Windows 8 for free

I've downloaded the Win 8 Dev Prev and installed it. The iso file was
too big for a standard DVD so I burned it to a dual-layer one.
I couldn't get VmWare to install it as a virtual machine so I put it on
a spare 250GB partition; and it occupies 18 GB at present.
It installed without a hiccup, ran first time and shows no problems.
There were 9 updates waiting in Win Updates which all went in fine; so
presumably I can continue to get all the updates as they become
available over the coming months. I've run IE and other programs, played
around a bit, looked at the games (the piano with Scott Joplin rags on
it is good). No problems, even though this desktop is a very standard
off-the-shelf box.

I now have the following setup;
Dual boot into Win8 or Win7; and inside Win7 virtual machines for XP,
Win98, Ubuntu, FreeBSD.

I don't know what use it is, but I find it more interesting than Sid
Meier's Civilisation.

Ed

In message <j5qkc1$4lr$>, Ed Cryer
<> writes:
>I've downloaded the Win 8 Dev Prev and installed it. The iso file was
>too big for a standard DVD so I burned it to a dual-layer one.
>I couldn't get VmWare to install it as a virtual machine so I put it on
>a spare 250GB partition; and it occupies 18 GB at present.
>It installed without a hiccup, ran first time and shows no problems.
>There were 9 updates waiting in Win Updates which all went in fine; so
>presumably I can continue to get all the updates as they become
>available over the coming months. I've run IE and other programs,
[]
Doesn't the "Prev" mean it'll expire eventually (presumably after the
real is released)?
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/<1985 MB++G.5AL-IS-P--Ch++(p)Ar@T0H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

Everything in moderation. Including moderation. - Billy Connolly('s website,
according to Radio Times, 14-20 February 2009)

On 27/09/2011 08:40, J. P. Gilliver (John) wrote:
> In message <j5qkc1$4lr$>, Ed Cryer
> <> writes:
>> I've downloaded the Win 8 Dev Prev and installed it. The iso file was
>> too big for a standard DVD so I burned it to a dual-layer one.
>> I couldn't get VmWare to install it as a virtual machine so I put it
>> on a spare 250GB partition; and it occupies 18 GB at present.
>> It installed without a hiccup, ran first time and shows no problems.
>> There were 9 updates waiting in Win Updates which all went in fine; so
>> presumably I can continue to get all the updates as they become
>> available over the coming months. I've run IE and other programs,
> []
> Doesn't the "Prev" mean it'll expire eventually (presumably after the
> real is released)?

No doubt, but so has Win98, and so will XP.

Ed

Ed Cryer wrote:

> I've downloaded the Win 8 Dev Prev and installed it. The iso file was
> too big for a standard DVD so I burned it to a dual-layer one.
> I couldn't get VmWare to install it as a virtual machine so I put it on
> a spare 250GB partition; and it occupies 18 GB at present.
> It installed without a hiccup, ran first time and shows no problems.
> There were 9 updates waiting in Win Updates which all went in fine; so
> presumably I can continue to get all the updates as they become
> available over the coming months. I've run IE and other programs, played
> around a bit, looked at the games (the piano with Scott Joplin rags on
> it is good). No problems, even though this desktop is a very standard
> off-the-shelf box.
>
> I now have the following setup;
> Dual boot into Win8 or Win7; and inside Win7 virtual machines for XP,
> Win98, Ubuntu, FreeBSD.
>
> I don't know what use it is, but I find it more interesting than Sid
> Meier's Civilisation.
>

I've just had a look at it on a desktop machine with keyboard and mouse.

I can't believe that it is intended to run on anything except a touchscreen
device. Either that or I have my set-up hopelessly wrong.

I have figured a way to use the system with a mouse, but I cannot believe it
is intended to be so difficult.

Firstly it boots to a screen showing time and date on a panoramic view of a
mountain range. It seems that I have to double click (or press the Esc key)
to get to the log on screen. Is this intentional ( for whatever reason) or
have I set something up wrongly?

Having logged on and got to a screen full of oversize icons, it appears that
I have to click on the desktop icon to get to familiar territory.

However if I click on one of the other icons, an application starts up in
full screen mode, with no windows borders or control buttons. Having tried
everything except Ctrl-Alt-Del, I finally discovered thet the "Windows" key
would toggle between the start page and the open app. I'm obviously missing
something here.

Finally, when it comes to shutting down the system, I cannot find a
straightforward way of doing this. I eventually discovered that putting the
mouse pointer in the bottom left corner of the screen brings up a small
menu, and that clicking on Settings then opens a pane on the right of the
screen where, among other things , a power button can be found.

I assume that there must be ways of customising Windows 8 to make it better
suited to a conventional desktop system.

Meanwhile I would be grateful if someone could point me in the direction of
a complete idiots guide to Windows 8.

--
John

Prev stands for Preview. At present the Win 8 is still in Alpha and has not moved to
the Beta stage yet. The Preview version is not a complete version by far and is
intended for a look\see. It has a built in kill switch which will deactivate the
Preview version after 6 months of use.

JS

On 26/09/2011 20:37, Ed Cryer wrote:
> I've downloaded the Win 8 Dev Prev and installed it.

{Pedant mode on} Its NOT "for free". Its either "for nothing" or "it's
free". "For Free" is meaningless. {Pedant mode off}

On Tue, 27 Sep 2011 16:42:40 +0100, John Aldred wrote:

> Ed Cryer wrote:
>
>> I've downloaded the Win 8 Dev Prev and installed it. The iso file was
>> too big for a standard DVD so I burned it to a dual-layer one.
>> I couldn't get VmWare to install it as a virtual machine so I put it on
>> a spare 250GB partition; and it occupies 18 GB at present.
>> It installed without a hiccup, ran first time and shows no problems.
>> There were 9 updates waiting in Win Updates which all went in fine; so
>> presumably I can continue to get all the updates as they become
>> available over the coming months. I've run IE and other programs, played
>> around a bit, looked at the games (the piano with Scott Joplin rags on
>> it is good). No problems, even though this desktop is a very standard
>> off-the-shelf box.
>>
>> I now have the following setup;
>> Dual boot into Win8 or Win7; and inside Win7 virtual machines for XP,
>> Win98, Ubuntu, FreeBSD.
>>
>> I don't know what use it is, but I find it more interesting than Sid
>> Meier's Civilisation.
>>
>
> I've just had a look at it on a desktop machine with keyboard and mouse.
>
> I can't believe that it is intended to run on anything except a touchscreen
> device. Either that or I have my set-up hopelessly wrong.
>
> I have figured a way to use the system with a mouse, but I cannot believe it
> is intended to be so difficult.
>
> Firstly it boots to a screen showing time and date on a panoramic view of a
> mountain range. It seems that I have to double click (or press the Esc key)
> to get to the log on screen. Is this intentional ( for whatever reason) or
> have I set something up wrongly?
>
> Having logged on and got to a screen full of oversize icons, it appears that
> I have to click on the desktop icon to get to familiar territory.
>
> However if I click on one of the other icons, an application starts up in
> full screen mode, with no windows borders or control buttons. Having tried
> everything except Ctrl-Alt-Del, I finally discovered thet the "Windows" key
> would toggle between the start page and the open app. I'm obviously missing
> something here.
>
> Finally, when it comes to shutting down the system, I cannot find a
> straightforward way of doing this. I eventually discovered that putting the
> mouse pointer in the bottom left corner of the screen brings up a small
> menu, and that clicking on Settings then opens a pane on the right of the
> screen where, among other things , a power button can be found.
>
> I assume that there must be ways of customising Windows 8 to make it better
> suited to a conventional desktop system.
>
> Meanwhile I would be grateful if someone could point me in the direction of
> a complete idiots guide to Windows 8.

I'll publish the complete idiot's (and non-idiot's) guide right here:

<GUIDE>
Don't get Windows 8.
</GUIDE>

That's based on my rather limited first impressions, very strongly
reinforced by your report.

BTW, thanks for that report.

--
Gene E. Bloch (Stumbling Bloch)

On Tue, 27 Sep 2011 18:31:25 +0100, Gordon wrote:

> On 26/09/2011 20:37, Ed Cryer wrote:
>> I've downloaded the Win 8 Dev Prev and installed it.
>
> {Pedant mode on} Its NOT "for free". Its either "for nothing" or "it's
> free". "For Free" is meaningless. {Pedant mode off}

{Non-pedant mode on} "For free" is normal colloquial American English.
{Non-pedant mode off}

I too have a pedant mode, which I am fighting hard to not engage right
now for your use of "its" above :-)

Feel free, or even "for free" :-), to ignore the above - I am not very
committed to it, and was just in a mood to rattle your chain a little
;-)

--
Gene E. Bloch (Stumbling Bloch)

On 27/09/2011 19:08, Gene E. Bloch wrote:
> "For free" is normal colloquial American English.
>
Don't care whether it's "normal" or not - it's still meaningless in any
type of English...

On Tue, 27 Sep 2011 19:26:34 +0100, Gordon wrote:

> On 27/09/2011 19:08, Gene E. Bloch wrote:
>> "For free" is normal colloquial American English.
>>
> Don't care whether it's "normal" or not - it's still meaningless in any
> type of English...

That's interesting, since I understood it effortlessly. At the time, I
didn't even realize that it was grossly incorrect, not to mention
meaningless.

--
Gene E. Bloch (Stumbling Bloch)