Windows 8 Release Preview

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Just installed it on my Macbook Pro via Boot Camp. Tiles is going to take a lot of getting used to. Though, I'm excited to see it live on the Surface.

I'll stick with W7 for now on my desktop PC.
 
Tomat said:
I was expecting there to be a bigger difference in boot time. The Consumer Preview looked like it booted a hell of a lot faster than Windows 7. 5 seconds makes it seem almost insignificant.
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I don't know. For a non-SSD PC the 9 seconds to the logon screen sound plausible, but they do seem a bit too close.
There might be other factors at play. Doesn't Windows 8 normally do hibernation when you shut down and reboot? Maybe this test somehow does a complete restart instead.
 
maeh2k said:
I don't know. For a non-SSD PC the 9 seconds to the logon screen sound plausible, but they do seem a bit too close.
There might be other factors at play. Doesn't Windows 8 normally do hibernation when you shut down and reboot? Maybe this test somehow does a complete restart instead.
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Jep that is something i noticed to Windows 8 goes a lot into hibernation when shutting down.
Only time i really see my bios screen is when i restart my desktop.
 
Steelyuhas said:
Anyone with Dreamspark Premium have it up yet?


Damn, I was really hoping to get this today.
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No luck, all they have is the Consumer and Retail Preview or whatever it's called.

Jinroh said:
From what I read it could be available for Dreamspark only on the 25th. I hope it's not true.
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So as long as I can get my hands on it before I head back to school I don't mind. Just excited to get the full version early.
 
Tomat said:
No luck, all they have is the Consumer and Retail Preview or whatever it's called.



So as long as I can get my hands on it before I head back to school I don't mind. Just excited to get the full version early.
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I hope it gets in before my school (that I just graduated from in May) takes me off the eligibility list :p
 
I might just fucking install the 90-day trial until I get it on Dreamspark. That is in 10 days, how sad is that that I'm actually considering this? Strongly.
 
Steelyuhas said:
I might just fucking install the 90-day trial until I get it on Dreamspark. That is in 10 days, how sad is that that I'm actually considering this? Strongly.
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Just wait it out while the MSDN folks do a last minute beta test for the rest of us. We'll get the superior product with all the added DLC for free.
 
Tomat said:
Just wait it out while the MSDN folks do a last minute beta test for the rest of us. We'll get the superior product with all the added DLC for free.
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The thing is it's just so easy to install that I don't see it as a big deal to install again in 10 days.

-All my settings are synced.
-Reinstalling all my Metro apps is a click away in the Win Store.
-Most of my files are saved on Skydrive.
-The ones that aren't (mostly media), gets put into Windows.old, so I can easily grab those after install.
-Make a list of my desktop apps to install is the hardest thing I have to do with a new install.
 
I wanted to upgrade my Win7 install, but even when opening the installer i see no options to keep my installed applications, just the files... I'm sure they were there on the previous previews.

Windu said:
ZDNet: Windows 8 vs. Windows 7: Benchmarked
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They should've benchmarked general day usage (Opening and closing applications, file managers etc)... W8 since the developer preview already felt much faster and instant than Windows 7, and that's were i think most people will notice the difference.
 
So, will I eventually be able to get this free from MSDNAA? That'd be pretty great. And installing that will just upgrade from Windows 7, keeping all my files and programs and such? Sorry if these are dumb questions, I've never installed a new OS over an existing one like this. >.>
 
blamite said:
So, will I eventually be able to get this free from MSDNAA? That'd be pretty great. And installing that will just upgrade from Windows 7, keeping all my files and programs and such? Sorry if these are dumb questions, I've never installed a new OS over an existing one like this. >.>
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only if you have ultimate. otherwise you'd need a fresh install (never upgrade anyhow, always go fresh. do you eat unfresh meat?)

Also for us students:


http://blogs.msdn.com/b/uk_faculty_...ows-8-and-windows-server-2012-milestones.aspx

August 25th - 31st: Students will be able to download these via DreamSpark Premium institutional ELMS stores
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So stop worrying and go do something else for a few weeks :P
 
the new desktop tiles look nice btw

bLEYt.png
 
Divvy said:
Stupid ugly yellow windows explorer icon is the bane of my existence.
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The only thing stopping me from installing the RTM now is that by the time I do get it, someone will have turned one or more of those mockups we saw (1,2) into a reality and created icons that actually go with the rest of the OS.
 
royalan said:
No lie but that looks terrible.

The Metro and windows 7 style icons clash something AWFUL. I'm still stunned that they're being so bullheaded on changing them.
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Yep. The desktop icons look awful on the start screen. They should be displayed elsewhere, or in a different way, with icons that aren't hideous.
 
Tuck said:
Yep. The desktop icons look awful on the start screen. They should be displayed elsewhere, or in a different way, with icons that aren't hideous.
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agreed.... I don't pin any deskop icons to my homescreen... really takes away from the metro look.
 
derExperte said:
Don't panic. They will still release new drivers, just less frequently. I think once every quarter was planned.
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Yeah, for Windows 7. There won't be any Windows 8 driver support except for the driver that comes in the box:

Windows should ship with some form of support for legacy Radeon cards, but AMD themselves won't be providing future driver updates for those GPUs.
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http://www.tweaktown.com/news/23744...4000_series_and_older_in_windows_8/index.html
 
Ars did their preview:

We're expecting—we're hoping—that Windows 8's retail launch, on October 26th, will come with a big splash and lots of new apps. Apps that will make sense of Microsoft's Metro user interface, that will showcase Windows 8 as a platform that's equally at home on a tablet as it is on a desktop.

Because without those apps, the Windows 8 experience is incomplete. The design decisions Microsoft made have no rationale. We need an app ecosystem to give them context; to see whether Microsoft's vision really plays out when used day in, day out, and whether Metro is a productive, fluent environment.

There's also a question of hardware. Many OEMs are preparing to release a range of new machines with better, gesture-supporting trackpads, 10-point multitouch screens, lightweight tablets, and all manner of hybrids, but this "Designed for Windows 8" hardware isn't out yet. Good trackpads with gesture support make a world of difference to the Windows 8 experience, but at the moment, driver and hardware availability is too limited.

As a result of this, we are not reviewing Windows 8 just yet. We will, but our plan is to do so later in the year, timed to coincide with the retail launch of the operating system on October 26th. This will, we hope, give an opportunity to use Windows 8 with a selection of real Windows 8 applications and real Windows 8 hardware. Until then, Windows 8 is, in a sense, incomplete. The operating system may be done, but the user experience still needs to cook a little longer.
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http://arstechnica.com/information-...rtm-software-is-finished-the-experience-aint/
 
Zombie James said:
Yeah, for Windows 7. There won't be any Windows 8 driver support except for the driver that comes in the box:
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Okay but will there be any disadvantages? I usually only skim release notes but nowadays there are no bug fixes or new features for these old card so you basically get the same old drivers anyway.
 
Finally got the thing installed and have ran it for a bit. I haven't touched any builds since consumer preview so this is my opinion on how it feels compared to developer/consumer builds. This install is Windows 8 Ultimate on a laptop with no touch screen.

  1. OS corner flyouts seem to respond better to mouse movement.
  2. My eyes have a really hard time trying to sort out the screen in desktop mode. The flat colored window frames seem to be the culprit but that just my first hunch.
  3. The OS has a very smooth feel to it. The alpha transitions between apps and screens are very nice.
  4. Built in ISO mounting is lovely. Makes you feel like the desktop wasn't totally forgotten.
  5. Pretty fast install.
  6. Product Key Activation didn't work so I had to find a shell command that manual executed the activation.
  7. Windows Store content is pretty underwhelming at the moment. Hopefully there will be more there for the general public launch.
  8. Scroll bars feel very annoying. Seems like the flat color throws me off similar to the flat color windows frames.
  9. Come to think of it, anything in the desktop that got metrofied is very likely to throw off my eyes. It just doesn't jive with my eyes intuitively.
  10. I'll never let go of the feeling that I need to close any applications that I am not using. It just feels sloppy to keep things open even though they really aren't.

That is all I have for now for a 2 hour first impression.

If I had to sum up my feelings for the OS so far I would say "Mixed Feelings". Some new things I like and some that I don't like or am not accustomed to yet.

What I really feel is that this OS was not built for the traditional pc we are used to but is built for the pc we will buy in the next 6 months. One with a touch screen. Just about everywhere it seems like the most efficient mechanism to accomplish something is with a touch gesture. The OS is begging to be touched and using a mouse and keyboard feels like computing with one hand tied behind my back.

I'll keep this partition for experimenting with metro app development but I'll be patiently waiting for some new hardware to really take advantage of how this OS is supposed to be used.
 
Damon Bennet said:
wonder if apps for Metros (the trains) will still be able to have metro in the title?
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I would imagine so? Sucks that no other apps will.

Its too bad. Metro was a fantastic name. What a blunder on Microsoft's part. They may deny it, but they were using it like an official name, and it stuck like an official name. I'm tempted to say Apple would not have backed down in such a situation, though I think they did once with iTv being renamed to Apple Tv thanks to a company in Europe.

Its just a name, but still is unfortunate. A catchy name is always a nice thing to have. I know I won't stop calling it Metro any time soon.
 
Whoops! "Metro" name isn't banned for Windows 8 apps said:
Earlier today, we reported that Microsoft was banning the use of the name "Metro" from being used in titles of Windows 8 apps sold in the Windows Store. The evidence came from Microsoft itself, in the form of a web page, "Naming your app", on the company's Dev Center site. The note stated, "Make sure your app name doesn't include the word metro. Apps with a name that includes the word metro will fail certification and won't be listed in the Windows Store."

Well, it looks like things are a bit different now. Microsoft has now updated that "Naming your app" page and that special note is no longer showing up on the site. WPCentral claims, via unnamed sources, that the page had simply not been updated to reflect the new Windows 8 app certification requirements.

There's been no word on why Microsoft would put in such a special note for naming Windows 8 apps in the first place. Regardless, it looks like the popular MetroTwit app is now officially out of the woods and can keep using its name for any future versions of the Windows 8 Twitter app, as are any apps that will have to use the "Metro" label.
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http://www.neowin.net/news/whoops-m...&utm_campaign=Feed:+neowin-main+(Neowin+News)
 
Jzero said:
Hopefully someone uploads the new Pro x86 iso soon, i don't want to wait 10+ more days.
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I may do this myself as well. Are we certain it will let you install RMT without a key for 30 days?
 
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