Insiders Confirm That Windows Blue Might Be Called Windows 8.1
- Thread starter Elevon
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More importantly, is this release likely to be a free upgrade similar to the previous service packs installed via Windows update which we are all familiar with.
Or is there going to be a fee for the more regular OS 'enhancements' a bit more like the incremental upgrades Mac OS X receives?
Surely it wouldn't be in Microsofts interest to maintain both Windows 8 and Windows 8.1?
Or is there going to be a fee for the more regular OS 'enhancements' a bit more like the incremental upgrades Mac OS X receives?
Surely it wouldn't be in Microsofts interest to maintain both Windows 8 and Windows 8.1?
This just proofs how microsoft messed up windows 8 .. now they are trying to correct it because sales are below par , just like windows Vista ..
Windows 9 will be made for the true PC users , and hopefully this time microsoft will listen
to its customers and get it right .... lol
Windows 9 will be made for the true PC users , and hopefully this time microsoft will listen
to its customers and get it right .... lol
It doesn't prove anything of the sort. The only people that seemingly continue to moan about Windows 8 are the ones that haven't actually bothered trying to use it on a daily basis.
If anything blue looks to build on the metro interface. The world has change for s/w development and so Windows like most other OS has moved to more rapid, regular, releases adding functionality and refining rather than one release every three years.
sad ...
Win8 is actually quite good and I for one don't understand all the FUD/crap about it.
I'm glad we are getting more customization options in Windows Blue/8.1,I also think Win8 users will get it free,as always Microsoft will refine the OS just like they did from those very early Windows days(you could argue took them over a decade to refine Win95 to Win7 etc..)
As for Win9,10 ,11 etc well you can bet you'll get some people moaning and talking FUD,always happens on every new OS,one thing you can count on.
Win8 is a new direction they are going in just like Win95 was many years ago,does not happen overnight.
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It's not about not "bothering" to try it. The casual/gaming/whatever market is big, but the business market is HUGE. Businesses don't like having to upgrade for obvious reasons (downtime, cost, compatibility issues etc.), and when you hear nothing but negatives about a new version of Windows, it's very easy to understand why people/companies are deciding to skip it. I am one of those such people (run my own small business). I have something like 8 machines here with 7 on and the idea of having to pay to have them all upgraded (which is no small amount), especially when the upgrade is to what appears to be an inferior product, is just a big no-no for me. The whole Metro fiasco (yes, it's a fiasco) is a real issue for people/companies in my position. If MS insist on pandering to trends (tablets etc.) then they should simply have released two regular versions of Windows - Win 8 Business and Win 8 Metro. Business for people who want a streamlined no-nonsense OS and Metro for people who want fancy interfaces. And NO it's not feasible/realistic/acceptable to have to funk around with some "hacks" that get the classic shell back within Win 8.
Also don't forget that for a lot of us this is more than just worrying about a few games and the Ninite pack running or not running after you've upgraded. I've got many suites of software that are REALLY finicky when it comes to OS and driver support etc (some actually require certified drivers and OS configurations for their support network to agree to help you....). so having to move up to a new OS is a horrible experience at the best of times. Something ALWAYS breaks and that costs a lot of time and therefore a lot of money.
I will probably upgrade my home PC and laptops to Win 8 but 7 is staying on my work machines and laptop for a good many years unless I can be convinced that it is 1) not going to cause problems and inefficiencies 2) actually WORTHWHILE over 7. (Boot-times of 5 seconds less or whatever is completely meaningless for most users).
Just wanted to get the other end of things out there for those who don't understand why Microsoft have ballsed up here. Ultimately this is no different than the XP > Vista mess. I have skipped a generation of OS for as long as I can remember and this is no exception.
That is not really true.
Companies would skip it anyway(they certainly won't be upgrading anytime soon). They've only just upgraded to w7 and will be 2015 before pretty much anyone thinks of upgrading. Several massive updates to refine the new os, or even the next version of it.
This is a bit like a home user os to prove it and refine it. It a change Ms had to do, they had no choice. They are hemoraging marketshare to apple and android. They were late to the party, but if they didnt make this shift they would be in a far worse position than they are now.
However on the flip side, they've had pretty big contracts with firms that have mobile engineers. Due to the surface and the I term ration it has.
This is a bit like a home user os to prove it and refine it. It a change Ms had to do, they had no choice. They are hemoraging marketshare to apple and android. They were late to the party, but if they didnt make this shift they would be in a far worse position than they are now.
However on the flip side, they've had pretty big contracts with firms that have mobile engineers. Due to the surface and the I term ration it has.
There are some massive flaws in win 8 from a business or domain environment point of few. Many system admins have found they cannot do what they need to do. Rolling won 8 out though a network can be a nightmare.
So would you have upgraded to 8 if it had the same updates and just no Metro? Based on what you've said about risk and changes, of course you wouldn't (quite sensibly), however that seems to be what you're asking for, a non metro W8. The problem is of course in one hand you say you won't upgrade for minor advantages, and then you say you wouldn't upgrade for big changes as it effects drivers, programs etc so MS are somewhat stuck. There's only so much you can do to refine a desktop OS without introducing major update like Metro/WinRT. I'm not sure there's a huge amount more that could practically be done to Windows 7 if you left out the Metro/WinRT and touch based changes over and above the boot times, hyperV etc included in 8 anyway.
No one, including Microsoft expects business to upgrade an OS every 3 years. Most business will skip a version, in particular where the preceding OS works well. Unfortunately people keep trying to spin what is a normal upgrade cadence as a fiasco when it's not. We've seen it before, plenty of business skipped Windows 98 remaining on 95, we saw it again with businesses remaining on NT4, skipping Windows 2000 and then going to XP. XP, skip Vista, got to 7.
Seriously, there's no epic "ballsd up" or drama here, it's pretty much how it's always been. The simple fact is Windows 7 picked up massive amounts of deployments and upgrades because a huge number of businesses skipped an OS and were still on XP. Having only just completed (and in some cases still working on) deployments they were never going to do a mass lift and shift to 8. What has happened however is companies are offering W8 to staff as a real enterprise manageable alternative to iPads for people that need that form factor. To believe businesses only use old style desktops is a massive error that without W8 could have cost MS dear.
Metro is not going to go away and it's not "following a fad". Touch based tablets and other computers are the future by a significant margin. Microsoft have made a sensible move to accommodate what is almost certainly the future of computing devices for the majority of users whilst maintaining backward compatibility for the traditional desktop. Like all major changes it's going to take some time to refine and not everyone will like it, but then they said much the same about Windows XP and that ended pretty well
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Really? It sounds like an epic "ballsd up" to me. Just of the top of my head some of the many problems.
• Window store cannot be Managed by the IT admin?
• Updates cannot be initiated in the background by the IT admin and have to be run per computer and per user!
• Admin can setup Windows Store to auto download but not auto install.