like Firefox/Pidgin/openoffice then the system requirement of Linux also shoots up.

You can run your linux with built in firewall (idling) comfortably on 0.5 GB RAM

You can run Windows XP same way on 256 MB RAM & Vista same way even at 512 MB RAM.

And Windows 7 is taking 485 out of 1 GB because there is FREE ram, its just utilising it while its Free. If programs ask for ram, there are a lot many un-essential parts of the OS that can be offloaded.

Yes, it is called prefatch. Keep in mind that the current builds shown are full of beta & debug code which result in memory leeks

[chandru.in]

Originally Posted by gxsaurav

If you install 3rd party apps like Firefox/Pidgin/openoffice then the system requirement of Linux also shoots up.

Every netbook I read about comes with these and still perform very well on low RAM. Also these apps are different from AV which Nucleus was telling about. An AV runs always but these apps run only when user starts them.

Originally Posted by gxsaurav

You can run Windows XP same way on 256 MB RAM & Vista same way even at 512 MB RAM.

No it is not the same way. Say I run a Linux system with no AV and an idling Firewall. Now my friend brings a USB key in which there is a document he downloaded from his mail in a neighborhood browsing center or from another friend of his. I can happily plug the device and copy the file without worrying abt malware. Can I do that on Windows Vista (don't even imagine XP), if I have no AV?

Originally Posted by gxsaurav

Yes, it is called prefatch. Keep in mind that the current builds shown are full of beta & debug code which result in memory leeks

I agree with you there. But it also is incomplete, which means there will be more upcoming features which will hog resources too. So it is too early to call Windows 7 a light OS and calling it a Linux killer is a joke for sure.

[MetalheadGautham]

Originally Posted by gxsaurav

No. You are wrong.

If you install 3rd party apps like Firefox/Pidgin/openoffice then the system requirement of Linux also shoots up.

No, YOU are wrong. I installed all of the above and more and I am working comfortably on my 256MB RAM.

[thewisecrab]

Originally Posted by chandru.in

There was a time when people used to tell different Linux distributions were potential Windows killers.

Now here is an article which says Windows is a gonna be a potential Linux killer. Anyone noticed how fast the world has changed?

Great Find...looks like MS have acknowledged the spread of Linux and are FINALLY willing to do something about it.

Originally Posted by MetalheadGautham

For example, I know this girl who users windows for 2 hours every day, and tried to press the monitor button to restart windows

LOL

[gxsaurav]

Originally Posted by chandru.in

Every netbook I read about comes with these and still perform very well on low RAM. Also these apps are different from AV which Nucleus was telling about. An AV runs always but these apps run only when user starts them.

I agree that linux runs better then Vista on netbooks & Vista needs 1.5GB+ RAM to run nicely, but using this philosophy to say Windows 7 will still run slow is wrong.

No it is not the same way. Say I run a Linux system with no AV and an idling Firewall. Now my friend brings a USB key in which there is a document he downloaded from his mail in a neighborhood browsing center or from another friend of his. I can happily plug the device and copy the file without worrying abt malware. Can I do that on Windows Vista (don't even imagine XP), if I have no AV?

Yup. With UAC turned on in Vista SP1 by default, if the Malware tries to run in the form of a CMD or Exe or Bat file, it will notify you first & then it will allow it to run.

I agree with you there. But it also is incomplete, which means there will be more upcoming features which will hog resources too. So it is too early to call Windows 7 a light OS and calling it a Linux killer is a joke for sure.

It goes both way. Like I said long back that Windows 7 is nothing but optimised Vista with new features, RAM requirments can go low as well as high, so saying that Windows 7 can't kill Linux is also wrong.

[MetalheadGautham]

Originally Posted by gxsaurav

It goes both way. Like I said long back that Windows 7 is nothing but optimised Vista with new features, RAM requirments can go low as well as high, so saying that Windows 7 can't kill Linux is also wrong.

Saying either windows can kill linux or linux can kill windows is just dumb from the PoV of a guy with working brains. Statements like those are for the dumb brain damage infested sections of the media which seek to gain popularity by using extreme language and double superlatives and exaggeration.

I am sure that people like you and me know, that even if linux gains 90% market share, you will continue using windows and me linux, and the same holds true even if linux market share drops to 0.01%.

[alter_ego]

You know why its called Window$ 7 because it will (Window$) $uck record seventh time!!!!!!!!

[chandru.in]

Originally Posted by gxsaurav

Yup. With UAC turned on in Vista SP1 by default, if the Malware tries to run in the form of a CMD or Exe or Bat file, it will notify you first & then it will allow it to run.

If I have understood UAC right, it warns me for everything. Be it a genuine software or a malware. For example, when I tried to install avast AV on a friends Vista lappy even then Vista warned. So basically users will just accept any warning Vista shows without thinking twice. You have to agree on this given your attention towards UX. The fact that the world has several virus infected Vista PCs is the proof of my statement.

[MetalheadGautham]

Offtopic: NOW I understood what intel might have been thinking with Core i7. Could it be an imitation of AMD's old time stratagy with Athlon XP ? To name similar to the next generation windows ?

[Abhishek Dwivedi]

Originally Posted by soumya

The writer found that Windows 7 uses 485MB of RAM. Despite that light RAM use she notes:

485MB is utilized only by the OS for the OS ()...u need more of Applications...now that means a minimum of 2Gigs of RAM for a smooth computing...

[FilledVoid]

With less than 10% market share, let Linux live first then we can talk about killing it.

Linux has always had pretty much the same market share. If a product with a mere sub 10% invoked a blogger to write a "Linux killer" post then trust me when i say that Linux is alive enough to cause some interest in the population.

I'm not going to judge Windows 7 without trying it . I hope Microsoft builds something worth my money. Anyway I prefer not to continue on since the thread is obviously flame bait which the op usually does for giggles.

[Faun]

lolutriestoexplaininvain!

[hellknight]

This kinda hype always happen when a new OS from Microsoft is in development..
@Metal.. i know a girl who is doing CS Engg. with me.. and when i asked which web browser do you use she said, "Web Browser??".. then i said what do you use for Orkut, then she said "Oh!!.. I use E!!"

[FilledVoid]

lolutriestoexplaininvain!

Lol. Theres nothing to explain . Each time someone comes out with a product media quote it as its competitions killer. Some people thrive on the ad hype and try to blow it into a fist fight while watching on the sidelines. This forum is notorious for it. Even if Windows 9998765 comes out, guess what Linux its still going be there . Otherwise let me know when it happens. The rest is moot.

Now to add to the amusement of the thread.

Oh noes. My linux going to Be killed by Win 7 . Oh woes.