The Verge gave it a pretty solid score (8.8/10): http://www.theverge.com/2012/10/23/3537710/windows-8-review
The Surface, not so much (7.0): http://www.theverge.com/2012/10/23/3540550/microsoft-surface...
Windows 8 Arrives
21–30 of 223 posts
Re: Windows 8 Arrives
#22I've been running Windows 8 since they release the RTM version to TechNet subscribers on my primary laptop (about a month now).
Short version - outside of Metro it's basically Win7SP3 and it works great. Metro is every bit the usability disaster that people have claimed when not running on a touch screen.
The good news is that you really don't have to interface much with Metro at all. It replaces the start menu, but it does so in a manner that works with how I'm used to dealing with the start menu already. That is, I already just hit the Win key and then start typing until the thing I want pops up, and that behavior has carried over.
So, yeah Metro is awful for all the reasons everybody has already laid out. Despite that, Win 8 has been a solid performer and I won't be loading Win7 back on this system.
My primary home system will continue to run Win7 until I am comfortable that my production applications will all run successfully (and by that, I mean "games").
Re: Windows 8 Arrives
#23Windows 8 Pro upgrade for $39 dollars ($15 for newer PCs). [1] That's... reasonable. I might consider buying a copy of Windows 8 Pro at that price and then waiting until it hits SP1 to install it. I might even spin up a VM to try it out. I like that the $39 upgrade applies to anyone with Windows XP, Windows Vista or Windows 7. I think they're realizing that a lot of people don't upgrade OS because they don't want to…
The Taskbar and Start Menu have worked so well in the past, why change?
Perhaps the price might be a hint that it's worth less than previous versions..
Re: Windows 8 Arrives
#24Earlier quoted context omitted.
Have you tried it?
I have. The interface is freaking unusable. It is like Microsoft decided to exit the desktop market with a bang. "We are failing, and we are taking Windows with us".
failing? MS has been holding 70% to 85% of the desktop market for decades, even by conservative estimates.
Re: Windows 8 Arrives
#25Earlier quoted context omitted.
Exacerbating this is the fact that Windows 7 is arguably at full stride right now and has almost no points that I really want changed. Why then do I give myself (actually, pay for) a headache with this new release?
> and has almost no points that I really want changed. Most of the wealthy people in Europe probably felt that way in the 18th century about their society. But it's a good thing that this particular opinion is silly and holds no water, right? Something existing to your level of liking is perhaps the best reason to change it.
> Something existing to your level of liking is perhaps the best reason to change it.
This seems... ridiculous to me.
Computers are tools enabling us to do certain tasks with greater ease. If the computer does this fluidly and with minimal effort then it is a good tool. On the other hand, if a new version of the tool adds to the effort required to achieve the same or similar tasks then the new tool is not as good as the old.
This has nothing to do with resisting change, but resisting change for change's sake.
Re: Windows 8 Arrives
#26Windows 8 Pro upgrade for $39 dollars ($15 for newer PCs). [1] That's... reasonable. I might consider buying a copy of Windows 8 Pro at that price and then waiting until it hits SP1 to install it. I might even spin up a VM to try it out. I like that the $39 upgrade applies to anyone with Windows XP, Windows Vista or Windows 7. I think they're realizing that a lot of people don't upgrade OS because they don't want to…
That's the upgrade price. AFAICT they haven't announced pricing for an installable new copy of the OS.
Upgrade copies of Vista and Win7 can be installed on an empty hard drive with minimal tweaking, but I guess being kosher with the licensing is important for some users.
Re: Windows 8 Arrives
#27Earlier quoted context omitted.
That's the upgrade price. AFAICT they haven't announced pricing for an installable new copy of the OS.
I suspect that you can buy a used license for Windows XP, Windows Vista or Windows 7 easily. Really, just visit a friend/relative and find a dusty old PC that has a license sticker on it and ask if you can have it.
Windows OEM licenses aren't transferrable from the PCs they're sold with. Retail licenses are transferrable to another person, once.
Re: Windows 8 Arrives
#28Meh, the interface makes no sense without a touchscreen.
Exacerbating this is the fact that Windows 7 is arguably at full stride right now and has almost no points that I really want changed. Why then do I give myself (actually, pay for) a headache with this new release?
The 40 dollar price point is probably less about convincing Windows 7 users to upgrade or purchase it in lieu of, as it is about getting Windows XP users to upgrade who would never upgrade to Win 7 at its current price point.
And concerning the the 15 dollar upgrade for recent purchases of PCs with Win 7 this is a quick little money grab by MS. They already sold the OEM the Win 7 license so they aren't cannibalizing any potential existing sales.
Re: Windows 8 Arrives
#29[deleted]
Re: Windows 8 Arrives
#30I'm trying to download it from GB and looks like it only allows from the US. So I hopped on my US-VPN and still redirects me to the GB site. Anyone have any idea how I get around this? (Note - I have a valid US credit card and am prepared to pay in USD)