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-   -   Windows 8 (http://forums.animesuki.com/showthread.php?t=110691)

monir 2012-02-29 22:54

Windows 8
 
This is the prerelease version of Windows 8 that let people to start testing it. To quote Microsoft:
"Windows 8 Consumer Preview is a prerelease version of Windows 8 that focuses on people and apps and gives you powerful new ways to use social technologies to connect with the people who are important to you. It's Windows reimagined. Windows 8 Consumer Preview is built on the rock-solid foundation of Windows 7 and has the security and reliability features you expect from Windows, but we’ve made it even better. It’s fast, and it’s made to work on a variety of form factors—especially the new generation of touch devices."
Here is the page where it can be downloaded from.

Btw, if there is an existing thread that I missed on my search, please let me know via PM or just by using the report button and I'll remove this thread.

Random32 2012-02-29 23:26

Metro still feels like using a tablet with a mouse. That is an experience arguably worse than trying to use a traditional mouse/keyboard driven desktop on a touchscreen only device.

Shimapan 2012-02-29 23:44

MS: Way to go, wingnut
 
This time, Microsuck has really outdone themselves. That "Metro" UI is by far the most retarded idea they've had in a *long* time XD

Metro is based on the WindowsPhone UI, which is doing very poorly (lower single-digit numbers), because it just plain stinks.
So what do they do to help sales of their WindowsPhone junk? They shove the very same mobile phone UI on the desktop :twitch:
While it's already bad on a mobile phone, it's even far worse on the desktop, where it doesn't belong at all.
Compounding the usability nightmare is stuff like that they have disabled the taskbar, so trying to go back to a regular desktop is problematic.

It's once again one of these times where I'm really very, very glad that I've stopped using Windows a good while ago, so I don't have to deal with this idiocy anymore :D

sa547 2012-03-01 02:26

I don't think we need yet another OS-bashing (as I've seen too much of it in the past), but the thing is, not everyone can afford a tablet or a touch-enabled screen (and most are more acquainted with a computer as being controlled by a keyboard and a mouse, along with the traditional Task Bar that's been around since Windows 95).

To the uninitiated, the UI would be very confusing at first. To those who like command shells and tweaking on the side (including me), "where is it in there?"

Given its touch-screen nature, I think 8 would be more appropriate for tablets while 7 would work well for traditional PCs.

Reading:
http://pogue.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/...indows-8-beta/

-KarumA- 2012-03-01 03:03

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shimapan (Post 4032977)
This time, Microsuck has really outdone themselves. That "Metro" UI is by far the most retarded idea they've had in a *long* time XD

Or this; http://blogs.technet.com/b/juanand/a...r-preview.aspx

I don't feel the need to try or even get Windows 8, 7 isn't even out that long and is very good.
I haven't been using 7 for a year yet.

HasuMasu 2012-03-01 05:33

Download? How does this work? I'm using Windows 7 right now, could I switch back after using that?

Renegade334 2012-03-01 06:37

Yes, you can, but you need to take precautions prior to making the plunge. I'm not sure how familiar you are about disk imaging (heard about Norton Ghost?), so be sure to research that BEFORE even trying your hand at this.

1°) Go to this page and customize the file you wish to download (country, 32-bit or 64-bit architecture). Write the beta product key somewhere.
2°) Download the file, it's an .ISO image. Save it on your hard drive (you need between 3 and 4 gigabytes of free space at the most - if you're DL'ing the 64-bit ISO).
3°) Use a CD/DVD writer with image writing capability like Nero or ImgBurn to write the .ISO image to a blank DVD-R/DVD+R.
4°) Save everything you have on your main partition.
---- 4a: use a partition imaging software like Acronis True Image Home or Norton Ghost to create a partition image for a later restore (of course, the backup image must be stored either on a different HDD or partition). Get more information on this before continuing, especially if you're unfamiliar with bare-metal restore. If you know nothing about this, be safe, don't try it. Or choose option 4b
---- 4b: if you have a spare partition with nothing in it, you can choose to install Windows 8 there. This way you can either choose Windows 7 or Windows 8 when you boot your computer.
5°) Place the Windows 8 DVD into the optic media reader (DVD player).
6°) Restart your PC
----- 6a: enter BIOS when the computer starts again by pressing F2 or the delete button and make sure the motherboard checks the optic media (DVD player) before the hard drive. Make some Google searches if you're unsure.
7°) When prompted, press any button to start the DVD reader.
8°) Follow instructions
----- 8a: reformat the main partition if that's where you want to install Windows 8 (check part 4a) then mark it as the installation partition
----- 8b: reformat the spare partition if you're gunning for option 4b.
9°) Let the installation proceed and insert beta key when prompted.
10°) Start configuring accounts, localization, etc, etc. You may now start testing around.


Afterwards, when you're done testing and want to remove it...
- If you've elected option 4a, just reformat the main partition and overwrite it with the backup partition image you've made BEFORE installing Windows 8.
- If you've settled for option 4b, just reformat the spare partition.


Aaaand...of course there is the virtual machine option, but it's not the real deal, just a simulation (might feel laggy or buggy, etc). But it'll save you all of the above trouble - you just need a spare partition that has at least 20 gigs free just in case, to host the virtual image.


...
For those who are wondering...the user experience might be MUCH more rewarding if you have a tablet you can install this on. The Metro UI might be disagreeable to deal with if you don't have a touchscreen or are trying Windows 8 on a full-fledged desktop PC. There ARE ways to switch back to the old Windows 7-like UI, though, so check that before making a fuss.

HasuMasu 2012-03-01 06:53

Okay thanks for the heads up, now it's time to rock this shit up. :cool:

Random32 2012-03-01 08:16

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shimapan (Post 4032977)
This time, Microsuck has really outdone themselves. That "Metro" UI is by far the most retarded idea they've had in a *long* time XD

Metro is based on the WindowsPhone UI, which is doing very poorly (lower single-digit numbers), because it just plain stinks.
So what do they do to help sales of their WindowsPhone junk? They shove the very same mobile phone UI on the desktop :twitch:
While it's already bad on a mobile phone, it's even far worse on the desktop, where it doesn't belong at all.
Compounding the usability nightmare is stuff like that they have disabled the taskbar, so trying to go back to a regular desktop is problematic.

It's once again one of these times where I'm really very, very glad that I've stopped using Windows a good while ago, so I don't have to deal with this idiocy anymore :D

I actually like Metro a lot... for touchscreen devices. It just completely fails on a mouse/keyboard driven system.

Vena 2012-03-01 08:39

Unless development has somehow changed over the course of the last few months (which I'm pretty sure it hasn't), Metro is a use-if-you-like-it feature of Windows 8 that is designed for the many touch enabled computers/tablets/phones out there (and thank god, running standard windows on a touch enabled device is a pain in the rear, and I'd rather not torment myself with the likes of Droid or iOS), while your standard ol' desktop will still have access to the standard ol' Windows desktop. Complaining that you don't like Metro, which is being shown off because it is new and *cool*, and condemning Windows 8 for it seems rather short-sighted when the OS still comes with all the other features of Windows 7. (unless details have changed at some point that I wasn't aware.)

Mouse and keyboard? Standardize Windows 8 in the classic format.
Touch screen or otherwise? Standardize Windows 8 for the metro format.

Why is having more options a bad thing? :heh:

problemedchild 2012-03-01 09:23

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vena (Post 4033419)
Mouse and keyboard? Standardize Windows 8 in the classic format.
Touch screen or otherwise? Standardize Windows 8 for the metro format.

Why is having more options a bad thing? :heh:

It's not, but when has it not been cool to bash Microsoft?

Irenicus 2012-03-01 09:48

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vena (Post 4033419)
Why is having more options a bad thing? :heh:

Microsoft (and many other major IT businesses, frankly) did not have a perfect track record regarding "choices."

From the more intelligent reviews (as opposed to Wired's "Desktop is Dead" :rolleyes:) it seems that the UI transition between classic Windows and Metro isn't nearly as smooth or complete as the "more options" guys say it is. Perhaps they'll patch it better eventually and make it a real choice, but this is, well, Microsoft we're talking about here. I mean, for starters, the Start Menu *is* gone. You don't get it back even if you ram in the "give me back my Windows 7" command as hard as you can.

Think iOS and OSX. Many of the ported features are interesting, and you can even say they are take-it-or-leave-it features, except when you leave it the old functions that used to be in OSX for the same purpose are gone. And this is a much gentler transition than Win 8's "tablet revolution" from a company that has extensive experience with transitioning between devices/platforms.

And just because I feel like ranting: apps are for mobiles. Give me my #$@^ing programs back. I want to tinker with code and shit on my desktop, not buy it or drop it.

(Yes, I know Windows 8 wouldn't suddenly stop making programs work -- I'm just saying I have no love for this "app" trend on a desktop level, which is marketing-speak for closed gardens everywhere).

SeijiSensei 2012-03-01 10:07

If you're considering give Win8 a test drive, I'd suggest using a virtual machine manager like VirtualBox. If you install VirtualBox, you can then install Win8 into a virtual machine that will run as an application within your current operating system. You won't be able to test how well its graphics drivers perform with your hardware (sorry, gamers), but other than that you'll get a good glimpse into how Win8 might or might not work for you.

You don't even need to burn a separate DVD from the .iso file. You can install Win8 from VirtualBox just by pointing at the .iso on your desktop.

sa547 2012-03-01 10:53

Anyway, I'm not jumping into the bandwagon until touch-screen user input become standardized and made more affordable and widespread (including the hardware needed to go with it). Besides, Microsoft should give Seven a few more years to go, just the same amount of longevity as XP (still sticking to it, btw).

Vena 2012-03-01 11:24

Quote:

Originally Posted by Irenicus (Post 4033505)
From the more intelligent reviews (as opposed to Wired's "Desktop is Dead" :rolleyes:) it seems that the UI transition between classic Windows and Metro isn't nearly as smooth or complete as the "more options" guys say it is. Perhaps they'll patch it better eventually and make it a real choice, but this is, well, Microsoft we're talking about here. I mean, for starters, the Start Menu *is* gone. You don't get it back even if you ram in the "give me back my Windows 7" command as hard as you can.

I wasn't aware of the complete disappearance of the Start Menu, I was under the impression that it changed form but that it was still there. But, since I've not used W8 myself, I'll have to wait and see... or I'll ask my friend for some hints. (His brother works on the kernel for Windows, but we'll see how much he can actually tell me.)

As for transition hiccups, we can only hope (ie. Wait for Godot to show up) that Microsoft will make the transition smoother. :heh:

Random32 2012-03-01 12:15

It did change form... Into the Metro Start Screen.

I wonder how long it will be before someone makes a custom start menu for 8.

On the topic of apps on desktop. I'm pretty sure that MS lets you install Metro Apps from other sources, so I'm not concerned. What I hate is that it forces fullscreen (yes, there is a way to snap to side, but that still is pretty limited). I don't mind it as much on my laptop since its 1366x768 and you can't really have multiple windows open on that anyways, but forced fullscreen becomes really limiting when you get up into 1080+ resolutions.

Also, Metro Apps don't work well for people who have weird aspect ratio like Eyefinity setups or portrait oriented monitors, or multimonitor setups. I know that we are a minority, but MS should try to support everyone.

chikorita157 2012-03-01 14:05

Just test drived Windows 8 CP on VMWare and I didn't like it at all. Sure I could use multitouch since VMWare Tools enables some of the multitouch gestures on the track pad, but it's still frustrating to use.

The main problem with Windows 8 that they are forcing a tablet UI on a desktop computer. It would work fine on a tablet, but a person who uses a desktop or laptop now have to do more just to browse and open a program they want to launch. The fact that they removed the start button and menu makes it worse and you can't even turn it off (and the registry hack doesn't work in the CP).

So yeah, I won't be upgrading anytime soon and I expect that many will downgrade to Windows 7 when Windows 8 comes out later this year. But still, I like the approach Apple is taking since they add the features from iOS, but they don't force it on you (except for Mission Control, which changed the expose workflows and spaces) and you can turn it off.

Vexx 2012-03-01 20:01

<sings> Fingerprintzzzzzz, on my Scrreeeeee-ee-een!!!</sings>

Sorry, I just kind of find this a solution looking for a problem. I'd rather they go back and rethink and build from scratch their wonky smartphone OS.

Random32 2012-03-01 22:25

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vexx (Post 4034167)
<sings> Fingerprintzzzzzz, on my Scrreeeeee-ee-een!!!</sings>

Sorry, I just kind of find this a solution looking for a problem. I'd rather they go back and rethink and build from scratch their wonky smartphone OS.

At least you're lucky enough to be playing with Win8 on a tablet. I really should'be bought an X220T instead of an X220...

Whatever Microsoft can do on their smartphone/tablet platform won't help them. They can make the OS absolutely amazing, but the OS isn't the platform. People won't develop apps for an unpopular platform, and a platform without apps can't become popular. That is why BlackBerry is doomed, why WebOS failed, why Android tablets aren't as popular as Android smartphones, but Microsoft has a trump card. They just unify their desktop and tablet platforms. Suddenly they go from a platform that nobody uses that isn't worth developer's time, to a platform that nearly everybody uses. Instead of near last in development priorities for tablet applications, they are the #1 by a huge margin.

The important part for Microsoft is shoving their tablet OS up the collective ass of us real computer users in a way that we are okay with.

Xellos-_^ 2012-03-01 22:31

Quote:

Originally Posted by Random32 (Post 4034332)
The important part for Microsoft is shoving their tablet OS up the collective ass of us real computer users in a way that we are okay with.

or MS can release 2 types of Win8, 1 for Desktops and laptops and 1 for Tablets.


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