Windows 8 Preview - 32 & 64

Started by Elantric, May 31, 2012, 03:29:17 PM

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Elantric

For folks with free time and a spare PC

Windows 8 Preview - 32 & 64 ISO downloads:

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-8/iso

System Requirements

Windows 8 Release Preview works great on the same hardware that powers Windows 7:

    Processor: 1 gigahertz (GHz) or faster

    RAM: 1 gigabyte (GB) (32-bit) or 2 GB (64-bit)

    Hard disk space: 16 GB (32-bit) or 20 GB (64-bit)

    Graphics card: Microsoft DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM driver

Additional requirements to use certain features:

    To use touch, you need a tablet or a monitor that supports multitouch.

    To access the Windows Store and to download and run apps, you need an active Internet connection and a screen resolution of at least 1024 x 768.

    To snap apps, you need a screen resolution of at least 1366 x 768.

    Internet access (ISP fees might apply)




Windows 8 Forum
http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_8?auth=1

Bill Ruppert

Thanks Steve!
I just switched to Windows 7 64 bit on a quad core Thinkcentre.
Now 8 is out!
7 has been solid here.

gumtown

I had the developer preview of Windows 8 installed September last year, not impressed with it at that time, i hope they have improved things conciderably since.
They most likely have improved things, the initail layout looked crude and cluttered and most of the apps didn't work, it seemed like a windows 7 visual makeover.
Free "GR-55 FloorBoard" editor software from https://sourceforge.net/projects/grfloorboard/

Bill Ruppert


musicman65

Win8 is *supposed* to be based on Win7 64bit code with optimization. This sounds similar to the step from Win2k to XP. That IMO was a good thing. Supposedly they are keeping the footprint small so it runs well on lightweight hardware to address the wave of tablet pc's slated to be released later this year and beyond.

Rumor has it there will be non-Intel versions as well. The new "Metro" sub-system will run Metro Apps that are hardware (processor) independent much like the Dalvik VM runs apps on Android. This is all geared towards running touch interface apps on lower cost ARM based tablets. That's the existing hardware architecture of both IPads and Androids....

Get ready to see some really powerful tablets in the near future. I'm replying on a Samsung Series 7 Slate right now. Its a thin as an iPad, 11.6 touchscreen but has an I-5 quad core, 4Gb ram, 128Gb SSD with Win64 Pro. Its lightening fast. The next gen should be amazing.

bd


tyler_z

Windows 8 is new step into PC OS. Some like it, some don't. I haven't tried it yet

Elantric

#6
I tried Win8 - hated it.
Anytime I touch a Windows 8 machine in the stores - I go "WTF were they thinking " .
http://www.eetimes.com/electronics-blogs/other/4402814/Don-t-talk-to-me-about-Windows-8-?cid=NL_ProgrammableLogic&Ecosystem=programmable-logic
Steve Balmer must go asap.

Best i can determine - Microsoft management must have been on the golf course too long  - while the departed Sinofsky was a double agent from Apple.

They have themselves to blame for the poor sales numbers
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/steve-ballmer-s-nightmare-is-coming-true-181558610.html

The Win8 RT Surface is a joke.


Only way i could use Win8 Pro is to also install "Classic Shell" too.

http://classicshell.sourceforge.net/

QuoteClassic Shell is a collection of features that were available in older versions of Windows but were later removed. It has a customizable Start menu and Start button for Windows 7 and Windows 8, it adds a toolbar for Windows Explorer and supports a variety of smaller features. Look here for the full list.


mbenigni

QuoteAnytime I touch a Windows 8 machine in the stores - I go "WTF were they thinking".

LOL in everything MS does these days, they seem to be thinking, "We really wish we were Apple."  (Or if not quite like Apple, than in some way as or more visually striking than Apple.)  All of which is especially sad for me, since everytime I touch a MacOS machine I go "WTF were they thinking?"  iOS is a very good design in both form and function IMO - when applied as intended to smartphones and tablets.  But the effort to homogenize all of these concepts and forcefeed them back onto desktop computers and hybrids... this is resulting in very bad design decisions that serve little purpose (beyond consistent branding).

Keeping up with the Joneses, despite the Joneses being quite insane.

aliensporebomb

#8
At least with recent MacOS you can still use it pretty much like Leopard/Snow Leopard.  You're not forced to use the IOS-like features unlike Windows 8 which pretty much forces you to drink it's Kool-aid right away

They definetely created a consumer based OS geared primarily at content consumers.  They dropped an older laptop here with 8 on it for me to mess with at work and since I don't have admin rights on it (that got overlooked) the thing is basically useless. 

There's been some of our staff who have drank the kool-aid and are really excited about it but then I tell them the start menu is gone and they ask "how will we do anything?"  How indeed.  It's possible but honestly this is not an OS suited for business environments using desktops - it's a touch based os that wishes it was an ipad but couldn't mimic it too closely for fear of lawsuits so came with a totally weird paradigm that is utterly alien to some windows users.

We've got a guy who upgraded from XP and Office 2003 to 8 and Office 2010 and and it was a deer in the headlights look I wish I'd gotten a picture of.

My music projects online at http://www.aliensporebomb.com/

GK Devices:  Roland VG-99, Boss GP-10, Boss SY-1000.

mbenigni

#9
How timely...

I just stopped into my boss' office and got to test drive Windows 8 for myself.  Previously I'd only looked at it while someone else was driving, all the while assuming there must be sensible ways of getting things done.  As far as I can tell at the moment, nope - Windows 8 is as crazy as it looks.

I don't see any way this is going to take hold.  The Classic Shell is a must and even then there is so much going on that's counter-intuitive and/or non-discoverable.  MS will have to integrate a Start Menu/ Classic mode of their own, and probably revamp a lot of other UI concepts before any major organization will be willing to adopt this OS.  As it stands, retraining alone will be huge; never mind whether the OS is actually usable once you're accustomed to it.  (The latter is still up for debate.)

This dovetails with the smartphone thread I started last week... last night I decided to take my chances and I bought a Windows 8 Phone.  I'm still trying to decide whether to keep it or put my tail between my legs and go back to iOS (via an iPhone 5 upgrade).  There's a lot I like about the Windows Phone, and a lot I disklike about it.  Seeing Windows 8 desktop puts alot of the dislikes into perspective.  The UI is just shockingly obtuse - especially from a company I used to admire as being fairly no-nonsense.  I constantly find myself looking at a nearly blank screen - a few oversized UI elements and lots of wasted white space - with absolutely no idea how to proceed.  A hot corner or a right mouse click is generally the answer, but there is no prompt or precedent to get you there... and when you do, you hit another "no clue" moment almost straight away.

On the fence about the Windows 8 Phone, but if integration with Windows 8 desktop was a motivator, and I hate Windows 8... well where does that leave me?   :o

mbenigni

QuoteThe Win8 RT Surface is a joke.

Agreed, but I was actually pretty excited about the Surface Pro.  Only minor hiccup is I seem to hate Windows 8 LOL.

Elantric

#11
Research the non support Microsoft provides for last years MS Phones.

Its basically non existent..

I dont see them fixing the situation anytime soon.

Microsoft suppoedly has a Windows Phone 7.8 update ready to go for the older Windows Phone 7.5 users, but they are intentionally delaying the release until after the holidays, hoping those folks upgrade to a Windows 8 phone fir christmas.

I advise try to convince your family to postpone holiday celebration and gift exchanges until Mid January!

Tell them its due to a tight economic condition. Most things on my wish list will be 40% less costly 6 weeks from now.

mbenigni

All my research indicated I should buy an Android phone, and best logic indicated I should stick with iOS.  But what can I say... sometimes I just have to see for myself.  I have 30 days with pretty minimal risk, so there's that.  As for waiting for additional savings or better product, this is high tech; that's always the case. Anyway, the deed is done.

Interesting counterpoint on the Win 8 doom and gloom front:  http://techreport.com/news/24018/lenovo-industry-underestimated-demand-for-touch-pcs

There's no accounting for consumer behavior.  (Just look at me LOL.)


Elantric

#13
I would grab all my  USB Class Compliant gear and see what works and what does not on Windows Phone 8
http://www.wpcentral.com/does-windows-phone-8-have-usb-mass-storage-support-course-it-does

(Hint - Android is already catching up with IOS on support for external USB devices - including MIDI / Audio interfaces)




http://androidforums.com/samsung-galaxy-note-2/639310-usb-otg-oem-samsung-mhl-hdmi-hdtv-adapter-review.html


But do a search on:

"Windows Phone 8 OSC"

"Windows Phone 8 MIDI Control"

"Windows Phone 8 AUDIO"

I don't get many results

mbenigni

Quote
But do a search on:

"Windows Phone 8 OSC"

"Windows Phone 8 MIDI Control"

"Windows Phone 8 AUDIO"

I don't get many results

Let's not get crazy - I'm still just hoping to get WiFi to work.    ::)

Paresh

The Samsung Series 7 Slate looks impressive. Will they ever be able to compete w a laptop for serious home recording? As I see it if you can hook up to an external HD then the OS is the main drawback if it may not run my current Windows DAW & other apps...
paresh

Elantric


DeRigueur

fwiw, sourceforge has a project called classicshell that gives you a "normal" start button in windows 8.
I installed 8 on a backup computer and just got classicshell -- it does the job.
Fender GC-1 -- Boss SY-1000 -- Alto TS112A

Elantric

Quotefwiw, sourceforge has a project called Classicshell that gives you a "normal" start button in windows 8.

I agree -  Classicshell is the only way to go with Win8 IMHO.

http://classicshell.sourceforge.net/


musicman65

I upgraded my Samsung Series 7 Slate (The original "Surface" prototype) to Win8 Pro the day it launched and I have never missed a software feature more than the start menu.

ClassicShell ROCKS!!! It even emulates the XP style menu which is far more efficient to use than Win7's jacked up start menu. I love the Explorer Toolbar too...awesome on a touchscreen device.

YOU GUYS JUST MADE MY DAY!

bd

mbenigni

Quote from: Elantric on December 06, 2012, 02:42:06 PM
Windows: 8 Users: 0
Windows 8, Windows RT, Surface, and End of Days

http://www.eejournal.com/archives/articles/20121031-windows8/

Good stuff.  I'm still hoping MS can find some way to pull out of this nosedive, but as it stands, this is all too true:

QuoteIf you've used Windows 8 you know that it's schizophrenic. There's the new interface (formerly called Metro), which looks nice but gives absolutely no clues as to how to use it. There's also the old-style "desktop" interface. Windows 8 can switch between the two, sometimes on its own and sometimes on command. But it's not at all clear how you do that, or when you'd want to. Unlike previous versions of Windows, its features are not "discoverable." That is, there is no menu of options to browse. In making the interface look clean and uncluttered, Microsoft removed all visual cues as to its operation. You just have to know.

This, however, is not:

QuoteAgain, if you're a computer nerd, that's okay.

Computer nerds know bad UI design as well as - if not better than - anyone else.  Some may be less impressed by flashy cosmetics (I'm a computer nerd who still has a soft spot for a pretty design), but we immediately know when things are impractical or unintuitive.  So at this point, I just don't see who MS thinks they're accomodating with Win 8.

QuoteI can't imagine IT managers or small-business owners installing Windows 8 on everyone's PC over the weekend. Picture the revolt when the rank and file come in Monday morning to find Metro staring them in the face.

Yup.  As per my "retraining" comment above.  And most people won't want completely different flavors of Windows at home vs. work, so it does look like Win8 is doomed to be the next Vista.

The good news is I'm actually pretty happy with the way my Windows 8 phone integrates with XP so far.  It has some other issues, but in that one regard, I think I prefer it over iOS.

mbenigni

Hey musicman, I'm curious - what are you using your Slate for?  Do you think it would be fast enough to run Ableton Live, Guitar Rig VST, etc with low-latency audio drivers?

musicman65

mbenigni,

I use my S7S for live recording and everyday business. It's with me 24/7. I run Audacity (free open source DAW) for 2 ch stereo recording via USB ASIO drivers. I have run old 32bit Cubase and Reaper 64bit without issues but again, no more than 2 tracks at a time. I use VMware and run virtual machines all the time for work and it's very quick. Keep in mind its a year old and has the the older i5 cpu at 1.6ghz with 2.5ghz boost. The SSD screams compared to a hard drive. On Win7 Pro 64 it was nice....on Win 8 Pro its about the same now that I got my start menu back! :)

Latency isn't an issue with live recording. I'll try to run a latency test tonight using a Tascam US-144 MKII USB 2 ch preamp I have laying around.

There should be some great new Slates and Ultrabooks out now or coming soon that have better processing power/battery life with the newer mobile processors. I've had mine a year and am very satisfied but it was the prototype jointly designed by Samsung and Microsoft for future Slates. Battery life is now around 4.5 hrs with about 350 charge cycles so far. I suspect I'll have to crack open the case and replace the battery in the next 6 months. I'll fix it then retire it to studio use and get a new one.

bd