Windows 8. Any Takers?

[N2NH]

It's about to come out. MicroSoft's Windows 8. Is there anybody who is going to upgrade?

Got an email from TigerDirect that upgrades from XP/Vista/Win7 are $59 (after rebates).

Win 7 works so well that I can't see the point. It also seems that every other upgrade stinks.

Win Me - Disowned by MS
XP - good
Vista- Sucked
Win 7- good
Win 8- ???

Wait and see, upgrade or wait for what comes next?

[KC9ECI]

I'll pass.

[kf0rt]

I'll pass.

Me too. Been playing with the Beta versions for awhile here and at work. It looks like the big deal is tablet / touchscreen compatibility (no interest here). Will definitely wait some time, first -- just to see if there might be a reason to switch. So far, I'm not seeing it.

[N1LAF]

Microsoft keeps the pattern going of sucking at every other OS version. Watch for heavy discounts.... and migration to Apple...

[WØTKX]

I might, just to upset the Windows Haters.

[n2ize]

Any takers ?? Not here... I haven't taken any version of Windows and I don't intend to start now. The few times I have no choice but to use Windows it was under protest. I even keep a Linux distro on a thumbdrive with a read/writeable file system so that when I get stuck on a Windows machine I can just plug in the Thumb drive and reboot.

[n6hcm]

not interested. this looks like another "everything you know is wrong" and i need to conserve my brain cells for more important stuff. they're trying to move to a tablet form factor for everything too fast.

[KG4CGC]

not interested. this looks like another "everything you know is wrong" and i need to conserve my brain cells for more important stuff. they're trying to move to a tablet form factor for everything too fast.

That and let us not forget, they want you and I to pay for the privilege to be their beta testers.

[NQ6U]

I might, just to upset the Windows Haters.

That's not going to upset any of us. We will merely chuckle at your folly.


they're trying to move to a tablet form factor for everything too fast.

It's not that they're doing it too fast, it's that they're doing it at all. The tablet form factor has it's place; that place is on a tablet. Unfortunately for Window users, Microsoft is trying cram it down the throats of it's desktop users. Currently, the most successful peddler of tablet computers is Apple. Note that they developed a tablet-specific OS for the iPad rather than try a one-size-fits-all like MS is attempting.

The possibility of another Vista-style debacle looms in Microsoft's future.

[WØTKX]

There are some minor performance improvements.
I do use Winders Phone, so I'm used to the tiles.

[W5GA]

I resisted any upgrades at all from XP until I wasn't left with a choice. Latest laptop is 7, and it works. Not much else can or needs to be said about it. I see no reason to move to 8 barring some quantum leap forward, and MS doesn't work that way.

[N1LAF]

That's not going to upset any of us. We will merely chuckle at your folly.



It's not that they're doing it too fast, it's that they're doing it at all. The tablet form factor has it's place; that place is on a tablet. Unfortunately for Window users, Microsoft is trying cram it down the throats of it's desktop users. Currently, the most successful peddler of tablet computers is Apple. Note that they developed a tablet-specific OS for the iPad rather than try a one-size-fits-all like MS is attempting.

The possibility of another Vista-style debacle looms in Microsoft's future.

I agree with this gentleman.

I have Win 8 beta loaded on VMware, and do not like it...

[VE7DCW]

I run XP on my desktop and love it.... absolutely no problems with it.I have Windows 7 on a netbook I use frequently although it is just the starter version,i'm not impressed enough to dabble with the full version.....I guess i'm using XP and Windows 7 starter until they're completely obsolete and force to use some other OS ..... Linux is the most attractive choice!

[NM5TF]

not only NO, but HELL NO!!!!

Vista was the impetus for me to abandon Windoze for good & switch to Linux...
I was perfectly happy with Windoze XP until I ordered a new Dell desktop in 2007
that came with Vista ( no choice of OS offered )...it finally got to the point that it
wouldn't even boot without going to BSOD....

having said that....I took a part time job in 2011 with a company that requires me
to take on-line H & S courses that only run under IE8 or IE9....they are NOT compatible
with Linux, so I had to go back to Win XP running inside Linux with a virtual machine...
BTW....XP now loads & runs faster than it ever did when stand-alone.....

[WØTKX]

I much prefer Windows 7 to XP. And Windows 8 server has been out for a while... it works well.

But I'm also kinda stuck with Winders on my fastest PC, to run my Flex 3000.
And I also run the N4PY software on my Pegasus and TS-850. That's slick.

Well, if I ever get time to hook the damn things up again. ;)

[KC9ECI]

I would be Linux only except I have some ham stuff that needs Windows. i.e. FlexRadio.

[n6hcm]

Note that they developed a tablet-specific OS for the iPad rather than try a one-size-fits-all like MS is attempting.

actually, macos x is trending toward ios ... they've already included gestures on the trackpad and are working toward walling in the macos x garden (with lion you have to go into a control panel to set the bit which allows you to install software that isn't signed ... this is enabled by default).

[NM5TF]

I would be Linux only except I have some ham stuff that needs Windows. i.e. FlexRadio.

you can run any Windoze program inside Linux with Virtual Box....try it...you'll like it!!!

[ad4mg]

you can run any Windoze program inside Linux with Virtual Box....try it...you'll like it!!!

On all my machines (except my laptop), I dual boot. With the insane capacities of modern hard drives, there is no excuse to not provide yourself a choice of operating systems. I need Windows to do my AutoCad work, so I have Windows x.xx available when needed. At all other times, I run some flavor of Linux, primarily Ubuntu.

Windows x.xx run inside a virtual machine has all the pitfalls of a conventional installation, plus, on most machines, a limited amount of RAM available. If you install Windows x.xx inside a VM and give it network access, you have to deal with the Microsoft Genuine Advantage validation issues. The only version of Windows I run in VirtualBox is Windows 2000. I highly doubt Microsoft is actively pursuing licensing enforcement on an OS this old, plus, it's a legitimate copy I bought long ago. I doubt many people actually purchase a licensed copy of Windows XP, Vista, or 7 to run inside a virtual machine.

WINE is getting better all the time, and offers a method of running most Windows apps without Windows.

As to Windows 8? No, thanks. The last Windows product I purchased was XP Pro. I bought 3 copies of that OS for machines I built.

[PA5COR]

XP-Pro and dual boot W7 here on the lappie.

[NY4Q]

I dropped Gates (Win 3.1) when I installed Slackware and started playing with it.

I've just repaired an Intel-based Mac that was given to me and I'm liking it. I use a Mac at work as well.

[n6hcm]

Windows x.xx run inside a virtual machine has all the pitfalls of a conventional installation, plus, on most machines, a limited amount of RAM available.

Only if you underconfigure your host. As memory gets cheaper there is less of a reason to do this.


If you install Windows x.xx inside a VM and give it network access, you have to deal with the Microsoft Genuine Advantage validation issues.

you have to validate when you install and that's it. i have several modern windows installations working this way (with valid licenses) without incident.

The only version of Windows I run in VirtualBox is Windows 2000. I highly doubt Microsoft is actively pursuing licensing enforcement on an OS this old, plus, it's a legitimate copy I bought long ago. I doubt many people actually purchase a licensed copy of Windows XP, Vista, or 7 to run inside a virtual machine.

true. i have technet so i have valid licenses--your mileage may vary. right now the fastest windows computer i have in the house is a VM running on my new mac book pro.


WINE is getting better all the time, and offers a method of running most Windows apps without Windows.

for most users who aren't as savvy as you WINE is a pain in the ass and not as consistent as running dual-boot or a VM.

[AE1PT]

I resisted any upgrades at all from XP until I wasn't left with a choice. Latest laptop is 7, and it works. Not much else can or needs to be said about it. I see no reason to move to 8 barring some quantum leap forward, and MS doesn't work that way.

Same here. I just made the upgrade to 7 Pro about this time last year. It was not that I was dissatisfied with XP--quite the contrary. The issue was running out of memory resources. At any given time I will have half a dozen spreadsheets, half dozen PDF docs under Acrobat, same number or more Word docs open; Outlook (numerous open mail & reply windows), Skype, MS Project, Visio, Access, Naturally Speaking, and a couple browser instances each chock full of tab windows... Right now most every bit of this is running and I am using about 4.9Gb of the 16Gb installed.

As stated, 8 appears to be targeted to the tablet audience. MS is strategically pushing their services "into the cloud", a marketing ploy that means the client paying to access programs on their servers... :snicker: So for that matter is everyone else. I am not going there either for a long time--as long as the reasonably latest versions can still be licensed in their entirety--I will do so. While tablets are pretty trendy to tote around--there is nothing that I need one for. Between my Droid and laptop the bases are covered.

A couple months back I bought an extra copy of Win 7 Pro OEM from Newegg--in preparation for next year's build and standing up of a new office workstation. Never know when MS starts pulling versions from the shelf...

[KG4NEL]

I see myself using 64-bit 7 for as long as I used XP.