Is Windows 7 ready for release now?
link: original article - section: windows
Earlier today, I read about the latest leaked build of Windows 7 to appear on BitTorrent. The text on the desktop suggests that build 7057 is part of the release candidate branch.
With the exception of some new wallpapers and default account pictures, it appears to be mostly unchanged from build 7048, which means most of the RC changes are checked in, and it’s now crunch time in Redmond.
Adrian has already reported on the impressive performance of this build Windows 7, even compared to XP. So how does it stack up in terms of reliability? That question is much harder to answer with hard data, but I can offer anecdotal evidence. I installed Windows 7 build 7048 on a Dell XPS 420 one week ago, and after a few hours of road testing decided to begin using it as my main production system. (I’ll have some more notes on that process later.)
So how’s that working out?
Shockingly well. In fact, this system could be the poster child for how Windows 7 should behave when it’s finally released. Here, see for yourself.
System uptime is currently approaching 72 hours (that includes several overnight sessions when the system was in sleep mode). Here’s the overview from Task Manager.
Reliability Monitor notes one program crash per day on March 8, 9, and 10, one each for Windows Explorer, Internet Explorer, and the Microsoft Windows Search Filter. In each case the program recovered without losing any data or affecting other apps. In the case of IE, for example, a single tab crashed and auto-recovered; if I had blinked, I might have missed it.
