Short version - outside of Metro it's basically Win7SP3 and it works great. Metro is every bit the usability disaster that people have claimed when not running on a touch screen.
The good news is that you really don't have to interface much with Metro at all. It replaces the start menu, but it does so in a manner that works with how I'm used to dealing with the start menu already. That is, I already just hit the Win key and then start typing until the thing I want pops up, and that behavior has carried over.
So, yeah Metro is awful for all the reasons everybody has already laid out. Despite that, Win 8 has been a solid performer and I won't be loading Win7 back on this system.
My primary home system will continue to run Win7 until I am comfortable that my production applications will all run successfully (and by that, I mean "games").
It is good to see a total usability disaster in which Linux took the lead and Windows followed. It is usually the other way around. This really bodes well for Linux on the desktop.
I've been using it on a MacBook Pro and with the multi-touch trackpad metro actually works reasonably well. Obviously it would be better with a touchscreen but I am able to tap to click, use two fingers to scroll left/right/up/down and moving the mouse the the screen corners activates charms/open apps/last opened app. Maybe PC mouse makers (including MS) will come up with similar mice to make the experience better for non-touchscreen devices.
http://www.theverge.com/2012/8/24/3265121/microsoft-wedge-to...
They still have that, right? It's been a while since I used Windows.
As an aside, I've actually been meaning to learn about writing drivers for a while, especially in preparation for a uni course. So with windows 8 here and all of it's cool touch gestures, it would be even cooler. So I'm not sure if you would know this, but can you point me towards any resources for essentially simulating touches? I was thinking of building a battle Etch-a-sketch app for a school project, that would actually have two players use two etch-a-sketch systems in drawing stuff. If it was only one user, I could use the mouse pointer, but being two, I probably need touches. I hope I made myself clear enough. If it's better for you, just email me at alexsb92 [at] gmail [dot] com. Thanks.
Beyond that, we were developing interception technologies to hook inside windows 8 metro applications successfully.
I like Metro (but this is coming from a mec geek - so there you go). BUT I agree it will take time to get used to. But I suspect a hack will be out shortly allowing you to by pass Metro completely. I can't imagine the corporate world being happy about Metro.
Is there a way to switch to 'Classic Desktop'?
That's... reasonable.
I might consider buying a copy of Windows 8 Pro at that price and then waiting until it hits SP1 to install it.
I might even spin up a VM to try it out.
I like that the $39 upgrade applies to anyone with Windows XP, Windows Vista or Windows 7. I think they're realizing that a lot of people don't upgrade OS because they don't want to upgrade their hardware.
(like my old Win XP laptop that I use as a VNC terminal to other machines).
The only reason why I wouldn't want to jump in with two feet is that I have a general dislike for the Xbox dashboard and I suspect that Metro would be very similar to it.
[1] You can use this tool to check that you have a genuine version of Windows http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=52012
[2] Windows OEM licenses are transferable if it included the hardware
http://www.microsoft.com/oem/en/licensing/sblicensing/pages/...
[3] Windows retail licenses are transferable
http://www.microsoft.com/About/Legal/EN/US/IntellectualPrope...
Here's a direct link to a PDF for Windows 7 Home Basic in English
http://download.microsoft.com/Documents/UseTerms/Windows%207...
[4] Windows Anytime Upgrades are pretty much considered to be OEM
17. TRANSFER TO ANOTHER COMPUTER. (retail)
a. Software Other than Windows Anytime Upgrade. You may transfer the software and install it on another computer for your use. That computer becomes the licensed computer. You may not do so to share this license between computers.
b. Windows Anytime Upgrade Software. You may transfer the software and install it on another computer, but only if the license terms of the software you upgraded from allows you to do so. That computer becomes the licensed computer. You may not do so to share this license between computers.
18. TRANSFER TO A THIRD PARTY. (retail)
a. Software Other Than Windows Anytime Upgrade. The first user of the software may make a one time transfer of the software and this agreement, by transferring the original media, the certificate of authenticity, the product key and the proof of purchase directly to a third party. The first user must remove the software before transferring it separately from the computer. The first user may not retain any copies of the software.
b. Windows Anytime Upgrade Software. You may transfer the software directly to a third party only with the licensed computer. You may not keep any copies of the software or any earlier edition.
c. Other Requirements. Before any permitted transfer, the otherThey don't want to release service packs anymore and instead release constant updates including feature/performance upgrades. http://www.instantfundas.com/2012/10/windows-service-packs-n...
(It appears "retail" copies have been given the axe entirely, which isn't particularly surprising.)
[0] http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832416...
[1] http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832416...
Offer valid from October 26, 2012 until January 31, 2013
and is limited to five upgrade licenses per customer.
To install Windows 8 Pro, customers must be running
Windows XP SP3, Windows Vista, or Windows 7.Really, just visit a friend/relative and find a dusty old PC that has a license sticker on it and ask if you can have it.
Perhaps the price might be a hint that it's worth less than previous versions..
(Note: Example with exaggerated contrast is used here for illustration purposes only, not for comparing size of change.)
And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.
Sounds like another anti-innovation/change comment on hn. If this is not, please tell me how?
Most of the wealthy people in Europe probably felt that way in the 18th century about their society. But it's a good thing that this particular opinion is silly and holds no water, right? Something existing to your level of liking is perhaps the best reason to change it.
And concerning the the 15 dollar upgrade for recent purchases of PCs with Win 7 this is a quick little money grab by MS. They already sold the OEM the Win 7 license so they aren't cannibalizing any potential existing sales.
Agree: It wasn't a headache:) I have 2 ATI 4870s in crossfire right now and the ATI drivers were not working well. A lot of stuff that worked on windows 7 was not working on windows 8. Granted, that was the RC, but I don't want to install and find out that it wasn't fixed. 2. Users need the option to opt-out of metro. Period (!).
I'm going to wait for SP1, allow developers to catch up a bit and then jump in. I really liked the speed and the additions made to windows 8, I just think it needs a little time mature.
The interface is freaking unusable.
It is like Microsoft decided to exit the desktop market with a bang.
"We are failing, and we are taking Windows with us".
The elephant in the room for me is the horizontal scrolling. I'm sitting there spinning the mouse wheel vertically, and what's on the screen is moving horizontally. That's a total disconnect.
Why this emphasis on horizontal scrolling? I don't see how the horizontally scrolling items are in any way easier to use than a vertically scrolling set of items. Seems like different, for difference's sake.
Of course, if you're not using touch, then yes, I agree it feels a bit weird at first. It doesn't take that long to get used to though.
The Surface, not so much (7.0): http://www.theverge.com/2012/10/23/3540550/microsoft-surface...
It's only Windows RT that people seem to be complaining about.
The most interesting thing will be in cheap tablets area.
The price is much lower than for previous versions of Windows, this makes me suspect that we should start expecting new releases of Windows much more frequently, similar to how Apple does it.
With the radical changes going on in Windows 8 it wouldn't surprise me to see a tweaked and improved Windows 9 in less than 2 years.
Having the shorter releases seems to work very well, at least it has in the OS X world. The ability to release new features and get them in the hands of users faster than once every 3 or 5 years is a big improvement.
It's also nice to see them drop the price. At the old $99 or $129 level, an OS upgrade really needs to justify it's existence. Many people would just hold out and buy a new computer (especially if you only paid $400 or $500 for it). At $40 it's much easier to get people to update without waiting for a hardware refresh.
I absolutely don't think so at all. I think the lower price is because they want people using the metro app store, because they want an app ecosystem to make them money the way Google / Amazon / Apple do right now. They dind't backport Metro so Metro apps are Windows 8 only, so it is in their best interests to get as many people on the platform as fast as possible to maximize app development and maximize profits from app sales.
The computer booted up to a home screen with icons for all of your programs, and you had to click exit to desktop to get into windows.
http://www.foolproof.co.uk/is-planet-earth-ready-for-windows...
We did warn them... but did they listen?
Unless by putting "paid" in scare quotes, you were implying something slightly less scrupulous...
For instance, going to the traditional desktop is as easy as clicking the "Desktop" tile. And opening a new tab in the metro-IE was a bit confusing but after figuring out that double finger pressing the touchpad brings up the tab list and url bar it has become easier.
I also like the new native mail client and calendar apps.
For the record, I am running Windows 8 on a 2011 macbook air via bootcamp and it runs perfect. Guild Wars 2 also gets about 10 fps more than it does on the mac client for what its worth and makes it actually playable on an Air :)
Following this tangent a bit more, I feel like if the drivers were updated enough to support 3 finger left and right gestures to wipe between the different screens I wouldn't revisit OSX for a while.
Windows 8 is a fun operating system.
I'm surprised more people haven't picked up on this rather bold move.
Looks like they're setting the font explicitly to 'Segoe UI' and nothing else in many spots. Telerik, a .NET CMS provider does a similar thing.
At work the IT dept will hopefully skip this version all together, or take a few years before "approving" it.
However I can't say I am any more productive than I was with Windows 2000.