I have been using Windows 8 on my main machine since it`s release and never had any regrets. I simply do not understand what all the fuss is about because, and this is my personal opinion, it is a great OS. Now I still prefer OSX but Windows 8 is a really stable and fast Operating System.

Now there`s this thing going on about the Closed nature of MUI and that you can`t use apps that do not come from the MS Shop. Peronally that doesn`t bother me. And honestly, the closed box everyone fears so much is actually a good thing. Microsoft could use their appstore to safely distribute software for their OS but they should keep a Desktop environent and add a section to their appstore for Desktop Apps. 

If they can do this, and they can keep their appstore secure, then Windows will finally become a safer OS because Microsoft will be checking every app that tries to get on the appstore and block / filter out malicious apps that could damage your PC.

If done right, I am all for it. But I hope that they can finish what they started and that they are prepared to do what ever is necessary to make sure their OS keeps running smoothly and above all else, clean and secure. If they are able to do this then Windows will finally be an OS that everyone want to use, and everyone can use without the fear of infection.

Originally posted by Muke

Microsoft sees the success of Apple with their Ipads and Iphones, and think "we want that too".

Windows 8 is only good for tablet computers and smartphones.

I worked with W8 on my computer at work as an structural engineer.....I can tell you, it's a pain and I reconnected a Windows 2000 pc because it's 100x better to work with.

As for games, I play EVE Online as well as casual other MMOs, I can't see myself doing those on a tablet sitting in a couch.

 

 

Windows 8, fun for playing multimedia, fun if you use Facebook and play with some flash apps on a tablet.....for everything else, it's rubbish.

Please explain how it was a pain.

I mean did you have trouble finding the software that you needed? I mean the File Explorer feature is nearly identical with a much better search option.

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Originally posted by fenistil
What is good about Windows 8 is their OEM license.  You don't have to buy  new one when you reinstall it after changing your PC to newer or modyfiung it alot.  Of course at one time it can be intsallled only on one PC, but that's kinda obvious.  

You can even resell it once.  (person who bough it from you according to EULA cannot resell it again theoretically).

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Not exactly correct. The EULA has changed a good bit - but you cannot, and have never been able to, sell an OEM license apart from the computer is was sold on.

You can sell the computer, and the OEM license allows the license to transfer ownership with the computer, but you can't just sell the license.

From the Windows 8 OEM EULA

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Can I transfer the software to another user? You may transfer the software directly to another user, only with the licensed computer. The transfer must include the software, proof of purchase, and, if provided with the computer, an authentic Windows label such as the certificate of authenticity label, including the product key. You may not keep any copies of the software or any earlier version. Before any permitted transfer, the other party must agree that this agreement applies to the transfer and use of the software.
...
Are there things I’m not allowed to do with the software? Yes. Because the software is licensed, not sold, the manufacturer or installer and Microsoft reserve all rights (such as rights under intellectual property laws) not expressly granted in this agreement. In particular, this license does not give you any right to, and you may not: use or virtualize features of the software separately; publish, copy (other than the permitted backup copy), rent, lease, or lend the software; transfer the software (except as permitted by this agreement); attempt to circumvent technical protection measures in the software; or reverse engineer, decompile, or disassemble the software, except if the laws where you live permit this even when this agreement does not. In that case, you may do only what your law allows. When using Internet-based features or Microsoft Family Safety, you may not use those features in any way that could interfere with anyone else’s use of them, or to try to gain access to any service, data, account, or network in an unauthorized manner.

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Supposedly Microsoft is introducing a "Personal Use License" that differs a bit from the OEM license - which would allow you to run it home built computers or virtualized (the OEM license has never technically allowed you to do either, as it assumes that you get the software installed with a pre-built computer from a PC vendor). I haven't seen this new license (/sigh, do we really need another license type) available yet.

And as far as upgrading - MS has always allowed that within reason. There is a hardware hash, and if too much hardware changes, then it "suspects" that you may be on a different computer, and will flag for reactivation. It takes a good bit of hardware changes to do it, with one exception: the motherboard.

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How many times can I install Windows on my computer before I have to activate Windows again?
You can reinstall Windows on the same computer as many times as you want because activation pairs the Windows product key with information about your computer hardware. If you make a significant hardware change, you might have to activate Windows again.

Will I ever need to activate my current copy of Windows again?
Maybe. You might have to activate Windows again if:

You uninstall Windows on one computer and install it on another. During installation, enter the product key that came with your copy of Windows. If automatic activation fails, follow the instructions that walk you through activating Windows by phone. You will have 30 days to activate your copy of Windows.

You make a significant hardware change to your computer, such as upgrading the hard disk and memory at the same time. If a major hardware change requires activating Windows again, you will be notified and will have three days to activate your copy of Windows.

You reformat your hard disk. Reformatting erases your activation status. In this case, you’ll have 30 days to activate Windows again.

A virus infects your computer and deletes your activation status.

If you have to activate Windows again, you don't need to buy a new product key.

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And the big whammy right here, which gets mentioned a lot around here, but I'll provide the source.

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Q. Can a PC with an OEM Windows operating system have its motherboard upgraded and keep the same license? What if it was replaced because it was defective?

A. Generally, an end user can upgrade or replace all of the hardware components on a computer—except the motherboard—and still retain the license for the original Microsoft OEM operating system software. If the motherboard is upgraded or replaced for reasons other than a defect, then a new computer has been created. Microsoft OEM operating system software cannot be transferred to the new computer, and the license of new operating system software is required. If the motherboard is replaced because it is defective, you do not need to acquire a new operating system license for the PC as long as the replacement motherboard is the same make/model or the same manufacturer's replacement/equivalent, as defined by the manufacturer's warranty.

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I killed it bad.   I often test new software and OS for my company so I jumped into Windows 8 essentially to see how I could break it.  Didn't take long.   I changed the security settings in some of the folders and the entire Start Menu screen, GUI and all stopped working correctly.  Some apps would not even respond to mouse clicks others just dissappeared.   Some even acted like other apps (that was interesting).

Since changing file security is a comman Windows OS feature, I'm really surprised that such an action would corrupt the Start Screen.   It was so badly destroyed, I had to select the Windows repair option, it restored everything except all the apps I installed which were now all gone!!!!  It was back to out of the box state.  I can see that pissing a lot of people off.

Just wanted to share.

Originally posted by Ridelynn

 

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Originally posted by miguksaram

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Originally posted by Kilrane

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Originally posted by ViperHoundz The only thing I can say about windows 8 is this... Why for the love of God didnt microsoft  incorporate **Kinect* into this OS platform. It would have made the switch enjoyable and they could have pushed alot of kinect units. THis would have also made navigating the "Windows" way easy , either with hand motion, or voice.  Microsoft could have taken  OS's to the next level.

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This would be about as gimmicky as a touch screen on a laptop. Neat to play with for a few hours but no real improvements in actual functionality to the end user.   How is a gimmick like the Kinect supposed to bring Windows to the next level exactly?

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If it could allow one to sit back, say on the couch, and use hand gestures to navigate the various Metro functions I could easily see that is a reason to pick up Windows 8 specifically for a HTPC.  Just a thought anyway.

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Pretty sure the Xbox console players hated it for navigating the UI, and Metro is essentially the same as XBox Dashboard - complete with it's horizontal layout and tiles.

It's cool at first, and some games and apps can use it effectively, I can think of a lot of great applications for the PC (aside from porn). But aside from voice navigation (which isn't Kinect-exclusive), trying to navigate the menus is less like the Minority Report and more like an epileptic seizure.

While I don't doubt what you say to be true my point was there IS potential for such a setup to be quite useful and thus should be developed further.  I'm glad you brought up the Minority Report because thats exactly where a more refined version of said tech could take us.  Clunky is fine at first if it means they are working on it as a result of consumer demand.

Originally posted by Ividnaelax
I think Windows 8 will be the new Windows ME. I have not tried Windows 8, nor do I want to use it on any system that I have. I have seen screen shots and advertisements of the new OS and I think it will piss a lot of us old school Windows users off.

Eh, me and my friends consider Windows 8 more like Vista. Its the one we'll pass on getting and get whatever comes out after it. Just like we did with XP to 7. 

Originally posted by miguksaram

Originally posted by Ridelynn

 

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Originally posted by miguksaram

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Originally posted by Kilrane

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Originally posted by ViperHoundz The only thing I can say about windows 8 is this... Why for the love of God didnt microsoft  incorporate **Kinect* into this OS platform. It would have made the switch enjoyable and they could have pushed alot of kinect units. THis would have also made navigating the "Windows" way easy , either with hand motion, or voice.  Microsoft could have taken  OS's to the next level.

---

This would be about as gimmicky as a touch screen on a laptop. Neat to play with for a few hours but no real improvements in actual functionality to the end user.   How is a gimmick like the Kinect supposed to bring Windows to the next level exactly?

---

If it could allow one to sit back, say on the couch, and use hand gestures to navigate the various Metro functions I could easily see that is a reason to pick up Windows 8 specifically for a HTPC.  Just a thought anyway.

---

 

Pretty sure the Xbox console players hated it for navigating the UI, and Metro is essentially the same as XBox Dashboard - complete with it's horizontal layout and tiles.

It's cool at first, and some games and apps can use it effectively, I can think of a lot of great applications for the PC (aside from porn). But aside from voice navigation (which isn't Kinect-exclusive), trying to navigate the menus is less like the Minority Report and more like an epileptic seizure.

While I don't doubt what you say to be true my point was there IS potential for such a setup to be quite useful and thus should be developed further.  I'm glad you brought up the Minority Report because thats exactly where a more refined version of said tech could take us.  Clunky is fine at first if it means they are working on it as a result of consumer demand.

I wonder how much processor power the Kinect takes.  It supposedly has input latency around 100 ms, which is horrible.  Get that down to 10 or 20 ms and it would be a lot more usable.  I don't know if that's just an issue of throwing more processor power at it, or if the camera frame rate is simply too slow, or if there are more fundamental problems.

 win8, hahahahahahahahahahahahhah, what a waste.

Originally posted by miguksaram

Originally posted by Ridelynn

 Definitely agree.

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Originally posted by miguksaram

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Originally posted by Kilrane

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Originally posted by ViperHoundz The only thing I can say about windows 8 is this... Why for the love of God didnt microsoft  incorporate **Kinect* into this OS platform. It would have made the switch enjoyable and they could have pushed alot of kinect units. THis would have also made navigating the "Windows" way easy , either with hand motion, or voice.  Microsoft could have taken  OS's to the next level.

---

This would be about as gimmicky as a touch screen on a laptop. Neat to play with for a few hours but no real improvements in actual functionality to the end user.   How is a gimmick like the Kinect supposed to bring Windows to the next level exactly?

---

If it could allow one to sit back, say on the couch, and use hand gestures to navigate the various Metro functions I could easily see that is a reason to pick up Windows 8 specifically for a HTPC.  Just a thought anyway.

---

 

Pretty sure the Xbox console players hated it for navigating the UI, and Metro is essentially the same as XBox Dashboard - complete with it's horizontal layout and tiles.

It's cool at first, and some games and apps can use it effectively, I can think of a lot of great applications for the PC (aside from porn). But aside from voice navigation (which isn't Kinect-exclusive), trying to navigate the menus is less like the Minority Report and more like an epileptic seizure.

While I don't doubt what you say to be true my point was there IS potential for such a setup to be quite useful and thus should be developed further.  I'm glad you brought up the Minority Report because thats exactly where a more refined version of said tech could take us.  Clunky is fine at first if it means they are working on it as a result of consumer demand.

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Originally posted by Zetsuei

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Originally posted by Ividnaelax I think Windows 8 will be the new Windows ME. I have not tried Windows 8, nor do I want to use it on any system that I have. I have seen screen shots and advertisements of the new OS and I think it will piss a lot of us old school Windows users off.

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Eh, me and my friends consider Windows 8 more like Vista. Its the one we'll pass on getting and get whatever comes out after it. Just like we did with XP to 7. 

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Originally posted by MindTrigger

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Originally posted by Quizzical

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Originally posted by MindTrigger Microsoft had no choice.  It was this, or try to maintain multiple operating systems for what are increasingly similar devices (computers, tablets, phones).  They also know that in the post-PC era, we are heading away from mouse and keyboard as primary input devices, and even moving away from the desktop computer in general.  In the coming years, touch, voice and gesture will be largely taking over.  Windows 7 was not equipped for that.

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Nonsense.  There is no post-PC era.  If there is ever a post-PC era, it will be as a result of such radical technological changes that it will probably also a post-tablet and post-cell phone (I refuse to call them "smartphones" on the basis that any product or concept that has to call itself "smart" probably isn't) era.  Microsoft has correctly countered that it's a PC-plus era.  People will still use PCs, but will also use other devices. Being able to support one type of input doesn't mean you can't support any other.  Mice didn't make keyboards disappear.  Touchpads didn't make mice disappear.  Touch screens could conceivably make touchpads go away, but they're certainly not going to make keyboards or mice disappear.  That I have a gamepad that works with my current computer and probably wouldn't work with some much older ones doesn't make my keyboard or mouse work any less well. In terms of speed at which you can transfer precise, meaningful information from a human to a computer, the keyboard is the leader by an enormous margin.  Nothing on the horizon has any real hope of challenging the keyboard's supremacy there.  To illustrate this, try to imagine any other input device that could let you input something like this half as fast as a keyboard: " vTess = inversesqrt(length(camMatrix * (objMatrix * (position * axes) + moveVector)) / (max(axes.x, axes.y) * length(vec2(axes.w / axes.z, 1.0f))));\n" (Yes, that's a real, meaningful line of source code.  If you can guess what it does, I'll be very impressed.) If you can think of anything at all, it's probably some other device emulating a keyboard, in which case, it's completely obvious why it will never be able to compete with a real keyboard. Touch might become common for analog controls where using a real mouse isn't an option, but it will never be more than a dumb gimmick in situations where a mouse is available. Voice is a niche option and will remain so forever.  That's not just a technological barrier, either; even if voice recogntion worked perfectly, I don't want my neighbors to hear what I'm typing.  A room with a bunch of people talking to their computers at once would be disturbing in ways that a bunch of people typing at once isn't.  It's not just because we're not used to it; a bunch of people talking on cell phones at once is also a nuisance. Gesture commands could conceivably catch on for situations where there are only a few things that you could conceivably want to do.  Think "The Clapper" here; it works if all you want to do is to turn lights on or off.  But do you think you could come up with forty distinct gestures for which it's plausible that computers could reliably recognize the difference between all of them?  And even if you could, would you be able to perform them at a rate of several per second, as is easy to do with a keyboard? ----- As for the original post, thanks for sharing your experiences.  As I see it, there are three very different classes of cases where Microsoft will take criticism for changing things: 1)  You can still do something that you used to be able to do, but the way you do it now is different.  Not really better or worse, but just different.  The only real problem is that we're used to the old way and not the new one. 2)  You can still do something that you used to be able to do, but now it's much harder. 3)  There are things that you used to be able to do that you now cannot do at all.  This can be a big problem if you still want to do them. Part of the problem is that on launch day, the distinction between the three classes isn't always immediately obvious.  Criticisms of the first type will soon blow over; once everyone is used to the new way, we won't miss the old way. The second type is about trade-offs.  Any particular task could be made very easy by having a large button to do that particular task constantly visible in the center of the screen.  But you cannot do that for every task at once.  Good UI design is about making the things that you want to do a lot easy, while the things that you only infrequently want to do are relegated to the more awkward methods. The third type is the problem.  Windows RT will probably come in for reams of criticism over it, once people buy Windows RT machines and then learn that most of the software they want to run can't run.  But Windows 8 might see a lot less of it. ----- Microsoft touts a new search function, but I'm curious whether they've restored the great search functionality that Windows 98 had--and XP, Vista, and 7 all lacked.  With Windows 98, you could specify a string of text and a place to search and it would return all files area you specify (a folder and its subfolders) that contained the given string anywhere in the file.  More recent versions can't do that, or at least, I spent hours trying to figure out how in XP before giving up, and have likewise tried and failed to figure out how to do it in Vista and 7. Windows 7 can find a file with a specified name, or a specified portion of a name, but that only helps if you remember what a file is named.  Windows XP couldn't even do that much; you could tell it to find all files with such and such name, and it would miss some.  I think that the difference was supposed to be performance optimizations; the Windows XP file search function ran much, much faster than the Windows 98 one.  The problem is that the way it got the performance increase is by not searching everything.  Fast and wrong is useless.

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I'm not going to argue your "nonsense" claim, since Microsoft has a lot better experts than you or I, and they made the call.

More and more people are choosing mobile devices over full computers. The lines are being further blurred by devices such as Surface and Phablets.  Head-mounted and other types of hidden/ubiquitous computing will be here soon enough as well.  Depending on which sources you follow, some say tablets are killing laptops in sales, but also leading people to purchase desktops if a tablet is going to be their main "roaming" device.

By post-pc, no one means the PC is going away.  It is, increasingly, taking a back seat in pure numbers, to mobile devices.  I'm as big of a friggin geek as they come, and I use my iPad at home more than anything else. It replaced my livingroom laptop.  This is also common for my clients now.  Obviously type-heavy work is a different matter.

You can whine and be an old curmugeon about new operating systems if you want.  I've heard it about every Windows release since we went from 3.x to 95.  It's not going to change the way things are going.  I've read that as many as 80% of people won't ever own Windows 8.  I think this is more true in Enterprise than at home.  However, Windows 9,10 probably isn't going to return to the old start bar, so you might as well get over that now.

As for input, yeah clearly the keyboard/mouse will be here a long time.  However, as more people use other forms of input on their mobile devices, they will expect the same on their computers.  I can't tell you how many times I reach up to touch things on my regular LCD screens these days. Gesture is ancillary.  It works with touch and voice better than alone.

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No matter how hard you try convince me or rest that i eventually switch over to win 8 ur surely mistaken unless its not supported anymore i stick with win7.

But ive no smarthphone no tablet and no laptop i only have desktop and as long im mainly using it for building-overclocking and games my win7 do a superb job.

You know the frase right: When its not broke dont fix it?

http://www.technologyreview.com/news/508311/the-woman-charged-with-making-windows-8-succeed/

Fairly interesting read. This interview is with Julie Larson-Green, the person put in charge of Windows 8 to "save it" after they canned Steven Sinofsky.

In case you were wondering when they were going to bring back the Start menu - the answer may be "never". This is the same person who dramatically overhauled Office in 2007 and brought the "Ribbon Interface" that most people really hated. When asked, in this interview, about people who have trouble with the "duality" of the touch-model versus keyboard/mouse, she basically replied:
* They will get used to it, because they have to use it - after all, they got used to Office (really? I never did).
* Most computers will have touchscreens in the future anyway, and then they will thank us for it because Live Tiles are the future

I'm paraphrasing there, but all in all not terribly happy about it.

Originally posted by Ridelynn

http://www.technologyreview.com/news/508311/the-woman-charged-with-making-windows-8-succeed/

Fairly interesting read. This interview is with Julie Larson-Green, the person put in charge of Windows 8 to "save it" after they canned Steven Sinofsky.

In case you were wondering when they were going to bring back the Start menu - the answer may be "never". This is the same person who dramatically overhauled Office in 2007 and brought the "Ribbon Interface" that most people really hated. When asked, in this interview, about people who have trouble with the "duality" of the touch-model versus keyboard/mouse, she basically replied:
* They will get used to it, because they have to use it - after all, they got used to Office (really? I never did).
* Most computers will have touchscreens in the future anyway, and then they will thank us for it because Live Tiles are the future

I'm paraphrasing there, but all in all not terribly happy about it.

I like the new start menu.  Move mouse to absolute lower left screen and click, boom I'm at the start menu that I've configured for what I want.  If something isn't on my list I just start typing and it searches for the app or what not for me.

She was right about the ribbon too.  Office 2013 has even improved on that.  I can't imagine using that sort of software without it. I am patiently waiting for Open Office to catch up in their UI.  It's horrible and going back to the 90's way of interfacing sucks.  The ribbon style UI is also on the Win8 explorer and it's awesome.  It was the hardest change I had to adapt to, but it's one of the best.  I do a lot of file work and love having access to those settings that used to be buried down in a config window on some other tab.

I still don't use the modern apps much, but my daughter loves them.  I asked her last night, when she was being bratty, if she would rather have her old WinXP back.  The answer was a resounding no.  Anyway if touch screens come then fine, and I anticipate that will be a standard laptop feature very soon.  I'm still using my desktop like a desktop.