Re: Windows 8. Worst. OS. EVER. It's an upgrade because it integrates with Microsoft services no one uses? Microsoft needs to stop trying to be Google. No one gives a crap about Bing or any of their other knockoff services. They're designing the OS around devices no one is going to buy, and ignoring the desktop and laptop users who comprise almost their entire market. This is a recipe for disaster.
Re: Windows 8. Worst. OS. EVER. Services that you don't use probably. There's plenty of people that use their services. Skydrive is actually one of the more popular cloud storage services available next to dropbox. Also, outside of the US, people primarily use MS services. Google fails in this respect as a majority of their services are available in the US only.
Re: Windows 8. Worst. OS. EVER. I'm very glad they dropped Aero. I like Aero with Vista/7, but it doesn't go well with metro at all. Switching between the two is going to be jarring enough without the overall design philosophy also being completely different. Aero is also looking somewhat dated these days. I never liked the glow around text and have lately installed a custom theme that removes glow in favor of white text on a dark (80-90 opaque) black theme. I still think moving between metro and desktop will be pretty bad and will hinder core users from actually adapting, but I can't really see any other way the transition can be made. I'm just glad they decided to apply an overall art direction to the whole OS experience, juxtaposing metro and aero glass was horrid.
Re: Windows 8. Worst. OS. EVER. Microsoft is strong arming developers into only developing Metro apps. http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2012/05/no-cost-desktop-software-development-is-dead-on-windows-8/?comments=1#comments-bar
Re: Windows 8. Worst. OS. EVER. Windows 8 Release Preview out http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-8/release-preview Expires January 2013. I might give it a go.
One positive thing I will say about Window 8 is that Microsoft finally got Aero effects working on the Intel GMA900. Intel refused to release a WDDM driver for Vista and 7 even though the GMA900 meets the hardware requirements for Aero. Not only that but Aero actually runs pretty well on a GMA900. I see no slowdown. This is important, because practically every average Joe I know has a Pentium M Centrino laptop with a GMA900. I rarely see anything newer out in the real world. I have a feeling this was preventing literally millions upon millions of people from ever being able to upgrade to anything newer than XP. I'm running the consumer preview, and the changes made to Aero aren't bad. It still has transparency and peak, but the buttons and scroll bar look more in line with Metro. I'll probably end up putting this on my two older Pentium M based notebooks because I'm tired of looking at XP. I doubt I'll update my Core 2 based notebook or desktop that are running 7 though.
I have no idea. I just threw it onto one of these old junker laptops with XP where I didn't care about rolling back.
Well I have 3 machines but none of them are junkers. I don't want to do restores on them but I do want to try Windows 8. What to do...
I thought this was the most accurate explanation I've seen of Microsoft OS releases: TLDR: every other OS release, we get to be beta testers. After playing around with the release preview, I'm impressed by how well they got what's basically the same OS as Vista and 7 at its core working on low powered hardware. That being said, I still think it sucks. It still feels very disjointed and schizophrenic. I hate the cumbersome start screen. I hate going back and forth between metro apps and regular windows apps. And I really think it's going to take until Windows 9 before they figure out where they're going with all of this and get everything to mesh well. It seems like a lot of the problems could have been fixed by giving people the option to enable a traditional start menu, and making all of the metro stuff optional and something you could turn off in the control panel if you're not using a tablet.
I read somewhere that Microsoft started on version 8 before they started on version 7. I'm not sure if that will make 8 good or bad. My first few minutes with it have been very frustrating. I guess that is to be expected.
Which is concerning, because if we're power users, and we're finding it frustrating, imagine how bad it will be when Joe Sixpacks get their hands on it. I found Vista mildly annoying, but a lot of average Joes I know had a complete meltdown over it, and weren't happy until their PCs were formatted and running XP.
At least the Windows 8 Beta (Preview Build) is free. in your terms it's like the beta for the beta (beta max?? beta prime). But regardless MS charged to get into every other beta. plus the actual beta, too you, doesn't expire. You can keep it for 10 years like I (and many others... well at least a few) did with 95 until WinXP. Nothing wrong with 95 itself, just had to wait for DirectX to mature is all. AND WHAT'S WITH THE FISH!! (serious question) stupidest off the wall motif ever, do fish have windows?? ever seen Ponyo?
If Ryan Reynolds was an operating system, then he would be Windows 8. The previews look like it's intended for tablet or laptop/monitors with touchscreens. I wonder if this is the consumer release, and Windows 9 will be the productivity version for business/professional users. I might give it a shot in a VM or something, but I don't have any touchscreen monitors or laptops. Gnome3 for linux got tabletized. It seems like everybody is jumping on the tablet bandwagon and trying to force compliance.
I think that's the most apt description I've seen of Windows 8. No one wants or needs it, and we all just wish it would go away, but it insists on itself in its own smug, self satisfied sort of way.