Windows 8 Consumer Preview Released (desktop, RAM, operating system, monitor)

[icecreamsandwich]

Windows 8 Consumer Preview ISO formats

engadget has a detailed review here

Microsoft Windows 8 Consumer Preview detailed impressions -- Engadget

The early days of Windows were inauspicious ones. Sitting on top of DOS, it was hardly a revolution in personal computing -- instead it felt like a disjointed platform perched uncomfortably atop a command prompt, ready to come crashing down at any moment. That's what it was, and often that's what it did. The early days of Windows required constant jumps from GUI to shell as users ran a wide assortment of apps, only some of which played nice inside a window.

It was over a decade later, after Windows 95, that the operating system would truly ditch its DOS underpinnings and feel like a totally integrated system. Why are we reminiscing? Because we're reaching that same point again. With the Windows 8 Consumer Preview, Microsoft is showing off the most complete version of the company's most modern operating system, yet in many ways it feels like 1985 all over again -- like there are two separate systems here struggling to co-exist. How well do they get along? Join us after the break to find out...

[Jesse69]

Thanks for the links... I might test Win 8 out. It seems I might not like it though and I have a copy of Win 7 Prof 64 bit for a future build.

[plwhit]

Downloading ISO as I type.

The Windows8-ConsumerPreview-setup.exe says my system is not compatible. Read the FAQ and as per that my system is compatible.

Hmmmmm

[icecreamsandwich]

Originally Posted by Jesse69

Thanks for the links... I might test Win 8 out. It seems I might not like it though and I have a copy of Win 7 Prof 64 bit for a future build.

Welcome .

Yeah I'm not a fan... I can applaud them for trying something new, but it feels like 2 different OSes slapped into one...

Originally Posted by plwhit

Downloading ISO as I type.

The Windows8-ConsumerPreview-setup.exe says my system is not compatible. Read the FAQ and as per that my system is compatible.

Hmmmmm

Just download and install - something similar happened to a friend's machine even though it's way above minimum recommended specs.

[jtur88]

It looks rather frightening to me. Almost as if Windows expects the Internet to cease to exist as we know it, and replaced by a bunch of access modules to do things like order lunch and Tweet, the standard fare of the trendy set who drive the market demand. I can't imagine myself working with a touch screen on my lap, instead of a desktop and a mouse. Yes, it's adaptable for those, but not designed to work maximally that way. I would probably never use a single app except the one that accesses the universally selectable web.

This will be the third new version in five years. I feel like I'm being herded into primarily social functions I have no interest in participating in. It's as if FaceBook had designed an OS to maximize their functionality. It's fine to say just keep your old one, but more and more existing sites will be gradually refit to work only with the newer versions.

[plwhit]

Originally Posted by icecreamsandwich

Just download and install - something similar happened to a friend's machine even though it's way above minimum recommended specs.

Arghhhhh, just realized I have no blank DVD's.....

[irman]

Originally Posted by plwhit

The Windows8-ConsumerPreview-setup.exe says my system is not compatible.

Does it say why ? What are the minimum requirements *supposed* to be ?

Makes me think of way back, where the boss looks over my design ...
He then says, I do not like it, but does not give me a clue why !
So I continue happily ever after and he signs the design off !
I did not change a bloody thing for heaven's sake.
Go figure !

[Skunk Workz]

I pulled the ISO down and loaded it into a VirtualBox VM.

They've cleaned it up quite a bit since the last preview. I may even load it on bare metal if I can dig up a spare drive.

The one really disappointing thing that I've heard is that normal (non MS) desktop apps won't run on the arm versions of Win8, only the Metro Apps. This really means that the arm tablets are going to be more like phones and less like a full blown Windows tablet.

[EscapeCalifornia]

My i7 with 8GB of RAM and 3360x1650 screen is not a tablet. I'd appreciate Microsoft not trying to dumb everything down to the level of someone who still can't figure out cut and paste.

[NJBest]

Originally Posted by EscapeCalifornia

My i7 with 8GB of RAM and 3360x1650 screen is not a tablet. I'd appreciate Microsoft not trying to dumb everything down to the level of someone who still can't figure out cut and paste.

My i7 with 16GB of RAM IS a tablet. It will be a better fit on me... assuming I like it.

However, when I dock at home with the big monitor, I'll probably refer the retro rather than the metro.