smartguy05

January 28, 2013 at 11:15am

I wasn't a big fan of Windows 8 at first and was out right against it. But I work IT and I know people will be getting laptops with Windows 8 and I will be expected to help them. So I got the $15 upgrade on my new laptop to Windows 8 Pro and after a day of messing around I figured everything out and I'm starting to like it. I really like how I can right click in the bottom right and get to all the admin stuff that would normally take me several clicks to get to. I have also upgraded my home desktop to Windows 8 to take advantage of the syncing abilities of Windows 8. I think in the long run Windows 8 will be great because, mostly, of its "refresh" option, also the other neat things like storage spaces(which I haven't tried out yet). All in all it's ok. I don't know if you should upgrade from Win 7, but if you have Vista or less then its a no brainer for $39.

bdwoolman

January 28, 2013 at 10:37am

You know all the FUD about Win 8 baffles me. I downloaded a copy onto an old Vista machine at their undeniably reasonable introductory price (39 bucks. Price of a Pizza Dinner for two). I expected some kind of steep learning curve given some of the strident comments and reviews, but found nothing of the sort. The smooth install showed a little animation that showed me how to cursor-bump the upper right corner for the hide-and-seek control bar (Charms?) and that was it. After a little farting around I installed Chrome easily enough. Its big icon appeared on the slick start screen (Metro). When Chrome runs it runs in a normal Win 7-like window and launches a normal windows 7 like work space. I can ignore the start screen and other cruft if I care to. If I close in that win 7 like mode, then Win 8 opens in that mode. And it is easily customizable.

For the record I run Linux on half of my machines, but need windows for desktop publishing and speech to text. When I get a touch-enabled machine Win 8 will come into its own no doubt. But for 39 somolians it was a real step up from Vista or XP lemme tell ya. The touch friendly win 8 layer is easily brushed aside for a win 7 experience. Really. ...What's The Fuss?

I Jedi

January 28, 2013 at 9:25am

"It makes us wonder if the man who invented the modern operating system actually believes in the company’s new direction, or if he simply feels obligated to do so."

To me, I think he honestly believes that in order to stay relevant, Microsoft needs to go into a new direction and that direction is Windows 8; however, with that said, I think Microsoft totally screwed up when it decided to radically change the UI without even allowing people to eventually crossover to the new UI from the old one. Left and right, I hear people bemoaning the new OS and with good reason. You don't give someone a truck and then yank the carpet out under them to reveal a van to use for now on instead. You make the case why the van is better than the truck.

big_montana

January 28, 2013 at 6:00am

Maybe it has something to do with the companies financials as MS reported record revenues, as the Windows Division is up 24 percent year on year. Revenue for the division was $5.881 billion, up 24 percent on a year ago; operating income was up 14 percent at $3.296 billion. That tells a better story of MS than people harping on actual licenses shipped.

Nixon

January 27, 2013 at 10:45pm

This may be off topic, but CNBC really needs to clean that crap off the screen, especially that distracting sliding animation. Almost 40% of the interview is covered up!

"GATES: FAMILY USES WINDOWS PCs AND WINDOWS PHONES."

You don't say!?

Bullwinkle J Moose

January 27, 2013 at 10:09pm

Near the end of the video (6min 28 sec), he says his kids have never shown an interest in Apple products

That kinda contradicts this story doesn't it? >

http://www.maximumpc.com/article/news/bill_melinda_gates_uphold_household_ban_apple_products_despite_dead_zune123

Quote:

Bill Gates conducted an interesting interview with the UK’s Daily Mail, and revealed a much more personal side of the ex-Microsoft CEO then we were used to. He opened up about his family life, an amusingly enough, he even admitted what he tells his kids when they ask Santa for an iPad. At the time Bill was adamant they were a Zune only family, but fast forward to New Year’s Eve 2012, and Zune is all but completely dead. So has this loosened up the no iDevice policy?

In a recent interview on Radio 4 in the UK, Melinda Gates reaffirms the ban is still in place. When asked if Bill Gate’s two daughters and one lone son still ask for Apple products, she replied without hesitation. Of course they do, she said. "But they get Windows technology," she added. "The wealth from our family came from Microsoft so why would we invest in a competitor?"

Paper Jam

January 27, 2013 at 9:05pm

"hundreds of comments over the last several years"

I didn't realize Windows 8 had been out for years. And here I have been only complaining about it for the last several months. :)