A preview of Windows 8

Hi FC...Nice to see you're still around.

Win8 looks real great! Can't wait to test it...

A Bientot!

Looks interesting, although I have to admit I'm not a fan of some of the GUI elements - I guess it will just take some getting used to.

Just a reminder about the new Windows 8 forums too:

http://www.win8forums.com

I hop in, from time to time, when I need help or find something interesting Sadly, I wouldn't really consider myself a real member of this forum anymore.

@Ian, I have to agree. The Metro UI is really nice, but some things just don't look right. And honestly, an operating system where you can't open more than 2 apps side by side? Not my thing, when I've got an IDE, two browsers, a terminal and some chat clients all open at the same time. Hope Microsoft clears that up.

Nice forum though. I'll register some time soon, when we have more info about Windows 8. Didn't know about the XenForo forum software. How d'you find that? Looks pretty sleek.

I'm guessing they'll release a beta in a year or so

It could be within a few months. Seems that Windows 8 is moving along.

http://www.osnews.com/story/24454/Wi...September_2011

However, that's no guarantee of anything, but the OEM's have already had the code, as it's being developed. We'll be the last to get it.

http://www.geek.com/articles/news/wi...oems-20110330/

http://www.winrumors.com/microsoft-b...s-via-connect/

I hope that it's only offered as 64 bit, with a 128 bit option.

Cat

I am seriously underwhelmed by the Windows 8 UI. Watching three different design languages pass by in less than 10 seconds just screams of bad Ux, if not outright laziness.

Now, the Metro UI makes plenty of sense for a phone or a tablet. The human finger is sensitive and nimble, but let it never be said that it's an especially accurate pointer. This is why large icons and big tiles work so well on MIDs. Metro is not my personal preference, but it's an approachable and creative take on a modern tablet interface.

My cursor, however, is not a finger. It doesn't need 150px of padding between icons, or huge tiles, or cards, or anything else that works well for a tablet. Trying to scale the tablet UI upwards for a PC--and doing a frankly terrible job of trying to hide the legacy UI behind the glitzy curtain--is as miserable as trying to scale a desktop UI down to the tablet level.

It's the same mistake Microsoft made with Windows 7 tablets, except in reverse, and I want nothing to do with it.

I made the jump to XenForo after a series of vBulletin problems - it's a nice bit of forum software (and evolving fast). If you sign up you'll see some of the nice extras and handy ajax features. Shoot me a PM over there if you've got any questions on it .

If they are indeed hoping for a Q3/4 2012 release (as news reports suggest) then it can't be too long before we start to have something resembling a beta. Personally, I'd like to see a Windows 8 release date after 2012, as it seems only yesterday that Windows 7 came along (and it does a great job).

Totally agree with with your post - I'm trying to understand if the Metro UI is explicitly created for mobile devices, or if they are expecting it to run on a traditional desktop at all? Surely they can't expect the majority of users to use this on a non-mobile device. Seems strange to have a mix of GUIs like this - it's trying to get the best of both worlds, but perhaps a worse overall experience - i.e.: using standard Windows apps on a mobile device can't be too easy.

Personally, I'd rather have a tablet that runs with a GUI that's exclusively designed for touch input and a desktop OS that is designed for a mouse/keyboard. I can understand the reasoning for a hybrid, but I just don't think it will work as well as is hoped. Perhaps the tablet features aren't anywhere near as prominent on a desktop, and the Metro UI and associated apps are to be use overwhelmingly on a touch device (with the rest hidden away behind the scenes). It will be interesting to see how this develops.

Ironic that after creating a desktop OS for tablets, we've got a tablet OS for desktops .

Personally, I'd rather that the release of Windows 8 would occur after XP's support ends. It would only be an extra 18 months, and MS wouldn't have to actively support 4 OS's.

Windows 7 hasn't even hit it's peak yet, it's far from it. But from what I read, Win 8 is not competing with 7, but it's new features are needed for Windows based tablets to succeed. There will be other new features, such as built in virtualization or a sandbox, at the least.

Windows 8 will be a OS that's targeted at a particular group of users (tablet & VM users), and probably won't be as popular as Win 7 is. It may appeal to businesses who have yet to adopt Windows 7 from XP, but the masses will probably stick with 7.

That said, I'm ready to get my hands on the beta to see it myself.

Cat

Maybe hardware will evolve to match the software. Analog keyboards may disappear and wireless touch sensitive pads will be employed on a wider scale with more sophistication for sweeping actions.
The Apple Magic Mouse (which I don't particularly like) is a bit like that on a small scale.

Yes, there will be some hardware changes. Many of the computers that we now have, and still on the market, doesn't support all of Windows 8's features, but some of them.

http://liliputing.com/2011/06/micros...-features.html

This is another reason that many Win 7 users, especially those who bought new computers, may be reluctant to upgrade so soon. Secondly, everyone doesn't need (or want) a tablet computer. But some professionals, such a physicians, need these devices. I've been to 4 specialist doctors within the past 3 years, they all had tablet computers. So did the realtor who listed our former home for sale in 2006. More work can be accomplished with less humans, which is the way the corporate world works these days.

This eliminates the need for transcription in many cases. The doctors that I seen who used tablets didn't talk in those outdated pocket recorders, they typed in the info as they went, afterwards all that was needed was the printout of what was done, which most any of us can do.

There is a defined market for these type of computers. I can understand why MS needs to compete for that market, just as they did for us by offering Win 7.

Even XP had a tablet OS, which is probably what the doctors & realtor that I mentioned above used.

Cat