What you need to know now about Windows 8

Topic

New Reply

	TOP STORY What you need to know now about Windows 8
	By Woody Leonhard Few Microsoft publicity efforts have ever drawn as much attention as last week’s 20-minute Windows 8 sneak preview. If you’ve heard that Windows 8 is for the dogs or that it will look like a phone, you haven’t heard the whole story.

---

The full text of this column is posted at WindowsSecrets.com/top-story/what-you-need-to-know-now-about-Windows-8/ (opens in a new window/tab).

Columnists typically cannot reply to comments here, but do incorporate the best tips into future columns.[/td]

[/tr][/tbl]

Reply | Quote

Replies

Funnily, I watched a preview of Mac OS/X Lion just yesterday. I was interested because I’m in the middle of switching from Windows to Mac – I have a 2011 edition iMac on my desk running Snow Leopard. It appears that as usual Microsoft is playing catchup and pretending to be innovative. Swiping, full-screen apps, full screen launchpad menus – they are all in Lion, which is being released next month. The big difference between Apple and Microsoft – apart from the fact that Apple are genuinely innovative – is that Apple go for evolutionary change. Microsoft appear to be going for a revolution – from the point of view of their users. By the time that Microsoft get there Apple will have taken a couple more evolutionary steps and will still be ahead of the game. That being said, both companies appear to be trying to persuade us that a desktop computer is in fact just a large mobile phone, and by doing so are dumbing down the interface. Somebody should tell them that there are reasonably sophisticated computer users out there that can cope with having more than one program on the screen at a time. I have three screens and i often have multiple programs going because I need them to do a single task,or a related set of tasks. These days some of those programs are Mac programs and some of them are Windows programs, because I’m running a Windows VM on my Mac using Parallels Desktop in Coherence mode.

Oh, and I didn’t find the video you pointed us to as in any way slick – I thought it was pretty clumsy.

Reply | Quote

I hope we are not all forced to eventually use a finger to control Windows. I have two large screens which are up from the desk and I don’t sit on top of them either. Imagine having to have your arm stretched out for extended periods of time while accessing the icons on the screen. I am quite happy with my desk-top computer to use the keyboard and a mouse. This new UI is fine for laptops and tablets, etc. :mellow:

Reply | Quote

I flat-out REJECT what has so far been presented as Windows 8. The App-Tiled push-sell, cluttered iPhone/Apple Store style interface is a non-starter. I keep my Windows 7 desktop clean and uncluttered for a reason — I HATE unnecessary ads and distractions where I am working. This includes inside my browser, which is why I block ads and scripts.

And I suppose the OS won’t even activate without demanding Credit Card Numbers (for the Store) and a Windows Live ID sign-up. Security would also be a nightmare in this operating environment.

About the Windows 8 Presentation:

At the 8:30 point on the timeline, what we may be seeing has been known to Linux users for decades as separate Workspaces. These are autonomous, often sandboxed, working environments, but they only have a few apps per workspace. Each workspace has its own desktop or other interface, and each can behave relatively independently. It’s like Windows 7 Libraries on steroids. Or then again, like having multiple accounts without having separate log-ons for each account. Again, Linux users are already familiar with this concept — it is only new to Windows users who have never seen Linux in action. In Linux, files and even apps can indeed be dragged from one Workspace to another — or at least copy/pasted.

I still will not accept the Apps and Touch Screen paradigm of this presentation, and I don’t expect widespread business adoption. This whole concept is consumer-glitz at the expense of core functionality and efficiency of use. If you are trying to create or modify business documents or presentations, this interface just does not work for you.

Again, as in the AskWoody blog, I ask, Is Microsoft at long last just an Apple Wannabe?

And if Microsoft controls and approves the Apps, and they all must be bought at the Microsoft Store, this is the end of free programs by independent developers for the Windows platform. I smell a gigantic anti-trust action if this proves to be the case.

The integration of Internet Explorer 10 into the operating environment seems too close to comply with EU anti-trust laws.

So how do you boot a UEFI computer from a rescue CD? I guess this is also the end of the road for end-user self-help.

To solve the issue of not having a touch-screen, we all would have to buy new hardware to go with the new Operating System. I for one cannot and will not spend yet another $500 to $1000 on hardware which by the looks of it will no longer run free software and cannot be user self-serviced.

Or maybe we all will be using the Microsoft Surface as an auxilliary (USB 2.0 for most laptops) input device. And that will cost us how much?

By the way, Google has nothing to offer in its ChromeBooks at this time. That’s why Google won’t allow retail sales of ChromeBooks — they are still running an OS which is largely vaporware as of the latest reviews. You’d expect much more after two years of nonstop hype and a $500 price tag. And the Chromebook is — shockingly — a LAPTOP, not a Tablet!

-- rc primak

Reply | Quote

I’m not too terribly concerned about all this touch screen stuff. From what I understand of Windows 8 thus far, traditional desktop features like mouse and keyboard will remain. They are by no means going away anytime soon.
Backward compatibility has always been a Microsoft staple, even to it’s detriment at times. I believe the user will be eased into these features, not forced.
If MS is going to improve their phone and possibly put out an os for a tablet, then the previous “traditional” Windows operating systems are just not going to cut it.
So no, not a Apple wannabe at all. Just going with the flow is more like it. And it’s probably about time too.

Still too early to make anywhere near a final judgement. We just don’t have enough information yet.

Reply | Quote

Hay, Clint –
The point here is, many of us *do not want to be “eased” into these features.*

“Easing” is just a slower form of forcing, and over the long run, that is exactly what it is. Sooner or later they drop support for the “older” ways we prefer, so yes, we *are* forced.

Reply | Quote

I saw the Windows 8 preview and as usual Microsoft is off on their own ideals of what the residential and business world NEED instead of what “we” actually want and need.

Apple however determined to rethink computing on a global scale LISTENS to their user base. they understand a key concept Microsoft has NEVER grasped… Keep the users happy and they’ll never leave you.

Apple keeps it simple. The OS is streamlined and with Apple either it works or it doesn’t. At the same time the key features people love they continue to offer in their Operating Systems like the Apple Menu. Originally it was taken out of OSX but after massive negative feedback they added it back almost immediately. Smart business on Apple’s part.

Microsoft has been playing catch up to Apple since the 80’s. Windows was built on the Mac OS GUI, or should I say stolen. So as the Apple OS continues to grow in popularity Microsoft scuffles to compete, hence why we had a Windows ME and Vista…. 2 rushed Operating Systems that were sub par to say the very least, and is the reason why both failed and were pulled.

Windows 8 to me looks like a HUGE mistake. Such a drastic change in the look and feel of an OS is NOT going to go over well with the corporate world, and that’s really where Microsoft needs to focus their attentions. When this new OS enters the business world and the users are basically ham stringed aside from shell shocked and can’t perform their job responsibilities we are going to see Windows 8 get shelved just like Vista was shelved.

Practical functionality far exceeds the need to redesign something that isn’t broke. Microsoft apparently will never understand this.

As an I.T. Professional I honestly see no logical reason why Microsoft feels the need to do this. Smartphones and Tablets have their place in the computing world, and for that yes they have a different interface because of screen size more than anything else. Apps and widgets are the way to go on a system with limited screen space.

HOWEVER a PC is used much differently than a smartphone or a tablet are used. I know very few people that use a smartphone to actually do work outside of emails and for I.T. Pros some administrative tasks like resetting user account passwords.

Is Microsoft going to change the world? In my opinion absolutely not, I think they’re going to end up with egg on their faces again unless there is a feature to turn this ridiculous GUI off and use a standard desktop GUI.

Reply | Quote

For my work desktop pc WinXP, OfficeXP and our industry specific software provide everything I need to do my job and a lot more besides. Win8 will be wholly irrelevant.

Reply | Quote

If Microsoft goes forward with Windows 8 as currently envisioned, it will be the end of Microsoft’s dominance of desktop OSes. No company can survive two bad OS products that are completely rejected by the market, in such a short period of time (Vista & Win 8). It’s the opening Apple and Ubuntu have been waiting for. No corporation is going to embrace having a consumer phone UI on their desktops. No serious, knowledgeable techie will embrace and recommend it. We were right about Vista and I’m confident we will be right about this monstrosity called Windows 8.

We are witnessing how a monopoly can destroy itself through arrogance. It will be studied and written about for decades to come. When you don’t understand customers and try to force products down their throat that don’t meet their needs or expectations you lose.

Reply | Quote

I agree here 100%.

No self respecting I.T. Professional working in the real world is going to embrace this OS in the business world.

IF Microsoft had a clue this feature would have been an addition to the OS EXACTLY like Apple has done with OSX LION. Lion features a new addition called Launchpad. Launchpad allows you to have all of your apps show FULLSCREEN on the desktop as cool icons, which look VERY similar if not identical to all Droid and iPhones. It’s simple, and does not force a user to have to take a class to learn how to use LION. http://www.apple.com/macosx/whats-new/launchpad.html

IF Microsoft goes down because of this Apple will take advantage of it. I have always been an Apple advocate. the problem Apple has is the business world. They need a stronger more solidified foothold on Corporate infrastructure. Considering they axed the X-Serve from production, all but giving up on rack mounted servers I don’t know if we are going to see Apple move into the market. I’d like to but probably won’t.

Reply | Quote

I agree here 100%.

No self respecting I.T. Professional working in the real world is going to embrace this OS in the business world.

IF Microsoft had a clue this feature would have been an addition to the OS EXACTLY like Apple has done with OSX LION. Lion features a new addition called Launchpad. Launchpad allows you to have all of your apps show FULLSCREEN on the desktop as cool icons, which look VERY similar if not identical to all Droid and iPhones. It’s simple, and does not force a user to have to take a class to learn how to use LION. http://www.apple.com/macosx/whats-new/launchpad.html

IF Microsoft goes down because of this Apple will take advantage of it. I have always been an Apple advocate. the problem Apple has is the business world. They need a stronger more solidified foothold on Corporate infrastructure. Considering they axed the X-Serve from production, all but giving up on rack mounted servers I don’t know if we are going to see Apple move into the market. I’d like to but probably won’t.

The LaunchPad concept looks like the way to go. Give us a choice, Microsoft!

And that Apple Dock feature would be another good way to handle Apps, provided it doesn’t degenerate into just another Ribbon.

Are you listening, Microsoft Developers?

-- rc primak

Reply | Quote

Ya know what else is REALLY FUNNY here?

Apple created a new feature in OSX called the DOCK. The dock sits on the bottom of the screen and “docks” all the apps you want it to display. These apps have neat little icons that look just like Smartphone widgets and app icons, AND is actually where smartphones got the idea from.

Just goes to show you how far ahead Apple is in computing then Microsoft.

PRACTICAL USES FOR NEW FEATURES AND DESIGNS MICROSOFT! Idiots on a monumental scale

Reply | Quote

Thanks Woody for the advance peek. I never, in my wildest imaginiation, thought I would say this but, based on your informatin, my next machine is most likely going to be a Mac. Microsoft is now actually *interfering* with the way I use a computer and work on it. I hate the thought of switching, but, I can’t put up with this kind of garbage.

Microsoft fails to understand that *businesses* use computers – we are not all 20-somethings running around playing with tablets and texting our friends or looking up movie times or the way to the mall on our phones. Nor are we playing videogames on our computers. There’s a *huge* segment of the market that could care less about these things.

We want desktops with icons on them, first and foremost, not a bunch of “tiles” – what insanity – have they lost their minds?

Many of us also have zero interest in storing things in the “cloud” (what a term – aka somebody else’s servers), no matter what the Big Boys want us to do. Why should I turn over MY stuff to THEM? Forget it. Not gonna happen.

Microsoft, you lost big-time on Vista, Windows 7 isn’t great, and now you plan to self-destruct on Windows 8.

Reply | Quote

I think Microsoft just decided that they flat-out don’t care about handicapped users. The blind, those with amputations, the diabetics with poor–or no–sense of touch can’t use a touch screen and anyone with any kind of movement disability is going to be VERY unhappy. And to ship with the touch screen as the default? They lost that audience immediately.

And me as well: I sit 29 inches from the screen because that’s the closest my desk will allow me to get. My arm isn’t long enough to reach that far! I would consider a touchpad next to the keyboard in place of the mouse. Also, I agree with Boprimak–give me a bare screen that I can add to, not a cluttered mess I might be able to remove everything from.

Reply | Quote

Well you have to remember something….. Touchscreen features only work IF you have a touchscreen! Conventional Monitors can’t do that. And i don;t know about any of you BUT I am NOT replacing my three 23 inch Samsung Screens for this silly feature.

MODERATOR NOTE: This post has been edited to remove profanity that violated forum rules. Please read and abide by the Forum Rules. Click the Lounge tab at top of page, Forum Rules are under FAQ. Please activate Private Messaging in your user profile.

Deadeye81, Forum Moderator Staff

Reply | Quote

You are jumping to way too many conclusions based on a brief demo. I’d advise everybody to take a deep breath and wait until you see a public beta before you make any assumptions about what is there and what isn’t.

Joe

--Joe

Reply | Quote

What I NEED to know about Win 8? …

Nada, nothing!

Sorry Woody, I realize that as a Windows columnist you are interested in it. And that you have many other interested readers. But as an “average user” (not really, but for this discussion, yes) I don’t care a hoot about Windows 8. It is still firmly in the realm of VAPOURWARE! None of the features are fixed. Remember all of the talk before Vista came out. And more importantly, since I don’t have a direct line to “uncle billy”, any comments or suggestions I may make about features will not even be heard, let alone ignored, by MS. So why should I waste my time reading about it, and waste time getting upset about the stupidities they are about to inflict on me. Win 8 will show up all too soon.

From what I’ve read in passing about it I agree with one of the other comments, Win7 will probably the last version of windows I buy. It really sounds like another case of “MS Knows Best“. Someone at MS has a brain fart, it gets picked up and all of a sudden everyone is on band wagon. The most recent example of that sort of “stroke of genius” is the Office “Ribbon”. What an ugly kluge! Why can’t MS learn from user comments and include an option to revert to an “old”, ie Win7, user interface. The new UI is just pasted on top of the old underlying commands and functionality. Sure there are a small set of totally new features that the old UI won’t support, but they can be handled easily enough. It is not that much of an additional effort to include the old UI with the new one. People will eventually get used to the new ugliness, even if it is only when the “old” Win7 users die off .

I will be interested to read about it when the Beta version is released. At that point features will be pretty much set in stone and I can be interested the upcoming train wreck .

Reply | Quote

What I NEED to know about Win 8? …

Nada, nothing!

Sorry Woody, I realize that as a Windows columnist you are interested in it. And that you have many other interested readers. But as an “average user” (not really, but for this discussion, yes) I don’t care a hoot about Windows 8. It is still firmly in the realm of VAPOURWARE! None of the features are fixed. Remember all of the talk before Vista came out. And more importantly, since I don’t have a direct line to “uncle billy”, any comments or suggestions I may make about features will not even be heard, let alone ignored, by MS. So why should I waste my time reading about it, and waste time getting upset about the stupidities they are about to inflict on me. Win 8 will show up all too soon.

From what I’ve read in passing about it I agree with one of the other comments, Win7 will probably the last version of windows I buy. It really sounds like another case of “MS Knows Best“. Someone at MS has a brain fart, it gets picked up and all of a sudden everyone is on band wagon. The most recent example of that sort of “stroke of genius” is the Office “Ribbon”. What an ugly kluge! Why can’t MS learn from user comments and include an option to revert to an “old”, ie Win7, user interface. The new UI is just pasted on top of the old underlying commands and functionality. Sure there are a small set of totally new features that the old UI won’t support, but they can be handled easily enough. It is not that much of an additional effort to include the old UI with the new one. People will eventually get used to the new ugliness, even if it is only when the “old” Win7 users die off .

I will be interested to read about it when the Beta version is released. At that point features will be pretty much set in stone and I can be interested the upcoming train wreck .

While the complete feature list may be still subject to change it is highly likely the features demoed will be in Windows 8. Steve Sinofsky does not demo things that may or may not be in a product. This goes back to his Office days. When he took over Windows development things changed fairly dramatically. Think about the Windows 7 release cycle. There was much less leakage of information and what was leaked did in fact make it into the product. All that said, we have not seen much of the complete release. I’ll repeat – everyone needs to take a deep breath and hold off rushing to judgement.

As far as the Office Ribbon being a kludge. That is a matter of opinion. Microsoft had mountains of data that showed the vast majority of new feature requests were for things already in the various Office products. For those of us who do not spend all day every day immersed in one or two Office products the ribbon is a big help in finding seldom used features. The ribbon in Office 2010 is much more easily customizable than the Office 2007 version.

I think you have the wrong impression about the Win8 UI. There in fact two shells. The new tile based shell and the “old” Win7 shell. From what I’ve read, the default shell will be the tile based shell. For businesses there will be group policies that can be used to change the default. For end users I don’t know what mechanism will be available. At the very least if there is a policy someone will figure out the registry settings and publish them.

Joe

--Joe

Reply | Quote

@ron007 –

Even everyday Windows users need to be aware of what’s coming – for all sorts of reasons. I remember the talk before Vista came out but, as I explained in the column, we’re talking Steve Sinofsky here – and Steve doesn’t spill any undeliverable beans.

I have a theory that Windows 7 is the new Windows XP. It’s going to be around a long time, for precisely the reasons you mention.

Reply | Quote

Most of the posters in this thread are jumping in head first over a pre pre pre pre . . . . release demo of a possible OS. Heck, Win 8 is not even envisioned as nearing final release until late next year the last I read. Ranting on this forum will not help or solve anything. Send comments to MS if you must, but as Joe says you are jumping to way to many conclusions. Don’t put the cart ahead of the horse. Wait until you start seeing betas before making any decisions. Heck many things change even from first betas to RTM.

Reply | Quote

If the demo is an irrelevance due to the long timescales until Win 8 RTM, why even demo it now?

Win ME was a pigs ear, that they fixed with the migration of the OS lineup to XP. But even XP was badly flawed until SP2. Vista was a technical and project management disaster. They turned it round with Win 7, but have had a bumpy ride with SP1.

Microsoft need to learn from their mistakes in past OS’s and not over-egg changes to the user interface that are too revolutionary and not what the majority of users want or need.

As far as corporate systems are concerned, the eye candy will be turned off. The average server room does not exactly look like a set out of CSI filled with pseudo-science. So I don’t really see that being a problem.

For me, the demo appeared to try to catch the wave of the younger generation, who would be more at home picking up a tablet or smartphone. Great, maybe Win 8 with Live-Tile might work in that niche (though it will be a big niche by then!). However, I fear Microsoft will alienate the large rump of population that want a desktop or laptop GUI in the home.

Will MAC or Linux system take over? In the professional environment, maybe there will be more Linux based desktop systems, but not in the home. Even though I use Linux on a daily basis, it will be a very long time coming before it’s a OS for the masses.

In the home a few more MAC’s maybe, but the cost of Apple kit and the locked-down business direction they are taking means that they will never be as popular as the wide-open plain old vanilla flavour PC.

I would love to see the business brief for Win 8 and understand what exactly it is they are trying to achieve. Personally, I agree they should be developing this stuff. But arguably their best OS to date is around only 20 months old. No need then to be publicly talking up it’s replacement just yet. Let the tablet market stabilize; Let Android and iOS define the functionality, then enter with a killer product.

Reply | Quote

[Well, actually, Woody Leonhard]
“I have to say, however, I’m amazed Microsoft has let this much of the Win8 cat out of the bag. The preview could certainly hurt Windows 7 sales.”[/FONT][/SIZE]

The only people who will be putting off a Windows 7 purchase because of this “cat” are the ones who are anxious about buying their first computer and think that Windows looks intimidating.

Everyone else who wants to have a productive computer (not a pad, phone, or touchscreen “internet appliance”) will run, screaming, to Windows 7 (or Mac OS X).

Reply | Quote

I’m one of those guys who hung on to WindowsXP for a long time. In fact, most of the computers in my business still use it. I’m not one of those sheep who always needs the newest thing. I want what works and am not interested in paying more for something unless it will return me more. That said, I upgraded my desktop to Windows7 last February and have decided that it is time to bring everything up to Windows 7. That will mean lots of money for new computers, headaches, etc. Now that I’ve seen Windows 8 I am happy with my decision. It will probably be like Vista: a disaster. Microsoft will continue to support Windows 7 for a long time and by the time it no longer works for me, I’ll be about retirement age. Whew! Won’t that be a relief. Then I’ll probably put Linux on my home (only) computer and choose the GUI I want and feel most comfortable with. I will even be able to shop around for one. Sorry if this is sacrilege on a Windows oriented forum, but I suffer with Microsoft because I have to, not because I like it.

Reply | Quote

In the original article, Woody had this item:

“I’m happy to report that the changes in Win8 will force hardware manufacturers into the 21st century. Details are sketchy, but it appears that all new hardware with Win8 preinstalled will have to use Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI, MS info page), the firmware interface that will finally — finally! — let us get rid of BIOS. Systems using UEFI should boot much faster than BIOS systems.”

I believe hardware manufacturers have been up to date far longer than Microsoft. Perhaps not always all together, but just because Microsoft calls a shot, doesn’t mean it is right, good, feasible, or economically practical. Microsoft does not deserve the credit that you give them, other than constraining innovation (which is more likely the case). I believe that Phoenix had a BIOS many years ago that would control the computer completely, including internet access, prior to actually booting any operating system. Apparently, this new BIOS has been used in some part for a number of years for 64 bit systems but not 32 bit systems. The referenced document on the implementation is almost 2 years old, so it is unlikely to reflect what Win8 will require or provide. However, access to the internet is there, but to what degree will Win8 use that access (you will probably be unable to monitor that access from Win8, which might require router/firewall based code to know what it is being used for).

Win8 – nah, not in my lifetime. If I need a phone like interface, I can get a smartphone. I bet the price of Win8 will be greater than the cost of most smartphones. By the way, UEFI is just a bigger fancier more complicated form of BIOS (and probably not faster). Once it becomes a target for intrusion, the problem only gets worse.

Reply | Quote

@kashken –

All very good points. I just hope that we get a replacement for BIOS that isn’t as bad as the original….

Reply | Quote

I have one program I can think of that will only run on Windows. I can use a Mac and run that one program with Parallels probably. By the time I will want to replace my desktop, homebuilt computer, it will probably be a Mac. I’m so tired of 2+ decades of spending hours every week maintaining my work, home, and friends’ Windows computers. My iPhone just works, everything I’ve heard about Macs is they just work, and I’ll be getting an iPad 3 when that comes out which…will just work. MS is a company in a long, slow, irreversible decline….the main reason I think Bill Gate left it. He realized neither he nor anybody could fix it, took his money and ran.

Reply | Quote

Sorry, I believe too many of the posters here have really no clue what they are talking about. Apple is ahead on what? Have you really read any reports other than the Mac press about iOS? Have you even compared iOS with Windows Phone 7, because this is really what this is all about, and seen which is really inovative? Which one brought really innovative concepts, other than the long, boring list of icons? Have you read any independent press lately and realized that quite a few of the announced iOS novelties have been copied from Android and Windows Phone 7?

You are in for a surprise. The old, dying company, has came out, in a couple years, with Windows 7, Kinect, Windows Phone 7 and now a truly revolutionary interface for the desktop OS (Apple, by the way, is trying something similar, bridging the gap from the mobile to the desktop, the difference being that innovation for Apple seems to be the old long list of icons). This new interface and new OS version will run on the same hardware as Windows 7 and will most likely coexist with the current windows interface, allowing users to choose whatever interface they want to run.

It’s funny that this actually new, revolutionary interface is greeted with such definitive, dismissive remarks. What I really feel like saying is that you should not worry about this failing Windows technology. Let us, the maligned Windows OS users, deal with it. I suggest you all go check whether Apple has already acknowledged that Macs can be affected by malware and make sure you have latest signatures, so that your malware foolproof OS does not get infected.

Reply | Quote

It sounds like a disaster in the making. Why would anyone want to smear a screen with fingerprints just to have an iPhone-like experience, and why would anyone embrace the code bloat that will inevitably result from creating an OS that tries to be all things to all people. The only bit of light in the darkness is that this beast can emulate Windows 7. That’s of small comfort to me and the many others who’ve spent an unconscionable amount of time trying to undo all the supposed enhancements in Win 7’s cumbersome interface. I have a 6 year old Pentium 4 XP system that is every bit the performance equal of a Win 7 desktop I bought recently, which runs the 64 bit OS version with a top of the line Athlon 6 core processor and 8 GB of memory. This is what I have observed through many hours of admittedly unofficial benchmarks. Ergonomically, I have yet to notice a single common task that can be done with less keypresses or mouse clicks than was the case with XP. If Win 8 is anything remotely like Woody predicts, then I’ll turn to Linux, and the cost of replacing all my software and learning a new OS will be far less painful than experiencing a Windows 7 replacement that has been dumbed down even more.

Reply | Quote

I may be late to the party but I can’t honestly see any advantage of locating apps on a sliding screen than from the task bar. I’m not sure what this will do for those of us that can type faster than most apps allow…the screen keyboard would most certainly slow writers down…and dumb down people who should know how to keyboard.

Reply | Quote

What do I want fromWindows 8?
I want a return to XP (and previous) style, structured menus. I need to see what’s there, not have to guess as with the Win7 Start.
I want “instant on”. Not a minimum of I minute plus as 47 things load. It would be nice if “Sleep” worked consistently rather than an 80% chance of a re-awakening.
I want an OS that doesn’t require 30 gigabytes just for itself. My Win3.11 PC had a 300 megabyte hard disk.
I want an OS that doesn’t Blue Screen regularly over software faults like IPv6 drivers issued by Microsoft.
I want an OS that does not try to load everything onto the C: drive.
I don’t need silly games, I can download Angry Birds.
I don’t need screen savers and “themes” whatever they are.
I don’t need “tiles” or half a dozen desktops.
I don’t need Media Player, IE, Windows Live, Silverlight and a dozen other things. If they are worthwhile, then make them available for download. It was different back in 1993, we didn’t have the Net. If we did, it was at what seem ludicrously slow speeds nowadays.
I don’t need “Libraries”, pulling in every odd .wav or whatever file. I know where my stuff is, or I did before Win7.
I don’t need an OS that requires massive, power hungry processors and other expensive hardware.
In short, if you are going to emulate the iPad/Android ‘phone experience, forget touch screens and go for the slimmed down, minimum power demand, instant on, simple interface that “just works”.

Reply | Quote

The only good thing I can say about touch screens is that they’re a huge bonanza for optometrists. Trying to peer through all those fingerprints – and there are fingerprints even if you wash your hands frequently – will cause more eyestrain and vision problems than we can ever imagine.

And since I can’t even find my explorer or files on Win 7 the couple of times I’ve tried it, Win 8 looks like a nightmare.

I hope my XP last a long time . . . .

"She was not quite what you would call refined. She was not quite what you would call unrefined.
She was the kind of person that keeps a parrot."
--Mark Twain

Reply | Quote