Grab your free developer preview copy of Windows 8 here: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/home/ Be warned - it's time limited and will disable itself after a year... Install on a spare PC/Laptop/virtual machine if you want to muck about with it.
Geeet up - I think i'll stick it on my Macbook using VMWare and give it a bash. The boot times on it look incredible, from what i saw on a video posted by some of the product team a few days ago.
Dont really see the point in 8 myself. 7 in my opinion is an updated xp that will be around a lot longer than needed. If they hadnt lost the plot with vista I don't think they would have started this new os every few years business.
They are being reactive to the advances being made by Android and OSX/iOS i'd imagine. Just as Apple suddenly disrupted the mobile phone market, and probably put Nokia more or less out of business as a result, the Microsoft needs to keep up with new ways people want to interact with their PC's. Apple have the fact that alot of people just want to use a few standard applications, for a few standard workflows (music, pictures, web etc) completely nailed .... and i think Microsoft knows that the sheer flexibility and massive install base is not going to keep it on top forever. Interestingly, as much as apple is more valuable than microsoft on the stock market, i still think the industry would not be where it is today without them, which people are too keen to ignore at times. I'm glad my job is done on a PC during the day, and then i have a mac to come home to at night, and an ipad to mess about with if i need to look at something quickly and easily.
Nail on head. Windows 8 is meant to feature ARM support (ARM processors power pretty much every smartphone and PDA/Tablet out there), so a mobile version will give Microsoft what Apple have with iOS/Mac OS.
Was just thinking yesterday, i wonder when 8 will be out, then saw this lol I'll be in no rush to install this after last weeks hard drive shenanigans!.
If they're doing this to compete with Apple its a bit far fetched in my opionion, the price alone sways me off buying a mac not its operating system.
I would ditch the PC in a heartbeat IF i could afford a Mac, however Apple hardware and 3 kids just don't go.
You can get a mac mini for 500 odd quid these days. Not too pricey. OR .... if you fancy a bit of DIY, build a 'hackintosh'. OR .... just run MacOS inside a VM using VMWare, and as long as your pc is nippy enough (an SSD would make it fly) it wont be that much different to running it natively. 70 odd quid will get you a decent SSD and it will make your PC run a whole lot better at the same time.
Has OSX actually had an upgrade in the past few years though? I might be wrong here, but it just looks ancient to me and I thought it hadn't been changed at all. When was the current version released? Either way, I find Windows 7 miles better (sorry for the cliché comment by the way, it just is). The only thing I admire about macs is the amount of processing power available considering the compact size of their laptops. Loving the hackingtosh though.
Seem's all very based on touch screen tech tbh - and i doubt i'll ever step over to that side for my desktop machine. The Microsofts windows 7 is still great to use.
