Windows 8 Release Preview

[cjmccarthy72]

Seems like lots of new comments and debates are about to be unleashed as they are about to make avaliable the Release Preview...

http://www.neowin.net/news/windows-8-re ... neowin.net

I will probably download it and run it off a USB stick- and try to keep an open mind

However, I am more interested in the Windows Server 2012 version- is anyone currently trying the first BETA of this?

[holidayboy]

The release is definitely availabe, I'm in no particular rush to get it but it'll be good to hear the latest on any MC changes (tumbleweed........)

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-GB/windows-8/download

[trooper11]

Ill be trying it out this weekend.

[rantanamo]

for those who haven't looked, Media Center is not there, but you have to add it. Its free, and they give you a product key to try it out. Its explained here in the FAQ

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-8/faq

[STC]

Right. Then they charge you if you want it in the full release.

[sigh] I'm sorry but aside from Ceton having the Kahunas, let alone the insight to pull a beautiful product from the depths of Corporate Hell, to make it reborn, to show MS that they can do it right.. Microsoft couldn't even count to two because some bright spark higher up the tree (who happened to be payed a lot) said no. They got to 1.254736 and thought they did well!

[rantanamo]

have installed the Release Preview and trying things out. Looks pretty standard except for the CC button at the bottom. Don't know if I will mess with the stable HTPC though

[tommo]

what great new features does it have?

[crawfish]

have installed the Release Preview and trying things out. Looks pretty standard except for the CC button at the bottom. Don't know if I will mess with the stable HTPC though

Let's see how I can put this... You would be nuts to put Windows 8 into actual service. All anyone needs to do with Windows HE is install it in a VM, play with it a few minutes, :facepalm:, then close the VM and reclaim the disk space you devoted to the debacle.

[StumpyBloke]

From what I have read, and little clips I have watched, it seems to me the drones at MS have done an excellent job at making things more convoluted, disparate and confusing than ever before!! This POS is going to be a support nightmare!!!

Unfortunately for me, being in the IT support business, I'm going to have to learn how to use this garbage!!

[milli260876]

TBH after you've faffed about with it, it's ok...
Getting WMC on is a bit of a pain tho, not even in the "app store" ?? Very strange its like they're trying to hide it.. If I didn't know better, oh wait.....

[cliffey]

has anyone tried the linksys DMA 2100 as an extender with the release preview yet? Does it still get the black screen on start up?
I've tried to get W8 Release Preview media center to open up in a VM using Java Virtual Box but i get a black screen with that too!!! ive never had so much trouble getting a VM to work properly!

i work in the IT industry too and i showed it to a few of our power user staff and they laughed at Windows 8 asking what the hell have they done with the start button, its a mess and too complicated.
I dont think ill be upgrading our systems to Win 8. It's a shame as there was so much potential after Windows 7!

[crawfish]

I dont think ill be upgrading our systems to Win 8. It's a shame as there was so much potential after Windows 7!

Microsoft's irrelevance in the mobile market has made the whole company psychotic. How else can you explain things like "The 4 Corners", "Charms", "Toast", etc?

[stairmand]

My only hope is for a killer Media Center upgrade, butr i'm not holding my breath. I noticed Sky in the UK has "Metro Apps" so a Metroficated Media Center with Sky plugins (Like how we used to have) will be the only way they get a sale from me. For my Gaming PC W8 offers nothing new, for my productivity PCs it offers nothing new and so for for my HTPCs it offers nothing new.

Apart from nice Skydrive integration i'm not sure that it offers anything apart from tablet support.

[rantanamo]

have installed the Release Preview and trying things out. Looks pretty standard except for the CC button at the bottom. Don't know if I will mess with the stable HTPC though

Let's see how I can put this... You would be nuts to put Windows 8 into actual service. All anyone needs to do with Windows HE is install it in a VM, play with it a few minutes, :facepalm:, then close the VM and reclaim the disk space you devoted to the debacle.

I guess I'm nuts. I've been using Windows 8 consumer preview as the main OS since it came out. Now using Windows 8 Release Preview. I can boot back into 7 if I want to, but I've had zero reason to do so. 8 as a desktop OS has simply been better. Much smoother. The underlying things in the Control Panel like security, networking and the Administrative tools are simply an upgrade. Even plain things like file copying are simply smoother and better. The concept of Metro serving as the start menu is a huge upgrade to the start menu as well. If you have a multi-monitor system, it really does manage the monitor setup much better than 7 and give you the gestures on each screen. Seriously, if you're a desktop user and you're using Metro more than 5% of the time, you're doing it wrong unless you just love some of the apps. But the other aspects will be worth the upgrade for a desktop in october. As a WP7 user, I'm excited about it as a tablet OS. Some of the reviews of the Release Preview on tablet devices are very positive. For those that don't know WP7, I definitely think its the most functional of the phone OSs. Easy to find things deep in the phone. Things on the surface that are updated regularly are reported to you on the live tiles, very in the context of the main page. I think reviewers are starting to get that with 8 on a tablet device. Very slick and works well. Best looking apps out there. Will be very productive for people that just want to play or get things done.

As for media center, I'm far more guarded because its a whole house system. If it was just me, I would have no fear trying it out. I'm more curious to see if there will be additional features in the final release. The truth is, we don't know as much as people and some sights say they do. Heck, they are still missing things that will be on Windows 8 itself.

[cliffey]

Hey all,

Ive tried one of my Linksys DMA 2100 with the new RP of Win 8 and im still getting the black screen on start up.
Has anyone found a workround or know if this product will ever work for Win 8?

if it doesnt, then my HTPC will not be getting upgraded to win 8.

Cliffey,

[cjmccarthy72]

Trying to keep an open mind on Win 8 and so downloaded Release Preview.

Certainly fast especially as it only on my spinning HDD not on my SSD. Starting to get use to the four corners and I can see it working on a tablet. Certainly the manufacturers are producing a much larger range for it than they ever did for WinPhone7- so I think it will gain traction and be a success despite the HTPC communities views on it. But will it catch the iPad- probably not although it may impact on the Android slates.

I do struggle to kill the apps by pulling them down on a touchpad on a keyboard- the touchpad "lets go" halfway down the screen. The "X" in the top right corner of "legacy" is much easier.

As for media Metro apps: Music Metro App isn't too bad- although of course it is pushing the new Xbox music sales when you may just want your own only to display. Also I just want it to display the album cover of the music playing- whereas it does the whole wall of album cover thing which I switch off in Win7- are there options- I am missing somewhere? For some reason it is struggling to see my photos however- probably a fault my end and my settings. But when I play slideshow of my Skydrive stuff it seems very static- very few options- not even shuffle- and no swooshing animation- looks very poor compared to WMC in Win7. Video metro apps displays just a few thumbnails at a time- no folders so very difficult to find the one that I want quickly- again I might be missing something. Also Video Apps is more interested in pushing rentals so space is taken up with them rather than your own.

My 8 year old daughter likes the apps- which sums it up really- not so sure my boss would be happy for Cut the Rope to be the first thing that comes up on my Pcs at work! Anyway there are lots of other plus and minus points but I will stop there.

"So not bad, and getting used to it"- but that is hardly a selling point/business model to get me to part with £100- or more for Pro + WMC! As soon as Win7 Beta and Win7 RC came out I exclusively used them, and never touched Vista again and then brought a copy of Windows 7 as soon as it hits the shops. This time I deleted Win8 Consumer Preivew after a couple of weeks of frustration and I now have the Release Preview but only as my non-default boot up option- which pretty much sums it up for me.

[gcoupe]

I do struggle to kill the apps by pulling them down on a touchpad on a keyboard- the touchpad "lets go" halfway down the screen. The "X" in the top right corner of "legacy" is much easier.

You can also do ALT-F4 as for traditional desktop apps - that will also close Metro Apps.

For some reason it is struggling to see my photos however- probably a fault my end and my settings.

If you're trying to see Photos held on a Network Share, or on a Windows Home Server system, then it's not your fault. The Photos App doesn't support this. Another *facepalm* moment from Microsoft. The Photos team claim they are trying to fix it, but I wonder how on earth it got broke in the first place.

While I like the underlying platform of Windows 8, there's been rather too many *facepalm* moments thus far for me to feel confident that things will improve quickly.

[cjmccarthy72]

You can also do ALT-F4 as for traditional desktop apps - that will also close Metro Apps.

Thanks fo this- I better have lots of yellow sticky notes for me and my family plastered over the screen to remember all these non-touch shortcuts that you need for Win8 to work easily!

If you're trying to see Photos held on a Network Share, or on a Windows Home Server system, then it's not your fault. The Photos App doesn't support this. Another *facepalm* moment from Microsoft. The Photos team claim they are trying to fix it, but I wonder how on earth it got broke in the first place.

Thanks- I thought I had remembered seeing this- they had beter get it fixed quick. On a couple of side notes on photos. Is it me or has there been a real dumbing down with metro apps like "photo" compared to WMC- in terms of usability, options but above all in graphical presentation of photos and slideshows. Looks like WMC minus 10 years. Also I take it MS will also be killing off future updates/support for their Live Essentials??- which is a shame as I find it just the right balace of easy to use, (ie WAF) but while giving me me options to edit, red eye etc and of course it is integrated with Skydrive & my Windows account.

While I like the underlying platform of Windows 8, there's been rather too many *facepalm* moments thus far for me to feel confident that things will improve quickly

I agree- take "search". On the Win7 it brings up different categories and results at once from of course the start button. Now in Win8 it automatically leads and shows you the apps only- you have to click on the settings results beneath it just to reveal what the results are. Another instance of too much pushing of apps.

But it is hard fo me to see the speed differences as I have Win7 on a SSD and Win8 on a partition on a Win8 HDD. So, curious to know- just how much faster is it in a like-for like comparison with Win7. And has anyone tried Win8 on a SSD?

[CWatkinsNash]

But it is hard fo me to see the speed differences as I have Win7 on a SSD and Win8 on a partition on a Win8 HDD. So, curious to know- just how much faster is it in a like-for like comparison with Win7. And has anyone tried Win8 on a SSD?

I don't have either installed on an SSD, but I've got a dual boot install of 7 & 8 on my Dell Duo. (Atom, 2GB RAM, probably 5400 HDD but not sure on that.) 8 is much more responsive on that machine than 7. Very noticeable. Both were clean installs done the same day. (8 RP seemed like a good excuse to just wipe the whole thing and start with fresh partitions.) I set up MC on both, but since Media Browser won't install on 8 (I think there's a .NET 4.0 requirement in MC8), I reboot into 7 to use that.

8 boots faster, ignoring the reboot that 7 requires to unload the extra code if selected from the boot menu. Despite 8 reminding me during install that my Duo's screen is not "designed to get the most from Windows 8", touch is way more responsive. But regular non-touch desktop performance is better in 8 also, IMO. It just feels quicker overall.

Now, since both of them are still very lightweight installs with not much else on them, I can't tell you anything about programs requiring more resources. I've literally used it for nothing but media - watching TV from the HDHR, accessing media files on the network, and the like. The only difference between the two installs is Media Browser on 7.

I really like 8. I didn't think I would, but I do. My Duo finally has a purpose, which is a nice change from "cute but rather pointless", which is where it was previously.

[cjmccarthy72]

Thanks for that info CWatkins- nice to know that at least in that sense it is not Vista!