Anybody upgrade to Windows 8 yet?

[Larry Browning]

I have been preparing my computer to upgrade to Windows 8 for about a week or 2. I was going to pull the trigger yesterday, and something told me not to do it. I really don't know what is was, I just couldn't do it. I think my biggest fear is that it is designed for a multitouch screen which I do not have. Plus, I really have no real reason to go to windows 8 other than curiosity, the desire to have the latest thing, and the attractive upgrade price. I also want to do a system refresh and reinstall only the stuff I actually use. I know I can do this by reinstalling Win7, but hey, why not go to the next version to do this at the same time?

If you have upgraded on a computer without a touchscreen, how do you like it so far?

[Matt Meiser]

I saw Office Max had the upgrade in their ad yesterday and was thinking about going for it for my shop PC which would be a good place to try it out.

[Scott Shepherd]

I installed the developer preview and I must say that it was one of the worst user experiences I've ever had on a computer in 30 years. When using it, I couldn't help but think "This is a joke, right?". There are countless videos on youtube showing people "trying" to use it and understand how it works.

I certainly hope it's significantly different than the developer preview, because that was horrible.

[Peter Kelly]

I installed the developer preview and I must say that it was one of the worst user experiences I've ever had on a computer in 30 years. When using it, I couldn't help but think "This is a joke, right?". There are countless videos on youtube showing people "trying" to use it and understand how it works.

I certainly hope it's significantly different than the developer preview, because that was horrible.

I played around with it a bit at Microsoft's "Hands on Learning Lab" at a trade show in Orlando last week. The UI is basically the same as the developer version.

I'm wondering how people are going to get used to navigating it....

[Troy Turner]

I thought 8 was going to be for gadgets (tablets, netbooks, etc.) that didn't have a lot of memory or large processor. We finally upgraded from XP to 7 a few months ago. I'm very happy with it and it will be along time before I upgrade again.

[Myk Rian]

Is Windows 8 really an upgrade?
If you don't have a touch-screen monitor, it may be difficult to use, or even useless.

[Jerome Stanek]

I tried it and thought it was great for a tablet or touch screen not for anything with a mouse or touch pad. I hated it You have to go through 4 steps just to shut down

[Brian Elfert]

We played with it at work when the Consumer Preview was available. The only way I would upgrade to Windows 8 is if you have a touchscreen or buy a new computer and you have no choice on the version of Windows.

I sure as heck would never spend money to upgrade a working computer already running Windows 7. There is just nothing new for a regular computer not running touch.

[Steven Hsieh]

I dont hate it. I actually like it.

However it needs allot of work still.

[Larry Browning]

Is Windows 8 really an upgrade?
If you don't have a touch-screen monitor, it may be difficult to use, or even useless.

This is not what I have been hearing. It is meant for all computers. Even though the metro UI is there, it is easy to switch the traditional UI and back to Metro. I was thinking that given the short cold boot time and other non-metro enhancements such as improved file backup and performance improvements, it might be worthwhile. I have Windows Home Premium and have been wanting to upgrade to Pro, mostly for the ability to backup to a network drive, so for $40, seems like the thing to do.
But, then again, I was hoping to find someone who actually had already done the upgrade and get their impression.

[David G Baker]

I have worked on Windows 7 machines and found that I didn't really like it so I have stuck with Vista. I can't imagine switching to Windows 8 until Microsoft forces me to upgrade.

[Larry Browning]

I have worked on Windows 7 machines and found that I didn't really like it so I have stuck with Vista. I can't imagine switching to Windows 8 until Microsoft forces me to upgrade.

I don't think they will ever "force" you to upgrade, you can still run Windows 3 if you really wanted to. Heck, you could run DOS if you really wanted to!

Vista? Seriously? That's sorta like saying you like ME over XP.

[Greg R Bradley]

It is a new OS or software from Microsoft!

You don't even look at it for a year.

Otherwise I would have ended up wasting time looking at ME, Vista, and the original versions of Server 2003 and 2008.

[Scott Shepherd]

Watch this video. This is the EXACT experience I had when using it. They could have been filming me.

Tell me if you think that looks better once you watch it.

[Art Mulder]

It is a new OS or software from Microsoft!

You don't even look at it for a year.

Otherwise I would have ended up wasting time looking at ME, Vista, and the original versions of Server 2003 and 2008.

+1 on most of this.

We still have XP in many places here at work. And this is why we never adopted Vista.
We're only now getting Win7 in most of our labs, and I now that the central labs here at the university are still XP.

I've read only a few reviews, and that is enough to make me very cautious.


But then again I don't understand the people lining up to buy an iPhone on release day either...
(seriously, I wait months before upgrading Mac's also. It's not just a windows thing. I always wait 4+ months for bugs to shake out.)