Recently in Microsoft Category

I'm as much of a Microsoft fanboy as the next, but this recent email to Windows 7 RC users put me off a bit:

It's time to upgrade from the Windows 7 Release Candidate

While most people who tested Windows 7 have now moved to the final version, some are still running the Release Candidate. If you haven't moved yet, it's time to replace the RC.

Starting on March 1, 2010 your PC will begin shutting down every two hours. Your work will not be saved during the shutdown.

The Windows 7 RC will fully expire on June 1, 2010. Your PC running the Windows 7 RC will continue shutting down every two hours and your files won't be saved during shutdown. In addition, your wallpaper will change to a solid black background with a persistent message on your desktop. You'll also get periodic notifications that Windows isn't genuine. That means your PC may no longer be able to obtain optional updates or downloads requiring genuine Windows validation.

To avoid interruption, please reinstall a prior version of Windows or move to Windows 7. In either case, you'll need to do a custom (clean) install to replace the RC. As with any clean installation, you'll need to back up your data then reinstall your applications and restore the data. For more details about replacing the RC, see the Knowledge Base article KB 971767. For more information, visit the Window 7 Forum.

Thanks again for helping us test Windows 7.

When I installed Windows 7 RC, I had to re-install all my programs:

• Microsoft Office
• all my development tools
• my favorite text editor
• screen capture application
• WInSCP
• Git+Mercurial+SVN
• python (Django, Twisted, PIL, numpy, setup-tools+pip+virtualenv, fabric, nltk, etc.)
• WinZip
• Adobe *
• Paint.NET
• WinDirStat
• a zillion other things.

I was reluctant to do it. If I had known that installing this RC would require me to reinstall the universe twice, I'd never have put it on my machine. Thanks, Microsoft!

I tried out the Windows 7 Beta earlier this year. I had that sinking feeling in my gut when I realized that I would have to reinstall all my programs in order to move from Windows XP sp2 to WIndows 7 Beta. Apparently, the directory structures were not the same so the programs would not run. Or something. I sucked it up and installed a raft of development tools so that I could have the new OS. At least I was only going to have to do this once.

So when I ran the upgrade installation program for Windows 7 Professional, I was surprised to get this message:

Windows 7 Ultimate cannot be upgraded to Windows 7 Professional. You can choose to install a new copy of Windows 7 Professional instead, but this is different from an upgrade, and does not keep your files, settings, and programs. You'll need to reinstall any programs using the original installation discs or files. To save your files before installing Windows, back them up to an external location such as a CD, DVD, or external hard drive. To install a new copy of Windows 7 Professional, click the Back button in the upper left-hand corner, and select "Custom (advanced)".[EMphasis added]

So what do you think: should moving from Windows 7 Ultimate (beta) to Windows 7 Professional (release) require reinstallation of every non-operating system program on my machine? Would you go ahead or just return the upgrade package and wait until Microsoft gets its act together?