Windows 8 Windows 8: Good or Bad?

[shaneblack]

First of all "search filters" need fixing as they will only appear when searching in generic folders and not custom folders. The only way around this is to type "KIND:" followed by the type. Win XP had a better search. Also search in general does not always find what I am looking for and I have to do a manual search by opening one folder after another and visually search the contents.
Secondly the fact that the CLASSIC MENUS OPTION is missing needs to be addressed. Win 7 is also extremely finicky with hardware. Where XP installed without a hitch, win 7 failed to install unless a SATA cable was replaced and this on the same machine.
Thirdly anyone who thinks any OS does not need improvement is grossly mistaken. MS should improve Win 7 instead of releasing a totally different OS.
Fourth Win Live mail has BIG issues with photos and pictures and the fact that MICROSOFT MONOPOLY INCORPORATED is FORCING US TO USE THE AMERICAN SPELLING instead of the PROPER BRITISH is an anathema to the English language. This has not been fixed so far. By the way English is not my mother tongue but I will rather burn in hell than use the letter 'Z' instead of 'S'. I feel like smashing my monitor every time a CORRECTLY SPELT word is underlined in red.
By the way my American friends: METER is an INSTRUMENT and METRE is a UNIT OF MEASURE!
The arrogant ways of MS reminds me of another company and its downfall: IBM!

Well you have proven some very interesting points in which I did not know about. You are right about what you talk about, I do not use these features and never had a hardware problem so I had no idea by what you mean't. There are always things MS overlooks and its true that they should keep on improving their systems over time instead of abandoning them. I do have some great IBM Thinkpads though, and they are built rock solid. Lenovo took over and they still make some damn fine laptops, one of them I have and I am using right now with great performance.
Don't get too upset though, find something that works for you and try to stick with it. If you like Xp and it works better for you then use it, XP is still a very nice system and I know many people who still use it today. MS could be much better I think, but I'm glad they are not much worse. Their are many factors at play, hardware and software is the main two, but also they must think about what people will use the system to do. MS must get everything right and remember to carry on their work into future systems. Success depends on it.

 

[kemical]

Here's a preview on the future....

“We love the Metro UI,” said Brad Anderson, corporate vice president, Management & Security Division during the event.

“We're aiming at providing the same experience across products, including Windows Phone, Windows and Xbox.”

Microsoft was already known to focus on the Metro UI, and now we know for sure that its cloud platforms, as well as developer tools such as Visual Studio, will be aligned under it.

Through bringing the same interface to more products, the Redmond-based software giant is aiming at delivering a fluid, consistent experience to all of its customers.

By redesigning the developers tools to come in line with the visual language of Windows 8, Microsoft is aiming at providing a new, better experience to application builders as well.

“People will either love it or hate it,” Brad Anderson also stated. In the end, however, they will have to accept the change.

Reference:
The Metro UI to Bring a Unified Experience on Microsoft?s Platforms - Softpedia

 

[Tanzanos Mzungu]

WOW! I just saw on TV: Last night someone rammed a van into the main MICROSOFT offices here in Athens and set the van alight. The whole building burned. Are we witnessing the future of MS?

 

[kemical]

Just to echo my earlier post on Microsoft's expansion of the Metro theme, checkout this vid on what's in store for Microsoft phone users:



So it seems that Metro will soon be applied to everything Microsoft. Even Xbox is in the offing for a new Metro makeover. I know the buying public is usually indifferent to change but it seems that this is almost a rebrand of Microsoft. I say almost because really all that is happening is that the metro theme is being used to unify the Microsoft brand.

 

[Tanzanos Mzungu]

I have never met anyone who uses a Microsoft phone! A rare breed indeed!

 

[shaneblack]

I often wonder if tablets can access the desktop tile and it can be used like a laptop. What can you do on desktop? Does it support all of Windows files like EXE, AVI, MP4, RAR, ZIP, and can it be capable of running Pc games. Are we looking at a tablet version of Windows with all the features of a desktop ? I know with phones you would probably be somewhat limited but what about tablets. If all of these features are included I'm sure it would kill Apple because the Ipad is very limited and does not support alot of files and features.

If the Windows tablet has all of this stuff, Media player, support for desktop programs, gaming, then this will be a big step into the future of tablet computing. And I most certainly would like to own one in addition to my windows 7 laptop. Two great systems, two great devices make a very good work/play scenario and home/on the go scenario too.

These devices and systems can also talk to eachother, stream media and file sharing. Plus communicate. Say I left a webcam on at home through my laptop and wanted to check on my dogs or see how things where going. Well I could connect via my tablet and check on things. Tablets are good tools, they cost alot though. I think the Ipad is a joke and Microsoft could change the playing field by introducing a whole new feature rich tablet to where we can finally do what we need to.

 

[kemical]

I think that is Microsoft's intention. As the article above points out, last year Microsoft was looking a little slow on the uptake and the market was/is flooded with android as well as Apple products. Now things are starting to look very differently, new phones, tablets and a unifying operating system to boot.

 

[Drew]

Yep, exactly. And the landscape is definitely going to change a lot in the next few months! Personally, I have a feeling the new software & hardware from MS is going to prove to have quite an impact on that landscape.

Drew

 

[shaneblack]

I never really knew of any tablets having windows 7 on them, but this link here shows they are out there. So to my understanding a person could use one and be way more happier then with an Ipad. I guess Microsoft has been dipping into the tablet world for some time and just now realizing they could design a system talored more for tablets. These tablets with Windows 7 come with touch pen for a more accurate touch when using the desktop. Although we all know many companies make their own OS for tablets, we are also seeing companies integrate Windows into tablets as well. I believe Apple has hipped up the Ipad so much that most people overlook the so many great tablets that are already out there.

Asus Tablet PC B121-A1 EeePad 12.1inch Intel Core i5-470UM 64GB SSD 4GB GMA Windows 7 Professional Retail - Virtech

 

[Drew]

I was the founding Pres. of the IT Pro User Group, here in Calgary. Few yrs ago, @ one of our meetings, one of the Exec. had one w/ him. It was really cool & we all had fun getting a look @ it. Back then, seems he'd picked it up in Europe or Asia, or maybe the State. Something about it being a good score, @ the time, was hard to get one's hands on one. But, it was neat!

I venture to say, the Win8 tablets you'll see will be quite comprehensive & impressive.

Cheers,
Drew

 

[kemical]

Here's a quick look at Microsoft's Surface:



Looking pretty funky.. We just need the specs now.

 

[Drew]

Here you go; here they are:

Link Removed

Cheers,
Drew

 

[kemical]

Yeah we really kind of got those already (thanks for the link). I was meaning more like processor size, cost etc

 

[Drew]

I haven't found much more (yet) except, "One Windows RT tablet runs an NVIDIA Tegra 3 ARM processor, and the other Windows 8 Pro tablet runs Intel's Ivy Bridge Core i5 chips."

cost, nothing very precise yet but, somewhere around $500-800. Figure, bout the same as any existing tablet

 

[shaneblack]

I haven't found much more (yet) except, "One Windows RT tablet runs an NVIDIA Tegra 3 ARM processor, and the other Windows 8 Pro tablet runs Intel's Ivy Bridge Core i5 chips."

cost, nothing very precise yet but, somewhere around $500-800. Figure, bout the same as any existing tablet

That would be great considering Apple has put their Ipad around $800. With Microsoft setting the price in that range it seems for sure they are competing with Apple's Ipad.

 

[john3347]

I realize that the author of the article in question is expressing a biased opinion and some of the points he makes are arguably valid and some arguably invalid. For sure, I am on his side in a general perspective. I have copies of Windows 8 betas on DVDs, but have seen Windows 8 on a couple of friend's computers and based on that experience, I have not yet installed it on any of mine. I probably will download and save a copy of Windows 8 RTM through my TechNet subscription when it becomes available, but I also probably will never install it. I have just recently backed a Windows 7 computer back to XP because XP is SO MUCH more stable. (I never moved my important work to Windows 7 due to this stability issue. Windows 2000 blows them all out of the water from a stability standpoint, but 2000 is losing so much developer support that it is becoming very frustrating.) With all those issues aside, I continue to be convinced that no one operating system will likely be developed to be optimized for everything from a cell phone to a corporate desktop client computer. Certainly will not be developed by Microsoft until some competitor shows them how. When Windows 8 hits the streets on new big box store computers, I believe the "new" factor will be the only plus feature that it will show. When "average user" tries to wade through stuff that is foreign to his prior computer experience, he is going to be very vocal about his dissatisfaction with it. Very possibly, Windows 8 will, as some predict, become the new Vista. In my personal opinion, and without spending months learning how to use a new tool to perform the same work I have been doing with my old tools for years (more than 25 years now), I would enjoy seeing Windows 8 become the new Vista.

 

[shaneblack]

I have just recently backed a Windows 7 computer back to XP because XP is SO MUCH more stable. (I never moved my important work to Windows 7 due to this stability issue. Windows 2000 blows them all out of the water from a stability standpoint, but 2000 is losing so much developer support that it is becoming very frustrating.)

This is a good point, 2000 and XP are rock solid. But if your a gamer and need the lastest Directx 10 or 11 your out of luck. The performance of the two is great, but for a media user like myself, I must go with Win 7 for games and HD content. If your pc has a DX10 card, XP will never use it nor Win2000. It is a shame though, those are both great systems that I used to swear by untill I moved to Win 7. I am getting tired of Win 8, I can't stay with the Release Preview forever and the RTM cut features I liked from Win 8 release preview, so I just moved back to Win 7 and am using Win 8 RP aero theme which is very nice looking. I can play all my DX10 games without fear of any of them running slow or freezing because of apps using memory or the system running a useless program I'll never know about.

 

[john3347]

"Well, let's see... 1 st all, Win7 ain't broken... if it ain't broke, don't fix it."


"If it ain't broke, don't fix it" is excellent advice - BUT: Windows 7 IS BROKEN!! I have many more operational problems on each of my computers with Windows 7 than with two XP and one 2000 computer combined. On one Windows 7 computer, for instance, when I attempt to open a file on the harddrive from a desktop shortcut, I get an error message that says "Server Execution Failed". (This is just one of several examples of a broken system) No file (or application) that is on the harddrive will open from the desktop shortcut. This just started all at once several weeks ago. The same thing happened on another Windows 7 computer and I was able to do an upgrade install of the same OS and was therefore able to save most of my saved material. Windows 7 gives me times over more screen freezes, operational failures, and general "flaky" operation and than either my Windows XP or Windows 2000 computers. Windows 7 is definitely broken and needs some attention paid to fixing what's wrong with it and less attention to a new system that will then have to have the bugs worked out of it.

That's my story, and I'm stickin' to it!

 

[Tanzanos Mzungu]

"Well, let's see... 1 st all, Win7 ain't broken... if it ain't broke, don't fix it."


"If it ain't broke, don't fix it" is excellent advice - BUT: Windows 7 IS BROKEN!!

Win 7 is not only unstable but it is broken. Its "search" is a joke to say the least! As for Win 8? Sorry but I don't want to degrade my PC!

 

[Mitchell_A]

All these people complaining about the powerful search in Windows 7 - have you ever tried adjusting your indexing options?