[BryonSpringer]

I FELT THE SAME WAY, the more i read the more i saw, the less I liked the idea of windows 8, I love 7. however i have been using the beta version for 2 days now. i tried really hard not to like this operating system. and in fairness i was very frustrated with it for the first 5 hours of using it. not after getting all the kinks out and finishing the learning curve i love the new windows. and i use a keyboard with it, if you have touch screens it will really blow your mind. to all the haters out there(like myself) the pictures don't do it justice because it is so different from what we are used to. you really have to try it. and hey it happens to be free. so why dont you try taking it for a spin.

[BryonSpringer]

Daniel5714, on 02 March 2012 - 04:19 PM, said:

This is what we've been waiting for? What a bunch of crap! I would never buy it/ Hell I wouldn't even download it if it was free! I would rather use Vista at least it's usable...Hell I'd rather use Windows 98!

then you are a hater. you wouldnt use it if it was free? right now it is. and the marker of a good o.s. is not how it looks(though ascetics are important) it is how it handles how it feels. it's usability. i had many doubts, which is why i decided to give the beta a spin(that and i'm a sucker for free soft ware.) and after two solid days, i am a solid windows 8 supporter. it does have flaws, but they are so small i think they will be fixed by the final release.

[rondtroy]

Windoze ME (hated)
Windows XP (still popular)
Windoze VISTA (hated)
Windows 7 (popular)
Windoze 8 (already hated and its not out yet)

I wouldn't mind 8 IF Microsloth would let me use the Win 7 GUI. But they've already removed any way I know of to bring up the ORB and Start menu.

[musadiqmarhaban]

Is this what Microsoft expected us to wait for? oh well atleast Windows is still making progress from The Good (Windows XP = Windows 7), The Bad (Windows Vista) and congrats to Microsoft for The Ugly (Windows 8) ...

[moronicmisfit]

As I stated in another article in PC World, This OS reminds me of those little Vtech computers for children. Yea, Microsoft, I'm a 14 year old little boy, please give me a toy Operating system for my Quad core computer so I can get intouch with my inner child.
Sorry But this OS is a joke.

And To Byron, because its free for a limited time I'm suppose to like it??? Yea, gettin hit by a truck is free, and I'd prefer it to this sad attempt at a new wave teen OS. A cell Phone OS on a Desktop computer? PASS!!!

[LiveBrianD]

moronicmisfit, on 03 March 2012 - 01:08 PM, said:

As I stated in another article in PC World, This OS reminds me of those little Vtech computers for children. Yea, Microsoft, I'm a 14 year old little boy, please give me a toy Operating system for my Quad core computer so I can get intouch with my inner child.
Sorry But this OS is a joke.

And To Byron, because its free for a limited time I'm suppose to like it??? Yea, gettin hit by a truck is free, and I'd prefer it to this sad attempt at a new wave teen OS. A cell Phone OS on a Desktop computer? PASS!!!

Heck, I'm just a little older than that (15) and absolutely hate Windows 8's metro UI. Windows 7 looks better and better by the day...

[JudgesBailiff]

I just went thru the Windows 8 Compatibility page and it looks like not only is my antivirus incompatible, but so is 3/4 of my other software I really enjoy running. So nope, I will stay with my Windows 7 for quite awhile.

[KenKadz]

Windows 8 has a very gimmicky South Park appearance.

Like the developers were a bunch of young techie graduates.

Windows 8 lacks the mature professional work environmennt I would expect.

Can Windows 8 even be secured for small business environments?

[DennisThielen]

They have fixed only one flaw: the bootloader. It now recognizes non-Microsoft O/S installations. The first preview tried hiding anything non-Microsoft. Pressure from the computing community finally caused them to "improve" the bootloader. My guess is that they certainly don't like to acknowledge other O/S's exist. Now if only we can get them to remove the "kill switch." I'm not too impressed with the "metro" application. If they want to impress me, beef up Windows 7 and throw in M$ Word gratis. ;-)

[DennisThielen]

JudgesBailiff, on 03 March 2012 - 08:04 PM, said:

I just went thru the Windows 8 Compatibility page and it looks like not only is my antivirus incompatible, but so is 3/4 of my other software I really enjoy running. So nope, I will stay with my Windows 7 for quite awhile.

I only got one surprising application to run on the Consumer "preview": I can now play "Planescape Torment." Every once in awhile Microsoft surprises me pleasantly. They could improve the "metro interface" with one simple thing: a button to disable/not use it. The button would also shutdown all Metro background programs from running. But then, I guess that's too much common sense...

[lostinverobeach]

I loaded the preview on a 4 year old HP Pavilion with Windows Vista. I did not like what I saw on my desktop. It failed to recognize Office 2010, Photoshop Elements, or another app on my machine. The internet browser was way too small.

I could not get the interface to work properly, or change the screen resolution. When I attempted to uninstall several apps prior to running system restore, I noticed nothing was shown in the control panel uninstall box. A Windows 7 PC is looking very good right now.

I was planning on buying a Windows 8 PC in December. Not anymore!

[aart12]

After having tried Win8CP for about 24hrs, I have to say I was left under-whelmed, in the extreme. UN-intuitive is the operative word here. Even after 'discovering' how to navigate the terrible Metro UI, I was left with the 500-lb gorilla in the room... WHY make it so un-intuitive? Why is it so hard to come up with Rules of Operation and stick to it? Before Redmond releases this product to the public, they need to go back through the OS and apps and make rules for developers so that ALL apps work the same.
Once I grew so completely frustrated with Metro, I disabled it opting for the 'standard' UI. As a power user this UI, at least, made the Win8 experience tolerable, albeit a very minor improvement over Win7. The loss of the Start Button ins't a deal-breaker and the subtle changes in the UI were o.k.
My overall take-away impression with Win8CP was 'WTF'. What have they been doing all this time in Redmond? This OS is FAR from revolutionary, as most pundits breathlessly proclaim, obviously profiting as spokes-holes for M$. And even if the OS is considered evolutionary, one has to wonder 'WHY'? Where is the value? Where is the seamless 'intuitive' experience? Right now, as it is, the 'experience' is one where it appears as if many different groups have been designing and programming in isolation without a common set of interface rules or vision.
My hope is that M$ takes this opportunity to go back and work on the 'intuitiveness' and 'seamlessness' of this t**urd... IF they want to remain relevant in future.

[zs5zk]

I Share my opinion with all the other commentators and I shall never leave Windows 7 OS unless Linux comes up with something better.

[waldojim]

OK for those who haven't given it 30 minutes thought first: Windows 8 is more than friendly enough, given the effort to learn something new.

Problem is, you have to learn something new. I know, I know, for most people this is a scary thought. You are comfortable with the way Windows XP worked. We went through this with Vista, and Windows 7. Metro is, by far, the ugliest pile of crap I have seen in a LONG time. That being true - it is still very interesting, and very friendly. Want to have easy access to slacker without Flash mucking things up? Great, you get a friendly Metro based application for that. How about weather, news, or books? Again, Metro applications for those. Is it perfect? No. I just noticed that Slacker is a monster demanding 150MB of ram to play music! Insane. BUT I can see the appeal. You log directly into your Windows Live account - with sky drive readily available the moment you log in for the first time. Yes, this is a plus for me. Easy access to 25GB of free online storage. Access that works across any machine, or Windows based devices.

Again, perfect? Not hardly. But so far, I am impressed with how well Windows 8 works. I am impressed with how easily all of my drivers dropped into place. I am also impressed with multi-core processor management, a fair step up from Windows 7.

Give it a solid effort before you give up folks. Right now you can try it with no cost other than your time. Take advantage of that and form your own opinion. You might be surprised.

[RooseveltStewart]

I really don't see what all the complaints are about. I like the concept, it's lightening fast, and user friendly. You have to be a progressive thinker to see that this OS is the wave of the future. Sure, I had to learn how to maneuver it, but that's part of the fun of discovering something fresh and integrative. In my opinion, it's light years ahead of Windows 7 and I think it's a keeper.

[bsbyboomer50]

IanRobbo, on 29 February 2012 - 08:49 PM, said:

The slideshow is good. It gives us a decent overview of some Win 8 features.
But the more I see of this new O/S, the less I like it!!
I think I'll be sticking with Win 7 for quite a long while (maybe even until Win 9)!

Win XP and Win 2000 are the two best. I have 7 just to have it on one machine. I don't like win 7 and probably not win 8. Even going in and disabling a bunch of windows functions still leaves too many processes running on most machines. Microsoft should state that if you use 7 or 8 you need more ram and a better processor than most machines come with. The general public gets these cheap machines and then wonder why their computer freezes up or can't handle 3 heavy apps running at once. I have never seen a 7 machine running under 60 processes, while xp can truly be at around 30 and flying. I went to the opening of the Microsoft Store in Scottsdale,AZ and sat in on a Win 7 release class. What they said then about its capabilities is very different from now. In all truth, nothing was really needed after win 2000 except updates. It's all about money and sales. That's why open source , even with certain setbacks, is growing in academia and business.

[whitmerguy67]

Is this Microsoft's way of telling us to finally get a Mac? I have worrys that most of the software that I currently own, and paid a lot of money, will be useless going to Win 8. Besides, it looks like we are going to need a big screen TV as our monitor.

[ellenc]

I've always felt that Windows 98 was, and continues to be, the best. XP is very good and I haven't had any problems with upgrading to Windows 7 -- it doesn't seem greatly different from XP...but I would have love to be able to get back my 98 and use it forever! ec

[waldojim]

bsbyboomer50, on 05 March 2012 - 06:17 AM, said:

IanRobbo, on 29 February 2012 - 08:49 PM, said:

The slideshow is good. It gives us a decent overview of some Win 8 features.
But the more I see of this new O/S, the less I like it!!
I think I'll be sticking with Win 7 for quite a long while (maybe even until Win 9)!

Win XP and Win 2000 are the two best. I have 7 just to have it on one machine. I don't like win 7 and probably not win 8. Even going in and disabling a bunch of windows functions still leaves too many processes running on most machines. Microsoft should state that if you use 7 or 8 you need more ram and a better processor than most machines come with. The general public gets these cheap machines and then wonder why their computer freezes up or can't handle 3 heavy apps running at once. I have never seen a 7 machine running under 60 processes, while xp can truly be at around 30 and flying. I went to the opening of the Microsoft Store in Scottsdale,AZ and sat in on a Win 7 release class. What they said then about its capabilities is very different from now. In all truth, nothing was really needed after win 2000 except updates. It's all about money and sales. That's why open source , even with certain setbacks, is growing in academia and business.

I am curious what you do to your machines. As I type this, I have done nothing special to limit my processes in Windows 7, yet am sitting at 44.

[MichaelGorman]

WindowsXP is the best thing Microsoft have produced to date, Win7 is a debacle, basically nothing works easily on it and it reperesents a non-development in glossy clothing. I'm stinking with XP.