Windows 8.....Pros and Cons?

vdr369

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Dec 10, 2010
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Can you paste that link here I am too curios to experiment on that beta. thanks. :sol: :sol: :sol:
 
I am testing it on virtual machine instead. Can't bothered to burn it and move out of my room to insert it to the test rig.
Installing...

Apart from comments on the OS itself, I will test some common program and report wether they work and how well they work. The VM I set up is on VirtualBox 4.1.2 with window 7 (64bit) host and guest with 2GB ram, 1 core, 32MB graphics memory and 20GB HDD for the host machine, really low spec.
 
So now the installation is complete and restart, updating registry. Only took 10 minutes to install. Very impressive.

The OS took up 10GB of HDD space. Only about 30 process and use 650MB for memory.

On the otherhand, what the hell is that interface?! Metro makes the OS like a web flash program. It will take me some serious behavioural adjustment to get used to it.

There is so much crap I don't need on Metro. Hopefully they give us a tick box selection on the first run of window 8 so we can select to have only the things we want fast, instead of removing them individually (may be because I am using mouse).

Hell no! I tried to ctrl+click and it wouldn't select multiple icon for me to delete. I am really stuck to removing them individually.

Got a suggestion from window asking wether I want optimisation and I went ok. Didn't give me options after that. Window took over without explaination on what it is about to do. But by the flashing HDD light, I think it is doing a defrag. I am not sure how much it helps on a VM. So this is one of those black box OS where automation require no input or explaination to the users, which I don't like. At least tell me what you are going to do. If I know it is a defrag, I won't press the OK button blindly and slows my system to a halt.

Everytime I click on the "start" icon, it brings me back to that awful Metro interface. I still haven't figure out how to change to classic view after 20 minute.

Found a solution with google. You can do it by a software which changes the registry for you or you can change teh registry yourself. Of course I am going to change the registry myself.

For anyone searching for it, it is:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer

Chnage RPEnabled string to 0 to get rid of Metro.

But then, all of a sudden, there is this giant grey box pop-up showing my time and my network icon. I did not request for that. Must have pressed something. How do I get rid of it? It won't go away by pressing the desktop or the blank on the taskbar.

Try restart to see if grey box goes away and it does. I waited for it to restart and it is taking a long time to go to the logon page. But it appears to be my problem. I am just being stupid, the logon page was there for a long time. It was covered by a wallpaper which you have to drag over to uncover the logon screen. I feel like an idiot or should I say the GUI developer makes people feel like they are idiots or the developer themselves are idiots.

I timed it and turns out it reach the logon screen from the time I turn on the VM in 28 seconds on a 1TB 5400rpm WD Green HDD.
 
The software I tested are:

FF 7.0.1
CCCP MPC 2011.07.30
OpenOffice 3.3.0

They all install and work normally. Apart from when I try to play HD .264 content. I am going to give the VM more power to run it. Give it all 4 cores and 256 VRAM with hardware acceleration but still couldn't get it to work. I assume that is because of the VM. Window 8 should have no problem handling 1080p with gpu or igp acceleration.

An interesting test I ran was the number of cores to boot up time test. I though window 8 allow you too boot up with more than 1 core, I used 1 core and 4 cores for boot up time but I see no difference. Maybe it just wasn't implemented or implemented correctly yet or maybe because it is HDD limited.

IMO, window 8 is going to be a performance oriented OS concentrating on sliming down on the hardware requirement. The slim window 8 would be good running on tablet device because they are low on hardware, also window 8 accomodates the newer trand of touch device by putting in the Metro interface.

However, if you use a recent or older desktop or laptop, the Metro interface is difficult to get use to with the mouse and keyboard. Window 7 for now is just as efficient on desktop and laptop machine.

Even with the registry change, there are still some adjustment you have to get used to. So if you are still on old hardware using xp, get ready for a big change because it will be like learning on how to use window vista/7 and the Metro interface in 1 go. For window vista/7 users, it will still take time to get used to it.

From my experience, the preview release does not provide advantage over window 7 to persuade me to migrate to window 8. The Metro interface need to be invisible to users without touch input. I know technology changes, but we had so many years of xp, we just get used to vista and window 7; we are lazy and just don't want to change the way we nevigate through the OS for no advantage on speed or user friendliness.
 





In case anyone spends hours downloading from that link, may I point out it points to the 64 bit version. :D Here's the other one http://wdp.dlws.microsoft.com/WDPDL/9B8DFDFF736C5B1DBF956B89D8A9D4FD925DACD2/WindowsDeveloperPreview-32bit-English.iso

The comments above about Metro emphasise to me the control-freakery of M$ coming back with a vengeance. People will wish to have freedom to do what they will in their own systems.

 
^so true. Cannot turn off Metro with a button and must go through regedit is nasty. Metro is not good for device without touch at all. Since the majority of computer still use mouse and keyboard, Metro should be invisible and you turn it on with a button, as oppose to Metro is the default and you have to turn it off going through regedit (many people don't or don't like touching the registry). MS got the GUI priority totally wrong.
 


I must try harder to be positive about W8 and appreciate that I'm coming across as a bit anti but I really don't see the need for yet another OS at this time. XP has been with us for ten years and by the look of the this Forum's XP board, is still used by a huge number of people.

W8 will be the fourth new release in under five years and that alone is an indicator to M$ that something has been wrong with the NT 6.* project from the word go? A new OS is also the trigger for the hardware upgrade requirements to be rachetted up and many people find the costs of that hard to bear - particularly at the moment.

All that said, I will try harder to learn to love it. :D

 
No, I don't think there is a need for hardware upgrade. I ran the VM with 1 core, 2GB RAM, 20GB in a 5400rpm Green drive and 32MB of graphics and it still gives me 2.0 for the wei and Window 8 decides that I can have all of the visual effects on. Althought I have to say can get a bit choppy, but no long lag. Turn the effect off gives me no problem.
 
mmm... I think I am going to make it to go to BSOD. Interesting to see it in person. I am going to set the pagefile to 0 and set the VM to like 128MB RAM. Hopefully that will do it.

Fail! Window 8 just load really slow.

Googled method to trigged bsod, I am going to try them. But the crash on ctrl scroll doesn't work. How can I BSOD my window 8?

end process csrss.exe and received a critical object termination. My first BSOD on window 8. It does look a lot more friendlier. There is no mention of the word error and doesn't have a bunch of numbers which you cannot understand. The problem is toned down to something less serious with word description which you can understand. It does not have the shocking effect of the old BSOD maybe because instead of looking at a high contrast blue screen with white text which will catch your attention, you now stare at a soothing sky blue screen, sad face emoticon with smoothed edge text.
 
If you need a new OS, then simply buy the latest version of Windows.

All Windows releases have bugs. Vista had way too many, but Windows 7 was based mostly on Vista so it was sorted out.

Windows 8 is based mostly on Windows 7 so it will probably be the most stable Windows OS at time of release.

The METRO desktop interface is unlikely to be used much by a normal desktop user. I wouldn't even want it with a laptop with touchscreen because of the fingerprints.

As for TABLETS, the issue isn't really the fact that Windows 8 will be running underneath, but the fact that the programs it uses need to be optimized for tablets. That's what Apple did with the iPad.

Unless every tablet program you can access is optimized for using with our fingers it's going to be a big problem.

Basically for desktops the changes will be like going from a MATURE version of Vista to Windows 7. A few extras here and there, definitely an improvement but not a requirement to upgrade.

However, I say again, simply always buy the latest Windows OS available.