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Windows 8

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Microsoft is slowly lifting the veil off of their next iteration of the Winodws desktop OS, codenamed Windows 8. As of right now the only thing they've really showed off from the new OS is a new touch/tablet interface. Here's a video!



Thoughts, anyone? I thought Windows 7 was an excellent update and has proven to be the most stable Windows OS I've ever used, with a lot of great usability features. The new touch interface in 8 looks quite good if you ask me, though I have doubts about how useful it would be when used with a mouse/keyboard. Luckily it's completely optional and you can use the standard interface, or switch between them as you please. I'm interested to see what else is new with the new version.

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I haven't been excited about a new version of Windows since ME. It permanently jaded me.

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Windows 7 is nearly two years old now. That's hardly "drastically young"

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I seem to remember a time when new iterations of Windows would be released on a yearly basis. Then Widnows Vista went and screwed that up. I think a major update every couple of years is perfectly reasonable, assuming there's actually enough different to warrant more than a service pack update.

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It's a good idea, they just need to focus on execution a lot. If they took more cues from the Zune HD interface and had several layers of tiles (as opposed to all tiles just being on a flat plane, there were multiple planes that would zoom in and out of use as you selected them.) It's very promising though and could be very interesting, they need to work out the interface a bit more though and make sure they integrate explorer right the first time so it doesn't feel like two different computing experiences.

I think they will be forced to have some kind of icon-space desktop, though.

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So... is Win8 going to be all Minority Report or will there be some actual computing going on?

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It's proprietary closed software, therefore:



ReactOS sounds more interesting and promising, though I'm not a fan of Windows to begin with, or even the apps/software that run under it (games included).

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I have my doubts that I really want that interface being the first thing I see when starting up Windows, but only time will tell.

I hope this feature is optional.

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hex11 said:

ReactOS sounds more interesting and promising, though I'm not a fan of Windows to begin with, or even the apps/software that run under it (games included).

So you're not a fan of... 99% of all software ever made?
And you're more interested in an OS that does a mediocre job of emulating Windows functionality and presentation than Windows itself?
You're trying way too hard, hippie.

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I just upgraded to Win 7 a year ago, and I love it, so I think I'm just going to hold tight.

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Yeah, I pretty much don't use closed/commercial software anymore. It wasn't always like that, but over the course of time it became clear that was the right way for me. It didn't happen overnight, but eventually it got to the point where I don't even care about Apple, Microsoft, Sony, etc. Even the latest commercial games have no appeal. The desire for them simply isn't there.

The only game console I own is a Nintendo DS Lite, a gift from several years ago. The only commercial games I have for it were also gifts. But I bought an Acekard 2.1 and micro SDHC so it can run homebrew apps & games, and some emulators (8/16-bit stuff I used to play way back in the 80's and early 90's).

I also don't watch (or even own) a TV. My multimedia experience these days is pretty much just youtube and similar stuff. Except for the occasional movie theater visit, but that's becoming more rare what with all the 3D-only stuff.

If that makes me hippie, I totally dig it. But surely those guys got more chicks than I do. ;)

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As far as a tablet OS is concerned, which is really what they're pushing hard for, this seems to me light years ahead of iOS from a poweruser's perspective, especially with the ability to divide the screen into multiple windowpanes if you will. Obviously as a "srs business" computing platform I have my reservations about that UI. I don't think Win 7 will be supplanted as a desktop platform anytime soon, and you even see in the backbone of Windows 8 here, that sort of an interface is easily and readily available. Windows as we know it isn't going away, the real purpose is just to get Microsoft competitive in the mobile market.

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All programs and games want yearly releases.

Nothing beat's Adobe's "Creative Suite 5"... one year later "Creative Suite 5.5" FOR FULL PRICE!!!

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Another new version? Already? Is this really necessary? I think they should wait at least 3 more years for yet another new version.

But then again, I'm still using Vista, and that's after I upgraded from XP only a few months ago.

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Do I want to turn my desktop PC into a Smartphone? No thanks!

He's even referring to the programs as "apps" FFS!

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Windows 7 may be nice but stable it is not. I had exactly one BSOD ever out of XP and that happened because my hard drive's boot sector went kaput (UNMOUNTABLE BOOT VOLUME error).

Windows 7 on the other hand, I just regularly find that my machine has reset itself for no discernable reason. Observing the system log reveals nothing. It's also one of the very few Windows versions to actually release with honest-to-god bugs in the file system. An erroneous toggle-on of error flags can cause programs using low-level locking APIs to make the system believe it needs to scandisk at startup. This well-known problem, amongst other things, causes a pain-in-the-ass malfunction with TortoiseSVN.

So, in short, "most stable" it certainly is not. XP was much more solid in tons of ways.

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I think I'm gonna stick with XP and upgrade my Vista to either XP or 7 in some time (XP is an upgrade of VIsta in my mind. In fact, 98 is better than fucking Vista). Not ready for Windows 8.

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Argh, and I just bumped my desktop up to 7. Now there-

AgentSpork said:

video

OH WHAT THE FLYING FUCK IS THIS FAGGY ASS HIPSTER SHIT. Sorry microsoft guy, but I want my PC to be... A PC. NOT an oversized tablet/"smart" phone. Fuck that nonsense. I'll stick with this 7 install for the next decade if I have to to avoid this thing. Why can't technological engineers just let computers be computers and let all those other hipster devices stay as they are? What is wrong with a computer acting like a mouse-and-keyboard (with other optional peripherals like a drawing table, gaming peripherals like wheels and joysticks) driven computing machine like it was designed to be, and not some knock-off of a craptacular "phone" that all the moron "cool kids" walk around texting on all day?

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In reality they probably need Windows 8 to sell new computers. New computer sales are crippled from what I read and have been crippled 2+ years now, because everyone has 3 computers. Tablet sales are up... because its a new toy.

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I remember when I got my last computer Windows Vista had just come out. The one I got was an Compaq Presario with Windows XP on it, the last one they had in the entire store, and I insisted on it because I was convinced Vista was a piece of shit (from what I understand I'm right). So now I'm thinking that this is good because I no longer have a computer and if I can find one with 7 on it around the time they start pulling the desktops with 7's on them I'll get another good deal.

But yeah, I agree with the comments here. I have a smart phone, but it's a phone, not a computer, not a device to do heavy work or gaming on, but a phone. When I want a computer I use one. If all computers start becoming smart phones I'm going to be pretty pissed. Also, I'd like to see the release of new technology slow down just a bit; technology is developing too damn fast. Release a damn piece of technology and then let us use it for four or five years and speand that time developing technology that's a hundred times better instead of releasing new shit every six months to a year that's only slightly better already. Goddammit.

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Microsoft adds things to their OS so it will work with more types of devices and everybody hates it? WTF If they do a decent job with the touch interface then why not have it?

When I saw that demo tablets didn't come to mind. What did come to mind was a pretty good standardized UI for those of us who want to stuff PCs in the closet and mount touchscreens on the wall for various purposes. My mom would love it, and it's basically the consumer version of that LCARS thing Maes showed off.

They also showed off the standard 7 UI for a bit there. It's not going away. It can't because MS needs to build the OS for everybody and because it's obvious, especially to developers, that touch interfaces suck for getting work done.

Vista and 7 do have some weird bugs that weren't in XP, but they are better for most people. 7 is surprisingly stable on my current primary machine compared with XP. One of my friends reports some weird filesystem bugs that I suspect must also exist in Vista in some form because I don't think that component changed much.

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Quasar said:

Windows 7 may be nice but stable it is not. I had exactly one BSOD ever out of XP and that happened because my hard drive's boot sector went kaput (UNMOUNTABLE BOOT VOLUME error).


How does a boot sector dying cause a BSOD? I can understand it not booting, but it shouldnt be referenced/access whilst its running?

Quasar said:

Windows 7 on the other hand, I just regularly find that my machine has reset itself for no discernable reason. Observing the system log reveals nothing.


I had this with a relatives machine - just up and rebooted itself randomly. It turned out to be a BSOD, but it'd reset so quickly you'd never see it. I ran Blue Screen View which showed the issue to be with the ATI driver. I'd be surprised if it were Windows itself in your case, but you never know.

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http://www.bejiitaswrath.com/uncategorized/a-look-at-the-new-windows-8-interface/

I wrote about this in my blog posting, but I think that with the popularity of the Apple Ipad and other touch screen devices, it was inevitable that this interface would be developed in the Windows OS, but surely there will be a Windows 7 styled interface with task-bar and start menu as well, similar to how the Windows 7 desktop can be switched back to Windows classic mode.

Hopefully this is not the default interface, as I still use a 17" CRT and I would not be able to use a touch interface, unless of course it works with the keyboard and mouse. But I will admit that being a huge trek fan I would love to have a cool LCARS touch theme for this Windows desktop. That would be very cool. Is this a bigger evolution of the Windows desktop than the change from Windows 3.11 to Windows `95?

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