Windows 8 Consumer Preview

[Istorian]

Here

 

So, what do you think? My thoughts: "Ooo, flashy buttons! :xp:"

 

However, I think it will be very difficult for Microsoft to turn the tables around and gain momentum over Apple.

[Lynk Former]

I think it will be very difficult for Microsoft to turn the tables around and gain momentum over Apple.

*sighs* What could've been a nice thread is just plain stupid from the start. Apple has nothing to do with Windows 8.

 

 

 

Windows 8 is the successor to Windows 7, as the name suggests. Microsoft is creating a consolidated OS that bridges the PC desktop environment with laptops and tablets. Of course the only big roadblock they have to face is the separate ARM version of W8, but that's understandable. For the most part they're doing a good job at trying to bridge these platforms and create a "unified workspace" for people. The basic idea behind Windows 8 seems to be the idea that if you move between devices that have Windows 8 installed, everything will be as it should be, all of your settings and documents will be there when you switch from your desktop to your laptop or tablet. At least that's what I gather from watching vids and reading about it.

 

I personally like the Metro UI but there are a few things that I'd change/tinker with to make it better. I know that Windows 7 in its base form wasn't good enough for my liking so I did a few things to customise the OS to the way I wanted it, I imagine I'd do the same with Windows 8. Though I don't see myself upgrading from 7 to 8 until I'm sure it's worth it (like how I stuck with XP for as long as I could before moving to 7) and if I do it'll probably at the same time that I get a Windows 8 powered tablet or laptop... or one that acts as both

 

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[ChAiNz.2da]

Apple has nothing to do with Windows 8

Probably because it's how some other sites are presenting it I'd imagine (whether it be the case or not).

 

http://download.cnet.com/8301-2007_4-57388116-12/windows-8-vs-os-x-mountain-lion-the-debate-begins/

 

http://techcrunch.com/2012/03/02/the-nine-different-flavors-of-windows-8-shows-the-key-difference-between-microsoft-and-apple/

 

http://www.cmswire.com/cms/mobile/windows-8-vs-os-x-mountain-lion-a-desktop-or-mobile-battle-014568.php

 

(and countless other sites/articles).

 

Putting my macfanboism aside.. I'm actually looking forward to Win 8 since I have pc's as well. Still running XP Pro on those machines and my mac's bootcamp partition so I'm in dire need of a more robust OS (Vista was horrible and I never got around to getting Win 7). While I know Win 7 would be that.. Win 8 is so close now I'll just wait it out.

[Q]

I'm pretty satisfied with Windows 7, so I'll probably wait to switch unless there's a really good reason like an insanely low upgrade price or something.

[Lynk Former]

@ chainz: It's the in thing to compare Apple with everything now. "Top 10 reasons why the iPad is better than this blender!"

 

But anyway, another thing I've noticed on the web with peoples opinions of Windows 8 is that SUDDENLY... ALL OF A SUDDEN... everyone has forgotten how to use keyboard shortcuts. Everyone who is playing with the Consumer Preview has suddenly lost the ability to use their keyboard but complain about the fact that things aren't as quick as they used to be with Windows 7 because they have to move their mouse just a little more to initiate commands that are based on the touch interface on the system.

 

That and they've suddenly forgotten how to use the scroll wheel. *click/hold drag mouse* why is this so tedious? I dunno, why don't you use your scroll wheel to scroll through the Metro interface, moron? XD I know i"m getting aggressive about this, but it's frustrating to watch people use stuff like this and they don't do the most basic of things. It's like watching a dude play a video game and he never reloads his weapon before a big fight or something like that... WRRRYYYYYY?

 

*cough* I'm also really interested with how W8 will work on a dual monitor setup...

 

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...beta has issues, but I'm hoping stuff is better in the final version.

 

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Hmmm, not bad.

[Ferc Kast]

Several people on another forum, which I also use, keep forgetting that you can use the Aero Desktop in Windows 8. Personally, I find that the ability to use the Aero Desktop to be the best part of the upcoming OS: it brings a great feeling of peace to know that everything that can run on Windows 7 will run fine on 8. (unlike during the XP to Vista transition with some incompatible programs/drivers)

 

In short, I'm quite ecstatic about the potential of Windows 8. In fact, ecstatic enough to have it as a dual boot on my laptop at the moment.

[Lynk Former]

I'm sure one of the first hacks for Windows 8 will be to somehow combine the Metro UI with the desktop UI so that the taskbar shows up at the bottom (or wherever you put it) all the time and the Metro UI is basically a replacement for the background image so you can have legacy windows floating over the top of it while the Metro programs (don't wanna call them apps, bleah) still run the way they would normally except it wouldn't be 100% fullscreen since the taskbar would be there still.

[mimartin]

[ It's like watching a dude play a video game and he never reloads his weapon before a big fight or something like that... WRRRYYYYYY?

Or like when someone runs off to another big fight without healing...Just expect the healer to catch up even though she just used all her energy on the last fight...

[Istorian]

*sighs* What could've been a nice thread is just plain stupid from the start. Apple has nothing to do with Windows 8.

 

It's the in thing to compare Apple with everything now. "Top 10 reasons why the iPad is better than this blender!"

 

I'm sorry, I don't live in the US, so I may have gotten this wrong due to the way it is considered to be here. Isn't Windows 8 an OS designed by Microsoft for a PC, among other devices? Isn't Mac OS X an OS designed by Apple for Apple's computers and devices? (I know the company builts its own PCs, that's why it has a reputation, although in my opinion, Apple PCs are a bit exaggerated.) Apple <> Microsoft, therefore they are rival companies since they both build OS for PCs.

 

So, if you consider buying a PC, you have to choose between getting an Apple PC (with Mac OS X) or another PC and have a Windows OS installed (or another one of course, I prefer Linux). Therefore, by releasing Windows 8, Microsoft is targeting, among other things, to slow this advancing trend of people buying Apple computers (at least, that's a new trend in my country). That's why I said that Microsoft will be having trouble stopping the momentum Apple has gained in the market these last years. I do not think I've said something stupid, but if I have, please correct me.

[JCarter426]

I don't particularly like Windows 7, but it manages to function within reason. It looks like I won't be switching to Windows 8, though.

[Lynk Former]

@ Istorian: I don't live in the US either.

 

I'll put it simply. Apple has found success through its iProducts, not OS X. Apples success with its iProducts has nothing to do with Windows 8. There are no tables to be turned since Windows has saturated its relevant markets in both consumer to enterprise focuses. What Apple has tapped into is a newer audience, much the same way Nintendo tapped into a newer audience with Wii and helped grow the gaming population and make it more diverse.

 

So yes, Windows 8 has nothing to do with Apple. The OS battle between Apple and Microsoft back in the 20th century ended with the 20th century... rather before that but you get what I'm saying. Microsoft and Apple are very different companies now and do very different things despite Apple making their own computers and having their own OS, they're focused on very different spectrum's now instead of directly competing with each other.

 

 

@ JCarter426: Yeah, a lot of folks who are just sticking with their current setup won't find any reason to switch to Windows 8. As I said before, it looks more like an OS that's trying to bridge the device platform for folks who have multiple devices but want to move seamlessly between all of them to do their work or whatever.

[Istorian]

@Lynk Former Ah, I get what you mean, and you're right. I just assumed that there is this trend of bying MacBooks and Mac Air's in the other countries too, because I see it here all the time. Of course Apple's recent success is due to its iProducts, and that I see, too, but here in Greece more and more consumers and small companies abandon their previous PC's and buy Apple's. My apologies for my generalization. About the part that they're focused on very different spectrums, I didn't know that, thanks!

 

Now, I would like to partition my drive and install the consumer's preview, but I'm not convinced yet about Win 8.

 

Vista was horrible

 

Indeed it is, and that's a good reason for switching, so I'm still pretty much undecided, and I'm looking forward to seeing Win 8 a few months after their release to make up my mind.

[Bob Lion54]

I'll wait for Windows 9 since every other MS OS is terrible.

[JCarter426]

Yeah, a lot of folks who are just sticking with their current setup won't find any reason to switch to Windows 8. As I said before, it looks more like an OS that's trying to bridge the device platform for folks who have multiple devices but want to move seamlessly between all of them to do their work or whatever.

Yeah, my phone... I think it has a screen? That's a new development, at least. No, I'm not old... I just prefer to do all my computing on a computer. So no, this feature doesn't help me in the slightest.

 

That's not the only reason, though. I don't like the look of the Metro UI one bit. Of course I'd need to try it to be sure, but based on what I've seen it just doesn't look compatible with the way I work. That's one reason I don't like Windows 7 - by "streamlining" the interface, they've removed a lot of features that users like myself used to rely on. It takes hacks just to restore basic things like the up button, or to turn off auto-arranging. I spend the better part of an hour completely redesigning the interface of every Windows 7 computer I use. And this looks to be a step further in the wrong direction. I know this is just the way I use Windows. And the Metro UI probably would work nicely on a tablet. And yes, it looks like you can customize the Metro UI, or at least you'll be able to in the final build. But frankly, I'm tired of how Microsoft's products are designed to tell the user how to use them, rather than do what the user wants. If I wanted that, I'd buy a- well, you said you don't want them brought into this discussion. I guess, as always, Step 1 is to convince someone else to buy the product, and then see how it goes from there.

 

That Lenovo laptop/tablet looks really cool, though.

[Lynk Former]

@ Istorian: The fact that your opening post had a simple "here" link, your opinion of it wasn't even a full sentence and then you arbitrarily mention something unrelated to the subject didn't help either...

 

 

In fact, this is an open post to all. A couple of other threads that have been posted in here are just as lazy as this thread. STOP IT. Put some effort into your opening post, I'm pretty relaxed about other posts and don't even mind when people go off topic but at the very least the opening post in the thread has to be worth reading.

 

 

 

 

 

...wait, Istorian... did you say Greece? How they hell is anyone there thinking they can afford an Apple product?

[Istorian]

In fact, this is an open post to all. A couple of other threads that have been posted in here are just as lazy as this thread. STOP IT. Put some effort into your opening post, I'm pretty relaxed about other posts and don't even mind when people go off topic but at the very least the opening post in the thread has to be worth reading.

 

The point of this thread wasn't for me to write my full opinion. It was for those in the community to see the consumer's preview and for everyone to discuss what they think of it. If the length of my opening post offends you, I'm truly sorry, but I have stated most of my opinion at a later post.

 

 

...wait, Istorian... did you say Greece? How they hell is anyone there thinking they can afford an Apple product?

 

Isn't that a little mean? Of course there are some that can buy a computer (I'm not one of them, though), and the overwhelming majority of them prefer Apple's. That's what I meant.

 

However, I am a bit sensitive about the issue of my country's economy, since both my parents recently lost their job, and I have to manage a full-time job and college to make ends meet, so please, if you want to state your opinion about it, there is this thread.

 

Also, I can't help but notice you've been a bit offensive to me from the beginning of this thread. If I have offended you in any way by being naive and/or ignorant of some matters, I apologize to you, it wasn't my intention.

[M@RS]

I'm pretty satisfied with Windows 7, so I'll probably wait to switch unless there's a really good reason like an insanely low upgrade price or something.

 

My thoughts exactly.

[Lynk Former]

@ Istorian: Sorry, didn't mean to suggest anything like that, just from the news we've been hearing down here it's been pretty bad in Greece so the trend of anyone buying anything remotely expensive seemed surprising. But I'm not going in Kavar's... that place is the worst part of the entire LucasForums

 

As for my statement about your opening post. I'm sticking with my guns on that one, your opening post was lacking and really all I had to go by was. as I said, a lazy link, half a sentence and then the mention of something irrelevant to what you were posting about.

 

Now, if you want to continue this conversation, PM me or VM me, or start a complaint thread about me in the Help/Feedback forum or whatever.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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I don't like some of the changes made to Windows 8 such as the exclusion of the start menu button. I don't really like the idea of going to corners to do stuff, but as I said before, everyone who actually knows how to use a Windows PC knows all of the keyboard shortcuts anyway, but on a purely mouse only setup, it does look pretty awkward.

 

Actually one of the things that really annoys me about the Metro UI is that you can't customise the background, you have to select one of a few selection of pre-selected colours/patterns which sucks. That said, I have seen a hack of the developer version where folks have inserted their own backgrounds and it looks pretty cool.

[Istorian]

[Last off-topic]@ Lynk Former: Perhaps you're right, I will try and put more effort in my opening posts, thanks for the suggestion. It's ok, sometimes I get carried away due to Greece's problems and I forget how badly we're portrayed from the foreign media.[/Last off-topic]

 

Now, the exclusion of the Start Menu button is something I don't like, too. Also, I believe that being used to the old-style desktop, some users like me will be having trouble finding their work with this UI. May I ask a question? Isn't it possible to put shortcuts on the desktop of the Metro UI?

[JCarter426]

I don't like some of the changes made to Windows 8 such as the exclusion of the start menu button. I don't really like the idea of going to corners to do stuff, but as I said before, everyone who actually knows how to use a Windows PC knows all of the keyboard shortcuts anyway, but on a purely mouse only setup, it does look pretty awkward.

Yeah, most of my complaints are along the lines of "I like it better the other way" - I'm sure I could get used to it eventually, but it is annoying that they keep changing everything so drastically with each version. I understand they have to change some stuff to justify a new release, but what baffles me from time to time is what they choose to change. The Metro UI, for example. It just doesn't look like it's designed for desktop PCs- it's clearly meant to make it easier for Windows phone and tablet users to switch back and forth between their PC and other devices. All right, I can see that - they want a unified system like Apple has. But Microsoft dominates the desktop PC market, and this is unlikely to change anytime soon. Likewise, Apple had the upper hand when it comes to phones and tablets. So why would Microsoft change the way their desktops to work to fit their phone and tablet design? It's clearly not working for their tablets and phones, so why would it work for desktops?

 

There isn't anything about the Metro UI I specifically dislike - except having to go to corners for stuff, but I can deal with that - it's more that I find it clumsily executed. And largely irrelevant, since I use my desktop for everything this seems to be designed for. I know some people who have at most four desktop icons, and I can see why they'd like this, but for me it would just be one step more than I'm used to.

 

Also, I still want a Courier.

Now, the exclusion of the Start Menu button is something I don't like, too. Also, I believe that being used to the old-style desktop, some users like me will be having trouble finding their work with this UI. May I ask a question? Isn't it possible to put shortcuts on the desktop of the Metro UI?

It appears you click on the bottom-left corner to bring it up (there's just no Start button for it) in the same way that the bottom-right corner shows the desktop in Windows 7.

[DarthParametric]

So I take it 8 is basically like the ribbon in Office? Take a perfectly functional UI that had worked fine for years and that everyone was familiar with and completely rape it?

[90SK]

I'm pretty satisfied with Windows 7, so I'll probably wait to switch unless there's a really good reason like an insanely low upgrade price or something.

 

I recently upgraded laptops and my new system is more than enough for what I'm using it for, mainly GIMP iTunes and Skyrim. I see no reason to seek an upgrade to the next version of windows, but I expect that at some point I will experience it on a computer. Like any product of that nature, upgrades seem inevitable.

[JCarter426]

Like any product of that nature, upgrades seem inevitable.

I'm typing all this from an XP.

[Sabretooth]

So I take it 8 is basically like the ribbon in Office? Take a perfectly functional UI that had worked fine for years and that everyone was familiar with and completely rape it?

 

Make it easier to learn, you mean. Not having to dig through menus and submenus and having all the buttons spread out before you makes the software much more accessible by first-time users. The Start-menu-replaced-with-metro works on the same idea, more or less.

[Lynk Former]

Yeah, it's really meant to make things easier, however you have to manage it more to begin with, it's the first-time setup that will pain people since it involves you getting everything just the way you want it.

 

There's nothing wrong with ribbon, in fact at first I hated it but after using it for quite some time it's become second nature and I really can't go back. It's just that painful moment where you have to relearn a few things that gets to people.

 

The Metro UI certainly isn't perfect, but I can see where they're going with it. I think the biggest thing for people is the efficiency of switching between Metro programs since the program changer is clearly different and doesn't seem to tell you the name of the program that's next on the list or is being highlighted. Another factor is not being able to see all of the programs that are open at once since there's no taskbar to show you.

 

I really want to install the consumer preview on a partition and check it out for myself but with uni and everything I don't really have the time lol. My interest also extends beyond its desktop application.

 

Right now I have a Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, an Android Honeycomb tablet that I've been using for over a year now. Very useful device which I've used for uni and for entertainment purposes too, love it to death... but what I really want is a Windows 8 tablet or perhaps a tablet/laptop hybrid if a good enough one comes out in the future. So, if in the future, I do get a W8 tablet, I'll switch over my desktop to W8 too and get that connectivity happening between the two.