It's Official: Windows 8 RTM Scheduled for August

[Wamphryi]

Let’s imagine for a moment that Win 8 is just another variant of the same old that has been around since 95. It has been proven that every OS released by MS to date does not play well on Tablets or Smartphones. That is a fact.

We have the Console, the Smartphone and the Tablet lined up against the PC and the Laptop. The PC has been King to date because it could do everything its competition could do but better with the exception of phone calls and the PC even does that with VOIP and Skype. Mobility requirements have been addressed with the portable and versatile laptop.

Yet the other platforms have caught up and do what they do very well for the most part. Android and OSX made Tablets and Smartphones mainstream. The PC is now under threat as top dog. Yet the PC still has one major card up its sleeve and MS is now about to play it. MS are best positioned to cross platforms in a way Google and Apple are not or at least not yet.

Thanks to MS the PC is adapting to the other platforms. That means changing what the PC is at an OS level. Tablets are here as are Smartphones as is Cloud Computing. If MS did not embrace these technologies then what would that actually mean? The PC could be reduced to the bland business machine it was before the age of multimedia. What would NVIDA do then? Would it focus on GPU’s for PC Gamers or CPU’s and GPU’s for Tablets? If that occurred then gaming would be lost to the PC as programmers focused on the lucrative consumer platforms.

There are a multitude of reasons as to why there is so much more at stake over Win 8 than a Start Button. The PC must be relevant and versatile and Win 8 places the PC at the centre of every available platform. The alternative is to wake up to find ourselves as a niche market and largely ignored in a world dominated by Apple.

Yet there are many who argue against change and deride the fact that the core OS of the PC can now function well across a variety of platforms and match Apple on integration. Even as it does this Win 8 still retains the core desktop experience but that is nothing in the face of the removal of a Start Button and the addition of a GUI to an existing GUI model. I see Win 8 as the answer the PC needs to retain and reinforce its dominance.

 

[blazorthon]

[citation][nom]ricdiculus[/nom]As someone else already pointed out, all the things you mentioned could just as well have been done with a service pack, which hardly warrants a new release for the hole os. As far as i can tell, there is a minimal increase in performance, offset by one big step backwards in the gui. I would way rather opt for traditional windows in my work enviroment as well as entertainment on my htpc rig (Oh, and thanks for killing media center as part of the os, just awesome) then some android like tablet os designed to take some of the i-crowd back from apple. Win8 might be great on a phone, but has no business on a proper pc.[/citation]

... Then don't use Metro... Not a hard thing to do on Windows 8 once you install a start menu, except for when you log in and click on the desktop shell. Regardless, a new Windows OS is due and a although most of the changes could have been made in a service pack, there were so many that this would have been kinda impractical. Besides, MS wants more money, so of course they'll milk it out of us. Technically, if MS wanted to, they could make all new Windows versions mere service packs, but then they would get less money.

 

[blazorthon]

Linux is already a viable gaming platform for those whom care to try it properly.

you mean if people have the time to configure, compile and try to get wine to work for every specific game lol

Its usually not too difficult nor time-consuming, most certainly not so much as your post implies.

 

[icemunk]

It's Official: Windows Vista 2 is scheduled for August.

 

[Manos]

[citation][nom]xaephod[/nom]Still not going to get Windows 8. I heard that Stardock brought back the Start button and kudos to them. If there is a reason to upgrade, please let me know. As of now, I see no reason to move to Windows 8 at all.[/citation]

The whole OS even if some DONT want to gett i is like moving from Vista to 7. You liked the change? Snapier, easier on the PC and better performance in games. Well Windows 8 is WAY more than just a damn start button that everyone is bitching and moaning about.. and its hilarious. Makes even old PCs seem like they work on XP -.- Not even 7 couldnt manage that. Im using Windows 8 many months now... I went back to 7 a week ago cause Steam wasnt opening a specific game for me in 8 for some reason. everything else worked perfectly fine :/

 

[sslapikas]

Start menu.. it is gone and you will have to live with it. Do not be lazy and try to learn new UI as (I think) MS will just move forward with it. Eventually you will have to learn and use it if you want to upgrade to next Windows version after 8, unless you will stick with Win7 forever. Do not discard something just because it is new, you do not know how to use it and you are too lazy to learn it. Some things change in life want you it or not.

 

[belardo]

[citation][nom]maxinexus[/nom]There is no gaming market on the PC as there is no sand on a beach or oxygen in the air.[/citation]
Really?! Wow, show me that HUGE list of AAA games that are PC exclusive! Other than WOW and a few other MMORPGs... and Far Cry 2.. oops, thats on consoles too, okay a few other low-sales games... there are NO gaming titles that strictly PC. And most of them, are ported from CONSOLES.

Most of what people DO, is use the browser. Any device can do that. Tablets, cellphones, cars, whatever... So other than a support system for MS-Office (also on a browser or Mac) and Quickbooks, the Windows has become irrelevant.

Power users will go with Linux, novices will go to Mac or iProducts.

 

[belardo]

[citation][nom]Wamphryi[/nom]Let’s imagine for a moment that Win 8 is just another variant of the same old that has been around since 95. It has been proven that every OS released by MS to date does not play well on Tablets or Smartphones. ~~ Yet the PC still has one major card up its sleeve and MS is now about to play it. MS are best positioned to cross platforms in a way Google and Apple are not or at least not yet. ~~ Even as it does this Win 8 still retains the core desktop experience but that is nothing in the face of the removal of a Start Button and the addition of a GUI to an existing GUI model. I see Win 8 as the answer the PC needs to retain and reinforce its dominance.[/citation]
I agree and understand what you are saying. I've been saying the same thing since Jan till last month, but nowhere near as well as you did.

Yes, MS going across all types of devices with the same OS seems like a great idea and THEY are the only ones in this position to do it. But there are many problems.... and you are wrong, there Start button *IS* still there, its hidden and it opens a Start Screen. Quite stupid.

That is the jest of it, Windows8 hides its functions FROM YOU... you have to guess and learn key-board short-cuts or use a touch screen to get anywhere.

How they are going about it is wrong, but even I don't have all the answers (not getting paid to give it).

Facts:
01- Windows is already becoming irreverent. As long as you have a browser and a net connection, you have access to everything.

02- Games, I'm sure AMD and Nvidia are getting a bit nervous. In reality, a typical $100~150 video card is all that most people need... and there are very few games that push the envelope.

03- People are getting used to NOT having MS as their only form of computing.

04- WindowsPhone7 never gained traction, still under 2% after 2 years. Its a really cool interface for a phone... I love it. But many people DON'T care, some don't like it. They are NOT flying off the shelves.

05- (Personal) I was going to get the Lumina phone, it looks great, feels very good... but its tech is 2 years old. For about the same price, I'll get more horse power, graphics and screen quality. But MORE than that, I can run a WindowsPhone7 launcher on my Android (I do already) that is more advanced in some ways than the real eal.

06- WP7 and WP8 devices are not cross-compatible. Ouch.

07- Almost NO WART compatible apps since their are no WART tablets on the market. When it does, it'll be competing with cheaper and maybe better made tablets. It can't run Windows software.

08- Almost nobody (especially for consumers) is buying x86 tablets, at $1200~1600 - who wants them?

09- For MS to make this a block-buster, all 3 markets will feed on each other... but its not happening and won't happen. People just DON'T need an all MS ecosystem.
My next phone, Android, I'll stick with Win7 for many many years. I'll most likely wait for the iPad4.

10- When Windows8 Metro/desktop fails, then that will translate into FAIL for the tablets and phones.

 

[belardo]

Look at the facts. WindowsPhone7 came out with good reviews and after a few patches and more phones on the market, they have mostly positive reviews. MS actually came up with something, original.

Then someone said (lets make it into a tablet) then another person, an idiot said it should be the future desktop.

WP7 has sold little... How are Win8. tablet8 going to change anything? Especially with the tons of bad press about the desktop?

 

[thebigt42]

[citation][nom]DjEaZy[/nom]... it's gonna be a good year for google and apple... and may be for some linux distro too...[/citation]
I bet there are going to be A LOT of 3rd part Shells written for windows 8.

 

[blazorthon]

[citation][nom]thebigt42[/nom]I bet there are going to be A LOT of 3rd part Shells written for windows 8.[/citation]

Windows XP/Vista/7 already have a lot of shells if you know where to look, so of course Windows 8 will have some too. Unlike Linux, they are all compatible with all Windows programs that can be used on the regular desktop, so just in case someone wants to bring that up, it is not the same situation as Linux's occasional incompatibility between shells.

 

[back_by_demand]

[citation][nom]captaincharisma[/nom]yes but have you checked out steam on a mac? its not even getting half the game library the PC version has[/citation]
Totally right, but it's not the volume of games that is cool, it's that fact you can do it at all, volume will come over time.

 

[Wamphryi]

Belardo

"But there are many problems.... and you are wrong, there Start button *IS* still there, its hidden and it opens a Start Screen. Quite stupid.

That is the jest of it, Windows8 hides its functions FROM YOU... you have to guess and learn key-board short-cuts or use a touch screen to get anywhere."

I would point out that we have not seen the RTM yet and I would assume that the MS will have a process in place to point out the required features. It is true that there is a Start function to Win 8 but most complaints seems based on the fact it does not faithfully replicate the 95-Win 7 format.

 

[Wamphryi]

Belardo

"WP7 has sold little... How are Win8. tablet8 going to change anything? Especially with the tons of bad press about the desktop?"

Sadly the bad press is coming from those who have the most to lose if the PC is toppled off its increasingly shaky perch. Instead of focusing on how Win 8 will provide many helpful features to small business such as Cloud Integration just to name one, the focus has been on Metro and the loss of the classic start button. It is as if these two issues are somehow tied into productivity. The small business owners I have spoken too crave the offerings that come with Win 8 but they need to be explained and implemented. There is more to PC's than pumping frame rates in Crysis.

 

[blazorthon]

[citation][nom]Wamphryi[/nom]Belardo"WP7 has sold little... How are Win8. tablet8 going to change anything? Especially with the tons of bad press about the desktop?"Sadly the bad press is coming from those who have the most to lose if the PC is toppled off its increasingly shaky perch. Instead of focusing on how Win 8 will provide many helpful features to small business such as Cloud Integration just to name one, the focus has been on Metro and the loss of the classic start button. It is as if these two issues are somehow tied into productivity. The small business owners I have spoken too crave the offerings that come with Win 8 but they need to be explained and implemented. There is more to PC's than pumping frame rates in Crysis.[/citation]

Considering that Windows 8 seems to be slightly better performing than Windows 7, it could pump more frames than Windows 7 does too, so that's not a valid argument even if it was all that mattered.

 

[Guest]

90% of the people on here are clearly Apple Fanboys, because they have no idea what they are talking about. People just don't like change, and most of the people here, don't like change, are close minded and hate new things. I also guarantee that most people who have negative thoughts have either never used Windows 8, or used it for less than a week. Those are unreliable opinions and suggestions.

 

[blazorthon]

[citation][nom]Harley22x[/nom]90% of the people on here are clearly Apple Fanboys, because they have no idea what they are talking about. People just don't like change, and most of the people here, don't like change, are close minded and hate new things. I also guarantee that most people who have negative thoughts have either never used Windows 8, or used it for less than a week. Those are unreliable opinions and suggestions.[/citation]

Calling them Apple fanboys might be going too far, but otherwise, you make good points.

 

[captaincharisma]

90% of the people on here are clearly Apple Fanboys, because they have no idea what they are talking about. People just don't like change, and most of the people here, don't like change, are close minded and hate new things. I also guarantee that most people who have negative thoughts have either never used Windows 8, or used it for less than a week. Those are unreliable opinions and suggestions.

i hate apple as much as the next guy and i am in no way close minded. most people on here bash Metro because they see other people doing it so they do it too without even trying it themselves. i tried every preview of windows 8 so far and just find the GUI cumbersome and IMO a step back for a desktop OS.

just because something is changed and don't like it doesn't mean you are closed minded and/or a fear change