Frostysnake


This excites me, as I am a 2408 user as well! I usually don't upgrade Windows until WAY after release, but you might be getting me to change protocol! David

If you want what feels like a major hardware upgrade, you will want to break protocol!  MS has done a killer job under the hood.  Too bad the messed up the UI.

Get used to the new UI. The classic desktop is dying a slow death. Once metro apps get more robust there won't be a need for the traditional desktop.

@SiliconAudio... Thanks for the info. I'm nowhere near running out of power with what I'm doing at the moment but it's nice to know that if it comes down to it an upgrade to 8 will give me some extra juice. I'm hoping by the time that day comes MS will have worked out all the kinks and us adults will have a workable interface. Wait... did I just refer to myself as an adult? Oh goodness me... that can't be right. :-/

@soundtweaker... I don't think that is correct. Touchscreen style OSs and GUIs do not work for a huge portion of what businesses and professionals need to do. There is gonna be a huge outcry if MS doesn't offer a proper desktop alternative to metro.

Beepster


@soundtweaker... I don't think that is correct. Touchscreen style OSs and GUIs do not work for a huge portion of what businesses and professionals need to do. There is gonna be a huge outcry if MS doesn't offer a proper desktop alternative to metro.

Not to mention that Metro doesn't multi-task.  Each app runs in an exclusive mode and apps in the background go to sleep.  Business friendly? - forgetaboutit!!!


My take is that Metro was added to the desktop version of Win8 simply so that users of phones & tablets can access their Metro apps & data on their desktop PCs in a familiar environment.  Personally, I think it is awfully clunky the way MS has done this, but I see their reasoning.  To some degree, it's in answer to the way Mac shares apps & data between iPhones, iPads and Mountain Lion on their desktops/laptops.

Win8 is MS doing it's usual charging people to do their homework for them. They just tossed all their wacky ideas into a pot, stirred them up and wait to see what people say. Then they'll release something reasonable based on that. They've done it so many times over the years I'm surprised most people don't see the trend. Fortunately Win7 is supported through to 2018 so by the time I REALLY need a new OS they'll likely have something decent on the table... I hope. If not maybe I'll own a Mac by then.

And that's not to say Win8 isn't decent. I've never used it... but based on previews/reviews I don't think it's fully "baked" if you will. Nice to know it's powerful behind all the silliness though.

I have, and I HATE metro.

I am glad to hear that Win 8 runs well and particularly X1. That is great news.

I may also leave my beloved Vista for a new babe. Although I wont have to. I have a system of removable HDs that lets me change OS by swapping out the system drive. Cheating on my OS what will that lead to?

Beepster


Fortunately Win7 is supported through to 2018 .

But that does not mean software vendors will continue to support Win7. Vista has almost 5 years left before MS stops supporting it (consumer support was extended to match business support just before the 5 years was up earlier this year) but software vendors are already dropping it like hotcakes, including Cakewalk, Native Instruments and FXExpansion.

Having said that if Win 8 does not catch on or suffers the prejudice Vista suffers Win 7 could turn out to be like XP with software companies supporting well into its geriatric old age.
 
My plan - new DAW, new O/S next year sometime. Time enough for the dust to settle (and hopefully SSDs to become bigger and cheaper).

The Metro interface is not designed for traditional mouse/keyboard setups. It can't have been. It's specifically for touchscreen devices. I've tried the pre-release version. Usually I can tell after a day or two if I'm going to warm to a new interface, but I gave this one the thumbs down. There's no way you're going to prefer this over a traditional desktop if you use a mouse. Let's face it, the desktop, the start menu and the task bar are pretty much ideal, I really don't see what's wrong with them at all. There is no program on my computer that I feel is inconvenient to start up this way. 

Microsoft look like they've decided that the mouse has had it's day. That's crazy. There is no way on earth people are going to be using a touchscreen for the kind of intricate work that a lot of us do. Can you imagine messing with control points on an Illustrator path, using your big stubby fingers? Also, who wants to reach over and prod their monitor every time they want to make a selection? I can understand the attraction of touchscreens in some situations. My phone would be useless without it. But to place a bet on the touchscreen replacing mouse and keyboard, ranks up there with every other embarrassing tech prediction that we've laughed at 10 years later. 

If there was an option to boot directly to the normal desktop in Windows 8 then I wouldn't mind. Keep Metro there for people who actually need it. But apparently there's not. You're always going to go to that godawful tiled screen first. My money is on Window's 8 being part of the Microsoft tradition to screw up big time every alternate release.