Beta Testers Look At New Win 7 OS

By Andy Golub and Mike Wrobel

The anticipation surrounding Microsoft's new Windows 7 operating system seems to be swelling in direct proportion to the frustration of current Vista users.

But can the new software live up to its hype, or will it prove another Microsoft letdown? To find out ChangeWave surveyed 68 Windows 7 beta testers between February 9 and 17. Here's what we found:

Early Satisfaction Ratings

First, when beta testers were asked how satisfied they were with Windows 7 the results were encouraging – particularly compared to the early satisfaction readings for Vista.

Better than two-in-five respondents (44%) said their company was Very Satisfied with the new Windows 7 product. In comparison, back in a February 2007 ChangeWave survey soon after Vista's release, only 10% said they were Very Satisfied.



Next, we asked respondents to name their specific likes and dislikes for the Windows 7 OS.

Significant improvements were cited in performance and speed. As one respondent put it, "The new software is quick to install, and picked up all of the correct drivers." Another noted that it "Takes less memory and boots faster, and reminds me of a new XP."

Others cited the product's user-friendliness and functionality. "It has a clean interface, and commonly used menus are more accessible," wrote one beta tester. "The desktop is cleaner," said another, "and the OS can be customized with whatever services you want to run."

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There were also some gripes, with respondents primarily complaining about Windows 7's instability and incompatibility with older software and hardware – a familiar complaint for a new OS.

"A little unstable when using non-Microsoft applications," wrote one respondent. Another complained about how "Internet Explorer 8.0 beta has been crashing regularly." Still others felt Windows 7 was too much like Vista – slow and inefficient, with one grumbling "Windows 7 performance isn't any better than Vista – and that's disconcerting."

Waiting for Windows 7

In the same survey we also asked 2,000 corporate IT buyers about their company upgrade plans, and more than half (53%) said they plan to skip Vista altogether while just 15% said they are still going ahead with a Vista rollout.



In yet another finding, 14% said their company is already deferring at least some of their PC and server purchases to wait for Windows 7.

The Bottom Line

The Windows 7 beta has so far received a much warmer reception than Vista.

Of course, beta testers tend to be hard-core techies and the ultimate test is how satisfaction holds up when mainstream users get their hands on the new software.

Importantly, Microsoft should remember Windows 7 isn't the only game in town.

Back in a February 2008 ChangeWave corporate IT spending survey, Apple's Mac OS Leopard system received a 53% Very Satisfied rating from users – 9-pts higher than the new Windows 7 gets currently.

Click here to check out more of the latest ChangeWave research findings.

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The ChangeWave Alliance Research Network is a group of 20,000 highly qualified business, technology and medical professionals -- as well as early adopter consumers -- who work in leading companies of select industries. ChangeWave surveys its network members weekly on a range of business and consumer topics, and converts the information into a series of proprietary quantitative and qualitative reports.

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