17 ms·

Windows 8 Consumer Preview released.

265 points by klausa 15y ago

cooldeal 15y ago
Thanks, pulling at my max speed right now (~2MB/s). Live coverage of the preview event here. http://www.engadget.com/2012/02/29/live-from-microsofts-windows-8-press-event-at-mobile-world-cong/ http://www.engadget.com/2012/02/29/live-from-microsofts-wind...
ChrisNorstrom 15y ago
Competition from Apple and Linux (but mostly Apple) is the best thing to happen to Microsoft in a long time. No, the UI isn't perfect yet, the design decisions (for this beta) not always logical, but Windows is finally going somewhere amazing after many years of going no where. Because some of Microsoft's best products were great but went no where. Take the Zune and Windows Phone 7. People who own them love them, especially the Zune. My neighbor had an iPod and Zune and always stood up for his Zune despite loathing Microsoft. But everyone else refuses to touch them. Why? Because they're Microsoft products and the stigma around them is that MS products have no future and become abandoned quickly or go nowhere fast. A reputation that's going to take consumers at least a decade to forget about and move on. So hopefully MS keeps these "revolutionary redesigns" going at a constant rate and not just kill them once profit comes in and market share returns.
- podperson 15y ago
  I don't think the problem was the zune itself but the zune ecosystem. Apple more than any competitor understood this. If all you want is a player for your existing music library, an iPod offers little advantage over any other decent music player, and the zune UI was very polished. That said, the first thing that struck me about Windows 8 is that there's still a hard line between the 32- and 64-bit versions, which points to a fairly major underlying technical legacy in the current stack. So they need to go through another major revision (as in DOS -> NT) or hope 32-bit disappears (at least on the Intel side; it looks like they're planning on making the ARM side embedded/pre-installed only, so it won't matter so much).
  - CurtHagenlocher 15y ago
    There are still plenty of people with hardware that has less than 4 GB of RAM. For those people, there's not generally an advantage in running a 64-bit OS if all their applications are available in 32-bit versions.
    - udp 15y ago
      Aren't 64-bit processors a little more efficient at running a 64-bit operating system?
      - CurtHagenlocher 15y ago
        No. And for most programs, 64-bit code is probably less efficient than 32-bit code. Pointers are twice as big and instructions are generally longer, so less stuff fits into cache.
        stephanimal 15y ago
        This is one disadvantage, yes. However all registers are now 64 bit, and in general, there are more of them. Furthermore, the 4GB limit does not just concern physical RAM, it also applies elsewhere, like memory mapped files. In general, it is unlikely that you will see poorer performance from 64-bit code compared to its 32-bit counterpart.
        herge 15y ago
        Most of the memory used by programs are pointers, and if you double your pointer size, it has a negative impact on the efficientcy of the L1 and L2 cache.
        stephanimal 15y ago
        Yes, this is exactly what CurtHagenlocher said. >> Most of the memory used by programs are pointers This is a huge generalization, may I add. Yes, I will not argue that cache usage is less efficient, but I am sure you know that register access is faster than cache access, and we double the amount of registers in x64.
- untog 15y ago
  Because they're Microsoft products and the stigma around them is that MS products have no future and become abandoned quickly or go nowhere fast. I really, really don't believe that. What consumer-facing product was abandoned quickly in the Zune era? The Kin was an unmitigated disaster, sure, but when people think of MS they think of Windows, Office and (perhaps) Xbox- none of which have been abandoned.
  - stonemetal 15y ago
    The ZuneHD released September 2009, pronounced dead October 2011. Then there is the aforementioned Kin. WP7 devices will be shortly. No WP7 device is capable of running WP8(or at least that is the rumor.)
    - untog 15y ago
      The ZuneHD released September 2009, pronounced dead October 2011. I don't know what you mean by that exactly- have all the ZuneHD devices out there stopped working? No. Is the Zune desktop software still being updated? Yes. And 'Zune' wasn't killed, it was integrated into Windows Phone. MS are just responding to the market in that regard- no-one wants to carry around a dedicated media player any more- they use their smartphone. Kin was a giant mess, yes. But MS practically killed it before launch, and it has next to no advertising- I very much doubt it affected the average consumer's perception of Microsoft, because they probably never heard about it.
      - stonemetal 15y ago
        Is the Zune desktop software still being updated? Yes. That is rather like saying the iPod mini wasn't killed off because iTunes is still updated. You are unable to build software with the current sdk that will run on a Zune. Zune device software hasn't been updated since before it was discontinued. So no Zune devices were not integrated into windows phone, they were dropped in the dust bin.
        freehunter 15y ago
- ebbv 15y ago
  Your theory is ridiculous. The Xbox 360 was a major success. The Zune failed because people didn't like it. Not because it's a Microsoft product. Same goes for Windows Phone 7, it is failing because people don't like it. Now whether it's a better product or not is a subjective debate that isn't worth having, IMHO (better for whom?) But to say that they failed because of the Microsoft stigma is absurd.
  - darrenkopp 15y ago
    I love how people like to sit in a tree and talk about how other people think. Did you own a Zune and not like it? If not, then don't say "the Zune failed because people didn't like it" because as a Zune and iPod user who loves the Zune and hates the iPod, you don't know what you are talking about.
  - untog 15y ago
    The Zune failed because people didn't like it. I think people actually did like it, and I think that people do like Windows Phone when they try it. Zune failed because of a lack of visibility in a crowded marketplace (well, crowded in the sense that Apple is taking up 90% of the room). Windows Phone actually has the same challenge, and MS haven't really stepped up their game with regards to promoting it. Yet?
    - ehutch79 15y ago
      also, because they were marketing the shit-brown colored zune...
    - ChrisLTD 15y ago
      I've seen a lot of Windows Phone 7 promotion, but it's not all that compelling. Their entry into the smart phone wars was so late that they needed something extraordinary to convince people to consider them seriously. Instead they made something marginally better than iOS and Android in some ways and marginally worse in others.
      - untog 15y ago
- janardanyri 15y ago
  Another relevant point: antitrust oversight of Microsoft started in 1998 and ended 12 May 2011, and Microsoft clearly doesn't have a monopoly in PCs anymore. Imagine a world in which Apple was taken to court for including Mobile Safari on the iPhone, with talk of huge fines and company breakups. Consider having to make strategic decisions with those threats hanging over your head. Would we get Siri? Maybe adding Reminders counts as bundling? Maybe Game Center is anticompetitive against OpenFeint? Will the Growl developers sue over Mountain Lion notifications? What do you do when every improvement could become grounds for a lawsuit? Of course, Apple doesn't have to worry about those things because they don't have any monopolies. Microsoft did. So competition from Apple may have made the difference simply in that Microsoft no longer has to worry about being a monopoly either.
  - zmmmmm 15y ago
    Yes, this point is greatly underappreciated. Despite the widespread perception that the antitrust investigation was ineffective, if you trace back to the beginnings of Microsoft's stagnation, you will find it happens exactly when they started getting sued for antitrust in the US and Europe, and similarly so too did their innovation stall. They kept on producing cool stuff out of their research labs but nearly none of it ever made it out. Regulatory concerns enormously biased them towards playing it safe, just doing incremental improvements and milking their cash cow instead of risking aggressively entering new markets and getting hauled into court for it. Even the rise of OSX can be traced to it as MS has been forced to license a great deal of technology (exchange, office formats, etc) to its most hated competitors under FRAND type terms. So its kind of interesting that regulation may actually have been effective, just very slow to work, and also it is unclear whether it was in the ultimate interests of consumers or not (eg: years of stalled innovation that we are only now catching up on).
    - beagle3 15y ago
      > if you trace back to the beginnings of Microsoft's stagnation, you will find it happens exactly when they started getting sued for antitrust in the US and Europe, and similarly so too did their innovation stall. Or, when they managed to effectively kill Netscape and BeOS, having essentially zero competition. > They kept on producing cool stuff out of their research labs but nearly none of it ever made it out. The stuff out of their research labs never made it out before that either. > Regulatory concerns enormously biased them towards playing it safe, just doing incremental improvements and milking their cash cow instead of risking aggressively entering new markets and getting hauled into court for it. Huh? Was there any point in time after, say, 1987, when they did not play it safe? what does regulation have to do with it? > Even the rise of OSX can be traced to it as MS has been forced to license a great deal of technology (exchange, office formats, etc) to its most hated competitors under FRAND type terms. Samba was bundled with OS/X before MS was forced to open the protocol (which was actually extended from an older Digital protocol). The only other protocol which might have been at all relevant is ActiveSync, but it wasn't a factor in the rise of OS/X. It might have contributed to the iPhone, but I'm not sure of that either. > So its kind of interesting that regulation may actually have been effective, just very slow to work, and also it is unclear whether it was in the ultimate interests of consumers or not (eg: years of stalled innovation that we are only now catching up on). Excuse me for the question; in all seriousness - are you a Microsoft employee? Are you seriously claiming that Microsoft's failure to and delay in implement standards for web and office documents is somehow related to regulation? Because from where I'm standing, it sure looks like "it's good to be the king, we don't need to do anything" stalling.
- greedo 15y ago
  Of course people who bought the Zune are going to like them. They're a self-selected sampling... Even if they thought that deep down, the Zune was a POS, human nature is to defend decisions you've made, especially ones that involve money. The real question is why was the Zune a failure. It was a failure because it didn't offer what the market was buying. The fact that the few who did buy the Zune liked it in no way confers any quality upon the Zune.
  - leviathant 15y ago
    I got my first iPod around the time Zune launched, and my wife ended up doing some promo jobs for the Zune - and at the end of that summer, got a Zune out of it as a bonus. To rank my experience between portable music playback devices: iPhone > Zune > iPod She swears by her Zune, and having used both it and the iPod, the Zune is far and away a better device on every front. Having said that, the iPhone's interface is just that much better - and has the benefit of in-depth integration with third party devices. When I'm listening to music on my computer though, I actually came to use the Zune desktop software. I have a rather silly process of downloading music, tagging it with MP3tag, dropping it into iTunes (to sync to the iPhone, & to organize the files into folders based on artist & album), and Zune Desktop picks up on the changes to my Music folder and catalogs them automatically. Zune Desktop blows away iTunes for music playback. iTunes is perhaps a better music/app/video store, but the interface sucks, it's laggy. It looks out of place because it's using dated Mac aesthetics in a Windows environment. For a company that prides itself on style, it sure screws that pooch in the software department.
    - Splines 15y ago
      > Desktop blows away iTunes for music playback. iTunes is perhaps a better music/app/video store, but the interface sucks, it's laggy. It looks out of place because it's using dated Mac aesthetics in a Windows environment. For a company that prides itself on style, it sure screws that pooch in the software department. I feel the same way too. It's weird that for an application that could be a gateway to Apple-dom, Apple doesn't appear to spend much effort. I see it get updated on a regular basis, but I see very little improvements, just feature adds. It's gotten to the point where I don't bother updating unless it blocks me from updated my iPhone. I suppose Apple thinks that spending those resources on other properties is a better investment, but as an end user that deals with iTunes it's a bit frustrating.
- huggyface 15y ago
  but Windows is finally going somewhere amazing after many years of going no where Windows 7 is an excellent operating system. It is secure. It is very robust. It is easy to use. It is feature rich. It connects to everything and uses everything. In what way is that going nowhere? Same on the server side with Windows Server 2008 R2. I think the competition provided by Apple is proving terrible for Microsoft. They are abandoning their core strengths while poorly trying to duplicate what led to Apple's recent success (which, it should be noted, is largely the same design philosophies that Apple has been using for decades, through their rout as well). It is a classic cargo-cult where Microsoft desperately tries to copy the playbook. In the end they diminish the advantages they hold, while continuing to be deficient by the Apple playbook. They are following so they can never lead. I must say again that it is telling that the people who are most impressed with Microsoft's makeover are the people who would never buy their products -- the Apple faithful. They still think that Apple is leading, which is natural when one follows the other, but they like what Microsoft is doing. That's great if second place accolades could carry a business.
  - ChrisNorstrom 15y ago
    A very good counter argument. Windows 7 is awesome, but it wasn't going anywhere NEW. And that's something consumers want. A constantly moving product. Constantly evolving. Not just build it once and sit on it for a decade. But something that has life. "They are abandoning their core strengths while poorly trying to duplicate what led to Apple's recent success" But so is Ubuntu. They're just starting to realize that there's a huge demographic out there that they can make money off of and are adjusting their assets to compete for it, I think. A lot of the doom and gloom "desktops are dying" are because of mobile but also because of the stagnation and lack of 'ease of use' of desktop operating systems. Mobile's great but lets not bullshit ourselves, you can only stare at that little screen for so long before you hop on your laptop and do everything you wanted to do 10 times faster.
    - unseen 15y ago
      Eh, I think you have no clue what the actual customer wants. The problems of the average computer user are probably more of the "I don't want to get robbed from this scareware" kind. Really, get out of your tech bubble.
Permit 15y ago
I'm currently running the Dev Preview, and I was curious if anyone knows if there are any differences worth switching for?
- Maxious 15y ago
  For one, the dev preview expires in 10 days.
  - joebo 15y ago
    Microsoft extended it to Jan 15 2013: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2671501 http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2671501
- rplnt 15y ago
  If you are running the dev preview from last summer then yes, there are noticeable changes. If you have some more recent build (from this year) then probably no.
- dhawalhs 15y ago
  I would like to know if there is a way upgrade from the developer preview to the consumer preview? I have been using Windows 8 as my primary OS for last 4 months and don't want to do a clean install...
  - sorenbs 15y ago
    In the same boat. The can i upgrade... entry at http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-8/faq http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-8/faq suggests that you could just as well do a clean install.
kijin 15y ago
Anyone tried this on VirtualBox? How well does it work?
- rplnt 15y ago
  The Developer Preview worked with VirtualBox (and with VMware for that matter) so I guess this one will as well.
- city41 15y ago
  I have it running in VirtualBox, so far so good.
- keeperofdakeys 15y ago
  VirtualBox had a "Windows 8" category, and the Guest Additions can be installed
- freehunter 15y ago
  I kept getting crashes when I was installing it in VBox, latest version. YMMV, some people seem to have had better luck. I installed it in VMWare 8, just had to update VMWare before installing and it worked fine.
melling 15y ago
How is IE10? It sounds like it's going to be competitive with Chrome in both HTML5 compatibility and performance. http://html5test.com http://html5test.com Is Microsoft still doing the silent update for IE?
- nextparadigms 15y ago
  Will Chrome or Firefox even work in the "tile interface"? My guess is it won't.
  - rhengles 15y ago
    I've read recently that Firefox is looking into building a Metro version of it. No word about Chrome.
  - ConstantineXVI 15y ago
    Native code is still allowed, so it's technically possible provided they write new UI code for Metro. The main issue is "will Microsoft let other browsers in the store?"
    - alimbada 15y ago
      That's a non-issue. They've already been through plenty of anti-trust lawsuits.
    - drivebyacct2 15y ago
      The real question is, will Google bend to Microsoft's Store terms to list it there? Keep in mind, you can't install WinRT (aka, Metro) apps unless you go through the Store.
    - freehunter 15y ago
      There are already apps in the store that replicate built-in features. Windows Phone Marketplace has other browsers available. There's no reason Firefox couldn't show up in the store.
  - bradford 15y ago
jeromeparadis 15y ago
Has anyone tried running it under Parallels Desktop 7? Thanks.
- dasein_phil 15y ago
  I'm getting a black screen after successful install - I assume its a similar issue to the problem with Parallels Tools in the developer preview.
  - jeromeparadis 15y ago
    Damn! Thanks. I guess I'll try it with VMWare on my PC.
    - dasein_phil 15y ago
      For what its worth, I ended up getting it working with the same fix Parallels recommended for the original problem with parallel tools - http://kb.parallels.com/112317 http://kb.parallels.com/112317
  - jmspring 15y ago
    VMWare or VirtualBox are your best bets. I am seeing issues with Parallels Tools as well.
- deleted 15y ago
  [deleted]
- tonycoco 15y ago
  The 64-bit version installed fine, but my mouse is not responding in "Run like Windows" mode. Keyboard is fine though. I was able to peek around. "Run like a Mac" doesn't work basically at all.
nextparadigms 15y ago
Engadget's conclusion: "We really liked Windows 7 when it launched. It felt like a big step forward in the short time that had passed since Vista. Now, as we creep closer to a likely release near the end of this year, we can't shake a sense of doubt. Windows 8 still feels like two very different operating systems trying to be one. The potential is hugely alluring -- a single OS to rule both the tablet and the desktop -- and with each subsequent version we keep hoping this will be the one that ties it all together. Sadly, as of the Consumer Preview, we're still seeing a lot of loose threads. As it stands, Windows 8 is a considerably better tablet operating system than any previous version has managed to be. However, it's still a clumsier desktop OS than Windows 7. That's a problem Microsoft must fix before release." I feel the same way. By trying to please everyone, Microsoft will please no one, and will frustrate 95% of the Windows users out there who will be very confused not just by the tile interface, who is much different than what they are used to, but also by the disconnect between these two interfaces. Microsoft is trying to win the few who want a tablet interface at the expense of the vast majority who want a PC, mouse-oriented interface for their...PC's and laptops.
- untog 15y ago
  Well I guess it all feeds into the "buy every other Windows version" joke. By Windows 9 they'll have this integration sorted, maybe.
  - Karunamon 15y ago
    I kind of noticed this as an unwritten rule, instead of a joke. Every other release of windows seems to have its fair share of weirdness which is corrected with the release immediately superseding it. My path, which I'm sure matches a great deal of others is: 3.1 = buy 95 = skip 98 = buy ME = skip XP = buy Vista = skip 7 = buy Extrapoloating, 8 will be a "skip". I hope this will be the exception.. I kind of like what I've seen with 8 so far.
    - deleted 15y ago
      [deleted]
    - 15y ago
lini 15y ago
Visual Studio 2012 beta is out as well - http://www.microsoft.com/visualstudio/11/en-us/downloads http://www.microsoft.com/visualstudio/11/en-us/downloads
Achshar 15y ago
why don't they give an official torrent..? the file size is very big and direct download for slower connections is not feasible.
- jstepien 15y ago
  There's a couple of unofficial ones available already. Don't forget to check the SHA-1 sum after completing the download. https://thepiratebay.se/search/windows%208/0/99/0 https://thepiratebay.se/search/windows%208/0/99/0
leeoniya 15y ago
20GB needed for install, ouch.
jstepien 15y ago
I'm intrigued by the 0.8 GB difference between the x64 and the x86 build. It's even more interesting given that this difference must be caused solely by different machine code, which, by its nature, shouldn't pose a big challenge for compression algorithms. Assuming that 32 extra bits per pointer and a different instruction set aren't enough to generate such such an increase in size, I'm wondering what might be the reason. Extra binaries and portability-related code for for 32-bit compatibility? Any ideas?
- CurtHagenlocher 15y ago
  64-bit Windows contains both 64-bit and 32-bit versions of all the userland libraries -- things like user32.dll and comctl32.dll -- as well as both the 64-bit and 32-bit versions of .NET.
- UnFleshedOne 15y ago
  Extra binaries for 32bit compatibility probably take most of the space. On my 64bit win 7 install, C:\windows\SYSWOW64 takes up 1.4 gigs.
  - lloeki 15y ago
    > On my 64bit win 7 install, C:\windows\SYSWOW64 takes up 1.4 gigs. For the uninformed: on a 64bit Windows, SysWOW64 (i.e Windows On Windows 64) holds 32bit binaries while System32 holds 64 bit binaries (whoever pulled that April's fool prank must have laughed out himself to death by now)
paulovsk 15y ago
How much time I'll be able to use this version? Does it expire?
- dylanpyle 15y ago
  I'm wondering the same thing - I assume it does expire, but there's no indication of when. For what it's worth, the FAQ does instruct you to use the product key "NF32V-Q9P3W-7DR7Y-JGWRW-JFCK8".
  - deleted 15y ago
    [deleted]
  - paulovsk 15y ago
    Thanks! The setup gave me one, too. I'll save both, just in case.
molecularbutter 15y ago
Has anyone tried using this with Boot Camp on a Mac yet?
- jakejake 15y ago
  Somewhat related but if you just want to play around and you have Parallels, you can install that by going to new virtual machine, and the developer preview version of win 8 is one of the choices. It expires in two weeks.
- klausa 15y ago
  It works, but I couldn't find a way to install Boot Camp stuff, so it's pretty miserable experience (no right click, no two-finger scrolling, have to manually find Wireless drivers, I don't have audio working, etc.).
  - molecularbutter 15y ago
    Bummer, hopefully it will be easy to set up. To get a good feel for this we really need multitouch support.
    - Lewisham 15y ago
      At least with the dev preview, the way to do it was to fire up Boot Camp in Lion, have it make the Windows 7 drivers USB stick, then quit Lion. Pop over to Win 8 and then install the drivers. But they don't all work (at least, I never got multitouch working).
jakeonthemove 15y ago
Just tried it - it's pretty much as I expected... awesome! It's like Windows 7, only more polished. Metro UI is quite cool, but you can spend most your time in the desktop mode if you wish (you'll have to use Metro to search for stuff and open apps). One big drawback is that my favorite tool, Dexpot (virtual desktops manager) does not work - I hope it's not because they removed VD support, that would seriously suck...
- marcocampos 15y ago
  You have to switch to Metro mode to open regular apps? That's... well, I'm speechless.
  - jakeonthemove 15y ago
    Well, you can avoid Metro if you use desktop icons or pin your favorite apps to the taskbar. I always used the start menu for opening apps, so now I have to go through Metro. It's pretty good, actually... Even if you put all your icons on the desktop, you'll have to use Metro for search, settings, shutting down the PC, etc.
  - freehunter 15y ago
    "Switch to" is kind of a misnomer. It's kind of like how you have to "switch to" having the start menu open or you have to "switch to" having the window minimized to see your desktop. It's not a big ordeal to open the start menu.
RexRollman 15y ago
Personally, two things I would like to see added are a Metro-based file manager and a Metro-based command prompt, but I fully expect that will not happen.
- wvenable 15y ago
  Easy added by third parties
mustafak 15y ago
I do not understand whether I am using tablet or a laptop, it's too complicated. And, I install K-Lite Codec Pack -> bom that lovely metro ui is screwed.
emehrkay 15y ago
This thing doesnt seem to like mouseclicks via Parallels on OS X Lion
zaatar 15y ago
I hope you like IE10; It's been a lot of work for a lot of people to make it happen. If you don't, please do not fail to voice your concerns. Thanks, and enjoy!
- yuhong 15y ago
  What about IE10 for Windows 7?
  - zaatar 15y ago
    It's coming. You don't have to take my word for it, the official word says exactly that: http://blogs.msdn.com/b/ie/archive/2011/11/29/html5-for-applications-the-fourth-ie10-platform-preview.aspx#10242559 http://blogs.msdn.com/b/ie/archive/2011/11/29/html5-for-appl...
- pbz 15y ago
  Does IE10 respect the system's ClearType settings or still forcing its own way?
  - zaatar 15y ago
    I'm not sure what you're referring to, and am not aware of system settings being trumped vis-a-vis Cleartype ... do you have more info so I can investigate deeper? Please reply here, or email me that is more convenient; I'm at ravi.rao@microsoft.com
jakeonthemove 15y ago
OK, the latest beta version of Dexpot works - I'm good! Metro is also surprisingly intuitive - I've picked up everything on the first try (the corner actions are cool, too). Now, what I don't like: - All of the advanced settings (Control Panel and everything) are hard to access; - WIN-TAB shows only Metro apps, but ALT-TAB shows Metro and the normal apps, cluttering the interface. - While I like the Metro apps and will probably use them, the desktop should be loading by default on a laptop/desktop - there's no reason not to do it, and it looks like it's easily doable with some tweaked settings; - The dumbed down everything feeling of Metro is cool at first, but gets annoying on a laptop after a while; - I had to register a LIVE account to login to the OS - what if I don't have an Internet connection? But that's about it - Windows 8 looks like a great OS, I like it. I still don't get why Microsoft had to make it an all-in-one OS for tablets and desktops when they could've packed Metro only for a tablet edition, but whatever...
- recoiledsnake 15y ago
  >I had to register a LIVE account to login to the OS - what if I don't have an Internet connection? I believe there's way to create a normal user account as well. Also your live credentials are cached for use when the PC is offline. >I still don't get why Microsoft had to make it an all-in-one OS for tablets and desktops when they could've packed Metro only for a tablet edition, but whatever.. Because you'd be able to dock the tablet or connect a monitor mouse/keyboard and have the full Windows desktop experience on a x86 tablet. Metro only will limit its power.
  - jakeonthemove 15y ago
    That makes sense... I'm not really complaining, but I can already see myself using desktop most of the time and rarely going into Metro on my laptop... that's exactly why I won't be upgrading anytime soon :-)
- freehunter 15y ago
  When I first installed Win8, I didn't have a network connection. It completely skipped logging into a Microsoft Account and walked me through creating a local account. If you try to log on without networking, I would imagine it caches your last used login information as a local account. I haven't tried it, but this is how previous Windows versions worked when you were using a domain login.
kumarm 15y ago
Seems like a decent release. I am unable to find search in Store. Anyone else know a way to search in store?
- ds2600 15y ago
  If you begin a search like you would for an app on the Start screen, or use the system wide search from the charms bar, you can select 'Store' from directly below the search box. The store needs a LOT of work.
malkia 15y ago
Stands as an example of how to shoot a bird with two guns.
Someone 15y ago
I hope they will improve the installation experience for the real thing. The product key we are used to, but the rest is more horrible. Do they really _have_ to have my email address? Mobile phone number? Country info? Zip code? Birth date? Am I getting old, or is that CAPTCHA system incredibly hard? Why have on, in the first place? Or does that stuff only turn up when one makes semi-random selections elsewhere?
ThinkEzy 15y ago
My take on Windows 8: http://www.thinkezy.com/blog/?p=131 http://www.thinkezy.com/blog/?p=131
- freehunter 15y ago
  So you don't like tablet-oriented user interfaces, so your solution is to switch to Unity or Gnome3?

265 points by klausa 15y ago

Thanks, pulling at my max speed right now (~2MB/s). Live coverage of the preview event here. http://www.engadget.com/2012/02/29/live-from-microsofts-windows-8-press-event-at-mobile-world-cong/ http://www.engadget.com/2012/02/29/live-from-microsofts-wind...

ChrisNorstrom 15y ago

Competition from Apple and Linux (but mostly Apple) is the best thing to happen to Microsoft in a long time. No, the UI isn't perfect yet, the design decisions (for this beta) not always logical, but Windows is finally going somewhere amazing after many years of going no where. Because some of Microsoft's best products were great but went no where. Take the Zune and Windows Phone 7. People who own them love them, especially the Zune. My neighbor had an iPod and Zune and always stood up for his Zune despite loathing Microsoft. But everyone else refuses to touch them. Why? Because they're Microsoft products and the stigma around them is that MS products have no future and become abandoned quickly or go nowhere fast. A reputation that's going to take consumers at least a decade to forget about and move on. So hopefully MS keeps these "revolutionary redesigns" going at a constant rate and not just kill them once profit comes in and market share returns.

podperson 15y ago
I don't think the problem was the zune itself but the zune ecosystem. Apple more than any competitor understood this. If all you want is a player for your existing music library, an iPod offers little advantage over any other decent music player, and the zune UI was very polished. That said, the first thing that struck me about Windows 8 is that there's still a hard line between the 32- and 64-bit versions, which points to a fairly major underlying technical legacy in the current stack. So they need to go through another major revision (as in DOS -> NT) or hope 32-bit disappears (at least on the Intel side; it looks like they're planning on making the ARM side embedded/pre-installed only, so it won't matter so much).
- CurtHagenlocher 15y ago
  There are still plenty of people with hardware that has less than 4 GB of RAM. For those people, there's not generally an advantage in running a 64-bit OS if all their applications are available in 32-bit versions.
  - udp 15y ago
    Aren't 64-bit processors a little more efficient at running a 64-bit operating system?
    - CurtHagenlocher 15y ago
      No. And for most programs, 64-bit code is probably less efficient than 32-bit code. Pointers are twice as big and instructions are generally longer, so less stuff fits into cache.
      - stephanimal 15y ago
        This is one disadvantage, yes. However all registers are now 64 bit, and in general, there are more of them. Furthermore, the 4GB limit does not just concern physical RAM, it also applies elsewhere, like memory mapped files. In general, it is unlikely that you will see poorer performance from 64-bit code compared to its 32-bit counterpart.
        herge 15y ago
        Most of the memory used by programs are pointers, and if you double your pointer size, it has a negative impact on the efficientcy of the L1 and L2 cache.
        stephanimal 15y ago
        Yes, this is exactly what CurtHagenlocher said. >> Most of the memory used by programs are pointers This is a huge generalization, may I add. Yes, I will not argue that cache usage is less efficient, but I am sure you know that register access is faster than cache access, and we double the amount of registers in x64.
untog 15y ago
Because they're Microsoft products and the stigma around them is that MS products have no future and become abandoned quickly or go nowhere fast. I really, really don't believe that. What consumer-facing product was abandoned quickly in the Zune era? The Kin was an unmitigated disaster, sure, but when people think of MS they think of Windows, Office and (perhaps) Xbox- none of which have been abandoned.
- stonemetal 15y ago
  The ZuneHD released September 2009, pronounced dead October 2011. Then there is the aforementioned Kin. WP7 devices will be shortly. No WP7 device is capable of running WP8(or at least that is the rumor.)
  - untog 15y ago
    The ZuneHD released September 2009, pronounced dead October 2011. I don't know what you mean by that exactly- have all the ZuneHD devices out there stopped working? No. Is the Zune desktop software still being updated? Yes. And 'Zune' wasn't killed, it was integrated into Windows Phone. MS are just responding to the market in that regard- no-one wants to carry around a dedicated media player any more- they use their smartphone. Kin was a giant mess, yes. But MS practically killed it before launch, and it has next to no advertising- I very much doubt it affected the average consumer's perception of Microsoft, because they probably never heard about it.
    - stonemetal 15y ago
      Is the Zune desktop software still being updated? Yes. That is rather like saying the iPod mini wasn't killed off because iTunes is still updated. You are unable to build software with the current sdk that will run on a Zune. Zune device software hasn't been updated since before it was discontinued. So no Zune devices were not integrated into windows phone, they were dropped in the dust bin.
      - freehunter 15y ago
ebbv 15y ago
Your theory is ridiculous. The Xbox 360 was a major success. The Zune failed because people didn't like it. Not because it's a Microsoft product. Same goes for Windows Phone 7, it is failing because people don't like it. Now whether it's a better product or not is a subjective debate that isn't worth having, IMHO (better for whom?) But to say that they failed because of the Microsoft stigma is absurd.
- darrenkopp 15y ago
  I love how people like to sit in a tree and talk about how other people think. Did you own a Zune and not like it? If not, then don't say "the Zune failed because people didn't like it" because as a Zune and iPod user who loves the Zune and hates the iPod, you don't know what you are talking about.
- untog 15y ago
  The Zune failed because people didn't like it. I think people actually did like it, and I think that people do like Windows Phone when they try it. Zune failed because of a lack of visibility in a crowded marketplace (well, crowded in the sense that Apple is taking up 90% of the room). Windows Phone actually has the same challenge, and MS haven't really stepped up their game with regards to promoting it. Yet?
  - ehutch79 15y ago
    also, because they were marketing the shit-brown colored zune...
  - ChrisLTD 15y ago
    I've seen a lot of Windows Phone 7 promotion, but it's not all that compelling. Their entry into the smart phone wars was so late that they needed something extraordinary to convince people to consider them seriously. Instead they made something marginally better than iOS and Android in some ways and marginally worse in others.
    - untog 15y ago
janardanyri 15y ago
Another relevant point: antitrust oversight of Microsoft started in 1998 and ended 12 May 2011, and Microsoft clearly doesn't have a monopoly in PCs anymore. Imagine a world in which Apple was taken to court for including Mobile Safari on the iPhone, with talk of huge fines and company breakups. Consider having to make strategic decisions with those threats hanging over your head. Would we get Siri? Maybe adding Reminders counts as bundling? Maybe Game Center is anticompetitive against OpenFeint? Will the Growl developers sue over Mountain Lion notifications? What do you do when every improvement could become grounds for a lawsuit? Of course, Apple doesn't have to worry about those things because they don't have any monopolies. Microsoft did. So competition from Apple may have made the difference simply in that Microsoft no longer has to worry about being a monopoly either.
- zmmmmm 15y ago
  Yes, this point is greatly underappreciated. Despite the widespread perception that the antitrust investigation was ineffective, if you trace back to the beginnings of Microsoft's stagnation, you will find it happens exactly when they started getting sued for antitrust in the US and Europe, and similarly so too did their innovation stall. They kept on producing cool stuff out of their research labs but nearly none of it ever made it out. Regulatory concerns enormously biased them towards playing it safe, just doing incremental improvements and milking their cash cow instead of risking aggressively entering new markets and getting hauled into court for it. Even the rise of OSX can be traced to it as MS has been forced to license a great deal of technology (exchange, office formats, etc) to its most hated competitors under FRAND type terms. So its kind of interesting that regulation may actually have been effective, just very slow to work, and also it is unclear whether it was in the ultimate interests of consumers or not (eg: years of stalled innovation that we are only now catching up on).
  - beagle3 15y ago
    > if you trace back to the beginnings of Microsoft's stagnation, you will find it happens exactly when they started getting sued for antitrust in the US and Europe, and similarly so too did their innovation stall. Or, when they managed to effectively kill Netscape and BeOS, having essentially zero competition. > They kept on producing cool stuff out of their research labs but nearly none of it ever made it out. The stuff out of their research labs never made it out before that either. > Regulatory concerns enormously biased them towards playing it safe, just doing incremental improvements and milking their cash cow instead of risking aggressively entering new markets and getting hauled into court for it. Huh? Was there any point in time after, say, 1987, when they did not play it safe? what does regulation have to do with it? > Even the rise of OSX can be traced to it as MS has been forced to license a great deal of technology (exchange, office formats, etc) to its most hated competitors under FRAND type terms. Samba was bundled with OS/X before MS was forced to open the protocol (which was actually extended from an older Digital protocol). The only other protocol which might have been at all relevant is ActiveSync, but it wasn't a factor in the rise of OS/X. It might have contributed to the iPhone, but I'm not sure of that either. > So its kind of interesting that regulation may actually have been effective, just very slow to work, and also it is unclear whether it was in the ultimate interests of consumers or not (eg: years of stalled innovation that we are only now catching up on). Excuse me for the question; in all seriousness - are you a Microsoft employee? Are you seriously claiming that Microsoft's failure to and delay in implement standards for web and office documents is somehow related to regulation? Because from where I'm standing, it sure looks like "it's good to be the king, we don't need to do anything" stalling.
greedo 15y ago
Of course people who bought the Zune are going to like them. They're a self-selected sampling... Even if they thought that deep down, the Zune was a POS, human nature is to defend decisions you've made, especially ones that involve money. The real question is why was the Zune a failure. It was a failure because it didn't offer what the market was buying. The fact that the few who did buy the Zune liked it in no way confers any quality upon the Zune.
- leviathant 15y ago
  I got my first iPod around the time Zune launched, and my wife ended up doing some promo jobs for the Zune - and at the end of that summer, got a Zune out of it as a bonus. To rank my experience between portable music playback devices: iPhone > Zune > iPod She swears by her Zune, and having used both it and the iPod, the Zune is far and away a better device on every front. Having said that, the iPhone's interface is just that much better - and has the benefit of in-depth integration with third party devices. When I'm listening to music on my computer though, I actually came to use the Zune desktop software. I have a rather silly process of downloading music, tagging it with MP3tag, dropping it into iTunes (to sync to the iPhone, & to organize the files into folders based on artist & album), and Zune Desktop picks up on the changes to my Music folder and catalogs them automatically. Zune Desktop blows away iTunes for music playback. iTunes is perhaps a better music/app/video store, but the interface sucks, it's laggy. It looks out of place because it's using dated Mac aesthetics in a Windows environment. For a company that prides itself on style, it sure screws that pooch in the software department.
  - Splines 15y ago
    > Desktop blows away iTunes for music playback. iTunes is perhaps a better music/app/video store, but the interface sucks, it's laggy. It looks out of place because it's using dated Mac aesthetics in a Windows environment. For a company that prides itself on style, it sure screws that pooch in the software department. I feel the same way too. It's weird that for an application that could be a gateway to Apple-dom, Apple doesn't appear to spend much effort. I see it get updated on a regular basis, but I see very little improvements, just feature adds. It's gotten to the point where I don't bother updating unless it blocks me from updated my iPhone. I suppose Apple thinks that spending those resources on other properties is a better investment, but as an end user that deals with iTunes it's a bit frustrating.
huggyface 15y ago
but Windows is finally going somewhere amazing after many years of going no where Windows 7 is an excellent operating system. It is secure. It is very robust. It is easy to use. It is feature rich. It connects to everything and uses everything. In what way is that going nowhere? Same on the server side with Windows Server 2008 R2. I think the competition provided by Apple is proving terrible for Microsoft. They are abandoning their core strengths while poorly trying to duplicate what led to Apple's recent success (which, it should be noted, is largely the same design philosophies that Apple has been using for decades, through their rout as well). It is a classic cargo-cult where Microsoft desperately tries to copy the playbook. In the end they diminish the advantages they hold, while continuing to be deficient by the Apple playbook. They are following so they can never lead. I must say again that it is telling that the people who are most impressed with Microsoft's makeover are the people who would never buy their products -- the Apple faithful. They still think that Apple is leading, which is natural when one follows the other, but they like what Microsoft is doing. That's great if second place accolades could carry a business.
- ChrisNorstrom 15y ago
  A very good counter argument. Windows 7 is awesome, but it wasn't going anywhere NEW. And that's something consumers want. A constantly moving product. Constantly evolving. Not just build it once and sit on it for a decade. But something that has life. "They are abandoning their core strengths while poorly trying to duplicate what led to Apple's recent success" But so is Ubuntu. They're just starting to realize that there's a huge demographic out there that they can make money off of and are adjusting their assets to compete for it, I think. A lot of the doom and gloom "desktops are dying" are because of mobile but also because of the stagnation and lack of 'ease of use' of desktop operating systems. Mobile's great but lets not bullshit ourselves, you can only stare at that little screen for so long before you hop on your laptop and do everything you wanted to do 10 times faster.
  - unseen 15y ago
    Eh, I think you have no clue what the actual customer wants. The problems of the average computer user are probably more of the "I don't want to get robbed from this scareware" kind. Really, get out of your tech bubble.

Permit 15y ago

I'm currently running the Dev Preview, and I was curious if anyone knows if there are any differences worth switching for?

Maxious 15y ago
For one, the dev preview expires in 10 days.
- joebo 15y ago
  Microsoft extended it to Jan 15 2013: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2671501 http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2671501
rplnt 15y ago
If you are running the dev preview from last summer then yes, there are noticeable changes. If you have some more recent build (from this year) then probably no.
dhawalhs 15y ago
I would like to know if there is a way upgrade from the developer preview to the consumer preview? I have been using Windows 8 as my primary OS for last 4 months and don't want to do a clean install...
- sorenbs 15y ago
  In the same boat. The can i upgrade... entry at http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-8/faq http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-8/faq suggests that you could just as well do a clean install.

kijin 15y ago

Anyone tried this on VirtualBox? How well does it work?

rplnt 15y ago
The Developer Preview worked with VirtualBox (and with VMware for that matter) so I guess this one will as well.
city41 15y ago
I have it running in VirtualBox, so far so good.
keeperofdakeys 15y ago
VirtualBox had a "Windows 8" category, and the Guest Additions can be installed
freehunter 15y ago
I kept getting crashes when I was installing it in VBox, latest version. YMMV, some people seem to have had better luck. I installed it in VMWare 8, just had to update VMWare before installing and it worked fine.

melling 15y ago

How is IE10? It sounds like it's going to be competitive with Chrome in both HTML5 compatibility and performance. http://html5test.com http://html5test.com Is Microsoft still doing the silent update for IE?

nextparadigms 15y ago
Will Chrome or Firefox even work in the "tile interface"? My guess is it won't.
- rhengles 15y ago
  I've read recently that Firefox is looking into building a Metro version of it. No word about Chrome.
- ConstantineXVI 15y ago
  Native code is still allowed, so it's technically possible provided they write new UI code for Metro. The main issue is "will Microsoft let other browsers in the store?"
  - alimbada 15y ago
    That's a non-issue. They've already been through plenty of anti-trust lawsuits.
  - drivebyacct2 15y ago
    The real question is, will Google bend to Microsoft's Store terms to list it there? Keep in mind, you can't install WinRT (aka, Metro) apps unless you go through the Store.
  - freehunter 15y ago
    There are already apps in the store that replicate built-in features. Windows Phone Marketplace has other browsers available. There's no reason Firefox couldn't show up in the store.
- bradford 15y ago

jeromeparadis 15y ago

Has anyone tried running it under Parallels Desktop 7? Thanks.

dasein_phil 15y ago
I'm getting a black screen after successful install - I assume its a similar issue to the problem with Parallels Tools in the developer preview.
- jeromeparadis 15y ago
  Damn! Thanks. I guess I'll try it with VMWare on my PC.
  - dasein_phil 15y ago
    For what its worth, I ended up getting it working with the same fix Parallels recommended for the original problem with parallel tools - http://kb.parallels.com/112317 http://kb.parallels.com/112317
- jmspring 15y ago
  VMWare or VirtualBox are your best bets. I am seeing issues with Parallels Tools as well.
deleted 15y ago
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tonycoco 15y ago
The 64-bit version installed fine, but my mouse is not responding in "Run like Windows" mode. Keyboard is fine though. I was able to peek around. "Run like a Mac" doesn't work basically at all.

nextparadigms 15y ago

Engadget's conclusion: "We really liked Windows 7 when it launched. It felt like a big step forward in the short time that had passed since Vista. Now, as we creep closer to a likely release near the end of this year, we can't shake a sense of doubt. Windows 8 still feels like two very different operating systems trying to be one. The potential is hugely alluring -- a single OS to rule both the tablet and the desktop -- and with each subsequent version we keep hoping this will be the one that ties it all together. Sadly, as of the Consumer Preview, we're still seeing a lot of loose threads. As it stands, Windows 8 is a considerably better tablet operating system than any previous version has managed to be. However, it's still a clumsier desktop OS than Windows 7. That's a problem Microsoft must fix before release." I feel the same way. By trying to please everyone, Microsoft will please no one, and will frustrate 95% of the Windows users out there who will be very confused not just by the tile interface, who is much different than what they are used to, but also by the disconnect between these two interfaces. Microsoft is trying to win the few who want a tablet interface at the expense of the vast majority who want a PC, mouse-oriented interface for their...PC's and laptops.

untog 15y ago
Well I guess it all feeds into the "buy every other Windows version" joke. By Windows 9 they'll have this integration sorted, maybe.
- Karunamon 15y ago
  I kind of noticed this as an unwritten rule, instead of a joke. Every other release of windows seems to have its fair share of weirdness which is corrected with the release immediately superseding it. My path, which I'm sure matches a great deal of others is: 3.1 = buy 95 = skip 98 = buy ME = skip XP = buy Vista = skip 7 = buy Extrapoloating, 8 will be a "skip". I hope this will be the exception.. I kind of like what I've seen with 8 so far.
  - deleted 15y ago
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  - 15y ago

lini 15y ago

Visual Studio 2012 beta is out as well - http://www.microsoft.com/visualstudio/11/en-us/downloads http://www.microsoft.com/visualstudio/11/en-us/downloads

Achshar 15y ago

why don't they give an official torrent..? the file size is very big and direct download for slower connections is not feasible.

jstepien 15y ago
There's a couple of unofficial ones available already. Don't forget to check the SHA-1 sum after completing the download. https://thepiratebay.se/search/windows%208/0/99/0 https://thepiratebay.se/search/windows%208/0/99/0

leeoniya 15y ago

20GB needed for install, ouch.

jstepien 15y ago

I'm intrigued by the 0.8 GB difference between the x64 and the x86 build. It's even more interesting given that this difference must be caused solely by different machine code, which, by its nature, shouldn't pose a big challenge for compression algorithms. Assuming that 32 extra bits per pointer and a different instruction set aren't enough to generate such such an increase in size, I'm wondering what might be the reason. Extra binaries and portability-related code for for 32-bit compatibility? Any ideas?

CurtHagenlocher 15y ago
64-bit Windows contains both 64-bit and 32-bit versions of all the userland libraries -- things like user32.dll and comctl32.dll -- as well as both the 64-bit and 32-bit versions of .NET.
UnFleshedOne 15y ago
Extra binaries for 32bit compatibility probably take most of the space. On my 64bit win 7 install, C:\windows\SYSWOW64 takes up 1.4 gigs.
- lloeki 15y ago
  > On my 64bit win 7 install, C:\windows\SYSWOW64 takes up 1.4 gigs. For the uninformed: on a 64bit Windows, SysWOW64 (i.e Windows On Windows 64) holds 32bit binaries while System32 holds 64 bit binaries (whoever pulled that April's fool prank must have laughed out himself to death by now)

paulovsk 15y ago

How much time I'll be able to use this version? Does it expire?

dylanpyle 15y ago
I'm wondering the same thing - I assume it does expire, but there's no indication of when. For what it's worth, the FAQ does instruct you to use the product key "NF32V-Q9P3W-7DR7Y-JGWRW-JFCK8".
- deleted 15y ago
  [deleted]
- paulovsk 15y ago
  Thanks! The setup gave me one, too. I'll save both, just in case.

molecularbutter 15y ago

Has anyone tried using this with Boot Camp on a Mac yet?

jakejake 15y ago
Somewhat related but if you just want to play around and you have Parallels, you can install that by going to new virtual machine, and the developer preview version of win 8 is one of the choices. It expires in two weeks.
klausa 15y ago
It works, but I couldn't find a way to install Boot Camp stuff, so it's pretty miserable experience (no right click, no two-finger scrolling, have to manually find Wireless drivers, I don't have audio working, etc.).
- molecularbutter 15y ago
  Bummer, hopefully it will be easy to set up. To get a good feel for this we really need multitouch support.
  - Lewisham 15y ago
    At least with the dev preview, the way to do it was to fire up Boot Camp in Lion, have it make the Windows 7 drivers USB stick, then quit Lion. Pop over to Win 8 and then install the drivers. But they don't all work (at least, I never got multitouch working).

jakeonthemove 15y ago

Just tried it - it's pretty much as I expected... awesome! It's like Windows 7, only more polished. Metro UI is quite cool, but you can spend most your time in the desktop mode if you wish (you'll have to use Metro to search for stuff and open apps). One big drawback is that my favorite tool, Dexpot (virtual desktops manager) does not work - I hope it's not because they removed VD support, that would seriously suck...

marcocampos 15y ago
You have to switch to Metro mode to open regular apps? That's... well, I'm speechless.
- jakeonthemove 15y ago
  Well, you can avoid Metro if you use desktop icons or pin your favorite apps to the taskbar. I always used the start menu for opening apps, so now I have to go through Metro. It's pretty good, actually... Even if you put all your icons on the desktop, you'll have to use Metro for search, settings, shutting down the PC, etc.
- freehunter 15y ago
  "Switch to" is kind of a misnomer. It's kind of like how you have to "switch to" having the start menu open or you have to "switch to" having the window minimized to see your desktop. It's not a big ordeal to open the start menu.

RexRollman 15y ago

Personally, two things I would like to see added are a Metro-based file manager and a Metro-based command prompt, but I fully expect that will not happen.

wvenable 15y ago
Easy added by third parties

mustafak 15y ago

I do not understand whether I am using tablet or a laptop, it's too complicated. And, I install K-Lite Codec Pack -> bom that lovely metro ui is screwed.

emehrkay 15y ago

This thing doesnt seem to like mouseclicks via Parallels on OS X Lion

zaatar 15y ago

I hope you like IE10; It's been a lot of work for a lot of people to make it happen. If you don't, please do not fail to voice your concerns. Thanks, and enjoy!

yuhong 15y ago
What about IE10 for Windows 7?
- zaatar 15y ago
  It's coming. You don't have to take my word for it, the official word says exactly that: http://blogs.msdn.com/b/ie/archive/2011/11/29/html5-for-applications-the-fourth-ie10-platform-preview.aspx#10242559 http://blogs.msdn.com/b/ie/archive/2011/11/29/html5-for-appl...
pbz 15y ago
Does IE10 respect the system's ClearType settings or still forcing its own way?
- zaatar 15y ago
  I'm not sure what you're referring to, and am not aware of system settings being trumped vis-a-vis Cleartype ... do you have more info so I can investigate deeper? Please reply here, or email me that is more convenient; I'm at ravi.rao@microsoft.com

jakeonthemove 15y ago

OK, the latest beta version of Dexpot works - I'm good! Metro is also surprisingly intuitive - I've picked up everything on the first try (the corner actions are cool, too). Now, what I don't like: - All of the advanced settings (Control Panel and everything) are hard to access; - WIN-TAB shows only Metro apps, but ALT-TAB shows Metro and the normal apps, cluttering the interface. - While I like the Metro apps and will probably use them, the desktop should be loading by default on a laptop/desktop - there's no reason not to do it, and it looks like it's easily doable with some tweaked settings; - The dumbed down everything feeling of Metro is cool at first, but gets annoying on a laptop after a while; - I had to register a LIVE account to login to the OS - what if I don't have an Internet connection? But that's about it - Windows 8 looks like a great OS, I like it. I still don't get why Microsoft had to make it an all-in-one OS for tablets and desktops when they could've packed Metro only for a tablet edition, but whatever...

recoiledsnake 15y ago
>I had to register a LIVE account to login to the OS - what if I don't have an Internet connection? I believe there's way to create a normal user account as well. Also your live credentials are cached for use when the PC is offline. >I still don't get why Microsoft had to make it an all-in-one OS for tablets and desktops when they could've packed Metro only for a tablet edition, but whatever.. Because you'd be able to dock the tablet or connect a monitor mouse/keyboard and have the full Windows desktop experience on a x86 tablet. Metro only will limit its power.
- jakeonthemove 15y ago
  That makes sense... I'm not really complaining, but I can already see myself using desktop most of the time and rarely going into Metro on my laptop... that's exactly why I won't be upgrading anytime soon :-)
freehunter 15y ago
When I first installed Win8, I didn't have a network connection. It completely skipped logging into a Microsoft Account and walked me through creating a local account. If you try to log on without networking, I would imagine it caches your last used login information as a local account. I haven't tried it, but this is how previous Windows versions worked when you were using a domain login.

kumarm 15y ago

Seems like a decent release. I am unable to find search in Store. Anyone else know a way to search in store?

ds2600 15y ago
If you begin a search like you would for an app on the Start screen, or use the system wide search from the charms bar, you can select 'Store' from directly below the search box. The store needs a LOT of work.

malkia 15y ago

Stands as an example of how to shoot a bird with two guns.

Someone 15y ago

I hope they will improve the installation experience for the real thing. The product key we are used to, but the rest is more horrible. Do they really _have_ to have my email address? Mobile phone number? Country info? Zip code? Birth date? Am I getting old, or is that CAPTCHA system incredibly hard? Why have on, in the first place? Or does that stuff only turn up when one makes semi-random selections elsewhere?

ThinkEzy 15y ago

My take on Windows 8: http://www.thinkezy.com/blog/?p=131 http://www.thinkezy.com/blog/?p=131

freehunter 15y ago
So you don't like tablet-oriented user interfaces, so your solution is to switch to Unity or Gnome3?