Windows 8
 

What are your guys' thoughts on the upcoming Windows 8 OS? I'm personally not a fan of the metro style tiles. I realize that they're eventually aiming for one unified OS for all Microsoft devices (computers, tablets, cell phones, X-Box), but is that really such a good thing? If you spend several thousand dollars on a home computer system, do you really want it running the same OS as your $200 cell phone? I personally expect a more refined and powerful experience at home than I do on the go. I'm hoping that it is as great as it has been built up to be, and more customizable as well. There will be an App Store, cloud support and social media integration built right in. Also, all PC's that come pre-installed with Windows 8 will be allowed to downgrade to Windows 7 or even Vista, per the licensing agreement with manufacturers.

It is tentatively slated to be released on October 26, 2012.

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I met a guy at a local coffee shop who says that it's horrible and not user friendly. Not really in a rush to get it since I have gotten used to Windows 7 and love it fully. Windows 8 seems like another Windows Vista, so i'll just wait until Windows 9 is released.

People are capable reading. We don't need big picture buttons popping up in front of us, telling us to click on or touch something, as if we were infants. I think their ideas have come back around to bite them in the ass a little bit. Everybody wants a user-friendly and CUSTOMIZABLE user experience, but to each their own. I am satisfied with my Windows 7 OS. I'm sure once Windows 8 is out there, the customizable hacks will quickly follow suit.

It's going to flop. Even not considering the fact that in the past, every other MS operating system has been a flop, and the following OS rectified it, just looking at the interface is enough to make this determination.
They made too drastic of a change. They can't honestly expect this to be utilized in business environments. Unless they're planning 8 to be strictly a home-user OS, then we can expect 9 to return to MS' traditional layout and workflow if they ever want companies to take it seriously.

I feel like they're trying a little too hard to revolutionize what one person can do on a computer. But there is such thing as too much.

They're utilizing the benefits seen in the .NET structuring, and trying to make use of the GUI capabilities made possible by it. All the pretty little flashy things can be turned off to save RAM and such, if you don't want em. Also, as far as one OS for phones, tabs, pc's etc. the stripped down version used for a phone is no where near as robust as the full blown OS.

I was playing around with one in VMbox and I was not impressed at all. I can see it working on a tablet or smartphone, but everything just felt awkward using the mouse. I also ended up having to lookup how to get back to the Metro UI which is definitely not good for the older users who got their PC's back when Windows 95 came out.

That said though, this idea that everyone who is running Windows 7 is immediately going to upgrade is kind of ludicrous. The gimmick crowd will, as will the people who feel compelled to run the newest thing, but from what I've read, most upgrade users have just started the transition from XP to 7 so the idea that they're going to go and drop another 200 dollars is just kind of... not right. I'm curious how long it will be until OEM's start pre-installing it on new PC's, and if the rumors that you can't actually wipe it off are true.

I think the biggest deciding factor is going to be how well games run on it. I know a lot of users only keep Windows around because they need it to game, hell that's the only reason why I have a partition still.

Hmm... I'm not sure, I like the layout and watched a few trailers and it seems quite fluent and easy to use. Until it's released I think there will be a lot of sceptasism and judgement on a few screenshots and official videos that only shows the good parts of the software.

Hard to judge really.

This.
I'm also a part of that demographic. I only switched to 7 about a year or so ago when I built my latest computer. XP was great and I definitely didn't want to switch to Vista because of all the problems, and when 7 came out, I wanted to give it some time for the initial bugs to be worked out and get familiar with what it offered. Finally I switched to 7 and I love it. I can't imagine switching to a completely new OS just because it has a higher number on the tin.
Not this early in the game, anyway.
Unless there's some amazing features in 8 that I don't yet know that I absolutely can't live without, there's absolutely no reason for me to switch. And I certainly wouldn't do so until at least a year after 8 came out anyway, which is generally what I do for stability, feedback and research reasons, regardless of version.

They've already fucked with the Xbox layout to start the transition to this planned unified OS and it's more awkward and clunky than ever. If they really want to unify their products, why not work toward doing it with something everybody uses Windows for — desktops. The "apps" thing is a total bandwagon move, social media integration is just stupid for Microsoft's current clientele (businesses), and the whole thing looks like the old "Media Center" program from XP.

I got Win 8.

I pretty much love it. Start screen reminds me alot of my Windows Phone, which is pretty sick.

We have a Win8 box at work. NO ONE has touched it yet. No one wants to. Why the hell would anyone want to put a touch based tablet OS on a desktop?

This is going to bomb harder than Windows ME.

"If it isn't broke, don't fix it." It might be a cliche but the necessity to update and look more futuristic is ridiculous. The fact that they are going with the xbox look and format is a joke, example (xbox youtube app) Get tae f*ck... little drunk.

all you have to do is click the "desktop" button for the standard desktop to pop up i believe

It might look like the standard desktop but it doesn't work like a standard desktop.

i just got a new computer today. aside from the fact that i'm totally blown away by the specs that come with an $800 desktop, it came with windows 8. i asked the tech dude if going to 7 was an option and he said it's a huge, expensive pain in the ass and half the time it doesn't work, cuz of drivers conflicts or something. so i've been dicking around with windows 8 all day. it's interesting. it's weird. it's very clean. you can customize the sh*t out of it. no noticeable glitches so far. like sparky said, the desktop accessed by a button on the start screen, and it works pretty much like a standard desktop, sans the start button. that being said, the start button is a pretty f*cking useful button. it's certainly possible to customize your way around that though.

i can't for the life of me figure out why they would go from having all that useful stuff appear from one convenient corner of the screen to making it so you can only access that list of stuff by putting your pointer in a corner to make a magic box appear within which is a button which will make what would normally show up in that one corner to take up your whole screen (got a 27 incher today :) ), and still make it so you have to right click to make another magic button appear, upon hitting which will bring the whole start menu up instead of just the initial half that comes from hitting the first magic button.

everything sounds so much worse when said in a giant run-on sentence. i'll get used to it out of laziness, but i would much prefer 7 to this bubble-gum show. it is fast though, i gotta give it that.

I'm pretty good with computers in general and I absolutely hated it. It's seriously horrible.


I felt it was more complex to use than necessary and that the whole program was a long way for a shortcut.

The Microsoft pattern is sh*tty OS (ME, Vista, 8) is followed by fixed OS (XP, 7, ??). Let's hope that fix is forthcoming. I stayed on 7 myself. I never did own a Vista device, went straight from XP to 7...

The new Win8 OS is a product of .NET structuring and the Touchscreen capabilities it offers, and of course MS is gonna push it through even though it's not fully developed, based on their market research, so get used to it ASAP... or go Unix.

I'll take Windows 8 over the open source stuff like Ubuntu, which isn't practical for me.

I would take Ubuntu or Mint over Windows 8 any day, I'd probably have an easier time explaining them to other people as well.

The only thing I couldn't do when I was running Linux was put music on my MP3 player, which is a Zune. There were ways around that of course, using Wine or a Virtual Machine. If all you use your computer for is browsing, email, videos, and music then there's a good chance you can get away with using a Linux distro, although occasionally little things can make the experience annoying.

Windows 8 came with my computer, it blows. I want to go back to Win 7. It makes it so much more difficult to find things.

i think OS developers are catching on to the fact that most people don't want to know how computers work and generally don't want to think. thus, finding things is pretty simple with 8, via the "file explorer," which is what i believe to be windows' answer to apple's finder thingy, which was apple's way of allowing people to circumvent thinking. i think it's pretty silly too, but it seems to be where things are headed. the other way is of course to customize the living hell out of it, which is cool and all, but it makes relating your workflow to someone else's a royal pain in the ass, particularly if that someone is having an issue and doesn't know anything about computers other than how to surf the net.

I know about computers, I know how to customize thing but it doesn't mean I'm enjoying the experience.

If you have a Win 7 disk and product key, you can. Just need to download the drivers for your hardware. I have to do this every time I buy a new laptop for one of our employees, since the new stuff is coming with 8 now.

Unfortunately, most consumer-level laptops come with recovery disks or recovery partitions, which throws a stick in the spokes. Another problem is that system builders like Dell, etc. purchase OEM copies of Windows and put that on their laptops unless you specify otherwise and pay more for a retail copy to be put on. Because of this, it's likely that you will not be able to use your product key from the old laptop on the new laptop, because the OEM version ties to the hardware of your old laptop when you activate it.

HOWEVER. You can still activate an OEM copy on a new computer. You just have to follow this automated activation system when you go to activate on the new computer. I personally have only done this after changing out motherboards with the same model, and although I had to go through the process, I'm not sure if it would be possible when all the hardware components are different, versus just a single piece of hardware that makes up the GUID that Microsoft's activation servers catalog for that activation.

It's technically a breach of licensing compliance if you use your old OEM key on a new computer, so if you're willing to go that route anyway and don't want to buy a retail (or another OEM) version of Windows 7, then you also shouldn't mind just getting an activation crack off the internet, since it's practically the same thing in terms of software usage rights.

Fortunately, Microsoft doesn't go after single home users with court cases or anything. They're too busy auditing corporations that actually have money to sue for.

So. If you don't really mind about breaching your licensing terms, either try to re-activate your old OEM copy on a fresh install using an OEM download of Windows 7, and if that doesn't pan out, just get an activation crack for a full retail version.

Alternately, if you care about being in MS software licensing compliance, just go on Newegg and buy yourself a retail copy of Windows 7, then no matter how many computers you burn through, you will always be able to install your Win 7 on the replacement, no questions asked, and you'll be in compliance.
(Until, of course, 10 years and 3 operating systems later, no one is making drivers for Windows 7 anymore)

HTH

I actually don't have a problem with Ubuntu, but I need to use specific programs for school and teaching, like Sibelius and other notation software, that are only available on Windows or Mac OS. So that's why it's not that practical for me.

I'll take Windows 7 over 8 though.

Thanks Freebase, I bow down to you with your amazing knowledge. :bowdown:

Just beware of the fact that MS has jacked up the price for both OEM and retail Win 7 specifically for the purpose of herding more people toward Fail 8. If you're going to purchase a new license, do your bargain shopping. A lot of internet retailers still have a sizable backlog of Win 7 copies they got before Fail 8 came out and the prices rose, so you can still get good deals. But that window is closing faster now that people are increasingly realizing the failure that is Windows 8.

Ok I certainly will take note of that. I had Vista on my last computer and got an illegal copy of Windows 7 and I never had any problems with it. Looks like I'll be doing it again.

After having it on my new computer for a few months, I've actually grown to like it a lot. It's much easier to organize the things I use most instead of having my desktop clogged with a bunch of icons.

What's the difference between the illegal copies and the legitimate copies? Just curious.

The copies themselves aren't legal or illegal. The legality is determined by compliance of the terms of use, which dictates that a copy must be activated with a legitimate key and under legitimate circumstances. Illegal use would be to bypass the need for activation by some third-party software, or simply never activating the copy to begin with.

Although, Microsoft's answer to un-activated copies is simply to make the background a black screen saying that the copy of Windows is not genuine, and disallowing any Windows updates.
Beyond that, you'll just have to put up with nag screens, but for the most part, the operating system is still fully functional.

Here's my Windows 7 desktop:

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No clog. All most-used items and locations are situated in a dock, settled unobtrusively near the start bar.
I think the problem is the way a person chooses to organize. It doesn't require a new operating system to enforce new organization.

I sort of had to learn to deal with it since the computer I bought was a fantastic price, and came with Windows 8, so I figured I may as well learn something new. I love Windows 7 as well, i've got it on my laptop. But I love Windows 8 as well, I didn't have much issue figuring it out.

^ Having an icon dock is almost standard for me now, desktop icons just seem archaic and cumbersome. Also if you have some nice desktop wallpapers, they can be clearly seen instead of being covered over with a mess of icons.

I'm sticking with my Windows 7/Lubuntu dual-boot for the time being. My laptop came with Vista but I upgraded it to 7 as soon as it was released. I have no desire at the moment to upgrade to 8 or get a new laptop with 8 installed, any time I've used it on a friend's laptop I've hated it. I guess using it on a tablet wouldn't be too bad as it seems more designed for them, but it doesn't seem well suited for use on a PC.

I think it's release is badly-timed. The PC market is declining and as opposed to Windows 8 boosting the PC market, which was it's aim, it is instead accelerating it's decline because smartphones and tablets seem more attractive in comparison.

How do you get a dock on Windows 7? I've never seen an option for that instead of using icons? Although I hardly use icons either and I've just put everything in my quick access toolbar next to the Start button.

They don't come with Windows you have to download one. I use ObjectDock. There's a few others you can try as well but ObjectDock suits me just fine.

Rocketdock is the one I use. Have been using it since XP. Pretty easy to set up and customize. My only recommendation is to find an icon pack that goes with your theme to use instead of the standard windows icons. Just to give it all some cohesiveness.

I find contextual icons to be really good for icon docks. For instance, if you look on mine, in the middle bar, you know which icons are my documents, downloads, pictures, music, etc.
I didn't have any more relevant icons in the particular pack, but it's good enough for me. The best thing about it is you don't have to mouse over to see the text. You just go straight there.
I'll definitely be looking into finding a contextual icon pack with a wider scope to help fill out some of the other stuff.

It makes a pretty big difference for me.

I'll check it out. I always liked the dock feature in Mac OS, so if I can get something similar in Windows that would be great.