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Windows 8 Pro Upgrade to cost $39.99

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Re: Windows 8 Pro Upgrade to cost $39.99

#71

Post by cooldeal »

nathan_long wrote: post #6

Can you upgrade if your computer doesn't support "Secure Boot"? If so: 1) Buy a box with no OS 2) Install an older Windows 3) Upgrade. Permanent path to 8 without secure boot?

>Can you upgrade if your computer doesn't support "Secure Boot"?

You've got it completely backwards. Windows 8 will boot on any machine, regardless of secure boot.

It is the machines that will come with secure boot enabled by default (which you can disable via the firmware setup screen) and may not be able to boot Windows 7 in the default config.

Re: Windows 8 Pro Upgrade to cost $39.99

#73

Post by srdjanjovcic »

WiseWeasel wrote: post #54
nemo1618 wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Have you actually used Windows 8? I don't make much use of the metro apps, but there are lots of smaller improvements that I appreciate, like the new task manager, file copy dialog, login screen, etc. The sight of the new start screen incites revulsion in most power users, but try to remember that you won't be spending much time there. Treat the start screen like what it really is: a fancier start menu. Like me, you'…

The task manager is something I use to find the app that's misbehaving (usually Firefox) and kill it; I can't imagine much relevant improvement, unless it somehow allows me to do this faster. It would have to be faster than "control-shift-escape -> [start typing name of offending app until it's selected] -> alt-E -> enter -> escape" -- maybe using the "control" modifier instead of "alt" would be an improvement, or ma…

Did you actually see new task manager? It is big improvement above old one... At the end, what nemo said is that there is no earth-shattering improvements in _any_ single area, but that overall you get something out of it, even if you do not use new Metro apps...

Re: Windows 8 Pro Upgrade to cost $39.99

#74

Post by illumin8 »

madoublet wrote: post #69
WiseWeasel wrote: post #18

I have a hard time imagining that many Windows 7 users are eager to upgrade to Windows 8 on their desktops and laptops, given the drastic changes catering to touch interaction, bringing them little apparent value at best, and significant lost productivity and frustration at worst. My Windows 7 box is for gaming and productivity (not necessarily in that order), and after all I've seen of it, I wouldn't touch Windows 8…

I honestly think my productivity is a lot better in Windows 8 then in 7. The updates to search are fantastic. You simply hit the start key and type what you are looking for. You get smart filters on the right that allow you to filter by type (files, apps, settings) and even by app. I have also found that managing multiple desktops (something I often do for work) is made a lot easier by the hover corner. Plus, everyth…

On every version of Windows I've ever used, the search indexing service steals precious background disk and CPU cycles, and almost always causes issues with the two main things I use my computer for: gaming and music production. I can't even count the number of times that the search indexing service spun up in the middle of a gaming session and made my system start to lag. Of course they say it runs as a low priority process, but heavy disk access is going to give you performance problems in CPU/GPU intensive games. Making music is no different - heavy disk access makes it that much more likely that my system will have audio dropouts or in some other way ruin my recording session.

I've disabled search indexing in every version of Windows. In Windows 7, it even makes the start menu almost non-functional because you have to make 3 clicks just to get to the Run dialog.

Re: Windows 8 Pro Upgrade to cost $39.99

#75

Post by nnnnni »

Simucal wrote: post #60
hcurtiss wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Exactly. Our law firm is almost -- almost -- ready to roll out our Windows 7 build. And we only have about 650 users.

Can you describe a little bit about what all goes into preparing for a Windows 7 deployment for a company of your size? I'm genuinely curious.

The number one thing is to make sure that all of the software is compatible without having to jump through a bunch of hoops. Law firms are notorious for using OLD software.

Re: Windows 8 Pro Upgrade to cost $39.99

#76

Post by srdjanjovcic »

mythz wrote: post #63
Xuzz wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you're technical enough to be buying old computers to work around it, I bet you could figure out how to disable it when the option is right there. :)

That still hinders FOSS's world-domination / year of the linux desktop plans.

Fedora will support booting on secure boot hardware: http://mjg59.dreamwidth.org/12368.html

Re: Windows 8 Pro Upgrade to cost $39.99

#77

Post by cooldeal »

rcchen wrote: post #7

Apple has historically made its profit through selling hardware, investing into the software to make the hardware and software work well together but extracting negligible returns on software. What would pursuing this type of upgrade pricing mean for a company like Microsoft, which relies primarily on software for revenue?

I would guess most of Windows' revenue comes from selling with new PCs rather than upgrades.

It's mostly power users that that take the pain to upgrade OSes(risking breakage). Most regular users seem to think the upgrade is not worth the hassle of things breaking.

I've seen this attitude even in enterprises. The OS(and even Office) is almost never upgraded on the same machine, but if you get a new machine, it comes with the latest Windows and Office(provided it's compatible with the apps/network etc.).

Re: Windows 8 Pro Upgrade to cost $39.99

#78

Post by WiseWeasel »

illumin8 wrote: post #74
madoublet wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I honestly think my productivity is a lot better in Windows 8 then in 7. The updates to search are fantastic. You simply hit the start key and type what you are looking for. You get smart filters on the right that allow you to filter by type (files, apps, settings) and even by app. I have also found that managing multiple desktops (something I often do for work) is made a lot easier by the hover corner. Plus, everyth…

On every version of Windows I've ever used, the search indexing service steals precious background disk and CPU cycles, and almost always causes issues with the two main things I use my computer for: gaming and music production. I can't even count the number of times that the search indexing service spun up in the middle of a gaming session and made my system start to lag. Of course they say it runs as a low priority…

You need to upgrade to a solid-state boot and app binary drive already! There is no going back.

Re: Windows 8 Pro Upgrade to cost $39.99

#79

Post by mkr-hn »

illumin8 wrote: post #74
madoublet wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I honestly think my productivity is a lot better in Windows 8 then in 7. The updates to search are fantastic. You simply hit the start key and type what you are looking for. You get smart filters on the right that allow you to filter by type (files, apps, settings) and even by app. I have also found that managing multiple desktops (something I often do for work) is made a lot easier by the hover corner. Plus, everyth…

On every version of Windows I've ever used, the search indexing service steals precious background disk and CPU cycles, and almost always causes issues with the two main things I use my computer for: gaming and music production. I can't even count the number of times that the search indexing service spun up in the middle of a gaming session and made my system start to lag. Of course they say it runs as a low priority…

Why would you use the start menu to get a run dialog? Windows key + R

I haven't had any performance problems while running games with search indexing on. This laptop doesn't even use SSD.

Re: Windows 8 Pro Upgrade to cost $39.99

#80

Post by barrkel »

nemo1618 wrote: post #48
barrkel wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not the most frequent method for launching. According to MS, their metrics indicate pinned task bar items are, or are trending to be, the most frequent method. When I don't remember the name of the thing I want to launch (which is quite frequent), I rely mostly on positional navigation through a customized start menu. That is, I don't remember programs by name, I remember them by where I left them. Windows Vista…

So...does that mean you're looking forward to Win8 because the start screen items are much easier to position?

Windows 8 start screen right now has a sideways scrollbar scrolled by the mousewheel! It's a sad joke. But I'm sure that aspect will be cleaned up somewhat before release.

I'm not looking forward to Windows 8 because it's a mess; it jams together two completely different idioms, tablet-oriented full-screen apps with legacy desktop apps. But as it is with Windows 7, I don't run any - none at all - applications maximized, not even VNC or RDP connections. I have a minimum of 5 windows open at all times across multiple monitors, in a cascaded configuration for quick access. The idea that a maximum of two apps with a fixed split position is workable? Only for tablets and, maybe, laptops. The full-screen idiom is a complete non-starter.

So I'll be spending most of my time in Windows 8 in the legacy desktop. I don't think it would be a big development hardship to have a floating start menu emulator in the lower left corner to avoid doing a big dramatic transition to a full-screen menu just for launching an app. So I'm not too concerned about my personal productivity.

But I am concerned for MS. I don't think Windows 8 is going to work. It's a classic power-play; trying to leverage an existing monopoly to invade a new market. By forcing a tablet UI on all desktop users despite their protests, MS hopes to prime the market somehow for their tablet (Surface etc.) offering. But I think it's a step too far; I don't think they have the leverage they think they have. They certainly have built up contempt for their users to try and pull it off, though.

(Have you tried the preview in a VM? It's shockingly bad for something allegedly going to run on people's desktops. The discoverability of the Metro UI is abysmal. I was in the IE browser, it took me a good 5 minutes to figure out how to enter a URL, because "helpfully" everything was hidden. It was complete desperation that I right-clicked!)

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