Are you excited for Windows 8?

[JimKiler]

Seeing the screenshots of the Metro Guy makes it look terrible and since I enjoy Windows 7 I am not excited to upgrade. Is anyone else feeling the same way?

 

[Genx87]

Dont know much about it and Windows 7 is solid. So, right now, not that interested. The only thing that interests me about it is ARM support. Curious to see if it can bring Windows to tablets worth buying.

 

[dawks]

I've kind of gotten over the "next big thing". When it really comes down to it, Windows 7 and Mac OS 10.6 does most of what I need. The new versions might add a few features here and there, but the world won't end if I don't upgrade. Hell even Windows XP still does most of what most people need. Unless you want DirectX 11 (which could technically run on XP if it wasn't for trying to get people to spend more $), an updated GUI or better security, XP is still rock solid.

Unless the come out with some HUGE features like being able to install updates/drivers without rebooting (a never released feature of Vista btw), or overall speed improvements (I still often find myself waiting occasionally for strange things, even on fast hardware) its all just incremental improvements.

 

[Nothinman]

It's still way too early to tell. As Genx87 says, the main thing so far is ARM support but even that's kinda meh since NT has been cross platform since it's creation.

 

[smartpatrol]

I'm most excited about ARM support. I'm optimistic that we will finally get the best of both worlds: a real, full-function desktop OS but with a tablet/finger friendly interface and active digitizer + stylus support.

 

[Nothinman]

I'm most excited about ARM support. I'm optimistic that we will finally get the best of both worlds: a real, full-function desktop OS but with a tablet/finger friendly interface and active digitizer + stylus support.

I'm pessimistic about it because MS has routinely screwed that up.

 

[Barfo]

Not at all. Windows 7 does everything I need out of an OS and it does it sufficiently fast. Now if Windows 8 brings some compelling changes and has a similar footprint than Win7 I'll be interested.

 

[smartpatrol]

I'm pessimistic about it because MS has routinely screwed that up.

MS is not a market leader. BUT, they put out great products when they're playing catch-up.

Windows 7, Bing, WP7, Xbox, Kinect, Zune Pass . . . those are all excellent products IMO, and they were only created after MS got their heads out of their asses and decided that the market was too important to leave to their competitors.

I see no reason why the same won't happen with tablets.

 

[dawks]

MS is not a market leader. BUT, they put out great products when they're playing catch-up.

Windows 7, Bing, WP7, Xbox, Kinect, Zune Pass . . . those are all excellent products IMO, and they were only created after MS got their heads out of their asses and decided that the market was too important to leave to their competitors.

I see no reason why the same won't happen with tablets.

Part of the problem is Microsoft has been pushing tablets since maybe 2000? Windows XP has a tablet edition. So they've been trying for a long time, and its still not working. Part of the fundamental problem is Windows is designed for a mouse/keyboard scenario. The reason IOS is doing so well is that it was designed from the ground up to be a touch OS. Microsoft could pull it off, but it will take some work, and a big change in thinking.

 

[Nothinman]

MS is not a market leader. BUT, they put out great products when they're playing catch-up.

Windows 7, Bing, WP7, Xbox, Kinect, Zune Pass . . . those are all excellent products IMO, and they were only created after MS got their heads out of their asses and decided that the market was too important to leave to their competitors.

I see no reason why the same won't happen with tablets.

I kinda agree with you, but of those that you listed, the only ones that I would say really took off are Win7 (that's a given with enough time anyway), the XBox and possibly Kinect since it's for the XBox. I don't know a single person with a Zune anything, Bing gained more traction than I expected but everyone still says "google it" and WP7 isn't doing much and their update process isn't working out as well as they hoped. Their partnership with Nokia may help WP7, but that's still a ways off.

And from what I've seen in the recent past with their slate talk, they still don't get the tablet market like Apple does. Most people who want a tablet don't want a full blown, generic OS. They want a limited, mobile OS that does a small handful of things well. They don't care if they can use Word and Excel, but they do want to be able to view those docs on the train, maybe make small annotations and give a presentation. Will a full install of Office on Windows do that? Sure, but it's huge overkill and makes the device a PITA to use.

I'm not saying they won't get it right or won't find their own niche tablet market, but I'm not holding my breath yet. And I personally won't ever own one unless I can wipe it out and put Linux or Android on it. =)

 

[A5]

I'm waiting to see what's going to be new in Win8 beyond the slight UI refresh before I worry about it. There are probably some things under the hood that will be attractive as well.

 

[Genx87]

Part of the problem is Microsoft has been pushing tablets since maybe 2000? Windows XP has a tablet edition. So they've been trying for a long time, and its still not working. Part of the fundamental problem is Windows is designed for a mouse/keyboard scenario. The reason IOS is doing so well is that it was designed from the ground up to be a touch OS. Microsoft could pull it off, but it will take some work, and a big change in thinking.

Also Windows tablets have been stuck using x86 chips. Chips that offer poor battery life. With poor battery life tablets lose some of their luster.

 

[smartpatrol]

Part of the problem is Microsoft has been pushing tablets since maybe 2000? Windows XP has a tablet edition. So they've been trying for a long time, and its still not working. Part of the fundamental problem is Windows is designed for a mouse/keyboard scenario. The reason IOS is doing so well is that it was designed from the ground up to be a touch OS. Microsoft could pull it off, but it will take some work, and a big change in thinking.

Yeah, but it sounds like they will finally embrace a tablet-friendly interface with Windows 8. I'm not sure how this will work. Maybe they will require everything distributed through the W8 app store to support both touch and mouse/KB UIs, as well as support both ARM and x86 versions.

Imagine if you could dock your tablet and have it transition to mouse/KB mode, and un-dock it later and have it switch to touch interface.

I'm not sure if this is the direction MS is going or not, but I have a feeling they will do something along these lines. But, there's no way in hell MS is again going to take a desktop OS, stick it on a tablet, and tell you to use a stylus instead of a mouse. By all accounts, they are taking tablets much more seriously this time, and they are making some drastic changes.

 

[SimMike2]

The combination of Windows 7 and an SSD boot drive has transformed my computer experience. I really like Windows 7.

 

[JimKiler]

I kinda agree with you, but of those that you listed, the only ones that I would say really took off are Win7 (that's a given with enough time anyway), the XBox and possibly Kinect since it's for the XBox. I don't know a single person with a Zune anything, Bing gained more traction than I expected but everyone still says "google it" and WP7 isn't doing much and their update process isn't working out as well as they hoped. Their partnership with Nokia may help WP7, but that's still a ways off.
QUOTE]

I replaced my wife's Ipod with a Zune HD and love it, and she likes it too. Both Zune and Ipod touch screens are inferior to the old Ipod track wheel but the Zune HD is a higher capacity and cheaper alternative to the Ipod. Although the Zune is a dead product and so are all MP3 players since phones are the future but that is another discussion.

 

[Lemon law]

Jesus Christ on a crutch, why do we all play the microsoft OS upgrade game??????????

Its called calculated obsolesce, as microsoft has zero incentive to design a proper Modern OS, when they can withhold obvious design improvements today, and then they can rip off us all off again when they release windows 10.

 

[DirkGently1]

One word and one emoticon.

Ribbons. :thumbsdown:

 

[JimKiler]

One word and one emoticon.

Ribbons. :thumbsdown:

You do not like the ribbon in Office? I love it and think if it was an apple idea the world would love it.

 

[Nothinman]

Jesus Christ on a crutch, why do we all play the microsoft OS upgrade game??????????

Its called calculated obsolesce, as microsoft has zero incentive to design a proper Modern OS, when they can withhold obvious design improvements today, and then they can rip off us all off again when they release windows 10.

It's not just MS, every company in the world does that. There's a reason Apple releases new phones every year, Ford releases new cars every year, etc. And frankly, the cost of Windows is probably one of the lowest in a person's budget. If you buy OEM you get the license for fraction of the full cost and even if you buy it straight retail you it ends up being less than $10/mo if you use it for just 2 years and most people get 5+ out of a Windows license.

 

[lxskllr]

It's not just MS, every company in the world does that. There's a reason Apple releases new phones every year, Ford releases new cars every year, etc. And frankly, the cost of Windows is probably one of the lowest in a person's budget. If you buy OEM you get the license for fraction of the full cost and even if you buy it straight retail you it ends up being less than $10/mo if you use it for just 2 years and most people get 5+ out of a Windows license.

Yup. People don't think twice about dropping ~$400 on a gfx card. but ~$100 for a Windows license is some egregious expense. You don't have to upgrade every release. MS, if they stay on track, should be on a minor/major release cycle. If you only get the major releases, that's a purchase every ~5 years. That shouldn't be a burden, considering it makes your collection of energy expending, pile of Chinese junk do something.

 

[corkyg]

"Are you excited for Windows 8?"

Nope!

 

[DirkGently1]

You do not like the ribbon in Office? I love it and think if it was an apple idea the world would love it.

I'm not a fan but it's the early screenshots of Ribbons in Windows Explorer that put me off. It looks appalling! I think if it's included there will be a huge backlash. Ballmer has already said that Win8 is their "riskiest bet yet". I think he knows something we don't yet ;D

 

[MovingTarget]

Yup. People don't think twice about dropping ~$400 on a gfx card. but ~$100 for a Windows license is some egregious expense. You don't have to upgrade every release. MS, if they stay on track, should be on a minor/major release cycle. If you only get the major releases, that's a purchase every ~5 years. That shouldn't be a burden, considering it makes your collection of energy expending, pile of Chinese junk do something.

Some of us only dream of being able to drop ~$400 on a gfx card. There are plenty of us just behind the curve with secondhand purchased parts. To us, it is an egregious expense.

 

[airdata]

NO.

I think windows 7 is the best they've come up with so far. And it's kinda of a shame that they put windows 7 out and then immediately are at the drawing board to get the next iteration ready.

This isn't call of duty... we don't need a new version every 6-8 months.

Windows 7 is solid. And to be perfectly honest... I'm still using the RC release from whenever it first came out. Solid as a rock. (I own legit windows 7 home premium but haven't felt the need to re-install)

 

[Nothinman]

Some of us only dream of being able to drop ~$400 on a gfx card. There are plenty of us just behind the curve with secondhand purchased parts. To us, it is an egregious expense.

There's no lack of free alternatives. I've been using Linux on my home desktop for probably over 7 years now.

I think windows 7 is the best they've come up with so far. And it's kinda of a shame that they put windows 7 out and then immediately are at the drawing board to get the next iteration ready.

This isn't call of duty... we don't need a new version every 6-8 months.

Progress is a shame? The team working on Win8 isn't the same one that finished up Win7, they can do both at the same time. I think 6mo might be a bit much, but I think a yearly or 18mo refresh for client OSes is awesome.