Windows 8

[dullonien]

So, anyone else taking the opportunity to test the future of Windows? The Consumer Preview of Windows 8 was released last week, and I finally got around to installing it last night to have a play. I've done this with the previous two versions of Windows, using Vista and 7 as my primary OS from the early beta stages.

My feelings on Windows 8 are a little mixed. There's some excellent new features, but the new metro interface feels a little forced, and as a result the OS as a whole lacks uniformity. The desktop experience is still rooted in the Aero style which debuted with Vista, while the new metro part (which is designed for easy touch navigation) uses, well, the Metro style debuted with the Zune mp3 player, and more recently (and globally) the Windows Phone 7 platform. I feel that Microsoft have stopped short here. They should have completely re-designed the entire desktop GUI to take advantage of the Metro interface which feels extremely modern and cutting edge (even after almost a year of using it on my phone).

I won't go into too much detail about all the new features, but if anyone's interested, AnandTech have written an extremely in depth review of this latest test build of Windows 8 here.

 

[SelimNiai]

Will probables wait until I buy a new laptop. Not hugely bothered about a new system and since I've so far, touch wood, had no issues with 7.

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Will probables wait until I buy a new laptop. Not hugely bothered about a new system and since I've so far, touch wood, had no issues with 7.

My feelings about it too. The last time I actively upgraded my OS (instead of it just being installed on my new system/installing it on a new system) was from XP to Vista, and Vista was 'orrible.

I know that I don't like the new logo though.

 

[Teh Mite]

If its anything close to the user-friendly was of WP7, I'll invest.



Sent from my Windows Phone

 

[TRF_Olyy]

http://www.globalnerdy.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/windows-good-and-****.jpg

 

[Teh Mite]

http://www.globalnerdy.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/windows-good-and-****.jpg

Me was a service pack for NT. 7 is a service pack for vista.

95 was amazing compared to 3.11

 

[Seaton]

Microsoft trying to squeeze what they can out of Windows, wonder how far the series will get before personal computers as they are today are no longer in production.

Would be interesting to see a Google OS though...

 

[Feicarsinn]

Yeah 95 was one of the biggest steps forward in terms of homing computing ever, hardly a **** operating system. Anyway, XP should not be regarded as merely good. I used it for 8 years, an absolute beast of an operating system.


At the moment I'm kind of juggling between 7 and Scientific Linux 6.4, with the majority of my work being done in 7. I doubt I'll upgrade as long as my netbook holds out.

 

[Feicarsinn]

Microsoft trying to squeeze what they can out of Windows, wonder how far the series will get before personal computers as they are today are no longer in production.

Would be interesting to see a Google OS though...

It's muck. Unless you have an incredible mobile broadband deal you'll be amazingly frustrated.

 

[Teh Mite]

It's muck. Unless you have an incredible mobile broadband deal you'll be amazingly frustrated.

A bit like Andriod then. A clumsy and unfinished rip-off of Apples software without the safety net of being idiot-proof rigid from customisation or [strike]usability[/strike] brekability for the fashion concious Apple wannabies on a budget.


Sorry, that may have been a tangent...

 

[Seaton]

Windows 98 best video evar:

http://v2.cache8.googlevideo.com/vi...nter=2&cms_options=map=ts_be&cms_redirect=yes

 

[dullonien]

Yeah 95 was one of the biggest steps forward in terms of homing computing ever, hardly a **** operating system. Anyway, XP should not be regarded as merely good. I used it for 8 years, an absolute beast of an operating system.


At the moment I'm kind of juggling between 7 and Scientific Linux 6.4, with the majority of my work being done in 7. I doubt I'll upgrade as long as my netbook holds out.

I feel that people's memories are slightly clouded regarding Windows XP. It was certainly a long-lasting OS, but it started life far from the polished OS we remember. It took until Service Pack 2 for it to really start to shine. I remember my first attempt at installing XP when I was a young teenager first getting into computers, and it was an absolute nightmare, with so many compatibility issues.

Windows 7 is by far the best OS Microsoft have produced, and it was close to perfect out of the box.

I think Windows 8 is going to be another Vista. Loads of interesting ideas, but all put together a little clumsily. We will then see Windows 9 take all these good features, polish them up to become another successful release. I hope I'm wrong, and 8 continues the recent line of well designed software from MS that includes Win7, Zune, Windows Phone 7, Microsoft Security Essentials etc.