I use AMD graphics on Windows 8 and haven't had a single BSOD or desktop application crash on me thus far. However, I have had a few "Metro" apps crash and the AMD driver looked like a prime suspect from the call stack... (namely the Weather app and the Store app)
It doesn't silently update for me. I checked to see what Windows Updates were available on my Win 8 machine the other day (Win 8 no longer has the nagging system tray, there's just a small bit of text on the login screen and I don't log out often) and there were definition updates that were over 2 weeks old.
That link only applies to WinRT apps (ie the don't-call-it-Metro interface), it does not apply to desktop applications. This "jailbreak" only applies to desktop applications.
The people who care about frequent kernel releases are developers, not end users, and even Linux end users tend to be more technical and interested in the technologies involved (otherwise they'd just use Windows). Some distributions are fairly rapid (like Ubuntu), others are slower (like Debian). The users that prefer a more stable distro can pick a stable distro, those that prefer a rolling release go for that. With Windows however, they're not going to be able to please both types of users, and the users still mostly sticking with older versions are typically Enterprise customers that would take too long to roll out a new release that one or two more releases have gone by during that timeframe even if they were one of the earlier adopting Enterprise customers. Mainstream consumers on the other hand generally don't care that much what version they're running. Windows users who tend to stick to the bleeding edge are relatively few and far between.
I agree with you if you're a user that sticks in desktop land.
If you listen to Microsoft however and go for WinRT/Metro/Modern applications (seriously Microsoft, pick a terminology and stick with it) you're going to be seriously disappointed. On a brand new Ivy Bridge desktop build with an SSD, these simplistic full screen applications actually feel slower than my old HTC Legend Android device. And they're not going to get much better, the heavy restrictions due to sandboxing and multitasking make development of useful applications downright painful.
MS really needed to lead by example here and build Office on WinRT, not Win32, for the Surface. Not necessarily because it would lead to a better Office experience, but simply because they need to prove to developers it's feasible to port complex applications.
I know the tool is there, but that's not a "Tile" (in the sense that it can't be pinned to the start screen by using your method to find the shortcut). And like I already said, defragmenting is disabled for SSDs. When manually looking to see if the tool is present (in a somewhat obscure fashion) on an SSD equipped tablet, "laughing and walking away" at the idea it's still required is a misguided response that's just looking to find something wrong with the device.
When I saw a "Tile" for the Disk Defragment app I laughed and walked away. Can't believe the filesystem still requires that.
Seriously? I've been using Windows 8 for a while and I haven't seen this tile. Also, the tablets almost certainly have SSDs where disk defragmentation is disabled (it just runs TRIM instead).
Everyone talks about growth as the be all and end all. Microsoft is already pretty big. As long as they remain profitable, they don't really need to grow to stay in business.
I'd happily pay 45% more for a higher resolution screen. In fact, I did pay ~$200 extra to upgrade my 15" laptop panel from 1280x800 to 1920x1200 a few years ago. It's getting harder these days to find models that even offer upgrades, although 1920x1080 is common enough to not be a total loss.
Most movies aren't actually 16:9 - HD TV shows typically are though. Some movies (The Dark Knight on Bluray for example) actually change aspect ratios multiple times during the film.
There's a reason Toshiba released the Satellite U845W with a 21:9 aspect ratio targeting movie enthusiasts (but left out a Bluray drive? I don't get it)
It's just a shame that the "no compromise" formerly-known-as-Metro interface was redesigned from the ground up for the new interfaces of today and they didn't include the Xbox accessories in that plan... (I was a little disappointed I couldn't use my Xbox controller to navigate the Windows 8 Xbox themed apps such as games, music, video for example)
And for that matter, 12 is a bit young for alcohol, but 14-15 is a good time to introduce them to small quantities (soft liquor, mind you, beer or wine).
I fully agree. I got my first taste for alcohol at age 14 months, and I'm fine (true story). I don't generally like drinking these days, but that's probably unrelated.
There's free software out there with clauses in their licenses that say not for commercial use, and other potential restrictions. I don't think it's unreasonable (even if it would annoy me) to have such a policy in place to make sure 3rd party software licenses are not violated. Lawsuits can get messy and expensive.
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If the summary presented the whole story, there'd be no point in reading TFA.
I use AMD graphics on Windows 8 and haven't had a single BSOD or desktop application crash on me thus far. However, I have had a few "Metro" apps crash and the AMD driver looked like a prime suspect from the call stack... (namely the Weather app and the Store app)
It doesn't silently update for me. I checked to see what Windows Updates were available on my Win 8 machine the other day (Win 8 no longer has the nagging system tray, there's just a small bit of text on the login screen and I don't log out often) and there were definition updates that were over 2 weeks old.
That link only applies to WinRT apps (ie the don't-call-it-Metro interface), it does not apply to desktop applications. This "jailbreak" only applies to desktop applications.
Sydin was referring to the developers of the jailbreak tools, not the users.
The people who care about frequent kernel releases are developers, not end users, and even Linux end users tend to be more technical and interested in the technologies involved (otherwise they'd just use Windows). Some distributions are fairly rapid (like Ubuntu), others are slower (like Debian). The users that prefer a more stable distro can pick a stable distro, those that prefer a rolling release go for that. With Windows however, they're not going to be able to please both types of users, and the users still mostly sticking with older versions are typically Enterprise customers that would take too long to roll out a new release that one or two more releases have gone by during that timeframe even if they were one of the earlier adopting Enterprise customers. Mainstream consumers on the other hand generally don't care that much what version they're running. Windows users who tend to stick to the bleeding edge are relatively few and far between.
I agree with you if you're a user that sticks in desktop land.
If you listen to Microsoft however and go for WinRT/Metro/Modern applications (seriously Microsoft, pick a terminology and stick with it) you're going to be seriously disappointed. On a brand new Ivy Bridge desktop build with an SSD, these simplistic full screen applications actually feel slower than my old HTC Legend Android device. And they're not going to get much better, the heavy restrictions due to sandboxing and multitasking make development of useful applications downright painful.
MS really needed to lead by example here and build Office on WinRT, not Win32, for the Surface. Not necessarily because it would lead to a better Office experience, but simply because they need to prove to developers it's feasible to port complex applications.
MS Office already runs on ARM through Windows RT. Photoshop on the other hand...
I know the tool is there, but that's not a "Tile" (in the sense that it can't be pinned to the start screen by using your method to find the shortcut). And like I already said, defragmenting is disabled for SSDs. When manually looking to see if the tool is present (in a somewhat obscure fashion) on an SSD equipped tablet, "laughing and walking away" at the idea it's still required is a misguided response that's just looking to find something wrong with the device.
When I saw a "Tile" for the Disk Defragment app I laughed and walked away. Can't believe the filesystem still requires that.
Seriously? I've been using Windows 8 for a while and I haven't seen this tile. Also, the tablets almost certainly have SSDs where disk defragmentation is disabled (it just runs TRIM instead).
And it's not made obvious to new users how to get back to the desktop from there.
You mean the double width tile with the word "Desktop" printed on it doesn't give them some sort of idea?
GNU (through indirection)
Everyone talks about growth as the be all and end all. Microsoft is already pretty big. As long as they remain profitable, they don't really need to grow to stay in business.
My regular savings account with my local bank (in Australia) gives me around 4.5%.
I'd happily pay 45% more for a higher resolution screen. In fact, I did pay ~$200 extra to upgrade my 15" laptop panel from 1280x800 to 1920x1200 a few years ago. It's getting harder these days to find models that even offer upgrades, although 1920x1080 is common enough to not be a total loss.
Most movies aren't actually 16:9 - HD TV shows typically are though. Some movies (The Dark Knight on Bluray for example) actually change aspect ratios multiple times during the film.
There's a reason Toshiba released the Satellite U845W with a 21:9 aspect ratio targeting movie enthusiasts (but left out a Bluray drive? I don't get it)
I just thank the legacy of Jobs that at least the iPad is still 4:3.
Careful, it's a WIDESCREEN 4:3 ratio. At least the tech specs for the iPad originally listed it as a widescreen 4:3 on the official Apple website.
Windows 8 has only been available to devs for a little over 2 months in a capacity that is fit for production use.
Considering this security failure is occurring towards the end of life of the device, it actually did its job this time.
It's just a shame that the "no compromise" formerly-known-as-Metro interface was redesigned from the ground up for the new interfaces of today and they didn't include the Xbox accessories in that plan... (I was a little disappointed I couldn't use my Xbox controller to navigate the Windows 8 Xbox themed apps such as games, music, video for example)
Or similar stupid "widescreen" format :-/
You mean unlike Apple's stupid 4:3 "widescreen" format? Yes, they officially advertise their 4:3 screen as widescreen.
And for that matter, 12 is a bit young for alcohol, but 14-15 is a good time to introduce them to small quantities (soft liquor, mind you, beer or wine).
I fully agree. I got my first taste for alcohol at age 14 months, and I'm fine (true story). I don't generally like drinking these days, but that's probably unrelated.
Luckily you have the option to get more real estate with the Retina instead if you wish.
There's free software out there with clauses in their licenses that say not for commercial use, and other potential restrictions. I don't think it's unreasonable (even if it would annoy me) to have such a policy in place to make sure 3rd party software licenses are not violated. Lawsuits can get messy and expensive.
I was recently hired (along with another guy) as a web developer at a large university.
Considering it's a web project, there's already a centralized component in place.