Windows 8 should be free? - Windows 8

Hello everyone,

Windows 8 should be Free? I don't think so.

Someone said that we shouldn't pay for Windows 8 if Win 8 only includes the superficial features that are predicted, then it's just a tweak of Win 7, not a new OS. Microsoft has made great efforts on the next generation operating system and comes with many new features which has do us a favor. Review of 10 Windows 8 funtions

We should pay for Windows 8 for its 10 functions.

Of course we should pay for Windows 8, those of us who wants it as our next OS.

Microsoft, unlike Linux OS's, has a highly paid research/development team, and cannot afford to giveaway their hard work. They also give us professional support when needed, feed us with updates for supported OS's & much more.

If there is anyone looking for a free ticket to computing, then a Linux OS may be the answer. But don't come whining because there's no professional support, just what can be found on the OS's forum, possibly 20 different answers to a simple question. That's your professional support with consumer (free) versions of Linux. Once a user who depends upon Windows see this, then suddenly that $200 to $300 price tag looks a lot more attractive.

Windows 8 will be worth paying for.

Cat

Cat
Don't forget when you remove the server applications Linux is next to nothing among computer users. Mac only accounts for about 10% of market share.
Joe

Joe, you're right, if it weren't for the business/server uses for Linux, it wouldn't exist. Mac does have a small share, their big bucks are with gadgets & phones.

Windows is the biggest thing going when it comes to OS's. I have no doubt that Windows 8 will succeed, and it won't be free. But it's users can rest assured that they'll have professional support. That's what matters most.

You get what you pay for.

Cat

Yep, Windows (& PCs) is certainly the bulk of computing. It's the moment we live in, right now... shiny, new-tech things, like Smart Phones & Tablets & electric cars get a lot of notice, time & 'print'.

I repeat, there is no obligation to trade-in or buy another car, just cus the new models hit the showrooms.

Windows8 will be a love-hate thing, certainly for a while. Ppl will have a hard time to wrap their heads around Touch or not to touch; (Eeeek) no start button or start menu or shut down/Sleep/restart & OMG all the tiles... yes, it's somewhat different (Though, still, fundamentally the status quo), and, yes, it has a learning curve. Do I think, given time, it will be well & widely accepted, yes. Once ppl see it, use it, understand it and appreciate it, both for what it is cosmetically and technically... Will it quickly surpass 7, no; in time, yes.

But, whether one chooses to actually change to Windows8, remember this... anyone wanting or needing, at some point in time, to buy a new machine will come to know & use Windows8.

And that's just the way it is.

Cheers,
Drew

The thing I see with Win 8, It is basically the same OS whether it's on a desktop, a laptop, a tablet or a phone. The Mac OS for PCs, Tablets and phones are different from each other from what I have heard. MS is making this OS to appeal to a large group of people using a variety of devices, or perhaps more than one device with the ability to switch from one device to the next and just keep going.

Of course it will not be free. Why should it? MS has put a significant amount of manpower and resources into developing it. The big question in my mind, the question that will be the determining factor on whether I purchase Win 8 for my main OS will be the final price.

The determining thing for me will be if there is a hack to kill the built in "Kill Switch" that is part of W8.

OOOOOOO! The "H" word. I was seriously reprimanded on one forum for using that word. It can get you sent to a "Time Out". I prefer to use "Programmer" instead.
Yes, maybe some "Programmer" will act upon Win-8 as we know it to extend its usefulness, beyond the cut-off date.
You can do that yourself, by just setting your clock back and turning off AutoTime.

What I'm waiting for is for a 'Programmer' to come up with something like we had in Win-8/DP, to just disable the Metro UI thingy. That should really be the customers choice, for a home computer.

But it's apparent to me that most testers just don't get it........that Win-8 is really not meant for the home PC user.
It's obvious to this old tech, that Win-8 is meant for Tablets, maybe even phones and since MS & GM have joined forces, so to speak, we will most likely see touch screens in new cars starting in 2013 or 2014 car models. I've been hearing whispers about windows running in Car computers, for some time now.
GM tried that, sort of, in the Olds Toronado, before it was discontinued. It was a program screen, with a row of buttons down each side, like some Gas Pumps and ATM's.

I'm just nervous about drivers playing with their touch screen and not watching the road. Maybe they will make the touch screen only work when the car is in PARK. I'm just dreaming.....Right?

Cheers Mates!
TechnoMage

First, I wasn't talking about an actual "hack".
Second, I wasn't referring to defeating the trial period.

Microsoft has built in an actual "Kill Switch" that it can use to remove apps and malicious code.
The possibilities are endless.
Government could exploit its use as could hac... er "Programmers".

There are many articles about it but here is one.

PC Magazine

MS has never released any of its CODE. It's still a state secret, better kept than how to build an H-Banger.
But in spite of that, there are programmers in far away places that have done some very serious 'Post Release Engineering". I have examples of that. All good stuff.

So there's nothing that MS can write that someone else can't re-engineer.

For instance, when I got my first Commodore 64 computer, many years ago now, I didn't like the operating system.
It was full of SAFE DEFAULTS that made it run way Slow. So I got a copy of the OS, decompiled and I re-wrote the OS to bypass all the redundancy and I sped up the little computer, A LOT.
I burned my own Kernel ROM's and sold them all across the mid West.
And I was a putzer, compared to the guys who work with the Windows code.

So I'm not worried at all, that by the time Win-8 hits the store shelves, there will be fixes for everything that we don't like in Win-8. Eh?

I'm reminded of how MS disabled Windows Mail in Win-7 and how quickly we had a fix that re-activated it.

There should be another, "Disable Metro" fix coming soon. I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

Cheers mates!
TM

What is gained by disabling? It's either set to no-touch go to Desktop or one hits the Desktop tile... this as opposed to be desktop @ the onset. Doesn't sem like a big, dire-need, gain, really.

Drew

I prefer to use the OS as is. Being have used it for almost a month now, it's almost as easy for me to run as Windows 7 is. I use a couple of keyboard shortcuts to speed things up, but other than the wallpaper, haven't changed a thing.

In fact, after using Windows 8 CP, I've went back to my Windows 7/XP desktops & deleted all icons, except the Recycle Bin. My browsers & the CP are pinned to taskbar, and there's the icons to the right for the rest of what I use.

I prefer the cleaner desktop, just as I prefer an uncluttered browser, those toolbars takes away the screen. Not to mention some are adware/potential malware.

Cat

You know that you didn't have to delete them don't you?
You can right click the desktop go to view and uncheck show icons.

Didn't know that one. I have 2 other Windows 7 installs (total of 4). Will try that one out the 1st chance I get.

Cat

It does that on XP and W8 also.