Windows 8 discussion

[Marnomancer]

The whole thing is bass ackwards, the user should CHOOSE to open "Metro", not have some fool at M$ choose it for him.

The moral of the story is, everybody goes into the program folder, and creates a second shortcut to place them into the program where they want to be, not where Adobe herds them.

While it seems like apples and oranges, it really isn't. M$ is herding you to a place where they're trying to convince how, hip, cool, and "with it", they are.

Wake me up when you can buy a good fifty dollar voice stress analyzer, and Dragon's "Naturally Speaking" is , oh, about on version 30.01.` Then I won't need touch screen, or anything else, I can just talk to my desktop. Besides, I thought that was pretty much the end game for communicating with computers anyway.

True...

 

[SNGX1275]

Good post CC, I agree.

I suspect that there has been enough backlash about Metro (and there was a lot even before the CP) that MS will have it be an option in the full release of 8. There are a lot of positive changes with processor usage and memory management in 8, and it would be a shame for those to be ignored because the first thing you see is an interface that most desktop users don't care for.

 

[jmjsquared]

I suspect that there has been enough backlash about Metro (and there was a lot even before the CP) that MS will have it be an option in the full release of 8.

They have to.

By the time you started this discussion, the earlier DP had already generated so much consternation that I was convinced Microsoft was shrewdly using us as a "focus group" -- far beyond usual beta-testers. The number of third-party "tweakers" had been so huge and so immediate, that there is simply no way the Final Release will not include many/most of those changes or, at the very least, the ability to toggle interfaces.

Reading thru this thread, one sees many open-minded 'purists' attempting to make the most of this Metro paradigm shift, only to resort to DOS-day keyboard shortcuts, ad hoc quick-launch folders, quick-launch bars, etc., just to be able to work as they had become accustomed.

My tea leaves tell me that Microsoft will hit a towering home run because the Final of the faster, more resource efficient Windows 8 will be easily switchable from the familiar for work desktop to the playtime Metro UI. It scales so beautifully from my 7" to 32" displays, that it is poised to take a serious run at the Android OS' dominance of mobile-device deployment simply because the 'consumer' will find it familiar AND cool while business will be able to move more seamlessly from the office to on-the-go without loss of compatibility, security, etc.

 

[Marnomancer]

They have to.

By the time you started this discussion, the earlier DP had already generated so much consternation that I was convinced Microsoft was shrewdly using us as a "focus group" -- far beyond usual beta-testers. The number of third-party "tweakers" had been so huge and so immediate, that there is simply no way the Final Release will not include many/most of those changes or, at the very least, the ability to toggle interfaces.

Reading thru this thread, one sees many open-minded 'purists' attempting to make the most of this Metro paradigm shift, only to resort to DOS-day keyboard shortcuts, ad hoc quick-launch folders, quick-launch bars, etc., just to be able to work as they had become accustomed.

My tea leaves tell me that Microsoft will hit a towering home run because the Final of the faster, more resource efficient Windows 8 will be easily switchable from the familiar for work desktop to the playtime Metro UI. It scales so beautifully from my 7" to 32" displays, that it is poised to take a serious run at the Android OS' dominance of mobile-device deployment simply because the 'consumer' will find it familiar AND cool while business will be able to move more seamlessly from the office to on-the-go without loss of compatibility, security, etc.

I second that.
That being said, as SNGX said, we have yet to see the final release. Maybe we won't have anything to complain about by then? Fingers crossed.

 

[jmjsquared]

Good people forgive our mistakes but no one forgets our cruelty.

Please use the "edit" button wisely and quickly.

 

[Marnomancer]

Done. I'll be more careful now on.

 

[jmjsquared]

That being said, as SNGX said, we have yet to see the final release. Maybe we won't have anything to complain about by then? Fingers crossed.

You the Man.
Finger-crossing not necessary: I'm so sure they'll greatly improve the Metro-cious interface that, if I'm wrong, dinner is on me for you and your BGF.

MacDonalds, Taco Bell, Wendy's, ....

 

[Marnomancer]

I'd bet you're right. I'd also rather have an option to switch interfaces. Such a sudden transition can be difficult.
P.s.: I prefer KFC.

 

[captaincranky]

Good people forgive our mistakes but no one forgets our cruelty..

In fact, I've always counted on it.... :haha:

 

[jmjsquared]

In fact, I've always counted on it.... :haha:

+1 - My mistakes are so numerous that I have rubber stamps that read, "Pardon me", I'm sorry", "Oops", etc., etc. 'Sides, I don't think you're all that cranky; you just want a hug! That's why it's so easy for me to forgive your leaving out a "t" in your signature.

 

[Marnomancer]

+1 - My mistakes are so numerous that I have rubber stamps that read, "Pardon me", I'm sorry", "Oops", etc., etc. 'Sides, I don't think you're all that cranky; you just want a hug! That's why it's so easy for me to forgive your leaving out a "t" in your signature.

Hmmm...I'm heading to the stationary shop first thing tomorrow. I seriously need those!

 

[captaincranky]

That's why it's so easy for me to forgive your leaving out a "t" in your signature.

Hm, that's odd. I thought there was one too many. I couldn't find a Latin conjugation table for "salutare".

The slogan I'm paraphrasing has been printed as, "salutamos", ("amos", is still relevant as the first person plural in Spanish), and "salutant". However, "tant" as a conjugation, doesn't occur in modern Spanish. Could it be first person plural future subjunctive....? Who knows? As long as the meaning doesn't get obscured by this discrepancy, I'm good.....

BTW, I'm way too old for a simple hug to cure what ails me. Not that it wouldn't help at all, But think more along the lines of money changing hands, and requests for acts that possibly might even not be well received by a working professional.

Or, it could be I simply missed the joke...

 

[Poppa Bear]

What is it?

Windows 8: Is it a bird? Is it a plane? Well it's certainly not Superman! When I first booted into Windows 8 Metro I thought I was having a kaleidoscopic nightmare, and had switched on my Sony Ericsson Android iPhone by mistake. I almost tried to phone someone in the confusion but couldn't find the phone pad icon!

Could it be Microsoft are economizing by trying to have one platform for their Desktop, Laptop, Notepad, Tablet and iPhone products? Hmmmmm?

I've been a loyal follower from Win98, Win98 2nd Ed, XP Home Upgrade, XP Pro, Vista Ultimate and Win7 Ultimate. But Win8 is out of control. :blackeye:

Time to consider Apple Mac, LInux, or whatever!

 

[captaincranky]

Windows 8: Is it a bird? Is it a plane? Well it's certainly not Superman! When I first booted into Windows 8 Metro I thought I was having a kaleidoscopic nightmare, and had switched on my Sony Ericsson Android iPhone by mistake. I almost tried to phone someone in the confusion but couldn't find the phone pad icon!

If ever a Windows version cried out for a picture of the airplanes hitting the World Trade Center set as wallpaper, this would be it.

A bit too squeamish for that? The next best wallpaper pic, would be the Hindenburg's final docking at Lakehurst, NJ

Could it be Microsoft are economizing by trying to have one platform for their Desktop, Laptop, Notepad, Tablet and iPhone products? Hmmmmm?

The short answer is an emphatic, "YES". Although you did forget to include "imbeciles" in your list of target implementations.

 

[Poppa Bear]

If ever a Windows version cried out for a picture of the airplanes hitting the World Trade Center set as wallpaper, this would be it.

A bit too squeamish for that? The next best wallpaper pic, would be the Hindenburg's final docking at Lakehurst, NJ

The short answer is an emphatic, "YES". Although you did forget to include "imbeciles" in your list of target implementations.

The idea came to mind of a desktop pic of the final moments of the Titanic that "couldn't be sunk". The word titanic seemed to correlate fairly accurately to Microsoft's self-assessment of indestructibility beyond the consumers' preferences.

I asked a few of the Microsoft "purist" justifiers of the new system if they could define the noun "imbecile", but they said it was too confusing to understand my question. They went on to say that imbecile was missing from the thesaurus in Office Word; and that perhaps it was a verb not a noun! One respondent thought it was a synonym of "purchaser of Microsoft products"! I think he meant antonym! :haha:

 

[SNGX1275]

Figured I'd give solitaire a shot. Its too much for this system. Why they need a demanding game of solitaire I don't know, but the sound glitches and the video is really laggy. Not a good playing experience.

I thought I had an nvidia 6200 in this system. Turns out I had a FX5200.

Today, I was thinking that maybe I'll put a non HP OEM PSU into this so I can make use of my 7800GS AGP card. When I discovered I was using a FX5200 and not the 6200 I thought I'd put the 6200 in and see if there is a difference.

Well that was the start of about 30 minutes of frustration. I put the 6200 in and booted up. Immediately noticed screen corruption on the splash screen. The little dots that move in a circle made 1 revolution and then I started getting corruption. Shortly after that it rebooted. Next boot made it a bit further then rebooted again. Next reboot I got to the boot menu screen, selected Windows 8 and a few seconds later it rebooted. I attempted to do the F8 trick to boot into VGA mode, but that has been removed from Windows 8.

So, I had to remove the 6200 and put the FX5200 back in. That worked, and I then uninstalled through device manager. Put the 6200 back in and it booted up fine. Even had drivers (as quoted above, 8 didn't detect the FX5200). This was all likely a result of me breaking a cardinal rule of working on computers - I put the side back on the case and screwed it in before testing to make sure it worked.
...
Next up was Solitaire. Yep, its still unplayable. I'd say its marginally better with this card (although WEI score disagrees) but it still is too laggy to play. I'm not sure yet whether or not I'll put the 7800GS in, seems like its a waste of power unless I'm going to do some light gaming on this. But curiosity might get the better of me and I'll go ahead and do it.

Now with the 6200:

Windows 8: 3.4, 4.4, 3.2, 3.2, 5.3

A suspicion that my HD issues (mentioned earlier but not quoted here) were PSU related, and that I had that expensive 7800GS just lying next to me, staring at me... I decided to change the PSU and put in the 7800GS (PSU installation into this HP Pavilion was a nightmare).

Figured since this thread has said about as much as it will say with impressions, I'd just update with some info.

With the 7800GS and new PSU installed. WEI score is still the same (not surprising because it takes the lowest). But graphics went up from 3.2 to 5.9 gaming graphics went up from 3.2 to 5.2. Solitaire is also playable! It still alludes me why MS thinks their version of solitaire needs a good graphics card to play, but it plays fine now.

 

[captaincranky]

With the 7800GS and new PSU installed. WEI score is still the same (not surprising because it takes the lowest). But graphics went up from 3.2 to 5.9 gaming graphics went up from 3.2 to 5.2. Solitaire is also playable! It still alludes me why MS thinks their version of solitaire needs a good graphics card to play, but it plays fine now.

I kind of like the fireworks displays and card dealing graphics on the Vista/ Win7 "Spider Solitare" game.

How ever, M$ trashed the game coding itself. One operation has to be completed, before the next can begin. In XP, you can move cards to complete a stack, while the last rack is compiling at the bottom. Not so with Win 7. You just gotta wait. It takes all the fun out of lining them all up with one move to go, then getting rid of the cards all at once.

When M$ went from "Flight Simulator 2004", to "Flight Simulator X", all the game junkies with really high end machines were complaing how much hardware it took to run. Hell, "FS 2004" will run on Intel 915 IGP, and look as good as it's ever going to. (Or thereabouts).

 

[Archean]

For anyone who'd like to revive the start button here is a guide at techrepublic. It can't be termed as 'real' start menu, but it gives users an alternative without having to resort to a third party utility.

 

[Doctor John]

So far, it seems remarkably like Win7 with a different GUI stuck on, I think I'll be with XP/7/Linux for a while yet.

 

[zachapre]

i need HELP!

I tried installing the windows 8 consumer preview on a new 75 GB partition a created. For some reason, Acer formatted the hard drive as MBR on an UEFI mobo. Windows can't do that, apparently. is there any way to do this without a hard drive reformat? (deleting all the data)?
not familiar with hard drive and boot stuff very much, so small words are good!

I ran into a similar problem with installing Vista. This is what I had to do...
*Note: this will delete your data but this is the easiest/best way possible.

-When you reach the screen with your current partitions (where it asks you where to install Windows) press SHIFT + F10
-This brings up a terminal now type: DISKPART
-Now type: LIST DISK
-Now type: SELECT DISK <disk number> ... where disk number is the the number of the disk (NOT the partition) If you only have one HDD in your computer than it is disk 0
-Now type: SELECT PARTITION <partition number> (the number of the partition you want formatted)
-Now type: CLEAN (wipes data on partition) give it a few seconds then...
-Type: CONVERT GPT

That's it

 

[Archean]

6 Ways to Totally Avoid Metro and Use Only Desktop Mode in Windows 8

Self explanatory, so enjoy.

 

[Tmagic650]

I've had a dual boot Windows 7, Windows 8CP both 64-bit for about 2 months now. Other than I can't set up Outlook as my email client, and Windows 8 navigation is a bit clumsy using a mouse over a touch screen, I find that all my programs work pretty well. I use Microsoft Security Essentials as my AV and malware protection, and I use a temp file cleaner from Oldtimer. I have to slam the mouse pointer over to the bottom right-hand corner of the desktop, to bring up the navigation bar, and the start page icon disappears in the left-hand corner when I try to click on it. Windows 8 installs faster and runs faster than Windows 7 on the same hardware. The video seems brighter and sharper too...
I did get the start screen to finally come up properly, and Archean's tip on avoiding the Metro works well

 

[Mictlantecuhtli]

Meh, I tried it a couple of times on this computer, couldn't even install, just got the screen about DPC_WATCHDOG_VIOLATION.

 

[oldikes]

I ran into a similar problem with installing Vista. This is what I had to do...
*Note: this will delete your data but this is the easiest/best way possible.

-When you reach the screen with your current partitions (where it asks you where to install Windows) press SHIFT + F10
-This brings up a terminal now type: DISKPART
-Now type: LIST DISK
-Now type: SELECT DISK <disk number> ... where disk number is the the number of the disk (NOT the partition) If you only have one HDD in your computer than it is disk 0
-Now type: SELECT PARTITION <partition number> (the number of the partition you want formatted)
-Now type: CLEAN (wipes data on partition) give it a few seconds then...
-Type: CONVERT GPT

That's it

hm, that will only do a partition, not the whole disk right?

 

[Omnificent]

Very cool, I hope to have windows 8 some day if I can get it for next to nothing. W7 looks and performs fine for me really. I had to buy old ram once and my was it pricey! Should stay moderately priced.