Windows 8 Consumer Preview Thread

[Django x2]

Actually, I've just read an interesting article which states the versions of Windows 8 to be released.

Enterprise
Pro
Tablet
No Home or Starter edition.
It's possible that the Enterprise edition will not have the Metro GUI.

, have you got any idea how much enterprise stuff is built in, as well as corporation now fully looking at or allread using tablets as productive devices. There'sa huge number still on XP, who need to upgrade as well.

So save your rolleyes. What you see here is still not indiciative of what home users and or enterprise users will see. If an company is still on XP, i'm pretty sure they'll just move to 7, not 8.

Desktop users, 1st, 2nd, 3rd line support engineers, do not want to be wadding through a GUI like that to get to simple apps that used to just sit on the desktop (whilst having the ability to interact with the start menu in the same place).

 

[Django x2]

This simply isn't the case. We have countless customers in our market that can't wait to get their applications redesigned as touch-first applications. "Mobile working" is coming and when it arrives it is here to stay.

You're missing the point. Assuming your stance, you're now asking a corpoate customer not only to upgrade to Windows 8, but to upgrade all of their hardware to allow people to touch a screen as input. In this economic climate, that won't be a decision made easily. Corps are not going to ditch desktops in favour of tablets, and they're certinaly not going to go around changing monitors to touch enabled ones.

Some of the worlds largest corporations have only just moved to Windows 7 after painstaking migrations. They won't be shelling out for a move anytime soon IMO.

 

[Glaucus]

So save your rolleyes. What you see here is still not indiciative of what home users and or enterprise users will see. If an company is still on XP, i'm pretty sure they'll just move to 7, not 8.

Desktop users, 1st, 2nd, 3rd line support engineers, do not want to be wadding through a GUI like that to get to simple apps that used to just sit on the desktop (whilst having the ability to interact with the start menu in the same place).

why would they move to 7, what wading though. That's just BS. One click and your instantly in desktop and can stay there permantley.

You are totally ignoring mobile computing is thing of in coporations big time and for productivity not just play.

Your totally ignoring all the built in enterprise orientated features that are not in windows7.

but to upgrade all of their hardware to allow people to touch a screen .

More rubbish, they all operate with touch or mouse/kb, that's the whole point.

Put it this way They're issuing 13000 iPhones and a few iPads(probably still in the thousands) and are producing in hous apps every ~30 days.


Now imagine if they had left that till 2013, they could have hard all those apps over all systems. Not just on mobile devices.

 

[Django x2]

Why would they move to 8 is the question you should be asking. From a potential cost perspective, they won't. As I mentioned, they aren't going to outlay for thousands of tablets and touch screens. Most sectors I work in don't even offer tablets or touch / mobile computing without restriction, and whilst that may lift, it won't be something that happens immediately.

One click and your instantly in desktop and can stay there permantley.

That's really not the case unless you put all your applications on the desktop.

The enterprise features in Windows7 are plentiful to keep even the largest organisation happy for some time, and as I said, those that have just moved to 7 are not going to be moving to 8 in the near future. The userbase won't stomach it.

 

[Glaucus]

Why would they move to 8 is the question you should be asking..

Ignoring the new features again, if they are going to upgrade they will upgradeto the latest as mos coporations only do its very ~6+ years.

Put it this way They're issuing 13000 iPhones and a few iPads(probably still in the thousands) and are producing in an house app every ~30 days.


Now imagine if they had left that till 2013, they could have hard all those apps over all systems. Not just on mobile devices.

That is the future of big coporations any are allready using tablets. Just google ftse100 and tablets.

 

[Admiral Huddy]

why would they move to 7, what wading though. That's just BS. One click and your instantly in desktop and can stay there permantley.

Unfortunately, Our bank (and many others I know) still use Windows XP for desktop with Windows 7 being rolled out in September this year. Most corporates aren't so keen on changing things that already work and certainly when it doesn't bring anything new to the table that support the business. It's usually when kicked up the **** when MS decide to drop support.

 

[NathanE]

You're missing the point. Assuming your stance, you're now asking a corpoate customer not only to upgrade to Windows 8, but to upgrade all of their hardware to allow people to touch a screen as input. In this economic climate, that won't be a decision made easily. Corps are not going to ditch desktops in favour of tablets, and they're certinaly not going to go around changing monitors to touch enabled ones.

Some of the worlds largest corporations have only just moved to Windows 7 after painstaking migrations. They won't be shelling out for a move anytime soon IMO.

I'm not talking about their desktops. Firms don't upgrade those just because a new Windows release arrives. They work on asset renewal schedules.

Mobile working is a relatively new practice. Firms will be quite happy to issue many of their employees with brand new Win8 tablet devices. As this is seen as a way to boost productivity and business efficiency. In much the same way as the original "desktop computer" was in the 80s and 90s. In the same way that "mobile phones" were in the late 90s. Win8 tablets fall under a new bracket of responsibility for the I.T. department.

 

[Django x2]

Exactly, 6 year company cycles. You seem to be missing my point. Over the last 3 years, I've worked at over 20 different organisations. None of them were using Windows 7 when I arrived, (part of my role in some cases was to migrate to windows 7), the most recent of those being this year. These companies are not going to suddenly ask me to come back and upgrade to 8, at massive cost.

Companies that are still on XP, may move to 8, but I would be surprised if they do anytime soon.

 

[Glaucus]

Unfortunately, Our bank (and many others I know) still use Windows XP for desktop with Windows 7 being rolled out in September this year. Most corporates aren't so keen on changing things that already work and certainly when it doesn't bring anything new to the table that support the business. It's usually when kicked up the **** when MS decide to drop support.

Yep those no hav upgrade or are rolling it out won't, but many haven't got there and don't underestimate the sudden pull of mobile computing companies have started to see.

As I said were rolling out iPhones/iPads. So we won't be upgrading to w8 as it came to late.

Those that haven't upgraded in 5or so years will be looking at it.

 

[Glaucus]

Exactly, 6 year company cycles. You seem to be missing my point. .

No different to any other windows release. Some have don they're upgrade, some are committed to upgrades in near future, some have just started to look at their next upgrade and some haven't even started to look at upgrading.

Nothing abnormal or new in this, this is how the corporate world works.

 

[Django x2]

I'm happy to put this on record for future reference and say "we'll see".

Don't get me wrong, I personally love it, but I'm conscious, as someone who deals with large corporations from financial to defence / government and all those inbetween, it's not going to be something that's adopted quickly. To be fair, for my current project, I can see a use for those people in the field, who need to access data quickly, but that isn't the case for a lot of users, and even then, this project is a desktop refresh to Win7

 

[Glaucus]

I'm happy to put this on record for future reference and say "we'll see".

See what?
That coporations are going to continue to do what theyve done for decades.

Or in your opinion snub w8 completely, EV tough desktop is one click away and totally ignore the massive growing mobile market. That also helps poductivity

New OS take up never happen quickly in the corporate world. Again that's nothing new.

 

[NathanE]

Exactly, 6 year company cycles. You seem to be missing my point. Over the last 3 years, I've worked at over 20 different organisations. None of them were using Windows 7 when I arrived, (part of my role in some cases was to migrate to windows 7), the most recent of those being this year. These companies are not going to suddenly ask me to come back and upgrade to 8, at massive cost.

Companies that are still on XP, may move to 8, but I would be surprised if they do anytime soon.

I'm not missing any point, you are.

Nobody here is talking about desktops. We're talking about tablets.

It's pretty clear that the W8 desktop proposition consists basically of improved multi-mon and Storage Spaces aka ReFS. These are not really things that appeal to the average corporate firm.

W8 rollout in firms will, in the early months, primarily consist of early adoption of the tablet form factor and the lure of its productivity and business efficiency improvements. It starts off with managers, supervisors etc being given tablet devices. After a few years, before anyone really knows it, a tablet device is standard issue for almost all employees. Just like a mobile phone or desktop computer is.

 

[King Damager]

See what?
That coporations are going to continue to do what theyve done for decades.

Or in your opinion snub w8 completely, EV tough desktop is one click away and totally ignore the massive growing mobile market. That also helps poductivity

New OS take up never happen quickly in the corporate world. Again that's nothing new.

To be fair, they snubbed Vista... Companies tend to wait until at least SP1 when the kinks have been ironed out.

I certainly think for some industries, tablets will take off. However, for many parts of a firm (finance), I doubt they could get the programs running on a tablet (stuff like SAP, and massive spreadsheets)...

kd

 

[Glaucus]

But you need to look at why they snubbed vista.
*cough drivers cough* as well as other compatibility issues.

Neither are the case for w8 and if they want tablets they are going to get w8 tablets. Even if their desktops remain on w7. They aren't going to buy w7 tablets.

 

[Django x2]

Well it's true that the fundamental idea behind Windows 8 and Metro probably won't die and will be with us now for a long time, but, because it's such a significant change to the way most people are used to interacting with a PC, I personally think the uptake will be minimal. It won't be until Windows 9 that corps realise the tech isn't going away.

I'm not missing any point, you are.

Nobody here is talking about desktops. We're talking about tablets.

Eh? I've only ever been talking about the userbase for desktops. Tablets in organisations seem to be and probably always will be iPads, given that too many manufacturers of Windows tablets makes deciding on one, a tough choice.

 

[ubersonic]

So save your rolleyes. What you see here is still not indiciative of what home users and or enterprise users will see. If an company is still on XP, i'm pretty sure they'll just move to 7, not 8.

Agreed, in fact speaking as the company's Network Overlord (yes, seriously, that's what they get for allowing me to choose my own title) We have no intention of replacing hundreds of machines with touch screen ones when everybody is getting along fine anyway on XP, and I have no intention of advocating a move to 7 either, our domain policy is configured to use the windows classic interface on XP so the new shininess of 8 holds no interest here.

At this rate we shall be sticking with XP for the foreseeable future and imo the only thing that is likely to swa that will be OSX development.

 

[Glaucus]

Well it's true that the fundamental idea behind Windows 8 and Metro probably won't die and will be with us now for a long time, but, because it's such a significant change to the way most people are used to interacting with a PC, I personally think the uptake will be minimal. It won't be until Windows 9 that corps realise the tech isn't going away.

How is it different, have they got rid of the desktop? Have they changed the desktop?

No they haven't.

Agreed, in fact speaking as the company's Network Overlord (yes, seriously, that's what they get for allowing me to choose my own title) We have no intention of replacing hundreds of machines with touch screen ones .

If your an overlord, you should have enoug knowledge to realise you don't need to replace any monitors, touch screen is not essential.

Or have we all ran out and bought touchscreens to try the preview version?

 

[Django x2]

Wow, ubersonic, that's just taking it to a whole new level

Have they changed the desktop?

No they haven't.

You are looking at the Windows 8 BETA right? The desktop (interaction) has changed. I can no longer simply click on start and open an application pinned to my start menu. Believe it or not, that will be a massive annoyance for a lot of users.

Instead, I press start, it takes me back to metro, I click on my application, it then takes me back to the desktop (in theory) and loads the application.

 

[NathanE]

As I said were rolling out iPhones/iPads. So we won't be upgrading to w8 as it came to late.

This.

Firms that adopted the iPad are the earliest of early adopters. They will soon realise that they were actually "premature early adopters" But that's fine. What's important (especially to Microsoft) is that there is 1000x that number still waiting for W8 tablets to arrive before they adopt.