New Windows 8 Sparks Download Stampede

[webfact]

New Windows 8 sparks download stampede

Los Angeles - Microsoft may have a much welcomed hit on its hands if the initial reactions to its new Windows 8 operating system are anything to go by.

A developer preview version of the software was released Tuesday by the Seattle-based company and within 24 hours had already been downloaded 500,000 times, Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer said.

"The initial reaction has been all we have been hoping for," Ballmer told the BUILD developer conference in Anaheim California.

The new operating system is designed to run both PCs and tablets, and Ballmer said it was just the first stage in the company re-aligning itself for the post-PC world in which people increasingly use alternative devices like smartphones and tablets.

"Windows 8 is an important step of ... re-imagining Microsoft," Ballmer said during the second day of keynote addresses from the conference.

-- The Nation 2011-09-15

[Guest]

And how long before all the usual Microsoft bugs come to light? I'm waiting for Android for PCs.

[Siriam]

Microsoft... no thanks!

[thaimite]

More bugs, More hardware upgrades, More software updates required. Yet another learning curve for the new interface and programme updates, meaning more lost productivity

I'll stick to my Linux thank you. I have been MS free for nearly 2 years and loving every minute of it.

and Yes before you say I am biased but I believe with good reason

Edited September 15, 2011 by thaimite

[Tywais]

I'm downloading it now to check out under VMware.

[jybkk]

More bugs, More hardware upgrades, More software updates required. Yet another learning curve for the new interface and programme updates, meaning more lost productivity

I'll stick to my Linux thank you. I have been MS free for nearly 2 years and loving every minute of it.

and Yes before you say I am biased but I believe with good reason

You might have left MS at the wrong moment.

They got it right with win7... 2 years ago.

None of what you listed occured in this release: no new bugs, no huge security gap, backards compatible and an interface that can be "downgraded" for those not comfortable with change. Give it a try. I installed it 2 years ago as dual boot on an netbook. I don't think I've felt the need to fire up Ubuntu for more than a year now.

[thaimite]

More bugs, More hardware upgrades, More software updates required. Yet another learning curve for the new interface and programme updates, meaning more lost productivity

I'll stick to my Linux thank you. I have been MS free for nearly 2 years and loving every minute of it.

and Yes before you say I am biased but I believe with good reason

You might have left MS at the wrong moment.

They got it right with win7... 2 years ago.

None of what you listed occured in this release: no new bugs, no huge security gap, backards compatible and an interface that can be "downgraded" for those not comfortable with change. Give it a try. I installed it 2 years ago as dual boot on an netbook. I don't think I've felt the need to fire up Ubuntu for more than a year now.

You are right.

I probably did leave MS at the wrong time. 2 years too late.

However what is done is done.

Ubuntu does all I want, it's free, reliable, fast and does not require excessive hardware to get the best out of it.

It may not be the system for every one,but without competition from the likes of Ubuntu, Mint or many other Linux distros MS would not progress either.

[Tywais]

I'm downloading it now to check out under VMware.

An update. Tried to install under VMware 7.1 but got the new sad BSOD at the beginning of the install. A quick google search shows that VMWare 7 does not work with it but VMWare 8 Beta does. Also Virtualbox works and was able to install Win8 ok. Have to say it's going to take a lot to get used to the new paradigm and navigating around, but this is a developers preview window so it may not behave this way with the final RTM.

[hyperdimension]

I hope it's more than just gimmicky graphical user interface improvements (I'm definitely no Apple fan with it's silly visual effects). What matters more is performance, efficiency and reliability.

Edited September 16, 2011 by hyperdimension

[mosan]

Well, I loaded Win8 up yesterday and things were rocky at the start. This morning when I booted up, everything is working fine. I did not do a clean install as was suggested, and the system seems to have figured out where everything is with the exception of Synaptics' pointing device software--went to explorer, loaded it up, and it's working great now. The start screen has added a lot of tools that didn't show up yesterday, but this may be because I went into control panel late last night and turned on "Administrative Tools". I had a little trouble switching between Metro and Legacy interfaces, but after clicking on the "Desktop" tile when in the Metro view, the system takes you to the Legacy interface. Clicking the start button in the Legacy view switches you back into Metro view. everything seems to be pretty stable now. All of my Win7 software is working fine, including my CAT Telecom 3G dongle (Nortel Wireless MC760). Incidentally, I'm running a HP mini 210 Netbook with 2 Gigs of RAM and 160 Gig hard drive, Logitech Wireless keyboard and mouse combo with video out to a 26" Samsung LCD TV.

I'll chime back in if I find any showstoppers.

[FarangBuddha]

First thing I thought when I saw that Win8 logo was Google Chrome!!!

So MSFT is cribbing from OSX and GOOG now...pathetic!

[negreanu]

What matters more is performance, efficiency and reliability.

I thought it was windows we were talking about :)

[Gary A]

You Linux fan boys are as bad as the Apple fan boys. Linux will NOT do everything. I bought my wife a new Acer lap top after the main-board on my Lenovo died for the second time. It came with Linux installed and none of her English learning programs worked. She is now happily using her English programs with Windows 7 Pro.

I was able to download the trial version of Windows 7 on my desk top before buying it. I skipped Vista and used Windows XP until I found that Windows 7 suited me.

If it has a blue screen of death, I have never seen it.

[Tywais]

A subforum for Linux fanboys was created sometime ago to stop or minimize the bickering that went on between OS groupies. This topic is about Win8 and not Linux so keep it on topic.

[Tywais]

Appears it is going to be a big learning curve for this release.

As it turns out, even on a laptop the user experience is rooted in that Metro-inspired layout, and ignoring it isn't an option. We first realized this when we clicked the Start Menu, wanting to search for some app or file. Instead, clicking Start whisks you straight into Metro-land. We can't overstate how huge this is. We avail ourselves of the search bar in Windows 7 about as often as we Google miscellaneous tidbits. It's something we do unconsciously at this point, and while we did start to master the learning curve after just a few hours of hands-on time, we felt ourselves making a concerted effort to circumvent the problem using keyboard shortcuts.

In fact, this might be a good time to mention that you'll be using shortcuts a lot in Windows 8 -- sometimes out of necessity, and sometimes to compensate for what would otherwise be a tedious ordeal of leaping from the desktop to lives tiles and back. After sampling several shortcuts, we decided our favorite way to search for something is to click the Start button and then, once you're inside the Metro UI, simply start typing. You don't need to start typing inside a search field, mind you, but once you start writing you'll see one appear on the right side of the screen. Other ways to circumvent the search conundrum include pressing Ctrl-F or (a more circuitous option) hitting Ctrl-C to bring up the settings menu on the desktop, where you'll find system search, among other things.

In other scenarios, too, the OS feels shockingly unfamiliar. It's not obvious enough how to shut down the PC or put it to sleep. You can't press the Escape key to exit programs, although you can use it to leave the Start screen and return to the app you were last using. To leave an app, you have to press the Start button -- a process not unlike tapping the home button on a phone to minimize what ever app you have open. Funny how something that's become second nature for us on the mobile side feels so unnatural when we try it on a desktop.

Windows 8 on a laptop

[Phil Conners]

I installed Win8 in a Virtualbox VM a couple of days ago and just had time to check it out today. I don't like the new Metro interface. It might be handy on a tablet, but on a standard PC it makes no sense. I hope it'll be an optional interface, otherwise I think a lot of PC users will either stick with Win7 or move to something else.

[JetsetBkk]

I installed Win8 in a Virtualbox VM a couple of days ago and just had time to check it out today. I don't like the new Metro interface. It might be handy on a tablet, but on a standard PC it makes no sense. I hope it'll be an optional interface, otherwise I think a lot of PC users will either stick with Win7 or move to something else.

I think a lot of PC users will stick with XP.

[Crushdepth]

I hope that's not the official logo.

[Phil Conners]

I installed Win8 in a Virtualbox VM a couple of days ago and just had time to check it out today. I don't like the new Metro interface. It might be handy on a tablet, but on a standard PC it makes no sense. I hope it'll be an optional interface, otherwise I think a lot of PC users will either stick with Win7 or move to something else.

I think a lot of PC users will stick with XP.

I'm actually quite pleased with Win7 at this time. Good 64-bit support and the couple of times when it's gone belly-up on me it was possible to boot from a rescue disk and save the install - unlike with XP where I never manged to rescue a hosed install.

[Crushdepth]

Compared to previous versions, Windows 7 is excellent. I have never seen the BSOD and frankly its way more stable than my Linux desktops. Really.

[JetsetBkk]

I installed Win8 in a Virtualbox VM a couple of days ago and just had time to check it out today. I don't like the new Metro interface. It might be handy on a tablet, but on a standard PC it makes no sense. I hope it'll be an optional interface, otherwise I think a lot of PC users will either stick with Win7 or move to something else.

I think a lot of PC users will stick with XP.

I'm actually quite pleased with Win7 at this time. Good 64-bit support and the couple of times when it's gone belly-up on me it was possible to boot from a rescue disk and save the install - unlike with XP where I never manged to rescue a hosed install.

It's good to hear that the Win7 rescue disk actually works! I take another approach - I do system images every week on my XP machine.

The only thing I can't fix is when the disk space mysteriously creeps up and up and I decide to do a reinstall to fix it. But that happens only every 2-3 years so it's not such a big deal.

I've used Win7 for a long time on a mate's PC. I don't like [read: extremely fokking pissed off] with some of the stupid bugs in Windows Explorer, such as this one: http://cnanney.com/video/win8-jump-bug/

Rumour has it that that particular bug is still present in Windows 8.

When I get my new PC I might give W7 or W8 a go, but I think I'll be installing XP eventually as I can simply get on and do stuff. It surprises me how much time people are willing to spend learning how to do stuff with a new operating system. I just want to get on and use the computer.

[Phil Conners]

Hm, yes I see the bug, but it seems a pretty obscure issue to me. Not something I've even noticed before. If it's really a problem what about downloading an explorer-replacement, there are plenty of them around?

I didn't feel there was much of a learning curve with W7 over XP. A few things changed places but I quickly learned where to find stuff, and the added stability and 64-bit support is well worth it for me.

[Supernova]

I installed Win8 in a Virtualbox VM a couple of days ago and just had time to check it out today. I don't like the new Metro interface. It might be handy on a tablet, but on a standard PC it makes no sense. I hope it'll be an optional interface, otherwise I think a lot of PC users will either stick with Win7 or move to something else.

The interface will be switchable between Metro and classic; I remember hearing an MS developer talking about this in one of the videos showcasing Windows 8.

To disable 'Metro' in the Developer Preview:

1. Open "regedit.exe"

2. Navigate to: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer

3. Look for value named RPEnabled

4. Change data to "0" (zero)

5. Reboot.

Alternatively, paste to Notepad and save as ".reg" file.

Disable Metro UI

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer]
"RPEnabled"=dword:00000000

Enable Metro UI

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer]
"RPEnabled"=dword:00000001

[JetsetBkk]

Hm, yes I see the bug, but it seems a pretty obscure issue to me. Not something I've even noticed before. If it's really a problem what about downloading an explorer-replacement, there are plenty of them around?

I didn't feel there was much of a learning curve with W7 over XP. A few things changed places but I quickly learned where to find stuff, and the added stability and 64-bit support is well worth it for me.

I use the navigation panel to navigate my hard drive so it's a real pain. Seems like MS don't want people to use it. There is a massively long thread about it here, at answers.microsoft.com: http://j.mp/oJznrQ

And to be honest - with no criticism intended - I am amazed at how many people don't notice it or aren't affected by it. For me, as soon as I started to use Win7 I wondered what the h3ll was going on - why wasn't I seeing what I was expecting to see in Explorer and why did I keep having to use the scroll bar to get the folders back in view. I found it so intensely annoying and that it has tainted my view of Win7 ever since.

And now it's in Win8.

re. the learning curve: I found just about everything had moved, changed name or been grouped somewhere else.

I don't like the way after opening an item in Control Panel, e.g. networking, there are links all over the place - top left, bottom left, bottom right. It makes no sense to me to force people to look around for what might be the link they are looking for.

The much improved search facility for commands was clearly added because no one could find what they wanted.

Thank God for GodMode: http://j.mp/njUcx9

[Phil Conners]

^ So do I, but it just really never bothered me.

Thanks for the Godmode link, handy!