More Than 3 Out of 4 Enthusiasts Reject Windows 8

[King Arthur]

I think MS is targeting (3a) and they've missed the boat IMO.

They've missed the boat on pretty much everything, honestly. They first missed the mobile boat when mobile devices like smartphones/tablets took off, getting left in the dust by iOS, Android, and Blackberry. They then missed the desktop and mobile boats (the latter had already set sail by the way) when they released Windows 8/RT and failed to please anyone besides some in the mobile market. If Windows Blue is any indication, Microsoft is not only going to miss the boat(s) again but might just sink like the Titanic since Windows Blue to-date doesn't appear to address any of our gripes with Windows 8.

Oh, and they also missed the desktop boat completely when they decided to not develop SP2 for Windows 7 when sales and appreciation for Windows 7 are booming.

Desktop and laptop PCs will without a doubt remain a major market and player no matter what, their form factor allows them capabilities that smartphones/tablets can only dream of, but whether Microsoft (and more specifically Windows) will is up for debate at this point.

 

[Lone Browncoat]

Once the support ends for Windows 7, then I'm going to switch to Linux, unless they produce another Windows desktop operating system.

Roughly my plan as well, by (2020?) then i should have mastered running the HDHomerun on a Linux multi-core /w wireless keyboard.

@Night Hawk

Well, currently when i buy a mobo i pay attention to the chipsets(or used to) because i wanted compatibility for 2000 Professional, that concern has eased up in the latter years because relatively recently I've procured the Corporate/Student version of XP SP3 that has no serial needed, hence no activation, similar to my VL 2000 Pro with integrated SP4. So basically it is paying attention to board specs and if possible get a pdf of the owner's manuals first to see if XP drivers are on the optical that arrives with the package or if you can, fish around the WWW for compatible drivers. Again, that's what i like about the nVidia/Realtek chipset combo because the latest drivers aren't always the best to use[this from experience].

IF the end of time comes for Win7 and I like it enough it might be worth fiddling with as in 2000 Pro, for with the /PAE switch and other tricks you can access 8GiB of RAM and run beyond the standard 2 cores.

http://i.imgur.com/H24q6dg.jpg

Not my desktop, belongs to someone else, i have no screenshots to show anybody.

With the server versions, as jimbo45 mentioned here, you can natively access 16GiB of RAM.
Though with dollar signs in their eyes, M$ split the OS, so you'd have to spend more money.
Features that were supposed to go into 2000 were held over for XP when some dirtbag came up
with that activation nonsense.

Yeah, with help from those far brighter than I, I still fiddle with 2000 on one machine.

Unofficial Service Pack 5 for MS Windows 2000

Got nothing against tablets, might get one myself for portable communicating and Google/Yahoo etc
maps but that's about it, for real work I still prefer a desktop and the fun of rolling-my-own when I can afford it, right now the economy is getting to me.

 

[Iforgot]

M$ missed the boat???
The boat has toured the Island's and is nearly back at port....

An M$ is still on the port shouting this, owe way is the future.

Business's needs to upgrade from XP, yes there's still a lot out there.
Win7 would be the most likely candidate, with win8 for Tablets and mobiles.

But with M$ saying win8 is the way of the future?? Where's the crossover platform to help transition.
This could have been Win8.....
Win8 with a duel user interface. "Start" and/or "the GUI formally known as Metro"

Now just think of that scenario.
A user could work as normal and as M$ tablets etc turn up, they could switch between the two a lot easier.
Whichever device takes a better hold, M$ would have it covered.
And both being M$, the user could use the GUI that best suits the application,
And both being M$. it should have better compatibility between the 2 devices.

The way M$ is doing it at the moment, reminds me of Apple old days, = ie, "my hardware, my software, my way only".
What saved Apple is the iPhone, OSX was locked down and jailbreaked before release, that will teach them to pi**-off the open source community.

M$ at present has the major desktop O/S share and they seem to, not want it.
M$ could have used Win8 as a transitional O/S... but they seem to be doing everything in there power to alienate the user database.

Really who is the ostrich in charge at M$?

Spooky for me is that I'm using Win7, why..
It's stable, easy to use, integrates well, also for work support.

I'll keep using it at present, but, I will go back and look into Linux again and start transfers.
Was using Linux a long time ago, but M$ was needed for work and Win7 has been very good.

 

[Berkey]

I can understand that MS is moving towards "the in" which is tablets and phones. I was getting lunch one time and saw a 3 year old navigating his way on an ipad better than I ever could. This kid will never use a desktop on his own accord, because all he is ever going to know is the swipe/touch style. MS understands that the next generation of kids are only going to be interested in this style and is trying to make the move now, so when they are at a certain age it is the morn. I can appreciate that fro a pure business stand point.

The problem is they are forgetting the generations that were here up to this point and many of us do not want touch screens because we are comfortable. Desktops might be a thing of the past in the distant future (Iron Man's computer in mid-air was cool ), but think of it this way: People still buy vinyl records and players, even though Cassettes then CDs and now Digital music has ruled the music world, but many people like using LPs even younger kids for some reason. Those records should have been obsolete by 2013, but some bands even will make a special edition on vinyl for the true fans and collectors. Rather than SONY saying they'll refuse to produce anymore players or parts for a player (not sure if SONY does, just an example) they take care of their customers, but they put their emphasis on their current business flow and always look toward the future.

Don't see why MS wouldn't think in this fashion and take care of it's customers regardless if they don't get on board with the Cassettes and CDs of the next movement in computers. The difference is, while millions of kids enter this new movement and will be on board, there are millions that will not be part of the movement so there is still plenty of business to gain from desktop users. Unlike the music example, there is not an overwhelming population of vinyl users rather a niche, but they take care of that niche, MS seems to not care so much about the overwhelming population that wants/needs a desktop.

 

[whs]

It will take while before today's 3 year olds can pay M$'s bills. By that time they will probably be broke if they don't come to their senses.

 

[PaulGo]

If Microsoft keeps ignoring its customers by the time the three year old is old enough to pay bills that person will say "what's Microsoft?".

 

[sygnus21]

In windows Blue, where else?

Also

Tihiy ( developer of startisback and the program greg is using )

There's no start menu code left in Windows Blue

Start menu developers will be able to make new versions that don't depend on MS native start menu code. Fortunately, they will have had a look at the leak that is all over the net.

Where'd you see that Microsoft removed the remaining code in Blue to kill off the start menu?

Thanks.

 

[Gary]

In 2020 I will be approaching 72 years old and will not care about Anything but Windows 7, The home better have internet though.

 

[whs]

In 2020 I will be approaching 72 years old and will not care about Anything but Windows 7, The home better have internet though.

I bet you will care as much in 2020 as you care now. I will care, and I will be 82 - if everything goes well.

 

[Indianatone]

I now quad boot with 3 versions of Windows 7 (don't ask I am a Geek) and Linux Mint Mate 14. I used Easy BCD and added the Linux auto find : Entry #4
Name: Linux Mint x64
BCD ID: {978289f0-cddf-11e1-8c60-e1dec16559df}
Drive: N:\
Bootloader Path: \NST\AutoNeoGrub0.mbr
Works a treat, no need to screw up my Windows 7 bootloaders with the other three OS's. I have my monitor calibrated for correct greys and colours on 7 but I am now on a mission to copy that information from Windows to Linux but that is not happening yet. Wish Mint had a calibration Utility like 7 does, would be very handy. Still I only have to 2020 to get it sorted and by then we'll be on Mint 18 or so M$ need to wake up and smell something other than Windows 8 as this has desktop culling has got me looking to a new OS for the future.

 

[Indianatone]

There is always React OS
ReactOS Project
Just need a billionaire to pump some cash into it and then we have a choice.

Download for Virtual Machines:
http://www.reactos.org/download

 

[whs]

Tony,

Re calibration: Did you check ou those links.

GNOME Color Manager

Calibrate your monitor | Ubuntu Field Manual

Screen Calibration on Ubuntu 12.04 with Spyder2 [workaround] | *n*x

 

[King Arthur]

I now quad boot with 3 versions of Windows 7 (don't ask I am a Geek) and Linux Mint Mate 14. I used Easy BCD and added the Linux auto find : Entry #4
Name: Linux Mint x64
BCD ID: {978289f0-cddf-11e1-8c60-e1dec16559df}
Drive: N:\
Bootloader Path: \NST\AutoNeoGrub0.mbr
Works a treat, no need to screw up my Windows 7 bootloaders with the other three OS's. I have my monitor calibrated for correct greys and colours on 7 but I am now on a mission to copy that information from Windows to Linux but that is not happening yet. Wish Mint had a calibration Utility like 7 does, would be very handy. Still I only have to 2020 to get it sorted and by then we'll be on Mint 18 or so M$ need to wake up and smell something other than Windows 8 as this has desktop culling has got me looking to a new OS for the future.

Pardon my curiosity, but are you booting into Bootmgr (Windows Boot Manager) and then chainloading into (I assume) GRUB which then loads Linux? I've been looking at dual booting Windows 7 Pro and Linux Mint 14 KDE on my laptop while keeping Windows as the "master" of the computer.

 

[Golden]

King Arthur:

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/257048-dual-boot-windows-7-linux.html

 

[whs]

King Arthur,

did you consider using VMware Player for a virtual Mint partition. That's how I run my Mint and it is so much more convenient and completely trouble free.

Here I made a little tutorial with Zorin as example:

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/278957-vmware-player-install-setup-zorin.html

Note: The terminal commands for the VMware tools in Mint are different. Let me know if you need help with those.

 

[SIW2]

I did it by hand last time. Easybcd is probably simpler for most folks.

If you want windows and linux on a usb stick - you may need to do it by hand like I did.

 

[King Arthur]

King Arthur:

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/257048-dual-boot-windows-7-linux.html

Initially I had thought that tutorial was the usual GRUB2 chainloading into Bootmgr to dualboot Windows 7 and Linux, but it appears that I was wrong now that I've taken a more in-depth look! Certain parts of the tutorial elude me as to their significance, like deleting the 100MB System Reserved partition, but rather than posting about them here I'll create a new topic in the appropriate subforum once I've read the tutorial in full and I feel I still need some answers. Thanks for the link!

King Arthur,

did you consider using VMware Player for a virtual Mint partition. That's how I run my Mint and it is so much more convenient and completely trouble free.

Here I made a little tutorial with Zorin as example:

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/278957-vmware-player-install-setup-zorin.html

Note: The terminal commands for the VMware tools in Mint are different. Let me know if you need help with those.

I've already tried Linux Mint 14 KDE (as well as a number of other distros) in a VirtualBox VM, which is why I'm confident in dualbooting my laptop with Windows 7 + Linux Mint 14 KDE. I just wanted to know how easy it is in practice to have Windows and Bootmgr be the "master" of the system and chainloading into GRUB as appropriate. As I still prefer Windows 7 and XP by far compared to Linux, having Windows as the master of the system just feels more reassuring; I realize the practical benefits of such a setup are nil otherwise.

Some preliminary research I've done on the subject seems to indicate that a Bootmgr->GRUB setup is as simple as taking a dump of the GRUB MBR binary code from the MBR (after having installed Linux and GRUB first), saving that dump into a file located in a place accessible to Bootmgr (ie: an NTFS partition like C:\), and then reinstalling Bootmgr through a Windows 7 CD and configuring Bootmgr as appropriate.

 

[whs]

Looks like you know what needs to be done. I only prefer the VMware route because then I can run both systems side by side. I find that convenient.

I run my VMware installed system (a few Linux and Windows 8) from an external SSD. That way I can run those systems from any of my PCs. That is another convenience

 

[Dallas 7]

......This could have been Win8.....
Win8 with a duel user interface. "Start" and/or "the GUI formally known as Metro"
Now just think of that scenario.
A user could work as normal and as M$ tablets etc turn up, they could switch between the two a lot easier.
Whichever device takes a better hold, M$ would have it covered.
And both being M$, the user could use the GUI that best suits the application,
And both being M$. it should have better compatibility between the 2 devices.

That definitely would've been the intelligent solution.
Instead, Microsoft is arrogantly trying to dictate the market with no regard for the preference of their customer base.
It would've been so easy for them to have done like you suggested and included an optional desktop interface into W8. The interfaces would've been compatible with each other, and most importantly it would've provided their customer base with intelligent, user friendly options.

Killing the desktop may just backfire in their face and kill the loyalty of their customer base instead.
OEMs should start offering something like Linux as an optional OS. Who knows, maybe it would start catching on.
Apple should start courting the desktop crowd if they're smart.

 

[mjf]

Re: Tablets
If I ran a business and needed correspondence to get out, I like to see how efficiently staff I pay for could do it on a tablet.