Microsoft's BUILD 2012 Set Days After Windows 8 Release

[killerclick]

For those who don't understand what a big deal (and a big pile of crap) Windows Metro is, it's like if they started selling cars with scooter handlebars instead of steering wheels because people have been buying a lot of scooters the last couple of years. You could drive your car with handlebars, it's physically possible. Sure you can have your steering wheel back, you just have to press a button and it flips right up, but every time you start the car, the scooter handlebars flip back up again.

Yeah, and when the car is in handlebars mode, it can only use gas bought at Microsoft gas pumps. Also, your next car probably won't have a steering wheel at all, because Microsoft wants to sell more gas.

Now imagine if that actually happened, and imagine people telling you you're just afraid of change and you should either use the handlebars, deal with switching to the steering wheel or buy a skateboard or whatever. That's exactly what Microsoft is doing, and what Metro fanboys are saying. The reason my analogy seems crazy is because it is crazy, and Microsoft is still going through with it.

 

[back_by_demand]

[citation][nom]chewy1963[/nom]Really BBD? If you have to run Win 7 in a virtual machine, then please tell me why I should install win 8 to begin with. If I stuck with just Win 7, I'd still have that wonderful UI plus I wouldn't have to pay for Win 8.[/citation]
Hey, some dude asked how to keep the start menu, I personally will not miss it at all as I use what has been proven via the Customer Feedback Program as a more popular option - items pinned on taskbar - which is now becoming items pinned via tiles to the desktop
...
No one is forcing you to move to Windows 8, I will be keeping Windows 7 on my desktop but will be really looking forward to Windows 8 when I buy a Surface Pro - I may move to Windows 8 for my desktop when the Kinect 2 sensor allows control without actually touching the screen

 

[killerclick]

[citation][nom]back_by_demand[/nom] I use what has been proven via the Customer Feedback Program as a more popular option[/citation]

>Implying you actually know what data Microsoft collected with their Customer Feedback Program.

If it is so popular, why take the trouble to remove the option to restore the Start Menu at all? The real reason is Microsoft needs to move everyone to Metro so they can get that 30% cut from app sales, and disabling of the Start Menu (and removing support for desktop live tiles ie gadgets and who knows what else in the coming months) serves to push everybody from what they now consider legacy.

I have faith in Microsoft's record of failure in the mobile segment, which when it becomes apparent will effectively kill the Metro on the desktop. It's Microsoft Bob all over again.

 

[belardo]

what can't you live without that's on the Start menu? ... Not a great deal really

If that is the case, then it was pointless to change it... and it *IS*. metro start screen is useless. MS killed off the gadgets and whatever live tiles there maybe on metro won't been seen.

[citation][nom]HotRoderx[/nom]I am sure Microsoft caught tons of flack when they went from Windows 3.1 to Windows 95 over the interface changes. I am sure they caught some flack when they released XP and its new start button interface.[/citation]
Uh, no. Win3.x (and older) was not an operating system, just a GUI-Shell that ran on top of MS-DOS... with all its shitty limitations.

Windows95 was MS's first consumer GUI OS... which was half-ass since its was still tied to DOS in many ways (and handy because of it too). The problem with Win95 was it was very buggy and PnP (Plug N Pray) was a nightmare. Something that Apple and Amiga's had since 1986!

Win95 got good with OSR2 and then Win98 and especially Win98se. BTW: I couldnt get my Win98 boot CD to work on an i5-3570k system... I was curious.

XP was a very important upgrade off Win9x. But to most people using XP, it was a simple transition. None of my Win7 clients have issues with going XP > Win7.

Win8-Metro is plain stupid.

 

[ojas]

[citation][nom]HotRoderx[/nom]I think people would be much more open to Windows 8 if they just allow them to choose Metro or Start Button instead of trying to force them.[/citation]
lol if they had allowed a choice, there wouldn't have been an uproar at all.

 

[killerclick]

[citation][nom]ojas[/nom]lol if they had allowed a choice, there wouldn't have been an uproar at all.[/citation]

There is no choice because Microsoft wants to kill the desktop ASAP.

 

[Zetto]

[citation][nom]bspatial[/nom]I love Windows but I just really hate the face of that guy. What a dicko![/citation]

That's just obvious bias towards Microsoft using that crappy photo over and over for months, years even.

Really Kevin/ Tom's, can't you find a better shot of the man? I reflects badly on you now, not him.

 

[back_by_demand]

[citation][nom]killerclick[/nom]>Implying you actually know what data Microsoft collected with their Customer Feedback Program.If it is so popular, why take the trouble to remove the option to restore the Start Menu at all? The real reason is Microsoft needs to move everyone to Metro so they can get that 30% cut from app sales, and disabling of the Start Menu[/citation]
You are implying that you know what data they collected too and that you know better, you don't, if you do please provide links to their clandestine data gathering and ulterior motives. Until such time as it actually happens all the things you mentioned are rumour and scaremongering.

 

[killerclick]

[citation][nom]back_by_demand[/nom]You are implying that you know what data they collected too and that you know better, you don't, if you do please provide links to their clandestine data gathering and ulterior motives. Until such time as it actually happens all the things you mentioned are rumour and scaremongering.[/citation]

I was implying that Microsoft is just lying about their results to justify their own strategy (which has everything to do with the 30% and nothing to do with making a better product). Of course I have no way of knowing they're lying, and you can only take them at their word. I guess we'll know for sure next year. Too bad everybody will still have excuses for why their pet product failed. I hear it all the time about the utter failure that is WP7 and what WP8 is shaping up to be.

 

[back_by_demand]

Thing is though, it's all pretty much academic, they are releasing this product anyway and nothing you or I say will change it, but if you have a specific task you want to perform you will always have your fully licensed (or maybe not) previous versions of Windows to help
...
I have an old PC circa 1996, HDD rated in Mb's, processor is Intel 486, run's Windows 95, I use it now exclusively to play my favourite DOS games that can't be run on a modern machine with DOSbox, OK that's not many and some people would say it's a waste of resources for such a narrow task
...
But one day people will say the same thing about the Start Menu, even in Windows 7 you can still get to everything in Start Menu via the Windows Explorer, one good thing about Windows has always been the multiple redundancy of executing tasks - for example copy/paste, you can do it via the Menu Bar, right click on the mouse, context key on the keyboard or even keyboard shortcuts. OK so Microsoft is removing something very visible, but it doesn't mean you are going to be forced into some kind of totalitarian lock-down walled-garden and people really need to stop the hysterical panic stories

 

[killerclick]

[citation][nom]back_by_demand[/nom]But one day people will say the same thing about the Start Menu, even in Windows 7 you can still get to everything in Start Menu via the Windows Explorer[/citation]

It's not about the Start Menu but Microsoft's motives. You can't deny that they're pushing as hard as they realistically can to make PC users use their computers as tablets/consumer devices. The reasons they're doing that are all profit-related, but the effect on PC users are mostly detrimental.

So what if maybe 50% of Windows users will hate Metro? Microsoft doesn't care, they see the money Apple is making with their small core of fanboys and they want to play that game instead. Would you like Microsoft to become a carbon copy of Apple in 5 years? Because that's where they're going with their app store, walled garden and their shift of focus from PCs to handheld consumer devices.

 

[back_by_demand]

I already moved onto newer stories but I had to say thanks to Killerclick, I am amazed that over 2 pages an adult conversation was had by both sides that didn't descend into childish name-calling, for that Sir, I salute you - very refreshing round here

 

[siciro]

[citation][nom]back_by_demand[/nom]In most large corporations there will be banks of staff that all use the same 3 or 4 programs all day long, a Client Record Managment tool, an email program, the Office suite...If these are placed on the home screen as big ass launch tiles then it will not take any retraining at all, click the tile and the program launches, when it does it behaves like it always did...Honestly, way too much drama, try to dial it back a notch[/citation]

Bulldust. There is nothing wrong with Win8

 

[siciro]

You dont't need the start button