So I had to try it out, so I also wanted to see what the Windows Experience would tell me and here is the previous run on Fusion 2.

Unfortunately when running Fusion 3 I was unable to do the diagnostic as it kept crashing when trying to test the Graphics capabilities, so I was even more surprised about the results that I got from Parallels 5.

Now as you can see the Processor rating has actually gone down, but I am actually not to worried about that. Meaning I am sure that has more to do with external variables. Anyway look at the Graphics performance.

Now graphics performance is nice, but as a coder that is not really what I think is important is how responsive my Visual Studio IDE is and I have to say it does feel quit a bit faster then in Fusion 3 and I also really like how it integrates with my Mac. I am also happy to say that the conversion from my Fusion image to the Parallels image went without any problems, it did take about an hour do. So for me this is my new virtual platform, at least for now.

This can be a favorite move of vendors who give away thumb drives at conferences as swag. They want to launch their little demo app or whatever when you plug in the drive.

It can be very annoying.

I am trying to create a Win7 install thumb drive for my wife’s netbook and I have a great 4G thumb drive to hold the media. Unfortunately, my thumb drive had this U3 stuff on it and won’t work as a boot disc as long as that pesky software is on it.

The simple answer is this little utility: U3Uninstall.exe. After running this utility on the thumb drive I have a plain ole storage drive I can use as a Win7 bootable install disc.

First there was Windows Server 2003.  And then in 2005, Microsoft released something of a super-service-pack with new functionality, patches, and other stuff.  It was much more than a regular service pack, full of optional components that shipped on a 2nd CD.  So, it was name “Windows Server 2003 R2.”  But underneath, it’s still Windows Server 2003 at the core.

You might think that Windows Server 2008 R2 follows the same naming convention.  But you’d be wrong.

Windows Server 2008 R2 is not “Windows Server 2008 + More Good Stuff,” it’s actually much more like “Windows 7 – Server Edition.”  The core is a different (though of course related) operating system. 

Why did Microsoft do this?  I’m sure they have good reasons… investment in the Windows 2008 ‘brand,’ major/minor naming schedules, and so on. 

I’m sure that Windows 2008 R2 is a wonderful operating system.  Windows 7 seems pretty nice, after all.  But, don’t be fooled by the name and think that upgrading from Windows 2008 to Windows 2008 R2 is no big deal, its a full blown OS upgrade. 

This past weekend, I decided to upgrade my work laptop from Vista Enterprise to Windows 7 Ultimate Beta. I was unable to upgrade from Vista Enterprise to 7 Ultimate because that action is not supported. I then tried to upgrade from Enterprise to 7 Enterprise, but I was unable to upgrade from a staged build to a non-staged build. I decided to repave entirely, choosing Windows 7 Ultimate Beta, and I tried to do all of this on a Friday afternoon, two hours before leaving.

I installed Windows 7 Beta Checked Build (x86) – DVD (English), last updated on January 14, 2009,  from my MSDN subscription. I did not install an internal build. Instead, I decided to go with what is publicly available via MSDN.

Why did I go with a Checked Build? Because I failed to read the details describing it. What it cost me in time and frustration, I gain in valuable learning experiences. So it was not a total loss. I received a number of buggy issues with the checked build, mainly the inability for Windows Update to properly download all of my necessary updates, including my video drivers and smart card reader, where the latter enables me to remotely access my work domain.

I gave up and decided to download and install the Windows 7 Beta – DVD (English). Everything works great. I was able to get online, download all of my updates, and connect to my work domain. No issues found so far, and no annoying assertion error popups.

My favorite Windows 7 feature so far (non-UI related) is that PowerShell 2.0 is installed by default. PowerShell 2.0 provides more functionality for remoting, among other enhancements.