Windows 8 Consumer Preview Thread

ic1male said:
This is what bemuses me. Windows 8 has such excellent search facilities if the program you want isn't pinned to your taskbar or metro screen. Why you need a start button/menu at all is beyond me.

Goddamnit, I'll convert you one way or another, headrat!
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Hmm kind of. I'm one of the Win8 defenders but even I have to say there is a lot of improvement that can be done with the search. I would say its roughly as good as the Win7 search.
 
It's stable. Some people are having issues with driver availability for certain hardware but it's not common. I've been using the release preview on my work laptop for months and it hasn't skipped a beat.
 
Amp34 said:
I'm just downloading it now but...? Does it still activate? I'm assuming not?

I'm sure this has been answered before as well but is it stable and have enough drivers to be used as the main OS or should I be dual booting it?
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Well it should, it says 2013
 
mmj_uk said:
from what I've read Metro is the OS in Windows 8, the Desktop is simply an application that runs on top of it.
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Metro and the desktop are not the operating system (OS)

Metro and Desktop are just GUI's to interface with the OS.

The OS is usually the Kernal and supporting code that you don't see.
 
ChileanLlama said:
It's the NVidia equivalent of Eyefinity for 2d/3d spanning a display across multiple monitors - read my other posts as I've already explained it. Yes it's quite niche, but even 1% of the userbase is a significant number of actual users. It is also a major feature touted by NVidia in their 6xx range.

I also accept it's not actually release date yet, but the progress being made does not give me confidence it will be stable, let alone have the same functionality that was in Windows 7 by the time of release. I'd like to be proven wrong.

Of course it's fair to criticise MS and NVidia they should never have released it until it was ready otherwise - even if I can work around it - it's this kind of issue that MS had with the release of Vista. If they don't fix it that small %age of enthusiasts and geeks can be very vocal - and will no doubt have a significant influence on how Windows 8 is perceived and ultimately adopted, just as it was with flaky x64 drivers with Vista.
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Horizontal Span is the official name for this. It's a pretty old school feature. Certainly is not new. I can remember using it, briefly, back around 2003. Then I discovered DualView and never looked back.

The *actual* feature you are describing is probably NVidia's desktop sizing and positioning i.e. window management hacks which remove some of the annoyance in using H.Span on the desktop. This is kind of essential because otherwise Windows will blindly maximise and restore windows to ridiculously large proportions spreading across multiple monitors which isn't usually something you want except for immersive games.

This is absolutely 100% therefore an NVidia issue. Really they shouldn't be implementing such hacks into the OS' desktop window management in the first place, but hey ho. A better solution would be to run with DualView when at the desktop and then flick to Horizontal Span mode as soon as a qualifying immersive game is launched.
 
NathanE said:
Horizontal Span is the official name for this. It's a pretty old school feature. Certainly is not new. I can remember using it, briefly, back around 2003. Then I discovered DualView and never looked back.
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NVidia's official name is Surround. Horizontal span is a generic term. I don't want dual view, or at least I do, but not all the time.

The *actual* feature you are describing is probably NVidia's desktop sizing and positioning i.e. window management hacks which remove some of the annoyance in using H.Span on the desktop. This is kind of essential because otherwise Windows will blindly maximise and restore windows to ridiculously large proportions spreading across multiple monitors which isn't usually something you want except for immersive games.
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Thanks for telling me the *actual* feature is *probably* something or other and what it does. I guess I kind of know what it does to know there's a problem with how it is working.

This is absolutely 100% therefore an NVidia issue. Really they shouldn't be implementing such hacks into the OS' desktop window management in the first place, but hey ho. A better solution would be to run with DualView when at the desktop and then flick to Horizontal Span mode as soon as a qualifying immersive game is launched.
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Really, please read my posts if you're going to respond to them. Of course NVidia need to fix it, but you've totally missed my point. Whether they fix it or not, this will reflect badly on MS if it's not fixed they should be supporting and/or pressurising NVidia and all other hardware partners to make the release as smooth as possible.

And...if it reliably switched between modes I wouldn't be as bothered which is why I mentioned it in the first place...:rolleyes:
 
You need to calm down. Most people here have never used this Surround mode to know what it does exactly, how it behaves etc. So we're all guessing and presuming slightly as to what on earth you're actually talking about.

So you're saying now that it does actually (when working right) switch between H.Span and DualView (these are the official terms BTW used by WDDM device driver developers). If that's the case then it should be far easier to fix than basically rewriting all their desktop windowing management hacks.

So which is it? Does it run a H.Span desktop with window management hacks. Or does it run a DualView desktop and flick to H.Span when you load a immersive game?
 
NathanE said:
You need to calm down. Most people here have never used this Surround mode to know what it does exactly, how it behaves etc. So we're all guessing and presuming slightly as to what on earth you're actually talking about.
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Sorry, but please don't tell me to calm down.

My first post asked if anyone was using it. I know it's not used by that many, but it's common enough there will be some users. So am seeking their experiences, not hypothetical ones. But thank you for the interest in my plight :D

So you're saying now that it does actually (when working right) switch between H.Span and DualView (these are the official terms BTW used by WDDM device driver developers). If that's the case then it should be far easier to fix than basically rewriting all their desktop windowing management hacks.

So which is it? Does it run a H.Span desktop with window management hacks. Or does it run a DualView desktop and flick to H.Span when you load a immersive game?
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All of the above ;) But if I haven't been clear:

- Surround mode works
- DualView works
- Surround mode "hacks" which were in Windows 7 are not present
- Switching between modes does not work reliably

As a minimum switching has to work reliably. Hacks would be nice, but not essential.

So are you going to fix it for me now? ;)
 
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Im not interesting about windows 8 cos it not look good for desktop, only good to use for phone or tablet but not on pc... im stick in w7 all way and windows 9 is being to develop just now and due by 2014 or later... No thanks to w8 -- dont like it
 
ChileanLlama said:
Sorry, but please don't tell me to calm down.

My first post asked if anyone was using it. I know it's not used by that many, but it's common enough there will be some users. So am seeking their experiences, not hypothetical ones. But thank you for the interest in my plight :D



All of the above ;) But if I haven't been clear:

- Surround mode works
- DualView works
- Surround mode "hacks" which were in Windows 7 are not present
- Switching between modes does not work reliably

As a minimum switching has to work reliably. Hacks would be nice, but not essential.

So are you going to fix it for me now? ;)
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I was trying to help you. But you've made it such an excruciating process I don't think I'll bother with you any more.
 
braveheart said:
Im not interesting about windows 8 cos it not look good for desktop, only good to use for phone or tablet but not on pc... im stick in w7 all way and windows 9 is being to develop just now and due by 2014 or later... No thanks to w8 -- dont like it
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Windows 9 will be even less to your tastes. The solution is to fix your broken tastes.
 
NathanE said:
I was trying to help you. But you've made it such an excruciating process I don't think I'll bother with you any more.
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I'm sorry you feel that way. But I'm not sure how you were trying to help, it seemed more to be a discussion on the technology behind Surround, which you admitted you new little about, rather than resolving a problem that definitely lies with NVidia's drivers.
 
So when is this w8 fully out?

I'm looking to upgrade my main SSD to something with more size so need to do fresh install. If W8 is fairly close might just wait.
 
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