Windows 8

[Willapp]

I had it running on my laptop for about 3 weeks but have just gone back to Windows 7. Is Windows 8 terrible? Not really. Does it offer any compelling reasons to upgrade right now? Not as far as I could tell.

Once you get out of the (pretty pointless on a non-touch device) Metro mode and back to the 'normal' desktop it basically functions much the same as Windows 7. In the 3 weeks I was using it, there was only two benefits I could see (and "benefit" is a pretty loose term here):

1) Boot from a cold start was a couple of seconds quicker (to the login prompt) than Win 7, and that's with an i7 quad-core with SSD.

2) When you copy files you get a nice snazzy graph showing you the transfer rate.
(Yes I said benefit was tenuous.)

Why did I switch back? Truthfully I was having problems getting my shiny new 27" IPS monitor running at native 2560x1440 over HDMI and whether by luck or something else, I managed to fix it on Windows 7 whereas I couldn't on Windows 8 (probably just a driver issue).

My advice would be to wait a while and see if anything does come out which actually is better on Windows 8, otherwise just stick with 7 until the next version...

 

[Sysman]

Wait until SP1 comes is my idea, though I might grab a cheap download copy of Win8 Pro at $40 before the end of January:

Windows 8 Pro costs $40 if you're running XP, Vista, or 7

El Reg: I just LOVE Server 2012, but count me out on Windows 8 for now

 

[VectraMan]

It's for tablets, obviously, and if you don't have one the rest of it probably won't make a lot of difference to you (though I did quite like the ribbon interface on Explorer). They're somewhat confusing the market by calling it Windows 8, which obviously suggests it's the successor to Windows 7. Bad Microsoft.

Having said that, for £40 I'm tempted to buy an upgrade just for testing purposes.

The interesting question is whether laptops (and even desktop monitors) will now sprout touchscreens, despite the previous 20 years suggesting nobody cared very much about touchscreens*. If that happens, MS could be on to a real winner.


*Note to fanbois.Steve Jobs did not invent the "touch screen".

 

[d000hg]

Yeah, it seems a bit unlikely but if MS could "do an Apple" and make existing but previously unpopular hardware mainstream, they could be back on top.

 

[Sysman]

Win8 sales get a disappointing start?

 

[d000hg]

Why would you queue for W8? Nobody even queues for OS X.

 

[Sysman]

Teething problems

Teething problems

Windows 8 Tip: Photos App + Library

Also reports of UAC elevation being flaky.

Wait for SP1?

 

[ctdctd]

Just installed it on my 5 year old Dell desktop Vista PC as a clean install on a new SSD.

Used a £15 upgrade install from a W7 64 bit laptop I got earlier this year - downloaded from the Windows Upgrade Assistant and burnt an iso for the install.

Install worked with no errors. Am not convinced by the new interface but have installed StartX to give me a Start button while I play with it. Start up / Shutdown way faster.

All apps have installed fine - including the Steam backup of all my games. It comes with Windows Defender so have not bothered with 3rd party AV for now.

So, as a cheap way of retiring Vista, it looks good so far!