Anybody upgrade to Windows 8 yet?

[Jim Becker]

Niet. Windows 8 will be nice for folks with a touch screen, but it's going to be a bear for folks with a "regular" computer. I am about to provide a new computer for my dad and it's got Win7 on it. Win8 would completely confuse him...more than he already is.

No way I have any interest whatsoever in this new version for my own use. Besides, I only use Windows when I have to...Win7 in a virtual machine on my Mac to run Quicken and Office and WinXP on my work machine because it's required to run certain applications.

[Kevin W Johnson]

Again, total myth. Why would learning the Linux GUI be any harder than any windows one? The truth is it isn't. If you have to Learn a new os, why not a stable, quite virus proof, free one? I put plenty of new users on Linux with no problems whatsoever.
Anyways....

Yeah, well, I've encountered many that can't function if so much as their desktop icons change.

Going from XP-Vista-Win 7 isn't even close to learning a new OS. There aren't any real changes between XP-Vista-Win 7 outside of eye candy, new looks to icons, some names changed in the control panel, and some new features which some people may or may not know about. All the basics whereas a user is concerned are the same.

Microsoft doesn't pay the assemblers to install Windows, the assemblers pay Microsoft so they can install it. They would choose free if they felt it were a viable option. It would be an instant revenue boost.

Anyways, lets get back to the OP's original intent.

[Brian Ashton]

Again, total myth. Why would learning the Linux GUI be any harder than any windows one? The truth is it isn't. If you have to Learn a new os, why not a stable, quite virus proof, free one? I put plenty of new users on Linux with no problems whatsoever.
Anyways....

Myth or not who cares as it's not something anyone pays attention to. Maybe I'm a sheep and prefer to run a system that runs most of what's available to mankind... just like everyone else. Maybe that's a myth also but as I stated earlier no one cares.

On topic... I'll buy the upgrade. Not because I need it but simply to stay current and knowledgeable on the tools that I have to use every working day... It's not much of a competitive advantage in an office but it's still something. It won't be the first time I've been promoted for being tech savvy and when 8 becomes mainstream I suspect there will be a few that will be grateful someone in the office knows how to work it - and that will be me.

Only knowing how to use XP will significantly reduce your employability sooner than later.

PS I'm downloading the upgrade as I write...

[Steve Meliza]

Where I work there are hundreds of people in the same building as me all using Linux systems and using software that isn't available for Windows because it just isn't up to the task of doing real work. I'm typing this on a laptop that I've had Linux on for 6.5 years and it's still going strong. A great deal of software is now available on Linux so I rarely find a reason to be forced to use Windows of any version, though I do use Win7 all the time. The irony here is that the main difference your average person sees is in the design of the GUI and as I understand it Win8 will present a unified GUI across vastly different platforms and operating systems. Did you know that Mac OSX is essentially Linux with a well designed GUI? If I handed you a computer running Linux with a GUI identical to Win8 you'd never know the difference till a year later when you suddenly realized you had never restarted the computer or had it sit there unresponsive while a virus scan was running. Pardon the rant, but I know a lot of people that do care and millions of people are unaware of how much technology they enjoy using is thanks to Linux, and that includes the computer you are downloading Win8 with.

To be a little more on topic (in an off-topic thread), my employer is hoping Win8 will cause PC sales to increase and our profits with them. So yes, by all means, everyone upgrade straight away.

[Brian Ashton]

Did you know that Mac OSX is essentially Linux with a well designed GUI? If I handed you a computer running Linux with a GUI identical to Win8 you'd never know the difference till a year later when you suddenly realized you had never restarted the computer or had it sit there unresponsive while a virus scan was running.

It comes back to what I said earlier. The 85% of the world that use windows don't care about OSX, Linux or anything else related... It's just the way things are.

[Curt Harms]

If Linux were truly ready for the average user, then the computer assemblers (Dell, HP, Acer, etc) would be selling computers with free Linux on them, rather than pay Microsoft for an OS.

I'm not sure about the gory details, but by the time Dell, HP Acer etc. cash the checks from all the crapware vendors that pay to put their crapware on new systems and the fact that they pay WAY less than you and I for a copy of Windows, Windows is probably free or close to it. Not to mention all the Windows 8 ads in various media that Microsoft pays for.

[Brian Ashton]

Well I just did an upgrade from XP to win 8 pro on a mac running a virtual partition so this wasn't what could be considered a run of the mill install but it was easy none the less. After the install it took about 20 mins to figure out how to navigate the new look and get productive i.e. installed Office10 and was back to doing home work. Overall the time to install and get it fully functional was probably less than 1 1/2 hours. Probably could have done it in much shorter time but I was also mucking with other stuff. Runs quite smoothly on only 2gb of ram - much better than win 7... YMMV

[Larry Browning]

Well I just did an upgrade from XP to win 8 pro on a mac running a virtual partition so this wasn't what could be considered a run of the mill install but it was easy none the less. After the install it took about 20 mins to figure out how to navigate the new look and get productive i.e. installed Office10 and was back to doing home work. Overall the time to install and get it fully functional was probably less than 1 1/2 hours. Probably could have done it in much shorter time but I was also mucking with other stuff. Runs quite smoothly on only 2gb of ram - much better than win 7... YMMV

Thanks Brian, that is good information.

I am still waffling on my decision. I have been trying to analyze why I may want to upgrade. I actually have no practical reason I want to do it. It is mostly a curiosity thing with me. It is also a desire to be on the latest release. I have always had that desire for most everything I own. From computers to cars, I suppose some would say it is a flaw in my character. So far I have resisted that desire with my wife.

[Larry Browning]

BTW: has anyone installed virtualbox and installed it that way? That looks like it might be fun to try.(I have no experience with this type of software) Then if I don't like it I can throw it away. ( At least that's how I think it works)

[Chuck Wintle]

If it was me I would wait a while to see how windows 8 is received by customers. Rather than jump into something that is fundamentally flawed and rue the decision I would want to see if this is another MS disaster.

Thanks Brian, that is good information.

I am still waffling on my decision. I have been trying to analyze why I may want to upgrade. I actually have no practical reason I want to do it. It is mostly a curiosity thing with me. It is also a desire to be on the latest release. I have always had that desire for most everything I own. From computers to cars, I suppose some would say it is a flaw in my character. So far I have resisted that desire with my wife.

[Brian Elfert]

Microsoft even put the Metro UI on Windows Server 2012. We installed Server 2012 on a test server at the office yesterday and even though we all have years of server experience it took a while to figure out how to do things in the new UI.

As a server administrator I have to deal with Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2008 R2, and now Windows Server 2012 all with different UIs. It would be nice if Microsoft left things alone for a while. At least Windows Server 2000 and Server 2003 have the same basic interface. A home user usually only deals with one version of Windows at a time and doesn't have to go back and forth all the time.

[Larry Browning]

If it was me I would wait a while to see how windows 8 is received by customers. Rather than jump into something that is fundamentally flawed and rue the decision I would want to see if this is another MS disaster.

The only problem I have with waiting is that the $40 price tag only lasts until the end of January.

[paul cottingham]

Get it and try virtualbox. That's how I run new os's ( is that a word?) before committing to them. Yyou can learn the new interface that way, and you can run it that way until the service packs come out.
Oh, and try Linux in virtualbox to boot! (sorry couldnt resist.)

[Chuck Wintle]

The only problem I have with waiting is that the $40 price tag only lasts until the end of January.

Got to admit $40 is not a lot to risk!

[Brian Elfert]

The only problem I have with waiting is that the $40 price tag only lasts until the end of January.

You can buy it now and hold off on installing it. A lot of folks, especially companies with IT departments, wait until the first service pack comes out before even considering a new Microsoft OS.