Windows 8

[Rich Jordan]

I had to use that once in college at a computer lab and I really hated it. Had a later windoze version on my own machine for a few years later on and it was okay. Word has been consistently shitty, but at least it's been consistent. 8^)

For what definition of 'consistent'? Some posts above indicate that's an opinion not universally shared, though I agree that basic operations from at least Word 97 to 2003 were pretty consistent (but not if you wanted to do fancy things). But Office 2007 and 2010? Consistent? Wow...

One question; were you using computers prior to GUI based (windows, GEOS, Mac)? Was your exposure to WordPerfect _after_ you had been using a windowing system? That does seem to be a breakpoint for folks; I started out on TTYs and glass TTY terminals, then Commodore PET, then Apple ][, then school minis and mainframes via terminals, all text based, so WP5.1 was utterly natural and wonderful once I got used to the function keys.

[g-man]

Saw a picture the other day comparing the 'app box' desktop on a Win8 machine to the old AOL login... pretty funny. Adobe Lightroom recently went from version 3 to version 4, and the interface didn't change much, but there are a couple of big additions for workflow etc that encouraged me to upgrade... of my own free will, and because it benefited me. MicroShaft's 'forced upgrade' path with .docx and the like just makes people angry. The ribbon STILL pisses me off. Where is my fucking tools menu? Re-learning WP5.1? It could probably happen in a matter of hours if not minutes... funny how that happens when shit doesn't get in the way.

I ran a hackbook Dell Mini9 for a while, until I needed to digitally sign something and couldn't get the drivers for my CAC reader to work with OSX. Mini9 didn't really have enough horsepower to run any Windoze apps such that they'd be useful while I was TDY, so I sold that machine and upgraded to an 11Z. Just barely enough to get what I need done, and nothing more. And that was only because I refused to sign out a laptop over which I'd have no admin rights and couldn't fix on the fly should something go awry while away from the mothership.

The more 'upgrades' that come out, the more I want to just toss in the towel and go off the grid.

[Rich]

Might want to take a look at Open Office or Libre Office. Both suites have the most used features Microsoft Office has, and they are free.

Libre Office is a fork from Open Office, created when Oracle bought Sun because no one trusts Ellison to keep Open Office free.

I have a legal copy of Office 2007, but prefer to use Open Office on my copy of Win7.

[mekender]

Just a tip for those of you that care... A Technet subscription is only $200 a year and you get the full versions of almost all of the MS software with that. They remain good after the subscription expires too. Just Office + Windows will run you more usually.

[blackeagle603]

Nokia: Cheaper Windows Phones will take on Android “aggressively”
Chris Davies, Jun 14th 2012

Nokia will push for even cheaper Windows Phone handsets than the current entry-level Lumia 610, CEO Stephen Elop has confirmed today, so as to “compete with Android aggressively...”


...Until relatively recently, Microsoft’s minimum hardware specifications for Windows Phone had meant entering the low-cost market was pretty much impossible for any OEM,

link slashgear

[esa5444]

Nokia: Cheaper Windows Phones will take on Android “aggressively”
Chris Davies, Jun 14th 2012
..Until relatively recently, Microsoft’s minimum hardware specifications for Windows Phone had meant entering the low-cost market was pretty much impossible for any OEM,

link slashgear

10 bucks says it will be a flop. On the high end phones you already have Iphones, Androids, and Windows phones. The Windows phones have about 1% of the market share. On the low end phones, you will now have Android and Windows. I don't really see how Windows is going to successfully compete with Android.

I think their best best, actually, would be to try to replace Blackberry in corporate use. A lot of companies still use those. Since Microsoft already makes Outlook and all the other software these companies tend to use, they should have an easy time getting the Blackberry's features on a Windows phone and then selling them to companies. Additionally, the corporate users of the Blackberry would welcome the change to smartphones since pulling out a blackberry at a business meeting is getting to be like pulling out a typewriter. Also, RIM is really hurting, so they won't be able to put up any fight these days. The main problem, I think, is that everyone wants their company to buy them an Iphone, not an Android, not a Windows phone.

[Greg]

Just a tip for those of you that care... A Technet subscription is only $200 a year and you get the full versions of almost all of the MS software with that. They remain good after the subscription expires too. Just Office + Windows will run you more usually.

A long, long time ago I had access to MSDN subscriptions through my own and a friend's employer. It was AWESOME. Then I changed jobs, moved, etc, and found myself buying software again. Heh. But ever since I found out about Technet, I've wondered why any techie would get his (personal use) MS software any other way.

[mekender]

Nokia: Cheaper Windows Phones will take on Android “aggressively”
Chris Davies, Jun 14th 2012
..Until relatively recently, Microsoft’s minimum hardware specifications for Windows Phone had meant entering the low-cost market was pretty much impossible for any OEM,

link slashgear

10 bucks says it will be a flop. On the high end phones you already have Iphones, Androids, and Windows phones. The Windows phones have about 1% of the market share. On the low end phones, you will now have Android and Windows. I don't really see how Windows is going to successfully compete with Android.

I think their best best, actually, would be to try to replace Blackberry in corporate use. A lot of companies still use those. Since Microsoft already makes Outlook and all the other software these companies tend to use, they should have an easy time getting the Blackberry's features on a Windows phone and then selling them to companies. Additionally, the corporate users of the Blackberry would welcome the change to smartphones since pulling out a blackberry at a business meeting is getting to be like pulling out a typewriter. Also, RIM is really hurting, so they won't be able to put up any fight these days. The main problem, I think, is that everyone wants their company to buy them an Iphone, not an Android, not a Windows phone.

Thing they are trying to do is to be able to have fairly seamless transitions from PC to tablet to Xbox to phone... They managed to pull that off they will likely have a winning formula.

[bubblewhip]

I actually got to handle Windows 8 personally at the University when Microsoft brought it by. I was really impressed by the touch friendly interface and the desktop mode is actually fairly easy to navigate with the touch controls while still being very windows desktop. We weren't totally big about the start button being totally replaced with a full screen interface but the good news is that Windows 8 uses less resources than Windows 7, so the system requirements will actually be LESS than Windows 7. Most importantly Windows 8 uses 40% less memory than windows 7.

Development seems a lot better as they updated a new Visual Studio and apps can be written for Java, C#, DirectX and C++ even for ARM devices which should be a big plus to Windows 8.

I was particularly impressed with the prototype Samsung tablet that they brought by which had stylus support that was so smooth that it was extremely close to drawing on paper.

I think the software side is good but I am waiting for the OEM's to make the perfect tablet for me which is...

- MIL-STD-810G Protection
- Tablet touch screen + Keyboard mode with Stylus
- 1440x900 11.5'' anti-glare display
- around 5 hours of REAL WORLD battery life at least with keyboard attachment
- Weighing less than 2.5 pounds, can be 2 pounds for tablet and 1 pound for keyboard attachment
- Intel I5 Ivy Bridge or any complaint X86 Processor.
- 64-128GB SSD Memory
- Willing to pay no more than $1400

I don't find these to be unreasonable specifications, I'm sure an OEM like Samsung, Dell, or Asus could pull this off. Asus had already tried with their Eee Slate which was a Windows 7 tablet built with Lynnfield processors for a similar cost. I would be willing to foregoe the MIL-STD protection if all of the other stuff could be met.

[mekender]

http://www.tomshardware.com/news/Micros ... 16030.html

Looks interesting.