Windows 8 Consumer Preview Thread

theheyes · 17 Jun 2012 at 16:49

silversurfer said:
Use gloves.

Will Win 8 use a SSD more reliably, Im having problems with one on a laptop and would be good if it saved me any trouble

Which SSD?

theheyes · 17 Jun 2012 at 16:52

lamboman said:
After downloading and running Windows 8 in a virtual machine as I had to use Access, I think that Metro is completely unnecessary for the desktop, and more hassle than it's worth. That said, I do like the right sidebar.

Other than that, it feels like a reskinned, PITA version of Windows 7 that is poorly suited to both desktops and touch devices - it's too half-half. I haven't had that much play time with it but I doubt I'll find anything else of interest.

If I had to design a scenario to give people the worst possible first impression of Windows 8, it would probably read something like this. You need to run it on bare metal for a few weeks to get a decent feel for it. You should try it on a tablet device if you haven't already, it works great.

prescott28 · 17 Jun 2012 at 17:40

m4cc45 said:
With Lion though you've already paid part of the licencing by buying the hardware (so a small charge can be offset) though from what I recall OSX 10 has what I'd call service packs (i.e. 10.1 to 10.2) and they seem to happen nigh on every year so £25 every year takes it past the £75 mark which is 50% more than Windows 7 with all updates (£50 on release) based on 3 years.

Just clever marketing really.

M.

Good point, though we don't know if the £50 offer will actually happen this time round. My family got Windows 7 with the £50 offer but we didn't even bother with Vista. I think I might pass on it and wait for 9 when they will have somne experience and be able to build on it. you never know, they might allow Metro to be disabled to encourage businesses to buy it too by then.

silversurfer · 17 Jun 2012 at 17:58

theheyes said:
Which SSD?

you never know, they might allow Metro to be disabled to encourage businesses to buy it too by then.

I think they will just modify it like the picture password thing. Theres no good reason a business cant use this, allowing various tweaks to policy on each install would probably be enough

theheyes · 17 Jun 2012 at 20:23

There are some known issues with those 2281 controllers which might be the root of your problem, I doubt its anything to do with the operating system.

In regards to being able to disable Metro for businesses, it isn't going to happen. You'll get downgrade rights for Windows 7 and that's your lot.

m4cc45 · 17 Jun 2012 at 21:04

lamboman said:
Snip

Well Service Packs are really a culmination of features and patches but they have added functionality. SP2 introduced Firewall for example. All of the addons you can download from Microsoft and are free (such as Windows Defender / MSE / etc) are actually part of the Windows licence.

Without quoting Wiki if you have a look at the last three releases basically OSX 10.6 changes are mainly under the hood speed improvements/stability, 10.7 is gestures and some interface changes, 10.8 is iCloud / iMessage. All of which I'd suggest were really either a patch or service pack.

M.

lamboman · 17 Jun 2012 at 22:49

theheyes said:
If I had to design a scenario to give people the worst possible first impression of Windows 8, it would probably read something like this. You need to run it on bare metal for a few weeks to get a decent feel for it. You should try it on a tablet device if you haven't already, it works great.

Why? Of course, performance and reliability are potential issues in a virtual machine, though in this case there is nothing wrong with it, very quick and works well. And after Vista, I'd say that Microsoft are done with releasing poorly performing operating systems - Windows 7 was pretty damn good from the start.

I really thought Microsoft had it right with Windows 7. Managing your open applications as well as windows for these applications was dead easy. I just don't feel (personally) that this is the case with Windows 8, and I don't think it's something that is going to change for me. It may work well on a touch device, but it doesn't on the desktop for me. I'll keep playing with it though.

From the point of view of a home user though, who is largely computer illiterate, I can't see this going well.

m4cc45 said:
Well Service Packs are really a culmination of features and patches but they have added functionality. SP2 introduced Firewall for example. All of the addons you can download from Microsoft and are free (such as Windows Defender / MSE / etc) are actually part of the Windows licence.

Without quoting Wiki if you have a look at the last three releases basically OSX 10.6 changes are mainly under the hood speed improvements/stability, 10.7 is gestures and some interface changes, 10.8 is iCloud / iMessage. All of which I'd suggest were really either a patch or service pack.
M.

But you could say exactly the same thing for versions of Windows. Where do you draw the line between the two? It's a bit like those that say that Windows 7 was just a big SP for Vista. Personally, I'd split features and functionality, with the latter being more about capability with current features, but that's just me.

prescott28 · 18 Jun 2012 at 08:28

Just thought with regard to OSX Lion - if that was really a service pack, how come lots of applications stopped working and had to be upgraded to work with Lion? It as a bit like XP in that respect.

DiCe! · 18 Jun 2012 at 13:53

Have had a play, I like it, I like metro except.....how you close programmes! BRING BACK THE "X" far to slow and clunky at the moment

theheyes · 18 Jun 2012 at 16:23

DiCe! said:
Have had a play, I like it, I like metro except.....how you close programmes! BRING BACK THE "X" far to slow and clunky at the moment

Either bring up the app switcher (left edge UI), right click and close individual apps or move your mouse to the very top edge of any screen, click + hold whilst dragging down to the bottom edge.

theheyes · 18 Jun 2012 at 16:28

lamboman said:
Why? Of course, performance and reliability are potential issues in a virtual machine, though in this case there is nothing wrong with it, very quick and works well. And after Vista, I'd say that Microsoft are done with releasing poorly performing operating systems - Windows 7 was pretty damn good from the start.

Are you running it full screen? The hot corners are hard to hit if you aren't. Fair enough if you are. The rest is just sticking with it. I honestly didn't like it at first but once you get used to it it's just as fast as Windows 7. I would say, if anything, I'm marginally more productive with Win8 now.

MR.B · 19 Jun 2012 at 01:20

Microsoft have made their own tablet... and if this isn't an iPad killer i dont know what is...

It's called "Sufface". The whole body is magnesium and it has a 10.6" 1080p display, HDMI, USB, Micro SD, 2x2 MIMO antennas for WiFi (no other tablet has this), kickstand, magnetically attached cover (that doubles as a keyboard!) and more...

Moarrr info.

They'll be two different versions:
A Win RT (ARM SoC) Surface, and Win 8 Pro version with an Intel Ivy Bridge i5 CPU.

The Win RT Surface will apparently be priced competitively compared to other ARM tablets.
The Intel Surface will be priced in the same area as ultrabooks, being as it has similar hardware and comes with either 64GB or 128GB SSD.

Mattus · 19 Jun 2012 at 02:40

Just seen the Surface as well. Colour me more impressed than I've been with MS for a while - the keyboard cover is particularly clever.

The hardware deserves to succeed, but like any other tablet platform it will live or die based on the software available. Ultimately it's apps which make a tablet successful rather than MIMO antennas. Expect MS to throw some serious wonga at the developer space.

I really hope it does well. The iPad is a good product, but it urgently needs some effective competition, and that isn't coming from the Android scene. It's curious how Apple and MS are coming at the tablet game from opposite angles - enhancing a smartphone versus decluttering a PC. Interesting times ahead - successes now will build empires in the post-PC world.

Cosimo · 19 Jun 2012 at 08:58

The Microsoft Surface thread is here:

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18414908

ic1male · 19 Jun 2012 at 12:51

Are Microsoft updating the Windows 8 App Store with new apps as they become available or are they just leaving it all until the OS is released?

prescott28 · 19 Jun 2012 at 14:23

ic1male said:
Are Microsoft updating the Windows 8 App Store with new apps as they become available or are they just leaving it all until the OS is released?

I hope so. the available one aren't that good and the choice isn't very big either.

ic1male · 19 Jun 2012 at 15:00

Are they doing any more public releases, e.g. a release candidate? I want to see what the new theme looks like. I'll be sad to see Aero go.

prescott28 · 19 Jun 2012 at 15:26

I think the end of aero will only happen with the actual release - it seems like it was a rush decision to save batteries in tablets. Its a shame it couldn't be left as an option for desktops.

theheyes · 19 Jun 2012 at 18:58

ic1male said:
Are Microsoft updating the Windows 8 App Store with new apps as they become available or are they just leaving it all until the OS is released?

The former. New apps are being added and existing apps updated quite regularly. Surprised there aren't more of them though tbh.

Antar Bolaeisk · 19 Jun 2012 at 20:07

Mattus said:
Just seen the Surface as well. Colour me more impressed than I've been with MS for a while - the keyboard cover is particularly clever.

The hardware deserves to succeed, but like any other tablet platform it will live or die based on the software available. Ultimately it's apps which make a tablet successful rather than MIMO antennas. Expect MS to throw some serious wonga at the developer space.

I really hope it does well. The iPad is a good product, but it urgently needs some effective competition, and that isn't coming from the Android scene. It's curious how Apple and MS are coming at the tablet game from opposite angles - enhancing a smartphone versus decluttering a PC. Interesting times ahead - successes now will build empires in the post-PC world.

Me also, it's such a genuinely great yet simple idea, one of those why hasn't anyone thought of this before things. It's also something which lends itself to the duality of Windows 8, metro for when using it as a tablet and then standard desktop when using it like a laptop.

Also: shock horror at microsoft actually releasing a decent advert