Windows Windows 8 Marmite thread... Because you either love it or hate it

Got Windows 8 Pro? Microsoft offers to all Win8 Pro users, until Jan 31st to get Media Center pack (with DVD codec for Media Center), for free! Go here to get it: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-8/feature-packs !

Fine prints:

Do we care?

 

and it is region specific UK Site here and only works from tomorrow

 

Actually I tried, and you are right... tomorrow for US and Canada too.


WINDOWS 8 Pro 40$ US / 24.99 £ / 39.99 Canadian DOWNLOAD OFFER!
Canada: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-CA/windows/buy
U.K: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-GB/windows/buy
U.S: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows/buy

available tomorrow!

 

To me..it seems retarded that they have made media center an "added extra", it was in 7..why remove it ? XBMC Cheesecake

 

1- Very few Windows users are using Media Center. This is what Microsoft got from its telemetry data.
2- Microsoft is using XBox as the "Media Center". I won't be surprised if the next XBox will be able to record TV.
3- Codec license cost a lot of money. In order to drop the price of Windows 8.

The only thing I don't agree with is the removal of the DVD codec. I would have removed it in Windows 9, when most computer by then won't have an optical drive. So now, if you want to play DVD's, you either get Media Center and use that to play them, or you buy for the same price a DVD codec with a half baked player.

 

4- people tend to use other media software like videolan vlc, or cyberlink powerdvd

 

XBMC, mpchc, vlc...do those natively support DVD? Got knows, i don't use DVD's anymore, havent for years !

 

I don't know about them, but VLC does. VLC is in France, and laws over there allows them to get and deliver DVD playback for free. That is how they do it.

 

I donno about windows 8. I hear great things about about the task manager and general optimisations and tiles for me seem neater than desktop icons but everyone say "metro sucks avoid".
I'm looking to mini rebuild around christmas so i'll have time to see what happens. Lack of DVD doesn't annoy me in the slightest. I can't remember the last time I watched one on my PC.

 

Well you don't have to use metro if you don't want to frankly. Stardocks start8 is excellent and takes metro almost completely out of the equation. So you get all the benefits of windows 8 with no need to use metro unless you want to. Start8 gives the choice that a lot of people wanted from Microsoft by default.

 

That's a relief. It just comes down to software availability such as steam etc.

 

If you have it on seven then you can have it on eight. It's really that straight forward.

 

No not everyone. You have to understand that every people express their feeling onto multiple sites, and you have fan boy with no life that trolls. Beside that, most people look at pictures, and judge. Or they have an ultra quick look under VM. "Oh it's different I don't want to use my brain for half a second to see how it works. Close! It sucks! haha!"

People called Windows 7 new task bar as a replica to MacOS but on the left instead of center. People said it sucked, as you could not use it, it was confusing and hard to use. You can't see program names, and so on. Well... now everyone loves Windows 7.

People want change, but don't like change. Because the change is big, it means spending time to get to use. And we, as humans, one of characteristics is to be lazy. So if something is new, it requires learning, so it people just say "***ed it", and bitch and moan about it.

People did the same with Windows XP, and yet people had trouble to switch to anything else. Calling XP the best OS from Microsoft.

Every time there is a big change, its ALWAYS the same story. Every time.

You have to try and see yourself. You need to install it as your main OS, and use it. After 2 months, NOW you can take a decision.

Well until Jan 31st it's free to get it, so just get it, so in the case you ever need it, you have a free, good (better than VLC), DVD codec with Media Center to play it.

 

Everything that works in Windows 7 works in Windows 8. Including drivers.

If Windows 8 drivers doesn't exists, simply download the Windows 7 version. Then just: right-click on the setup, select Properties, then go to the Compatibility tab. You'll see a drop down menu, select Windows 7 on it and oK. You do this to by-pass the OS check of setup so it installs. Once installed you'll see your hardware will work perfectly with the same great performance or faster.

If it makes you feel better:
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/compatibility/win8/CompatCenter/Home?Language=en-US

 

Cheers Goodbytes & theshadow2001. Guess that's me sold. TBH I was one of those people who loved XP and never fully adjusted to win 7 or vista. Yea I came to like certai elements like how it works (I remember always fighting with XP tho I was younger and less experienced might have had something to do with it) but even on win7 never felt truly comfortable. That was emphasised when I done a fresh XP install on my parents PC and even when I got my netbook. I donno, I just enjoyed using XP more especially the file system.
I am one of the few that loves metro on windows phone and something like that on PC honestly wouldn't annoy me especially if it was live tiles and they provided instant information without resource hogging. I hated those vista widgets and never got use to desktop icons since I spent ages sorting them only to feel too cluttered. I guess I'll have to play with the new UI to see if it does work or just feels like another cluster mess.

I've no reason not to go 8 I guess. Should have the upgrade by the end of Jan and as you say, no point in missing a free upgrade.

 

/29.99€

 

I think both my main PC and HTPC are going to get an upgrade.

 

just bought it from the uk website

xD

 

Greetings!

On a traditional machine (desktop PC, laptop) it really adds nothing to its use. Just changing for the sake of changing, on touch-enabled devices Metro is good.
With the new StartScreen there is no longer a "most used programs" list or a global search.

There is also Classic Shell, or Power8 or ViStart, ... Toshiba and Samsung have their own versions too. More will appear to explore the gap Microsoft left open.

 

My biggest issue with Windows 8 ? (yes, i upgraded today)

The system how the tiles get rearranged when you take a tile from a bottom of first column and want to move the tile to the second column... The top tile from 2nd column drops on bottom of the first one. Had to redo the whole layout at least 5 times until i got the desired result.