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Windows 8 launch date announced: October 26th

redmondtimes.com

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Re: Windows 8 launch date announced: October 26th

#21

Post by smithian »

tjoff wrote: post #16
Rickasaurus wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Me too, I think the x86 Surface is going to be to me what the dust covered iPad on my shelf never was. However, I'm feeling that Windows 8 on the desktop is going to be a disaster. There's just no benefit to a tablet/phone UI on my desktop.

And that is why noone will use Metro on their desktop for real work. For a workstation the Windows 7 to Windows 8 transition will be much smaller than the Vista to Windows 7 transition, so I have a hard time understanding how it could be a disaster...

I was of the same opinion before I tried 8, but after a week of use it's actually far easier and better from my perspective. I do not miss the start menu, the start screen is better in almost all ways. it does take some getting used to though. (Oops, I suppose this will be rated as fake by Toshio, downthread, who thinks he can detect fake sentiment in online postings. Guess I'd better report to the corporate overlords for my chip implant.)

Re: Windows 8 launch date announced: October 26th

#22

Post by freehunter »

tjoff wrote: post #16
Rickasaurus wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Me too, I think the x86 Surface is going to be to me what the dust covered iPad on my shelf never was. However, I'm feeling that Windows 8 on the desktop is going to be a disaster. There's just no benefit to a tablet/phone UI on my desktop.

And that is why noone will use Metro on their desktop for real work. For a workstation the Windows 7 to Windows 8 transition will be much smaller than the Vista to Windows 7 transition, so I have a hard time understanding how it could be a disaster...

With a few weeks of using W8 as my primary OS, I constantly forget I'm not using 7. The only time I see anything that reminds me I'm on 8 is if I move my mouse over the Charms or when I hit the Windows key to launch a new program.

Re: Windows 8 launch date announced: October 26th

#23

Post by freehunter »

twodayslate wrote: post #20

Is this going to be on MSDNAA like Windows 7 was? Or what is the cheapest/best way to get the Pro version for significantly less than retail?

Buy the upgrade for $40. No word on if it will be on AA or Technet, but odds are it will be when it RTMs in August.

Re: Windows 8 launch date announced: October 26th

#24

Post by freehunter »

Toshio wrote: post #15

I'm in the process of building software to detect fake positive sentiment related to tech products. There are a few comments in this section right here that are carefully worded but the software flagged them as fake anyway. It's the type of comment that begins with "I was skeptical at first, but windows 8 won me over in the end" (haha).

I was skeptical at first, but Toshio's false sentiment software won me over in the end.

Re: Windows 8 launch date announced: October 26th

#25

Post by xmmx »

smithian wrote: post #21
tjoff wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And that is why noone will use Metro on their desktop for real work. For a workstation the Windows 7 to Windows 8 transition will be much smaller than the Vista to Windows 7 transition, so I have a hard time understanding how it could be a disaster...

I was of the same opinion before I tried 8, but after a week of use it's actually far easier and better from my perspective. I do not miss the start menu, the start screen is better in almost all ways. it does take some getting used to though. (Oops, I suppose this will be rated as fake by Toshio, downthread, who thinks he can detect fake sentiment in online postings. Guess I'd better report to the corporate overlord…

How do you deal with the unintuitive gestures? Sliding on a random side of the screen to bring up a random menu?

Re: Windows 8 launch date announced: October 26th

#26

Post by dpark »

xmmx wrote: post #25
smithian wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was of the same opinion before I tried 8, but after a week of use it's actually far easier and better from my perspective. I do not miss the start menu, the start screen is better in almost all ways. it does take some getting used to though. (Oops, I suppose this will be rated as fake by Toshio, downthread, who thinks he can detect fake sentiment in online postings. Guess I'd better report to the corporate overlord…

How do you deal with the unintuitive gestures? Sliding on a random side of the screen to bring up a random menu?

The edge swipe behavior is new, and a pretty big change, but it's consistent. I didn't find that it took that long to get used to. It took longer to get used to the missing Start button. There's a lot of muscle memory there, so I've opened IE (first icon on my taskbar) on accident a number of times.

Disclaimer: MSFT employee

Re: Windows 8 launch date announced: October 26th

#28

Post by smithian »

xmmx wrote: post #25
smithian wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was of the same opinion before I tried 8, but after a week of use it's actually far easier and better from my perspective. I do not miss the start menu, the start screen is better in almost all ways. it does take some getting used to though. (Oops, I suppose this will be rated as fake by Toshio, downthread, who thinks he can detect fake sentiment in online postings. Guess I'd better report to the corporate overlord…

How do you deal with the unintuitive gestures? Sliding on a random side of the screen to bring up a random menu?

I honestly don't find it that unintuitive. I may have a leg up since my primary pointing device is a trackpoint, which makes hitting the screen corners a really easy move. When you hit the corner, there are visual hints that pop up to guide you to the start screen, sidebar thing, or open applications list. there are definitely some things I would have suggested that they do to help people into the new interface, like a guided help or pop-up tips, but a quick google and 30 seconds of reading were really all that was required to get into it.

Re: Windows 8 launch date announced: October 26th

#29

Post by freehunter »

dpark wrote: post #26
xmmx wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How do you deal with the unintuitive gestures? Sliding on a random side of the screen to bring up a random menu?

The edge swipe behavior is new, and a pretty big change, but it's consistent. I didn't find that it took that long to get used to. It took longer to get used to the missing Start button. There's a lot of muscle memory there, so I've opened IE (first icon on my taskbar) on accident a number of times. Disclaimer: MSFT employee

The IE logo does look at first glance to be the start orb thing. I hit that all the time trying to get to the start corner when my second monitor is to the left of my main monitor.

All the enhancements for multi-monitor support, yet they still didn't anticipate having a monitor to the left of your main...

Re: Windows 8 launch date announced: October 26th

#30

Post by freehunter »

fbeans wrote: post #17
outside1234 wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

have you tried it? I want to bash on it but its actually pretty good. they have solved a hard problem of making an OS scale between laptop, desktop, and tablet. the interface is clean and consistent and increasingly the whole Microsoft line is coherent with a simular interface.

A problem that imo doesn't exist. A tablet is different to a phone is different to a desktop computer. This OS may be "solving" some problems, but it seems to be doing it at a cost, reducing functionality on the desktop. Besides, who even /has/ a windows phone or tablet? Who would want one?

"reducing functionality on the desktop."

That's a pretty bold claim when the desktop still exists exactly like it did in Windows 7. Basically you're saying that all of the functionality of Windows came from having a start menu that is a couple inches tall and a couple inches wide, and by increasing that space it is now less functional. Listen to yourself, seriously.

"Besides, who even /has/ a windows phone or tablet? Who would want one?"

Millions. And to answer the second question, millions.

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