i wonder if I could get bootcamp to work on win2k.. hmm..
Yes, I'll do your tests, but I'll have to wait until my day off so I can record fps rate, boot times, etc. With the mac there's a little overhead on boot times, because it's own little weird firmware has to boot first..

Win2000 isn't still supported by MS right...?

Well, if consumers, especially the corporate ones, would stop supporting M$ and go for Linux or a less expensive alternative instead, we could be heading the right path
Unfortunately, unless terrorists shut down the entire world's network of computers, and cows change their diet of grass to pork, I don't see how this can happen anytime soon

yay, someone finally came up with one that uses graphs
xp v 7
http://kotaku.com/5139009/so-which-is-faster-xp-vista-or-windows-7
I'm still going to perform my own tests, because I'm interested in how it performs on macintosh hardware.

Personally I'm of the opinion that Microsoft will find new and inventive ways to slow down and cripple Win 7 before the final release, they've done it before. But I really hope I'm wrong.
Troll elsewhere.

Uhm... the 6-7 year break was probably the biggest factor that caused the Vista debacle. If you don't release often, people start using hacks and unstable APIs because they work on "every XP computer". And when you try to move on you'll find that you can't because a lot of people have their code tailored to the specific OS and suddenly you'll find yourself including half the old and hard to maintain stuff that you originally wanted to get rid of in order to make the system more secure and maintainable. Release often, release early: That's the lesson that I want to see MS to learn and 7 seems to be a step in the right direction.

i'm entering the beginning stages of testing, by getting all the required files for processing (ms-sql express is downloading now) I'll be honest with you, I'm not sure what to expect or what to do, you can find me on aim as weclock so hopefully you'll be able to assist, Tapewyrm.
I'm also downloading Bioshock and UTIII to use as benchmarks for games, I already have L4D installed.
I haven't switched over to 7 yet, I've got to collect the data on XP.
I might have figured out a way to get around formatting and installing 7 by just swapping hdds.. hehehe.. and if this is the case it will make my life a lot easier.

I'll install it today.

So, you guys, eh, anyone know how to get a ms sql server login? I uh, apparently need one before uh, I can install the trial version

You mean WIndows Live??? That's the onloy thing I had to sign up to get the download and I didin't see anything MSQL related when starting the install....

No, I got the download easy, but during the install it asks me to enter a user and pw.. I'm shocked

Are we using the same WIn7 ??? Never saw it in my install......It was just a very long install...of course I upgraded instead of doing a clean install...

I was referring to ms sql express.

My bad ..i thought you meant Win 7 in general. Sorry about that.

things I've noticed since the install:
1. internet connection is horrid.
now I know what you're thinking "check this, check that!" but this is more of a guide for people who want to try the free beta on their macbooks.
packet loss. lots of it. "windows cannot reach the website"
It's given me trouble with logging into steam, browsing in ie8 and etc. I certainly would have tried a different browser, but I ran across another problem.
I didn't have any packet loss that was noticeable before running win7.
2. Firefox is not recognized as a valid 32bit program
yerp, in win7 if you hit the dl link on the main firefox page, you're gonna be wasting your time. It's a box load of fail.
3. interface
its intuitive and very different from what we've ever seen from microsoft, and I actually do like it.
4. memory useage - idle, fresh after install, it uses only 680mb of memory, for the whole system. It's pretty good, for my dell running vista, I am using about 1.5 gigs at idle, even after removing bloat. running internet explorer with a good 7-8 tabs open has been pretty nice as well.
5. removed features
on vista, to go to your downloads folder, just click your goddamn user name. on win7, click your username, then click on the arrow closest to the end of the address bar, and then click your goddamn user name again. wtf microsoft, the tree was perfect before why did you ruin it?
anyway, I'll come up with the frames per second comparisons later, I'm having difficulty just getting the damn thing to work right now.
edit:
also wanted to mention base install size
10gigs is what it takes. dear lord.
I just want a platform to launch other programs god damn it.