My work machine runs Ubuntu, as does my netbook. But my primary desktop is used mostly for games and web-browsing, so it tends to be in Windows. Chrome is currently my browser of choice when not developing (because I can start it, check my email and close it again in the time it takes Firefox to load). Microsoft sent me an email – along with most of the rest of the world – saying I could try the Windows 7 RC for free for a year, so I decided to give it a shot. Mostly because Windows 7 has DirectX 11, and I wanted to see if LOTRO‘s support was shiny.
Now, last time I attempted a Windows 7 install, it didn’t go so well. (This article contains occasional Naughty Words).
This time it worked perfectly. It installed cleanly, recognised all my hardware, and everything’s working fine. LOTRO found its DirectX 10 mode, and looks shinier, and the interface is snappy and responsive, and has stolen just enough from OS X to be shiny without being a ripoff. The “gadgets” bar is off by default, and it Just Works.
Which is a shame, because the other article was a lot more fun to write.