windows 8 Final thoughts on Windows 8: A design disaster - ZDNet Hardware 2.0

[raymac46]

As long as my old desktop lasts, XP is supported, and I can keep running more up to date non-MSoft software (Firefox, Chrome, Thunderbird, Open Office) I think I can keep my wife happy. The old desktop was very powerful when new (Pentium D dual core 840, 3 GB RAM) so it's overkill to run XP. I doubt I'd get much better performance with a brand new system on Win 7.

If she gets frustrated there are lots of Linux machines that fly around here.

[ross549]

get DeskTopOK or SMIR , and save your desktop settings. W7 does have a nasty habit of redoing the desktop.

 

I do not have the ability to manage my own software. I cannot install programs.

Not sure what you mean by this. You transferred your programs from your old pc, or new versions of the programs you had were installed. Are you running 32 or 64 bit?

 

The PC is provided to me with all the necessary stuff on it. So far I have not needed to request anything special to be added to it, except Acrobat.

 

I am just a user on this network at work.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Navy/Marine_Corps_Intranet

 

I don't think I would want to be a system administrator on this network. However, i can manage our e-mail groups for the command and admin a couple folders on the network drive. Everything else is provided by NMCI.

 

Adam

[raymac46]

Ah the joys of corporate Intranets. Our Unilever one was locked down pretty tight. My colleague got an upgrade to IE because the standard one wouldn't work on our office supplies provider's website. When I retired at the end of 2004 we were still running NT4. My desktop was a 500 MHz Pentium III (and that was a recent upgrade for me.)

I got "power user" privileges. That meant I could add different network printers and change print settings lol.

[crp]

I do not have the ability to manage my own software. I cannot install programs.

[...]

how much are you willing to risk? the programs do not get installed, they are portables. be interesting to see if you could get them to run. Edited June 20, 2012 by crp

[ross549]

I don't need to have my access revoked.

 

Adam

[crp]

oh, come on, just stick an Ultimate Boot CD in there :-)

Edited June 22, 2012 by crp

[raymac46]

Look at the hoops a big Microsoft supporter jumped through to get Windows 8 the way he liked it.

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/bott/the-metro-haters-guide-to-customizing-windows-8-consumer-preview/4610?tag=mantle_skin;content

[crp]

Look at the hoops a big Microsoft supporter jumped through to get Windows 8 the way he liked it.

http://www.zdnet.com...le_skin;content

IIRC, not all the steps work with the Release Candidate. At this point , no one knows what customizations will be possible with the final release.

But I do love the WordStar comment

[raymac46]

I'm sure we'll see a similar number of hacks posted when the final release appears. It doesn't sound as if Microsoft is going to make it easy to lose the Metro look and feel.

[crp]

This list is pretty good, i thought. I would modify it a bit by having an option to start up with the Desktop mode or Metro UI as the default screen available for the user. The MetroUI can somewhat work ok on a desktop in the keyboard had a touchpad on it, so having an option of where to start would be good.

The 'start orb' is really a non-issue , just give me a way to scroll through the items in a list instead of sliding from screen to screen.

I really think have viewable edges would be good, this would really cut down on confusion. give users option to turn off the edges if they don't need it.

The different versions of IE is just plain silly to me.

Give the option in MetroUI to not take up the full screen when running an app.

 

And for Microsoft employees who happen to reading this, remember the old adage:

If everyone is telling you that you are drunk, lay down.

[Guest LilBambi]

Yes, Adrian's list is pretty darn good. An excellent start. Like you crp, I would also modify it a bit but not much. I think a login screen with a Choose Session Type, or Choose Metro or Desktop Type, available during Login like in Linux (particularly Debian) would be a wise thing. Choosing a default could be handled there as well. Last Session Type as the default option under Choose Session Type at Login

 

I certainly agree with this statement by Adrian regarding if Microsoft doesn't fix Windows 8 to be a more versatile OS:

 

Enterprise will continue to demand Windows 7, because to roll out Windows 8 'properly' the costs will rocket due to mass purchase of touch-enabled hardware and additional user interface training

[raymac46]

I've got most of those improvements already by getting a new desktop with Win 7 Pro. Start Orb - check. Start Menu - check. Boot to Windows Desktop - check. Windows RT - would never use. IE integration - don't care. I'll even get my low priced Win 8 Pro for Virtual Box.

[Guest LilBambi]

There ya go raymac!

[Guest LilBambi]

How to skip Windows 8 and continue using Windows 7 - ZDNet - Ed Bott

 

At the moment, Microsoft is supporting four releases of desktop Windows. For reference, here are the end-of-support dates for all currently supported Windows versions:

• Windows XP SP3: April 8, 2014
  
• Windows Vista SP2: April 11, 2017
  
• Windows 7 SP1: January 14, 2020
  
• Windows 8: January 10, 2023
  

(In case you're wondering, yes, Microsoft has a formal definition of "supported.")

[ross549]

Those are some impressive support lifecycles, but there is a big problem with that length of support.

 

Many will simply not upgrade forcing Microsoft to continue dedicating resources to supporting the very old and outdated product instead of focusing on the new product. This has the secondary effect of keeping prices up for the new products.

 

Also, projects *cough*IE 6*cough* tend to stagnate as a result, and slowing the pace of innovation.

 

Adam

[amenditman]

the File Explorer changes are going to drive you nuts. as well as the pathetic search. else, you'll come to appreciate the lack of crashing and how the vast majority of OS things can get done quicker.

That is exactly the thing that drives me nuts about Win7. I am so entrenched in 10 years+ of XP that the changes are near intolerable. I want an XP Pro desktop mode!

Edited July 28, 2012 by amenditman

[sunrat]

Valve Boss Gabe Newell Says ''Windows 8 is a Catastrophe''

Looks like game developers are pessimistic about Windows8 too. Blizzard (Diablo 3) have also expressed the same opinion.

Maybe that's why Valve are actively developing their Steam client for Linux, and are also working on a Linux port of Left 4 Dead 2.

[mac]

Valve Boss Gabe Newell Says ''Windows 8 is a Catastrophe''

 

Me thinks that Gabe is worried about the MS app store that will be in direct competition with Gabe's Steam store, and he wants WIN8 to fail.

[Guest LilBambi]

Actually, many gaming companies are leery of Windows 8 from what i am reading. It's not just Gabe's Steam store.

 

Blizzard and Valve Pan Windows 8 - PC Mag

 

Spurred on by Newell's statements, Blizzard's executive vice president of game design, Rob Pardo, went on Twitter to confirm that Windows 8 isn't presenting much of a wonderful experience for his company.

"Nice interview with Gabe Newell – 'I think Windows 8 is a catastrophe for everyone in the PC space' - not awesome for Blizzard either," Pardo wrote.

 

And this could be a lot of it!

 

Valve: OpenGL outpaces DirectX, even under Windows - IT ProPortal (reprint with permission from ZDNet)

 

In a scary twist that reinforces Valve’s distaste for Windows 8, it turns out that the Source engine – the 3D engine that powers Half Life 2, Left 4 Dead, and Dota 2 – runs faster on Ubuntu 12.04 and OpenGL than Windows 7 and DirectX/Direct3D.

The Valve Linux Team breaks it down on their shiny new blog: With an Nvidia GTX 680, Intel i7-3930k, and 32GB of RAM, Windows 7 and DirectX, Left 4 Dead 2 maxes out at 270.6 fps (frames per second). With the same hardware, but different software – Ubuntu 12.04 and OpenGL – Left 4 Dead 2 (L4D2) scores 315 fps, almost 20 per cent faster than Windows.

[b2cm]

I don't like it. But it looks like Microsoft is making the right step with Windows 8.

[ross549]

Leo Laporte has been using it extensively, and he reports that he has gotten used to the Metro style interface. He notes however, that it really shines on a touch screen.

 

Adam

[Guest LilBambi]

Microsoft is making a MAJOR mistake forcing folks to boot into the UI formerly known as Metro, and then booting to Windows 8 Desktop UI from there. That sucks, big time.

 

Didn't they learn anything from eeePC where folks installed their own OS on it instead of using the 'OOTB' OS because they hated having to do that.

[amenditman]

Didn't they learn anything from eeePC where folks installed their own OS on it instead of using the 'OOTB' OS because they hated having to do that.

I think they learned that if they threw enough money at OEMs and advertising, they could crush the competition even when the competition had a better product.

 

No wait, they learned that one a long time ago when they smashed Netscape into powder.

 

No, maybe it was when they wiped Word Perfect from the face of the Earth.

 

Oh well, maybe they learned nothing.

[amenditman]

Superior financing, inferior products. The key to success?

[V.T. Eric Layton]

Carpy products, great marketing. That's the key to success, it would seem. Works for our Chinese friends.

[b2cm]

Carpy products, great marketing. That's the key to success, it would seem.

That's the western model. The Chinese way is copy, outposition and undersell the competition.

[V.T. Eric Layton]

... copy, outposition and undersell the competition.

 

And don't forget flood the market.

[Guest LilBambi]

I don't think they are very good at marketing at all anymore.

 

They are lame! Did you hear that they now want to change the name of the UI formerly known as "Metro" to "Modern" ... I am not kidding. That is so lame!

 

Microsoft: Don't call it Metro. Call it 'Windows 8' - ZDNet

 

See Update 1:

 

Update: On August 9, Tom Warren at The Verge published a post with a number of Microsoft references to "Modern" as a possible replacement for Metro. So does this mean "Windows 8" was just a temporary placeholder? Is Modern the new official term? Or is "Modern" meant to be used in specific instances and "Windows 8" when talking about apps? I don't know and Microsoft isn't talking.

 

I can not believe they couldn't find a better name for it!

 

Why not go with Neoteric (At least that's somewhat unique), or anything other than the mundane and extremely overused word: Modern, for Pete's sake.

[raymac46]

They probably want to promote the idea that the interface formerly known as Metro is really part of the unified Windows 8 experience. Using Metro and Windows 8 Desktop as separate terms reinforces the impression that the touch inspired interface was somehow bolted on to the WIMP Desktop they've had for 25 years or so.

[ross549]

Well, Metro was a codename...... Remember Whistler?

 

Adam