Windows 7 Beta

You probably won’t be surprised to learn that I’ve downloaded the beta of Microsoft’s upcoming successor to Vista, currently known as Windows 7. Originally, Microsoft’s plan was to limit the download to the first 25 million people who visited the web page, but because of demand, they relented and extended the download programme. However, they will definitely be pulling the plug after February 12th, so if you haven’t got the beta, and still want to try it out, you’d better get moving.

 

I’ve installed the Beta on my Tablet PC (an HP TX2000), since this is my secondary machine, and not my "production" machine. Windows 7 is a Beta, after all. Still, I’ve been pleasantly surprised at how solid this first Beta is. It feels far more "finished" than Vista ever did at the equivalent stage of its development cycle. The only problem I’m seeing on my Tablet PC is that the Touchscreen driver is not working. However, the Pen driver is, so I can still use all of the Tablet functions.

 

Update: I’ve now got the Touchscreen functions working. I downloaded the driver from the HP web site and reinstalled it…