How long will Windows 8, the terrible, last? Any bets?

I bet it will be faster replaced by its successor than any other Win version to date, including Vista.

It will also continue the tick tock trend started by Win2000:

Windows 2000 - canned fast
XP - lasted long
Vista - canned fast
7 - probably long lasting
8 ...

Win 8 is just not fixable. Vista's early problems were performance and application/driver compatabiliy, stuff like this can be fixed. Windows 8 is broken on a whole different level. And since it's Microsoft's policy to never alter the GUI of a Windows version in a Service Pack, Win 8 is doomed and unrepairable.

*sigh*

At this point, I can only wait for Beta. I really don't like the tech preview. I couldn't bring out taskbar in Metro if there is one. And I couldn't make Metro taskbar always on top if there is one. I am not the kind of user who auto-hide my taskbar on Win7. If Win7 taskbar cannot be always on top, I am likely to stay with XP in the similar situation. If there is no such option to have always visible taskbar in Metro, then, is it likely I will be forced to completely ignore Metro, or simply stay with Win7. I just hope Win7 can have update to support faster hardware cold boot, that EFI thing.

Also, let me swipe to the left. I mean, alt+shift+tab using swipe or mouse. Maybe it is there, but, I don't know how to do it.

@wastingtimewithforums: Vista had driver problems because MS rewrote a lot of the under-the-hood things. Windows 7 has those same changes, but the hardware community had caught up.

Windows 2000 was canned fast? Not exactly. From what I read, MS wanted XP out in 2000, but couldn't hit the deadline so they did Win2000/WinME to hold people over until XP could be finished.

We'll have to wait and see how Windows 8 is received. I don't think it will be very popular at first, at least not without massive OEM support for touch-screens on laptops or a massive price reduction on Windows-based tablets. I'm sure MS will put in an option to start up in the Desktop app. And some users will utilize it, just as some users are still complaining about losing the classic Start Menu in Windows 7.

You just can't judge an OS by a developer preview.

My guess is it'll be around as the most up-to-date Windows on the market for about 4 years. It'll take some time to overtake Windows7 which it will inevitably do, and in much the same way that Windows7 has just done.

People make a big song and dance about WindowsXP having a longer life than other Windows' but people forget that Windows XP SP2 is COMPLETELY DIFFERENT to Windows XP vanilla. The original didn't have any wireless drivers (because wifi didn't exist), didn't have RAID, didn't have PAE (and therefore no DEP). It didn't support large disks or HD graphics or service isolation and it basically looked and felt like Windows 2000 with blue bubbles round the windows. It's easy to forget, particularly when it's convenient to your argument to do so.

Microsoft's progression of OS's is really much more like:

Windows 95 (lasted about 4 years)
Windows 98 (lasted about 4 years)
Windows 2000 (lasted about 4 years)
Windows XP vanilla (lasted about 4 years)
Windows XP SP2 (lasted about 4 years)
Windows Vista (lasted about 4 years)
Windows 7 (currently holding at 2 years)
Windows 8 

Sometimes it feels like there is a large number of people on the internet who just yell "CHANGE! CHANGE! WE DON'T LIKE CHANGE!!!" at absolutely everything Microsoft does and it does get a bit tiring after a while. 

This is just sad.

@wastingtimewithforums:I am not a betting man (though I participate in the occasional lottery, usually through work) but I will bet you £10 (that is $15.95) that Windows 8 will succeed.

Put your money where your mouth is.

9 minutes ago, evildictait​or wrote

My guess is it'll be around as the most up-to-date Windows on the market for about 4 years. It'll take some time to overtake Windows7 which it will inevitably do, and in much the same way that Windows7 has just done.

People make a big song and dance about WindowsXP having a longer life than other Windows' but people forget that Windows XP SP2 is COMPLETELY DIFFERENT to Windows XP vanilla. The progression of OS's is really much more like:

Windows 95 (lasted about 4 years)
Windows 98 (lasted about 4 years)
Windows 2000 (lasted about 4 years)
Windows XP vanilla (lasted about 4 years)
Windows XP SP2 (lasted about 4 years)
Windows Vista (lasted about 4 years)
Windows 7 (currently holding at 2 years)
Windows 8 

where is Windows ME? Windows 2000 is only for business, like NT.

5 minutes ago, Bas wrote

This is just sad.

Indeed. App store coercion, headache causing Metro-Desktop switch, un-closable apps, a design that causes eye cancer (control panel is just yuck) and the list goes on

It's sad indeed.

Go away, troll.

44 minutes ago, PaoloM wrote

*sigh*

+1 - sigh indeed.

Measuring the sucess of a future operating system based around a very early developer preview that was heavily weighted to focus on and show off features for tablets and had most of the regular desktop stuff either hidden, turned off or not revealed is beyond ludicrous.

Put the knives away until at least we get to the Beta - we'll know much more then about how Windows 8 is going to look and work on non tablet hardware.

I keep hoping that, behind the scenes, several of MS's largest corporate desktop customers are tearing MS a new one over forcing the Metro environment on the desktop, and that we'll eventually see a Mea Culpa post to b8 about how they "heard our feedback" and are making changes. 

20 minutes ago, evildictait​or wrote

Sometimes it feels like there is a large number of people on the internet who just yell "CHANGE! CHANGE! WE DON'T LIKE CHANGE!!!" at absolutely everything Microsoft does and it does get a bit tiring after a while. 

Some of us like change when it is for the better.

5 minutes ago, Bas wrote

Go away, troll.

Show me my wrongdoing.

User- and developer molesting app store - check
Botched "Metro Menu" - check
Get sick from neat switch effect - check
Unkillable apps - check
Lightgreen eye raping monster everywhere - check.

Win 8 currently is like the mutated dog in The Fly II - it's ugly and heartbreaking at the same time. Especially gut wrenching is how cute the dog looked before (Win 7) and what the evil Dr. Sinofsky did to it.

Too bad no one at MS is kind enough to end its pains.

3 minutes ago, DCMonkey wrote

I keep hoping that, behind the scenes, several of MS's largest corporate desktop customers are tearing MS a new one over forcing the Metro environment on the desktop, and that we'll eventually see a Mea Culpa post to b8 about how they "heard our feedback" and are making changes. 

I hope not. It's high time for a change.

Besides, do you really think that key enterprise customers are NOT involved in the early design of Windows? Really?

11 minutes ago, wastingtime​withforums wrote

*snip*

Show me my wrongdoing.

See here.

@PaoloM:  Early involvement is a good question.  I often wonder if early involvement (to garner feedback) is done so in a context that does not give away the store but also isn't a peep hole view.

@PaoloM:

sadly from the Win8 Blog, the article is focused on justifications instead of assurance.