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Windows 9 To Win Over Windows 7 Users, Disables Start Screen For Desktop

DroidJason1 writes One of Microsoft's main goals with Windows 9, the next major version of Windows, is to win over Windows 7 hold outs. The operating system will look and work differently based on hardware type. Microsoft is looking to showcase the desktop for desktop and laptop users, while two-in-one devices like the Surface Pro or Lenovo Yoga will support switching between the Metro interface and the classic desktop interface. The new desktop will allow Modern UI apps to run in windowed mode, and have Modern UI apps pinned to the Start Menu instead of a Start Screen. There will also be a mini-start menu. Microsoft is looking to undo the usability mistakes it made with Windows 8 for those who are not on a touch device. WIndows 9 is expected around spring of 2015.

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  1. hmmmmm by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Isn't that supposed to be windows 8.2?

    1. Re:hmmmmm by TechyImmigrant · · Score: 3, Insightful

      It has become an industry law that every other major windows version be the good one.

      So now, they have to number the products to fit the law.

      --
      I should use this sig to advertise my book ISBN-13 : 978-1501515132.
    2. Re:hmmmmm by fustakrakich · · Score: 5, Funny

      No, it's 8.11, for workgroups

      --
      “He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
    3. Re:hmmmmm by Daniel+Hoffmann · · Score: 5, Funny

      It might be every prime number version of windows, time will tell...

    4. Re:hmmmmm by epyT-R · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Maybe because touch devices make shitty desktop devices and they shouldn't be integrated for that reason.

    5. Re:hmmmmm by INT_QRK · · Score: 2

      A wise Buckaroo once observed that wherever you go, well, there you are. This describes exactly how I feel about a new Windows version: "okey-dokey." I'll politely wield it sans pause or undue drama when some employer supplies it and/or circumstances requires it. In the mean time, I'll continue to happily and productively employ OS X and Gnu/Linux on machines that I purchase and use. Ain't diversity grand?

    6. Re:hmmmmm by Bill,+Shooter+of+Bul · · Score: 2

      Versions 1& 2 were not good. NT 4 was, Windows 2000 was.

      I'm not sure if windows ME , XP or Vista were prime or not, more of a NaN.

      --
      Well.. maybe. Or Maybe not. But Definitely not sort of.
    7. Re:hmmmmm by sycodon · · Score: 2

      It's pretty much like stirring shit in the toilet. No matter how hard or what direction you stir, how big or small the turds are, it's still shit.

      --
      When Fascism comes to America, it will call itself Anti-Fascism, and tell you to give up your guns.
    8. Re:hmmmmm by MightyYar · · Score: 4, Funny

      I prefer the less-ambiguous "prime enough".

      --
      W..w..W - Willy Waterloo washes Warren Wiggins who is washing Waldo Woo.
    9. Re:hmmmmm by master5o1 · · Score: 2

      It's when most of the time they are only divisible by itself (and one), and only when the number feels like it will it be divided by another number.

      --
      signature is pants
    10. Re:hmmmmm by BronsCon · · Score: 3, Insightful

      OSX? Touch-based desktop? Which Mac comes with a touch screen?

      --
      APK quotes people (including myself) without context and should not be trusted. Just thought you should know.
    11. Re: hmmmmm by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Informative

      I hate to be That Guy and kill the joke, but relative primes are actually a thing:

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coprime_integers

    12. Re:hmmmmm by Em+Adespoton · · Score: 4, Funny

      Isn't that supposed to be windows 8.2?

      Well, we all know that 8.3 is a holdover from the DOS days....

    13. Re:hmmmmm by NoMaster · · Score: 2

      Nothing wrong with Windows 2...

      Overlapping windows! A control panel! VGA support! The first Windows versions of Excel & Word! The first use of 'minimise' and 'maximise' for windows controls! An Apple lawsuit!

      Not to mention 2.10, which brought Windows/386 and a proper protected mode (and Windows/286, which brought ... ummm, something, I'm sure).

      As far as Windows goes v2 was actually alright, and at least equalled (if not surpassed) the competition of the time (e.g. GEM, DeskMate).

      --
      What part of "a well regulated militia" do you not understand?
  2. One switch to rule them all? by damn_registrars · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Can they also put a switch in this to make Office usable? I can't stand that fucking ribbon interface that makes everything I used to do the most often 5 times more difficult.

    --
    Damn_registrars has no butt-hole. Damn_registrars has no use for a butt-hole.
    1. Re:One switch to rule them all? by Tarlus · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Given that it has been their standard for seven years and over three iterations of Office, I don't think they have any plans to undo it.

      You can just customize it though, just add your commonly used tasks to the home tab of the ribbon and you're set.

      --
      /* No Comment */
    2. Re:One switch to rule them all? by bhcompy · · Score: 5, Informative

      Or just switch to Open Office or other derivatives. Like all of those that hated ribbons did nearly a decade ago

    3. Re:One switch to rule them all? by linebackn · · Score: 2

      Can they also put a switch in this to make Office usable? I can't stand that fucking ribbon interface that makes everything I used to do the most often 5 times more difficult.

      I'll second that. (They could just offer an additional normal menu bar like the Mac version) It is their reluctance to back off of this and several other past design mistakes that makes me surprised they would even consider backing down from their Windows 8 Metro stuff.

    4. Re:One switch to rule them all? by damn_registrars · · Score: 2

      Or just switch to Open Office or other derivatives.

      That is exactly what I did. Unfortunately every once in a while one of my colleagues will send me a document (usually a power point presentation) that won't open in anything other than the newest version of office (and sometimes only the newest version on the same platform as their, to boot). They then get to listen to me cursing office for some time while I try to read their document.

      --
      Damn_registrars has no butt-hole. Damn_registrars has no use for a butt-hole.
    5. Re:One switch to rule them all? by wbr1 · · Score: 5, Interesting
      I taught inmates with no past computer experience both versions of Office, 03 and 07. I hated 07, and the ribbons at first. It made my day to day tasks take much longer. However, I had to learn quickly as I was teaching it.

      I have to say that seeing people with no computer experience learn both. The ribbons are better. People grasped complex workflows easier, effecience was improved, and the learning curve was significantly reduced. Is this anecdotal? Yes. But I stand by it.

      --
      Silence is a state of mime.
    6. Re:One switch to rule them all? by pefisher · · Score: 2

      Can they also put a switch in this to make Office usable? I can't stand that fucking ribbon interface that makes everything I used to do the most often 5 times more difficult.

      Yep. The ribbon still sucks. It's funny how Microsoft wants me to buy new products, but wants to berate me for my preferences.

    7. Re:One switch to rule them all? by onkelonkel · · Score: 2

      Can we give the ribbon thing a rest? It has been out for 7 years, you should have figured it out by now.

      --
      None of them can see the clouds; The polished wings don't care.
    8. Re:One switch to rule them all? by roc97007 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Or just switch to Open Office or other derivatives.

      That is exactly what I did. Unfortunately every once in a while one of my colleagues will send me a document (usually a power point presentation) that won't open in anything other than the newest version of office (and sometimes only the newest version on the same platform as their, to boot). They then get to listen to me cursing office for some time while I try to read their document.

      This happens often, even with people who are using older versions of Office. My daughter's high school used to do this all the time -- append docx documents, get complaints from parents, and then re-save in doc format and resend. I dunno what kind of deal the school gets for software, but most of us, unless we've stolen a copy from work, are using an old version of Office or in some cases a third party equivalent.

      So in your case, I'd do the same thing I did with daughter's high school teachers. Politely ask them to save the document in a less proprietary format and resend.

      Seriously, I don't think I ever received anything from them that couldn't be sent in RTF format, but that's another story.

      --
      Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
    9. Re:One switch to rule them all? by Jason+Levine · · Score: 5, Funny

      The return of Clippy? "I see you've bolded some words. Would you like to share this action on Facebook?"

      --
      My sci-fi novel, Ghost Thief, is now available from Amazon.com.
    10. Re:One switch to rule them all? by Jason+Levine · · Score: 2

      Not for me it isn't.

      Classic Shell to the rescue!

      --
      My sci-fi novel, Ghost Thief, is now available from Amazon.com.
    11. Re:One switch to rule them all? by Revek · · Score: 5, Funny

      Unlike the real thing, microsoft shit still stinks 7 years later.

    12. Re:One switch to rule them all? by bearinboots · · Score: 2

      Unless there is a need for the end user to edit the document, docs should be sent as PDF, not an editable format.

    13. Re:One switch to rule them all? by BronsCon · · Score: 2

      More like :

      > I've shared you bolding the text "I want you soooooo bad right now, Kevin." with your wife. Would you like to share this activity publicly?

      --
      APK quotes people (including myself) without context and should not be trusted. Just thought you should know.
    14. Re:One switch to rule them all? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      If the Ribbons in MS's various products were even remotely configurable/customizable, they wouldn't nearly be such an atrocity to me at least (maybe others?).

      You may want to look again. Current Ribbon is completely customizable.

      Performing an action via Toolbar or Drop-Down menu, doesn't change your menus or interface. Whereas the Ribbon requires - changing to a "specialty" ribbon, finding said function on the ribbon, clicking, changing back to "Home".

      And this is different from "opening a closed menu, finding function on the menu, changing back to the closed menu", exactly how? At least if you want to use several functions from the same Ribbon section you don't have to re-open it each time. And if you set the Ribbon to auto-hide, is functionally identical to a drop-down menu - just with a horizontal rather than vertical layout.

    15. Re:One switch to rule them all? by fox171171 · · Score: 2

      Or just switch to Open Office or other derivatives.

      That is exactly what I did. Unfortunately every once in a while one of my colleagues will send me a document (usually a power point presentation) that won't open in anything other than the newest version of office.

      Just tell them "I'm sorry, but your file is in a non-standard format and I can't open it."

    16. Re:One switch to rule them all? by Hognoxious · · Score: 2

      ... including, at times, itself.

      --
      Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
    17. Re:One switch to rule them all? by Ol+Olsoc · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Your coworkers get butchered documents from you, then ignore it and revisions later, IT gets asked to "cleanup" the formatting bugs yuou injected and everyone else copy pasted over.

      I'm not saying MS Office is better than Open/Libre Office is better. Excel, Outlook, PPT and Word generally are better, if not necessarily Access, but there are only substitutes, not equivalents in GPL or other vendors.

      My experience is that MS Office doesn't play well with others - or even with itself. Try sending a PC Powerpoint to a Mac Office PowerPoint, and you'll not likely enjoy th difference. If Microsoft programs can't even play with their own selves, then no thanks.

      I've achieved remarkable compatibility by using Open Office on all my machines, no matter the OS.

      Microsoft is becoming the outlier here.

      --
      The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
    18. Re:One switch to rule them all? by dbIII · · Score: 2

      I use libreoffice myself, but that doesn't stop people asking me all the time how to change the icon size in the ribbon and other stuff MS has hardwired in to annoy the crap out of people that want to tweak their interface.
      As for Win8 - one example - no easy way to force downloads of updates immediately after and install other than fucking search for "windows update"? The inbetween interface is broken since they've removed bits from the old start menu without adding them to either of the two interfaces. I dislike the start screen idea but do not really hate it - what I do hate is the flawed implementation which makes it look like it was rushed out the door half finished.

  3. And here I'm hoping... by Mashiki · · Score: 4, Insightful

    That it goes x64 only, much like they said a year and change ago.

    --
    Om, nomnomnom...
    1. Re:And here I'm hoping... by cbhacking · · Score: 4, Informative

      64-bit OS can run 32-bit processes (do you live under a rock or something?). Just like how 32-bit-only versions of Windows - which describes every version from Windows 95 until XP 64-bit edition - can run 16-bit apps. 64-bit-only doesn't mean it won't run a 32-bit app, it means it won't run on a processor which lacks 64-bit support. There are few such processors in use on PCs today, and they're on their way out. Even Atom chips, for a long time the holdout 32-bit x86 CPUs, support x64 these days. By 2015 it won't matter (seriously legacy machines can continue running legacy OSes; the OSes will probably outlive the machines).

      Now, 64-bit OSes can't run 16-bit apps directly - the processor won't drop two levels like that - but 16-bit apps are cheap on CPU power so the tiny number that ever still need to be run (I'm mostly thinking games from the DOS days) can be easily emulated (which is exactly what DOSBox does on x64 today... and also on smartphones and such). 64-bit OSes also won't load 32-bit kernel-mode drivers, but that's not a big problem anymore; very little hardware still in use lacks a 64-bit driver, and if it does, it probably doesn't run on 32-bit Win8 anyhow so Win9 is out of the question.

      --
      There's no place I could be, since I've found Serenity...
  4. Touch Server by Liquidretro · · Score: 4, Insightful

    So this means my virtualized headless server won't have a touch screen interface? Glad someone used some common sense.

    1. Re:Touch Server by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      No no no! This is Windows 9, not Server 2015. Server 2015 will still maintain the Modern interface and force you to use the start screen.

    2. Re:Touch Server by rsborg · · Score: 5, Funny

      No no no! This is Windows 9, not Server 2015. Server 2015 will still maintain the Modern interface and force you to use the start screen.

      Your rumors are stale, Mr. Coward. From what I hear, Microsoft plans to integrate Kinect technology into Server 2015 as user testing has shown many data center workers have been using "hand gestures" when attempting to work with the Metro interface.

      --
      Make sure everyone's vote counts: Verified Voting
    3. Re:Touch Server by MightyMartian · · Score: 4, Funny

      Server core... that's sort of like some braindead version of the Unix CLI, right, with a bizarre "object oriented" shell with stunningly long command names like "Dump-Exchange-Mailboxes-Into-Trash-While-Converting-All-Excel2007-Files-To-PDF", right?

      --
      The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
    4. Re:Touch Server by Darinbob · · Score: 3, Interesting

      It will allow you to shut down the server by pounding your head against the touchscreen equipped monitor.

    5. Re:Touch Server by Groo+Wanderer · · Score: 2

      Ha! I get the joke there, you made a funny. Windows in the datacenter, har har.

                -Charlie

      P.S. For those who don't get my joke, you should look up the marketshare data of Windows in the datacenter. No not the BS "Sales of OSes on servers" that MS commissions from Gartner, Forrester, and all the others who know where the checks come from, but share by installed socket. If you have access, look at it over the last 6-7 years, it is brutal. Make sure you get installed rather than sales, MS keeps commissioning reports that somehow manage to not count Google, Facebook, Baidu, Tencent etc etc's servers. Not sure why though. :)

  5. Hah! by Bigbutt · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I finally got my Windows 7 system working reliably. I'm not budging until I have to.

    [John]

    --
    Shit better not happen!
    1. Re:Hah! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      If you've only just got windows 7 to work reliably then the problem isn't with the operating system.

    2. Re:Hah! by Bigbutt · · Score: 3, Informative

      Agreed, but I generally get heavily modded down when I complain about the actual problem (badly written drivers). I finally bought replacement cards and so far no problems.

      [John]

      --
      Shit better not happen!
  6. It's too late by TechyImmigrant · · Score: 2

    It's too late. Classic shell is better than the start menu ever was or ever will be.

    --
    I should use this sig to advertise my book ISBN-13 : 978-1501515132.
  7. Blank is to Blank... by CanHasDIY · · Score: 3, Funny

    So:

    Windows 9 is to Windows 7, what Windows 7 is to Windows XP.

    Why?

    Because Windows 9 is to Windows 8 what Windows 7 is to Windows Vista (which is Windows ME to Windows XP).

    Head == asplode.

    --
    An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
    1. Re:Blank is to Blank... by just_another_sean · · Score: 3, Funny

      No way can you convince me that Window's had anything before 3.5!

      No seriously, I used 3.0, 3.1 and even 3.11 (for Workgroups) and had no idea what 3.5 was at the time but to this day I still love the fact that when you go deep enough on any version of Windows Server you find something that still looks a lot like it did in 4.0.

      Other than finally offering console only (Server Core) the UI for Windows Server could have remained at the Windows 2000 level and I would have been happy. Just the UI, I do like the actual improvements made under the hood and the introduction of new server technology but the UI was fine, why mess with it?

      (mumbles something about lawns, shaking his head as he wanders off...)

      --
      Creationist Textbook Stickers Declared Unconstitutional by CowboyNeal
    2. Re:Blank is to Blank... by Joe_Dragon · · Score: 2, Informative

      that was when they still had the enterprise / consumer split OSes.

      XP came after both 2000 and ME. XP joined to 2 lines into 1 core OS.

    3. Re:Blank is to Blank... by Kaenneth · · Score: 2

      It's pretty simple actually.

      Versions that add support for major new hardware/API's suck, until driver/application developers catch up with the new tech (including Microsoft internal developers...)

      (1x) 1.0 > 2.0 > 2.1 I think I was still using an Amiga that generation... So I don't recall the details.
      (3x) So 3.0 > 3.1 > 3.11 (Cooperative Multitasking, Protected memory mode)
      (4x) 95 > 98 > 98 SE (Explorer, TCP/IP, COM interfaces)
      (5x) (2K/ME) > XP > XP SP2 (an actual, but underused security model, removal of Real mode DOS, SFP, System Restore)
      (6x) Vista > (Marketing skip) Seven > Seven (with patches) Added real 64 bit support, native IPv6, No longer Administrator as default user.
      (8x) 8, 8.1, 9 (Tablet interface, SSD support, 'Metro'/RT)

    4. Re:Blank is to Blank... by Darinbob · · Score: 2

      There's an XP 64-bit version.

    5. Re:Blank is to Blank... by Saffaya · · Score: 2

      Erm, no.

      Windows 2000 is the OS that joined the enterprise NT4 line and the consumer 9X line.
      First to have the stability of the NT kernel and run all the software of the consumer version http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W...

      The fact that microsoft released a bit later the same year another consumer only version (ME) is irrelevant.

  8. Re:Tradition by Shakrai · · Score: 2

    It's the opposite of the Star Trek movies. ;)

    (Until Nemesis had to go and completely suck, even beyond the abysmal standard of the TNG movies)

    --
    I want peace on earth and goodwill toward man.
    We are the United States Government! We don't do that sort of thing.
  9. Windows 8.X / 8.1X needs a new name to by Joe_Dragon · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Windows 8.X / 8.1X needs a new name to get rid of the bad PR and make the changes stand out more.

    1. Re:Windows 8.X / 8.1X needs a new name to by Darinbob · · Score: 5, Funny

      Windows H8?

    2. Re:Windows 8.X / 8.1X needs a new name to by gmagill · · Score: 5, Funny

      feed it to Excel, it'll round up to 9

  10. Why didn't they just listen to users? by ZorinLynx · · Score: 5, Informative

    I know, ridiculous, right?

    Microsoft could have avoided all this mess by simply listening to people who were beta testing and using 8 and complaining about the horrible start screen. I'm sure they got PILES of feedback, but they were so stubborn they even went out of their way to keep people from bringing back the traditional start menu.

    What happened to listening to your customers? To providing options? Historically MS has always been all about that, and *Apple* has been the "our way, or the highway" company. It was really strange to see things reversed for Windows 8.

    Also, MS really should break free of their "we are the only OS that exists" philosophy. Other operating systems support a wide variety of filesystems and networking protocols out of the box. Windows still only supports its own and assumes nothing else exists. It's time to knock that shit off, Microsoft.

    1. Re:Why didn't they just listen to users? by sttlmark · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Sinofsky happened, that's why. I'm sure there were people who raised red flags internally prior to Windows8's release, but Sinofsky was so hellbent on making MS a "devices & services" company that he ignored any feedback that didn't mesh with his vision.

      Now he's gone, and MS has to undo his mess and spin it as innovation... So now we see MS shills writing things like this FTFA:

      In order to do this, Microsoft is working on including in Threshold lots of new features specifically aimed at "desktop" users, meaning those who interact primarily with their Windows computing device from a desktop or laptop PC with mouse/keyboard and optional touch.

      Note how "desktop" is in quotes as if this group is a fringe subset of its users instead of the 95% of its users who were completely alienated.

    2. Re:Why didn't they just listen to users? by whoever57 · · Score: 2

      Microsoft could have avoided all this mess by simply listening to people who were beta testing and using 8 and complaining about the horrible start screen. I'm sure they got PILES of feedback, but they were so stubborn they even went out of their way to keep people from bringing back the traditional start menu.

      They were not listening because the feedback did not feed into their internal narrative. That narrative was that, to establish a position in tablets and phones, the UI had to be common across all types of devices. If your feedback went against this directive, it could not be accepted.

      --
      The real "Libtards" are the Libertarians!
    3. Re:Why didn't they just listen to users? by NoKaOi · · Score: 3, Insightful

      What happened to listening to your customers? To providing options? Historically MS has always been all about that, and *Apple* has been the "our way, or the highway" company. It was really strange to see things reversed for Windows 8.

      The big difference being that, at least when Jobs was around, Jobs was almost always right about what a vast majority of the users actually wanted vs what they said they wanted. Yes, I know you want to say how much it sucked, but that's why I said a vast majority of users, certainly not all users. MS, OTOH, has generally gone for what users say they want rather than what they really want (anybody who has developed software for non-techy customers knows what I mean). They tried it Apple's way for Windows 8, but apparently they didn't have anybody pragmatic enough to understand real-life users.

      In other words, users said they wanted A, but Jobs knew they'd like B better. He made B, and 90% of them loved it. MS users said that wanted C, MS thought they'd like D better, they made D, and 90% of them hated it. The right answer for MS is probably not C or D, so they need to find the value of E.

    4. Re:Why didn't they just listen to users? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Because the Windows Store and Bing Search.

      The only reason they have been so stubborn about putting the Metro Start in front of everyone, even Server users, is to force them to look at the Windows Store tile(s).

      The store is a core part of Microsoft's bid to integrate a new revenue stream and a new way of bringing users into the fold of a subscription-based licensing model.

      Another reason is to force users to use the Bing Search to find anything they used to just double-click from the desktop or the single click in the Start Menu. Each search gets routed to Bing and gets counted as a page view for the ads...

    5. Re:Why didn't they just listen to users? by metac0rtex · · Score: 2

      This. You are the product, not the customer. Get used to it.

  11. Re:It isn't just UI by TechyImmigrant · · Score: 3, Funny

    What about some of the huge downgrades in functionality that came with 8?

    Audio controls being a big one.

    Pardon?

    --
    I should use this sig to advertise my book ISBN-13 : 978-1501515132.
  12. Wouldn't it be more appropriate to say... by hedgemage · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Instead of saying "One of Microsoft's main goals with Windows 9, the next major version of Windows, is to win over Windows 7 hold outs." wouldn't it be more factual to say the main goal is to "overcome the design failures that prevented widespread adoption of Windows 8."

    As much as they love to pat themselves on the back for having such a "revolutionary" design, there is no better evidence that it Win 8 was a groupthink circlejerk than how no one who had the choice would use it.

  13. Re:Tradition by PincushionMan · · Score: 2

    I gotta call you on that, man. Windows 98 and Windows 2000 were awesome compared to Windows 95 and Me (Windows 99?). XP only narrowly avoided the odd numbered curse because it was named XP instead of 01 or 1. I guess they fired all the people that made Windows Me. Then they brought them all back to make Windows Vista and, after they'd learned their lesson with Vista, they had them make Windows 8.

  14. to bad by Renozuken · · Score: 2

    everyone and their grandmothers has windows 7 and won't be switching till whenever support ends for it (and everyone wonders why they didn't stop years before).

  15. Windows 7 end of life... by QuietLagoon · · Score: 4, Insightful
    The end of life for Windows 7 is not until January 14, 2020. Windows 7 is working OK for me.

    .
    Why in the world would I want to give Microsoft more money just to stay on the Microsoft Upgrade Treadmill©?

    1. Re:Windows 7 end of life... by QuietLagoon · · Score: 2

      Well honestly, if you ignore the whole Metro UI fiasco, Windows 8 is a nice update to Windows 7....

      Other than that Mrs. Lincoln, how was the play?

  16. Hmm... by sootman · · Score: 2

    I wonder what reason they'll use to justify pulling it back out of Windows 10?

    --
    Dear Slashdot: next time you want to mess with the site, add a rich-text editor for comments.
  17. Re:It isn't just UI by fahrbot-bot · · Score: 5, Funny

    What about some of the huge downgrades in functionality that came with 8?

    Audio controls being a big one.

    Pardon?

    You need to speak up, his audio controls are messed up.

    --
    It must have been something you assimilated. . . .
  18. Re:Umm, ctrl+c/ctrl+v? by Luckyo · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I was wondering when one of the "oh the new start menu is great, it's just misunderstood and needs to be relabeled" goblins crawls out of his cave to poop his bullshit on this thread.
    Did the epic failure of 8 teach you nothing? We WANT the proper tree menu in start menu. Not your shitty catastrophe that can't even have a proper tree structure. An actual, usable start menu.

    Go back to your cave. Eight is dead as is (hopefully) start screen. Even microsoft is apparently starting to get it.

  19. Yo dawg by silviuc · · Score: 2

    "I herd you like Windows, so we decided to put MORE windows in your Windows!" But seriously now, what those articles tell me is that Windows 9 will behave like Windows 7 does on my current HW...soooo why the hell would *I* want to upgrade?

  20. I won't upgrade. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    They release new versions of windows too often, and charge too much for the upgrades. Also, far too many things stop working once one upgrades.

    I intend to hang on to 7 until the end of extended support, and possibly after that, because I have no incentive to upgrade. Their willingness to give me back the interface they shouldn't have taken away in the first place is not an incentive to upgrade, it is merely one less disincentive.

    1. Re:I won't upgrade. by Bill,+Shooter+of+Bul · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I don't think they care about software upgrades. I do think they care about hardware OEM's shipping old versions of their OS.

      --
      Well.. maybe. Or Maybe not. But Definitely not sort of.
    2. Re:I won't upgrade. by Anonymous+Brave+Guy · · Score: 3, Interesting

      I do think they care about hardware OEM's shipping old versions of their OS.

      That seems to be one area where Microsoft have actually been successful so far. I know a handful of friends and family who have bought new desktop/laptop PCs since Windows 8 was released. The ones actually running Windows 8 are those who didn't have a reasonable alternative, because what they bought came with version 8 preinstalled by the manufacturer and for one reason or another upgrading to Windows 7 wasn't a practical option. Several of them have been extremely vocal about their views on Windows 8, which are typically not things you would repeat in polite company, but buying a good laptop that even has the option of Windows 7 preinstalled instead of 8 now seems very difficult, at least here in the UK.

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      If you disagree, post your argument. (-1, Overrated) isn't your personal censorship tool for views you don't like.
  21. So will they skip 10 and go straight to 11? by neo-mkrey · · Score: 4, Funny

    Insert Spinal Tap joke here:

  22. I skipped Windows 7... by AnalogDiehard · · Score: 4, Interesting

    ...and purchased a Mac Pro. My WIN2K machine started showing its age. HP stopped making ink cartridges for my printer. Upgrading required a completely new system as none my peripherals will work on Vista and higher. We started using WIN7 at work from XP and I just hated it. Since I had to buy a completely new system, a Mac Pro was only a little more money. And the migration to learning a new OS was easier than I anticipated. I have no regrets, especially seeing the stupid mistakes MS has made in WIN8.

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    Eternity: will that be smoking, or non-smoking? I Corinthians 6:9-10
    1. Re:I skipped Windows 7... by suprcvic · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Just wait for a few iterations of Mac OS until Apple says the latest one will not work on your still perfectly functional hardware.

  23. Re:How to fix Windows by bswarm · · Score: 2

    If they gave me a $10,000 PC with windows on it, the first thing I'd do is wipe the partition and install KDE. Linux isn't a problem, it's a solution.

  24. Re:Umm, ctrl+c/ctrl+v? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    On a high resolution touch screen, the metro interface (not the apps, those suck so bad in their own right...) is way way better than attempting to navigate through a bunch of scrolling and pop-out menus. Using a mouse, the scrolling and pop-out menus still suck (they always have, look back at the complains about why can't Windows 98/XP do better) and I think the metro 'start menu' is slightly better. Using a keyboard, the traditional start menu is better.

    I'm on a Surface Pro, I've used both interfaces in multiple ways. I prefer categories like the linux menus, but 3rd party for-profit companies have never worked together for that.

  25. Gone to Linux... by LVSlushdat · · Score: 3

    Too little.... WAAAAAAY too late....

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    THANK YOU, Edward Snowden!! Americans owe you a debt of gratitude (whether they know it or not..)
  26. WTF? *THAT* is your top complaint? by cbhacking · · Score: 2

    WHY are you powering down a desktop, never mind cutting its power off?? I mean, I can understand rebooting (which it does pretty damn fast - well under a minute to get back to the login screen on my system, and a good chunk of that is BIOS status displays - so I'm skeptical of your "four minutes" complaint) when needed, but powering down even without disconnecting power is an edge case scenario these days (use Suspend, or Hibernate if you need to) and cutting the power cord is an extremely rare need (also, you can hibernate if needed).

    Even in the case that this is something you legitimately need to do, your complaint is stupid. Just wait until the power light on the case goes out (and the fans spin down, which is easy to *hear* even if you aren't looking at the case) before cutting the power!

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    There's no place I could be, since I've found Serenity...