Windows 8 might be saved and changed by Windows Blue

[Sledgstone 8,672]

http://news.cnet.com/8301-10805_3-57583262-75/whats-new-about-windows-blue-faq/

 

Microsoft may be the only company on the face of the planet where the sale of 100 million licenses is seen by some as a disappointment.

Tami Reller, the chief marketing officer and chief financial officer of the Windows division, noted Monday that Microsoft has sold more than 100 million licenses of Windows 8 since its October debut. But slowing PC sales have sparked some hand-wringing, leading to speculation about the coming update for Windows 8, codenamed Blue. The significant changes in Windows haven't been universally embraced, Reller acknowledged to The New York Times.

"The learning curve is real and needs to be addressed," Reller told the Times.

Reller said Microsoft is listening to customer feedback regarding frustrations with Windows 8. With the radical overhaul of the look and feel of the operating system, users have raised plenty of concerns about Windows 8. At the top of that list is the lack of a Start Button, something Windows users have grown accustomed to over the years.

"We feel good that we've listened and looked at all of the customer feedback. We are being principled, not stubborn" about modifying Windows 8 based on that feedback, Reller told ZDNet's Mary Jo Foley.

Much is riding on Blue, and not just for Microsoft. The entire PC ecosystem relies on Windows to fuel sales.

The company has been circumspect, though, about the details it's willing to share. Below is a FAQ laying out what is known, and what is rumored, regarding the next Windows update.

What is Windows Blue?

In a post Monday night on Microsoft's Windows blog, Reller described Blue as "a codename for an update that will be available later this year." She said that more broadly, Blue is part of Microsoft's effort to move deeper into devices and services.

Reller didn't dive into the details of what will be in Blue. But Reller said Blue will "deliver the latest new innovations across an increasingly broad array of form factors of all sizes, display, battery life and performance, while creating new opportunities for our ecosystem."

What sort of opportunities does Reller mean?

Clearly, Microsoft is working to make Windows 8 work well for smaller tablets, devices in the 7-inch range, where Microsoft doesn't compete now. Buttressing that, Asus CEO Jerry Shen told The Wall Street Journal Monday that he anticipates smaller tablets, selling for less than $300, to debut later this year.

Any guesses as to when Blue will debut, other than "later this year"?

Reller told The Wall Street Journal that Microsoft would offer two Blue news updates in coming weeks. The first will focus on "pricing, packaging and an official name," according to the Journal. The second will address the technical vision and should come before late June. That would coincide with Microsoft's June 26 to June 28 developer conference in San Francisco, called Build.

The company will want developers to know what to expect from the update to help them create applications that make use of the new features. It's possible that the first bit of Blue news could come at the the Computex trade show in Taipei from June 4 to June 8, where Microsoft is likely to take the wraps off new form factors running Blue. The company could also offer up details at TechEd, a conference in New Orleans on June 3 to June 6 for IT professionals and enterprise software developers.

 

I've only used Windows 8 for about 10 minutes while setting up a wireless network.. I didn't care much for the tile system.. It seemed about as disorganized as my old Windows 3.1 system. Unless you know where to look, or what to type for, have fun trying to find it. Of course that was only 10 minutes. If I actually had a PC with it installed, I suppose I would get used to it. But that initial reaction makes me glad I got a laptop with Windows 7 on it. Maybe this new "Blue" update will fix Windows 8, maybe not. But with the bad reception Windows 8 has received for the PC market, I'm surprised more competitors aren't trying to step up to the plate with new operating systems. If a linux or google OS could run windows programs and come installed on PCs, then some of these companies should be stepping up to the plate and enter the market.. especially if Microsoft doesn't get its crap together.

[Myk JL 1,731]

Linux isn't going to step up because it isn't in the business of selling its OSs as they are free. The only way it can succeed in that case is if Hardware Companies want to & are willing to sell said hardware at places like Walmart & Gamestop.

 

I don't know why Google hasn't stepped up. Maybe they're having too much fun at how bad Bing is.

 

I currently doubt that Windows Blue can save Windows 8. And to a certain extent want to see it fail to the point MS Files for Bankruptcy. Not just because I currently hate MS. But I think it would be intriguing news through out the tech industry. Especially if MS did so before Nintendo (or Sony if that's plausible).

[Kite 3,263]

Windows 8 was designed for a tablet / touchscreen

 

It looks like vomit

 

I like windows 7,. 

[Sledgstone 8,672]

Linux isn't going to step up because it isn't in the business of selling its OSs as they are free. The only way it can succeed in that case is if Hardware Companies want to & are willing to sell said hardware at places like Walmart & Gamestop.

 

I don't know why Google hasn't stepped up. Maybe they're having too much fun at how bad Bing is.

 

I currently doubt that Windows Blue can save Windows 8. And to a certain extent want to see it fail to the point MS Files for Bankruptcy. Not just because I currently hate MS. But I think it would be intriguing news through out the tech industry. Especially if MS did so before Nintendo (or Sony if that's plausible).

 

Have you ever used Ubuntu? I remember using it years ago. It has a lot of potential. At the time I used it tho, it was not nearly as user friendly as Windows. I wanted to do something simple like install a codec so I could watch some anime on it.. on windows all I had to do was download a file, double click it, it auto installs, done. Ubuntu was some stupid list of commands I had to enter after downloading the file.. it was so un-user friendly I said to hell with it. Although, I do have to admit, that OS auto recognized every piece of hardware in that custom PC and auto installed all of the latest drivers and files without any input from me. After installing the OS, it was as if I had just picked the computer up at the store because all the software was there and ready to use.

 

I have no interest in learning linux commands or how to become a linux user. However, if a company could polish all these things up, have the software already installed on PC's along with a much better version of Wine (lets you run windows programs on linux), then Linux could definitely be a major player in terms of OS. It makes sense why Steam would want linux powered machines. Aside from the un-user friendly aspects of the OS it is a completely viable solution. The main things holding linux back is itself. Just like phpBB, there is IPB. Instead of using a free forum software, I'd rather pay for a more complete system. Thats how Ubuntu is.. everyone would rather pay for Windows because its complete and supported by all developers instead of using a free system.

 

If a company started selling Ubuntu or a better version of linux and offered full support for it, more companies would probably start using it. But as soon as someone starts trying to sell linux, all the people that support it for free would probably rage all over the place.

 

So yeah, I agree that linux probably wont step up.. but maybe google will make something. I believe they are going to make a Google Chrome OS at some point.

Edited May 11, 2013 by Sledgstone
Oops.. I forgot the last two parts.

[Myk JL 1,731]

My feelings currently are what ever happens I'm getting a PC that can run the Windows 7 Ultimate I bought.

 

As far as Linux goes I'm only interested in that if the Steam Box is ever released with it preinstalled. I haven't tried Linux yet. And I won't be any time soon because I don't trust my current PC.

 

As for Google Chrome even if it did replace Windows 8 it would still lack Steam Support from what I can tell. And I'd need that said OS to run Steam just in case.

[Dubird 6,815]

Windows 8 looks like it was developed for touch-screen computers and tablets.  Which is good for that, just not so good for those of us that don't have a touch-screen.

[Sledgstone 8,672]

I thought it was a huge mistake of Microsoft to not customize the PC version of Windows 8 to be more user friendly. Android works great on smart phones, but imagine its interface as a desktop OS. Screw that. Its the same with Windows 8.

[Trigger 250]

 

Linux isn't going to step up because it isn't in the business of selling its OSs as they are free. The only way it can succeed in that case is if Hardware Companies want to & are willing to sell said hardware at places like Walmart & Gamestop.

 

 

Ever hear of red hat Linux? A lot of businesses use it, for servers at least. Never heard of a business using Linux for workstations.

 

 

Windows 8 was designed for a tablet / touchscreen

 

 

I agree and that's where they should of left it. They should of made a mobile version instead of making one version for all platforms.

 

 

 

Personally, I hate it, they should of learned after vista not to make huge changes like taking away the start menu. If their afraid people won't upgrade, their wrong, what else are we going to use? Have any of you used Windows Server 2012? We've started to roll it out to a few unimportant servers at work, but won't go any further until they put the start menu back. Yes you heard right, Microsoft took away the start menu on a business piece of software. Huge mistake, not sure about other companies, but won't be using it for any important servers until they undo some of the changes. I just don't understand what they were thinking with 8. I mean you put a start menu in for over ten years then take it away. Anyway that's how I feel.

[Dubird 6,815]

As an addition, my new laptop has a touchscreen and came with Windows 8. It's optimzed for touch, and does a good job. But if it had not been a touch, I would've wiped the hard drive and installed Win7. There's a lot of things that bug me about it, but it is kinda fun to use the touch functions. It feels so futuristic!

[Trigger 250]

I agree with that, we got a surface at work and it's pretty cool. I work in an IT department and each of us has a windows 8 computer to play/test out, but in order to get anything productive done on it, we all had to install classic start menu.

[Pchan 5,162]

I have Windows Vista. I want to upgrade to Windows 7. Does this article affect me? 

[Trigger 250]

Nah not really, you can upgrade to 7 or 8 from Vista. Windows 7 is the good one, Windows 8, not so much. I'm surprised you stuck it out with Vista for so long, no offence. 

[Sledgstone 8,672]

Windows 8.1 formally known as Windows Blue is coming out as a free update to Windows 8 users.. but it doesn't look like it brings back the start menu, instead it brings back the start button and it gives you the options of bypassing the initial tile screen. It does sound like its an improved OS and it now apparently uses less memory / resources than Win 7.

 

http://www.extremetech.com/computing/166417-hands-on-with-windows-8-1-a-solid-update-but-not-a-game-changer

 

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2013/sep/18/windows-8-1-start-menu-17-october

 

This guy shows how he installed an app and restored windows 8 into a classic windows 7 look.. pretty nice:

 

http://betanews.com/2013/09/17/get-the-start-menu-back-in-windows-8-1-rtm-with-classic-shell/

[Trigger 250]

Yea the classic shell is what we use at work, It's the only way to make windows 8 usable in my opinion.

[Pchan 5,162]

Back when I purchased my laptop, it came with Vista and Windows 7 was rolling out the next month. I had a sticker that said Free Upgrade to Windows 7 if I did it within a year. I was too scared to do anything. I don't mind Vista but it drags either because of the OS itself or my super cool viruses that love me and don't want to let go. So, I've been contemplating on wiping everything out and getting Windows 7 but it's too expensive to give someone at a shop to do it. Eppy/ Sledge, would you know how to do it if I bought the CD or got a rip of an official version with no serial key, etc.? My baby will be in your hands. 

Edited September 20, 2013 by Pchan

[Trigger 250]

Yea viruses are all the rage these days, I personally like to get the full use of my computers so I evict viruses lol.

 

You'd need to buy a cd key (unless you have one), probably $100 or so. Your computer should have a recover partition option to re-install vista. Or you could try to get rid of the viruses/malware. What security program do you use? Try downloading Avast and Spyware Terminator from http://www.ninite.com or their websites.

[Sledgstone 8,672]

Back when I purchased my laptop, it came with Vista and Windows 7 was rolling out the next month. I had a sticker that said Free Upgrade to Windows 7 if I did it within a year. I was too scared to do anything. I don't mind Vista but it drags either because of the OS itself or my super cool viruses that love me and don't want to let go. So, I've been contemplating on wiping everything out and getting Windows 7 but it's too expensive to give someone at a shop to do it. Eppy/ Sledge, would you know how to do it if I bought the CD or got a rip of an official version with no serial key, etc.? My baby will be in your hands. 

 

I'd be hesitant to use a rip of the OS, I've never used one before because I was too concerned about pre-loaded viruses. Some programs could be ok and if they are virused, you can uninstall them.. but if you upgrade your OS with a virus laden program, it could screw you.

 

I could try upgrading it for you.. I wouldn't erase everything either.. laptops have way too many drivers for all their components. Wiping a laptop and then getting all those drivers and reinstalling everything could be very time consuming, not counting the numerous windows updates. It would probably take most of a day. You'd be better off getting some anti-virus and spyware apps running to clean up the system before the upgrade.

[Pchan 5,162]

But I want a good nice smelling wipe to clean my butt with. Will you help and hold my hand? (if you get the reference)

 

I feel like the 6 gigs of RAM should be OK to run Win 7 at a decent speed. I don't know what is standard these days when people buy laptops (8 maybe?). I think I can get more out of this if it got a fresh start, like a complete wipe out. It'll be a hassle to re-install all those Windows Updates but 1 day of suffering will lead to months of bliss.

[Sledgstone 8,672]

6gb of ram should be fine, thats what lady's laptop is running. I'll help you with it.. do you have the disks that came with the laptop? If it didn't come with disks, you should be able to make recovery disks. As long as you have those, we could wipe the laptop and do a fresh install, that way all the drivers will be installed.. then we could upgrade it to win 7.. it should keep the drivers and auto update them so the install goes smoother.