Windows 8

[Stmfuller]

Originally Posted by Handmade.Mercury

I have dual monitors and my browser still gets an entire monitor to itself, with hardly anything else on the other monitor, except Skype, sometimes a media player, sometimes another browser window, etc.

At work my dual screens have one dedicated to outlook which displays about all of my daily work and to-do lists. I use the second screen for about everything else. About the only time this changes is when I need two sets of data to copy and or compare. Then both are used. My monitor at home I tend to go half and half for non gaming.

[muddi900]

I loaded the RTM on to a VM to test out the Windows Store an it is mostly full of front-ends to different websites, a la iPad. But unlike the iPad, I can access the full version of the site by pressing Win+D.

[jpublic]

Yeah, based on early testing at my work, we're probably going to get a Start8 site license. EVERYONE hates Metro.

[MagGnome]

The developer of Start8 is going to make a killing.

[Ravenlock]

Well, it's Stardock, so that'd be Brad Wardell, I guess. Which might make some people here unhappy.

But I already own a license for Fences, which I love, so I have no problem giving them $5 for Start8.

[muddi900]

Brad Wardell hates it when his political party is not in power, so exactly like people here...

Anyway, Metro is a fucking brilliant touchscreen UI. I'd guess it's the first UX designed exclusively around large touchscreens. iOS and Android both seem to be 'designing for horse-carriages'.

[boratika]

Originally Posted by Ravenlock

Well, it's Stardock, so that'd be Brad Wardell, I guess. Which might make some people here unhappy.

But I already own a license for Fences, which I love, so I have no problem giving them $5 for Start8.

Well, there's always Classic Shell. And all these things. And probably plenty more to come.

[Stmfuller]

Originally Posted by Orca

http://vimeo.com/52265547 - a friend's Win8 app.

Damn, that is fucking fantastic!
I'm going to put that on my tablet once I finally pick it up (decided I like the idea of a tablet with an X86 chip in it).

[J Arcane]

Originally Posted by boratika

Well, there's always Classic Shell. And all these things. And probably plenty more to come.

You can also just turn Metro off if you don't care about it. http://www.addictivetips.com/windows...-start-screen/

[fitbabits]

Originally Posted by J Arcane

You can also just turn Metro off if you don't care about it. http://www.addictivetips.com/windows...-start-screen/

Update: This app has been discontinued, it is no longer available on the DeviantArt website.

Oh, well!

[J Arcane]

Originally Posted by fitbabits

Oh, well!

There's other ways to do it. It's technically just a registry hack, the app was just an easier way to do it.

Honestly, if I can figure out how to disable Metro, I'd be tempted to upgrade for the promised performance improvements.

[Ravenlock]

So let me tell you guys a story about Windows 8 and Microsoft.

I had (as of last night) two Windows 7 machines, my desktop and my laptop.

I purchased the Windows 8 $40 upgrade for my desktop, and went through the process of downloading the Install Assistant, buying a product key, and doing the upgrade, and everything went swimmingly. I got Start8 to handle the start menu, and so far I like it a lot. Great process, good price.

Then there's my laptop. Jesus fucking Christ.

This part is my fault. When I bought the $40 upgrade, there was language in there about a limit of 5. I realize now that language was referring to a limit of 5 upgrade licenses per customer, but late at night my brain interpreted that as a limit of 5 computers. I realize that's dumb. I do. I own that.

HOWEVER.

The Windows Upgrade Assistant allowed me to input the same product key on my laptop as I'd used on my desktop, and it ran the Windows 8 upgrade. Everything went fine; a couple Lenovo apps aren't compatible, but whatever.

As soon as I logged in post-upgrade, Action Center throws a big "your copy of Windows isn't activated" fit, because that key is already in use on my desktop.

That's fine - I'd be happy to buy another license - but I can't. If I re-run the Windows Upgrade Assistant, it won't let me download because I'm already on Windows 8, and it never gets to the purchasing point. If I go to the website where I originally started the process, all it does is download the Windows Upgrade Assistant. And I've just spent 90 fucking minutes talking to 5 different people at Microsoft who all claim it's impossible for them to sell me a key.

I now have a laptop upgraded to Windows 8 that it is apparently impossible for me to buy a valid license for. I want to give them my money, and I can't. The last support rep I spoke to actually suggested wiping my hard drive and rolling back to a previous Windows version so I can re-do the upgrade, as though that were a fucking reasonable solution. (I'd have to roll back to Vista, as nobody ships Windows install discs with laptops anymore.)

I'm apoplectic. Because of a mistake I made misunderstanding their licensing terms, Microsoft allowed me to install something I had no license for, and now won't let me buy a valid license for it. In fifteen years of installing Windows versions I've never come across anything this fucking stupid.

Anybody want to buy a license key they won't use? I'll toss $10 on top of the $40 upgrade fee.

[MagGnome]

Wow, that really sucks. :/

Edit - I might be able to help. How would that work, exactly?

[Ravenlock]

I believe I hacked around it by abusing my work laptop, pretending to upgrade it in order to buy a key and then cancelling out of the upgrade process, taking the key to my laptop, and putting it in. That seems to have worked. Fingers crossed.

Hilariously, I got that idea from the support rep. He actually said "do you have a friend with a computer on Windows 7 you could start the upgrade process with just to get the key"?

That was their proposed solution.

What a goddamned circus.

[J Arcane]

Welcome to yet another episode of "Why I have never paid for a Microsoft Operating System."

[Suave Peanut]

Thanks, MSDNAA.

I installing Windows 8 on a new partition. I'm going to give it a fair shot.

[Troggles]

Grabbed it last night. So far I can't say I don't enjoy it, but it's really no more than Windows 7 + tablet UI.

[Handmade.Mercury]

Originally Posted by Ravenlock

(I'd have to roll back to Vista, as nobody ships Windows install discs with laptops anymore.)

For future reference, if anyone here ever needs to install Windows 7 again but doesn't have a disc, Microsoft hosts disc images of Windows 7 here:

Windows 7 Home Premium
English 32-bit
English 64-bit

Windows 7 Professional SP1
English 32-bit
English 64-bit

Windows 7 Ultimate SP1
English 32-bit
English 64-bit

Other Languages

[MagGnome]

I have no idea where my Windows 7 key even is. Is there an easy way to find it?

[civil_dead]

IIRC you hit the Start button, right-click on My Computer then click on the last option (Information maybe?) it'll bring up the window that lists your Windows Experience thing, the processor, RAM, etc. At the bottom of this window is your product key.