Windows 8 Beta

[dascrow]

Has anyone tried the Windows 8 beta? I went to a Microsoft store last night and one of the guys was showing it off on a Samsung Series 7 tablet. I must say after spending 5 minutes with it I'm impressed with the direction Microsoft is heading. The UI seems perfect for a tablet/mobile interface and then you can switch back a desktop mode quickly.

 

[Ollie]

I have been using it for quite some time now.

 

[Ben_J_H]

I have been using it on my desktop so not the same experience but it definitely is nice

 

[dascrow]

Have you noticed any compatibility problems with older software?

 

[Ollie]

Yep! Samsung Kies wouldn't run on it so I had to use Win 7 to root my Note, my Player 5, and my S3.

Other than that not really.

 

[Ben_J_H]

Like Ollie said only a few not 'normal' programs

 

[leeshor]

After using the desktop beta and now the customer preview I'd say it's much better suited to a tablet than a desktop. Not all that impressed on a desktop. All the apps I've tried have worked but I can see that hardware level stuff like Kies could be a problem along with anything else it doesn't support natively. But there is a ton of drivers, fortunately, for lots of different printers.

 

[Frederuco]

I tried the consumer preview back in Jan for a while on a laptop.

It was OK, but I found the MetroUI to be not that great for a real windows experience.

I also found that the Email client at the time would lose your emails. I composed a nice long one, hit send and it vanished. Not in drafts, not in outbox, not in sent. NOWHERE!

And there was not facebook integration into the OS, no apps available for it. Twitter was not even that well integrated. Apps were very lacking.

I have not checked it out since the end of February as I got a new work laptop and have not had a chance to re-install with with everything else I have been doing.

 

[Ben_J_H]

Yeah I have been updating from the beginning and you notice the improvements greatly! I no longer have it on though for a desktop I am Backtracking or windows 7 on a tablet windows 8 is great

 

[Ollie]

I read that Kies works now and Odin. Anyone have an S3 I can test Odin with?

 

[chuckpo]

Hello all. I have used both the Windows 8 releases and am NOT impressed. As a tablet interface it would be OK. BUT as a desktop OS it will be like Vista. That OS before the major updates sucked. Metro on a desktop adds more clicks and moves everything to places where you don't expect them. MOST people that use computers will be baffled. The majority of people will NOT upgrade and IT and other PC techs will NOT recommend it. Customer satisfaction will be bad for their business. Company IT people will not like the learning curve for this OS. Not having a normal start button for the masses is a huge mistake! With all that said I will go to tech stores to sample Win 8 on a tablet when they are available BUT I will stay with Windows 7 on my desktop and portables!

 

[Ollie]

I am sticking with Win8. I agree that the Metro is odd on a desktop. Once I arranged my tiles into zones though it makes sense. They are pretty much just like regular shortcuts, but with widget functionality built in.

It will be interesting to watch it mature on the PC environment. The Metro only tab is of no interest to me. The next tablet has to be able to retire my laptops or I may as well not even buy one.