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New Leaked Build Is Evidence That Windows 10 Will Be Ready By July 29

Ammalgam writes: A new pre-released build of Microsoft's latest Operating System Windows 10 leaked to the internet today. The build (10151) shows a more refined and significantly faster user interface than previous versions of the product. Microsoft seem to be focused on last minute refinements of the UI at this point and the product looks almost ready for prime time. A picture gallery of Windows 10 build 10151 can be found here.

182 of 302 comments (clear)

  1. I can't wait. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    Literally. So I will run Linux instead. No GNUs is not good GNUs.

    1. Re:I can't wait. by kurkosdr · · Score: 1

      In Linuxland, the product is released from the very first alpha versions. So indeed, there is no need to wait. A totally different aproach.

    2. Re:I can't wait. by PRMan · · Score: 1, Troll

      In Linuxland, every release is a first alpha version. You have to spend a lot of time with the developers online to make it work at all.

      --
      Peter predicted that you would "deliberately forget" creation 2000 years ago...
    3. Re:I can't wait. by Krojack · · Score: 2

      In Linuxland, every release is a first alpha version. You're not given support and are expected to be a developer and fix everything yourself.

      P.S. I still love you linux.

    4. Re:I can't wait. by exomondo · · Score: 1

      I'd like to be able to use Linux. Unfortunately I need hardware support and a software library that has professional grade software, which are things that Linux will never be able to provide.

      I wouldn't say that, there's no reason they couldn't be provided on Linux but really there is no reason for the hardware and software vendors to expend the effort to support it.

  2. Evidence? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The fact that you can reserve a download of Windows 10 with a release date of July 29 isn't evidence of this already?

    1. Re:Evidence? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

      To be pedantic there is no guarantee that a product is "ready" when it's released.

    2. Re:Evidence? by Pascoea · · Score: 2
      I came here to post the exact thing as the GP. I just signed up for the update and it said it would download when it was available on the 29th...

      I don't think there is anything pedantic about your comment at all, it is a very valid point. Not like a software company has ever pushed something out before it was ready. released != ready

    3. Re:Evidence? by Joce640k · · Score: 2

      Isn't that the problem that BitTorrent solved a decade ago?

      Seriously though, why all the flat colored squares? Somebody needs taking out the back for a good talking to.

      Clue: It's not "clean", it's dull and uninspiring.

      --
      No sig today...
    4. Re:Evidence? by ArcadeMan · · Score: 1

      How the hell do you "reserve a download"?

    5. Re:Evidence? by wolrahnaes · · Score: 4, Informative

      Isn't that the problem that BitTorrent solved a decade ago?

      Windows 10 actually does have P2P Windows Updates. It's limited to within a LAN so you won't be "sharing" your upstream with your neighbors, but if you have multiple Windows 10 installations on a network they'll pull already downloaded updates off of each other rather than going to the internet.

      Probably nice for those getting screwed by their ISPs.

      --
      I used to get high on life, but I developed a tolerance. Now I need something stronger.
    6. Re:Evidence? by squiggleslash · · Score: 3, Insightful

      It's actually very easy, I've done it. It's just not something anyone does because of two factors:

      1. Desktops always look a little odd when encapsulated inside of a window. Think VLC or VirtualBox/etc.

      2. Aero isn't a touch Interface, and all web development has been going towards UIs that work well on both touch and desktop systems.

      And that latter is also why Windows 10 looks the way it does. Which is also why it looks like the web enough for you to think they're replicating what looks good on the web - they're trying to do the same thing.

      --
      You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.
    7. Re:Evidence? by narcc · · Score: 5, Funny

      By following the simple process outlined in the "Get Windows 10" notification that magically appeared on millions of computers last month. If you run windows, you'll find it in your system tray. It's the white windows logo.

      Be warned: It's a highly technical process that involves "clicking".

    8. Re:Evidence? by jones_supa · · Score: 2

      Be warned: It's a highly technical process that involves "clicking".

      I once knew a guy who mastered perfectly the process of clicking, but then I saw him doing a doubleclick. Yep, you heard it right: two consecutive clicks performed quickly one after the other. Before that I didn't know that there are people that can actually do it. Simply put, my mind was blown. It's a very cool trick, you have to see it in real life to fully appreciate it.

    9. Re:Evidence? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Windows 8 and Windows 10 have much more minimalist and elegant UIs, which are much more pleasing to the eye. I could never go back to the garish, amateur eyesores that were XP or Vista/7.

    10. Re:Evidence? by fahrbot-bot · · Score: 1

      Evidence? The linked article (picture gallery) has 6 paragraphs and 5 exclamation points. The photos show, basically, nothing that couldn't be shopped up off-line. The author, Onuora Amobi, needs to cut back on the exclamation points and drink way less M$ Kool-aid.

      --
      It must have been something you assimilated. . . .
    11. Re:Evidence? by slashmydots · · Score: 1

      I'm glad it's not just me. I was just thinking that I've known about July 29th for like a month now, maybe more. This is so not news.

    12. Re:Evidence? by cyberchondriac · · Score: 1

      Granted they've got a weird way of wording it, but essentially it means your workstation will begin downloading it early, or at least a portion of it, so that their servers don't get quite so hammered on the official release date, and you don't have to wait with disconnects or incredibly slow download speeds on July 29 and the days immediately following it. The earlier you reserve, ostensibly, the sooner you get the last bit downloaded so that come July 29, you can just run the install and be off and running.

      --

      Look back up at my post, now look back down, you're on the Internet. Now look back up. I'm a signature.
    13. Re:Evidence? by macs4all · · Score: 1

      Clue: It's not "clean", it's dull and uninspiring.

      More like "Tasteless" and "Nauseating".

      Seriously. I can't even glance at some of those screenshots without feeling a little queasy for some reason.

      Boy, this quote is more true than ever...

    14. Re:Evidence? by macs4all · · Score: 1

      If it doesn't *look* new and different, it can't be good.

      But what if it doesn't look "new and different" OR good?

    15. Re:Evidence? by macs4all · · Score: 2

      My theory on the the whole point of the "flat" style is so they can imitate it in HTML/CSS. Which was not (easily) possible with the old "Aero" look.

      Personally, I think it's to give the weak GPUs on mobile devices a battery-break.

    16. Re:Evidence? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      I guess that's why both Google and Apple have stolen the flat design from Microsoft. Android and iOS run on mobile hardware and Macs have inferior hardware to PCs.

    17. Re:Evidence? by KGIII · · Score: 2

      I simply do not believe you. There is no way a human could do such a thing. Not now, not ever. Pics or it did not happen.

      --
      "So long and thanks for all the fish."
    18. Re:Evidence? by macs4all · · Score: 1

      I guess that's why both Google and Apple have stolen the flat design from Microsoft. Android and iOS run on mobile hardware and Macs have inferior hardware to PCs.

      Apple's "flat" looks NOTHING like Microsoft's "flat".

      Second, since you can configure some PCs with hardware that ranges from far inferior to even the lowest-end Mac to likely superior in some ways to the highest-end Mac, your statement is ridiculous on its face.

    19. Re:Evidence? by exomondo · · Score: 1

      Seriously though, why all the flat colored squares? Somebody needs taking out the back for a good talking to.

      Clue: It's not "clean", it's dull and uninspiring.

      And 10 years ago people said "why all the semi-transparent nonsense"? It's just gimmicky and pointless, like wobbly windows.

    20. Re:Evidence? by macs4all · · Score: 1

      Apple's flat is still flat, inspired by Microsoft. You can try to invoke your RDF and lie about it, but everyone knows it's true.

      Also, for the same price a PC will have superior hardware as a Mac.

      Wrong. Apple's "flat" still has far more 3D cues than MS' hideous tiles. In All honesty, who KNOWS what or who drives fashion, including UI fashion; and quite frankly, I'm not all that thrilled with "flatland", regardless of the UI.

      And as for that old saw, the so-called "Apple Tax", that has been disproven time and again; to the point where you will just look silly trying to defend your position.

    21. Re:Evidence? by macs4all · · Score: 1

      I suppose you dont have to be inspired when your opinion is just whatever Apple's opinion is, a sea of bland gray across hardware and software is just fine...until Apple changes its (and your) mind.

      Seriously. I can't even glance at some of those screenshots without feeling a little queasy for some reason.

      Too much exposure to the RDF.

      There is a serious, actual Human Interface Guidelines reason behind having your UI be "boring", color-wise:

      When you work in certain professions, such as graphic arts, web design, photography, video editing and publishing, to name a few, the LAST thing you want is your UI competing with your WORK. This is not just my opinion; it is actually a topic of discussion among UI designers.

      And don't think Users are oblivious to this. When Apple first debuted OS X, it was somewhat more "saturated" in its color palette (but still NOTHING compared to the travesty that is Metro), and you know what? LOTS of professionals complained about the colors being "too distracting", to the point that Apple created a "Platinum" theme, that completely drained ALL color from UI elements.

      So, just because you want a UI that looks like it was designed for preschool children, don't assume everyone does, got it?

    22. Re:Evidence? by dave420 · · Score: 2

      Why do you even comment on these threads? Are you just looking to swing your Apple-branded dick around? You're not bringing anything to the discussion, you are just arguing your opinion, and it's not even original.

    23. Re:Evidence? by macs4all · · Score: 1

      Why do you even comment on these threads? Are you just looking to swing your Apple-branded dick around? You're not bringing anything to the discussion, you are just arguing your opinion, and it's not even original.

      1. Because every Linux, Android and Windows fanboi seems to feel it is their civic duty to tromp all over every single "Apple" Article on this site (show me even one example of an "Apple"-oriented article on Slashdot where Commenters don't spew completely over-the-top, unmitigated hate at Apple, it's products, and its userbase); so there is a bit of "Turnabout is fair play" to it.

      2. Because I was originally Replying to This Post, above, which accused Apple (and Google) of copying Microsoft, when it was really all three of them following "fashion trends" in UI design (Apple far less than others, especially MS)

      3. Because, in the spirit of Slashdot's Comment Section, wouldn't this be a boring site if every Post was nothing more than a love-fest for TFA and the other Posters?

      4. Because it is still somewhat of a free country; so you can politely PISS OFF!

    24. Re:Evidence? by macs4all · · Score: 1

      Big words for a scrawny little faggot that even Justin Bieber could beat up.

      If you knew me, you would know that I WISHED I was anything even approaching "scrawny".

      That is, assuming you meant "me".

    25. Re:Evidence? by macs4all · · Score: 1

      Unbelievable.

      No. Unfortunately, all-too believable around here.

    26. Re:Evidence? by macs4all · · Score: 1

      Here is something that is going to make you feel even more stupid than you already are.

      Apple Mac OS X flat style ripoff comparison

      I don't know where you got that BOGUS screenshot; but OS X looks NOTHING like that picture. Here is the current version of OS X, "Yosemite" (10.10) and the soon-to-be-released "El Capitan" (10.11).

      Although it is certainly "flatter" than it used to be, as you can plainly see, it looks NOTHING like those horrid, fugly, trumped-up pictures you linked. In fact, if you scroll down on the "Yosemite" Page I linked to the point where it says "More elegant, from A to Z", you will see how the Finder window ALLEGEDGLY depicted in the ALLEGED 10.10 Screenshot you linked REALLY looks.

      Liar.

      Now who's feeling stupid?

    27. Re:Evidence? by macs4all · · Score: 1

      Anyone with eyesight can tell you're full of shit and that Apple copied Microsoft.

      BTW, all of the pictures are actual screenshots, none of them are fake, so you've just stuck your foot down your own throat.

      Anyhow, again you fail. Have a nice day :)

      Actual Screenshots... But of what? Somebody's CONCEPT of what it MIGHT have looked like?

      Show me the actual site that these came from; because I think even you would agree that they sure don't look like the screenshots on the Apple site, which are easily verified.

      So, "source" for those pics, or STFU.

  3. Uh this isn't news... by Mashiki · · Score: 5, Insightful

    How the hell it became news, I don't have a clue either. Microsoft said it was going to be released on July 29th, almost 28 days ago.

    --
    Om, nomnomnom...
    1. Re:Uh this isn't news... by heyguy · · Score: 4, Interesting

      I'm running Build 10130 right now and have run into enough issues that have made me wonder whether Microsoft would be able to make their July 29th ship date with a complete product, so I found the article to be interesting. That said, I do agree that this hardly qualifies as a news story that should be posted on slashdot.

    2. Re:Uh this isn't news... by AmiMoJo · · Score: 2

      I'm really struggling to see any differences between this and the insider preview version I've been running for a while. TFA says it is faster, but doesn't give any specifics. This is a pretty piss-poor article/submission.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    3. Re:Uh this isn't news... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      For starters: Explorer.exe consistently crashes on each login and logout. At least on the 16 or so installs (hardware and VM's) that I have seen so far.
      And this has happened with the last 3 builds.
      Wifi seems unstable with WPA2-Enterprise on G and N. Frequent disconnects/reconnects. I have not tested other Wifi variants,
      (Granted, this could be a flaky driver for the Athereos Wifi card. All 4 laptops had one. But this Wifi adapter is very common so they better fix this before release.)
      In 3 cases I have seen SSD based installs not realizing they are on SSD: Defrag was running all the time.

      These 3 issues alone would indicate to me its not ready for prime-time yet.

    4. Re:Uh this isn't news... by QuietLagoon · · Score: 1
      It is "news" because /. now trumpets its headlines to twitter and facebook. The provocative headlines may be purchased by, say, Microsoft to start up the buzz for the upcoming release of Windows 10.

      .
      Now, when you read a headline here that is more provocation than fact, you will know the reason may be to stir things up on twitter and facebook. It's part of /.'s continuing decline into pop culture viral page hits and away from technical discussion.

    5. Re:Uh this isn't news... by Xicor · · Score: 1

      i bricked my windows install updating to a newer version of the preview... thats pretty awful.

    6. Re:Uh this isn't news... by denisbergeron · · Score: 1

      Th cloud isn't in the cloud anymore.
      In 10130 (the last official build) and in former one, you can't any longer keep you cloud in the clioud you need to install / download all the OneDrive on your computer... but I run it on a tablet with only 64gb of ssd and less than 10gb free after fresh install of windows 10, and I have over 100gb on OneDrive ....
      SO I can't use OnDrive

      If I configure OneDrive, Windows Freeze, no BSOD, but completly dead. After the reboot, the menu/taskbar didn't works again. the reinstall neither..I had to reformat the drive to reinstall windows.

      --
      Ceci n'est pas une Signature !
    7. Re:Uh this isn't news... by ArcadeMan · · Score: 1

      Moo-moo, moo?

      Signed,
      The Cow King.

    8. Re:Uh this isn't news... by Mashiki · · Score: 1

      The question then people should be asking, is are you using fast path or the slow path channel? My one machine is fast path and sees these problems, the other is slow path and doesn't see these problems. You put that together and what does it say? That fast path is still tweaking and testing like any other unstable build. While slow is doing a fine job of being stable.

      --
      Om, nomnomnom...
    9. Re:Uh this isn't news... by PRMan · · Score: 1

      I've never had explorer.exe crash. I have an Atheros WiFi chip in my laptop and have no problems. I'm not using WPA2-Enterprise, so maybe that's not quite baked yet. I have an SSD and have experienced no defragging.

      --
      Peter predicted that you would "deliberately forget" creation 2000 years ago...
    10. Re:Uh this isn't news... by spire3661 · · Score: 1

      WRONG. I installed 10130 last night on two machines and after signing into Microsoft account and Onedrive asked me what to sync, with everything being off by default.

      --
      Good-bye
    11. Re:Uh this isn't news... by Cro+Magnon · · Score: 1

      It's not news that MS would release Win10 on July 29. It's news that Win10 would be usable by July 29. From what I've read, there was considerable doubt on that.

      --
      Slow down, cowboy! It has been 4 hours since you last posted. You must wait another few hours.
    12. Re:Uh this isn't news... by antdude · · Score: 1

      First version releases always have issues.

      --
      Ant(Dude) @ Quality Foraged Links (AQFL.net) & The Ant Farm (antfarm.ma.cx / antfarm.home.dhs.org).
    13. Re:Uh this isn't news... by omnichad · · Score: 1

      Because Microsoft has a history of releasing half-finished software and stripping a ton of features last-minute. Remember the promises of WinFS? Windows 8 shipped with a control panel that had just a few icons and then everything else was in the "other" (Windows 7-style) control panel.

    14. Re:Uh this isn't news... by denisbergeron · · Score: 1

      Yeah That's why you get 100's of this reports problem in the insider app!

      --
      Ceci n'est pas une Signature !
  4. Win7 is likely to be my last Windows by ThePhilips · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The modern OSes, including Win10, as if competing who can make a bigger clusterfuck out of the UI.

    Some say it is because of the touchscreen support. But in my experience it sucks even more with the touchscreen. Unless you play movies or listen to music. Because even moderately involved browsing (say going through the bug tracking) is already rather tedious.

    At least under Linux, I can replace the UI with something user-friendly like Xfce or LXDE. Useless with touchscreen - but fully usable with the mouse and not fucked up.

    --
    All hope abandon ye who enter here.
    1. Re:Win7 is likely to be my last Windows by UnknownSoldier · · Score: 2

      Yeah, Windows 10 looks like shit. /Oblg. Windows 1 vs Windows 8

      * http://gaspull.geeksaresexytec...

    2. Re:Win7 is likely to be my last Windows by ThePhilips · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Interfaces are dumbed down for touch UI. That's the main problem.

      Application are also getting increasingly dumber and dumber. Because from perspective of some, if you can't make feature "beautiful" for the touch UI, then there is no point in providing the feature.

      --
      All hope abandon ye who enter here.
    3. Re:Win7 is likely to be my last Windows by gbjbaanb · · Score: 3, Informative

      You mean like this Windows powertoy from Technet?

    4. Re:Win7 is likely to be my last Windows by ThePhilips · · Score: 1

      Welcome addition. Who knows, probably Win20 would finally allow users to configure system keyboard shortcuts. Then it would be almost at parity with Linux of 15 years ago.

      --
      All hope abandon ye who enter here.
    5. Re:Win7 is likely to be my last Windows by ThePhilips · · Score: 2

      I create graphics for educational materials.

      DTP was always a branch on its own. Most of the time you just start PhotoShop/etc, and pretty much never switch to another application. I'm not sure how Win8 could have improved (or changed) your workflow, because you rarely see the OS anyway.

      In a way, it is similar to the Internet surfing workflow. The only time you see or use the OS is to start the browser. After that, everything is done inside the browser, which is largely OS independent and can be used to the same effect under literally any OS.

      --
      All hope abandon ye who enter here.
    6. Re:Win7 is likely to be my last Windows by ThePhilips · · Score: 1

      Nah. Win10 looks like the modern GNOME3 desktop: beatiful as a hand-drawn picture, but just as useful.

      --
      All hope abandon ye who enter here.
    7. Re:Win7 is likely to be my last Windows by thegarbz · · Score: 3, Interesting

      But in my experience it sucks even more with the touchscreen.

      That's nice. I'll voice the opposite opinion. Windows 8 tries to greatly improve the completely non-existent touch screen interface that exists in Windows 7. Windows 8 is borderline navigatable on touchscreen and I'm not talking about the metro UI (which is an abortion).

    8. Re:Win7 is likely to be my last Windows by Dr_Barnowl · · Score: 3, Informative

      It's not very good.

      You can't move windows from one desktop to another, which is something I do frequently - move a pad of notes from one screen to another, move a meeting reminder with a webconf ID to the screen with my Windows VM (because the webconf software only works on Windows).

      There are other third party programs that also try to do it, but they do weird crap like remembering where windows are and moving them around.

      It's just not as developed as the Linux solutions have been for as long as I can remember - key combos to switch desktop, to switch desktop but drag the current window with your viewpoint, to place a window on all desktops, etc. I'll be interested to see what the Windows 10 implementation is like, but Windows 10 will likely remain just my "gaming" OS with my real work done on Linux.

    9. Re:Win7 is likely to be my last Windows by Merk42 · · Score: 1

      In what way are the interfaces "dumbed down"?
      Can you give an example of an application(s) UI that has been negatively affected for the sake of making it "'beautiful' for the touch UI"?

    10. Re:Win7 is likely to be my last Windows by gbjbaanb · · Score: 1

      true, Windows stole a lot of features from Linux (without doing them as well), but I don't think the desktops feature in Win10 will be as slick as you want, partly nothing ever is unless it has the exact feature set and keys, and partly because multiple desktops has not been a prime feature for Windows user since.. ever, as you know by the lack of a desktops program!

      I'd just stick with Windows 7 until there is a need to move.

    11. Re:Win7 is likely to be my last Windows by iampiti · · Score: 2
      You're up to +5 already but I'll just say that I totally agree. I wouldn't mind the ugly touch UI and "apps" if there was a switch to change it all to "classic" desktop mode (i.e. Win 95 to 7).
      What's wrong?
      • Horrid usability for desktop use (everything flat with no hints as to what's clickable, tons of waste of screen real estate because there's so much whitespace in apps)
      • Most programs have been rewritten for touch and that means : Tons of whitespace leading to waste of screen real estate, low information density
      • You're pushed to use Microsoft services: Bing, OneDrive (can't be uninstalled), Windows Store, Cortana...
      • The start menu is back... but is very limited compared to Windows 7's
      • Configuration split between a "modern" app and the classic Control Panel
    12. Re:Win7 is likely to be my last Windows by iampiti · · Score: 1

      Many of the applications included in Windows have been rewritten with touch optimized ("modern") UIs and that leads to low information density and waste of screen real estate.
      The problem is they're trying to make a single UI to be used with fingers and a mouse and keyboard and that's really difficult without making a substandard UI for any (or both) of the paradigms. I use Windows on a desktop computer and Windows 10 should not penalize me for it. I have a mouse that's capable of very precise movements and I want an UI that makes the most of it, just like they used to be. I want lots of buttons and relatively small text. That's impossible for a single UI for both touch and mouse use.
      IMO they should make 2 different UIs for each application (all the logic can be easily reused) but today desktops seem to passe.

    13. Re:Win7 is likely to be my last Windows by iampiti · · Score: 1

      But the price to pay is a worse mouse experice :(

    14. Re:Win7 is likely to be my last Windows by macs4all · · Score: 1

      Windows 8 (not 8.1) has more than twice the number of users as all Linux distributions combined.

      Windows 8.1 has more than twice the number users as all Linux distributions and OS X versions combined.

      In fact Vista STILL has more users than all Linux distributions combined.

      Sounds like you're the one in the minority here. Enjoy your crap OS that has zero hardware support and no applications. Me? I'd rather do honest work and live comfortably instead of relying on SSI and foodstamps like you do.

      The real question though is: How many of those "Users" chose to run those Windows versions, versus had to run them, due to their work IT departments/management getting all pinwheel-eyed at teh new shiny that is Windows 8/10?

    15. Re:Win7 is likely to be my last Windows by macs4all · · Score: 1

      Only reason I'm upgrading is because Win 10 FINALLY has multiple desktops. If it wasn't for that one feature, I'd stick with Win 7 as well.

      OS X (and to be fair, Linux, too) has had Multiple Desktops for quite some time.

    16. Re:Win7 is likely to be my last Windows by Darinbob · · Score: 1

      The included mail program in Windows 8 was useless. Literally impossible to use if you refused to get a Microsoft account as well. None of the "modern" apps are even remotely designed to be easy to use with a mouse; they're designed to look like executive PowerPoint summaries: dumb down the information and use pretty pictures to distract the viewer.

    17. Re:Win7 is likely to be my last Windows by Darinbob · · Score: 1

      But Skyrim had mods to fix this. Can we mod Windows 10?

    18. Re:Win7 is likely to be my last Windows by Darinbob · · Score: 1

      They key thing to adapt to Windows 8 is to utterly and completely ignore the Modern/Metro stuff. Go straight to desktop and don't leave. Those desktop apps do have improvements over Windows 7 which won't be noticed if the users run away screaming when they see the horrific modern UI with its primitive applets.

    19. Re:Win7 is likely to be my last Windows by macs4all · · Score: 1

      It's just not as developed as the Linux solutions have been for as long as I can remember - key combos to switch desktop, to switch desktop but drag the current window with your viewpoint, to place a window on all desktops, etc. I'll be interested to see what the Windows 10 implementation is like, but Windows 10 will likely remain just my "gaming" OS with my real work done on Linux.

      Seriously, have you ever taken a look at OS X "Spaces" (Multiple Desktops) feature (actually, the video is from OS X 10.9, nearly 2 years ago), and it's improved multi-monitor support? (as seen in OS X 10.9 as well)

      I honestly think, from a usability standpoint, it beats the pants off of Windows or even the Linux solutions.

    20. Re:Win7 is likely to be my last Windows by macs4all · · Score: 1

      Welcome addition. Who knows, probably Win20 would finally allow users to configure system keyboard shortcuts. Then it would be almost at parity with Linux of 15 years ago.

      And OS X of 15 years ago, too. Here's the Standard Shortcuts (pretty amazing for a GUI-centric OS, eh?), and how you can define Per-Application and System-Wide Shortcuts.

      This is something that OS X has supported since (I think 10.0.0), and which I miss from time-to-time with Windows.

    21. Re:Win7 is likely to be my last Windows by thegarbz · · Score: 1

      That was their fuckup. It didn't need to be a worse mouse experience. Note that I'm not talking about metro here which is just a plain bad experience.

      I'm talking about other small fine tuned details like the borders which are significantly larger, the larger hit area on icons, the introduction of the checkbox on explorer icons allowing multi-select without needing a keyboard. I'd mention the ribbon too but someone will lynch me for it.

      In general none of these had a negative impact on the mouse, just a negative impact on the eyes as some people really hate the window border. Yet they were ultimately product breaking features if you used Windows on a convertible tablet.

    22. Re:Win7 is likely to be my last Windows by macs4all · · Score: 1

      LOL, that looks like shit compared to Dexpot.

      Are you high?

      Not only does that look almost exactly like Apple's first incarnation of Spaces in OS X 10.5 (Leopard), almost a decade ago; but the video I watched warned about Dexpot wanting to install a "Speed Up My PC" application. Nice touch.

      Unimpressed. Totally.

    23. Re:Win7 is likely to be my last Windows by macs4all · · Score: 1

      Most of them.

      Go ask around then. I guarantee that 90% of every person you walk by every day would choose Windows if asked which OS they want on their PC. Nobody wants an OS that doesn't support their hardware and doesn't run their software.

      I suppose you're right; which is why nobody uses Linux.

    24. Re:Win7 is likely to be my last Windows by Waccoon · · Score: 1

      IMO, touch has nothing to do with it. It's just fashion. Given another 5-10 years, flat will be passé, and colors, gradients, and actual useful features will return.

      My biggest surprise is that all of the control panels have been redesigned to look like "apps", and by association, about 90% of the options are now gone (unless you resort to a command prompt or the registry). Oh yeah, and it's unstable as all hell -- when Edge crashes, it closes all tabs and windows at once, and dumps you to the desktop with no error messages at all.

      Fuck 10. I'll wait to see how they turn it up to 11.

    25. Re:Win7 is likely to be my last Windows by ThePhilips · · Score: 1

      because you rarely see the OS anyway

      That is true of any area of work, if you are working correctly.

      Not so fast.

      Under Linux, a terminal with the standard shell is immensely powerful tool.

      On Windows there is simply no alternative. And if you use the huge big name tool - PhotoShop or Visual Studio - then the OS is useless to you anyway, since Windows provides only bare/no tools for the specialized tasks. And the big tools tend to eventually reimplement huge chunks of the OS inside of them, making the user often oblivious to the OS.

      On Linux, you (can) have bunch of command line tools. And you can do (and automate) one hell out of literally any specialized (or generic) task using the same OS interface: the shell.

      Taking DTP as an example, one of the first times I have seen Linux outside my office was a publishing agency. They had used the GIMP scripting interface from the command line to automate processing of the huge batches from the photoshoots. (PhotoShop gained the batch capabilities much much later.)

      Under Windows, it might be true that seeing the OS means you are doing something wrong or inefficiently. But under Linux, the OS is a huge bonus.

      --
      All hope abandon ye who enter here.
    26. Re:Win7 is likely to be my last Windows by dave420 · · Score: 1

      No one cares that you are unimpressed.

    27. Re:Win7 is likely to be my last Windows by JohnnyMindcrime · · Score: 1

      My question about it is "When is the Start Menu not the Start Menu?"

      As far as I'm concerned, the whole "raison d'etre" of a Start Menu is that it pops up quickly, gives you a logical list of shortcuts to your applications, lets you click the one you want and then buggers off quickly until you need it again.

      The "strange" concept of having animated tiles inside the Start Menu implies that it needs to stay open so you can watch those tiles updating for whatever reason. That in turn makes the desktop look schizophrenic with half-Metro and half-Classic interface.

      As a result, it still looks entirely to me like it's just about Microsoft being a spoilt brat about Metro and not accepting that it has no place on a desktop computer, so it has to keep letting Metro make an appearance in some fashion.

      The last good Windows interface was XP in Classic mode, everything else since has been ugly and badly thought out with huge wastages of screen real estate. And come July 29th, I shall be upgrading my last Windows 7 PC to Gentoo Linux - I'm done with being a Microsoft "used and abused" user.

      --
      Windows 10 is great - I used it to download Linux.
    28. Re:Win7 is likely to be my last Windows by ThePhilips · · Score: 1

      Never heard of PowerShell, eh? Bash is extremely weak and lame by comparison.

      LOL. Heard. Tried. Dismissed it. Definitely a tool for VB aficionados.

      Anyone comparing a Unix shell to PowerShell is either illiterate or hasn't mastered the Unix shell. (Especially Bash, which not only Turing complete (aka "real programming language") but in recent version even supports the associative arrays. IMO redundant, but nice.)

      Also, what does any of this have to do with the look of the GUI? Move goalposts much?

      It's not the look of the user interface. It is about how the different user interfaces change what information is accessible via them.

      Even your PowerShell, for example, when working with files, as retarded as that whole idea is, provides much much more meta data to crunch compared to the GUI of the (file) Explorer. But PowerShell, no matter how hard you try, can't display the thumbnails of the image files.

      --
      All hope abandon ye who enter here.
    29. Re:Win7 is likely to be my last Windows by macs4all · · Score: 1

      LOL Mac can't even do 3D cube animation for changing virtual desktop and it only supports up to 16 virtual desktops. It really is a piece of shit compared to Dexpot.

      First off, they already went through the 3D cube animation bit for Fast User Switching, back in 2003, in the 10.3 (Panther) days, even before the Intel switch. Check it out starting at 36:40 in this Keynote from 2003.

      And as far as the 16 Spaces limit, that was in the first version, back in OS X 10.5 (Leopard). The latest version, about to be released in OS X 10.11 (El Capitan), is apparently only limited by available resources. However, Dexpot appears to only support 20 Desktops, period.

    30. Re:Win7 is likely to be my last Windows by macs4all · · Score: 1

      It's also why nobody uses Macintosh.

      Keep telling yourself that.

    31. Re:Win7 is likely to be my last Windows by macs4all · · Score: 1

      Windows had virtual desktops long before Mac OS. Back on Windows 95 I remember it supporting a hardware accelerated, scrolling virtual desktop. Also the virtual desktop PowerToy was around for years before OS X even existed.

      And the Macintosh had "Switcher" in January, 1985, before Billy-Bob had even debuted version 1.0 of his Windows OS.

    32. Re:Win7 is likely to be my last Windows by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Dexpot supports 4 more virtual desktops than Mac OS does (20 vs 16) and has 3D cube. You and your Mac lose, sorry.

    33. Re:Win7 is likely to be my last Windows by macs4all · · Score: 1

      Dexpot supports 4 more virtual desktops than Mac OS does (20 vs 16) and has 3D cube. You and your Mac lose, sorry.

      You are retarded. Reread my posts, and pay attention, if possible.

    34. Re:Win7 is likely to be my last Windows by macs4all · · Score: 1

      Switcher, which your own link says was only released in beta in 1985, was not a virtual desktop, it was a very simple task switcher. It was inferior to DESQview which was a true multitasker and was actually released in 1985. DESQview was the successor to Desq, a task switcher for MS-DOS that was released in 1984, an entire year before Apple even had a beta of Switcher.

      And I wrote a task switcher for my Apple ][ in 1980; so what?

    35. Re:Win7 is likely to be my last Windows by macs4all · · Score: 1

      LOL, an Apple shill refers to an Apple shill site.

      Here's the real info

      91.06% to Windows. I know you want to believe that your shit choice in OS is popular and that people like it, but they don't. Sorry to shatter your delusion.

      Look: I work in and Admin Windows all day at work. I develop Windows Application software for a living., yadda, yadda. I KNOW the Difference.

      Every day, and in every way, I am reminded about how much more well thought out and just plain more pleasant to use OS X is over any version of Windows that I have had the displeasure to use (3.10 to 8, and NT 3.51 to Server 2014). Windows 7 (which I have on my work laptop), is only JUST tolerable, and the way they are going these days...

    36. Re:Win7 is likely to be my last Windows by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      You tell me. You're the one who brought up a task switcher as if it were important or relevant. Now because I've called you out and exposed your lack of knowledge, you're trying to handwave the very software that you entered into the discussion.

      Holy shit you are one stupid motherfucker, even for a Mac user. I'm sure you'll try to erect another goalpost though, you're too dumb not to.

    37. Re:Win7 is likely to be my last Windows by ThePhilips · · Score: 1

      There is nothing that you can do in Bash that can't be done easier and faster in PowerShell. I guess you're just not a programmer so you don't understand it.

      Man, I do Unix (and shells) for something like 15 years now. Before that 5 years Windows.

      From all your words I can see that you simple failed to grasp what Unix shell is.

      And yes, you can do image manipulation directly in PowerShell. It gives complete access to the entire Windows API.

      Which is the whole point of the suckage of the PowerShell.

      And the quirky syntax, as if they wanted to make sure that the developers would suffer just like they did with VB.

      This is how I know you've never touched it. You don't even know basic information like this. Just stick with your simplistic UNIX shell, because you're obviously incapable of handling PowerShell.

      I did actually handled PowerShell, though stupid security policies make it a non-starter in enterprise and limit its usefulness to developer workstations. You can't run PS1 files out of box == Universally useless.

      Otherwise, I have failed to see anything new in the PowerShell beside the retarded reinvention of the "host VB".

      They had a clean start - a rare and real chance to do it right - and they still have came up with that atrocity.

      And even at the VB emulation, the Perl with Win32::OLE beats PowerShell handily. Because it is real programming language and the Win32::OLE gives pretty much unlimited access to every Windows capability.

      --
      All hope abandon ye who enter here.
    38. Re:Win7 is likely to be my last Windows by Blaskowicz · · Score: 1

      Under Windows you have Autohotkey, which I used for a number of things in the XP days such as hotkeys to change display gamma, sound volume, instantly launch a terminal etc.

      Windows is ridiculously crippled for some things but it can have its own very powerful things. Another example was a freeware to minimize windows to the system tray, it could be configured so that a middle click on the minimize button does it. Under linux this will be impossible, funnily, or non trivial to do and it's certainly desktop or WM specific.

    39. Re:Win7 is likely to be my last Windows by ThePhilips · · Score: 1

      Under Windows you have Autohotkey, which I used for a number of things in the XP days such as hotkeys to change display gamma, sound volume, instantly launch a terminal etc.

      A fellow AHK user here too.

      Windows is ridiculously crippled for some things but it can have its own very powerful things. Another example was a freeware to minimize windows to the system tray, it could be configured so that a middle click on the minimize button does it. Under linux this will be impossible, funnily, or non trivial to do and it's certainly desktop or WM specific.

      Frankly, I never had this kind of problems under Linux.

      For simple reason that on Linux virtual desktops are standard feature since early days, and allow you to manage any number of applications, spread any number of desktops.

      Better yet, they allowed since early days to have literally a direct keyboard shortcut to the desired application (or combination of applications): a shortcut to switch to the virtual desktop where the application is running. (For which Win-<n> is really a poor substitute.)

      On Windows, you have everything packed on single screen, into a single task bar. Anything helping to manage this mess helps. But on Linux, the problems the tricks solve often have better solutions or simply non-existent.

      But sure as hell, AHK on Linux would have been nice. But I mostly use it on Windows to "fix" the "broken" applications. E.g. I can play/pause VLC with a mouse click on the video, something I would definitely miss after the move to Linux. (But it is not all that bad. There are also GUI automation tools under Linux: Autokey (an attempt to reimplement the AHK on Linux), wmctrl, xdotool.)

      --
      All hope abandon ye who enter here.
    40. Re:Win7 is likely to be my last Windows by Blaskowicz · · Score: 1

      Thanks :)

      Sure we have EWMH, and simply X11 or Xorg stuff so if I really wanted to do some of the stuff it'd be possible. Perhaps I can find a way to query pulseaudio volume and change it (for example). It's just not easy to figure out what is easily done, and some fear to miss out on something because I'm not running KDE, or FVWM2, or fluxbox, openbox etc.

      Btw I simply have an applet for hotkeys in "Control Center" with which I've just added a few bindings to change gamma (such as xgamma -gamma 1.09). Can't do win+n kind of shortcuts and had to use ctrl-alt-t, but the basic feature is there.

  5. Hardly an evidence by radoslav.dejanovic · · Score: 1

    It's hardly an evidence - the leaked build does not really show anything revolutionary new, and we have to take a word of the author of the article that it is sleek and fast, because there are no benchmarks to compare this build with the older one. This looks more like a pitch to me.

  6. It find it more amazing by MikeRT · · Score: 2

    The number of people on that linked article that say they'll stick with Windows 8.1. We've been on Windows 10 for most of the year. It's had some big issues at times since it's a developer build, but no way in Hell we'd trade it for Windows 8.X.

    1. Re:It find it more amazing by Attila+Dimedici · · Score: 3, Interesting

      I don't like Windows 8.1, but I have yet to hear anyone say that Windows 10 actually fixes any of the things I don't like about it.

      --
      The truth is that all men having power ought to be mistrusted. James Madison
    2. Re:It find it more amazing by MacTO · · Score: 1

      Unless you are one of those people who passionately hated the Start Screen, it probably doesn't fix many of the things you don't like about it. Judging from the discussions about it, Microsoft has done very little outside of improving the integration between the Modern UI and the traditional desktop. Yet it is still a schisophrenic UI (which is easily bumped into when you try configuring yours system, as one example) and Microsoft is still pushing their online services.

    3. Re:It find it more amazing by Attila+Dimedici · · Score: 2

      One thing I discovered when I moved to 8.1 was that Microsoft has eliminated the "Easy Transfer" option (You can "Easy Transfer" to 8.1, but you cannot "Easy Transfer" FROM 8.1). As a result, when I get my next computer I am going to have to configure all of my settings all over again. The only other choice is to give Microsoft ALL of my personal information.

      --
      The truth is that all men having power ought to be mistrusted. James Madison
    4. Re:It find it more amazing by Walter+White · · Score: 3, Informative

      IANAWE. I had a need to run Windows on something to develop a test TCP/IP server using VS/C#. It wasn't exactly a production system and I had SWMBO's Win7 PC to fall back on so I put Win10 preview on a new laptop and used it. VS 2013 works fine and I would expect that to be among the first programs they tested. I've also used a couple IDEs for embedded targets (Keil, PSoC creator) and they work fine on Win10 even when Win10 is running in a VMWare VM. The only thing I have seen not work is mounting host drives from the VM. I also see a null pointer exception for explorer.exe on shutdown for the most recent release.

      The charms bar that pops up on the left if I ever get the pointer close to that edge is gone - Yay!
      I can search the task menu with one click - Yay!
      The propensity for built in apps to take over the whole screen and with NO option to minimize seems to be gone - double Yay!

      And decades after other OSs have figured out how to manage multiple desktops, Win10 manages multiple desktops.

      OTOH, Win10 still figures out ways to reboot w/out explicit permission from me. That has not been fixed. Would it be so hard to pop up a dialog box following an update that asks permission? There are times I've been in the middle of something but away from the PC and it restarts because I'm not there to stop it. That is incredibly rude and stupid beyond belief and yet Microsoft deems us not worthy to make that decision.

      For my purposes Win10 is an improvement over 8.1 but not enough so to draw me away from Linux.

    5. Re:It find it more amazing by cavreader · · Score: 1

      There is a setting in the Windows Update action center that allows you to stop updates from automatically installing without your explicit permission. It pops up the nice little dialog you are requesting. So I would be careful about who you are calling stupid or rude.

    6. Re:It find it more amazing by operagost · · Score: 1

      There is a dialog box in the preview. However, at least on my system, it pops up about once every 5 minutes to let me know that my reboot is scheduled 18 hours from now.

      --

      Gamingmuseum.com: Give your 3D accelerator a rest.
    7. Re:It find it more amazing by PRMan · · Score: 1

      Me too. I hated 8.x and refused to use it. I'm happy with Windows 10 as the successor to Windows 7.

      --
      Peter predicted that you would "deliberately forget" creation 2000 years ago...
    8. Re:It find it more amazing by Cro+Magnon · · Score: 1

      Win 8.1 isn't too terrible, as long as I can avoid Metro. But I'm still going to upgrade. Not sure if I'd upgrade from 7 though.

      --
      Slow down, cowboy! It has been 4 hours since you last posted. You must wait another few hours.
    9. Re:It find it more amazing by Walter+White · · Score: 1

      I have selected "Notify to schedule restart" selected and yet the system reboots when I am not at the keyboard to stop it. After careful consideration, I consider that stupid and rude.

    10. Re:It find it more amazing by Walter+White · · Score: 1

      Thank you for the tip, AC. I'll probably work my way through that.

      Thanks!

    11. Re:It find it more amazing by Walter+White · · Score: 1

      Unfortunately the registry entry referenced in the article seems not to exist in Win10.

  7. Ready for prime time? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Let's be honest here...

    No release of windows is ready for 'Prime Time' on the day it is first shipped. Anyone who things otherwise is IMHO deluded or an MS employee.

  8. 'Leak' ? by ChunderDownunder · · Score: 4, Informative

    The Windows Insider builds are available to anyone who can be bothered signing up to the program. The only 'leak' here is if publishing screenshots constitutes a breach of the EULA.

    MS releases an updated beta. *yawn*

    1. Re:'Leak' ? by clorkster · · Score: 1

      The Windows Insider builds are available to anyone who can be bothered signing up to the program. The only 'leak' here is if publishing screenshots constitutes a breach of the EULA.

      Microsoft only releases some builds to the insider program. More to the fast ring than the slow, but they certainly do not release every internal build to the insider program. For example, the currently available build for PC is Build 10130. For me, it's always interesting to see what's in the latest internal builds even if they aren't released to the public - just to know what to expect when a build is released.

      Also, this is not just a screenshot release. The entire build was leaked, and this is the appropriate word, because it is not available through official Microsoft channels. The story chosen for the summary was just one that shows a lot of pictures primarily in place of writing more informative content.

  9. Re:Wow gorgeous by aaaaaaargh! · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I don't know, Windows 10 looks rather 80s to me. It certainly doesn't look modern.

    Also, Microsoft has not yet given us any guarantees that we will not have to pay for subscriptions in future, that all features will continue to work, and that they pay for any damages that result from an automatic upgrade going wrong. So it doesn't seem wise to upgrade, at least not immediately. I'd rather wait a year or two.

  10. Re:Wow gorgeous by alexgieg · · Score: 2

    I don't know, Windows 10 looks rather 80s to me. It certainly doesn't look modern.

    It reminds me strongly of late Microsoft Encarta 1998 (sample). That said, Encarta's UI was a favorite of mine, and so I look forward to using Windows 10.

    --
    Conservatism: (n.) love of the existing evils. Liberalism: (n.) desire to substitute new evils for the existing ones.
  11. Re:Wow gorgeous by rudy_wayne · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I don't know, Windows 10 looks rather 80s to me. It certainly doesn't look modern.

    You don't understand. "Modern" is the new marketing buzzword which actually means "we're recycling a bunch of old shit from 20 years ago and calling it new". For example, the Recycle Bin icon in Windows 10, after being changed 3 times over the past several months, now looks like something straight out of Windows 95.

  12. Re:Why did they get rid of Media Center in Win 10? by _merlin · · Score: 1

    Media Center wasn't introduced until Windows XP. Your timeline is off by half a decade.

  13. Design by Fisher-Price? by hyades1 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Having taken a look at the screenshots, I can't help but think of words like "garish", "cartoonish" and "Oh, dear, it looks like Rainbow Brite puked all over the screen".

    --
    I've calculated my velocity with such exquisite precision that I have no idea where I am.
    1. Re:Design by Fisher-Price? by reboot246 · · Score: 1

      It does look like it was designed for preschoolers. I wonder how much it can be changed to look like a working computer and not a poor imitation of my phone.

    2. Re:Design by Fisher-Price? by Prof.Phreak · · Score: 1

      I'm not a fan of the new `flat' look they're going for... but "designed by fisher price" was used to describe WindowsXP... so... this is something else. Perhaps designed by Seth Macfarlane?

      --

      "If anything can go wrong, it will." - Murphy

    3. Re:Design by Fisher-Price? by hyades1 · · Score: 1

      I don't know, but they'd be well-advised to be about it. Phones and tablets, and even laptops, are limited in so many ways. I want an interface that can take advantage of what a full-scale PC with multiple monitors offers.

      My cell phone is for checking up on stuff when I'm not at my desk. I don't want or need an OS that caters to a device that's my second or third priority.

      --
      I've calculated my velocity with such exquisite precision that I have no idea where I am.
    4. Re:Design by Fisher-Price? by stoned_ritual · · Score: 1

      If it was designed by Seth Macfarlane it would be full of tasteless rape jokes and fart sounds.

    5. Re:Design by Fisher-Price? by nmb3000 · · Score: 1

      Having taken a look at the screenshots, I can't help but think of words like "garish", "cartoonish" and "Oh, dear, it looks like Rainbow Brite puked all over the screen".

      I like to call it the "Fisher Price: My First Computer" syndrome. It's a pandemic on mobile devices, and has recently jumped the species barrier to desktops. Symptoms include:

      - Completely flat and simple user-interface made from a small color palette
      - Simple shapes comprised of 90-degree angles
      - Uninspired colors and themes made up of primary colors so as not to distract from learning exercises
      - Huge buttons and other user-interface targets, designed to make it easy to use by those with undeveloped eye-hand coordination
      - Utter lack of gradients, transparency, translucency, or any other hints as to Z-order, which are confusing to children that haven't developed spacial awareness
      - No way to perform complex actions (even if necessary) to prevent accidentally making the computing toy inoperable

      Additional symptoms can be found in this article, but if you encounter any of the above I strongly suggest you discontinue use of the affected product, and find a replacement not yet affected by this crippling illness.

      --
      "What do you despise? By this are you truly known." --Princess Irulan, Manual of Muad'Dib
      /)
    6. Re:Design by Fisher-Price? by iampiti · · Score: 1

      +1 They're hell bent on making a single (or as similar as possible) for phones and PCs and it obviously has to cater to the lowest denominator. Result: The desktop loses the highly polished interface that has evolved over decades. I hate it. The funny thing is, I thought that if anybody, it'd be Apple who would do this (because they're so oriented to simplicity) but they have enough sense to keep the UI for PCs separate from that of tables and phones.

    7. Re:Design by Fisher-Price? by hyades1 · · Score: 1

      I've still got an old computer with a working copy of XP Pro. I'm thinking of going back and relying on a well-configured firewall and sandbox to stay safe.

      At best, I won't be going past Win 7. I'll change to another OS first.

      --
      I've calculated my velocity with such exquisite precision that I have no idea where I am.
    8. Re:Design by Fisher-Price? by hyades1 · · Score: 1

      Well said. I think you nailed it.

      --
      I've calculated my velocity with such exquisite precision that I have no idea where I am.
    9. Re:Design by Fisher-Price? by strikethree · · Score: 1

      What really blows me away is that they STILL refuse to let people personalize how it looks. WTF? XP had the software to change the themes radically but it was locked down and kept away from us users. Vista and 7 removed it entirely. Why? Stardock made a LOT of money back in the XP days turning on the functionality already built in. Some amazing looking interfaces were built.

      Now? We are forced to use shit.

      --
      "Someone needs to talk to the tree of liberty about its ghoulish drinking problem." by ohnocitizen
  14. Re:Why did they get rid of Media Center in Win 10? by Overzeetop · · Score: 2

    Wow, did you even wipe off that statistic after you pulled it out? I might buy that 10% of users *tried* WMC at some point during their ownership since it's release. Heck, I even tried it until I found out that it was essentially useless, with poor content, poor support, and outrageously expensive extension devices.

    I'd guess the current usage would be 1% or less, but I've not seen any statistics.

    --
    Is it just my observation, or are there way too many stupid people in the world?
  15. Still looks like WIndows 8 by gabrieltss · · Score: 2

    YAWWWWWN! Still looks like Windows 8 to me. Windows 8's UI and "look and feel" sucks big green donkey dicks! I'll be sticking with Windows 7.

    --
    The Truth is a Virus!!!
    1. Re:Still looks like WIndows 8 by AmiMoJo · · Score: 2, Interesting

      It's funny how people said the same thing about the Vista/7 look when it was new. And about the XP look when it first appeared in screenshots. Probably the Windows 95 look too, but I wasn't into PCs back then.

      Having used 8 for a few years it's fine. They made the shadows a bit deeper in 10, which was my only real complaint. I've been replacing the start menu since I moved up to 7 anyway so the start screen never bothered me.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
  16. Re:Wow gorgeous by QuietLagoon · · Score: 2

    ...Microsoft has not yet given us any guarantees that we will not have to pay for subscriptions in future...

    One Microsoft exec did say that Windows 10 was the start of "Windows as a Service" (WaaS). The resulting uproar caused Microsoft to backpedal quickly from the remark.

    .
    But we now know what is on Microsoft's mind for Windows in the future.

  17. Re:Wow gorgeous by alexhs · · Score: 4, Funny

    You have to admit, Windows 2.0 benefits greatly from HD displays and millions of colours.
    At the time of its initial release, you barely had 16 colours for the whole screen, and you had to convey information with them.
    Nowadays, you can have 16 distinct shades of grey, none of which gives you the slightest clue about if some UI element is actually click-able/tap-able or not, but man, aren't these fonts gorgeous ?

    --
    I have discovered a truly marvelous proof of killer sig, which this margin is too narrow to contain.
  18. Re:Wow gorgeous by binarylarry · · Score: 1, Informative

    Windows 10 is very dated feeling. I've been using it since the Insider Preview came out.

    It's not even close to the level that Android/iOS mobile is at in terms of UI and UX. It's not even to the level of a modern Linux desktop.

    --
    Mod me down, my New Earth Global Warmingist friends!
  19. Crap gotta learn Chinese now by iPaul · · Score: 1

    I was hoping they continue releasing an English language version ;)

    --
    Leave the gun, take the cannoli -- Clemenza, The Godfather
  20. Re:Wow gorgeous by AmiMoJo · · Score: 1

    You know, it does kinda look like the original Xeroc PARC design: http://netdna.webdesignerdepot...

    --
    const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
    SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
  21. It's mostly click-baitng, with a bit of stupid by Sycraft-fu · · Score: 1

    A lot of it is just the run of the mill stupid site trying to drive up traffic with controversial headlines. Worked too, Slashdot linked to them. However part of it is just the guy being a derp and thinking that because the UI wasn't completely polished off it wasn't ready to go. Had he looked in to it, he'd realize that kind of polish is nearly always the things that comes last, right before release, for a variety of reasons.

  22. Bricked by ArchieBunker · · Score: 2

    You don't "brick" software. You "brick" hardware to the point where it is unresponsive to user input and requires intervention at the firmware level.

    --
    Only the State obtains its revenue by coercion. - Murray Rothbard
    1. Re:Bricked by PRMan · · Score: 1

      If you really bricked it, it's a brick. You can't install anything on it anymore.

      --
      Peter predicted that you would "deliberately forget" creation 2000 years ago...
    2. Re:Bricked by painandgreed · · Score: 1

      You can install another brick on top of that brick and soon enough you'll have a wall!

      If you douse it all with gasoline and light it, does it become a firewall?

    3. Re:Bricked by bingoUV · · Score: 1

      Not sure, but if you don't do it completely, you get windows.

      --
      Bingo Dictionary - Pragmatist, n. A myopic idealist.
  23. Re:Why did they get rid of Media Center in Win 10? by thegarbz · · Score: 1

    All I can guess is that Comcast who they are partners with asked them to kill media center so people wont be able to control their own content and will have to use expensive DVRs ... this is not right

    Actually I think you'll find it's more to do with the cost of licensing when it comes to recording TV. From what I've read the licensing fees are absolutely extortionate which is why none of the very awesome open source media centres which in every other way shit over MS's product have this feature. It's a handy little way for cable companies to maintain a monopoly on PVRs capable of recording their channels and likewise a way to ensure that these PVRs don't record protected content.

  24. Start screen is bullshit by ArchieBunker · · Score: 1

    Their start screen which uses the whole display is bullshit. I literally had no idea you could swipe and see more icons. Nothing indicates that is even possible. No scroll bars or even arrows to show there might be more in another direction. To access the options for the Metro apps you have to swipe the right side of the screen ONLY WHEN ITS LOADING. Seriously, what the fuck?

    --
    Only the State obtains its revenue by coercion. - Murray Rothbard
    1. Re:Start screen is bullshit by ArchieBunker · · Score: 1

      Oh the pain from your comment...

      No its a broken design and it shows from all the feedback Microsoft has received.

      --
      Only the State obtains its revenue by coercion. - Murray Rothbard
  25. Astroturfing - Come On, Slashdot! by udippel · · Score: 1

    If the link shows W10 (or, as they use to say, "Windows"), it is an overall very lousy design. To me it resembles slightly to Unity, with all the bad items carried forward from W8. Look at an almost full-screen simple interaction box: "Continue" on 70% real estate. On childish blue.
    1001 *nix desktops had a nicer default background, to start with. It all looks awfully flat, I'd advertise it as "Finally real 2-D!". Navigation? A bunch of overlapping windows, seemingly arbitrarily placed on the desktop. Navigation? I see no structured clustering of applications, actually reminding me of that famous W3.x

    I can imagine that it will appeal to the average art-agnostized SMS-speaking audience though; those who consider IKEA to be the most fashionable, creative and most inventive furniture shop. To those who run about brandishing their tattoos by wearing spaghetti shirts and hot pants.

  26. Then I'll say it by MikeRT · · Score: 1

    It is Windows 8, with a full desktop and the worst that people can say about the UI is that the start menu is a much more extreme version of the KDE start menu. In other words, it fixes most of what people hated about 8 by giving you a real desktop again.

  27. Re:Wow gorgeous by Stormwatch · · Score: 1

    Very modern and beautiful OS. Microsoft is reinventing personal computer. Again. Meanwhile, OS X is continuing its march to unify with iOS. And Linux is acting like a time capsule to be shown in museums how it was in the mid 2000s. [/sarcasm]

    Fixed it for you.

  28. Re: Wow gorgeous by Junta · · Score: 2

    Windows has made a lot of advancements, but the picture is not clear cut.

    Performance: Graphics driver stack and utilization Windows is ahead by a wide margin. Otherwise Linux usually wins (though some debate can be had about scheduling behaviors). For reference, look at the Top500 list and count the Windows deployments versus Linux.

    Security: This really is more subjective than objective in many ways. Windows let's you *think* you are logged in as admin without actually giving admin in a pretty sophisticated way. Given the common use case of desktop users using just one account as 'admin', this is probably one of the most important facets. Additionally the ability to hold multiple security contexts without having distinct processes enables applications to take advantage of OS privilege enforcement in a more efficient manner. On the flipside, Linux has more advanced namespace manipulation and enriched mandatory access control. There is much better framework for hard enforcement of very fine grained things in Linux.

    Stability: At this point things are fairly even. MS gets a nod for more resilient graphics stack, but I'd say the quality of third party drivers is frequently lower in Windows than Linux. I get more crashes on a modern Windows system than a Linux system, but I don't think MS is to blame anymore directly. If Linux were more popular and third parties did the same BS they do in Windows, Linux would probably suffer just as badly. In this way, the GPL I think has helped Linux as a kernel greatly.

    --
    XML is like violence. If it doesn't solve the problem, use more.
  29. Re:Wow gorgeous by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Also, Microsoft has not yet given us any guarantees that we will not have to pay for subscriptions in future, that all features will continue to work,

    Yes, they have, you are just trying to spread FUD. They have made it very clear that there is no subscription model for Windows 10 and that Media Center is going away.

    and that they pay for any damages that result from an automatic upgrade going wrong.

    Neither MS nor anyone else can guaranty that your upgrade will work. If you aren't backing up your system/s that is your (foolish) choice.

    So it doesn't seem wise to upgrade, at least not immediately.

    This is true of any major software release

  30. Re:Wow gorgeous by clickclickdrone · · Score: 1

    Wow, what's happened to this place? Someone says Linux is better than Windows and gets marked flamebait.

    --
    I want a list of atrocities done in your name - Recoil
  31. First Adopters... by DarthVain · · Score: 1

    I think the real question is, for those of us debating the free upgrade, most of us with Windows 7, how long do you wait?

    I guess it must depend on how much of a disaster the initial launch is...

    From my own perspective it will be: How many drivers will be broken? What software will not be supported?

    All I know for sure is that WMC will be gone, and I will have to find a replacement for it. Though it has been kinda half broken for awhile now (unsupported codecs etc...).

  32. Re:Wow gorgeous by Junta · · Score: 1

    No, they still use the phrase 'Windows as a Service' prominently. There's no hint that means anything with respect to how people *pay* for the thing. It seems to refer to two things depending on the audience:

    -Rolling release for the consumer space. No longer do consumers have to/get to decide on a particular version. On the plus side, if you were running Vista and then 7 level of functionality came along, you get fixed for no additional cost. On the down side, if you are running something 7 like and 8 comes along, you get changed to the 8 vision (8 underpinnings were great, except for 'Modern' UI and apps).

    -Deferred recognition of revenue for investors. Investors want the appearance of a 'subscription' like revenue stream. MS realizes this would be suicide for an *OS*, but still has to satisfy those demands. So hypothetically a user buys the OS for $100 from his perspective. MS defers the revenue so it *looks* like the user pre-paid for 4 years of a subscription at $25/yr. Note that there's not guarantee that the user will stop using it before that 4 years is up, but the expectation is that in aggregate that'll be the useful life of that purchase (tied to the hardware device, maybe not transferrable even for retail anymore?).

    --
    XML is like violence. If it doesn't solve the problem, use more.
  33. Re:Wow gorgeous by squiggleslash · · Score: 1

    I think a lot of Ubuntu and GNOME3 users would be much, much, happier if you were right. Both Unity and GNOME3 have tried to re-invent the desktop, but neither really have been successful.

    Neither are a 2000s museum. But both could learn a lot from what Microsoft is doing - this should not be written as an endorsement of anyone deciding that the next GNU/Linux Desktop should be a clone of Windows, there's a difference between learning from and copying..

    --
    You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.
  34. windows update by krazy1 · · Score: 1

    I have just downloaded and installed Windows 10 on a PC, it seems like there is no way to disable windows update other than not connecting to the internet at all. This can be a problem if the update causes blue screen.

    1. Re:windows update by PRMan · · Score: 1

      You could shut down the update service and set it to Disabled until you want to install updates.

      --
      Peter predicted that you would "deliberately forget" creation 2000 years ago...
    2. Re:windows update by PRMan · · Score: 2

      Or just buy a Samsung laptop... ;)

      --
      Peter predicted that you would "deliberately forget" creation 2000 years ago...
  35. Re:Wow gorgeous by narcc · · Score: 1

    It's not even close to the level that Android/iOS mobile is at in terms of UI and UX.

    Come on, it's not that bad! Even saying it's comparable to Android and iOS is a bit extreme, but to call it worse is just too much.

  36. Re:Wow gorgeous by Skal+Tura · · Score: 1

    Everything is a bit 80s today, haven't you noticed?
    Jurassic and Terminator was just released, they are making new Top Gun. ;)

  37. Re:Wow gorgeous by WallyL · · Score: 4, Funny

    Nowadays, you can have 16 distinct shades of grey

    I want no fewer than 50, before I upgrade, thanks.

  38. Re:Wow gorgeous by TomH123 · · Score: 1

    So if I understand your logic correctly, you're going to forgo the free version and wait a year or two when you know you're going to have to pay for it because you're afraid you're going to have to pay for it? Be realistic, the worst case, if you take up the free offer is that you may have to pay a subscription to upgrade after that. If you don't want to continue with the upgrades you stay where you're at. That shouldn't be an issue for you if you're already willing to stay where you're at. I don't believe they're going to give you a version for free then start charging you for that same version after a year.

  39. Be afraid... by Radical+Moderate · · Score: 1

    " Microsoft seem to be focused on last minute refinements of the UI ..."

    The words "Microsoft" and "last minute" in the same sentence are....concerning. Hell, they have enough issues when they're not trying to reach self-imposed deadlines.

    --
    Never let a lack of data get in the way of a good rant.
  40. Re: Wow gorgeous by PRMan · · Score: 1

    I think I've had an average of one blue screen on each Windows 7 machine I have installed. That's over a span of about 5 years. I've never had a Linux desktop installation that didn't crash so badly as to need a rebuild over a 1 year period.

    --
    Peter predicted that you would "deliberately forget" creation 2000 years ago...
  41. Re:Wow gorgeous by PRMan · · Score: 1

    Windows HAS given repeated guarantees that we will not have to pay for subscriptions for Windows 10. Waiting more than a year is stupid if you have a free upgrade path.

    --
    Peter predicted that you would "deliberately forget" creation 2000 years ago...
  42. Re:Wow gorgeous by Jesus_666 · · Score: 2

    Which is why one of the first things I'll do with Windows 10 will be to install a patch that fixes uxtheme.dll. The Microsoft-provided version in every Windows so far had this persistent bug where it can't see third-party themes, which is annoying and something Microsoft really ought to fix themselves instead of relying on external programmers to pick up the slack.

    --
    USE HOT GRITS WITH STATUE OF NATALIE PORTMAN (NAKED AND PETRIFIED)
  43. Re: Wow gorgeous by Ambassador+Kosh · · Score: 1

    The Top500 is not relevant to desktop or laptop performance.

    I love using linux for all my HPC stuff but on a desktop or worse a laptop it can be a major pain in the ass. Linux is really tuned for a server and not as a desktop. Even with an SSD and all fully supported hardware on a laptop linux just doesn't run as well. It can use things like optimus to switch between integrated gpu and dedicated gpu but it is clunky and buggy compared to windows. The interface does not run as smoothly and the fonts don't render as well.

    Only part of the problem is that consumer hardware is designed for windows, the other part of the problem is that linux still does not take the desktop seriously after all of these years. The entire experience is still pretty glitchy and I have used linux as a desktop for over 15 years now. Windows has improved enormously and it is harder and harder justifying using linux as an end user machine.

    --
    Computer modeling for biotech drug manufacturing is HARD! :)
  44. Re:Wow gorgeous by fahrbot-bot · · Score: 1

    Windows HAS given repeated guarantees that we will not have to pay for subscriptions for Windows 10. Waiting more than a year is stupid if you have a free upgrade path.

    Uh huh. And the next minor rolling release will be labeled Windows 11, thus ending your free Windows 10 subscription.

    --
    It must have been something you assimilated. . . .
  45. Re:Wow gorgeous by macs4all · · Score: 1

    Very modern and beautiful OS. Microsoft is reinventing personal computer. Again. Meanwhile, OS X is continuing its march to unify with iOS. And Linux is acting like a time capsule to be shown in museums how it was in the mid 2000s.

    Wrong.

    OS X is carefully incorporating certain design elements and UI paradigms that appeared first in iOS.

    That is a far, far, cry from simply pitching out an entire Desktop UI and replacing it with garish children's building blocks, hidden tools and the window dressings from Windows 3.1.

  46. Re: Wow gorgeous by macs4all · · Score: 1

    Windows is already ahead of Linux in terms of performance, security and stability. These days one has to think twice if he really wants to replace his Windows desktop with Linux.

    You're so right!

    These days, the best choice for desktops is clearly OS X. Even with the changes in 10.10 and 10.11, overall, they are head and shoulders above everyone else in the UI department.

  47. Re: Wow gorgeous by macs4all · · Score: 1

    Additionally the ability to hold multiple security contexts without having distinct processes enables applications to take advantage of OS privilege escalation in a more efficient manner.

    FTFY.

  48. Re: Wow gorgeous by macs4all · · Score: 1

    I think I've had an average of one blue screen on each Windows 7 machine I have installed. That's over a span of about 5 years. I've never had a Linux desktop installation that didn't crash so badly as to need a rebuild over a 1 year period.

    Wow. I've had exactly two Kernel Panics in fifteen years of running OS X.

    One was from a really sketchy freeware scanner driver, back around OS X 10.1 or 10.2; and the other was from bad Third-Party RAM I purchased with my G5 tower, in 10.4 days.

    Neither was OS X's fault, per se. Other than that, I've never had a Black Screen of Death (KP Error Screen) on OS X.

  49. Re:Wow gorgeous by macs4all · · Score: 1

    -Deferred recognition of revenue for investors. Investors want the appearance of a 'subscription' like revenue stream. MS realizes this would be suicide for an *OS*, but still has to satisfy those demands. So hypothetically a user buys the OS for $100 from his perspective. MS defers the revenue so it *looks* like the user pre-paid for 4 years of a subscription at $25/yr. Note that there's not guarantee that the user will stop using it before that 4 years is up, but the expectation is that in aggregate that'll be the useful life of that purchase (tied to the hardware device, maybe not transferrable even for retail anymore?).

    It's happening right now, in certain MS business divisions.

    Office365 is being marketed heavily to businesses, as are "SaaS versions" of certain MS Dynamics products (e.g. MS Dynamics NAV), which has bent-over-backwards to both incorporate Office365, as well as has created a "Multi-Tenancy" paradigm, which is suitable ONLY to "hosted" installations (think Azure).

    Those are just the first.

    Time to jump on the OS X bandwagon! You won't ever look back...

  50. Re: Wow gorgeous by macs4all · · Score: 1

    I can't wait for Win 10. The new Win is great on touch based hardware.

    Which the majority of Desktops and even Laptops don't have.

    Don'tcha think that, if this Touch UI paradigm was so wonderfully applicable to non-tablet-y devices, that the hands-down leader in touch-UI (Apple) would have by now had "touch" on every MacBook and iMac in the lineup?

    Don'tcha think they have a "touch-based" version of OS X (and prototype MacBooks and iMacs) in their labs for several years now? Why do you think they are so clearly bucking this marketing trend, when it was them who single-handedly brought touch-based UI development out of the Stylus age, where MS had it (unsuccessfully) stuck for over a decade, with almost zero interest?

  51. Re:Wow gorgeous by macs4all · · Score: 2

    You know, it does kinda look like the original Xeroc PARC design: http://netdna.webdesignerdepot...

    Whew! Now finally people can stop that "Apple ripped off Xerox PARC" meme!

  52. Re:Wow gorgeous by macs4all · · Score: 1

    Fanbois tell us to yank out the cord or battery.

    It's the only way to be sure.

  53. Re:Wow gorgeous by Darinbob · · Score: 1

    Hard to tell. That link was to a site in English but all the screen shots were in Chinese, and without any explanatory text or organization into cateogories even if you did know Chinese. There's just no useful stuff there to make any opinion for or against Windows 10. A very bad bit of marketing there.

  54. Re:Wow gorgeous by exomondo · · Score: 1

    Wow, what's happened to this place? Someone says Linux is better than Windows and gets marked flamebait.

    Probably because the "operating system X is better than operating system Y" kind of argument either with no context or on subjective grounds is flamebait.

  55. Re: Wow gorgeous by macs4all · · Score: 1

    OSX lacks even simple things like the ability to log in to a machine without a mouse. There is no way to tab into the password field at the OSX login screen,

    Wrong! fucktard.

    There are actually TWO ways to do this: If the Mac is set to show a list of Users at startup, then pressing the first letter of you Username and Press Return (Enter). This will put you into the Password field, where you can enter your Password.

    The second method involves pressing Ctrl-F7, which puts OS X into "full keyboard access" mode (it's a toggle). Then you can use TAB to move between Input fields and other UI elements.

    As I am sure you don't know, because you are an arrogant little ignorant fucktard hater, is that OSX has ALWAYS supported a pretty large array of built-in Keyboard commands; and not only that, unlike Windows (I don't know about Linux), you can actually DEFINE Keyboard shortcuts that are Application-Specific, or even System-Wide (see link on the Article I linked-to).

    So, I guess the "Apple Way" is really more like "Whatever way you want", eh?

  56. Re:Wow gorgeous by clickclickdrone · · Score: 1

    I guess it's time for the obligatory "You must be new here"

    --
    I want a list of atrocities done in your name - Recoil
  57. Re: Wow gorgeous by Junta · · Score: 1

    Nearly all the goofiness around the desktop experience in Linux is around the graphics stack. This is of course critical for desktops, but I had mentioned it above.

    I go with Linux because I just don't like the Windows UI choice. I use Windows on my gaming system, but my Intel graphics laptop I just do linux. The graphics are adequate and my ability to actually debug weird stuff is better (my Windows system started hanging on attempts to shutdown, restart, or suspend and there's no peep of a clue as to what it's trying to do when it hangs).

    --
    XML is like violence. If it doesn't solve the problem, use more.
  58. Re: Wow gorgeous by Junta · · Score: 1

    I don't know OSX and have no opinion on the matter, but Ctrl-F7 before tab can navigate between input fields seems weird. Why not have those commonly used keyboard shortcuts 'just work' without particular difficulty.

    --
    XML is like violence. If it doesn't solve the problem, use more.
  59. Re: Wow gorgeous by macs4all · · Score: 1

    I don't know OSX and have no opinion on the matter, but Ctrl-F7 before tab can navigate between input fields seems weird. Why not have those commonly used keyboard shortcuts 'just work' without particular difficulty.

    Ctrl-F7 ("Full Keyboard Access") is part of the "Accessibility" Features in OS X. Normally, you can just TAB between Text Input Fields in Dialogs in OS X; but Ctrl-F7 enables a BUNCH (more) Keyboard Commands in OS X that can be used for UI Navigation, and was mentioned in an internet posting I found regarding how to navigate the OS X Login screen without requiring a Mouse.

  60. Re:Wow gorgeous by Shirley+Marquez · · Score: 1

    On Windows 10, the Start menu is back if you are on a computer with a keyboard and pointing device. No learning curve. If you are using a tablet you get a Start screen that has both tiles and a full program listing.

  61. That leak is already out of date by Shirley+Marquez · · Score: 1

    Build 10158 was released to the Fast ring yesterday. People who are running the Insider Preview of Windows 10 can now see a more recent build than that leaked one.

  62. Bugs by brunnegd · · Score: 1

    What about the removal of bugs? MS is notorious for performing minimal regression testing for errors, preferring to let users find them, at no cost to MS, then releasing patches.Never install version xx.0 of any,software, especially from MS.

  63. Re:Wow gorgeous by ProzacPatient · · Score: 1

    I'm trying to figure out what happened to the frosted glass Microsoft promised us. In the screenshots from the article we only see frosted glass in the start menu and taskbar but everything else, like the window titlebars, is still flat and bland.

    I hope at least the frosted glass is part of the DWM again so that Stardock can take advantage of it in WindowBlinds.

  64. Re:Wow gorgeous by exomondo · · Score: 1

    Maybe old people just enjoy silly arguments more.

  65. Re:Wow gorgeous by omnichad · · Score: 1

    I never noticed that. You're right - it's nearly identical. It just has the font anti-aliasing (and better kerning as a result) and the higher DPI that's needed to make it work well.

  66. Re:Wow gorgeous by omnichad · · Score: 1

    You press the Windows key and start typing "not" and press enter when it pops up as the first result. Same as Windows Vista and 7.

  67. Re:Why did they get rid of Media Center in Win 10? by omnichad · · Score: 1

    Did you even look for alternatives? The HDHomerun with MythTV is a great option for OTA broadcasts (and Clear QAM cable). It's only Cablecard's DRM and recording rules that makes a DRM-supporting OS and media format a requirement.

    Well..technically with an HDCP stripping device (Illegal in the US due to DMCA), you can connect a cable box to a gaming HDMI recorder device and have a nice convoluted setup.

  68. Re:Why did they get rid of Media Center in Win 10? by omnichad · · Score: 1

    I'm not sure if it's even licensing fees. It's Cablecard. You need end-to-end DRM, including drm-ed media files and HDCP to the screen. So most of the things you or I might want to do with a DVR is much more complicated on a computer (like watching a recording from another device, transcoding, etc.)

    For OTA or Clear-QAM, there are a LOT of great options.

  69. Re:Why did they get rid of Media Center in Win 10? by thegarbz · · Score: 1

    Yes specifically licensing the technology to use cablecard. It's expensive, apparently really expensive.