Windows 8

[UK_Widowmaker]

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-8/download

 

 

Can anyone see the point of it?

 

XP was good.... Windows 7 is better...so, why upgrade anytime soon?

[FastCargo]

The big thing is that the Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 will share the same kernal. The idea is that a company that writes a program for one has basically written a program for the other.

 

Potentially, this is huge...MAC OSX and iOS have been cross pollenating features for a while, but MS would end up leapfrogging both if they can pull it off.

 

The other thing...because Win8 has been optimized for mobile, it screams on a PC. I'm running the current release candidate on a Dell Mini 9 with an Intel Atom processor. It friggin flies compared to WinXP...boots in 10 seconds (XP took over a minute), and so far, runs everything XP could run on it as well or faster.

 

Will it be worth to upgrade from Win7...probably not. But from WinXP or eariler, I'd say so!

 

Also, MS has done something interesting with their upgrade price. Upgrades from any version of Windows (XP, Vista, or 7) is only $40 USD...significantly cheaper than previous upgrades.

 

FC

[+SkateZilla]

$40 Promo Price with Valid XP Vista or 7 Key and free WMC Addon.

[+JonathanRL]

That is actually quite interesting. I will however wait for a while and see before rendering judgement. But they went the correct route as I see it.

 

How does the average desktop look? Any change over what we are used to?

[FastCargo]

The main screen is like what you see on Windows Phone...tiles that you can click (with a mouse) or press (on a touchscreen). However, if you click the desktop button, the tiles go away and it looks just like any other windows desktop. You can add icons, has the info bar at the bottom like Win7/Vista/XP, etc. Nothing cosmic...a few tweaks here and there.

 

FC

[MigBuster]

I mainly want it for their Surface tablet thing - Will be great with USB ports and I can just use all my fave PC stuff (In theory)

[+Typhoid]

Would W8 be a viable o/s for an older laptop that can't handle W7?

[JediMaster]

According to MS and the reports I've heard, yes. Just as 7 ran better than Vista, 8 runs better than 7, due to even more stripping out of extra code and whatnot. However, it's still not going to run as fast as XP on a given system. Also the improvement isn't AS drastic (say if Vista was a 1 for speed and XP was 10, 7 was around 5 and 8 will be around 6-7).

I had planned and later abandoned an upgrade to my wife's netbook from XP to 7 for that reason. She found on XP it was acceptable on performance AFTER we upgraded the RAM from 1GB to 2. With 1GB she really didn't like it that much. I surmised Win7 would just be too slow for her.

[MigBuster]

I stick Win 7 on 4 to 5 year old dual cores at work - far more stable and quicker in performance than XP - old Intel boards support it as well.

[Silverbolt]

W8 is running fine on my notebook,smoother than W7. i'm impressed only 10 seconds to boot and get ready to go on my machine, this OS is incredible fast even tho i think there is a lot of room for improvement i liked it.

[JediMaster]

That's one thing I found about Vista and 7...don't install it on a single-core CPU. XP is always best with 1 core. With 2, 7 runs best.

 

Faster booting is nice, but really how often do you boot? Work PCs boot once a day unless they're left running all night for patch/antivirus management. Home PCs probably the same, unless you use it in the morning before work and again after, so maybe twice. You can always let it sleep instead if you want faster startup. Honestly, 7's start was never too bad for me. Maybe 30 seconds?

 

I want a faster OS in execution of everything, not just starting. Shutdown is the worst. For most of Window's history it's been slow closing everything.

[Silverbolt]

That's one thing I found about Vista and 7...don't install it on a single-core CPU. XP is always best with 1 core. With 2, 7 runs best.

 

Faster booting is nice, but really how often do you boot? Work PCs boot once a day unless they're left running all night for patch/antivirus management. Home PCs probably the same, unless you use it in the morning before work and again after, so maybe twice. You can always let it sleep instead if you want faster startup. Honestly, 7's start was never too bad for me. Maybe 30 seconds?

 

I want a faster OS in execution of everything, not just starting. Shutdown is the worst. For most of Window's history it's been slow closing everything.

 

Well, my case is that sometimes i carry my notebook to work so i don't like to walk with it in the bag turned on cause i'm afraid to damage the HD while in sleep mode. (ehrm, i had an issue with my old hp windows vista notebook HD crash because i walked with it in the bag in sleep mode, i believe).

 

so i turn it on several times a day.

 

also, the applications made for W8 open as fast as in my Nokia Lumia or my iPad, MS Office 13, for example runs perfect.

 

i'm not selling M$ but this is, IMO, the only really good and worthy thing M$ in 10 years perhaps. So far i am very satisfied, no bugs, no incomplete software and it is very nice for a consumer preview version.

 

better than that IMO, only a macbook but it still competitive as Apple product.

 

-

 

Pros, IMO.

 

*IE, besides its crappy layout runs very nice, but the chrome still better.

*The news app is just awesome, update daily and you can create a news selector for your interest area ( for me it is very important since i'm an advisor and analyst i need to keep updated)

*the apps, including desktop ones designed for older windows versions open and close in fast speed. ( that means i never had to use ctrl+alt+del hehe)

*the app management is intuitive you can switch applications easy as a gestitude

*the metro interface is very promising, if devlopers can explore it right you won't need thousand of softwares to work fine, if you can merge em' all in one app, that's a deal

 

-

Cons, IMO

 

*Zune could be the standart music player and manager i can't believe it didnt came in the consumer preview, IMO it should be the standart media player and manager

*Even if its very fast, the Office should be running in metro interface, i hate to have to open the desktop to have it working.

 

MS has the opportunity now of make something different, so they should take it because they have now an wonderful platform there.

[JediMaster]

You're running Office 2010 right? I think you'll have to wait for Office 2013 for Metro integration.

 

As for your laptop problem, I have three letters for you: SSD.

 

For my desktop I really don't care yet as long as the HDD is fast enough, but for my next laptop I'm getting an SSD because of both speed (which laptops need more help in the storage area than desktops do) and the whole shock reliability thing. Only thing I don't like is I prefer SOME audible indication of the HDD doing its thing...hearing access when you shouldn't be having any is a great way to troubleshoot a problem in many different areas before it becomes a BIG problem. SSDs just have a light that is on or not!

[Silverbolt]

You're running Office 2010 right? I think you'll have to wait for Office 2013 for Metro integration.

 

As for your laptop problem, I have three letters for you: SSD.

 

For my desktop I really don't care yet as long as the HDD is fast enough, but for my next laptop I'm getting an SSD because of both speed (which laptops need more help in the storage area than desktops do) and the whole shock reliability thing. Only thing I don't like is I prefer SOME audible indication of the HDD doing its thing...hearing access when you shouldn't be having any is a great way to troubleshoot a problem in many different areas before it becomes a BIG problem. SSDs just have a light that is on or not!

 

No! got it yesterday Office 2013 hehe! i've installed the 2007 version on it, and for my surprise the windows update pointed me to the new office.

 

and well, SSD is expensive as a hell here and i'm not sure if my Sony Vaio supports it, but anyway i'm going to see with my technical support

 

and by the way, the windows update now also search and update for your machine drivers!

Edited July 19, 2012 by Silverbolt

[JediMaster]

Yes, although do that with care. I had an MS-provided driver update screw up a device once. I had to roll back the driver and remind myself to never let it DL it again! I think it was related to the 3rd party HD controller on my mobo, it made my CDROMs stop working!

 

As for supporting SSDs, there's not much to worry about. As long as your laptop uses a SATA drive it should work. If it's PATA, well, I don't know how many 2.5" PATA SSD drives there might be.

 

Cost is another matter.