Windows 8- anyone using it?

[Grant Lamontagne]

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-8/release-preview

I'm considering giving it a shot and I was wondering if anyone else has tried it, and what successes, failures and impressions you may have?

Def

[Sazabi]

I've heard Win8 is rather wonky if you don't have a touch-screen computer.  I'll hold off on upgrading until at least SP1, and that's provided changes are made that, IMO, make it better than Win7, which I've yet to see. :/

[Gryffin]

I'll hold off on upgrading until at least SP1

That's always a good idea with new versions of Microsoft products!

[Sazabi]

I'll hold off on upgrading until at least SP1

That's always a good idea with new versions of Microsoft products!

Or for even-numbered OS releases, too:  ME, CE, NT, Vista... Win8?

[Gryffin]

Or for even-numbered OS releases, too:  ME, CE, NT, Vista... Win8?

Aw, crap.. I hadn't thought of that. They're due for a clunker! 

[Millhouse]

I've been running Windows 8 virtually for the last couple of months, mainly to test that my software will work.

Its odd at first, then you get used to it.

[jzmtl]

How dumbed down is win 8? I really hate how the user used to be able to tweak and change stuff without go through the make-changes-for-dummies UI, now it's getting very close to MS way or the highway.

[Millhouse]

If you are used to Vista or Win7, Win 8 isn't so different.

[Sazabi]

Isn't the push for Apps for Win8 and touchscreen computers though?  Granted, where I've been reading what little I know about Win8 (the restore-like-new function looks /really/ neat, I must admit) is very... biased and information suspect.  For what I do, I require full-fledged programs and non-Internet-connectivity-required stipulations; most of the computers in this office do not have Internet connectivity, except for the couple minutes to update the OS or for program updates.  It seems to me Win8 is geared more for netbooks, All-in-One systems, and tablets more so than a full fledged workstation OS. :/

[enki_ck]

How dumbed down is win 8? I really hate how the user used to be able to tweak and change stuff without go through the make-changes-for-dummies UI, now it's getting very close to MS way or the highway.

I agree, I started using win7 from the first beta on my desktop, but kept xp on my home server and netbook for these reasons.

[Pacu]

i got two sealed windows 7 ultimate 64 bit for my future builds...i'm gonna sit back .. wait and watch.

i am interested to see how apple os6 , android and win8 battle it out this christmas on the tablet front

[Whoey]

I have the consumer preview setup in a virtualbox machine... to me it felt very touchscreen phone. It seems like it's completely not intended for power users. I prefer a start menu vs common programs list... or using a search to find programs rather than going directly to them...

I don't see me switching any win7 setups anytime soon.

[Grant Lamontagne]

Resistance is futile- I am being assimilated.



I'm giving Win 8 a shot.

Def

[Millhouse]

I'm back on Win7. Gave 8 a go for a week.

[mvyrmnd]

How dumbed down is win 8? I really hate how the user used to be able to tweak and change stuff without go through the make-changes-for-dummies UI, now it's getting very close to MS way or the highway.

I don't buy that argument. I'm a "power user" - and an IT professional - and I couldn't care less about how tweakable and customizable the OS is. I just don't have the time or the energy to sit and fiddle with my OS. I like it when it works. iOS is great like that. I don't want to "skin" is or muck around. It just works.

Android works fine in it's stock form, but when manufacturers molest it (here's looking at you, Samsung) they smurf it up. I zapped my Galaxy Tab 2 with AOKP and everything's peachy.

Mac OS and Windows 7 don't get fiddled with, even though I suppose I could. Windows 8, whether it can or can't be fiddled with, wouldn't be anyway.

[Grant Lamontagne]

Well, I'm all updated and it seems to be working fine.  Nothing has caught fire and I don't have herpes yet, so it's passed the first tests.

Seriously this tile thing is no problem.  If it bothers you press the tile marked "DESKTOP" and it brings you right back to a Win7/Vista/XP/98 type interface.  I don't see any major problems yet, but then I've only been using it for an hour or two so far.

I'll report back when I've had more time to play.

Def

[ryan1835]

Well, I'm all updated and it seems to be working fine.  Nothing has caught fire and I don't have herpes yet, so it's passed the first tests.

Seriously this tile thing is no problem.  If it bothers you press the tile marked "DESKTOP" and it brings you right back to a Win7/Vista/XP/98 type interface.  I don't see any major problems yet, but then I've only been using it for an hour or two so far.

I'll report back when I've had more time to play.

Def

Please do, i doubt ill be able to replace my mac with another for a while so im looking at windows 8 as a possible option for my next machine. Vista put me off windows for a long long time

[legtu]

i too, will be waiting for at least sp1 before even considering to upgrade. i'll be trying it out on a vm though when i get some free time.

[Whoey]

http://tech.slashdot.org/story/13/04/11/002200/windows-8-killing-pc-sales

Not that it surprises me at all... Microsoft of all companies should realize that considering how many users are STILL using XP that people do not like drastic change. I feel almost like I should be gathering up a few copies of Win7 to make it past the Win8 generation... I think we have a Vista/WinME moment again...

[PTRSAK]

I have a Windoze8 disk sitting here on my desk where it has been for several months.

I bought it and was going to upgrade this PC which currently runs Win7.
The thing that bunches my shorts is that It won't let me install the 64bit version as an upgrade from 32bit Win7... Why the smurf not???
I'm not wanting to do a "real" upgrade and keep my other programs etc, I want to do a fresh install upgrade (now there's an oxymoron) so it will wipe the drive anyway... BAH, I don't want to reinstall win7 as 64bit just to "upgrade" it by blowing it away as part of the Win8 install. But it looks like that's what I have to do.

Oh well, it's a good excuse to buy a SSD.

[Grant Lamontagne]

I'm using 8 and I have been for a while.  It's pretty well the same as 7 or XP was except that it has a tiled Start Menu.  There are a few annoyances with it, but no more than any other OS I have tried.

My mother had issues with 8 at first until I told her to think of the tiles more as an expanded Start Menu rather than a whole other mode, and that made a lot more sense to her.  My mother, btw, has been working with computers since the late 60's and has taught computer use at several community colleges, so she knows her way around a machine quite well.

I think that 8 was doomed from the start, but it was a step that had to be taken by someone.  A single OS across all devices is a great idea, as is an app market for your desktop.  I found it frustrating that if I wanted a new app for my phone I paid a dollar (or got it free), got it instantly and it worked, while to get an app for my PC I still had to go to Staples or Best Buy, pay $60 for a program that looks like it should work, bring it home, spend twenty minutes installing, registering and configuring, then days trying to figure out how the heck it is supposed to do what I want it to.

The fact is, that it is the next logical step- it's a big one but one that had to be taken by someone.  Apple will build on it, Linux will build on it and MS will come out with 8.5 or 9 and the concept will just continue, and as usual, everyone will rave about how great the Apple version is and how horrible the MS OS is and life will go on, with the mainstream folks just ignoring the existence of Linux.

Def

[Whoey]

It's no secret I'm not a big Windows or OSX fan.

I tried 8, and it just does not seem to make sense to me. Also the tablet/desktop versions are not the same. Win 8 and RT are not the same. It seems rather than simplify everything like they are claiming, it's more complicated.

As for app stores, isn't there enough already? Each manufacturer/major player with their own store only complicates things more and we're back where we started.

I dualboot from Ubuntu to Win 7 on this machine for gaming. On Windows (and now linux too) I have Steam. I now buy most of my games via Steam, with the exception of Blizzard games as they don't like to play with anyone else... Steam is great and I can't wait to see what they pull off next.

[Millhouse]

Still on Windows 8, resisted going back to 7.

I have the free app classic UI installed, so I have a start button again.

[Pacu]

Windows 8 apps has a load of shovelware . Lots of quantity but quality is lacking...but then so is androids playstore. 

Wonder when the new Nexus tablets drop in july if it will kill 8 on tablets. Supposed to be under 200 maybe 149.99.

[Monrogue]

We recently got a brand new computer and it has Windows 8.  I must say it was a very interesting setup with the tiles and whatnot, but I don't mind it.  It's much better than whatever archaic version our old PC was using (I'm talking like Windows 2000 or something along those lines ).  Trust me, it's a major difference, but for the better as far as I'm concerned. 

It is nice to drag the cursor to an edge and open up various options, etc., but it does take getting used to.  And as has already been mentioned, you can choose the Desktop anyway.  I tend to use both depending on what I'm doing.  I'm not computer/software buff though, so I'm still learning as I go, but so far I've been enjoying it.  That could also be an effect of the horribly outdated computer/software I have been used to.  This new one is exponentially faster and can do so much more. 

[ryan1835]

so is 8 a no go?

[Grant Lamontagne]

I personally don't have any major issues with 8.

Def

Sent from a digital multitool

[ryan1835]

so is it better then 7 or just different?

[Grant Lamontagne]

Slightly different.  There's two "modes" for lack of a better term.  There's the Tile Mode which is more like a tablet and is the green background screen you usually see, then there's the Win 7 Mode which makes it work just like Win 7, only instead of a start menu, you use the Tile Mode.

So far I have only encountered one program that won't run on 8 and that is the GoPro Cineform app, so until that is fixed (really annoyed with GoPro on that) I am not able to update my camera firmware on my laptop.  Oh well, I just have to use my netbook, my wife's netbook or my desktop for that.   

Def

[landwomble]

The UI is "different"  but I like it and typically so do most users after they've found their way around.  The OS  *is* "better" though - everything we learnt from 7 over the years went into it plus huge amount of code optimisation for speed and reduced power drain. It's technically very slick indeed regardless of whether you use it with touch enabled hardware or not.
(Disclaimer: I work for Microsoft,  views not necessarily those of my employer etc)

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