Windows 8 Whos tryed it ?

[glowworm105]

so as title really, who else has tried the beta of windows 8 or is running it and what are your thoughts ?, I upgraded to it from windows 7 and so far its seems ok just not to sure on the new layout they have used but I havnt had any issues yet which I thought I would have with it not being the proper release version

 

[Lal B3N]

Using it on a spare laptop. Will stay on 7 on my main pc until its final version is officially released and appears to be stable.

 

[Gareth]

Tried it, not impressed, infact quite the opposite. I won't bother touching it again now until final release.

 

[Toypop]

I tend not to trust peoples opinions of the beta version. Mostly it is just a bunch of kiddies spanking their dappers over the fact that they are using something that most people don't have. You rarely get valuable feedback from them.

I remember with Vista they were all creaming over the flashy way you could cycle through the windows you had open. Yet they failed to mention the OS was a complete dog!

That being said you do see some critical assessments on here. As a result of that feedback I will wait a few months after launch and see how things are looking.

 

[glowworm105]

I definately think some people will have mixed views on it , i keep finding little things i dont like such as why is the button to shut down in another menu and not were it has always been ? Little things like that will put people off imo

 

[Gavin.]

It's farking quick on my MBP, actually boots quicker than OSX. It has nothing installed on it mind. Overall I quite like it as far as Windows goes.

 

[mantis946]

I took it into work on a VM and asked the entire team (I work in IT) to perform one simple task... Turn it off. After 15 mins of head scratching the battery was pulled and the laptop undocked

In it's current form I have no interest in using it again.

 

[@Spoonie]

In it's current form I have no interest in using it again.

You wont be using it again then as its RTM in a few weeks.

 

[glowworm105]

I took it into work on a VM and asked the entire team (I work in IT) to perform one simple task... Turn it off. After 15 mins of head scratching the battery was pulled and the laptop undocked

In it's current form I have no interest in using it again.

This is exactly why i think people will hate it , after using it for a few days im not sold on it , somethings are good but little things like being so hard to find the menu to turn it off mean im going back to windows 7

 

[stokie4ker]

If you live in the US and are running XP, Vista or Windows 7 you get to upgrade to Windows 8 Pro for only $39.99
http://windowsteamblog.com/windows/...07/02/upgrade-to-windows-8-pro-for-39-99.aspx

The UK arm of Microsoft are taking a different route. You can get the upgrade for £14.99 but only if you have bought a Windows 7 PC or laptop after June 2 2012. Otherwise you pay full price whatever that will be.
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-GB/windows/upgrade-offer

 

[glenn_adam_doble]

I have on a tablet pc, a lad at uni had it, just seemed to much effort to do things but that was on a tablet may be different on a pc,

but it felt to gimmicky and the different gestures to do things irritated me in minutes,

maybe i was expecting to be as easy as an iPad, even though it was a full operating system

 

[The Fatty]

Have to remember its geared at touch devices, so things needed to change to work well with these devices (like metro, which is really good on touch devices). Its the first Windows OS that has been equally geared towards touch devices and normal computers, and as such is probably going to be quirky in both situations.

 

[mantis946]

You wont be using it again then as its RTM in a few weeks.

I've got MSDN through work so If inclined, It can be done

 

[Addicted]

Have tried it, absolutely hated it. It is not made for a desktop in the slightest.

 

[.Ben.]

.

 

[Andy.]

I've played with the preview on my tablet laptop, and although it's touch interface is better than Windows 7, I really couldn't see the added value in it.

My laptop needs a fresh install of OS soon, so I'll stick 8 on it when it is out and see how I get on.

 

[@Spoonie]

I've got MSDN through work so If inclined, It can be done

You misunderstood what I meant. You state in its current form you have no desire to use it. Between RC and RTM it won't have changed significantly. Hence you won't be using it.

 

[Skeeter]

I've had it on my laptop for a while in various guises, current on the Release Preview.

On a tablet, like the Microsoft Slate, I can see it being brilliant. All the simple functionality of an Android/iOS style device, but with the power and functionality of a 'proper' PC underneith should you need it.

But on any device where your primary base is the Desktop, its utterly pointless. Yes there are some nice features (the new Task Manager is epic), but the Metro UI just doen't make sense for anything with a large screen or primarily (or only) used with a keyboard and mouse. I've managed to install a W7 style Start menu and never see the Metro UI, but that means I've ended up wondering why I would bother upgrading from W7.

However, I an really looking forward to getting a Microsoft Surface with W8 and using Metro Apps.

 

[@Spoonie]

But on any device where your primary base is the Desktop, its utterly pointless. Yes there are some nice features (the new Task Manager is epic), but the Metro UI just doen't make sense for anything with a large screen or primarily (or only) used with a keyboard and mouse.

Metro may not be your primary interface when using a desktop machine for day-to-day tasks. I have Win8 on my main desktop and I rarely use Metro apps as my work tools are desktop based. When I am at home on a tablet browsing I use metro more (Kindle, News, Fruit Ninja and Browsing).

 

[Silent_Scone]

Don't see the fascination with using a beta OS unless you're a dev or extremely bored. I'll try it out on some random POS before I go anywhere near it at home tbh

 

[@Spoonie]

.

 

[muld]

Nope and I'm not planning on it either, really don't see the point. IMO it's really only going to be those with too much time on their hands trying to sound clever because they know where M$ have hidden all the latest bloatware. I could easily list 100 things I can do without moving from my desk that would be more productive.

I'll be upgrading my gaming machine when I absolutely have to. Everything else will never see a windows desktop OS. We've not actually had a dedicated Windows workstation at work for 3 years now. I do have an XP VM but that's only for retarded clients who insist on "Windows Only" VPN clients.

 

[@Spoonie]

so as title really, who else has tried the beta of windows 8 or is running it and what are your thoughts ?, I upgraded to it from windows 7 and so far its seems ok just not to sure on the new layout they have used but I havnt had any issues yet which I thought I would have with it not being the proper release version

I guess the answer to your question is no, some people have installed it. Few have used it.

 

[Silent_Scone]

.

Hi, you must be the bored guy.

 

[@Spoonie]

Hi, you must be the bored guy.

No, I have worked on Win8 beta for the past year. Pretty far from boring.

 

[Silent_Scone]

Ah, cool. woo tiles lol.


So what's the benefits to a desktop end user?

 

[.Ben.]

Not sure of any benefits, but it's like 'Launchpad' on OSX - A standardised UI across mobile and desktop devices (and hybrids like Surface).

 

[Addicted]

To be honest at the moment I'm more worried about the horrible UI decisions for Visual Studio

At least with an OS I can switch between (assuming you can install the latest VS on a lesser OS), whereas I need to be on the latest VS .

 

[Skeeter]

Metro may not be your primary interface when using a desktop machine for day-to-day tasks. I have Win8 on my main desktop and I rarely use Metro apps as my work tools are desktop based. When I am at home on a tablet browsing I use metro more (Kindle, News, Fruit Ninja and Browsing).

Thats what I was getting at. If you don't use the Metro UI, why would you upgrade from W7?

The Metro UI is great for some devices, and I hope its a success on them (especially as I'm planning on getting one), but I cant see how W8 could be a replacement for all W7 installations as on a large chunk of setups it offers nothing over W7.

If you think of it as being "Windows 7 Tablet Edition" then it makes more sense to me. Infact I wouldn't be surprised to see some of the desktop features in W8 (like Task Manager and the new file copy dialogue boxes) make it into W7 in a later Service Pack.

I will be replacing my laptop with a Surface style device running W8, but my PC will remain on W7.

 

[@Spoonie]

If you are solely a desktop user that will have no desire to ever use any of the new metro apps, using solely traditional windows applications and are happy with Win7 then I agree, you may not see value in moving to Win8. You may benefit from performance enhancements in the kernel, hybrid boot for faster startup, Hyper-V client. USB3 support, storage pools but I can only recommend you evaluate to see if it works for you.

 

[Reev]

Not sure of any benefits, but it's like 'Launchpad' on OSX - A standardised UI across mobile and desktop devices (and hybrids like Surface).

Launchpad is shite anyway.

I've only just recently added Win7 on my iMac via Bootcamp, and can say it's actually not half bad. Only really use Bootcamp for casual gaming anyway so I can't see any real reason for me to upgrade to Win8.

 

[Munson]

Launchpad is great. I use it all the time. Dock icons FTL.

 

[Longy]

It was released yesterday for Partners and I've installed Windows 8 Professional this morning on my works laptop. It's kept all my Windows 7 settings and to be fair it's OK. Doesn't take long to get used to it all and customise to how I work. All my applications work without issues. Easy to flick between the start menu and desktop.

 

[Chapster5]

W8 = Crock of Sh*t

Had a play of the beta in work with the IT neither of us where impressed. A lot of us both cursing and what not at it's dumbass features and layout other than that... PASS