Windows 8 worth it?

[runevirage]

I haven't really followed its development, so I was hoping I could consult this tech savvy crowd - is the new windows edition worthwhile to get if I already own Windows 7? Thanks.

 

[m&m's]

If you already own Windows 7, no.

 

[BumbleBee]

it's a tablet os. what do you think?

 

[LAN_deRf_HA]

There's rumblings that it will offer a notable gaming performance boost as well as all around improved resource usage. The dilemma most will face is if they can adapt enough to take advantage of some of the productivity improvements or if the change will be too much to adjust to.

 

[runevirage]

There's rumblings that it will offer a notable gaming performance boost.

Could you elaborate on how it will do this, and the size of the boost? Thanks.

 

[BumbleBee]

ARM support, touch screen support, Metro, no Start button, even IE has been redesigned to support tablets. all Microsoft cares about is selling it to business partners. Windows 8 will get the same resistance Vista got.

 

[phanbuey]

If it meant a few more FPS, I don't care if I have to launch my games from a command prompt.

less resource usage ftw.

Also, if I can hack my webcam to follow my eyeballs instead of using the mouse, all the better.

 

[Deleted member 67555]

I'm with Bumblebee and Ive tried it out...
nothing about it feels right for a desktop....nothing.
However it would be my OS choice for anything touchscreen...

 

[Mussels]

guys: remember how much everyone hated vista. then people got mostly used to it, and 7 came out very similar, and everyone hated it.

then suddenly they loved it, over time.


Win 8 doesnt work well with our current idea of an OS, and current hardware. give it a few years and we'll start seeing the advantages. (ex: DX11 support in win 7, meant nothing at the time - now its a big deal)

 

[BumbleBee]

no one loved Vista that's why XP is the most used of all time.

 

[phanbuey]

yeah but vista and win 7 didnt change that much on the front end... yeah they had aero and whatnot, but you could skin XP to look like vista no prob. It was the same arroz con pollo as before.

Everyone liked 7 because it was faster, cleaner, and less buggy than vista. Which were really the only reasons everyone hated vista in the first place, that and the UAF, which was annoying as all $(*@&.

point is windows 8 may be a step in the right direction, time to try something new... it is microsoft though, so 'new' usually = full dose of epic fail. Give it to version 8.2 , then everyone will love it.

 

[lilhasselhoffer]

My bet is that this is Microsoft's next blunder.

There's no reason to call this 8. It's an incremental improvement of 7, with a tablet focused UI. If people were screaming for this on a desktop I'm just hearing about it.

Windows 8 has some improvements, more baked in DRM, and will still cost an arm and a leg. I'm going to do the same thing I did before, skip what is going to be a turd and wait for 9. Knowing MS, by then, it'll likely finally be useable.

 

[Drone]

Personally I think I'm gonna skip this one for sure. Three reasons:

a) windows 7 is fine
b) it won't take too long when they release W9
c) maybe I'll ditch windows anyway

 

[remixedcat]

Windows 8's metro UI is not as intuitive as android or ios. even for a touchscreen tablet device it's still bad... it's a jack-of-all-trades-master-of-none thing....

 

[LAN_deRf_HA]

Could you elaborate on how it will do this, and the size of the boost? Thanks.

No. I didn't elaborate for a reason. The results are out there they're just not done by major sites or on this latest release. I wish someone would get on that.

 

[Shou Miko]

well when u disable their "Metro UI" or what u will call it, it looks the same as Windows 7.

but some of the first screens i saw of Windows 8 before the "Metro UI" was where the taskbar was split into like 3 and i was like cool if Windows 8 would look like that i will buy it for sure but that changed fast so basic windows 7 and i was like oki a updated Windows 7 only how much new will that bring? maybe more stability for explorer and memory tweaking and so on would be nice but i kinda doubt bcs it's ms.

 

[RejZoR]

Anyone managed to get this damn thing (Win8 64bit) working in VMWare Player? Whatever i do, i can't make it work. It just spits out some unexepcted error and that's it. Sucks.

 

[Crap Daddy]

Simple answer. No.

 

[Frick]

yeah but vista and win 7 didnt change that much on the front end... yeah they had aero and whatnot, but you could skin XP to look like vista no prob. It was the same arroz con pollo as before.

Everyone liked 7 because it was faster, cleaner, and less buggy than vista. Which were really the only reasons everyone hated vista in the first place, that and the UAF, which was annoying as all $(*@&.

At first Vista had some problems (most of which were related to drivers iirc which shouldn't be MS concern anyway) but it didn't take too long for it to be good. A lot A LOT of people just hated it by default, often without ever trying it. Is Win7 better? Totally yes. But Vista's main problem was people.

But it's difficult to just recommend Win8 like that, you really should try it before purchase. On the other hand it might be the future so we might as well get used to it.

If I can get a good deal on it when preordering I'll get it. I got Win7 Home Premium (full retail) for about €80 from Amazon.

 

[RejZoR]

Simple answer. No.

And a complex answer? Why? I don't get it why should VMWare give a damn what i'm trying to install into it...

 

[Aquinus]

And a complex answer? Why? I don't get it why should VMWare give a damn what i'm trying to install into it...

Try VirtualBox? I don't know about VMWare Player but VMWare Workstation 8 worked fine.

 

[pantherx12]

They need to streamline it, metro is so damn clunky it makes me wonder if anyone at Microsoft actually tried it.

 

[Aquinus]

They need to streamline it, metro is so damn clunky it makes me wonder if anyone at Microsoft actually tried it.

It looks pretty, but that is about it. The usability on a desktop is abysmal. I feel like M$ is trying to dumb down Windows. There is something to be said for simplifying a problem, but I think M$ is over-simplifying Windows at this point. It's too large a step away from what the Desktop and Laptop OS has been. If you look at Apple, they gradually have been adding features to their Desktop/Laptop OS (OS X) that mimic iOS, but you don't see Apple putting iOS on their Desktop or Laptop lineup. It's absurd and it doesn't belong there.

 

[LifeOnMars]

I finally found a use for my old 1024x768 monitor.....Metro UI Added that to the side of my standard 1080p and I have been loving windows 8 release preview. Smooth and fast with my setup. Only 1 issue so far with games and that's Back to the future not launching but I'm sure I can sort it.

 

[pantherx12]

It looks pretty, but that is about it. The usability on a desktop is abysmal. I feel like M$ is trying to dumb down Windows. There is something to be said for simplifying a problem, but I think M$ is over-simplifying Windows at this point. It's too large a step away from what the Desktop and Laptop OS has been. If you look at Apple, they gradually have been adding features to their Desktop/Laptop OS (OS X) that mimic iOS, but you don't see Apple putting iOS on their Desktop or Laptop lineup. It's absurd and it doesn't belong there.

The thing is, this would be clunky on a touch screen as well.

Compared to IOS and Android even windows phone 8 this is awful.