Windoze 8:Oct 26, Ready or Not

erco · 2012-09-03 12:33

Are you kidding me, Microsoft? I never even had Windoze 7... I'll never keep up at this rate.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/261170/windows_8_15_upgrade_offer_faqs_for_recent_pc_buyers.html

ctwardell · 2012-09-03 12:45

Well at least they don't force you to pay for a yearly "subscription" like Autodesk does, but that probably isn't far off.

C.W.

xanadu · 2012-09-03 12:56

After trying it out my first feeling was deja vu

RDL2004 · 2012-09-03 13:34

I have my doubts about Windows 8. Microsoft has a habit of releasing an OS that's terrible, then fixing it in the next version. Windows 7 was a big improvement over Vista and is actually pretty nice. Vista was horrible. The one machine of mine that came with it was upgraded to XP. Does anyone remember Bob ?

ElectricAye · 2012-09-03 13:59

My guess is that it's not pronounced "Windows eight" but instead is pronounced something more like "Windows infinity" as in "My f$#&(@g Windows upgrade is stuck in an infinite loop again..." perhaps their latest alternative to the venerable BSOD.

ratronic · 2012-09-03 14:05

I tried out Window's 8 on my laptop the other day. The first problem I ran into was how to shut it down as there is no start button. It seems they are taking Window's more toward a touch screen operating system. After a little while of playing I put Windows 7 back in.

RDL2004 · 2012-09-03 14:15

It seems they are taking Window's more toward a touch screen operating system.

Which is kind of odd for a desktop OS, since I don't own any monitors with a touch screen, nor do I know anyone who does. As a matter of fact, I've only seen one PC ever that had a touch screen monitor. That was an HP display model at Walmart some time ago. I really have no interest in poking at my monitor.

mindrobots · 2012-09-03 14:37

I can hear the sheep lining up in the distance. I'm stopping Windoze support at home at Windoze 7....it's time to get off the bus.

jazzed · 2012-09-03 14:44

ElectricAye wrote: »

My guess is that it's not pronounced "Windows eight" ...

You mean something other than "Windows ate my computer?"

Great graphic

Heater. · 2012-09-03 15:05

Who cares?

Yours,
A proud user of anything but Windows since 1996.

RDL2004 · 2012-09-03 15:12

Windows Store will be the only method of purchasing and downloading Metro-style apps, as well as advertising desktop apps. Metro-style apps are installed from the Windows Store, or in the form of a Line Of Business app on devices joined in a network domain. (Wikipedia)

Maybe this is worded incorrectly and it should read "only Metro-style apps will be available from the Windows Store", otherwise it sounds like they're trying to turn Windows into some kind of closed system. I seriously doubt that will work.

kwinn · 2012-09-03 21:48

The last thing I want to do is learn the quirks and problems of a new interface to do what I am already doing with W7. The only reason I upgraded to W7 was Vista The only reason for getting Vista was that it came with the laptop that replaced my dead laptop.

Thanks, but no thank you Microsoft.

Peter KG6LSE · 2012-09-03 22:10

In other news I was at Frys today Pricing out a new Linux box.

dare I say it .... MS is becoming apple ..
The suits and ties with spread sheets are gonna have fun re-learning a OS GUI .

you cant baby XP for ever !
some day the dust is gonna hit the fan and its game over for Mr MS

Peter

Dr_Acula · 2012-09-03 22:15

Every year we buy a new computer for the surgery network and every year we ask the IT support person to install XP. And he does not think this is an unusual request at all.

But he did comment on the icon for Oracle VM Virtualbox. I think that is a "positive nerd sign". Inside that is Ubuntu, and it is a great way to try Linux OS software without having dual boot partitions. Probably the easiest install of an OS I have ever done. Plus I love the way you can boot Ubuntu off a USB drive.

Can one put this newfangled 'Windoze 8' in a Virtualbox or on a thumbdrive for free and check it out?

Heater. · 2012-09-03 22:35

When I really, really have to use Windows I like to run it in Virtualbox on Linux. Keep that mess in a box where you can rewind back to a stable state when it all gets out of hand. Also once you have activated it in a VM you can use that image on any other machine with VirtualBox without hassle.

No idea how well this goes with anything newer than XP though.

SRLM · 2012-09-03 22:52

RDL2004 wrote: »

Which is kind of odd for a desktop OS, since I don't own any monitors with a touch screen, nor do I know anyone who does. As a matter of fact, I've only seen one PC ever that had a touch screen monitor. That was an HP display model at Walmart some time ago. I really have no interest in poking at my monitor.

Touchscreen laptops seem to be fairly popular with college kids. That's the only place I've seen them.

Windows free since 2010.

Heater. · 2012-09-03 23:13

Maybe it's just me but my conclusion is that a touch screen works very well for a smart phone like iPhone or Android devices. It works very up to about well for a 7 inch tab. That is hand held devices where a little movement of the fingers is all you need and you won't be trying to enter a lot of text. By the time you get to a 10 inch tablet all that hand waving becomes really tediuos after a while.

I cannot imagine a touch screen on my workstation being useful except occationally. Besides I have been repremanded a thousand times by different people when I have pointed to something on their monitors with my greasy finger.

Windows free since 1996.

Oldbitcollector (Jeff) · 2012-09-03 23:29

@Heater, I'm running the same combination. Virtualbox on Linux. Had to scrub my XP image and restart. Took me a twenty minutes, including re-installing my apps into a clean backup image. This IS the way to manage a Windows install.

Jeff

LoopyByteloose · 2012-09-04 00:14

May never be ready. I've retrained on too many version of Windows and Dos only to be told I need to buy a few more things to make it really work well. It is all Lucy, Charlie Brown, and that darned football.

Heater. · 2012-09-04 00:16

Oldbitcollector,

How about taking a snap shot of your XP installation after you have got all your apps and stuff nicely installed?
Then when all hell breaks lose you can delete your working image (now broken) and fire up the snapshot. BINGO saved all those 20 minute reinstall sessions.
(Keep a clean back image as well of course).

ctwardell · 2012-09-04 05:02

Heater. wrote: »

Besides I have been repremanded a thousand times by different people when I have pointed to something on their monitors with my greasy finger.

That is the eleventh commandment: "Thou shalt not toucheth thy neighbors display."

I have few pet peeves, but that is one of them.

C.W.

mindrobots · 2012-09-04 06:07

OK, I don't get the "ergonomics" of a touch screen on your desktop

I have a Windoze laptop for work which is currently set up on my desk at home in a 2 screen configuration(primary to monitor, secondary to laptop screen) - I'm using the laptop keyboard at home but when at work, I use a USB keyboard

My eyes are currently 36 inches away from the main screen - my fingertips are 6 inches short of reaching the screen when my reach is fully extended (and I have long arms). Am I supposed to stretch forward each time I need to use the proposed touch screen? (Repetitive motion back injuries?) Hunch over my desk so I can reach it easily? Move my monitors closer so I can't read them but CAN touch them? This sounds like another well thought out feature for the desktop environment!!

ratronic · 2012-09-04 07:50

Has anybody else tried Win8? When I stated it seemed they were moving toward a touch screen O.S. it looked to me like a smart phone screen and you have to get app's for it from Microsoft. It seems Microsoft is trying to be more like Apple.

Note - I do not own a smart phone but I have seen them.

RDL2004 · 2012-09-04 11:36

Windows 8 "a catastrophe for everyone in the PC space" - Gabe Newell, Valve Software

Windows 8 is driving Valve to Linux at ars technica

Martin_H · 2012-09-04 17:01

Microsoft is operating under the mistaken impression that everyone wants to use the same OS on all devices. This is silly as both Apple and Google have shown that uses are quite comfortable with a separate desktop and handheld OS, while Windows phone 7 has been a dud. The reason is that the different form factor generally requires a whole new application and the OS is the least of your worries at that point. Basically the users don't care because they want apps, not an OS.

The problem for developers is that each major platform now has a proprietary language for application development: C# for Windows, Objective C for Apple, and Java for Android and Servlet programming. Using third party development tools it's possible to use C# on iOS and Android, but they're awkward compared to the native tools. So it's a code reuse nightmare and the business people at my company are not happy paying three times for the same features. However, our users don't care because they pay for the service not the software, so the added cost is invisible to them.

Basically there's no price feedback mechanism in the market pushing for a common OS and language.JavaScript and HTML5 may save the day, but not in the short term.

WBA Consulting · 2012-09-04 18:17

From what I have learned about Windows 8, I have no intentions on caring about it until Windows 9 comes out to handle the damage control. Martin_H hit it on the head when he said that Microsoft is trying to cram Windows 7 into any and all devices. Of course it will fail miserably, because no Microsoft OS belongs on a phone. It does work nicely on an HP Slate Tablet, though....

As for Windows 7 in general, I don't agree with people who dislike it. I currently have 4 computers running Windows 7 (Windows Ultimate on 2, Windows Home Premium 64 bit, and Windows Enterprise 64 bit) and haven't experienced a single issue with any of them. All have run flawlessly for the 1-2 years I have been using Windows 7. My Sony Vaio (Win 7 Ultimate) has a defective battery and only runs off the adapter. It has been yanked a number of times giving Windows a forced/abrupt shutdown and it just pops right back up when I turn it back on. My Media PC (started with XP-MCE 6 years ago and now running Win 7) has undergone a ridiculous number of hardware transplants/upgrades, and I have yet to have any issues with device manager (and I don't always to an uninstall/install the proper way). So, long story short, I love Windows 7. (I probably just jinxed myself though.....)

RDL2004 · 2012-09-04 18:26

I agree, Windows 7 is very nice. I've had it on my main computer since it was first released and I have it on a laptop. I've never seen a BSOD on Windows 7.

Stock up on Win 7 licenses while you can, I plan on running it for another 10 years just like XP.

I actually still have XP on this machine and probably will keep it that way until Microsoft cuts off life support.

LoopyByteloose · 2012-09-05 00:22

It is difficult to watch Microsoft without wincing.

The days of any commercial OS leading the world in a 'be all' to everyone are finished.

The simple fact that I can get multiple language interface in LInux at no cost while Microsoft still wants you to upgrade to such at a huge cost make it rather absurd. I still need both Chinese and English.

Trying to move to more platforms by dictating that the manufacturers only use MS is nearly impossible. Yes, there are the loyal followers - such as Toshiba. But there are excellent Linux supporters out there - such as Asus... and maybe that Communist, once IBM brand... Lenov (I am not very sure about Lenov).

Admittedly, I have had to switch to Open Office (now Libre) in order to use Linux as a free office machine. But for what I do, it is not big deal to accept the different ways of doing thing and a spreadsheet eapplication that has a few odd features.

The touch screen is a handy mobile input device for certain commercial applications -- taking inventory, delivery persons taking restocking orders, and so on. It is NOT handy to have smudges all over your desktop video.

Here in Taiwan, the only reason many users stay with MS is that they fear that they won't be able to communicate effectively with other commercial enterprises that are wholly dependent on MS. Or they have a legacy accounting system that they fear conversion would be a wholesale disaster.

It isn't a pretty picture as MS still predominates because of fear and ignorance of good alternatives -- not because it has perfected a better product. There are excellent accounting systems in Linux for free, and communications with PDFs are pretty much optimal. Exchanging spreadsheets remains a big attraction of Excel as firms that are rather creative with accounting love to use Excel. But frankly, many of them are not really viable enterprises that are just cooking the books.

Sooner or later, Linux offers stable and cost effective software. But the ignorant and the excessively ambitions are still hanging on to Microsoft.

I am still offended by how beat up I got by the rampant greed of Vista. My only Windows 7 installation is a stripped down version of Windows 7 Starter. It is nice and works well, but it has those MS quirks (updates and security scans interferring with my desire to get real work done and demands for add-on anti-virus protection) that I can do without.

It Windows was a good OS, it would not behave so poorly and demand so many additional expenditures.

RDL2004 · 2012-09-05 06:42

Apparently Microsoft is going to allow "downgrades" from Windows 8

Computerworld: Microsoft will allow downgrades from Windows 8 to Windows 7, Vista

Loopy, most of those quirks you mentioned can be fixed or changed. I haven't had to spend a single additional cent to keep Windows 7 happy, nor have I purchased anything but Windows from Microsoft. There is free/open source software to do pretty much anything a normal person would want to do on a PC.

RobotWorkshop · 2012-09-05 07:03

I've found overall that Windows XP has been very stable (Still use it) and Windows 7 has been good too once you get used to some of the extra security quirks and odd changes for 64-bit support. When I've run into problems most of the time it has been with a device driver, bad memory module, or a third party application. As long as you are careful where you get your applications and only install what you need the systems can run well. Most of the software that I have or want to use runs on Windows so that is what I use. I'm also a fan of Linux and use that OS too. I'll probably give Windows 8 a try but expect that there may be issues with it at first until they get the first Service Packs out to make it work as it should....

Robert

SRLM · 2012-09-05 08:37

Loopy Byteloose wrote: »

The simple fact that I can get multiple language interface in LInux at no cost while Microsoft still wants you to upgrade to such at a huge cost make it rather absurd. I still need both Chinese and English.

That's one of the things that I forget most in my English-centric life: some people have to deal with multiple languages, and the software issues that arise from that.

Windoze 8:Oct 26, Ready or Not

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