Windows 8 Dev build

[pjbliverpool]

You do know win 8 on arm wont run x86 programs.
@miksu can you scroll with the mouse wheel ?

Yes but it's not a great user experience. The swiping method Miksu described definately should be implemented to mirror the touch interface that Metro was clearly designed for.

I expect it will be in the final build, it's too obvious a feature not to include. The again, looking at the games explorer in W7 I wouldn't put anything past Microsoft these days.

 

[pjbliverpool]

This provides a pretty good description of how massive a departure from WIndows 7/Vista/XP Windows 8 is. And the huge (IMO) disadvantages it brings.

http://www.extremetech.com/computing/96249-5-deal-breaking-flaws-in-windows-8

I see a major storm coming. Many PC enthusiasts are going to hate W8. On the other hand it may well be a huge hit with Joe average. It's a big gamble for MS though. The general consensus amoungst joe average is that Vista was rubbish. Where did that consensus come from because Joe didn't come up with it on his own? It came from all the PC enthusiasts that didn't like the change from WinXP to Vista.

I can only image the effect those people will have on the joe average population given the level of change between W7 and W8.

 

[tabs]

That article is garbage. It's just an audience grabbing headline with ill-thought out points. If I could turn back time I would ignore it and not give them the extra view. FWIW though here is what springs to mind about their 'flaws':

Spoiler

Point 1: "Unless you are in Desktop and you have a keyboard attached" which basically means anyone who wants to use the old method (the machine as a workstation). Point nullified.

Point 2: "We would expect that a Close button might appear in the right-side menu at a later date, though." Oh really? Surely MS will not let people close applications once they've opened them. Stupid point on an early dev build.

Point 3: Honestly I have no idea. Maybe they're on to something here, but I doubt MS is going to stop us from accessing our own apps, data and system configuration. Sure they'll 'hide' the techy stuff from the general public but that's a GOOD IDEA. It means people like us will have to spend less time round the neighbors fixing their PC for them.

Point 4: "It now requires no less than four gestures to shut down or reboot a Windows 8 tablet." - just how often are we shutting our machines down here? Currently I have to move my mouse to the bottom left corner (1), click (2) move mouse right a bit (3) click (4). If it were 6 movements I wouldn't be complaining. I don't shut down my machine more than a couple of times in a day, usually not even that.

Point 5: Search still exists, now we just specify if its an app/file/setting we are looking for. Yes that might be a bit less convenient if you already know the exact name of the thing you want, but it might also be a lot faster. People tend to know what category of thing they're looking for and rather than have 7 results to choose from, now they might have 2. Also it keeps my mum from opening up a settings tweaker on her PC when all she wanted was a similarly named file.

 

[suryad]

You do know win 8 on arm wont run x86 programs.

I was reading somewhere MS was prepping libraries and ways that the x86 stuff could be ported over to ARM...is that something false?

 

[Davros]

As of now it's false, but who knows what ms will do. Having x86 programs running would be a huge selling point. Certainly when buying any sort of portable device "can it run x86 programs" is a huge factor

I remember thinking of buying an arm netbook that ran windows c.e I asked on here if it could run normal windows programs, being told no stopped me buying it

edit: found it
http://forum.beyond3d.com/showthread.php?t=54127&highlight=netbook&page=3

 

[pcchen]

To my understanding, Metro applications are built with HTML5+Javascript or .NET Frameworks. Both are portable so in theory a well designed Metro application should be able to run on both x86 and ARM platforms.

As for existing x86 binaries, I don't think it's a wise move for Microsoft to design a x86 emulator for ARM. It's not going to be very useful, as most x86 programs are not designed with touch interface in mind, and the market for ARM based desktops is not yet proven.

 

[entity279]

Nonetheless, I imagine recompiling x86 software for ARM can't be that difficult. The issue is indeed the emergence of these ARM desktop.

 

[fellix]

Performance comparison between Win7 and Win8 DB

Pretty slim advantage for Win8, except for the boot up times.

 

[pjbliverpool]

not bad to see speed ups across the board though even if they are small in some cases - especially given that this is an early build. Boot times are very impressive - shame people are moving away from rebooting to just sleeping the PC's though (shame for this feature, not for the users).

 

[tabs]

 

[Davros]

Double
you cant use more than one screen in previous windows versions

 

[Malo]

Did dcox finally click submit after typing that post 10 years ago?

 

[Bludd]

Aha, so this dual screen W7 setup I have here doesn't exist. I guess I have to smash this 24" widescreen monitor.

 

[Davros]

yes you do, quickly before they come for you......

 

[pjbliverpool]

Brilliant!

 

[Deleted member 13524]

Nonetheless, I imagine recompiling x86 software for ARM can't be that difficult. The issue is indeed the emergence of these ARM desktop.

Performance should be pretty much horrid, though.
Especially games and graphics software using SSE/3DNow optimizations and with a large bandwidth for graphics in mind.

Double
you cant use more than one screen in previous windows versions

Did dcox finally click submit after typing that post 10 years ago?

I just missed something here, didn't I?

 

[Malo]

The post was deleted for some reason.....

 

[Davros]

Not just that but the "This message has been deleted by user" (see above) has vanished without a trace

 

[Malo]

And the user is gone completely from the member list. That post hardly seemed worth all that effort to wipe him from existence.

 

[fellix]

Microsoft back to bundling IE with Windows after anti-trust terms expire

It's been a long time since Microsoft was able to have its way with their Internet browser. The anti-trust case that the company lost over 10 years ago effectively loosened the link between IE and Windows so that competing browsers could stand a chance against the juggernaut. Over a decade and a couple of major releases later, Microsoft is planning to begin tightening integration right where they left off.

According to CRN, the version of Internet Explorer bundled with Windows 8 will be a permanent fixture. In previous releases, Microsoft was forced to allow uninstalling the software, and even published instructions on how to do so.