Windows 7 beta ISO the hottest download on the net?

Filed under: OS Updates, Microsoft, Beta

Windows 7 beta ISO the hottest download on the net?

by Lee Mathews Dec 29th 2008

Since its initial leak a few days ago, the torrents for Windows 7 build 7000 have become more numerous - and extremely healthy.

Pirate Bay's now has more than 5,500 seeders and more than twice that number leeching. Mininova's top two torrents have almost 6,000 seeders and 17,000 leechers.

While they're likely a little concerned with how quickly the leaked image appeared on the net, Microsoft has to be pleased about the buzz generated so far.

I can almost picture Steve Ballmer rubbing his hands together and muttering "Exxxxxxxxcellent."

After running it for a few days, I've noticed a few "beta" issues. The most bothersome so far are incompatibility and instability issues with certain applications - for example Skype and (quite surprisingly) Microsoft's own Office 2007.

Sure, this is still a beta, but you'd think that running a key business application like Office is something that would be trouble-free by this point. Paul Thurrott has also noted issues with Office on his blog.

Check out this gallery of Windows 7 hands-on:

Gallery: Windows 7 Hands On

And the Windows 7 PC Safeguard:

Gallery: Windows 7 PC Safeguard

Tags: torrent, win7, windows-7

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

mvp said 2:23PM on 12-29-2008

I took a stab at it for a few days and am slightly satisfied. I had no trouble with installation except for a stubborn partition that was easy to clear up and all my drivers installed flawlessly. Everything seemed to run straight out of the box er torrent. I had no trouble with the installation of any major applications, however have yet to test out gaming capabilities (which will be the most important to me). Overall I surprised with how well everything ran, but being somewhat tight with money, I never had any real one-on-one use with vista, so all my comparisons were made to xp. If there was one thing I would change it would be to tone down the flashiness. To me the black/blue royal noire theme for xp is the best looking thing out there and the simplest to use.

Rohit Kapur said 3:06PM on 12-29-2008

Hey Lee, could you elaborate on what you mean by Skype incompatibilities?

I remember way back when I installed Vista's beta. Skype was incompatible with that too.

I was considering trying out Windows 7. But incompatibility with Skype is a deal-breaker.

So. . . A little more info?

El Taco said 3:26PM on 12-29-2008

Questions:

Do I need a beta key? If so, how do I get one?

Does it need to be burned onto a DVD, or is it small enough for a CD?

mvp said 3:42PM on 12-29-2008

For the beta-key, nah just hit the next button or w/e and it will allow you through, at least that's what i did.

As for its size, its in the gig-range so will definitely need a dvd. I think the linux's of the world are the only ones left that can be installed via cd anymore.

Matias Korhonen said 3:43PM on 12-29-2008

Out of curiosity I installed it on a virtual machine in VirtualBox, on my Arch Linux laptop. The additions work fine as long as you run the installer in the Vista compatability mode.

Brian said 6:06PM on 12-29-2008

I would download it but all the torrents are slow due to a crap load of leechers err...leeching off it.

mvp said 12:52AM on 12-30-2008

I downloaded it when download squad first made note of it a few days ago and got excellent speed of close to MB/s. Just good ol pirate bay for me.

Nathan said 9:21PM on 12-29-2008

Ive been using the PDC Alpha 6801 and its ran flawlessly for me.
Drivers installed no problem (if the installation media didnt have them, Windows Update did) This was a big step....back in the vista alpha/beta days, drivers were hard to come by if nonexistent. so this was nice.
As for gaming, i played Prey, World of Warcraft, and a plethora of other system intensive games on it and it ran, again, flawlessly.
My system specs are somewhat meager to what people are running typically these days. Its only a p4 3.4ghz with 2 gb of ram and a Geforce 9500. Nothing super special --or expensive. 7 is purportedly designed to run on lesser hardware from the getgo, and from this install, it runs great.
Ive also got it running on my old laptop. a 1.7ghz Centrino with 1 gb of ram (this was my vista beta test machine, and even throughout the RTM versions of vista, it sucked BIG TIME!) In just a couple days of using seven, ive converted 4 of my 8 machines to it. --ITS THAT GOOD!
Its stable, no issues here. i ran the bluebadge hack on 6801 to unlock the superbar, and man was i surprised. its the biggest update to the way you manage your windows since windows95. its simple and super efficient. i like that.
Another neat feature i like is that i can now burn ISO's through windows. just double click the iso and hit burn. no more nero or alcohol just for isos.
As for the above issues with skype and office? i use skype and office simultaneously every single day and have not experienced this, nor have i needed to use the compatibility tab for anything. Could just be a fluke.

Its true this is a tweaked version of vista, think of it as its trimmed down cousin. its lean, mean, and FAST. even on older hardware.

So far i am completely satisfied using this OS on a daily basis.
After using vista for so long and putting up with the blood associated with being on its bleeding edge, its nice to have an alpha os that beats an RTM one hands down --from the same company no less. Seems like redmond has seen the light.
But dont take my word for it, go get the beta and see for yourself!

Brent Schmidt said 10:33PM on 12-29-2008

I was using Microsoft Office 2007 just hours ago... works fine for me. Skype too... might wanna try running it as a Windows Vista or XP program using the Compatibility tab thing in the Properties.

Only problem I've had is the screen gets glitchy, but that's only happened maybe three times and for only a second or two. Just closed the windows i had going and it went away.

Also, I'm able to play RollerCoaster Tycoon 1 & 2 for the first time since I had XP, as Vista's compatibility tab thing apparently sucked and didn't wanna play well, lol. So yeah, psyched on that.

Can't wait for the actual release as I'm no doubt going to get it day of.

Ryan said 12:02AM on 12-30-2008

This one has a ton of seeds but the tracker doesnt work so people dont know and as a result less leechers! I downloaded my copy in less than an hour!

http://www.mininova.org/tor/2128333

jsmorley said 3:08AM on 12-30-2008

Don't understand torrent much do you? ;-) More leechers is only faster, never slower.

Almo said 5:03AM on 12-30-2008

Seems you don't understand the dynamic of torrents. More seeders gains you speed, heavy leeching reduces it overall, even including the seeding while leeching phase.

Jitaroo said 6:50AM on 12-30-2008

@Almo, just cap your up speed.

Jon said 9:17AM on 12-30-2008

Where is a 64x leak Arghhhh

xpherion said 10:44AM on 12-30-2008

I am using windows 7 for couple days. Everything seems to be working good. Only problem I have seen so far is IE8 crashing. I will try office 2007. Firefox works good.

Neil Neil Orangepeel said 10:54AM on 1-05-2009

I thought it was pretty samey.

Didn't do anything, or look much if at all, different to Vista.

Featured Time Waster

Civiballs is a beautiful, soothing physics puzzle Time Waster

I have an absolute weakness for physics games, and while Civiballs isn't the strongest physics-based game, what it lacks in the physics department it makes up for a few times over in style and fun.

In Civiballs, you are presented with a few colored balls, and your goal is to get those balls into the same-colored urn on the level. The "civi" part of Civiballs is that there are 3 sets of levels to play, each representing a different civilization. While the civilization doesn't affect gameplay, the artwork for each level is beautifully themed to it's appropriate era.

To play the game, you are given only one tool - a sword with which to cut the chains that are holding the balls. The puzzle part of the game is in figuring out what order, and with what timing to cut each chain. Do it right, and all the right balls end up in the right urns, with no stray balls entering an urn (a no-no). Do it wrong, and you get to start over again.

Civiballs is not terribly deep on gameplay; the entire game can be completed in about 15 minutes. But if you enjoy this type of game, it will be a very enjoyable 15 minutes.

View more Time Wasters