Will you be upgrading to Windows 8?

[autotech]

Sup Soars,
                 Used the beta and rc and i honestly was like absic and thought id hate it in the end i learned how to use it. I actually didnt like it enough to buy even the upgrade but i may before the 39. special goes off just to have it. For what i do and how i do it windows 7 actually works a bit better for me as i dont have the time to tweak like i used to right now.

Thats the reason i may buy it but wait to install and play more with it i can always put it on my junk puter and play with it. I also understand why they did it with windows 8 phone and the surface coming out with it trying to get everyone to use the same system. Last time they came out with a tablet and phone they both flopped this way they might get some of the desktop users to buy their other products.

[soarwitheagles]

Sup Soars,
                 Used the beta and rc and i honestly was like absic and thought id hate it in the end i learned how to use it. I actually didnt like it enough to buy even the upgrade but i may before the 39. special goes off just to have it. For what i do and how i do it windows 7 actually works a bit better for me as i dont have the time to tweak like i used to right now.

Thats the reason i may buy it but wait to install and play more with it i can always put it on my junk puter and play with it. I also understand why they did it with windows 8 phone and the surface coming out with it trying to get everyone to use the same system. Last time they came out with a tablet and phone they both flopped this way they might get some of the desktop users to buy their other products.

autotech,

Thanks for the reply.  Yes, I suppose once a person masters the Windows 8, they would never want to go back to Windows 7.  I have the Windows 7 phone and it has been really, really good for me.  No complaints at all.

For me, the Windows 8 Professional came at nearly zero cost, so that should be a deciding factor, but right now, it is not.  My wife and serve as educators and we also take classes from time to time.  We both have the .edu email address, so we were able to pick up eight keys each of the Windows 9 Professional and it was free for us.

Problem is, now, even though we have a total of 16 licenses, and I still do not like Windows 8 yet, and I do not want to use Windows 8 full time on my main rig.  I am presently building a new rig for me dad, but I am not so sure he would be happy with Windows 8 because he is up there in years and Windows 8 requires a substantial amount of relearning.

I am thinking of installing a dual boot system on my rig, and that way I can keep toying with Windows 8 until I make my final decision.

If you have an .edu email here in the USA, you can obtain several keys at zero or very minimal cost through ACM or IEEE.

They also give free copies of Windows Server and all sorts of other free Microsoft software.

Well, hope this helps!

Soar

[autotech]

With me building computers for low budget friends, family, coworkers, friends of friends i had to learn it in case any wanted it. When windows 7 came out i upgraded 25 of 300 to 500 i have built in the last 5 to 7 years. I thought i would send out an email to all my customers that there was a cheap upgrade to windows 8 if they wanted to install it before jan. 1st 2013.

My fee for upgrading them would only be the cost of windows 8 since these are all loyal customers. I was sure at 39.00 i would have loads of them wanting to upgrade especially my younger customers that are all 20 to 30 years old. I didnt get a reply from any of them so resent the email asking that they reply even if they didnt want it so i caould check my email list to make sure they were still working. Well they are working except a few that i can always count on because they changed email addresses or just let theres go.

As to date from 230 or so a few more each day all have turned it down. Most werent concered about the price more were concerned with the bad media  windows has gotten and out of all of them i have 50 or so customers that flat out said no and all those customers are 50 to 75 years old. They all said they just didnt like the look of it from what they have seen on the web.

I purchased 50 windows 7 disk so future customers have a choice out of 3 i have built since it came out all wanted windows 7. I am really interested in what will be said 6 months to a year from now about windows 8.

[soarwitheagles]

Autotech,

Thanks again for the very informative post.  Wow, your post was also an eye-opener!  No one at all took the Windows 8 bait?  My, my, I do find that shocking!  Hopefully it is merely a case of people following the "Six month rule" and afterwards, you will have many customers craving the new Windows 8.

On the other hand, if what you are describing becomes the norm for the entire market, then Microsoft will be left with no other choice than to go back to the pre-existing user interface that so many millions of people have come to prefer and use.

Gosh, with such a radical step away from the norm, you would think Microsoft would have done some serious psychological testings, evaluations and consultations regarding the market's willingness to learn a new interface.

I am not good at predicting the future, but if the large majority of the market follows the pattern your customers have chosen, then I believe Microsoft will be forced to release some major UI changes for the PC portion of the market within the next 6 months.  Perhaps, at the very least, we will see Microsoft offer a change of UI for all PC owners running Windows 8.  If not, they will lose big time.

This is gonna be an interesting drama to watch.

Anyone else have any thoughts on this unfolding Microsoft drama?

Soar

[Ben]

Hi all,

I am still using win 8 & loving it, I suppose bad media can't help, also I have noticed that some computer editorials when testing out new stuff say wow what a great program, we love this, only to bite their tongue after, when the whole thing falls apart, it's like the movie critics when they say we love this movie, & then it bombs at the box office, I have watched many movies where the critics say this is great & think this sucks, & when they say its crap, I loved the movie.
I say try it out if you don't like it after a while get rid of it, remember "Microsoft 'ME' then "Vista" or "ME2 ?) I remember some editorials giving them good reviews.

Can't wait for windows 9 to come out. 

Ben.

[soarwitheagles]

Ben,

I actually liked and used both ME and Vista!  So, for me, I was extremely happy to obtain and use both of those OS's.

Windows 8 is the very first OS from Microsoft that I have found to be so unique and challenging.

Windows 9 is still a long way off, if Microsoft continues their trend of a new OS every 3 years.

People are saying October of 2015 for Windows 9...

Heck, by then I may be in the funny farm after trying to master Windows 8 for a full 3 years....

Soar

[Ben]

Ben,

I actually liked and used both ME and Vista!  So, for me, I was extremely happy to obtain and use both of those OS's.

Windows 8 is the very first OS from Microsoft that I have found to be so unique and challenging.

Windows 9 is still a long way off, if Microsoft continues their trend of a new OS every 3 years.

People are saying October of 2015 for Windows 9...

Heck, by then I may be in the funny farm after trying to master Windows 8 for a full 3 years....

Soar

Soarwitheagles,

Precisely, Vista & ME were given bad reviews, but as you I found them okay to use.

Like everything else time will tell. Plus you nailed it on it's head "unique & challenging" people like 'easy' better.

I wonder if we will have any updates on win 8, also there are ways of turning it into a 7 lookalike.

Ben.

[autotech]

I loved vista and thought it was a huge step in the right direction. Even over xp I thought the visual aspects of it were what they were aiming for even on xp with the way graphics were advancing was starting to look grainy. The way i look at it without vista we wouldnt of gotten windows 7.

It depends on consumer purchasing of windows 8 i think if alot dont fall for it on the desktop they might actually make it where you can choose tiles or desktop with the start menu and visual effects of windows 7. I also understand why they took out alot of the visual effects it does make it start faster. I look for a service pack for desktop users that would allow upon startup just to go into desktop without having to use and 3rd party software.

I am like you Soar i am sitting back watching it unfold, At the price it is at i wanted to buy 20 or so copies but after my customers emails i just bought extra windows 7 for the ones that are still running xp. The last thing i want to do is get stuck with 20 copies or so of windows 8. Which reminds me last time i jumped the gun i ended up with 25 or so extra copies of vista 64 bit that i had to sell at a very reduced price or give away and yes i still have a few of them left.

[soarwitheagles]

Ben,

I actually liked and used both ME and Vista!  So, for me, I was extremely happy to obtain and use both of those OS's.

Windows 8 is the very first OS from Microsoft that I have found to be so unique and challenging.

Windows 9 is still a long way off, if Microsoft continues their trend of a new OS every 3 years.

People are saying October of 2015 for Windows 9...

Heck, by then I may be in the funny farm after trying to master Windows 8 for a full 3 years....

Soar

Soarwitheagles,

Precisely, Vista & ME were given bad reviews, but as you I found them okay to use.

Like everything else time will tell. Plus you nailed it on it's head "unique & challenging" people like 'easy' better.

I wonder if we will have any updates on win 8, also there are ways of turning it into a 7 lookalike.

Ben.

Ben,

Glad to hear you too enjoyed ME and Vista.  I was beginning to think I was the only person in the world that enjoyed those two operating systems!

Yes, there are several programs now that give Windows 8 a more Windows 7 lookalike.

Here's just a few:

Classic Shell
ViStart
Start8
Start Menu 8
Pokki

Then again, why not wait until Microsoft finally catches on, and puts the start menu back on the Windows 8 for PC's?

Soar

[soarwitheagles]

I loved vista and thought it was a huge step in the right direction. Even over xp I thought the visual aspects of it were what they were aiming for even on xp with the way graphics were advancing was starting to look grainy. The way i look at it without vista we wouldnt of gotten windows 7.

It depends on consumer purchasing of windows 8 i think if alot dont fall for it on the desktop they might actually make it where you can choose tiles or desktop with the start menu and visual effects of windows 7. I also understand why they took out alot of the visual effects it does make it start faster. I look for a service pack for desktop users that would allow upon startup just to go into desktop without having to use and 3rd party software.

I am like you Soar i am sitting back watching it unfold, At the price it is at i wanted to buy 20 or so copies but after my customers emails i just bought extra windows 7 for the ones that are still running xp. The last thing i want to do is get stuck with 20 copies or so of windows 8. Which reminds me last time i jumped the gun i ended up with 25 or so extra copies of vista 64 bit that i had to sell at a very reduced price or give away and yes i still have a few of them left.

Autotech,

Glad to hear you enjoyed Vista too.

Yes, this Microsoft Windows Drama is very exciting to watch.  I am just wondering how it will all turn out!

Good choice on waiting to purchase Windows 8.  No need to be caught with lots of licenses and then not be able to use them!

The Windows 8 licenses I received were free after joining ACM and IEEE, so I am not worried about the cost.

I have decided to install a copy of Windows 8 on a separate SSD.  Here is my plan:

1. Unplug my Windows 7 Ultimate SSD.
2. Install a new SSD on my rig.
3. Install Windows 8 Professional on the new SSD.
4. Plug in the Windows 7 Ultimate SSD.
5. Hopefully have a dual boot system that will work well and not require reinstalling Windows 7 if I eventually decide to remove Windows 8!

Ok everyone:  Here is my question:  WILL IT WORK?   

It's me,

Silly Soar

[absic]

Yes, but you will have to use F12 and choose the drive you want to BOOT into if you don't want to go with the default.
Which will be the default OS?
Well, that choice is yours and can be picked via the BOOT drive Priority in BIOS but of course, you will have to be able to identify which drive each OS is on.

Not a problem if you have two different drives but me, I had to make it that little bit harder by having the same make, model and size. Took a bit of time but can happily switch between several versions of Windows depending on what I want to do. (4 drives running XP, Vista 64 bit, Windows 7 64 bit and now Windows 8 64 bit) 

[autotech]

It is actually easier absic's way also when i played with it during my different beta, rc and so on releases i found you had to install the newest OS first then do a clean install of the older one so you could just hit the start button and when it booted up pick which one you wanted without going into bios.

The problem i found with that is if you want to go back to your old system you had to use a program to change your boot order if you dont know how to do it manually otherwise you just boot into the old system and then go to msconfig and boot order then pick the old system as default to start right into it.

[soarwitheagles]

Thanks guys!  Ok, I will give it a try and post my results as soon as I get everything up and running. 

I did just finish a new computer build for my dad last night.  Installing Windows 8 Professional was a total breeze. 

During my first attempt to install an OS, I attempted to install XP Professional [my goal was to install XP, then use an upgrade key to install Windows 7].

Unfortunately, during each attempt to install XP, I received the BSOD...that was strange because I have never experienced the dreaded BSOD during a Windows OS install.

The good news is, that after wiping the drive clean again, Windows 8 Professional installed like a champ.

Nearly 600 MB of updates for Windows 8 after the install.

I will update later on how this works out.  I will drive tonight to my dad's house for Thanksgiving and to give him his new, hot, sophisticated, intelligent looking, cutting edge Windows 8 powered computer.  I hope he likes it! 

Soar

[soarwitheagles]

Windows 8 UPDATE:

Ok, here's my update:

Did the upgrade on my wife's ASUS laptop from Windows 7 to Windows 8 Pro, and it works wonderfully.  She loves it.

Installed Windows 8 on my Gigabyte 990XFA-UD3/AMD 8350, and it too is working well.

Never was able to successfully have a dual boot system work.

So, for me, I have one system with Windows 7, the other with Windows 8.

Working well for me!

Have a good one everyone!

Soar

[Vezina]

You are saying that Windows 8 is an upgrade.
I don t think so.

Your wife could very well use OpenSuse or Linux Mint just fine too ,free of charge ,even more safely.

In my opinion "upgrading"  to Windows 8 is a waste of money and will only fill some corporation wallet.