I got my product key for the Windows 7 beta program!!! Very happy.

For those of you that are also interested in trying out the beta, good news.

Due to an enormous surge in demand, the download experience was not ideal so we listened and took the necessary steps to ensure a good experience. We have clearly heard that many of you want to check out the Windows 7 Beta and, as a result, we have decided remove the initial 2.5 million limit on the public beta for the next two weeks (thru January 24th). During that time you will have access to the beta even if the download number exceeds the 2.5 million unit limit.
The Windows Blog

This was a big deal for me because I’ve been using it a little over a week now and am extremely impressed by it. In fact, to the point where even this early in the product cycle, I think this will be the first version of a Microsoft operating system I pay for since the release of MSDOS 5.0.

I honestly believe, Windows 7 is what Vista should have been. And the more I use it, the more I feel that way about it.

Those of you that are familiar with Windows Vista will probably not be too uncomfortable with Windows 7. It is as much an evolution of Windows Vista as Windows XP was of Windows 2000. That means that there are significant differences, but nothing so major that you can’t see the previous generation there.

And its damn fast. Fast enough that even XP might struggle to keep up in some instances. It is really that quick.

For a guy with a reputation of hating on Windows (and Microsoft in general) consider me impressed.