Are you skipping Windows 8?

[OutHouse]

nope not going to 8, no reason to. my laptop is running vista and does everything I need.

[biostud]

Just installed win8 on my home computer, had some minor problems with soem software but it got solved. So my first two hours of experience is:

Metro - Very different, and not intuitive as a regular windows user. Maybe it's good for tablets but not so much for mouse + keyboard. As soon as you start a program or open a folder you go straight to the desktop to launch it. Shouldn't it have been in a special "metro" window instead? Had to fiddle around a lot to get everything set up but I've got an idea of how to do it.

Windows UI - installed Start8 after a lot of frustration. Why no Aero? Now it just looks dated.

So far I wouldn't recommend it over win7, but it's hard to base it on two hours. It's not worse either (so far.....) just different.

But my laptop is going to be on win7 until late January, where I can make a final decision before paying for another upgrade.

[biostud]

It seems to feel quite a bit snappier than win 7.

[nickbits]

not sure yet.. installed it on my wife's laptop and it isn't as bad as i thought but I don't have a compelling reason to upgrade my other computers

[sswingle]

Have 0 plans to upgrade any system here from 7. (1 desktop, 2 notebooks)

[JackMDS]

So let say that I am skipping it!

What the expectation is?

Oh, Ok I know I am very smart, in two years a new version will come and it will go back to Win 7 type of interface.

Hmm... May be I am Not so smart, it might be better for $39.99 starting to get use to the near Future.

[blackangst1]

Tried it, didnt like it, sticking with 7.

[Subyman]

Storage spaces were enough for me to go for it.

[hhhd1]

Originally Posted by JackMDS

So let say that I am skipping it!

What the expectation is?

Oh, Ok I know I am very smart, in two years a new version will come and it will go back to Win 7 type of interface.

Hmm... May be I am Not so smart, it might be better for $39.99 starting to get use to the near Future.

in 2 years:

Either MS will get back the win7 interface back,

OR MS will create a brand new interface that can be usable in desktops, and laptops that are desktop replacement.

OR one (or few) of the 3rd party start menu solution will be very famous and will become the standard, and will be supported by most code developers.


so as you see, windows 8 is not the future, and therefore there is not reason to 'learn' it, it is the past, exactly 20 years ago, I do not see it becoming the future and ditching 20 years of progress.

[MeowKat]

Originally Posted by Fritzo

I'm skipping it so far, but I did install it on my wife's laptop because I had a few free copies. The problem is the "Tile" interface is completely unnecessary on a desktop OS. Tim Cook from Apple recently said it best <paraphrase>: "You'll notice that our mobile and desktop operating systems are optimized for their platforms, but they still interact well together. That's our strength."

Microsoft approached the problem like they were trying to reverse-engineer some kind of alien technology. They crammed a touch interface onto a desktop OS that's proving to be completely worthless. It's not more efficient because it requires more clicks to do common tasks, it's not easier because some features require precise mouse movements (the corner controls drive me crazy with a touchpad), and because the Tile screen is so large it often requires a lot of scrolling to get to the area you want.

My biggest gripe about touch screens on PC's and laptops: I know I have to wipe off the screen of my smartphone on my pantleg every 10 minutes. How the hell are you going to keep the gross streaks off of your laptop screen? Have you seen the Win8 laptops at Best Buy? The screens look like they're smeared with booger-encrusted slime. Gross.

Well said.

I agree completely.

[tracerbullet]

Originally Posted by Maximilian

getting windows 8 for free is like being given a dead kitten for free

LOL


I've got 7 installed, and plan to run with it. I have 8, not installed. I figure I'll get around to it eventually and play with it. Unless it just blows me away, I'll stick with 7. I don't expect it to blow me away.

[BurnItDwn]

I don't know yet. I'm runinng Windows 7 on 2 pcs at home, and not planning to install 8 in the near future. If I build myself a new PC in a year or two, I may install 8, or I may not.

[kleinkinstein]

Skipped.

Tim Cook from Apple recently said it best "You'll notice that our mobile and desktop operating systems are optimized for their platforms, but they still interact well together. That's our strength."

Somehow MS got all caught up in Angry Bird use cases and lost sight of the Windows customer promise. It will be great drama to sit back and watch MS admit they gaffed and put the start menu back in, allow a direct boot Desktop and re-offer all the conveniences which make a desktop environment great. Win8 will die, Ballmer is a blue screen and he'll get booted...all while the Enterprise mandates long term 7 support and we'll get 9 which will be what 8 could have been.

[gmaster456]

Definitely getting it. I really like it. I'm in no hurry but I'll install it at some point.

[Red Squirrel]

Skipped 7 and 8, running Linux Xubuntu.

What's crazy is that win 8 is being adopted much faster than windows 7. Actually kinda scary. They sold milions of copies already. This is sending a message to MS that people DO like it.

[GrumpyMan]

Booting faster is not enough and for me is irrelevant. Hate Metro. I don't care if it is a little faster in some things or even more secure. I like to customize my desktop and love Aero. I don't care for tablets or smart phones, especially MS ones. So, in short, pass it is for me. I'll look at W9 and if it's the same crap, I'll once again pass on it or move onto some other OS.

[Red Squirrel]

I find 7 boots pretty quick from what I've seen. Nothing beats Linux though, well maybe 8 as I have not tried it outside of a VM environment. The real threat to boot time now is not the OS, but the BIOS. UEFI is taking over and those BIOSes are bloody slow to load. BIOS stands for Basic Input Output System, but UEFI takes the Basic part away. It's kinda sad when POST takes longer than the actual OS load.

[Fritzo]

Originally Posted by Red Squirrel

Skipped 7 and 8, running Linux Xubuntu.

What's crazy is that win 8 is being adopted much faster than windows 7. Actually kinda scary. They sold milions of copies already. This is sending a message to MS that people DO like it.

I think they're selling OEM licenses. PC sales are way down, so there's a lot of inventory that's being sat on.

[DaveStall]

Originally Posted by Red Squirrel

Skipped 7 and 8, running Linux Xubuntu.

What's crazy is that win 8 is being adopted much faster than windows 7. Actually kinda scary. They sold milions of copies already. This is sending a message to MS that people DO like it.

I think the fact that this upgrade is MUCH cheaper than previous versions of Windows might have something to do with that. For me, it was a no brainer really. It frees up a more expensive Windows 7 license to use on another system that can be upgraded from XP.

I still don't see what all the fuss is about. It hasn't changed how I use a Windows PC in one single meaningful way. Sure, I cheated and installed a start application but I really don't see that as a huge deal.

I still think Windows 7 is the single best desktop OS I have ever used, and I have used a bunch of them. Windows 8 probably is a bit of a step back but doesn't really change how I use my PC.

[rgallant]

win7 for 2-6 months then have a look
-only stable gaming is my os concerns
-with my sound drivers coming in next month will have to see if they work in win8
-with all the unstable ports we get for PC games now days why throw win8 into the what if's.
-over time MS will clean it up , most drivers will work , but with no incentive on record today to use it , there's not much point to upgrading from a well supported/rock stable OS Win 7.

[LumbergTech]

I'll probably just wait it out and see what they offer next. I don't really care that it offers nothing amazing because I was already happy with 7. From my understanding it does have some minor benefits, but none of them are enticing enough for me to jump to a new OS.

[njdevilsfan87]

Have it on one computer (only because it was a $15 upgrade), and will not be getting it for my gaming computer any time soon. Yes it boots quicker, but I always put my Win7 machine to sleep anyway so it's not like I ever "boot up" anyway. And when I do it's plenty quick on the SSD anyway.

Maybe in the future, but right now there's really no reason to move away from Win 7.

[cvmmcg2]

Unfortunately because I do repairs and upgrades I had to install it on one machine for learning purposes so that I can repair Windows 8 Systems that are starting to come in.
I have also wiped about 20 Clients Computers of Windows 8 and installed Windows 7 for them because they just could not deal with 8. Some of these Clients are very Computer savvy and the biggest complaint was loss of productivity with 8?
I also made the mistake of buying 80 Windows 8 Pro upgrade Keys pre-release from MS @ a deep discount. Installs sold to date 0???? I even offered it for free and just bill my Tech Time @ 50% of normal rate and still cannot get one Client to bite! Window 8 is only going to be good for business by installing Windows 7
on Clients Computers that have Windows 8 installed from the Factory. Unfortunately MS has not reduced their prices on Windows 7 Versions, but are giving away 8. That has to tell you something?

[zerogear]

Originally Posted by JackMDS

So let say that I am skipping it!

What the expectation is?

Oh, Ok I know I am very smart, in two years a new version will come and it will go back to Win 7 type of interface.

Hmm... May be I am Not so smart, it might be better for $39.99 starting to get use to the near Future.

I remember reading that MS is adopting a yearly upgrade cycle now.. Not sure how I feel about that, but I don't believe MS will be backtracking on touch interface, now that they rolled out with Windows 8.

I think it is a bit absurd to think Microsoft will drop back to Windows 7-ish UI with Windows 9 (if called that).

[Zaap]

Skipping. No compelling reason to use Win 8, even with all sorts of add-ons to make it a half-assed Win 7. Even giving it to me for free wouldn't be much of an incentive.

Windows 8 isn't the future- much of it is actually the past that other OS's have already moved past, ironically, including Windows 7 in many ways. 8 has a few good ideas here and there in the desktop mode that the more skilled part of the design team were able to add in, but ultimately those should have been an update to 7, not the saving graces of an otherwise half-assed OS.

Best case scenario for Microsoft, for consumers and for the future of computing: Balmer -possibly one of the worst CEO's of a major tech company of all time- will finally be ousted from MS taking with him much of his culture of lameness that's been a millstone around the company's neck.

Then hopefully some new talent with fresh ideas for the 21st century going forward will be brought in, and finally MS's ample resources can be put toward some actual innovation worthy of building on what MS actually has done right (Win 7, the good parts of 8) and create a nex-gen OS that IS actually a worthy successor to 7. 8 isn't.