Windows 8 — Finally unveiled!

[Meph]

Windows 8 has finally been revealed at the keynote of the BUILD conference in the Anaheim convention centre.

Spoiler : Original post :

Windows 8 was finally shown to us at All Things Digital.



Is it too much of a change for technophobes Windows users, or are Microsoft taking the UI in the right direction?

Discuss.

[Broocevelt]

Too much of a change for me.
I mean, accessibility to your files and folders looks way worse.
Everything looks very restricted.

I think it's a good idea, but they're taking the whole thing in the wrong direction in my opinion.
I wouldn't buy W8 for the moment...

[Meph]

It's only an early preview. You can switch off the new UI, so people who don't like the change can still keep the old one.

But access to your files and folders will be the same as usual. Did you notice the tile called "Windows Explorer"?

[henke37]

I don't like it. It is Windows without, you know, windows. It looks great for a touch based system, but it is not practical in reality.

[Dr.Cookie Master]

Its because of the Ipad Trend they make this. Windows are biting back at thier Apple Rivals by making touchscreen Computers with more 'fancy' add ons. I Personally Dont like it, they need to be Original :/

[Hodou Okappa]

It's awful. UIs have been dumbed down by the iPad and similar systems. When I get Windows, I want a start bar, a desktop, and icons. It's an excellent system, and I don't know why people suddenly think it's not "good enough" for them. Don't "fix" what's not broken.

I sound like an old man.

[WhiteZekrom]

I don't like it. It is Windows without, you know, windows.

So it's official, the new Windows (8) is actually Piles. lol
But in all seriousness, this looks like an enormous change (like the transition between XP and Vista).

[Dr.Cookie Master]

What worries me the most is the computer viruses that could infect the system. Unlike I-Pad, there is still an OS and RECOVERY drive, meaning even the simplest of viruses could be trouble. If there were 50 pop ups from a virus how will touch screen help?
(AGH OMG THEY WONT CLOSE MY SCREEN IS BREAKING CAUSE IM DESTROYING THE MONITOR WITH MY FINGER AAGHHH)

The 2/3 button mouse exsists for a reason. FOR A REASON I SAY

[Meph]

What worries me the most is the computer viruses that could infect the system. Unlike I-Pad, there is still an OS and RECOVERY drive, meaning even the simplest of viruses could be trouble. If there were 50 pop ups from a virus how will touch screen help?

Virus protection is better on Windows than on Mac OS X. Microsoft have been investing billions security, while Apple have been twiddling their thumbs, thinking that they'll be fine... and now they've got Trojan malware.[/rant]

Aaaaaanyway, I think it's too early to be pessimistic. The UI is very original; no one else has done anything like it in any other OS. Also, the new type of apps that it uses are made using HTML and ECMAScript, so I might be able to make apps, too! I'm really excited about that!

Give it a chance. It's really hard for designers to try to make improvements to any UI, because most people are so scared of or just don't like change. Once they get used to it, they usually end up liking it more! We'll find out a lot more at the "build" conference in September.

[Dr.Cookie Master]

You have a good point some people like me are less tolerant to new stuff Just saying.

But what about the price? I hop it will ACTUALLY affordable. I mean, the system unit interior must be more complex than EVER.

Well, we'll have to wait for 1 year to find the finishing product.

[Meph]

It should be about the same price as Windows 7 (i.e. expensive). It'll be a while until we find out, though. It runs on the same hardware as 7, so you won't have to buy a new computer.

[Phantom]

Just to clarify, the screenie that the OP has is for touch-based tablets (and touchscreens in general), it doesn't necessarily mean it's for actual desktops and such (unless I'm wrong, and someone else can confirm with a source).

(When I mean screenie, I mean the first thing you see before you actually click the youtube vid)

[Unas]

Honestly, that new UI seems thousands times better than... iOS for iPad.
Still, it's only targeted at tablets and perhaps netbooks - I absolutely don't see that on a regular computer, at least in its current form.

First, because it's entirely focused on the touch screen - and I doubt that, even five years from now, all computers will have touch screens...

Just to clarify, the screenie that the OP has is for touch-based tablets (and touchscreens in general), it doesn't necessarily mean it's for actual desktops and such (unless I'm wrong, and someone else can confirm with a source).

Well, actually, in his conclusion he says "it'll run on desktops, on laptops", etc. That's what scares me. As I said, it looks fine as an opponent to iOS - but I don't want that on my computer.

Unfortunately, the same trend goes with Linux as well, with the GNOME3 and Unity environments looking like they were designed for netbooks, yet being put by default for desktops as well.
And they all keep the idea that for something to be simple and cool, it has to get rid of all menus and hierarchy, putting everything on the same level...
This works if you consider that you have very few different tasks to do with your computer, but that's very limiting.

[Hodou Okappa]

I really hope we don't eventually flip over to EVERY computer being like the iPad. There's only so much I would ever feel comfortable doing on a touch screen. Without a keyboard and mouse, I could personally never:

--Write lengthy material
--Play video games
--Draw/sprite/art/etc.

Basically, the primary things I use my computer for now would be rendered extremely finnicky and difficult due to what I see as a miserably overrated new trend. Why are people so desperate to shed the rest of their computer? What's wrong with having a keyboard and mouse?

If the UI is different on a laptop, then I'll probably have a different opinion. Otherwise I'll just hope they keep up support for older Windows systems. (If I'm right, I could actually be running Windows XP right now with very few drawbacks as far as software is concerned, right?)

[Meph]

I don't think we're going to move completely away from the mouse and keyboard. Microsoft have been saying for a while that they'll always have their place, so I don't think they'll ever go away.

If the UI is different on a laptop, then I'll probably have a different opinion. Otherwise I'll just hope they keep up support for older Windows systems. (If I'm right, I could actually be running Windows XP right now with very few drawbacks as far as software is concerned, right?)

Wrong. There's no 2D hardware acceleration on XP.