Is Windows 8 going to be a bust?

Feel free to give me a “great question” – I don’t much like being at 666 Lurve :P

@RandomMrAdam GA

Oh geez. I just got a laptop with Windows 7, I better not be made friggin’ obsolete again. Anyways, it’s nice, but I like the general look and set up of Windows 7 a little better. It’s easy to get around without being too minimalistic. Maybe I could learn to love it with time, though.

Windows lost me at Vista sorry, I went back to Mac and will never go back

Ballmer needs to be fired

There are already so many versions Windows why not make a tablet version. This strategy is like fucking a chicken. In the end you have a scrambled egg.

And Ballmer needs to be fired.

I’m disappointed, but this is the direction technology is heading in. I dropped Mac OS in part because the new versions of Mac OS seemed to indicate they were turning laptops into iPads and making it seem more like a tablet. Now Windows is switching to a tablet-oriented OS. I still like laptops. I don’t want a tablet. But it looks like I might not have much of a choice anymore :(

I agree that technology seems to be heading in the direction of touch-screen interfaces, but lets keep that separate from those who still want to use keyboard/mouse. I can only hope that Windows takes this interface and makes it the tablet version while making a non-tablet version of Windows 8 that is a bit more keyboard/mouse friendly. I am also not a fan of their migration from icons to tiles… :\

Windows 8 – We’ve brought the limitations of the web to your desktop

Hope you like it.

Windows hate(8) vs. windows heaven(7)? Based upon the laws of freakonomics and Microsoft’s usual success vs bust pattern, I’m guessing it won’t go well.

I actually am hoping that it does not go well and that will indicate that this tablet thing is just a fad or at least should be left to Apple and Android and hopefully, as a result, Windows 9 will be “back to normal”.

I can dream, can’t I?

It doesn’t look appealing to me, and I suspect that a lot of Windows users will complain. It reminds me of the Ubuntu Unity debacle. Of course, if you don’t like Unity you can switch back to the old interface. I doubt if Microsoft will offer its users such a choice.
I think that most Windows users will complain briefly and half-heartedly, and then go along with whatever Microsoft lays on them- if history is any indication.

Sadly, I think @koanhead is correct. Look how limited iOS is and yet look how popular it is.

People want limited, simple, fluffy Facebook/Twitter/Email OSs with no options and no control over it…ugh…I hate technology now. :( It already peaked… :P

@DominicX If you have control over it, it is less reliable and more prone to malware, so lock everything down and take away all the options and you’ll have the most popular OS in teh history of the Universe!

Seriously though, we have jumped the shark.

Who want to stop using windows and move to Linux?

@reijinni Sadly, many current versions of Linux have the same issue. Since Ubuntu went with Unity, I can’t stand it any more.

@reijinni Done!
Well, actually I never really started with Windows. I’ve never run Windows on one of my own computers except as a rare 2nd boot option, and I stopped dual-booting about 6 years ago.

Yes, some versions of Linux (all the Big Three, in fact) have shiny, annoying desktop interfaces by default (GNOME 3, KDE 4, and Unity are the ones I mean.) Of course, if you don’t like any of those, there’s XFCE, LXDE, Enlightenment, or many many others to choose from. Also most distributions offer GNOME 2 as a fallback option if your machine can’t handle GNOME 3 or Unity.
It’s not a perfect solution- arguably it’s not even a good one- but Windows offers you one desktop environment, and you can take it or leave it.

@jerv

The first thing I thought when I saw Unity was ”everything is going Tablet now”...I guess I’m going to have to ask for an iPad for Christmas :(

@DominicX , try to get your hand on a touchpad instead.

I will never choose to use Windows 8. Pretty much the only improvement over Windows 7 is that MS may start abandoning and sabotaging further in the future. The other changes are all negative, as far as I have seen.

* The new “Start Screen” is ridiculous unless you’re running it on a phone or tablet toy rather than a desktop.
* The other features are not actually features.

i.e.:
“From start to finish, we’ve reimagined Windows. It’s designed to work the way you do and keep you connected to the people, websites, and things you love most.”
= It’s got a dumbed-down phone-like UI in the way of the computer UI.

“Settings and apps come with you. Sign in to any of your Windows 8 PCs or tablets and instantly see your settings and get your apps. Buy them once, and use your apps on up to 5 PCs or tablets. Be instantly on and up-to-date with connected standby. Your mail and apps stay in sync and are ready when you are. Store your stuff on SkyDrive and access your mail, files, photos, videos, and more.”
= Microsoft wants you to re-buy Office and subscribe to a web-based storage service, and is trying to compete with Google Apps (and Ubuntu One, and others). They want you to think this is better than owning your software and installing and managing your file storage yourself. They want you to be dependent on their web-based services. They also think you will be fooled that it takes an entire new OS version to be able to do this, even though Google Apps offers this cross-platform with no OS required.

“Smooth and intuitive, the beautiful new Start screen gives you instant access to the things you care most about. Organize and customize it the way you want. Pin the people, sites, and things that matter most right on your Start screen, so you can stay in touch at a glance.”
= Or, use any version of Windows from 3.0 on, or any other OS from 1985 or later, and be able to make shortcut icons. Plus, when you don’t use Windows 8, you get to not have a stupid “Start Screen” in the way of your actual UI, because the desktop of other OS’ includes other features besides giant icons. WOw!

“Built on the rock-solid foundation of Windows 7 and even more secure with safer browsing, account protection, and parental controls. Your Windows 8 PC starts up quickly and apps run faster.”
= Ya, it’s almost as good as Windows 7 because it is Windows 7 with an annoying Start Screen plastered on top, and some new attempts to be secure (because Microsoft is SO good at making non-annoying security features). It even runs microscopically faster in MS benchmarks designed to let them say it runs faster! Especially when you run it on systems “designed for Windows 8” because those are newer systems.