Windows 8 & Surface

[johnnya24]

Will you be upgrading to Windows 8? I'm happy with Windows 7, so I'm not in any hurry to deal with teething issues. I'll be waiting even if it means paying more later. Probably will steer me away from Windows Phone 8 also ... although I have yet to see any in-depth reviews of that yet.

As for the much heralded Surface ... looks like it could be a pretty big miss to me. What possessed them to make it that size? The tablet market is going from 10" to 7" to Phablet sizes ... and they make something larger than 10" (inch and a half longer than the iPad) ... and in a dumb 16:9 ratio.

http://www.theverge.com/2012/10/23/3540550/microsoft-surface-review

[Judge Jude]

Typing on a 2005 (!) Dell computer.
#yesiknow

Was going to get a new one last weekend, finally, but the "geek" at BestBuy said to wait a week for Windows 8. He said they have a few and "it rocks."

ok, am looking to surf about 6-8 sites on the internet and get and send email on Outlook.
no video games, no embedded music (might watch a video on Youtube though), not likely to change my mind on that, etc.

is there a "clearance" on Windows 7, then?
I can't picture the new stuff being what I'm desperate to get.

Mrs Judge - slightly... younger - bought the iPhone 1st edition the day it came out, as well as the subsequent ones. Now has an iPad plus a laptop. I think we're good with technology overall.

Recommendations?

fyi, I do have an iPhone, and even tweet on it sometimes, so there...

[johnnya24]

If you have any version of Windows back to XP you can get a cheap upgrade for about $40 I think. There is a limit on this offer ... it might be over ... but there is still a big discount for early adopters ... up until Jan or Feb.

Don't take that as gospel though.

[JudeBaldo]

This will either be Microsoft's resurgence or the beginning of the end of their power as a tech giant.

[johnnya24]

This will either be Microsoft's resurgence or the beginning of the end of their power as a tech giant.

I personally think Windows 8 will work well in time ... but the Surface will be a flop unless they get some new form factors out there ASAP.

I'm not adopting W8 early because they need to make the desktop environment more user friendly for multitasking over multiple screens. Each screen having its own taskbar, and showing only the programs running on that screen is a great improvement. But the rest of the innovations seem more of a nuisance. The screen corner access points sound like they will be a pain. Windows 7 is very fast and stable. Why would you want to screw with a tried and tested access interface? No reason they couldn't have just put the touch interface alongside an upgraded W7 ... or a W7 interface.

[Judge Jude]

If you have any version of Windows back to XP you can get a cheap upgrade for about $40 I think. There is a limit on this offer ... it might be over ... but there is still a big discount for early adopters ... up until Jan or Feb.

Don't take that as gospel though.

you can't possibly dumb this down enough for me, but please try.
not my sweet spot here...

[cardboardbox]

If you have any version of Windows back to XP you can get a cheap upgrade for about $40 I think. There is a limit on this offer ... it might be over ... but there is still a big discount for early adopters ... up until Jan or Feb.

Don't take that as gospel though.

I've been thinking about buying the upgrade but just sitting on it for a while until MS gets the bugs worked out.

[Judge Jude]

As usual, eldiablo gives me the best computer advice here (off to bed now, but he has the track record).

If you're a political type of either stripe, never mix that in with the WIDE variety of expertise here.

Life is (wonderfully) complicated.

[johnnya24]

I believe that even if you buy a new PC with an older version of windows now that you can upgrade for $15 ... as long as it has a valid licence (careful if you buy refurbished or second hand). If you prefer a physical copy (which might be a good idea) ... you can upgrade for about double that. Given how cheap it is to buy computer equipment in the US, probably the way to go.

http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2012/10/windows8-windows-rt-explainer/

People who purchased a Windows 7 device between June 2, 2012 and Jan. 3, 2013 will be able to upgrade to Windows 8 Pro for $15. Microsoft has not yet announced pricing for basic Windows 8.

[joncarlos]

I think it's going to be a great OS for tablets. Maybe even for phones. But I am not convinced it's the way to go for desktops. In time, I'll get used to it, but for now there are little things about 8 that annoy me when I'm running it as a virtual PC at work. Such as:

-the URL bar is at the bottom in IE10
-turning off the power is a huge PITA (fine for tablets you never turn off, of course)
-can never remember how to get to Windows Explorer

[johnnya24]

I think it's going to be a great OS for tablets. Maybe even for phones. But I am not convinced it's the way to go for desktops. In time, I'll get used to it, but for now there are little things about 8 that annoy me when I'm running it as a virtual PC at work. Such as:

-the URL bar is at the bottom in IE10
-turning off the power is a huge PITA (fine for tablets you never turn off, of course)
-can never remember how to get to Windows Explorer

There is a crack you can install that will return a lot of the basic W7 features (Start button etc) ... but I'd rather just wait rather than do stuff like this.

[johnnya24]

-can never remember how to get to Windows Explorer

Windows Explorer is now apparently called "File Explorer".