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secname
19-08-12, 05:59 PM
Has anyone used the Windows 8 yet, and if so is it or will it be worth upgrading.

Paul

GreyWing
19-08-12, 06:17 PM
Microsoft gone off their rocker for me. Won't be upgrading in anyway shape or form. Might go over to Apple when product drivers and support drops off.

Aaron
19-08-12, 07:29 PM
It looks scary! It took me long enough to move from Windows 2000 -> Vista (I skipped XP), and I'm now comfortable with windows 7. May consider going linux/apple depending on what happens. Linux may be more suitable and stable for me as a php developer, but to be honest I'm happy with Windows 7 at the moment.

GreyWing
19-08-12, 07:44 PM
To quote someone in the know on another site... "They want to turn my £1000 pc into a £200 xbox"

Seems to be what everyone else is saying.

aZooZa
20-08-12, 12:21 AM
The only version of Windows I use (and only on a virtual machine basis) is XP Pro, as IMO it is the most stable version of Windows and probably will remain so. Otherwise I'm all Mac OS and Linux.

monaghan
21-08-12, 03:58 PM
I keep meaning to install it on my laptop, however, I have a "physical" project at the moment so need to be able to connect to the customer domain and do "real" computer work rather than the usual web stuff, so have put off the update. From what I've seen. I'm still on the fence. The current customer decided to go with Win 7 and do the project now rather than wait for Win 8, I guess a lot of others will do likewise, however, we'll soon see new computers with Win 8 out of the box, so I guess it will soon get lots of interest from the public as their mates upgrade their home computers.

invincible
21-08-12, 06:44 PM
Windows 8, at the moment, is something you will probably only wish to install on a dedicated machine for playing with it or more ideally within a virtual machine. I have a copy of VMWare Workstation 8 for Windows but Oracle VM Virtualbox is free. A while ago I installed the Windows 8 "Consumer Preview" edition within VMWare and played around with it. More recently I installed the later "Windows 8 Release Preview (http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-8/release-preview)" edition within Parallels Desktop 8 because I finally decided to buy a Mac Mini despite not being a fan of the OS. I find Mountain Lion to be much of an improvement since my Tiger and Leopard days.

For anyone wanting to purchase Parallels Desktop version 8 (this is a MacOS product), you can get it for a substantially discounted £19.99 if you search on Google for "VMware fusion serial" because Parallels simply validate the serial number as correctly formatted and allow their competing product to be purchased at this discounted price. VMWare Fusion 4 can also be purchased from VMware for around £30. Once installed Parallels 8 even includes a link to directly download the Release Preview edition of Windows 8 to be installed directly it into a virtual machine.

We can criticise Windows 8 but I imagine most of us will adopt it at varying speeds. I'm getting used to it but won't be in a massive hurry.

GreyWing
21-08-12, 07:43 PM
We can criticise Windows 8 but I imagine most of us will adopt it at varying speeds. I'm getting used to it but won't be in a massive hurry.

I think that might be Microsofts strategy in all this, hold fire take the crticism and people will eventually come over due to lack of choice if nothing else. Only thing is though that it might not wash these days. I'll probably try Apple's desktop software before I try windows 8. Never used apple before but if current software is going for a radical change on the Microsoft side then I might take the plunge and start to learn Apple's OS.

I really don't want to but if Microsoft insist on going down this path, I don't think I personally will be going with them until I have tried Apple. People often say once they get into Apple they never go back.

Edwin
21-08-12, 08:34 PM
Assuming there's no gigantic unpatched security breach to put me off, I don't see why I wouldn't just keep using Windows 7 "forever". I browse the web (Firefox, Chrome, Opera and IE), watch videos and iPlayer, use Excel, Word, Powerpoint, Pegasus Mail, Skype, various text editors and HTML tools, Paint.net, etc. - none of which will ever need something more complex than Windows 7 offers. Having ample opportunity to "touch" things (iPad and iPhone) I can't see why I'd ever need my regular PC to have a touch-sensitive user interface.

GreyWing
21-08-12, 08:41 PM
That being said Edwin and I fully agree, that should see the sale of PC's dropping in the coming months / years as people ask the guy down at PC world to take windows 8 off their new PC or they won't be buying it. So the question would then be, will it be adopted by the hardware manufacturers as the default OS? Very embarrassing if they stuck with 7.

invincible
21-08-12, 08:43 PM
I think that might be Microsofts strategy in all this, hold fire take the crticism and people will eventually come over due to lack of choice if nothing else. Only thing is though that it might not wash these days. I'll probably try Apple's desktop software before I try windows 8. Never used apple before but if current software is going for a radical change on the Microsoft side then I might take the plunge and start to learn Apple's OS.

I really don't want to but if Microsoft insist on going down this path, I don't think I personally will be going with them until I have tried Apple. People often say once they get into Apple they never go back.

Windows 8 Professional is apparently only going to cost ~£26 to upgrade to. If you decide to go the Mac route then it'll be easy to run it under Parallels desktop or VMWare fusion. Then you'll have both Mac OS and Windows 8. You can also pull your existing machines into Virtual Machines if you choose.

invincible
21-08-12, 08:45 PM
That being said Edwin and I fully agree, that should see the sale of PC's dropping in the coming months / years as people ask the guy down at PC world to take windows 8 off their new PC or they won't be buying it. So the question would then be, will it be adopted by the hardware manufacturers as the default OS? Very embarrassing if they stuck with 7.

8 will be adopted but don't sensible people build their own computers these days? ;) I haven't bought a desktop computer since the 90s. Laptops are of course different. Windows 8 will work just like a desktop operating system for mouse or trackpad users. No touch requirements. It just has a start screen instead of a start menu. There are tools to bring back the start menu but I don't think it'll be as upsetting as everybody things. Give the free Release preview a try in a VM sometime.

Chippy
22-08-12, 09:19 AM
I have been playing around with it at work as we have a pre release copy of it and Im worried for all the people im going to have to train and support as it is so different to any other windows os. just the way you have to open and close programs in the start menu and have to hover over diiferent corners etc.

Also depending on where you right click in the start screen you get different options as well that used to be easy to find. I worry for the basic user that knows other windows OS but then buys a new pc with 8 on and will have no idea

aZooZa
22-08-12, 09:53 AM
Windows 8 Professional is apparently only going to cost ~£26 to upgrade to. If you decide to go the Mac route then it'll be easy to run it under Parallels desktop or VMWare fusion. Then you'll have both Mac OS and Windows 8. You can also pull your existing machines into Virtual Machines if you choose.
The only VM I find reliable (especially with USB pass-thru) is 'Virtual Box'. That's free and works on Mac and Linux.

invincible
26-08-12, 11:27 PM
Windows 8 went gold recently and the RTM (release to manufacturers) version has been available to Microsoft MSDN subscribers for a week or so. I'm intending to install the x64 version of that very soon in a VM. I might also put it on a 2008 Sony Vaio AR61ZU but I'm not sure how it'll perform!

monaghan
27-08-12, 09:55 AM
To quote someone in the know on another site... "They want to turn my £1000 pc into a £200 xbox"

Seems to be what everyone else is saying.

Walked into the living room yesterday when the kids were playing on the xbox and remembered seeing this post! I can see exactly what was meant.

invincible
27-08-12, 07:29 PM
I've installed Windows 8 Pro x64 today in a new virtual machine running within VMWare Workstation 9. I've played with it for the last hour, installed Google Chrome and made that the default browser instead of IE. I think I will be able to get used to it. The main hurdle will be getting used to the start screen instead of the start menu but I think within a short period of time, and once I realise the power behind it, I'll get used to it.

Mac OS users managed to migrate to OS X from OS 9.5 and the previous versions (System 7 et al), which was also quite different. I also remember users going from Windows 3.x to Windows 95. Many of us are recent users of iOS and Android. It's perfectly possible to get used to Windows 8 and see some of the changes as benefits. The main thing to remember is that there is no start menu and there are two "experiences" (modern UI f.k.a. metro and desktop). You can run some apps within the new modern UI as well as within the desktop (IE and Chrome are examples). It's very easy to switch between apps within the modern UI and the desktop via the top left corner. Bottom left corner gives you the start screen again. That can be heavily customised with groups and it's easy to find an application once you know the navigation method. I need to install some more applications and see how it fairs. However I don't hate it and think I will grow to like it.

aZooZa
28-08-12, 01:46 AM
Thanks for that. I think it might be worth giving it a try now after reading your comments. I do enjoy playing a couple of Blizzard games but they seem to perform best in Windows, and that might be good enough reason for me. The legacy 'Warcraft' and 'Starcraft' games won't run under OS X Mountain Lion at all: http://us.battle.net/support/en/article/playing-older-blizzard-titles-on-mac-os-x-10-7-lion

It would be interesting if you could test the USB port functionality with an iOS device and Win 8 under VMWare David - e.g. does an iPhone connect okay to iTunes?

invincible
28-08-12, 06:56 PM
Thanks for that. I think it might be worth giving it a try now after reading your comments. I do enjoy playing a couple of Blizzard games but they seem to perform best in Windows, and that might be good enough reason for me. The legacy 'Warcraft' and 'Starcraft' games won't run under OS X Mountain Lion at all: http://us.battle.net/support/en/article/playing-older-blizzard-titles-on-mac-os-x-10-7-lion

It would be interesting if you could test the USB port functionality with an iOS device and Win 8 under VMWare David - e.g. does an iPhone connect okay to iTunes?

I've installed the latest x64 version of iTunes within Windows 8, running under VMWare Workstation 9. My iPhone 4 connects fine. I can see it under Devices and everything seems as it does under Windows 7 when not in a VM.

A couple of things to remember regarding Windows 8, especially for those that might try it and hate it at first! :) I cannot remember whether it was Windows 7 or Windows Vista which gave users the facility to pin applications to the taskbar, in a similar way to Mac OS. In Windows 8, since the start screen replaces the start menu, it is useful to do this with your most common applications so you can launch them from the familiar desktop interface. It is also possible, as it has always been, to place application short cuts onto the desktop. Consider the start screen to be a full screen start menu which isn't in a cascading tree menu like before. After 17 years Microsoft have decided to change it. The start page can be customised to some extent - the arrangement of icons can be changed. Once you get used to the OS it's quite easy to switch quickly between apps that run under "modern UI". I've been trying Chrome in that mode. If you launch an app that will run in "modern UI" mode from the start page you'll find that it will run that way. However if you launch the same app from within the desktop it will run like a traditional desktop app. Apps that don't have a modern UI mode will run in the desktop regardless of where they are launched from. If you're running Chrome in modern UI mode and desktop mode, simultaneously, it's two different copies so the pages you open in one won't show in the other.

I shall try installing it within Parallels Desktop 7 soon. I see Vmware have released Fusion 5 for the Mac.

Edwin
28-08-12, 08:33 PM
8 will be adopted but don't sensible people build their own computers these days? ;) I haven't bought a desktop computer since the 90s

Yep. In the process of building a new machine for my wife. I've built every desktop going back to 1996.

aZooZa
30-08-12, 02:25 AM
Maybe it's time for MS to make a comeback with Win 8. See announcement here regarding Samsung's new Win 8 Mobile smartphone, the 'Ativ S':

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-19416969

aZooZa
30-08-12, 09:11 AM
Probably the best of both worlds:

http://www.geekwire.com/2012/windows-8-mac-parallels-launches-version/

monaghan
30-08-12, 10:18 AM
Have had it running on virtualbox on a Mac Mini for a week or so now, slowly getting used to it, still not convinced by the metro home screen though

monaghan
30-08-12, 11:03 AM
Anyone tried it on a dual screen system?

Edwin
30-08-12, 11:03 AM
If you think back down the mainstream versions (i.e. ignoring the "NT fork") then Windows 8 feels very much like the "unloved Windows" that seems to appear every other iteration or so. Previously, it was Vista and before that it was ME. If the whole concept of an "operating system" survives that long - i.e. we're not doing everything in the cloud - then Windows 9 should be much more appealing :) MS can remove all the Metro nonsense, patch up a few more bits and pieces and present it as Windows 9...

Windows 3.0
Windows 3.11
Windows 95
Windows 98
Windows ME
Windows XP
Windows Vista
Windows 7
Windows 8

It's worth bearing in mind that Windows XP is nearly 11 years old, yet it's still the OS of choice for about 25% of all PCs! Meanwhile, Vista's only on about 3.5% of machines despite being much newer...

Aaron
31-08-12, 11:22 AM
Can't believe you missed windows 2000 off that list! Probably my favourite OS of all. :)...Ahh I guess 2000 would count as an "nt fork" :).

Edwin
31-08-12, 11:31 AM
Can't believe you missed windows 2000 off that list! Probably my favourite OS of all. :)...Ahh I guess 2000 would count as an "nt fork" :).

Yep, I was counting it as an NT fork, because the 2 strands were only really unified with XP.

invincible
26-11-12, 06:39 PM
Now Windows 8 has gone gold I thought I'd point out that several companies, acknowledged by Microsoft, have developed "start menu" applications for it. Start8 ($4.99 from Stardock) and Classic Shell (free, see Sourceforge) are just two available. Both, as well as others I have not mentioned, can be configured to give a Windows 7 like start menu in Windows 8 as well as a lot more besides. Start8 allows the user to configure Windows 8 to boot straight to the desktop rather than into modern UI. Worth a look for anyone consider Windows 8 but currently put off by the modern UI.