• Windows 8’s future from the eyes of a Professional

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    #484051

    I’ve been playing with Windows 8 for a while now. Upon hacking the registry to give a traditional Windows 7 Desktop and start menu I don’t see anything drastically different that justifies the switch. Leaving Windows 8 “as is” with the Metro Apps in my opinion is unbelievably obtrusive to the Corporate Environment, almost guaranteeing that employees will have to “relearn” the PC as they know it. Office 2010 was the perfect example of just how intrusive major change is to a business. I can’t see it flying. I forsee another Windows Vista Monumental failure OUTSIDE of the Tablet Market.

    From a mobile device / tablet perspective I think Microsoft is on the right path. As well as the I-pad does in sales there are many woes concerning corporate integrating tablets to their user pool. Apple has done a wonderful job with the I-pad but as with everything it isn’t perfect. It’s stable and does work well, don’t get me wrong, but there is a void.

    Microsoft does have an opportunity to expand it’s hold in this way, especially if the files on a Windows 8 Tablet are completely compatible with traditional PC’s. Now as we both know Microsoft has a habit of screwing the pooch so let’s hope they don’t do that here on the Tablet end of the market.
    As far as the Corporate Desktop Environment is concerned I seriously doubt this will be embraced much in the way Vista was hung out to dry. Companies are simply going to look at this and say show me the bottom line benefit to this as opposed to what we already have. At the same time it is only in the past 2 years that Windows 7 has been fully embraced by the Corporate world and has been being rolled out as new migrations from XP to Windows 7 regularly. I get contract offers all the time for these rollouts of which I turn down because I dont need the work BUT they are MUCH more common now.
    That said, I can’t see any large business doing another major upgrade after just transitioning to Windows 7. Financially it makes no sense and is just not viable. I don’t know about you BUT I am NOT changing any of my PC’s over to Windows 8.

    What I CAN SEE is Corporate America utilizing a Windows based Tablet. There is a market there IF and ONLY IF the files on your Windows 8 tablet are able to be used and shared seamlessly with your pc’s.

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    • #1338252

      I guess I have to disagree on a couple of points. First, I do not believe the Metro UI is so “obtrusive to the Corporate Environment”. It’s a simple one click to the desktop. There will be something shortly after it’s release to allow a bypass of Metro all together. I have no doubt on that. Very little relearning there.

      Yes, those corporations that have upgraded to Win 7 will be hard pressed to justify a new upgrade to Win 8, but those that have not, or those that wish a Win 8 Pro tablet for their mobile users will be seriously looking at Win 8 Enterprise as a valid way to integrate their desktop systems with their mobile tablet users.

      At first glance, the Surface Pro does appear to be a tablet that will be adapted by corporations. It will be interesting to see if the specs shown on the MS web site are available on the tablet when it is released. It will also be interesting to see what the OEM manufacturers will develop to compete with it.

      As the secondary S/W developers get the final code for Win 8 you will see those apps updated to run seamlessly with Win 8. Most already do. There are only a couple of apps that I rarely use on Win 7 that would not install and run appropriately on Win 8 RP. The biggest problem along these lines is the large number of proprietary S/W used by Corporate users. Since these users have already started adopting Win 7, I do not see this as a major obstacle either, as most of those apps running on Win 7 will indeed run on Win 8.

      • #1338257

        A medium to large business will control the behaviour of the Start screen through Group Policy, just as they control other aspects of the client OS. The same will be the case for Surface Pro. I don’t see the Metro/Start functionality getting to much in the way for corporate end users.

        However, the corporate upgrade cycle is a risk adverse beast. Many medium to large businesses are just beginning to implement a Windows 7 rollout, more still remain in the planning phase. The contention that those organisations will skip 7 and jump to 8 defies good IT management.

        Fundamentally, an IT managers job is to manage risk. A small mistake on a corporate network can have dire consequences. Ask the 17 Million RBS/NatWest/UlsterBank account holders what happens when corporate IT risks are not managed correctly.

        It is a far less risky prospect to upgrade the client OS to Windows7 than to Windows 8. There are far more resources available to manage a Windows 7 migration than there are for a Windows 8 migration. Those resources include technical resources from Microsoft, a stable and bug free OS, and most importantly skilled and qualified IT staff, consultants and contractors who have a deep understanding of the proposed new client OS. That knowledge pool simply does not exist with Windows 8 right now. At a guess, it may not exist for a year or perhaps even 2 from now. Only then can the IT manager be confident that he or she has the tools and resources to contemplate a Windows 8 migration, but by then their hand will probably have been forced by end of life XP.

        No matter what under-the-bonnet technical improvements are delivered by the OS (of which there are some very useful improvements), the IT manager in most cases will not be able to balance the risk of jumping to 8 on the client side in the near time. If a client OS migration is required, Windows 7 will be the choice for the next year or two. After that…..who knows?

        In terms of Windows and Microsoft, perhaps the biggest area of change that the corporate world will be looking at over the medium term will be Server OS rather than the Client OS. Within Server 2012 there are many revolutionary technologies that will have a direct bearing on the ability of the IT department’s ability to provide stable, dependable and scalable systems. The client OS is almost secondary to that, and in my opinion the IT manager will (or should) be focusing on their core infrastructure.

        • #1338281

          I agree that it will take some time to migrate large enterprises from Windows 7. The Federal agency I’m employed by is just changing from XP to Win7.

    • #1338317

      Tinto is right on the money. I’ll add a few thoughts.

      1) Companies are slow to upgrade OSes for two main reasons, cost and application compatibility. When we started rolling out Win 7 in 2010, the place I used to work for was just finishing thier XP rollout. They have over 500 applications to test and qualify. You can only imagine how many man hours go into to making that happen. If we go to 8 where I work now, it won’t be for at least 2 years. As far as software vendors go, there are usually enough changes to a new OS that most won’t support the new OS for some time. Why? Because R&D is expensive. So even if company “A” wants to move to Windows 8, one of their critical apps may not be supported on it.

      2) Its true there will not be huge compelling technical reasons to upgrade 8 for most companies. However, the #1 reason for upgrading an OS in the corporate environment is support. 2014 may seem like a long way off. but in IT terms that’s tomorrow. So anyone still on XP is flirting with disaster. It’ll be the same story in just a couple of years with Win7. That’s why any medium to large company has an Enterprise agreement with MicroSoft that includes SA (Software Assurance) to reduce those upgrade costs over time and gives them the ability to upgrade anytime they are ready.

      3) Server 2012 is going to be an excellent upgrade. I’m already making tentative plans to upgrade our domain controllers in the 1st quarter of 2013. Most of the enhancements are as applicable to Windows 7 as they are to Windows 8.

    • #1342325

      [h=1]Microsoft quietly extends consumer support for Windows 7[/h]http://www.zdnet.com/blog/bott/microsoft-quietly-extends-consumer-support-for-windows-7-vista/4529

      Vista and Windows 7 users will get 5 more years. There will be support for Windows 7 until 2020. Most Enterprise customers skipped Vista and went from XP to Windows 7. Most places will skip Windows 8 and hope for something better in windows 9.

    • #1342332

      I like the Metro Start screen. I’m treating it like a second desktop for searches and application shortcuts. But I’m trying to wrap my head around the Metro Apps. Are they better than normal apps for Desktop PCs and Laptops? Are they intended for tablets and phones? Are they for entertainment? I spend all my time on Word, Firefox, and Ableton music creation software. What good will Metro apps be for me? If they are no use, then why not put the start screen on the Desktop so we can access the taskbar?

      Generally, I’m liking Win8, but it feels like it’s trying to be two things at the same time, and it’s making me think hard about everything I do. But I’ve only been using it for one day so far.

    • #1342335

      So far the Metro apps are a joke. They seem to be play toys. I do not see power users or business users utilizing the Metro apps for anything more than play time, and we all know what these groups think of play time on their PC’s..

      Perhaps at some point in time there will be more than just Office on the Metro side, but I’m not sure if this will take place. The Metro UI is made more for tablets and phones, and until these devices become more powerful, I do not see a lot of actual work getting done on these devices. Perhaps Surface Pro and other tablets similar will start the trend toward this, but in these devices I still envision actual work being done on the Desktop UI with a real keyboard, and probably a mouse.

    • #1342338

      I can think of many benefits of Win8 so far:

        [*]Speed.
        [*]Visual appeal.
        [*]Improved inbuilt security (maybe).
        [*]Better searching.
        [*]Better battery life.
        [*]Better file manager.
        [*]Better access to apps.

      There are also some annoyances, but so far, I think the benefits outweigh the annoyances. And I can see a lot of potential in the future.

    • #1342353

      Win 8 benefits?

      •Speed. Depends on the hardware. My 3Ghz dual core laptop shows some speed increase but nothing major
      •Visual appeal. You’ get lots of differing opinons on this. The first thing most of the users on this board did was to apply tweaks to turn Windows 8 to look like Windows 7
      •Improved inbuilt security (maybe).As you said maybe. don’t see any difference between the inbuilt Windows Defender and MSE on Windows 7
      •Better searching.Haven’t noticed any difference here. In fact I find it clumsier to select searching apps vs Settings vs files. Windows 7 searched all 3 from one box.
      •Better battery life. Haven’t noticed any increase on my laptop
      •Better file manager. Debateable. Personal preferance
      •Better access to appsDon’t understand this one unless you are referring to the Windows Store that’s set up to generate addition profit for Microsoft.

      Jerry

    • #1342356

      I agree with Jerry. I see very little speed improvement. I don’t get a big thrill from the faster boot times. A lot of people are upset about MS dropping Aero and Gadgets. Hyper V only works on select chipsets. Windows To Go is only available in Enterprise. I’ve also noticed a lot of complaints from people using multiple monitors.
      Joe

    • #1342392

      Really?

        [*] Speed – This is obvious to me. Office apps open instantly. Search finds instantly. Maybe it depends on hardware. I have a 1.3ghz low voltage processor.
        [*] Visual appeal – I like W8. I liked aero at first but it sort of felt inconsistent. I like the system font, colours, and sliding effects in W8.
        [*] Improved inbuilt security (maybe) – Time will tell on this one.
        [*] Better searching – Again, might be hardware dependent. I’ve found it much better.
        [*] Better battery life – Time will tell on this one too.
        [*] Better file manager – This is a no-brainer for me. Up button returns, items like unhiding folders can be put on the QAT, I did a large folder transfer last night and it seemed faster and gave no “file name too long” errors, more consistency between views.
        [*] Better access to apps – I find this obvious too. Instant search and they are all presented together on one screen.

      I noticed another improvement this morning. On W7, Ableton and VLC tended to hog the focus so that alt-tab didn’t work consistently. But on W8, it switches fast and consistently.

      Generally, W8 feels snappier and refreshing. Just my opinion. I didn’t expect to like it, but I do. The only major thing I dislike (apart from quirks that I presume MS will iron out) is that the Metro apps seem pretty useless and they take over things I don’t want them to take over, like IE and Photos. But I heard the RP is better, and you can uninstall the worst Metro apps.

    • #1342395

      I have stated in the past that when I switch back to Win 7 on patch Tuesday, I find myself regularly saying, “Come on, do something”! Win 7 seems and feels clunky to me. I have a run of the mill Sony Vaio laptop. I have 2.53 GHz CPU (Intel) with 8 Gb DDR2 Ram. My Win 8 is definitely faster. A small example is Free Cell. The game pops open in Win 8 and the cards deal instantly, in Win 7 I can watch the cards deal for 2 or 3 seconds. After winning a game, same thing.

      I realize this is just a small example, but it is real, and it does transfer to other apps as well.

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