I guess I was getting spoiled.

I was so used to blinding speeds on the Internet due to a great broadband connection that I had forgotten how slow a major download and installation can take.

Yesterday, I decided to see what all the hub bub was about with Windows 7.  I put the word out on Twitter to see if anyone would tell me to stop.  To the contrary, I got quite a few responses that Windows 7 was the best thing since sliced bread.  The Mac users, of course, had a different take.

But I digress.

So, I went to the Microsoft Windows 7 website and did my compatibility test (downloaded their compatibility advisor) and ran it.  I had to uninstall a few things that Windows 7 wouldn’t like but that was OK with me. I didn’t need ‘em anyway. Then I went to purchase the product which is fodder for another blog post.

The Download Begins

The download started and all seemed to go well…until it didn’t.  It got hung up and eventually timed out.  I logged completely out of the browser (Internet Explorer only!) and re-launched it and went back through the labyrinth to the page the product was one and started again.  This time, it seemed to work.  Although it took a looong time to download.  Then it came time for the installation.

Installation took almost two hours.  To be fair, the message at the beginning of the installation said it might take “several hours but in this age of blinding speeds and all, I really didn’t believe it.  I was wrong not to.  It poked and poked along hanging up every now and then and then pushing forward with the continued installation.  It restarted a couple of times and then, voila, it was done.

The Final Product

Even after all was said and done and Windows 7 was completely downloaded and installed, it still had a couple of little quirks.  The desktop wallpaper was the Microsoft logo, which is to be expected, but it’s ugly as sin.  The choices for different wall paper are few.  But I had to choose something else. So I did.  The taskbar along the bottom of the scree was “always on top” which mad using the Internet or any other program a little difficult to do.

Luckily, there was someone on Twitter that was able to help me work through a couple of the “default” settings in Windows 7 and now it seems to be a little more usable. Still there are parts of the aesthetics that I’m not overly thrilled with.  I guess the functionality and the stability that everyone is gushing about will more than make up for it.

In any case, for right now, I only have it on my laptop.  I may wait a tad longer before I upgrade my desktop and then I might actually go out and by a CD from Costco or someplace similar so I don’t have to sit around forever waiting for the thing to load.