Upgrade to Windows 8 Pro for only $39.99!

[kedawa]

I don't really agree with the notion that Windows alternates between good and terrible.
In my experience, every version of windows since 2000 gets better under the hood and worse in the user interface.

[Retro_71]

Vista wasn't as bad as the moaners made out.
Windows 2000 was better than 95/98/98SE/ME. NT4 was the one that no games supported.
 
As you seem convinced that Microsoft make a good OS and then a bad one then Windows 8 is more important for you than it is for someone that will actually run it.
 
If you try to get used to it, you'd have noticed it's actually quite good. Although even Microsoft aren't suggesting that everyone should install the release preview on their everyday machine.

Vista ?? On an business network environment was a pain and hence why i stayed with XP even for personal computers. Win 2k was good but not for everyday use that's why most people stuck with win98se.
Win 8 is not important to me at all and i did spend time on it enough to know it is not worth upgrading for my business clients and home users without a lot of pain and which also doesn't bring that much more then win 7 compared to XP to win 7. I have had the beta on 2 test machines and i know enough to NOT to bother upgrading to it at any time soon.
But to each his/her own... but like i said for me it is not even worth pirating.

[kedawa]

How was Win2000 not suited to everyday use?
I used it exclusively from the time it was released until XP SP2 came out, and other than encountering a glitch while playing Metal Gear Solid, I never had any issue with it.

[Duce]

I found Windows 2000 absolutely bulletproof as well.  In fact I still have it on a machine at my shop, running along just fine.  Machine doesn't do a heck of a lot, sits there and prints invoices, but rock solid.

[commodorejohn]

Yeah, I've been experimenting with 2000 lately, and I don't find it any less capable for general use than XP. It's not without its inconveniences (lack of a WPA supplicant, unless your wireless driver provides one,) but that's more a function of its age; as far as design goes it's perfectly solid.

[persia]

I've replaced all my Windows installations with Windows 8, I like it.

[Pyromania]

Not even Windows 3.1 was this inexpensive!

http://windowsteamblog.com/windows/b/bloggingwindows/archive/2012/07/02/upgrade-to-windows-8-pro-for-39-99.aspx

I wonder how it'll sell.  I think the low price will make it move.

I'll take a pass on this one.

[commodorejohn]

I've replaced all my Windows installations with Windows 8, I like it.

...context? Sarcasm (Y/N)?

[psxphill]

Just like people absolutely refused to give up XP when Vista (or even 7, for awhile) came out, same thing will happen with Windows 8 and W7.

XP was out for a while before the majority stopped saying they'd never switch to it because they loved 98SE. It was too slow and bloated, looked funny etc.
 
What changed between XP and Vista being released is that lazy journalists started picking up online bitching and releasing it as news.
 
I ran Windows NT4 when everyone else was running 95 or 98. Then switched to Windows 2000 as soon as it was out, then XP, Vista & 7. But the story doesn't end there, I'm now running Windows 8. It's been a relatively painless move. I find the low price for upgrades interesting, it's not a tactic they've tried before.
 
On the other hand I've tried running Linux and I don't get what the fuss is about. It runs on my NAS, my TV, my router & my phone, but I don't see it ever running on my desktop. I tried it before I switched from an Amiga to Windows and I've tried it multiple times since.
 
Operating systems are like religion & I'm an atheist, so I'll stick with Windows and leave all the fanatics to their one true OS.

[whabang]

Windows-promotions on AO? What has the World come to?

As for the topic, Windows 8 is a desperate attempt to get Windows back into the game for touch-sensitive devices, as well as a badly-disguised stab at publishers - anyone wanting to make apps for the new UI needs to go though MS first.

[psxphill]

As for the topic, Windows 8 is a desperate attempt to get Windows back into the game for touch-sensitive devices, as well as a badly-disguised stab at publishers - anyone wanting to make apps for the new UI needs to go though MS first.

Because you used the word "desperate" means you are desperate to make Microsoft look bad. What you say is true though, it is an attempt to get back into the game, but adding an emotional word just makes you sound a little bitter.
 
LOB applications for enterprises are supported in some circumstances.
 
http://blogs.msdn.com/b/uk_faculty_connection/archive/2012/04/03/installing-enterprise-metro-apps-without-using-microsoft-store.aspx
 
You may even be able to work round some of the imposed limitations.
 
http://www.ghacks.net/2012/08/17/how-to-add-non-store-apps-to-windows-8/
 
For delivering apps to consumer tablets then having everything go through the app store is actually a good idea. It's worked well for Apple, the alternative is Android and it's not really worked out too well there.

[whabang]

Because you used the word "desperate" means you are desperate to make Microsoft look bad. What you say is true though, it is an attempt to get back into the game, but adding an emotional word just makes you sound a little bitter.
 
LOB applications for enterprises are supported in some circumstances.
 
http://blogs.msdn.com/b/uk_faculty_connection/archive/2012/04/03/installing-enterprise-metro-apps-without-using-microsoft-store.aspx
 
You may even be able to work round some of the imposed limitations.
 
http://www.ghacks.net/2012/08/17/how-to-add-non-store-apps-to-windows-8/
 
For delivering apps to consumer tablets then having everything go through the app store is actually a good idea. It's worked well for Apple, the alternative is Android and it's not really worked out too well there.

My own thoughts are obviously subjective - this isn't a news site, and I state my own opinion on matters. That being said, I'm not deliberately trying to get Microsoft look bad.

Microsoft were actually on the touch-wagon quite early - there was a Tablet-PC edition of Windows XP, and there's been a few computers using it.

However, the interface hasn't been specifically designed for it, and the market for tablets didn't explode until a few years ago - while Windows 7 has some support for touch sensitive computers, it's basically the same as the Tablet-PC version of XP from about ten years ago.

On the other hand I'd be very surprised if Windows 8 didn't have touch interface as a main priority.

When it comes to the Microsoft store, it's not the idea of a store that I don't like - on the contrary, I've been using it for a some time to buy Xbox games and have no complaints.

Sideloading Metro apps doesn't remove the need for them to be digitally signed. Last time i checked, those certificates can cost quite a bit, so getting around the store is not a non-trivial issue.

Microsoft could have added a setting, similar to the one in Android, so that users can opt to install this kind of software at their own risk.

[psxphill]

Sideloading Metro apps doesn't remove the need for them to be digitally signed. Last time i checked, those certificates can cost quite a bit, so getting around the store is not a non-trivial issue.

On Windows/Windows PRO you should be able to setup a trust of your own certificate authority. I don't know if you can do that on Windows RT.
 
However making it hard to install unsigned apps is actually very important. Social engineering to persuade people to disable signing checks would make tablets very insecure.

[whabang]

So basically, I need to set up my own CA, sign the application myself, and then install it using a non-standard method? Yeah, that'll improve conditions for open source programmers and the like.

I see your point with security - it's just that I don't agree that it should be taken that far. Ah well, that's a discussion for another thread.

[Iggy]

Can the win8 upgrade be installed as a fresh installation?
I've got a laptop with the administrator password locked out and I'd just like to wipe the whole thing.

[kickstart]

How about the "control" of this new windows? control of contents, privacy...