Windows 8 Upgrade

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Leonaerd
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Re: Windows 8 Upgrade

Post by Leonaerd »

I don't play games on my PC really
EQ?
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Aslanna
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Re: Windows 8 Upgrade

Post by Aslanna »

Well yeah EQ! But that uses DX9. I referenced games because ones in the future could require newer DirectX versions which might not be supported with Windows 7. Sort of how DixrectX 10 wasn't supported on XP so if you wanted to play games utilizing that you'd need to upgrade your OS.
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Re: Windows 8 Upgrade

Post by Siji »

Aslanna wrote:Oh have you heard? Windows 8 sucks.
That's not very intelligent.

Windows 8 is.. oh fuck it. It sucks.
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Re: Windows 8 Upgrade

Post by Winnow »

Tech rednecks. I've been hitting that start button for yeaaaars! Aint noboby gonna take that away from me! Yeehawww! First cousin Elmo says he tried for the clock but cuttn't hit it cuz sumptin popped out at'im!!
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Re: Windows 8 Upgrade

Post by Aslanna »

So yeah.. This is what I meant. Came quicker than I thought.
And so the inevitable march of Windows moves onward: DirectX, the software that Windows computers rely on to make games run, is getting an upgrade—but only for Windows 8.
Or... To not upgrade and not play games that start to require Windows 8! I still play EQ so... Doesn't affect me any.
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Re: Windows 8 Upgrade

Post by miir »

And the impact of the 11.1 upgrade to DirectX will be virtually.... zero.
The only significant addition for DX11.1 is native stereoscopic 3D support.


I dont think Windows7 gamers are gonna lose much sleep over that.
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Re: Windows 8 Upgrade

Post by Aslanna »

miir wrote:And the impact of the 11.1 upgrade to DirectX will be virtually.... zero.
The only significant addition for DX11.1 is native stereoscopic 3D support.


I dont think Windows7 gamers are gonna lose much sleep over that.
This specific update. Do you think this wont be carried forward to other updates that follow? If not you're living in fantasy land.

I don't expect Win7/DX 11.0 to be getting much love going forward.
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Re: Windows 8 Upgrade

Post by Zaelath »

Yeah, but it kinda doesn't matter. Games aren't going to support Windows 8 (exclusively) until there's a significant portion of the market on Windows 8, other than a few MS titles. Same thing happened with Vista, lots of DX9 games with DX10 support in them, nothing in the way of DX10 only.
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Re: Windows 8 Upgrade

Post by Zaelath »

In other news, Windows 8 is so good that Sinofsky is gone from MS after 23 years at the company: http://www.wired.com/business/2012/11/m ... -the-boot/
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Re: Windows 8 Upgrade

Post by Winnow »

Zaelath wrote:In other news, Windows 8 is so good that Sinofsky is gone from MS after 23 years at the company: http://www.wired.com/business/2012/11/m ... -the-boot/
It happens to everyone. Google let go (or she "left") of one of the google founders recently. Apple let go (fired) two high level people two weeks ago. Nothing to see here.

Sounds like no one got along with the guy. High level pricks last much longer in companies than low level pricks.
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Re: Windows 8 Upgrade

Post by Aslanna »

Nah, he got fired because Windows 8 was (more than likely) a flop at retail and has generated more negative press than excitement about the product. Sure they'll sell a boatload of copies simply by making it be bundled with all new PCs but I think generally the PC market (not commenting on tablets) consider Windows 8 to be a meh upgrade. There is no incentive to upgrade other than thinking MS needs more money and you want to donate to the cause.
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Re: Windows 8 Upgrade

Post by Bubba Grizz »

I think the most difficult concept for me is the Touch Screen. If I am to make full use of the new OS I am now required to purchase a new monitor that is way more expensive than what I am using now. And for what? I have to tell you it is a pet peeve of mine when people touch my screen as it is. Why the hell would I want to get a monitor designed for such a thing? I'm sure it is something that I'd get used to if I had to but it will take some time and I'm already old.
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Re: Windows 8 Upgrade

Post by Jice Virago »

Such bullshit eye candy in an attempt to unify tablet, desktop, and smartphone OS. Its a nightmare to work with at the college level and we decided to bypass it. Windows operating systems are like Start Trek movies; every other one is good and ever other one is shit.
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Re: Windows 8 Upgrade

Post by Winnow »

After using windows 8 in touchscreen mode, it's really well put together for that mode. It has some improvements over iOS (and definately Android on tablets)

Again, no need to use touch anything. One windows key click and you're back to your old desktop with a lot of nice enhancements.

Bubba, you're not forced to use a touch screen. I've been using Windows 8 as my main OS for while now and it's great. I think the only other person that is actually using Windows 8 extensively is miir and I think he's OK with it as well so far.

The rest of these people are just looking at screenshots or don't understand you can click one key and never see the Metro Start screen again until you reboot if you don't want to. You do need to take a few days to get used to it. Stay with Windows (insert version here) if you don't want to take the time to learn how to use some improved features that take less or equal time to access once you learn how to use the OS.
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Re: Windows 8 Upgrade

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The metro/touch interface disease spreads well beyond the start screen. Charms or whatever they're called are part of it, and there's probably more but I already uninstalled it since I "don't need" anything it offers.

As for "don't need" to see the tile horrorshow, yeah, you do though. If you want to start something that isn't already pinned, or perhaps, god forbid, you don't want to pin every program you use occasionally to the task bar.

Maybe some people aren't, I know it's strange to think of, but maybe some people aren't you.

Maybe some people still use "All Programs" to find shit they don't use often, like Excel or WinSCP or even Steam if you had to kill the process for being stupid.

I don't have to "see" a tranny's cock if I do him doggy style either, but I'm still not doing him 'cause it's there. You go ahead and enjoy that though, I won't think less of you.
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Re: Windows 8 Upgrade

Post by Winnow »

Windows 8 is a great OS. Loving it. Not sure what your issue with with charms. They work great. Maybe the name scares you or something. Hate of Windows 8 is misplaced. It added touch enhancements which rock on touch screens and don't impact the use of my desktop at all.

Are you all a bunch of fat fuckers that order everything on the menu when you go to a restaurant? I order what I want but I don't get all upset that I can't stuff my grill with everything on the menu or even if there's something on the menu I don't care for as long as the food I get is what I want. It's nice that there are options there if want it the next time I come back. The hate on this thread is cracking me up. You act like you've been bitch slapped or something.
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Re: Windows 8 Upgrade

Post by Funkmasterr »

Zaelath, read his post. Carefully. Just give up, for fuck. Unless your a masochist or something, then I guess have at it.
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Re: Windows 8 Upgrade

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All I read was; "blah blah McDonalds blah blah I love transgender sex blah blah it's not gay if you don't give a reach around."
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Re: Windows 8 Upgrade

Post by Winnow »

Zaelath wrote:All I read was; "blah blah McDonalds blah blah I love transgender sex blah blah it's not gay if you don't give a reach around."
Windows 8 would be great for you. Think of all the calories you would burn trying to reach for the clock all the time!
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Re: Windows 8 Upgrade

Post by Animalor »

My office bought a Surface RT to get an idea of what was being offered to consumers (Windows 8 is a known quantity but Windows RT still had a lot of questions).
The bigger issue we're seeing at the moment is that it cannot be joined to a domain or accessing anything in a Windows Domain requires frequent authentication.

The hardware and the touch cover are pretty great. Battery life has been phenomenal. We got it on Patch Tuesday and we got a firmware update on day 1 so I may be seeing some different results than really early adopters.

Battery life is phenomenal. Lasted over a day and a half of semi-heavy usage.

The performance seems to be more hit than miss in my preliminary usage. I do notice it getting sluggish when a ton of applications have been opened and then just tasked out and not closed.

The USB port is fantastic. I've plugged a mouse, USB stick, headset/microphone and even an Xbox 360 controller there. All have worked flawlessly and without additional configuration

I haven't managed to get a networked printer to be recognized by it but I may just be missing something.

Another really annoying thing is that Citrix has decided to make their receiver in the Windows Store require their latest and greatest connection technology, meaning you need to buy 3 separate products (Access Gateway, Cloud Gateway AND either XenApp or XenDesktop) as opposed to their of the latter. Even more annoyingly, the receiver for iOS and Android works with only what's available in XenApp (WebInterface and Secure Gateway).

Office, VPN, Cloud solutions work great. The browser does a really good job as well.

More to come...
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Re: Windows 8 Upgrade

Post by Winnow »

Yeah, I'm not sold on Windows RT tablets. I think the full blown Windows 8 tablets will make more sense for most people, especially for businesses. With a fast connection, remote desktop should be great though even on RT.

The hybrid tablet/ultrabooks also look like a good solution for Windows 8.
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Re: Windows 8 Upgrade

Post by Bubba Grizz »

I heard that the pro version of windows 8 is more IT Department friendly. Meaning that it will work with domains and network printers. I don't see a business need for it within our company yet but I can promise you some of our partners are going to buy one and then demand that we make it work. So keep the information coming because I'm sure going to need it once this starts happening.
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Re: Windows 8 Upgrade

Post by miir »

Windows 8 RT devices will not have the ability to connect/authenticate to domains or be managed by SMS/SCCM, etc.

Windows 8 pro devices do not have that limitation. They can be managed just like a normal windows laptop/desktop.
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Re: Windows 8 Upgrade

Post by Animalor »

I can see this being a huge boon to companies that have some sort of sharepoint or alternative cloud solution (office 365 etc) where it's all just baked in and works it's a nice solution. I can't say enough about how well this works with skydrive and other cloud solutions. it kinda falls apart when you deal with secure network shares.

Office on this works surprisingly well. Touching the ribbon elements and manipulating the content works well. Also, for the first time ever(for me at least) zooming in makes sense with touch.

At this very moment, the limitations our iPad users have are not resolved elegantly by Windows RT and the iPad has the impressive app library which gives it the edge. Given enough time, Windows 8 and by extension RT should catch up.

Oh, and I'm typing these on the surface using the touch keyboard.

:D
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Re: Windows 8 Upgrade

Post by Winnow »

This looks like it will be useful for those that end up with touch screen Windows 8 devices:

Bluetacks allows you to run all Android apps on Windows 8. This is also available for Windows 7 and Mac but on Windows 8 devices that have touch screens, it gives you access to all the Android apps while the Windows Store Builds its App base.

Here's a short video explaining and demonstrating it on a Surface:

http://youtu.be/Vphp5Cwmbto?hd=1

It can't hurt to be able to integrate all the Android Apps into Windows 8. According to the video, you'll be able to synch between devices, updates, etc. (can also access them from the normal desktop for all the people that hyperventilate when they see a screenshot of the Metro interface)

This would be even more useful if Android developers ever get off their asses and start making more decent Tablet specific Apps which are really lagging behind iOS.
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Re: Windows 8 Upgrade

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Winnow wrote:This looks like it will be useful for those that end up with touch screen Windows 8 devices:

Bluetacks allows you to run all Android apps on Windows 8. This is also available for Windows 7 and Mac but on Windows 8 devices that have touch screens, it gives you access to all the Android apps while the Windows Store Builds its App base.

Here's a short video explaining and demonstrating it on a Surface:

http://youtu.be/Vphp5Cwmbto?hd=1

It can't hurt to be able to integrate all the Android Apps into Windows 8. According to the video, you'll be able to synch between devices, updates, etc. (can also access them from the normal desktop for all the people that hyperventilate when they see a screenshot of the Metro interface)

This would be even more useful if Android developers ever get off their asses and start making more decent Tablet specific Apps which are really lagging behind iOS.
Of all the apps I have on my tablet, I'm yet to see one which isn't tablet specific, or that I would want changed in any way.. The tablet merely makes the app a little easier to use than the phone version due to size and/or it scales to use the extra screen real estate because all android apps do that by default, since there was never a "standard" screen size mandated by Jobs.

So, really, talking our your arse again or do you have a tragic example of tablet horror from an android app?
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Re: Windows 8 Upgrade

Post by Winnow »

Zaelath wrote:
Of all the apps I have on my tablet, I'm yet to see one which isn't tablet specific, or that I would want changed in any way.. The tablet merely makes the app a little easier to use than the phone version due to size and/or it scales to use the extra screen real estate because all android apps do that by default, since there was never a "standard" screen size mandated by Jobs.

So, really, talking our your arse again or do you have a tragic example of tablet horror from an android app?
Making it "bigger" isn't always better. Many iOS apps have specific iPad layouts designed for bigger screens and are still unified so you only download a single app for use on iPhone/iPad.

Sorry dude. Try again.
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Re: Windows 8 Upgrade

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Winnow wrote:
Zaelath wrote:
Of all the apps I have on my tablet, I'm yet to see one which isn't tablet specific, or that I would want changed in any way.. The tablet merely makes the app a little easier to use than the phone version due to size and/or it scales to use the extra screen real estate because all android apps do that by default, since there was never a "standard" screen size mandated by Jobs.

So, really, talking our your arse again or do you have a tragic example of tablet horror from an android app?
Making it "bigger" isn't always better. Many iOS apps have specific iPad layouts designed for bigger screens and are still unified so you only download a single app for use on iPhone/iPad.

Sorry dude. Try again.
Yeah, you misread what I said. But whatever. Try giving some examples that proved your case, rather than making buzzword assertions that don't.

After all, there's "many", it should be easy.
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Re: Windows 8 Upgrade

Post by miir »

IMDB and Weather network apps on ipad are immeasurably better than the iphone/ipod versions.
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Re: Windows 8 Upgrade

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miir wrote:IMDB and Weather network apps on ipad are immeasurably better than the iphone/ipod versions.
You mean like they're different on an android tablet to a phone? (the phone version of imdb is pretty horrible)

To clarify, I meant iPad apps that aren't also different on Android. Oh, and they're also "unified" it's the one download.

Carry on.
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Re: Windows 8 Upgrade

Post by Winnow »

Zaelath wrote:
miir wrote:IMDB and Weather network apps on ipad are immeasurably better than the iphone/ipod versions.
You mean like they're different on an android tablet to a phone? (the phone version of imdb is pretty horrible)

To clarify, I meant iPad apps that aren't also different on Android. Oh, and they're also "unified" it's the one download.

Carry on.

Zite is also much better in the iPad than iPhone and blows the crap out of the only Android version available.
The iPad Wins Because Android Tablet Apps Suck: An Illustrated Guide

Do Android tablet apps really suck? Yes. Yes, they do. We take a close look, and provide examples.

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2401676,00.asp


also
Confession of a Nexus 7 owner: iPad Mini will blow it away

http://www.zdnet.com/confession-of-a-ne ... 000002759/
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Re: Windows 8 Upgrade

Post by Zaelath »

Winnow wrote:
Zaelath wrote:
miir wrote:IMDB and Weather network apps on ipad are immeasurably better than the iphone/ipod versions.
You mean like they're different on an android tablet to a phone? (the phone version of imdb is pretty horrible)

To clarify, I meant iPad apps that aren't also different on Android. Oh, and they're also "unified" it's the one download.

Carry on.

Zite is also much better in the iPad than iPhone and blows the crap out of the only Android version available.
The iPad Wins Because Android Tablet Apps Suck: An Illustrated Guide

Do Android tablet apps really suck? Yes. Yes, they do. We take a close look, and provide examples.

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2401676,00.asp


also
Confession of a Nexus 7 owner: iPad Mini will blow it away

http://www.zdnet.com/confession-of-a-ne ... 000002759/
So 1 app that I've never heard of and looks like would never use, and a couple of biased articles. One of which spends as much time bagging horrible iPad apps as it does android but they're better because they "acknowledge they're on a tablet"....

Yeah, colour me unconvinced.

Corp A is going to spend more time on device B while it's got the lion's share of the eyeballs, but it's definitely not a static market.

Edit: and now I've got through a bit more of that horrible slide show.. "TBS" is a must have iPad app? CollegeHumor? Most of this garbage doesn't warrant an app and you'd be using the web browser anyway... I guess it's some kinda Flash issue on the iPad that means everything has to be a dedicated app?
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Re: Windows 8 Upgrade

Post by Winnow »

Hey, I'm here to convince you. I think ignorant people deserve whatever they get. I own both iPad and Android tablets and there's no contest when it comes to the Apps. Ipad is better. I was hoping SOMETHING would be better on the Android to justify it but there's really no reason to use it. The OS isn't bad. The meat and potatoes (apps) have a ways to go.

I'm rooting for Windows 8 as the alternative to iOS. I like their apps much better than Android and think they actually can compete.
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Re: Windows 8 Upgrade

Post by Aslanna »

Winnow wrote:I'm rooting for Windows 8 as the alternative to iOS. I like their apps much better than Android and think they actually can compete.
Get ready for disappointment. They are going to fail miserably.
Microsoft at the time had approximately 12% smartphone OS marketshare, Nokia a bit over 30%. With the collaboration, Nokia and Microsoft, together with all the other OS partners selling Windows Phone 7.x, sales are now hovering around 2% of smartphone market share.

I don't think Windows 8 phones are going to do much to increase that market share.

And Surface looks to be a dud. Nobody is interested in their crappy OS. Even on a tablet it was designed for!
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Re: Windows 8 Upgrade

Post by Winnow »

Aslanna wrote: And Surface looks to be a dud. Nobody is interested in their crappy OS. Even on a tablet it was designed for!
SEATTLE (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp has sold 40 million Windows 8 licenses in the month since the launch, according to one of the new co-heads of the Windows unit, setting a faster pace than Windows 7 three years ago.
Hmm, selling better than Windows 7 did. Guess some people want it!
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Re: Windows 8 Upgrade

Post by Aslanna »

I think you know "licenses sold" isn't really a great indicator of how many people are actually using it.
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Re: Windows 8 Upgrade

Post by Zaelath »

Aslanna wrote:I think you know "licenses sold" isn't really a great indicator of how many people are actually using it.
Not to mention they're selling an "upgrade" which will let you upgrade dodgy/technet installs for about 1/3 the price of a Windows 7 licence when it came out. Actually, about 1/5th the price from Australia since it's not attracting "regional pricing" in the Microsoft Store.
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Re: Windows 8 Upgrade

Post by Winnow »

I'm sorry, was something different with the Windows 7 upgrade? it's outselling it no matter how you want to twist it. Same "upgrades" with Windows 7.
Aslanna wrote:I think you know "licenses sold" isn't really a great indicator of how many people are actually using it.
What the hell does that mean? You can say the same about any new version of Windows. It's still selling more than Windows 7 did during the first month.
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Re: Windows 8 Upgrade

Post by miir »

I feel dirty agreeing with Winnow on something.
Windows 8 is actually pretty nice.

After seeing me use it on my PC, my wife said she wants me to install it on her laptop.
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Re: Windows 8 Upgrade

Post by Aslanna »

Winnow wrote:
Aslanna wrote:I think you know "licenses sold" isn't really a great indicator of how many people are actually using it.
What the hell does that mean? You can say the same about any new version of Windows. It's still selling more than Windows 7 did during the first month.
It means exactly what it says. It's sitting on a bunch of computers that nobody is buying!
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Re: Windows 8 Upgrade

Post by Winnow »

Aslanna wrote:
Winnow wrote:
Aslanna wrote:I think you know "licenses sold" isn't really a great indicator of how many people are actually using it.
What the hell does that mean? You can say the same about any new version of Windows. It's still selling more than Windows 7 did during the first month.
It means exactly what it says. It's sitting on a bunch of computers that nobody is buying!
Do you have any statistics or comparison to the Windows 7 release regarding a bunch of computers no one is buying?
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Re: Windows 8 Upgrade

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Since when did you start caring about statistics and other things typically known as facts?
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Re: Windows 8 Upgrade

Post by Boogahz »

He doesn't
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Re: Windows 8 Upgrade

Post by Zaelath »

Winnow wrote:I'm sorry, was something different with the Windows 7 upgrade? it's outselling it no matter how you want to twist it. Same "upgrades" with Windows 7.
Is something different?

http://www.lifehacker.com.au/2009/06/wi ... expensive/
Upgrade pricing for Home Premium is $199, Professional is $399 and Ultimate is $429
Windows 8 pro, $40

Yeah, wow, 80-90% discounts mean higher sales. That's strange.
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Re: Windows 8 Upgrade

Post by miir »

The $40 price tag for Windows 8 is the promotional price.
I paid $35 for windows 7 upgrade on a promotion.


The original price of XP Pro was around $300.
Vista was $240 for Home and $400 for Ultimate.
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Re: Windows 8 Upgrade

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miir wrote:The $40 price tag for Windows 8 is the promotional price.
I paid $35 for windows 7 upgrade on a promotion.


The original price of XP Pro was around $300.
Vista was $240 for Home and $400 for Ultimate.
At release?

I'd be interested to see how much of the Windows 8 sales are international though. There was no point you could buy Windows 7 upgrades in Australia for anything like $40 until very recently when you could get a Home Premium 3pack for $120 (people are still selling a single licence at $127 here)

I bet a lot of people are grabbing a licence now to sit on the shelf, either hoping they'll relent on metro in SP1, or that they'll install if MS breaks Windows 7.
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Re: Windows 8 Upgrade

Post by Boogahz »

I thought about going with the upgrade for a brief time only due to the very low price, but I haven't really seen any real reason I should upgrade my two older comps from Vista to 8. I have been planning on replacing at least one computer soon, but I will probably go to Win7 instead.
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Re: Windows 8 Upgrade

Post by Winnow »

http://winsupersite.com/article/windows ... top-144218
You've been told that Microsoft has somehow compromised the beloved desktop environment and ruined it with Metro, its new touch-first UI for tablets and other non-traditional devices. You’ve been told that Windows 8 is a lousy upgrade on existing desktop and laptop PCs, and that you should stick with Windows 7 and pray that the next Windows version steps back from some imaginary cliff. Folks, you’ve been lied to.

To understand why this is so, I’m going to start this multi-part review by focusing on a topic that Windows 8’s and Microsoft’s detractors would actually like you to ignore. That if you look just at the improvements Microsoft has made to the Windows desktop, Windows 8 is a bigger and more signification upgrade over Windows 7 than was Windows 7 over the unfairly maligned Windows Vista.

Don’t believe me? I know, the Kool-Aid tastes great, but take a break from Reality Distortion Field and journey back in time with me a scant three years so we can rediscover what made Windows 7 such an impressive upgrade for the day over Vista.

“Windows 7 … improves on virtually everything about its predecessor while losing nothing of serious importance,” I wrote at the start of my massive, 12-part review of Windows 7. “Windows 7 is also a more compelling version of its predecessor, Windows Vista, offering enhanced usability, dramatically better performance, and new seamless compatibility options … Windows 7 [is not] just Vista with a bit of eye candy added and some performance tweaks … [it] is the sum of hundreds, perhaps thousands, of tiny tweaks, none of which would be particularly interesting in isolation.”

In my conclusion to this review, I listed the ways in which Windows 7 met the needs of users. Let’s step through that list and see how the Windows 8 upgrade compares, again, just from the perspective of the desktop for users on existing PCs.

Windows 7 is the first version of Windows to actually run better on the same hardware than its predecessor and to have lower real-world hardware requirements and recommendations. Surprise: Windows 8 has done it again. Windows 8 actually runs better on the same hardware than its predecessor and has lower real-world hardware requirements than its predecessor.

New taskbar with its Jump Lists, interactive taskbar thumbnails, and other capabilities. Present in Windows 8 and improved with similar Start screen capabilities.

New window management methods like Aero Snaps, Aero Peek, and Aero Shake will make users more efficient. All are still present in Windows 8, though the Aero naming (like Aero itself) has been dropped. You can also snap the desktop side-by-side with a Metro app now, as well.

Libraries make organizing and finding files easier and more attractive than ever before. Libraries aren’t just present in Windows 8, they’re easier to use than ever before thanks to new Explorer-based management capabilities. And they integrate with Metro apps too.

Overall simplification work--where almost every single feature of the UI was poked, prodded, improved, and made consistent--gives the entire system a feel of refinement that Windows has always lacked. This is perhaps the one major area where Windows 8 is a step back, of sorts, to the confusing array of user experiences that somewhat dogged Windows Vista. There’s just no way around the fact that Windows 8 includes two user experiences, the desktop and Metro, and that many users will be initially confused by this.

Windows Touch … Microsoft has made desktop-based multi-touch capabilities a pervasive and first class user experience for the first time ever. It works just as well in Windows 8 (and of course the Metro stuff was designed in a touch-first manner and is thus even more integrated and natural).

Looking at the above list, from what I can see, Windows 8 comes out with 5 wins and 1 loss. But let’s continue and look at the issues I identified in Windows 7 and see whether any of these problems were fixed in Windows 8:

Some of the new user experience features--like the ability to pin items to the taskbar--are not fully conceived. This trend continues in Windows 8, in that pinned taskbar items are no more powerful than they were in Windows 7. (That said, Microsoft did dramatically change program launching in this release, adding the new Start screen with its live tiles.)

Previously bundled applications—like those that handle email, calendaring, contacts, video editing, and so on—now, in Windows 7, are not. Here, things have improved somewhat as well. Looking at the desktop specifically, you still need Windows Essentials. But Windows 8 does include Metro apps for email, contacts, calendaring, messaging, audio and video playback, and much, much more.

Microsoft's decision to not bundle an anti-virus solution in Windows is a mistake. Well, they’ve corrected that in Windows 8: Windows Defender now includes anti-virus (in addition to anti-malware and other OS security features) in the box. Windows 8 for the win.

The product upgrade mix can be confusing. Not anymore. With Windows 8, if you have any supported Windows version (XP and up), you qualify for the upgrade. Simple. (And yes, I’ll examine upgrading later in the review.)

Of the four issues raised above, Windows 8 emphatically solves two of the three problems and arguably solves the other two as well. But to be fair to desktop users, let’s call it a tie: 2 to 2.

This doesn’t sound like the disaster some are describing, now does it?

But this is just the tip of the iceberg. See, Windows 8 further improves on the Windows 7 desktop in several important and immediately noticeable ways. And if you really care about the Windows desktop—which, given the faux uproar over Windows 8, everyone apparently does—then this stuff should be triggering mass upgrades come October 26. The big changes include:

Faster boot/near-instantaneous resume. Windows 8 boots in as little as 6 seconds on all of my PCs. And while, yes, I have to tap Enter one extra time—the horrors!!—to get from the Start screen to the desktop that I, too, use day and day out, that’s a small price to pay. 6 seconds, people. 6.

Improved desktop themes. While Microsoft pushed translucent Aero glass effects in Windows Vista and 7, it discovered a dark side to this look and feel: These windows weren’t power efficient. So in Windows 8, Aero is replaced by a new flat, opaque theme (though the taskbar, curiously, has some translucency). I happen to like it better than Aero, to be honest, and the automatic window color feature—where the border color of onscreen windows adapts automatically according to the desktop wallpaper, is excellent.

Improved File Explorer. Windows has always been knocked for its lack of focus, a byproduct of its success, since Windows targets over 1.3 billion individuals, each with the own ways of doing things and different levels of expertise. And on the surface, the new ribbon-based File Explorer (a renamed update to Windows Explorer) seems to suffer from this lack of focus: I mean, what could be busier than the ribbon in File Explorer? Look a bit deeper however, and you’ll discover that File Explorer offers the best of both worlds: A user interface that will help even the least experienced user find exactly the command they’re looking for, and, when minimized, a UI that even a power user could love.

Improved Task Manager. Like File Explorer, the new Task Manager offers two UIs, a super-simple one for the stopping the occasional crashed app or application, and a power user version that provides performance monitoring, app resource usage history, a startup applications list (where, unlike in Windows 7, you can actually prevent applications from starting automatically), and more. This is Task Manager on steroids. It’s awesome.

Internet Explorer 10. I’ll look at the apps in Windows 8 a bit later in this review, but one of those apps, Internet Explorer 10, also comes in a desktop version that is vastly improved over both its Metro equivalent and previous IE versions. IE 10 brings hardware accelerated, well, everything, not to mention dramatically improved web standards support to Windows. It provides built-in Flash compatibility and, in this desktop version continued browser-add-on support. It even includes some new features, like Flip Ahead, and can and will keep itself up to date over time, just like Google Chrome. What’s not to like? IE 10 is my most frequently-used browser in Windows 8.

File History, Storage Spaces, and Push Button Reset. Microsoft has completely overhauled and improved the Windows 8 data protection technologies, and the results are File History, a replacement for Previous Versions, and Storage Spaces, a Drive Extender-like data redundancy solution that makes RAID look like the 1970’s-era joke that it is. Furthermore, the Push Button Reset tools—PC Reset and PC Refresh—replace the PC backup features of the past with solutions that are safe, fast, and reliable. I will be writing more these technologies extensively in a future part of this review.

Cloud connected. With Windows 8, you can sign-in with your Microsoft account, creating a seamless way to sync your desktop (and Metro) settings from PC to PC. Yes, folks, Windows 8 syncs desktop settings too. This includes browser settings (Favorites, typed URLs, home page, and much more), accessibility settings, web credentials, File Explorer settings, HomeGroup settings, mouse settings, Open With settings, taskbar settings, and desktop theme settings. And if you grab the optional SkyDrive application, you can integrate File Explorer with your online storage. Awesome stuff.

More consistent Start and Start Search experiences. In Windows 7, Microsoft provided a pop-up Start menu with integrated Search. In Windows 8, this becomes a full screen Start experience with integrated Search. But both of these things are far more consistent in Windows 8, with Metro experiences, of course, but also just generally. You can pin both desktop and Metro apps to the Start screen. And now, when you search, you can filter the view between apps, settings, and files, and the results include both desktop and Metro items were applicable.

Business features. I’ll be looking at enterprise and business features in a later part of this review, but let me just throw out some features here that are decidedly desktop-based: Windows To Go (in Windows 8 Enterprise only), BitLocker and BitLocker To Go, Windows SmartScreen, integrated mobile broadband integration, and so on.

Power user menu. Mouse into the lower-left corner of the screen and then right-click and you’ll find a cool new power user menu that provides quick access to—wait for it—power user desktop tools like Power Options, Event Viewer, System, and much more.

Keyboard shortcuts. I’ve written elsewhere about the many new keyboard shortcuts in Windows 8, especially those based around the Windows key, but suffice to say that Windows 8 is more keyboard friendly than any previous version of Windows, ever. Not exactly the type of thing you’d expect from a touch-first tablet OS, eh?

Less legacy deadwood. While you’ll need to move to Windows RT for the most savings, even the traditional x86 versions of Windows 8 do away with some pointless legacy deadwood from Windows 7, including the ill-supported Desktop Gadgets. Good riddance.
Final Thoughts

I don’t know. Maybe I’m just too logical for the insane partisan blathering that passes for commentary in tech circles these days. But looking just at the desktop—you know, the part of Windows 8 that Microsoft supposedly ignored so it could focus on Metro—I see a Windows upgrade that is at least the equal of Windows 7. In fact, I think it’s a bigger upgrade.

And that’s before I’ve even discussed the best parts of Windows 8 yet. But I’ll do that soon, in the next installment of this review.
Zaelath wrote:
I bet a lot of people are grabbing a licence now to sit on the shelf, either hoping they'll relent on metro in SP1, or that they'll install if MS breaks Windows 7.
Yeah, I'm sure that's what's happening. :roll:

Keep dreaming up stuff conspiracy kooks.

Bottom line is Windows 8 is outselling Windows 7 and the OS is actually rock solid, impressive even. If it sucked, I'd say so. This the most happy I've ever been with a Windows upgrade. Effortless with impressive performance. The anti Metro comments are laughable.
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Re: Windows 8 Upgrade

Post by Siji »

Winnow wrote:
Zaelath wrote:In other news, Windows 8 is so good that Sinofsky is gone from MS after 23 years at the company: http://www.wired.com/business/2012/11/m ... -the-boot/
It happens to everyone. Google let go (or she "left") of one of the google founders recently. Apple let go (fired) two high level people two weeks ago. Nothing to see here.

Sounds like no one got along with the guy. High level pricks last much longer in companies than low level pricks.
You realize, you fucktard, the people at Apple were let go after complete failures in new versions of products they were involved with right? So uh, thanks for proving the point that Windows 8 is a failure.
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Re: Windows 8 Upgrade

Post by Winnow »

Sinofsky was unliked by his peers. Sounds like the other two high level execs in question were as well. It proves nothing except that maybe companies eventually get rid of assholes. Even Steve Jobs got canned so, again, it proves nothing except that you aren't very bright. Stick with whatever the guy behind the counter at your Wal-Mart recommends, unless that's you, which would explain things.
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