Windows 8, I will so NOT go there

[HaJa]

[video=youtube;qIMuJTrxuhQ]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qIMuJTrxuhQ&feature=player_embedded[/video]

 

[ElektroVodka]

Damn, looks like they ported Windows Mobile :S

 

[mondo]

Luckily, with one button, you can turn that all off.

 

[HaJa]

They have, for some reason or the other, envisioned a future where everyone has a touch screen. Have they ever tried incorporating a 32" touch screen at a workplace Idiot idea I say.

 

[Kenadian]

OMG, I don't see a day coming where I'm going to be comfortably sitting on my Gaming Chair and reaching over to fondle my monitor.

Hopefully it's like Mondo says and I can disable all of it to get back to a traditional Windows environment.

 

[Engnr]

I'll just wait for Windows 9 then.

 

[mondo]

I've got the 8 preview at work and its basically Windows 7 with a couple of cool features not many people will use. The metro system is basically an overlay of the programs menu and with one button click it goes away and you have a more traditional Windows 7 style UI. Really its 7.5, with some changes to the guts of it and some linux style features.

 

[Larkstarr]

You know, watching that video and seeing the main lock screen bounce.. I totally knew what to do. Everyone is afraid or adverse to change (Read: Facebook) - The future is though becoming, slowly but surely, touchscreen integrated monitors, for good or bad. Regardless of the Windows 8 UI (Yes, it's not called Metro anymore, Microsoft is being sued on that account) or traditional PCs in general as we know them, think of course of the rapidly growing tablet market.

 

[Leimboy]

Much can be said about the future, but one thing that won't change easily is that people wants to do their tasks on a computer as fast and inconvenient as possible. I remember back in the days when "voice activation" was the way of the future and every computer would then function just by your voice alone. Today, mouse and keyboard is still alive just as fine as any time before. However, there have been some good uses for voice activation systems on computers, f.ex. for handicapped people that can not operate keyboard and mouse.
I think touchscreens will have much of the same evolution (on PC!). Some applications and some situations will favor a touchscreen, but do you think a system administrator will prefer a touchscreen before a keyboard (and mouse)? How about programmers or others that do text-heavy tasks? I can't imagine I will ever prefer to play a game with a touchscreen if there's an option for mouse/keyboard.
Ooops! A bit of a rant there
But with all that in mind I think Microsoft maybe assumed too much with their default shell being so optimized for touchscreens and so crippling for mouse/keyboard users that Win8 will probably lose some sales just on that point.
It's good to hear that it can be removed with a click though, but I'm happily content with Win7 for now

 

[HaJa]

Just make a small test. Reach out and touch your monitor for every single thing you wan't to do instead of using your mouse! I bet you a million bucks that after 8 hours you're gonna throw that f****ing monitor out the window

And you can't really turn "metro" off at all. MS have made a one interface fits all attempt and hopes everyone will eventually migrate to it. Can you imagine how many calls to the support department the companies will have when migrating to W8!? Most likely they anticipate that ordinary people will buy it or get it with a new PC and be fully trained on it when companies migrate.

I think this will be a VISTA moment for MS.

 

[Larkstarr]

On a tablet like device, trust me that's all you do is touch the screen

 

[mondo]

So far the only cool feature I can find for Windows 8 over 7 is the way it deals with multiple hard disks and being able to make RAID arrays from disks of different sizes and performance.

Other than that, its just Windows 7 with a more refined file structure and much more scalable. That all said Windows 7 was quite good so a better performing Windows would hold some interest...as a Service pack.

 

[Leimboy]

On a tablet like device, trust me that's all you do is touch the screen

Can't argue with that :icon_cheesygrin:
But on a PC?

 

[HaJa]

Trust me on this, we discarded touch screen interface in the Swedish submarines long time ago due to the utter uselessness of the method of operation. A trackball and keyboard is way better for C3I systems and desktop use.

But I concur, I don't want a keyboard and mouse with my surfpad There it will be fantastic me think. But ffs give us the option to use the old aero desktop on desktops.

 

[Leimboy]

Exactly! And it seems it is here that MS have missed the target with their release of Win8. PC's are NOT surfpads and vice versa. You wouldn't like to steer your bike with a steering wheel would you? It's manageable but it's not optimal, just as Win8's interface.
I'm not too worried about Win8 in itself, but IF Win9 uses the same desktop manager and games and applications starts to require Win9 then I'm worried.

 

[Larkstarr]

I think the objective was an all-in-one (or near AIO, obviously with the differences between x86 and ARM and etc.) operating system that could work on near any device (phone, tablet, PC, TV, Car, etc.) - and while the PC might be getting the shaft in this particular rendition of the Windows OS, if I take a step back and think about it for a moment I realize that this move makes sense for the future of MS as a company given the direction of technology today.

What I agree doesn't make sense with more traditional PCs is the fact that they 'removed' the Aero interface. I'm certainly surprised that this wasn't a consideration for some of the 'older' adopters of the new OS. That being said I'm sure there will be a way to get the Aero interface running just fine on Windows 8, either legitimately or not.

Either way I'm going to reserve judgement until I actually use the Windows 8 UI for myself. The difference between touching tiles and using the mouse to interact with the tiles should prove ... interesting, but not phenomenally different such that I'll personally dislike the OS, but for those that do, there's always Windows 7. 7 is going to be around for a lot longer I'd imagine. Games and such should work fine on the OS for at least a few years, if not more.

 

[Tex Arcana]

I like 8. Running a Dev copy. Not hard to work with at all, and quite "light" as well...

 

[Leimboy]

I agree Larkstarr. It makes sense from a business viewpoint to have one OS for all devices. If they pull it off it will be a gold mine, since they now have millions of users that can seamlessly use all of their hardware products. Most people touch a MS OS some time in their life, either at work on their PC or home on their phones and what not. If they first get used to the UI they will most likely stay with what they know when they buy their next gadget.
This may also be why they are not very likely to implement Win7 UI in the nearest future if Win8 sells reasonably good on PCs (where I imagine they will meet most resistance).

I will (try to) reserve judgement of the UI until I have tested it for myself, but from what I've heard from people that have been in contact with it they are not impressed (PC point of view, of course).

It will also be interesting to see how the large group of "computer illiterates" reacts to this UI. For all I know they may pick this up much quicker and easier than any of the previous MS PC UIs, as I think it's the experienced users that will have the greatest challenge to conform to a new UI and get rid of their old ways of doing things.
I know I am very much in this group

 

[Leimboy]

I like 8. Running a Dev copy. Not hard to work with at all, and quite "light" as well...

Hi Tex! I'm curious, what UI do you use? The "colored boxes" default (does it have a name now?) or the "Win7 lookalike"?
With "light", do you mean that it is faster than Win7 or uses less resources? In any case, THAT is positive

 

[Tex Arcana]

It is definitely faster than 7.
I switch between the interfaces: When I'm gaming I use standard desktop; but when I'm working (Dreamweaver/Photoshop/Outlook blah, blah, blah) I use the 8 UI.