Microsoft's Project Threshold / Windows 9

[I-10east]

Windows 8 reception (critical) is just like the approval and disapproval ratio on this MJ thread, mixed. Most of the time if a products' reception is mixed, bottomline it's failing. Maybe people don't give a damn about seeing the weather forecasts in Sydney and Mumbai, or knowing the current Dow Jones industrial average on what supposed to be a desktop.

Windows 8 lovers can say what they wanna, but anytime there's a freaking link on Windows 8's wiki page with an article on how to downgrade back to Windows 7 yeah,  things aren't so unblemished like yall wanna believe....   

[coredumped]

This is good, I'm glad they're focusing on 9, because as we all know every other version of windows is crap:

    Windows 3.1x (1992) - Good
    Windows 95 (1995) - Crap
    Windows 98 (1998) - Good
    Windows ME (2000) - Crap
    Windows XP (2001) - Good
    Windows Vista (2006) - Crap
    Windows 7 (2009) - Good
    Windows 8 (2012) - Crap
    Windows 9 (2015) - ?

Note this list is for consumer versions. Windows 2k, etc used a different kernel (the NT kernel) and weren't for consumers.

[I-10east]

Windows Vista (2006) - Crap

Damn, I currently have a crappy product!

Still better than Windows 8 though!

[I-10east]

LOL, on wiki I tried to categorize Windows 8 under 'operating system criticisms' which is totally fair, but Windows took it down. Surely a large percent of the tech community aren't criticizing Windows 8....   

[JayBird]

This is good, I'm glad they're focusing on 9, because as we all know every other version of windows is crap:

    Windows 3.1x (1992) - Good
    Windows 95 (1995) - Crap
    Windows 98 (1998) - Good
    Windows ME (2000) - Crap
    Windows XP (2001) - Good
    Windows Vista (2006) - Crap
    Windows 7 (2009) - Good
    Windows 8 (2012) - Crap
    Windows 9 (2015) - ?

Note this list is for consumer versions. Windows 2k, etc used a different kernel (the NT kernel) and weren't for consumers.

I remember when XP came out I hated it, now I'd love to have it back (well my one pc still has it but nothing runs on it anymore). I think this list brings up a good point: the successful platforms came when technology had advanced and new innovations became available. The bad ones seemed to have been introduced just to bring something new to market.

[Lunican]

Microsoft Reports Record Revenue of $24.52 Billion in Second Quarter

http://www.microsoft.com/investor/EarningsAndFinancials/Earnings/PressReleaseAndWebcast/FY14/Q2/default.aspx

[avonjax]

Windows 8.1 is the best Windows I have used yet....
I don't get the complaining...
It just doesn't make sense that it is so offensive to someone that their computer doesn't boot to the desktop.
It takes 1 click to get there....
I don't have a touch screen computer and I navigate just fine with a mouse.....

[carpnter]

This is good, I'm glad they're focusing on 9, because as we all know every other version of windows is crap:

    Windows 3.1x (1992) - Good
    Windows 95 (1995) - Crap
    Windows 98 (1998) - Good
    Windows ME (2000) - Crap
    Windows XP (2001) - Good
    Windows Vista (2006) - Crap
    Windows 7 (2009) - Good
    Windows 8 (2012) - Crap
    Windows 9 (2015) - ?

Note this list is for consumer versions. Windows 2k, etc used a different kernel (the NT kernel) and weren't for consumers.

They started using the NT Kernel with Windows XP.  Technically Win 95, 98, and ME were all considered to be Windows version 4. 
Windows 2000 was a great OS.  I used it instead of 98/ME until XP came out. 

[Lunican]

http://thenextweb.com/insider/2014/02/01/windows-8-1-now-3-95-market-share-passes-vista-windows-8-falls-6-63/#!uhu4q

[I-10east]

Here's a biz journal tech writer's take on Windows 8 and it's not good. My brother in the service has a Windows 8 (8.1) computer, and doesn't like it; He said that Windows 7 was better. I read countless complaints on youtube, and checked out Windows 8 at the store; I briefly thought about updating to Windows 8, but many takes like Mr Landa's only solidifies my decision to wait until Windows 9. Even Microsoft's XBOX ONE is currently getting badly outpaced by PS4; XBOX ONE's are everywhere on stores shelves, but getting a PS4 off the shelf is like a miracle right now. I'm not Microsoft basher, because I purchased many of it's past great product BTW (XBOX, past OS's etc) but the direction that it's currently going is very concerning.

www.bizjournal.com/bizjournals/how-to/technology/2014/03/why-you-shouldn-t-commit-to-windows-8.html

[carpnter]

Here's a biz journal tech writer's take on Windows 8 and it's not good. My brother in the service has a Windows 8 (8.1) computer, and doesn't like it; He said that Windows 7 was better. I read countless complaints on youtube, and checked out Windows 8 at the store; I briefly thought about updating to Windows 8, but many takes like Mr Landa's only solidifies my decision to wait until Windows 9. Even Microsoft's XBOX ONE is currently getting badly outpaced by PS4; XBOX ONE's are everywhere on stores shelves, but getting a PS4 off the shelf is like a miracle right now. I'm not Microsoft basher, because I purchased many of it's past great product BTW (XBOX, past OS's etc) but the direction that it's currently going is very concerning.

www.bizjournal.com/bizjournals/how-to/technology/2014/03/why-you-shouldn-t-commit-to-windows-8.html

If you are willing to pay $5-$10 you can download a decent program that will keep you out of the "metro" interface and give you a regular start button that functions like Windows 7.   At that point Windows 8.1 isn't bad, of course I would agree that you should not have to pay for that, but in my case I didn't get to hot and bothered about it since my copy of Windows 8.1 Pro was free through Dreamspark and I got another copy for $15 as it was offered as part of an upgrade for a laptop I had recently purchased.
The "Metro" interface works well on the Windows tablets like the Surface, but for a desktop it just isn't practical. 

I fully agree with points one, two,and four of his article, but point three is the same no matter what OS you use.  Drivers are made by the manufacturers of those products so it is up to them to make compatible drivers, and in many cases the Windows 7 drivers will work just fine on Windows 8 systems.  You run into problems when you upgrade from Windows XP to Windows 7 or 8.  I have a HP CM1017MFP  that prints, scans, and copies and HP decided not to make Windows 7 drivers for it, I had to do a significant amount of research to find out how to get it fully functioning in Windows 7/8

[I-10east]

^^^Fair take Carpnter.

[spuwho]

Per ExtremeTech

Windows 9 coming in 2015, will try its hardest to distance itself from the Windows 8 train wreck

To distance itself from the Windows 8 snafu, Microsoft's next major update — Threshold — will reportedly skip Windows 8.2 and jump straight to Windows 9. Windows 9 is expected to arrive in April 2015, with internal sources saying that Windows 9 will make good on many of the Windows 8 features that caused such cruel and unusual distress to Desktop users. The Start menu is expected to make its illustrious return, and you should be able to run Metro apps on the Desktop in windows. Microsoft is still on schedule to release Windows Phone 8.1 and a service/feature pack for Windows 8.1 at the Build conference in April.

This latest information comes from the ineffable and surprisingly handsome Paul Thurrott, who usually has pretty accurate sources when it comes to Microsoft leaks. We had previously heard about Threshold, but at the time we thought Microsoft would stick with the Windows 8 naming scheme. By moving to Windows 9, it definitely signals that Microsoft is looking to make drastic, significant changes. Windows 8 is almost completely characterized by the maligned Metro Start Screen. We would be surprised if Windows 9 did not change the primary interface in some way, so that it's visually distinct from Windows 8 — so that users know that that it isn't ewww Windows 8. Windows 9 might even boot straight to the Desktop, by default — at least on laptop and desktop PCs, anyway.


Windows 9 is also expected to feature Metro 2.0 — some kind of maturation of the current Metro design language that dominates the Windows 8 Start Screen and apps. It's not immediately clear what Metro 2.0 will be exactly, but part of it appears to be the ability to run Metro apps in separate windows on the Desktop. Presumably, if Metro apps are going to be on the Desktop, they will also gain the ability to be controlled with a mouse and keyboard. (Navigating current Metro apps with your keyboard is unpleasant to say the least.) Windows 9 may also feature complete cross-platform app compatibility between Windows 9, Windows Phone 8.1, and the Xbox One — but really, it's too early to tell at this point.
Sinofsky, holding a Windows 8 Qualcomm Snapdragon-powered tablet (at Build, not CES)

Thurrott's other interesting tidbits revolve around April's Build conference, which occurs a couple of weeks after the company finishes its huge internal reorganization. While the conference will be mostly focused on Windows Phone 8.1 and the Xbox One, there will apparently be a "vision announcement" for Windows 9 — something that we haven't seen since 2003, when Microsoft unveiled Longhorn (which later became Vista). During Sinofsky's rein, Microsoft's Windows division has been incredibly secretive — this Windows 9 keynote probably won't be quite as crazy and freewheeling as the olden days, but Microsoft hopes that it will enough to begin the process of healing the wounds left by Windows 8.

Of course, now that I mention Longhorn, it's impossible to ignore the parallels between Vista and Windows 8. Both were victims of Microsoft's long and slow development cycle: Slow and bloated Vista arrived just as netbooks were taking off, and Windows 8 — though its heart was almost in the right place — was a couple of years too late. Hopefully the successor to Windows 8 will be as good as good as Vista's successor. Microsoft kind of needs a miracle for Windows Phone 8.1, too — if you think that adoption of Windows 8 has been bad, it's even more anemic on the smartphone side of the equation. The next 12-18 months will be very important for Microsoft: It must either field a compelling OS and ecosystem for smartphones and tablets, or it runs the risk of fading into consumer obscurity.

[Lunican]

For those unhappy with Windows 8, take a look at Linux Mint 17. I've been testing it out for a couple weeks and it is working great. I may not go back to Windows at all. http://www.linuxmint.com/

[spuwho]

For those unhappy with Windows 8, take a look at Linux Mint 17. I've been testing it out for a couple weeks and it is working great. I may not go back to Windows at all. http://www.linuxmint.com/

KDE? or xfce?

I run several flavors of Linux but haven't stumbled on the one that suits me just yet.

I had an old ThinkPad Pentium M laptop that I tried to punt XP off of, but all the latest *nix kernels want mandatory access to a CPU register that doesn't exist on the M. It is a great laptop, old, but works great. I finally gave it away.

I have a lot of legacy hardware I deal with and Linux handles them very well, but its the day to day futzing that drives me nuts. It's getting better with each release, but I have yet to go more than 30 days before reverting back to 7.

The whole "I am contracted to write a driver for one OS release only" is undoing Windows from the backside while the GUI is doing it on the front end.