Any Windows fans out there?
Microsoft has some really great things coming up that I’m super excited about.
I’ve been using Windows 8 on a tablet for a while now. I think it’s awesome. I love the Metro Interface. I’d like to get my hands on one of their Surface Tablets.
I’ve been waiting for Win 8 release before I buy my next computer. My wife has about had it with trying to use her iPad for anything work related. It’s just not doing what she needs or wants. To quote a Forbes.com article: “The iPad is the market’s best media consumption gadget, but it’s not a work productivity tool.”
I was disappointed to read that it looks like Outlook will not be included on tablets powered with the ARM chip (Windows RT). I hope this isn’t true. Especially since the RT version will have all of the other Office products on it.
So who’s excited? Who’s planning on getting a Windows 8 device when they come out?
On a tablet, it probably works, but forcing other users to forego multiple windows is just plain stupid. I was talking to a former Microsoft employee the other day and he thinks that particular part of Windows 8 is absolutely insane.
One of the biggest pains about the iPad is that you can’t easily switch from one program to another. This is a real way for Microsoft to gain an advantage, yet they decide to do it the same half-assed way Apple is – close one program, open the second, then close the second and reopen the first. :rolleyes: On a toy like the iPad, this is tolerable, but if you want to actually do work, it’s madness.
The only bright spot is that I don’t think Microsoft is so stupid as to keep it this way. Or are they?
I have a Lumia phone. It’s a really solid product and my experience with the OS so far has been excellent. So yes, I am looking forward to Win8 and most definitely to the docking tablets.
I am looking forward to Windows 8. I have been waiting for a long time for an PC OS with good touch/tablet capabilities and 8 seems to be the ticket. I have mentioned it on a number of threads but I am really looking forward to the Samsung Hybrid PC. If they execute properly, it could be my dream device. Microsoft’s Surface also looks pretty interesting though apparenly we will only get the Windows RT version this year.
I really love Windows 7, and it was the main reason I didn’t buy a MacBook last summer. Windows 8 looks pretty, but the real test is whether it’s a workhorse like 7 and XP, or underwhelming like iOS.
I wouldn’t say I’m a windows “fan” and I’m especially not a fan of how Microsoft is so rabidly anti-linux with every chance it gets. But I do use windows, and I’m a PC gamer which almost requires it for a lot of the games I like to play, so I’ll be sticking with it.
Windows 8 may be interesting, I don’t think it will automatically suck. Windows 7 has been generally pretty awesome, definitely a huge improvement over XP (which was great).
I used the release preview on my desktop PC and if it’s any indication of the final version, I won’t be upgrading from Win7.
Simply put, Metro sucks on a desktop. It sucks for fundamental reasons, such as the fact that it’s designed for touch instead of a mouse. It also sucks for more technical reasons, such as how it’s almost unusable with multimon because the edges play such a heavy role, but it’s almost impossible to “find” the edge with the cursor without going over to the next screen.
I’m sure it’s great for tablets, but for workstations it’s a disaster.
I’m glad you like Windows 8, but I believe it will go down just like Windows Vista did. The simple reason is that Windows XP is still in wide use in a corporate environment, and businesses have been slowly adapting to Windows 7, mostly through attrition and replacement of old machines. For many businesses, the costs to change over to Windows 7 (legacy software, legacy printers, etc.) was quite a hassle, and with the large amount of changes from W7 to W8, they just arent’ willing to invest.
Secondly, the tablet-ready format doesn’t really work well when using a standard non-touch-enabled format. The interface requires a certain amount of re-learning Windows once again, which most staff doesn’t want to endure again.
Lastly, the non-standard windows interface, i.e. Windows promoting the most common applications to larger areas on the desktop, really makes it darn difficult to administer. When you can’t walk a user through doing things on the phone, i.e. “Please go to the bubble in the corner, click it, then go to Programs and Printers…”, it makes the situation a hell of a lot more difficult than found in XP or 7.
No love here, nor with most of my IT-support friends, sorry.
I’m an IT support person who rather likes Windows 8. It’s very easy to use once you learn the basics, and a lot of “common use” features are much easier to get to. IT people are exceedingly resistant to change, even when the product is good.
The only thing I dislike in Win8 is dropping the start button in desktop mode. It’s not DIFFICULT, but it’s an odd, totally needless change.
I’m running the Win8 RC and the experience is very, very similar to 7 but more polished. The Metro layer is very cool, but there’s too few apps at this point to even judge. If they have developers on board when the retail launch happens, it could be very cool very quick.
MS currently has some of the best ideas being implemented in the industry. Windows Phone, from a design perspective, is streets ahead of the competition.
The biggest problem MS has is their branding. People hate MS and hate Windows, despite the extremely high quality and design. of most of their recent products.
Also, evaluating Win 8 on its applicability to corporate environments is dumb. Corporate IT adoption is slow. Win8 isn’t made for corporate thin clients right now, it’s a consumer / prosumer OS. They have time to develop, tweak, and refine before wide corporate implementation is going to be a major concern.
In Win7, why do “full screen” programs not use the full screen? There’s a little band of desktop visible above and below. Why throw away even a few square inches of real estate? (Especially when everyone and his uncle is trying to get us to install new add-on toolbars! They’ve thrown away room for four toolbars!)
Hmph. If DOS was good enough for Jesus Christ, it’s good enough for me.
I have to report another sighting of the rare Windows fan. Usually thought to be extinct, or never to have existed at all, there are still sporadic sightings.
That’s the ‘glassy’ theme that Microsoft thought* was the more modern/futuristic way to present things. It is possible to choose another desktop theme. I’ve even pushed mine back to the ‘classic’ look with solid-bordered windows like you prefer.
Those add-on toolbars that offer to ‘help’ with your shopping and searching are the front end of code that tracks where you browse and what you type. Don’t think for a minute that they’re actually free, or that your information is secure or private. At the very least, they’re communicating back to advertising servers that will tailor the stuff you see in the browser search results to maximize the opportunity to advertise stuff you’re likely to be interested in buying. At worst, they’re logging your credentials to financial institution websites…
*Microsoft tends to believe they know what you want better than you know what you want and then they try to impose their will by force or coercion or subterfuge. Nevertheless, they make products that are otherwise very good for inter-business productivity and collaboration. When they concentrate on improving their business-oriented products, they outshine the competition. For that matter, I like Apple less than Microsoft. Apple doesn’t care what you want. They care(d) what Steve Jobs want(ed) and refuse(d) to offer any alternatives, even when better alternatives already exist(ed). When they concentrate on entertainment-oriented products (music, video, visual arts) they outshine the competition. We’ll see if they relax their iron fist a bit under the new leadership.
—G!
If a man has good corn or wood, or boards, or pigs, to sell, or can make better chairs or knives, crucibles or church organs, than anybody else, you will find a broad hard-beaten road to his house, though it be in the woods.
. —Ralph Waldo Emerson
I’ve been reading good things about 8 but haven’t tried it yet. I hope to have enough money for one of the Surface tablets, maybe by next Christmas sales. But I’m going to hold off on putting it on my gaming rig until some of the early adopters give the thumbs up.