Good riddance to Windows 8

[Slug]

It looks like Microsoft will take a note from Apple

 

[jefboyardee]

Windows 10 will come with a command line package manager, much to the lament of Linux users

Sorry, penguin lovers — if you thought that 2015, in the heinous wake of Windows 8, would finally be the year of desktop Linux, you were sadly mistaken. Microsoft is trying its best to make Windows 10 the dream OS for the billions of people around the world who use a desktop PC with a mouse and keyboard — and, as a result, this means Windows 10 will actually come with a package manager. Yes, in Windows 10 you can open up a command line shell and install VLC or Firefox or thousands of other packages by typing in a single command.

 

[SamuraiBigEd]

That's too bad. Maybe, if they'd pay me, I might try it.

Why ya gotta hate????

 

[jefboyardee]

Windows 10 is great

 

[AnonGuy]

I find it hard to seriously care about a writer who speaks as if android is going to replace a desktop os. Mobile apps are to bad to care about making that kind of Change, and even the most powerful android tablets are outperformed even by budget windows laptops never mind anything in surface pro range.

Both have their place. The pc isn't going anywhere but some people act like it's impossible for desktop and mobile to coexist without one killing the other. I think that's a naive stance to take.

Even if Windows 8 was amazing, it's common knowledge that most consumer acquire OS upgrades through PC purchases. People don't pay just to have the latest and greatest when Windows 7 works just fine.

Microsoft had same issue with Office which is why they moved to subscription. People were using older versions of Office for 7-10 years because it still worked fine and there was no incentive for them to move on. Adobe also seen this, with people using 5 year old versions of their apps just fine, they moved to Creative Cloud. OSes like Windows and Software like Office and Adobe apps are so mature at this point that it's becoming unreasonable to expect people to want to pay for upgrades, or upgrade quickly at all. Even Windows 2000 is still "usable" notwithstanding lack of security patches of course.

Windows 8.1 poses no issue to me as a mouse and keyboard user. Only big change is the start menu is full screen. That's how I've always thought of it. Apart from that, it's a no brained upgrade from 7.

I think the biggest mistakes was them not updating their desktop apps and not having desktop app support in the Windows Store from Day 1, along with the lack of a Notification cache and a desktop (not metro) search interface.

 

[SamuraiBigEd]

PC's will never disappear, not until smartphones and tablets are capable of doing complex processor intensive tasks. And even then I don't know many people who will put up with a small monitor for doing anything even remotely graphics intensive.

I do see more networked homes with the PC acting as a server and mobile devices being used for the light duty tasks like surfing the web, emailing, texting, etc.

 

[jefboyardee]

(a) Grub no longer appears so I can't boot to my Linux Mint, and (b) reinstalling my beloved Rollback RX on my c: (Win7) drive makes the Win10 loader boot loop, trying to fix the problem, until I uninstall it. Neither of those surprise me and I plan to delve into them later.

Well, it's later now and I almost fixed (a). I installed Win10 then used Paragon to restore the front end:



I think I chose to restore the 'Basic MBR Hard Disk,' but booting from the CD gave me different descriptions. Then, Grub actually came up and then, if I chose Windows, the Win10 chooser between 10 and 7 came up.

As long as I chose either flavor of Windows, it behaved. Then I chose my Mint and it was fine too. But, and that's a big but, when I rebooted, it just froze at the Win10 blue window logo.

I started it all over and the same thing happened, so it appears that the Win10 starter smelled a rat when I chose Mint that one time and would never behave after that.

Giving up there, I never dared to try my beloved Rollback in the boot. I now have that, Win7 and Mint running as per usual, but along with the Win10 files in their own now-unused NTFS partition.

 

[jefboyardee]

Windows 10 full unveil set for January 21, will showcase new unified mobile version

On January 21, 2015, Microsoft is going to do its level best to convince us that Windows 8 never really happened. The company’s official Windows 10 unveil is set for that date, and the rumor mill suggests Microsoft will do far more than simply take the veil off a modest update to its primary operating system. While the first Windows 10 event focused solely on the name and a few new features, the January 21 event will focus on the overall “Windows 10 consumer experience.” We should also hear about pricing (and whether a subscription model will be used), and a release date.

 

[jefboyardee]

Windows 10 event: what to expect from tomorrow's announcement

It’s only been a few months since Microsoft officially unveiled some of the features we can expect in Windows 10 to the world, but the software giant is now ready to talk specifics. On Wednesday, Microsoft is holding a special Windows 10 event at its company’s headquarters in Redmond, Washington. While we got an early look at the Windows 10 user interface in late September, Wednesday’s event will be a chance for the company to detail how Windows 10 will run across PCs, phones, tablets, and even its Xbox One gaming console.

 

[jefboyardee]

How to watch the Windows 10 event live stream

Those who want to follow every second of what looks to be a jam-packed event can follow Microsoft's livestream here, beginning at 12:00 p.m ET to keep tabs on the latest news and updates from CEO Satya Nadella and other top executives. If you can't tune in live, Microsoft will post the full video at the same link in the hours following the event.

 

[jefboyardee]

THIS is what I was waiting to hear:

Windows 10 will be a free upgrade for Windows 7 and 8.1 users

Microsoft's Windows 10 event is just getting started, and it sounds like the company is eager to make it as easy and cheap as possible for those running older versions of Windows to upgrade. Terry Myerson just announced on stage that, for the first year after Windows 10 launches, any device running Windows 7, Windows 8.1, or Windows Phone 8.1 will be able to upgrade to the latest version of MIcrosoft's OS — for free. How exactly this program will work isn't clear just yet — it'll certainly be subject to some hardware requirements, particularly for older machines running Windows 7. But a simplified upgrade path will likely do a lot to help Windows 10 adoption — rather than dealing with a number of different versions of Windows and different upgrade costs, most consumers will simply take this free update and enjoy running Microsoft's latest.

...does that really mean I can run out and buy an W8.1 PC and install W10 when it's reased?

 

[jefboyardee]

Not that the world was waiting for this news, but the current Windows 10 Technical Preview ISO actually worked on my eleven year-old PC. But, like I expected, it gagged on Rollback, so it had to go. Anyway, it acts a lot like Win7, and although I like that, I think the rest of the world won't.

 

[andruoid]

THIS is what I was waiting to hear:

...does that really mean I can run out and buy an W8.1 PC and install W10 when it's reased?

That's the current news I'm hearing as well. We'll see what happens when 10 is finalized.

I just bought a laptop with 8.1 a day ago. Never thought I would but as I've been fairly happy with Android. I need to start playing around with virtual networks and the like so I require a decent system.

 

[bjacks12]

Based on my experience with 8 and 8.1, I don't know if MS could even pay me to install 10.

 

[andruoid]

Win 8.1 with Start8 (true classic desktop) is fine. Metro is good for phones/tablets but for laptops and desktops it's just clutter. Forgot how much I miss fully functional programs like Lightroom, Solidworks, etc.

 

[lunatic59]

Metro isn't all that bad for laptops as long as it has a touch screen. On a desktop, even with a touch screen ... my shoulder starts aching just thinking about it.

 

[bjacks12]

My laptop is not a touch screen. Using a mouse, it's not as bad. Trackpad + Metro interface = terrible though.

 

[lunatic59]

Trackpad + any interface = terrible for me. I hate the things.

 

[andruoid]

I have a 1080p touchscreen on the laptop, still prefer classic as Metro seems clunky. I can move around much faster with a BT mouse.

 

[bjacks12]

Trackpad + any interface = terrible for me. I hate the things.

Amen. I always keep a wireless mouse on me for that reason. I remember way back in the day, when we were still using 3.1 on our desktop, my dad bought a track pad that he could plug into it. He thought it was the neatest thing. I thought he was an imbecile.

 

[lunatic59]

I did have one of the original Wacom digitizing tablets. I never really got the hang of it, but others swore by them. I mostly swore at it.

 

[bjacks12]

It's so irritating trying to type something and accidentally clicking a button or link with the palm of your hand.

 

[Dngrsone]

I bought my son a Wacom tablet for drawing. He likes it great. I'm tempted to pick up one myself for those occasions when I am drawing schematics and such.

Sometimes I use the touchpad, other times the mouse... Even the touchscreen had it's moments (before I broke it). A tool is a tool.

 

[andruoid]

That didn't last long, returned the laptop last night. 8.1 even on a half decent system felt slow as compared to Android. So, I'm now the proud owner of a Samsung S 10.5. Beautiful machine and make the wife's iPad look like a match box.