Weekend Open Forum: Will Windows 8 be worth buying?

Not one of those "upgrades" I have an interest in. And absolutely loath the ribbon UI. I'm very happy with Windows 7. Believe I'll be staying with that for quite a while.

OS DLC .... good one ... i will refrain from buying ..

two words: too fast.

If next improvement of windows os come together with an improved version of KINECT (as hardware) and has embedded api support for that, then it will success.

The IT industry needs something clever and revolutionary and something like that is not necessary hard in implementation.

I just hope the 3 year release cycle doesn't become a 1 year release cycle and then a half a year release cycle. Windows 8.5, 8.75 or whatever. Kinda like what Adobe does nowadays. You almost get to order an upgrade for CS 5.5 before you even get to try the CS 5 out properly.

They better put some more work to DX and development for Windows as it's still a pain in the arse.

I do not have the clue what to expect from it. I think when we have it, and after some time of usage, then we can give a comment to this post!

No need to buy it, I get all my OSes from P2P

Have to agree, whilst the OS has to have some effect, most PC are still using BIOS which is hugely outdated and is a massive drag on boot times. Use an SSD and UEFI and the boot times drop alot

@ tw0rld Businesses have to wait until they move to a new operating system, for all the security and reliability issues to be fixed. A lot of them are still running XP and Vista (well, most of them to be honest). Only after Win 7 SP1 did some of them make the transition. So a lot of time will pass until the transition is made to Windows 8.
Windows 8 will be mainly a consumer product for the first few years I will wait a couple of months and see the reviews, but most probably I will buy it too.

Yh, I'll buy it, Reason: Love having the latest stuff

I don't think there's an appetite for a new Windows OS right now. Win 7 did so well because there was a huge appetite for it, as XP was dated and fugly and Vista did not meet people's expectations. But with Windows 7 being so good and well liked, no one really wants to upgrade IMO. The only way they'll get people to move to 8 is if, as another poster said, they make DirectX 12 for Win 8 only. I mean really, ribbon menus? Who cares. A new theme? Who cares, there are plenty of tools available today to change the entire look of your OS or even replace explorer completely and customize your entire Windows experience. ARM cpu support? Again, who cares? The main version of Windows is a desktop/laptop OS, leave Windows Mobile for netbooks and smartphones.

I would buy Windows 8 if they would lower the prices for the full versions down to what you already pay for an upgrade version (I prefer not to buy upgrade versions as I like to start fresh with just one OS). Since I run Windows 7, it wouldn't make sense to me to upgrade to Win 8 as I am perfectly happy with Win 7 and also since I feel I paid a premium for a full version of the OS.

IF Microsoft decides to put back Audio Hardware acceleration in windows 8, I'll be in first line to buy it.
It's a plain shame what they did to windows vista/7 in the audio department, levelling audio quality by the crappy onboard audio market.

MS, give us HAL back!!!!

I am not sure it is a good idea to ask this question right now, as there is no beta in sight neither a list of 'new features' which will make their way into the new edition. Hence, I will rather wait until perhaps RC shows up, and make up my mind; until then Win7 is good enough to do everything I need to.

I have upgraded to every OS usually out of necessity and to support user laptops and computers. So yes I will be using 8 if for nothing else to get used to the OS and push it through it's paces. I am hoping it doesn't follow the ME or Vista Route and is actually a good upgrade but will let you know a couple weeks into the install maybe sooner.

Not when i only managed to afford Windows 7 a year or two ago (and with the fact that it's a great OS)

Then again, Win 8 might have some magic new must have features that Win 7 hasn't got...But i doubt it.

You can still legally do a clean install even with upgrade versions. This link is about Vista, but it worked for me for Windows 7 also. http://windowssecrets.com/newsletter/get-vista-upgrade-never-pay-full-price/

Like others have commented, 3 years is too soon for the average user. I guess for the masses who buy a new PC, it makes sense, since people like my parents and wife care not a whit (nore even know) what OS their machines run. I would also possibly consider it for a new build if i was still keeping the old machine around, but definitely will not be buying it for my current build.

OH, wait, the ribbon? Well, that changes everything!! I have been using Office 2007 since work upgraded to it two years ago, and I hated the ribbon immediately. But after using it and learning some of its quirks, I now hate it even more. This alone is a deal-breaker for me for any new OS, so I guess 7 is my last Microsoft one. I'll have to learn how to use linux and windows emulators to play my windows games.

Windows 7 will probably get another service pack or two so I'll probably stick with it for a while longer. At any rate, 2012 seems too soon for another new Windows version and the new features don't seem compelling enough at this point. I remember back when XP was newly released, I ran it on a dual boot setup with 98SE which was my favorite Windows OS. It wasn't until SP2 that I stopped running 98SE. Every Windows version usually takes a while to get settled.