Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Duuvian]

It seems Microsoft has used it's experience porting other platform's products to PC  products without optimizing for PC performance to just say, heck we can do it to the whole operating system at once now!

http://news.yahoo.com/windows-8-consumer-preview-first-look-microsofts-operating-233728084--abc-news.html

From the article:
The Seattle-based company has designed Windows 8 not only for laptops and desktops, but also for tablets. It was built from the ground up with your fingers in mind. It is meant as much for a touch screen as for a laptop.

Microsoft has also included an Xbox companion app, which allows you to use the tablet as a controller for games running on a regular Xbox gaming console.

The second is not a bad thing considering the somewhat low sustem requirements.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

http://www.tomshardware.com/news/Windows-8-Consumer-Preview-hardware-system-requirements,14847.html

If 8 can be purchased separate and can be plugged into old PC hardware then I'm all for it in this instance; I'd love to be able to use the keyboard I'm better at using to take away some of the edge X-box vets have on me.

The first thing I listed I suppose I'll be better able to complain about once I've given the open beta a try. That apparently just started, so you might want to give it a try. It's more of a consumer preview I suppose; but I guess I should be glad to get even that and it raises my hopes for the OS.

http://www.windows8update.com/download-windows-8-beta/

I'm not sure how the beta works; like if you have to replace your old OS with this one. I'll let you know if I figure it all out once I download it.

[Truean]

This is really simple:

They gradually want all computing to be mobile via phones and tablets and whatever, so they're going to do it gradually. First it will be "making the everyday operating systems mobile compatible." Then, it will suddenly move more and more in favor of the mobile crap so they can charge you a large monthly phone and data service plan. They'll eventually phase out desktops (a long way away) and laptops.

The goal is to get everyone on a smart phone sooner or later, or something like it and charge recurring fees through the nose for it. Same thing with gaming. The game is cheap or even free, but if you want any of those little goodies, then you're going to buy DLC. Or it's a monthly subscription or both.

I'd rather give you a "free" computer and charge you $100/month + for a service plan (the only service plan compatible with the device) for a few years. Don't worry, when new tech comes out and you're ready to switch, There won't be an upgrade fee.... Well... maybe there will be....

The mobile conversion has begun!

Edit: You would've thought Microsoft would've learned something with the horrid thing that was Vista, but it seems they're still slow on the uptake....

[Sir Finkus]

I'm more worried about the trend towards walled garden app stores.  The arm version is locked down to the point where you can't install things from outside of the windows store, and you can't install 3rd party oses.  Pretty soon that will carry over the the "normal" versions and we'll see computers become more like game consoles than what we have now. 

[Truean]

I'm more worried about the trend towards walled garden app stores.  The arm version is locked down to the point where you can't install things from outside of the windows store, and you can't install 3rd party oses.  Pretty soon that will carry over the the "normal" versions and we'll see computers become more like game consoles than what we have now.

Yes, this. .

[nenjin]

What you're talking about is the Metro interface. Yes, it's their primary focus since they want into the tablet and phone market. But there's still going to be a Windows "Classic" interface, just like XP had a classic view, Vista had a classic view, and 7 has a classic view. So while I'm sure they want to cram the Metro interface down everyone's throat, they will be leaving outs for it.

If you are on the Start screen you will see a shortcut to a Metro-styled version of the browser, but if you are on the traditional desktop you will get a desktop version.

[GlyphGryph]

we'll see computers become more like game consoles than what we have now.

Not MY computers, thank goodness. Still, not promising developments.

[Aqizzar]

Eh.  Talk to absolutely anybody in the tech industry, especially end-users like IT departments and computer-reliant businesses, and they'll call you Chicken Little.  Certainly the home user market is a huge huge part of Microsoft's business, but the commercial/industrial side of computing is equally gigantic.  And Microsoft knows as well as anyone knows that à la carte, one size fits all, boutique computing is useless for industry.  Its also a market full of tech-savvy businesses who would be more than happy to turn to or even generate a replacement for the Microsoft server ecology if they found themselves saddled with endless micropayments and hobbled extensibility.

Microsoft can turn personal computers into cell-phones because your average customer has no idea that it could be any different.  Anybody who works with serious computing networks for a living would know it's bunk.  And certainly such a shift is not reflected in that branch of Microsoft's business - the latest versions of all their Windows Server OS's and applications look like they were designed in 1998 for robots, and they fucking give away free ISOs of most niche-OS variations on their website.

For as long as this dynamic exists, free-to-use sessile computers will still be available, and as along as they're available, there will be an industry to supply for them.

[nenjin]

I wouldn't sell out tablet and phone computing in the tech industry completely. I have a guy here (the only Apple guy in the company I think) who does a lot of work from his phone. Now, is he coding SQL queries or building C++ applications from his phone? No. Nor can his phone have 8 different browser windows open, SQLYog, PuTTY, play his music and run a chat program.

But in a pinch, when he's not at the office, he can actually access some stuff here at work straight from his phone. The point at which mobile devices have the memory, battery life and an OS truly designed to be extensible is the point at which the distinction between mobile device and desktop device becomes irrelevant. We're a few years away from that. We're right on the cusp of tablet computing for something other than killing time and doing the things we've done before on a novel format. I've been pretty against the whole mobile revolution, even with phones out there like the Droid for people who want functionality and flexibility instead of a toy from Apple. But the next gen of mobile devices promises, I think, to elevate what we think we're capable of doing with a palm-sized computer.

[GlyphGryph]

And Microsoft knows as well as anyone knows that à la carte, one size fits all, boutique computing is useless for industry.

Depends on the industry. I know several industries that are switching over to tablets for the vast majority of things they would have been using a regular PC for. I'm not sure if I'm at liberty to go into details, mind you, but I think I can safely say that while they'll definitely have standard servers and stuff, many large industries really want their average employee to live with limited computers with minimal options rather than a general purpose machine.

While those who WORK with computers will obviously demand more, industry-level-users in many industries are rushing to embrace the switch.

[Telgin]

...stuff...

I suspect you're right.  I've long expected that this would be how the future of computing worked, and I'm not sure it's all that much of a bad thing really.  I don't want my desktop going anywhere any time soon, but eventually it will be an outdated concept.

Miniaturization is the future, so eventually handheld devices of some form or another will be the norm where stationary computer systems will be rare.  Eventually the concept of a desktop will really just be a terminal to something akin to a cloud computing system.

I'm not terribly happy with what I know about Windows 8 so far, but I'm going to hold off on passing judgement until I've messed with it first.  If only I could get up the energy to bother messing with it.

[nenjin]

Don't worry too much. PC video game makers and engine developers will constantly be pushing the boundaries on hardware, to the extent that it will be a LONG time before we have a mobile device playing any AAA game. Mobile device gaming has come a long way in only a few short years, but if you know a decent amount about game tech, you can see that they're still eons behind desktop PCs in terms of raw power and all that other important junk.

So as long as PC game makers keep pushing the boundaries outward, they and the massive hardware they contain will still serve a purpose.

Now, if AAA publishers decide that PC games are too expensive to develop and start throwing all their development teams and R&D into mobile gaming.....

[Zrk2]

This is really simple:

They gradually want all computing to be mobile via phones and tablets and whatever, so they're going to do it gradually. First it will be "making the everyday operating systems mobile compatible." Then, it will suddenly move more and more in favor of the mobile crap so they can charge you a large monthly phone and data service plan. They'll eventually phase out desktops (a long way away) and laptops.

The goal is to get everyone on a smart phone sooner or later, or something like it and charge recurring fees through the nose for it. Same thing with gaming. The game is cheap or even free, but if you want any of those little goodies, then you're going to buy DLC. Or it's a monthly subscription or both.

I'd rather give you a "free" computer and charge you $100/month + for a service plan (the only service plan compatible with the device) for a few years. Don't worry, when new tech comes out and you're ready to switch, There won't be an upgrade fee.... Well... maybe there will be....

The mobile conversion has begun!

Edit: You would've thought Microsoft would've learned something with the horrid thing that was Vista, but it seems they're still slow on the uptake....

Alarmist as this sounds, I agree. The trend seems to be away from private ownership and towards rentals, especially in electronics. I read somewhere (can't remember the source) that the video games industry is trying to move away from a "goods sold" business model and towards a "services rendered" one. That way they don't have to make releases every couple moths to keep the coffers full.

[kaenneth]

I wouldn't say Microsoft is trying to push people towards phone/tablet; it's just where they see the future being. See the raging popularity of the iPhone/iPad.

I personally dislike the Metro style, but it does well in objective usability tests, and many people do like it. same with the Office Ribbon. For those used to the old way, it's a change. But for new users, it's much easier.

As for Touch, how natural is a mouse anyway? But I do find touch gestures more tiring, so I don't see it being good for an office worker interface.

[Aqizzar]

I read somewhere (can't remember the source) that the video games industry is trying to move away from a "goods sold" business model and towards a "services rendered" one. That way they don't have to make releases every couple moths to keep the coffers full.

Every time I hear this, I think back to five-ten years ago or so, when everyone was predicting the death of non-MMO PC gaming, how PC's would exist as subscription generators first and only, and how today you can basically guess how many months (or weeks) an MMO will be on the market before it goes freemium (or goes bust) by its mag reviews.

[Zrk2]

In b4 "PC gaming master race" comments. Yes the line has been blurring a lot recently (see tablets) and I think ultimately we'll see all electronics integrated, possibly with different consoles for different uses. Say type an essay on a laptop then pop your chip out an plug it into your phone as you go out for drinks or whatnot.