Brace yourself: Windows 8 is coming soon

[The Straight Story]

Brace yourself: Windows 8 is coming soon

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- While most of the world has yet to upgrade to Windows 7, Microsoft is gearing up to launch the next version of its PC operating system.

Web forums lit up last week with the news that PC manufacturers had just gotten their hands on a new Windows 8 test build. Several analysts reported that equipment makers had received "early beta" test versions of the operating system, after trying out much more rudimentary "alpha" versions earlier in the year.

....

Considering that Windows 7 has been on the shelves for just 17 months, what's Microsoft's big hurry?

Tablets. Or "slates," as Microsoft likes to call them.

http://money.cnn.com/2011/04/04/technology/windows_8/index.htm?hpt=T2

[InvisibleTouch]

1. I like Windows 7.

Not interested in having to learn a new version all over again.

[frebrd]

2. I don't do Windows! eom

[wtmusic]

3. Let me guess: all of the problems have been solved. This build is "revolutionary".

But somehow I'lll still get that goddam popup that says "Failed to load Kj3344.dll"

[krispos42]

19. You obviously haven't seen the new blue screen of death, have you?

[wtmusic]

31. LOL nt

[Pisces]

4. Use an Apple and save yourself the frustration and angst.

[hobbit709]

11. Then you have the angst of spending 3 times what a computer is worth.

[wtmusic]

12. Depends what your time is worth. nt

[hobbit709]

13. My time is worth about $40/hr.

That's what I charge. I don't have a problem with my PC's, but that could be because I know how to tweak them.
and if something goes wrong, I know how to solve the problem. I don't worry about malware and viruses because I know how to take basic precautions-I don't do anything stupid.

[wtmusic]

17. Then it's worth it to you

A lot of people don't know how to tweak, and don't think it should be the customer's job to constantly have to download "service packs" to fix problems inherent in software they've already paid for.

I just spent $500 having a tech do a memory upgrade on my daughter's Dell. She had downloaded a lot of stuff (indiscriminately - her bad) but we had to upgrade Windows and somehow the disk itself had become corrupted - new hard drive. That kind of shit just doesn't happen on a Mac. Another PC in my house over my dead body.

[hobbit709]

18. $500? you got took.

I could have fixed that for a hell of a lot less. and I doubt that the hard drive was physically bad.

[wtmusic]

27. You sound like every PC tech I've hired.

They all say the last time I got ripped, they can fix it for a lot less - until they get into it.

If you have a system that works more power to you. I don't do hardware, but I've coded software down to the assembler level and everything I've seen of Windows is a mess. DOS with a bad hairpiece.

[negativenihil]

33. oh jeez

If you're STILL (in 2011) saying Windows is just DOS with "a bad hairpeice", you don't know/understand as much as you think you do.

From Windows 2000 forward (ie- XP, Vista, 7) - Windows has shifted to using an NT style kernel. There is no more DOS under there any more (seriously). The command prompt that is accessible from the start menu is really just emulating the DOS command line.

[wtmusic]

34. OK, they went from a bad hairpiece to doll-hair implants.

:D

Seriously, Windows 7 is a kludgy, buggy piece of crap compared to every OSX since the first release (also a kludgy buggy piece of crap, but Apple got over it).

I can't diss anyone who's good with duct tape and glue, but I don't have the patience.

[Keefer]

46. I've had Windows 7 since the day it came out.

Haven't had a problem yet. (Crossing fingers...)

[hobbit709]

39. I can't think of any RAM and hard drive that costs that much.

And if he charged more than $100 labor you got ripped. I don't even charge that much for a memory upgrade and new drive.

[Posteritatis]

42. Maybe if it was a recent SSD, but that'd be silly for most computers these days

...And they'd cost just as much going into a Mac anyway. Likely more.

[ohheckyeah]

50. I got a new hard drive

installed for about $150 total and installed my own RAM, 2 GBs for about $75-$80. Ram is easy to do but a hard drive is outside of my knowledge and comfort zones.

[Posteritatis]

22. Wow, you got ripped off. (nt)

[frylock]

26. i say the same thing about my car..

why should i worry about pesky little things like routine maintenance? why am i constantly needing to have the oil changed? i should just have to fill it with up gas and not worry about tune-ups and new tires and junk. i've already paid for the car.

[frylock]

28. that same HDD that crapped out in your daughter's dell is the same hardware you'll get in a mac

[Pisces]

35. No angst. I have a computer that always works and doesn't need a mad scientist to figure out.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

40. Not to mention supporting questionable paradigms forced on users

[Warren DeMontague]

21. Why don't you just leave a pamphlet on my porch

it's what the Jehovah's Witnesses do.

[Arkana]

38. You have $3K on you?

Cause that's roughly what a good desktop Mac costs.

[Wait Wut]

47. $1300 and change.

Just got my new one last week! Yes, I'm still celebrating!
My first Mac, about 15 years ago, was $3000. Now, if you're talking about a tower, that's more. But, I've been a graphic artist for 27+ years and my new (sexy, beautiful, loyal) iMac works great for what I need.

:hippie:

[ReggieVeggie]

45. I guess Apple users have frustration and angst?

[originalpckelly]

5. Not at all, Microsoft has a new numbering scheme it counts back.

So the next version will be 6.

[Turborama]

6. WTF? My new PC I'm building should be finished this week and I'm going from XP to 7

And it's going to be out of date soon?

AARGH!

[Posteritatis]

10. They're going to stop supporting Win7 home in 2015, I think. (nt)

[n2doc]

7. Must be time to renew the revenue stream n/t

[geardaddy]

23. Bingo.

[hlthe2b]

8. So, remind me what the latest decision is regarding Windows XP?

They've reversed themselves so much, I can't recall now what the latest announced end of support date is, but I have two laptops, including one very recently purchased running XP to maintain compatibility with some proprietary statistical software.

Plus, after the Vista debacle, I'm damned hesitant to go with their bloated new OS, whether it be 7 or 8.

[Shagbark Hickory]

15. Me too. ORdered a Thinkpad last year with XP. They recently removed the choice to select XP.

[frylock]

29. 7 is solid..

nothing at all like Vista, which FWIW, is actually not too bad since SP2 was released.

[Ezlivin]

9. What new features is it offering?

I'm curious to see what they are adding at their customer's request?

On the Mac side of things, we've been clamoring for a new filesystem. For a while it looked as if we'd get ZFS, but there's something else cooking...

[Shagbark Hickory]

14. 17 months? It hasn't been that long, has it? A year maybe.

This is clearly bullshit.

[Posteritatis]

20. October 2009. (nt)

[FLPanhandle]

16. This is a company so far behind the technology trends

Once long ago, they were a leader in where technology was going. Well, they bought the thought leaders companies anyway, but they knew which companies to go after.

Now it's almost embarrasing how far behind they are.
They missed the chance to lead the internet revolution because Bill Gates "didn't see any money in it".
They lost the MP3 and music race to Apple.
Apple again led with the smartphone & apps
Google jumped into the search engine space they could have had.
Apple again left them looking like blacksmiths in the automobile age with the ipad.

Now, they are just now getting around to beta testing Windows 8 to support tablets? That's so 2009.

[hunter]

24. Following Apple's footsteps, they're basing it on BSD, and merging Windows with Wine...

:P

Missed April Fools day by that much.

[fascisthunter]

25. I work with both PC's and Macs

and all I have to say is good luck.... I much prefer OS X.

[AlabamaLibrul]

30. Brace yourself: you're going to need a new $1000 computer just to run it

(right after that nice new $1000 computer you just got six months ago to run 7)

Fucking bloated, Windows is. I can't even run 7 on this computer as it is.

[madokie]

32. I'll stay where I am thank you :-)

I'm up to ubuntu 11.04 beta 1 for most everything, Ubuntu 10.10 for if I really want to keep it. Soon as 11.04 final version is released I'll go with it 100%.

Oh you were talking about windows :-)
my bad

[B Calm]

36. Man am I ever behind, I'm still using XP

[Cali_Democrat]

37. Not really

Many of the people at my work still use XP and I work in information technology. It's a good thing you never went to Vista because it's horrible.

Windows 7 is very nice though. :thumbsup:

[TK421]

41. I still use XP myself...no complaints about it, really n.t

[ohheckyeah]

51. I still have XP on my desktop.

My laptop came with Vista which I promptly upgraded to Windows 7 and I like Windows 7 fine. I just think XP is as good or better than 7. I'll probably eventually upgrade the desk top to 7 if I don't buy a new one in the next year.

[Rex]

43. Greed will eventually kill the Windohes line of OSs.

They cannot just stick with ONE product (for a decade) and improve IT, no they need to make uber money and that could possibly mean fucking over millions of people with a half baked OS. I wish it was about something like, progress, innovation or more helpful design. NO, this is all about making money and crapping on the end users head. This is why I think Bill Gates is a loser and needs to stay focus on his main product - without him it is turning into a good working copy of OS X. Maybe Win8 will actually be OS XI with stupid widgets inbeded.

:eyes:

[Xithras]

44. The real reason for Win8 : "Windows App Store"

They're kicking themselves hard for not thinking of that one 15 years ago.

[Initech]

49. At least we can play Angry Birds on our work computers now!

[IDemo]

48. Obligatory Linux plug

http://www.linuxmint.com/download.php

To note: I'm using Win7/Linux Mint dual boot machines I built both at home and work and have no trouble with either.

[hunter]

52. Will it run on a Dell Latitude CS?

Pentium II, 192 meg RAM and a 2 GB compact flash "hard drive."

That's what I'm posting from...

I love it for web browsing. The fan never turns on. It is silent. It draws 16 watts from the AC tap.

Debian rocks. I can run a modern operating system on a 10 year old computer.

I'm not a gamer and most of the time I'm not running high intensity apps. I have other computers for that.

I won't touch Windows or Macintosh computers anymore unless somebody is paying me. I can't help but think of all the electronic waste that's resulted from the aggressive Microsoft and Apple upgrade cycles.