Reader Poll: Will You Upgrade to Windows 8?
Windows 8 will be released to consumers on October 26th and we want to know if you plan to upgrade. It will be available in three flavors – Windows 8, Windows 8 Pro and Windows RT.
Windows 8 will be released to consumers on October 26th and we want to know if you plan to upgrade. It will be available in three flavors – Windows 8, Windows 8 Pro and Windows RT.
If you’re a developer or enthusiast, you’ve probably been using it for the past year since the Developer Preview was released. After a year of testing and tweaking, the Release to Manufacturing (RTM) version was made available in August to TechNet and MSDN subscribers. Since then, the new OS has seen several systems and built-in app updates.
Running Windows 8 on a production computer
I recently made the switch from Windows 8 on my main production system that has a dual monitor set up. Having two screens makes for a much better experience with switching between the new Tile (metro) interface and the traditional desktop. But I find myself using the Desktop 90% of the time.
The Tile-based metro UI doesn’t seem to have much of a place in for a production system where you need to get things done. If I do pop into metro, It’s to test new apps, play games or stream music or video to Xbox 360 with SmartGlass. Another thing I like to do in the new interface is run the Bing and Internet Explorer 10 on the same screen using the Snap feature.
I do see the appeal of having a simple to use touch interface on a tablet running Windows RT. But for a productivity machine, where I need to get work done and not play, the new “Metro UI” is an afterthought.
Let us know what you think. Vote in the poll and leave a comment and join in the discussion. Of course, if you have any questions about Windows 8 you can ask them here too!
16 Comments
Bogdan Bele
October 10, 2012 at 6:11 am
Windows 7 is a great productivity OS, that features everything I need to get things done. I like trying new things, and, although 8 has its good sides, I wouldn’t completely move to it. Not at the moment, anyway.
Steve Krause
October 10, 2012 at 11:05 pm
I think it gives you a few things new which are nice — Hyper-V for example and the integration with Microsoft Store. That said, I also understand. most of the guts under-the-table seem the same however, My Windows 8 laptop sure is zippy.
mperson007
October 10, 2012 at 7:35 am
I upgraded a couple of weeks ago and have no regrets. I use a program called ‘Classic Menu’ that gives me the start orb/menu and puts me on the desktop when I log in. The performance boosts and the new Windows Explorer made the upgrade worthwhile.
Brian Burgess
October 10, 2012 at 5:43 pm
I haven’t tried Classic Menu yet…is that one free?
Alan Wade
October 10, 2012 at 9:33 am
I believe and have read that Windows 8 is going to be the next Windows Millemium/Vista flop. They got it right with XP and 7 but now they want our computer screens to look like giant mobile phones.
I have absolutly no intention of changing any of my computers over to Win8 in the forseeable future.
Brian Burgess
October 10, 2012 at 2:41 pm
Yeah, it very well could be the “every other version” is good trend. A lot of businesses are sill running XP, but are getting on Windows 7 — so Win8 won’t see much adoption in enterprise, but I don’t think MS is counting on that anyway,
Vambo
October 10, 2012 at 10:56 am
I don’t want to upgrade from Win 7, but will have to do so to keep current for support
Brian Burgess
October 10, 2012 at 2:42 pm
Start 8 is a great app for getting back the traditional functionality of the Windows Start button.
Ocelotty1
October 10, 2012 at 7:14 pm
How fast can I type?; that’s how fast I will upgrade – wicked system, light years ahead of Win 7 once you have tamed it.. I have been using the release preview for a couple of months now (exclusively – not a dual boot ) and once you get used to it everything else feels old, slow and clunky.
Is it perfect, of course not, but if the preview is this stable & fluid I can’t wait to see what the future updates bring.
Brian Burgess
October 11, 2012 at 12:42 am
@Ocelotty1:disqus Yep. In fact, there are a lot of traditional desktop improvements as well. The loss of the Start button I think scares people a bit…but really, once you start using it, there’s no problems. And it runs SO fast, even on older hardware…Soon I’ll be getting an Ultrabook of some sort, looking forward to see how snappy it is on an SSD.
Ocelotty1
October 11, 2012 at 1:32 am
I fitted a 256 GB Plextor M5 Pro as my C: drive – it takes longer to boot through BIOS than it takes to load Windows :)
Nicky A
October 10, 2012 at 7:36 pm
i used the consumer preview for only 3 days and had to uninstall it because I wanted the final version NOW…pricing hadn’t been confirmed back then and I didn’t want to get used to something I couldn’t have…since then, I’ve bought my dad a new laptop and will use his Win7 upgrade $15 thing for myself
Brian Burgess
October 10, 2012 at 8:04 pm
@google-ed2c9eee38aff7dbbb5ef22eca3b5f2f:disqus That’s awesome! Good point to remember too — MS is virtually giving away the update to Windows 8 if you’ve recently bought a new Win7 machine. and the regular upgrade is only $39…so really, you’re not going to lose money on the switch.
Steve Krause
October 10, 2012 at 11:03 pm
I’ve been having a hard time with the metro UI in windows 8. I’m finding myself using the Shortcut Key — WINKEY+Q
This brings up the search quickly and I just find it there. It’s very awkward however for most users to remember that…. I think they need an easier search hot-key or default search button / tile.
chrisp666
October 11, 2012 at 6:37 am
I’ve been using it since the final release on Technet. I think it’s brilliant, much faster to start up and close down. Metro? Not sure, but it’s no big deal – it’s very easy to switch between desktop and Metro. It has been rock solid so far, but so was 7 – and indeed Vista.
Brian Burgess
October 15, 2012 at 10:49 pm
@chrisp666:disqus good to hear some Vista love! I upgraded to it right away when it came out and had few issues with it. Of course, I bought a new system at the time because Vista did require more horsepower at the time. After SP 1 though, I found it to be solid on any system I installed it on…even with using Aero