Windows 8

[J515OP]

I've upgraded all of m machines to Window 8 and Office 2013, being able to use native multi-touch across RDP was the clincher for me, so I use my Surface RT as my primary compute interface for all of my work machines and servers...

I pretty much echo what the others have said. The "split personality" of Windows on a non-touch machine is not as bad as reviewers have made it out. I still haven't broken all my old Windows habits but the fact of the matter is Windows 8 works great and going to where the Start button used to be (the lower left corner) still brings up Start Screen which acts the same way (to launch apps).

If you want the killer feature Jeff nailed it. Installing Win 8 Pro on a PC will allow you to RDP into it and have first party touch support. This essentially turns your Surface RT (or other Windows touch device) into a full desktop PC. That is a power that shouldn't be underestimated.


yeewiz, you can check Win 8 compatibility here: Windows Compatibility Center: Find Updates, Drivers, & Downloads for Windows 8, Windows RT and Windows 7

 

[bosamar]

I'm running Win8 Pro on both my desktops. Although they are not touch-screen I like the OS. I've learned to love apps so I'm really enjoying Win8 on all my machines.

 

[TrentonT]

Dito running Windows Pro on my Dell XPS 700 (you don't want to know the age of this box) works great. Also installed on the Media Centre box again with the free copy of Media Centre for both it nicely replaces Windows 7. Dual monitor is a nice have for the work box. Windows 8 was built for touch and multiple monitors

 

[drowe]

If you want the killer feature Jeff nailed it. Installing Win 8 Pro on a PC will allow you to RDP into it and have first party touch support. This essentially turns your Surface RT (or other Windows touch device) into a full desktop PC. That is a power that shouldn't be underestimated.

This does work and is pretty cool, BUT REMEMBER, it only works on Win 8 Pro. I bought a new desktop/All-in-One that came with Win 8 (Standard?, Regular?, NP? not pro) and it doesn't have Remote desktop. It has Remote Assistant, but that is a very poor subsitute. I use Team Viewer Touch to get to the boxes now.

 

[drowe]

Dito running Windows Pro on my Dell XPS 700 (you don't want to know the age of this box) works great. Also installed on the Media Centre box again with the free copy of Media Centre for both it nicely replaces Windows 7. Dual monitor is a nice have for the work box. Windows 8 was built for touch and multiple monitors

I agree it was made for touch, but it is badly thought out on dual monitors. The start screen can only be on the "main" monitor, the second always shows the desktop wallpaper. If you click onto that screen it drops the main screen into the desktop. The only thing I've found that is nice is I can run videos in a web browser on the second monitor, click back to the start screen and the video still plays. But if I click to go to it to change volume or channel, it kills the start interface on the main monitor.

 

[R0bR]

The start screen can only be on the "main" monitor, the second always shows the desktop wallpaper.

You can have the Start Screen on any monitor, you can move it with WINKEY+Page Up or Page Down. You can also drag an app to another monitor just like as if you were going to close an app which will force the Start Screen to that monitor.

As far as Windows 8, been using it sine developer and have been running RTM since August on my work ultrabook with the MS Touch Mouse. I've purchased an upgrade for my personal laptop but haven't installed it yet due to some incompatibilities with my Line 6 UX2 USB audio device.

 

[drowe]

You can have the Start Screen on any monitor, you can move it with WINKEY+Page Up or Page Down. You can also drag an app to another monitor just like as if you were going to close an app which will force the Start Screen to that monitor.

Thanks for that tip! I didn't know you could drag metro stuff between monitors. But, it still goes away as soon as you do something on the desktop. The live tiles have potential, but not if I can't see them. What good is a news feed running in the background? What good is just staring at the start screen to see the updates when you can't run anything? I like win8 fine, but they seem to have made some strange choices. If "metro/modern/whatever" was a program that these little apps could run in, that would be useful, like gadgets on steroids. As it is now, it is just a launcher to get to the desktop where I can run programs and surf. It isn't bad on my Surface and I suspect it would be good on a phone, but for a dual monitor desktop it is kind of silly.

 

[R0bR]

I agree 100%, I was actually surprised you couldn't leave the Start Screen on another monitor. I expect it will be something available in a future upgrade, maybe with Windows Blue later this year.