random question for those who might know... currently I had two drives (C: & D:), C: being the main OS drive with only about 50 gigs of space and D: being the other drive with about 300. Most of my files, etc, are on D:. If I install Windows 7 over XP on the C: drive, will I be able to access the stuff on the D drive still easily? I know the installed programs won't work anymore (I think), but I was just wondering about the general music files/word documents, etc.

You can tell that Windows 7 is good when Apple start soiling themselves and resorting to the kind of tactics that normally only politicians stoop to.

Yeah, I posted a mention of their new smear campaign a page or two back. I also don't see why anyone would pay more to get a computer that does less. I'm also not a fan of their new Magic Mouse. No buttons? I like buttons, thank you very much! If I were the rich type, I'd be buying a mouse with all the buttons.

As long as its not installed data you can access anything you save on the other drive (obviously after you reinstall word or whatever app).
If you do an upgrade install everything should work as it did under XP but be 2 more awesome because its 2 higher

I don't think you CAN do an upgrade install from XP to 7 (just like you couldn't go from 2000 to Vista, or NT4 to XP).

Yes, you'll need to reinstall all the programs and games again and you will be able to immediately access all your music files and documents (so long as you have software installed capable of reading them).
Just make absolutely sure that you're installing to your XP drive during the installation process. You should consider formatting it during the process also (I haven't installed 7 yet. But the option should be available before you actually start installing 7).
I'd recommend you download WIn7 compatible installers of all your software and drivers (especially graphics and sound card drivers) and store them on the D:. In fact, the more you copy over to the D: the faster you'll be back up and running. I generally keep an achieve of installers, drivers and patches on the D: for this reason.

This has been my position on Macs for over a decade now. The fact that they use the same hardware these days too just drives the point home all the more.

About 3 weeks before that was announced/started. *mad*.
that said, i'm totally happy with vista, and i see no reason to upgrade to 7. The only really tempting thing is the virtual XP - but i guess if i could be bothered i could set that up in virtual box anyway.

I'm with the other crazy guys. I think it's excellent. Can't think of anything i dislike about it.
Why can't you wait to get rid of it?

In installed it last night took 4 hours from vista to windows 7 so far pretty impressed although had to find a replacement email program and for some reason my internet cuts off after a short period of time but this could be driver issues. All in all if you are upgrading from vista you shouldnt get a problem fingers crossed.

Well, I used to use XP before and I thought Vista would fix a few problems that I had with it (along with that fetching UI), but instead it gave me a ton of shit I didn't need and all these background services that I'd never even need. So basically I want 7 for the stuff that it DOESN'T have.

http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/09/10/22/apple_targets_3_new_get_a_mac_ads_at_windows_7_with_videos.html
Has all three videos.
I think you're showing your fanboi-ish charm there windows boy. The apple ads have always poked fun at windows/microsoft. There's nothing new here, its just more of the same ribbing. Even MS have tried (many times) to co-opt the advert lines success, even using it in its own windows 7 advertising, you know the ones where the actor claims "I'm a PC, and windows was my idea..."
You missed the clear sign that apple aren't ready to go toe to toe with Vista (yet). They released their own 64 bit, intel only operating system Snow Leopard, two weeks early. Months before Vista's scheduled release.
To a bevvy of driver bugs (vendors weren't ready), upgrade nightmares (some critical hard drive fucking bugs for certain setups) and annoyances big and small. Then they set to work making hot fixes. Very new, hardly customised machines had good success with Snow Leopard (what most reviews where done on at the time), but some older macs spit up when fed it.
The first hotfix came out a week after initial release, and the second, well the list of things it fixes is as long as my arm. Not just trivial things either, but core services that are nowhere near as stable as earlier versions of os X. Snow leopard is apple's own stripping away of old architecture (no more PPC support), and an updating to the 64 bit age. But its only barely ready for public consumption and won't be in fighting shape till at least 10.6.2.

Oh god there's a dock in win7? I HATE HATE HATE the dock in OSX. Can you disable it in 7?

Don't worry, it's better than a dock. You know the bar at the bottom of the screen that's on most Windows computers? The one that shows what programs are running? Well, in 7, you can drag icons to that bar to get it to run quickly. Also, instead of showing the same program several times several instances are open, it just stacks onto the icon at the bottom in an unintrusive manner.

Fanboy? LOL no. I've slagged off Windows and MS enough to avoid that tag.
I just like having control over what hardware and software I use. I also hate overpriced prebuilt systems, of which Macs are the epitome.
Windows might have many faults, but not only do I find it to be the only real option for me, but I have to say I've grown to really, really dislike Apple over the years.

Macs have crashed on me far, far more times than any PC. Everyone I know that has bought a Mac in the last 5 years has had to buy a new one at least once because it breaks. I firmly believe that Apple designs their machines to break quickly so they can charge another $5000 for a piece of crap computer. OSX is slow and disgusting. Their ad campaigns . . . omg.