Database Users

[Q] VMware View

hey guys i am an absolute noob at all this stuff, but im a uni student with an a500. It really annoys me that each note taking app just lacks in different ways, but none of them are capable for solid note taking for lectures. Im looking for 'MS word' which for obvious reasons will not pop up on android anytime soon, so i was wondering if i could somehow get windows running on the iconia tab. Im not asking for a dual boot or anything, just like a virtual machine or something, but again, i don't want something like splashtop remoted desktop client or anything, because then i might aswell just use my computer. My tablet is on 3.2.1, so if i have to root it, please tell me that aswell. I downloaded VMware view from the market, but have NO idea whatsoever how to get things running. Please tell me if it is another desktop streamer, because thats not what i wanted at all. If it isnt, then could someone please tell me how to use it?
thankyou

check out splash top in the market. It's cheaper on Amazon app store. You can remote connect to windows even over the internet. If you have wifi at school. Fast enough to stream and play computer games on the tablet.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using Tapatalk

colonel187 said:
check out splash top in the market. It's cheaper on Amazon app store. You can remote connect to windows even over the internet. If you have wifi at school. Fast enough to stream and play computer games on the tablet.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using Tapatalk
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Wow, you didn't read his post at all, did you? He clearly said NO splashtop or such.
As for the OP: no, you cannot run Windows on A500 in any meaningful way. Emulating a complete different architechture would simply bring the tablet down to a crawl. Vmware view afaikis for use with vmware server, btw.

This isn't really an answer to your specific question, but have you tried Freenote from the market? It works pretty well for me, and allows for both typing and freehand writing with a stylus. A bit cumbersome until you get used to it, but after messing with it for a bit, I manage a pretty damn fast freehand writing speed with it.
As far as Windows goes, its like WereCatf said...not a thing available that would do what you want. At least not that I can find.

You can't run windows, but you could use supernote, that's what I use.
It's laying around this forum, just do a search.

WereCatf said:
Wow, you didn't read his post at all, did you? He clearly said NO splashtop or such.
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I must have missed that. Thanks for being an ass hole about it.
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colonel187 said:
I must have missed that. Thanks for being an ass hole about it.
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You're wholly welcome.

VMWare View is not what you are looking for.
View is merely a client to connect and deliver virtual machines from a pre-existing VMWare ESX / vSphere / vCenter setup... which is thousands of dollars in infrastructure and licensing.

The 'next best thing' so to speak would be to run Linux (debian) in a chroot (which is basically a very crude form of virtualization, requiring the two OSes to be similar enough to run on the same kernel)... To run Windoze on a simulated x86 CPU, qemu should work but it'll probably be way too slow (it's slow enough running Android ARM on my 2x2.2GHz machine with hardware virtualization support -- which Tegra doesn't have).
EDIT: The best way to get Linux chroot is to use Linux Installer from the market. Many tutorials on the web tell don't tell you about that, unfortunately.

getting an emulator onto the tablet would waste battery life like crazy.. i see no benefit to running virtualized desktop from the tablet for note taking purposes.
what about just an MS office-like app... OfficeSuite Pro does the job for me with note taking...
it syncs up with google docs / box / and dropbox accounts. paired with my bluetooth keyboard and usb mouse i never have issues taking notes.

First as has already been pointed out emulating windows in order to just take notes is rather stoopid. There are many apps that will let you make and edit word documents quite well. Secondly if you want to do windows things on your tablet, dolphin (or other remote desktop) is the way to go. Hell vmware view is a remote desktop where you are only using a portion of the server. With fast wifi Dolphin is really really nice.

I love windows 8 but...

I have the rtm of pro activated with a legit key for vlsc and when you consider this is supposed to be finished I have found it almost more buggy than release preview. It took ages to get AMD Catalyst installed and it required me to go into device manager to install the driver manually first and that's the windows 8 software. That could be excused its not MS its just beta software. The thing I don't get though is my music plays in media player yet the new metro music app bombs out about 1-2 seconds in on any track and I have tested a few now. The email is almost impossible to work out how to add new email accounts and you can still only have metro apps on one screen and that includes the start menu. This means that even though I have 3 screens if I want to put my email to one side I then have to use that screen for any other work im doing. Yes the multio monitor support has some cool tweeks ie the toolbar on all 3 screens (eyefinity did this anyway) it still ties me to one screen working arg. Also for some reason my ocz agility 3 hard drive only score 6.9 booo something wrong there. Rant over! There is many little bugs crashes but I love the os overall so don't want to look to negative but I was expecting more from rtm.

lumpaywk said:
I have the rtm of pro activated with a legit key for vlsc and when you consider this is supposed to be finished I have found it almost more buggy than release preview. It took ages to get AMD Catalyst installed and it required me to go into device manager to install the driver manually first and that's the windows 8 software. That could be excused its not MS its just beta software. The thing I don't get though is my music plays in media player yet the new metro music app bombs out about 1-2 seconds in on any track and I have tested a few now. The email is almost impossible to work out how to add new email accounts and you can still only have metro apps on one screen and that includes the start menu. This means that even though I have 3 screens if I want to put my email to one side I then have to use that screen for any other work im doing. Yes the multio monitor support has some cool tweeks ie the toolbar on all 3 screens (eyefinity did this anyway) it still ties me to one screen working arg. Also for some reason my ocz agility 3 hard drive only score 6.9 booo something wrong there. Rant over! There is many little bugs crashes but I love the os overall so don't want to look to negative but I was expecting more from rtm.
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you cant really hold MS to blame for shoddy driver support on an unreleased product from manufactures who haven't released final drivers (graphics and HDD) the multi monitor thing is a bit of a pain, and the email accounts couldn't be simpler, Media player bombing out sounds like a pretty serious issue and I suspect yet another driver related issue given that its not widespread and so far as I can tell, user specific, which is likely hardware specific
What is lost upon Mac users is that Windows must support a near limitless set of hardware combos, the mere fact it works on most computers is a huge achievement, unfortunately it can have its problems, I have audio issues as well, I very much doubt my sound card manufacture will get new drivers out and will more than likely force me to change hardware, that's a pain, but it is also good business sense

Don't worry bro. I have the same problems. Release Preview is buggy as all hell.
My WMP won't even open without instantly freezing. I've tried both 32 and 64-bit versions. They do open separately without having to use hacks, which I will give it to MS, it's about time.
The mail app barely opens. You have to restart the whole computer to get it working again.
W8 HATES Google Chrome browser. Constantly locking up. Google needs to get it together with that one. I've always hated IE, but since it's 64-bit native, it seems to perform quite nicely. Just need to find some sort of extension to block ads and I'd be good to go. They seem to have made quite the number of improvements to it since last I used it.
Menu options such as "Print" and "delete" have disappeared from the PDF app. They were present in the Consumer and Developers previews.
I have an HP Presario DV7-6165us Notebook, and believe it or not, I think the graphics work better with W8 built-in drivers than the AMD Catalyst ones I later decided to install. It was the same story when I used CP and DP. All the built-in drivers seem to have better performance. Especially the Wifi ones. Bluetooth stock drivers even run everything I need and connect my devices flawlessly, but when I install drivers from HP designed for W7 64-bit, we have problems.
Normal, 3rd party applications freeze on a regular basis. Can't blame MS for that. It's the devs of the applications we have to complain to in order to get them to develop compatibility with W8.

I personally haven't had any compatibility issues with my software, and I had already ironed out a way to install my modded graphics drivers in CP and RP. Chrome works great. Bear in mind I'm running the x86 version as oppose to the x64 one. Overall it runs even better than the previews and the only let down for me was the lack of new features from preview to rtm.
Sent from my Amazon Kindle Fire using xda app-developers app

I feel really stupid in the fact that I accidentally did an upgrade install. *facepalm*
Did a custom after "refreshing" the OS, which was a nightmare to complete anyways... but now that's it's pretty much stock, everything works again. XD

dazza9075 said:
you cant really hold MS to blame for shoddy driver support on an unreleased product from manufactures who haven't released final drivers (graphics and HDD) the multi monitor thing is a bit of a pain, and the email accounts couldn't be simpler, Media player bombing out sounds like a pretty serious issue and I suspect yet another driver related issue given that its not widespread and so far as I can tell, user specific, which is likely hardware specific
What is lost upon Mac users is that Windows must support a near limitless set of hardware combos, the mere fact it works on most computers is a huge achievement, unfortunately it can have its problems, I have audio issues as well, I very much doubt my sound card manufacture will get new drivers out and will more than likely force me to change hardware, that's a pain, but it is also good business sense
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Ahhhhh, yes, the "Mac hardware is easy" fable. I love this one. I would type more, but apple patented something I'm doing on my Android phone, so I'll be arrested any moment...

Most of my issues are driver based and so not down to MS directly. My gripe is that this stuff was working in the preview so whatever changes MS made has now brocken almost half of the drivers that did work. Getting my Catalyst to work was a pain but it now does though it took me to manually install the driver then install the software. I will swap out my Asrock motherboard for a sabertooth r2 but i cant see many people wanting to make such changes.
My main MS gripe is the multi monitor support after they made such a big deal about it and it does not do the most basic of functions. this is not an early build driver issue this is a problem with the OS. Plus its one that cant be fixed with a link on the taskbar like the lack of start button. TBH im wandaring what AMD has up its sleaves for eyefinity and how they can get around hot corners(at the mo i turn off outside of games windows+p). Another issue is the music app, this is a bug, i dont know how widespread and once again will be down to some 3rd party but there is nothing that any normal user would not have and media player works so its not down to mp3 drivers or currupt files etc.
As for Macs they have tons of issues themselves and the new OS hardly works on anything. Apple is miles behind and its just thanks to a great marketing dept and the easy peer presure of the modern word that they have become so huge.

Apparently the amd v9 driver works better than the 1 designed for RP

ohgood said:
Ahhhhh, yes, the "Mac hardware is easy" fable. I love this one. I would type more, but apple patented something I'm doing on my Android phone, so I'll be arrested any moment...
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no one said it was easy as such, but if you design an OS around a piece of hardware then it will (you would hope) have been run through the grinder a lot more. Until this last decade trying to get most 3rd party hardware to run on a mac was a pain in the arse, made much easier with the move to x86 I might add but still, its not a fable, unless Apples testing programs are as crap as its customer service!

lumpaywk said:
I have the rtm of pro activated with a legit key for vlsc and when you consider this is supposed to be finished I have found it almost more buggy than release preview. It took ages to get AMD Catalyst installed and it required me to go into device manager to install the driver manually first and that's the windows 8 software. That could be excused its not MS its just beta software. The thing I don't get though is my music plays in media player yet the new metro music app bombs out about 1-2 seconds in on any track and I have tested a few now. The email is almost impossible to work out how to add new email accounts and you can still only have metro apps on one screen and that includes the start menu. This means that even though I have 3 screens if I want to put my email to one side I then have to use that screen for any other work im doing. Yes the multio monitor support has some cool tweeks ie the toolbar on all 3 screens (eyefinity did this anyway) it still ties me to one screen working arg. Also for some reason my ocz agility 3 hard drive only score 6.9 booo something wrong there. Rant over! There is many little bugs crashes but I love the os overall so don't want to look to negative but I was expecting more from rtm.
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I have problems to with amd proc and.ati video drivers
Sent from my LG-P970 using xda premium

If it's an ati mobility card then Google search mobility modder, that's how I got mine to work.
Sent from my Amazon Kindle Fire using xda app-developers app

ArchangelRenzoku said:
W8 HATES Google Chrome browser. Constantly locking up. Google needs to get it together with that one. I've always hated IE, but since it's 64-bit native, it seems to perform quite nicely. Just need to find some sort of extension to block ads and I'd be good to go. They seem to have made quite the number of improvements to it since last I used it.
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http://www.bing.com/search?q=tracking+protection+lists&src=IE-TopResult&FORM=IE10TR

Well, that all is the reason why RTM is getting available today to Technet and MSDN subscribers and only gets released to regular consumers in October. Developers at hardware companies need to adapt some of their drivers and many things they have to do can only be done now that Microsoft has finished development.
Most of those issues will likely be resolved before Windows 8 hits the streets. I guess most people will get it with a new PC anyway and at least there I expect it to work without problems.

StevieBallz said:
Well, that all is the reason why RTM is getting available today to Technet and MSDN subscribers and only gets released to regular consumers in October. Developers at hardware companies need to adapt some of their drivers and many things they have to do can only be done now that Microsoft has finished development.
Most of those issues will likely be resolved before Windows 8 hits the streets. I guess most people will get it with a new PC anyway and at least there I expect it to work without problems.
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yes just hours now from my Technet download The metro screen issue is still bugging me and i dont see that getting fixed untill blue/windows 8.5. I dont think MS even sees it as an issue yet. My Graphics are working like a charm now bar it seems my fan runs between 80-100% all the time even with low temps so i dont see it being long before thats fixed. Asus has there official drivers out already (gutted now i chose asrock over them but you live and learn). I hope meia center goes live today aswell, i dont really use it much now as my pc is in my living room not the bedroom but its nice to have. just hope music app now works as i really like the look of it and useing zune now just feels old school (shame they droped the zune line would of been good to see an update on the player and had everything work together)
ps love the choice of phone the titan rocks \m/

Question before installing Windows 8?

1. If Im running windows 7 64bit, can I upgrade to a windows 8 64bit right from windows 7 without having to format hard drive?
2. If so, can I create a restore point in windows 7 in case I want to go back once windows 8 is installed?
Any other suggestions would be appreciated.

For question 1, yes, this is what I did.
For question 2 I don't know.

SysAdmNj said:
1. If Im running windows 7 64bit, can I upgrade to a windows 8 64bit right from windows 7 without having to format hard drive?
2. If so, can I create a restore point in windows 7 in case I want to go back once windows 8 is installed?
Any other suggestions would be appreciated.
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yes you can. the installer will give you options on what you want to keep
no. you must create a restore image on an external hard drive if you want to return back to windows 7

In-place upgrades are possible and are technically a supported scenario, but they are a *terrible* idea. They are, at best, going to save you a bit of time reinstalling apps (even though the install process itself takes vastly longer when doing an in-place upgrade, so I'm not sure it's a net positive even there). At worst, you'll end up with an unbootable system due to an unexpected driver incompatibility or something silly like that, lose all your data, and need to reformat and do a clean install anyhow. The usual result is somewhere in between; your system will be less stable than it should be, will take longer to boot up, some programs won't work after the upgrade and will need to be reinstalled anyhow, and at some point in the near-ish future (six months to two years) your systme will develop odd misbehaviors that will require you to effectively reinstall WIndows anyhow (that's what the refresh and reset operations in Win8 basically do, with or without preserving your files, respectively).
Also, if you opt for a clean install, you'll know you have a backup of all your data. That's pretty valuable. You can (and should; the bit about the upgrade failing and you losing access to your data was not a joke) make such a backup anyhow, of course.
As for being able to revert to Win7, the only way that'll happen is if you back up the whole system drive. Restore points don't work between major versions; if you do an in-place upgrade, you won't be able to downgrade it again short of restoring a backup or wiping the system and instally Win7 cleanly.

I did it
SysAdmNj said:
1. If Im running windows 7 64bit, can I upgrade to a windows 8 64bit right from windows 7 without having to format hard drive?
2. If so, can I create a restore point in windows 7 in case I want to go back once windows 8 is installed?
Any other suggestions would be appreciated.
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Click to collapse
After doing an in place Upgrade on my box i hope my story will help you.
I simply couldn't resist the offer MS made 'til 28 Feb 2013 so i downloaded Windows 8 64 Bit to my Laptop and after the Upgrade Assistant gave me a green light and promised except for the ATI drivers everything should work out i started the upgrade. After roughly 4 h the Upgrade process was done and windows 8 ready. Even the mentioned ATI driver was not a big problem because after the initial upgrade windows 8 asked if i would care to update it and did so.
Windows 8 is creating a Backup of your current installation so there is a restore point you can use. I did not try it out and after 2 weeks i deleted the restore Point.
So far so good. The installation wasn't that complicated. Unfortunately after that i could no longer install any Program or update. The reason behind it was that the upgrade process is exchanging something in the users Registry and after that the security checks simply denied me access to the file System. Even booting in recovery mode did not help (just like my Android GBook tablet at the moment ) . Only way to cope this was to create a new User with Admin Rights as a replacement. Doing so one of my document Folders got lost in transition. I still have no Idea what happened but after moving a Folder from MyDocuments user old to MyDocouments user new the Move process suddenly died and the files where gone. I did have a Backup so luckily it was just annoying but still gave me a rough time figuring out what happened.
You will probably be bothered to reinstall some applications (MS Apps will work) and the new interface is something to get used to for a Lot of Developers.
My System turned quiet a bit slower because of the ever running index service etc. Indexing is even denying write access to newly created files quite regularly and you will have to wait for it to finish before file operations are possible. You definitively have to tune system services if you want a system that is not slowing you down.
My final advice after 2 Month using Win8?
Don't do an in place upgrade it if you don't have to. Windows 7 was working perfectly for me. After 15 years of IT Support under my belly (even thou most of it doing Back-office Servers) Win7 felt like an OS that wasn't in the way and did a great Job. Windows 8 will get in your way via slowing down your Box and making steps that were natural in win7 more cumbersome.
Especially System settings are more or less hidden (because the average "dummy" user needs to be protected from it :silly: ) and are hard to find. Turning every entry in your Start menu into an Metro Icon does not Help either. It's just messing up your start screen. Be Prepared to switch between metro and "normal Desktop" quite often if you are still using "older" programs. Even if you don't want to your Program will decide for you .
I think a fresh install helps in that category because it might make it easier to "switch your mind" to the new environment. It will also be a chance to clean your System of old and rarely used programs.
If you still want your Upgrade make sure your Backups are up to date and Working!
Hope this is helping you out.
Cheers
Lanman99

Thanks for enlightening us on the new screw-ups and mishaps of Win8 upgrades. The availability of the downgrade restore point is a new and welcome change, but the rest sounds about right for an upgrade.
Four hours to upgrade (when a clean install takes 15 minutes): check
Permissions messed up afterward: check
Performace actually decreased (even though a clean install of Win8 performs better than a clean install of Win7 on the same hardware): check
Data loss (your Documents folder): check
As for your points re: Win8 itself: first of all, if your only experience with it is based on that abomination of an in-place upgraded system, assume everything you "know" about the OS from that experience is wrong. I've been running Win8 for ~1.5 years now (counting betas) and have never had the problem with indexing service (which runs low-priority and doesn't take system resources that you're trying to use for anything else), data loss from library or folder movement, or any of the other problems you mention. I did try an upgrade install during the betas, but the result was trash - a bunch of features didn't work afterward, and the performance was worse than it should be - and the response when I reported the issues was "do a clean install". Upgrade installs are only *technically* supported; even MS thinks they're a bad idea.
Judging on OS based on an upgrade install is like judging a car model based on taking that car's interior and body, but replacing the engine, transmission, suspension, electronics, wheels, brakes, lights, and wipers with random junk you pulled out of a wrecking yard (without checking the original model) and beat into shape with a hammer and a hacksaw. Sure, it *looks* like it's easier (cheaper than making the needed money to buy the actual model) than buying a new car, and if you're really careful and moderately lucky, it will actually run pretty well and not strand you in the middle of nowhere or burst into flame or something awkward like that. It's going to be a complete pain in the ass to maintain though, you'll end up having spent a ton of time hacking it together in the first place and then keeping it running until you quickly pass the point where it would have been easier to just get the new car, and in the meantime it will never perform as well as it "should" have. Putting a bunch of junk car parts in a BMW body does not mean you're driving a BMW.
By the way, those problems that I didn't have? That even includes the "switching back and forth" thing, because I found it was a lot better to just not use Metro at all. I treat the Start screen the same way I treat the Start menu on older NT6.x versions: an irrelevant graphical thing that pops up for the half second where I type the name of a program I want, in between when I hit the Windows key and when I hit Enter. I pinned my most-used apps to the taskbar. My typical admin stuff is on the Win+X (or right-click the Start button - yes, there is one, it's just hidden until you hover over it) menu. Outlook is a better mail client than Mail, and better scheduling tool than Calendar. Pidgin is better than Messenger. If for some reason I want to log into Facebook, I have this thing called a "web browser" (which runs in a window, with all its features instead of a crippled subset of them, thank you very much).
Metro Skype is good enough I do use it sometimes, although I snap it to one edge of my (very wide) screen so it doesn't get in the way; I've considered going back to desktop Skype anyhow. Desktop SkyDrive is much better than the Metro one. Same for desktop OneNote vs. the Metro version. The only Metro apps I actually use much are games, and frankly I don't use Metro games that often on my main (desktop) Win8 box; why would I, when I could play Eve Online or Civilization / Alpha Centauri instead?

I only had the problem of a few games and visual studio needing a reinstall on my upgraded system. Not one of the other issues mentioned.
Oh, also had an issue where before the update it said my GPU drivers wouldn't work post upgrade, they did and as soon as I upgraded I was able to obtain native windows 8 drivers anyway. My integrated GPU was fine.

GoodDayToDie said:
Thanks for enlightening us on the new screw-ups and mishaps of Win8 upgrades. The availability of the downgrade restore point is a new and welcome change, but the rest sounds about right for an upgrade....
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Abomination is probably a bit harsh (i'm still working on that monster )
Don't get me wrong. I don't wan't to bash windows 8 for the sake of it. I just don't see a urgent reason to advise SysAdmNj to upgrade. Especially not an in-place upgrade. And i definitely agree that a clean install is the first choice to move to any new OS.
BUT surprisingly i pulled the same stunt growing from Vista to win7 on my Dell Studio 17 which went great. I had 1 issue with the on-board camera but other than that my notebook was running better, faster and more stable afterward and that was the primary reason why i tried it again with win7 to win8 on my lenovo. Still i got it working and at least it gave me valuable support experience and it's a dirty job but somebody...
Reason to try Metro is also based on my Idea to stay ahead of my Users. I think Metrostyle systems will be heading in our direction if we want it or not. It is to tempting for the marketing branches of our major OS vendors so i keep tinkering with it.
That "Back and Forth" simply lies in the program designs. It will just take me some time to get used to it, sorry but i'm old ).
Some of my apps (namely Hotmail which became Outlook) are seamlessly integrated and as you already mentioned much better than before most others are still written for WinXP/Vista/7 and will bring you back to familiar havens. Internet is done by a heavily customized FF portable, so carefree covered.
My main critique boils down to System settings Metro style. A lot of settings, tools and tweaks which grew into supporters hands look castrated to fit the average users need. That really is annoying. It looks i have to brush up on system scripting skills to support my colleagues. Thought i could get away with less typing these days :crying:.
...and yes switching a self patched '74 Beetle engine in a 2013 Beamer won't make a Racing machine but it looks funny trying to get away with it .

Right click the start icon on the desktop and there is a control panel link. Just the same as win7

SixSixSevenSeven said:
Right click the start icon on the desktop and there is a control panel link. Just the same as win7
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Yes if you are on your desktop. Starting up Metro won't give you that. You have to switch to your Desktop first. Or activate "All Apps" and sidescroll to Systemsettings. Besides it is not integrated which leads you again to your Desktop.
So System Settings = getting around Metro. The Settings Metro offers are still limited. Which IMHO is not a good way to do it. Yes it sounds nitpicking but if MS decides to get completely rid of our beloved Desktop, Metro is all you get.
But as i said, maybe just getting old...

On the metro start screen if you start typing it automatically fires up search. Type control and usually control panel is right there in front of you. Very quick and metro based.
But I agree, we could do with a native metro control panel.

SixSixSevenSeven said:
On the metro start screen if you start typing it automatically fires up search. Type control and usually control panel is right there in front of you. Very quick and metro based.
But I agree, we could do with a native metro control panel.
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In windows 8.2, there is supposed to be the Pc settings with more options like power options in it. This will not get rid of the desktop control panel though
Sent from my Kindle Fire using Tapatalk 2

Maybe I should have created a poll. Should I stay on windows 7 or upgrade?
I dont know now. I'm not crazy about windows 8. I'm fine on windows 7. Thing is most laptops come with windows 8 so I thought I might as well start familiarizing myself more. Although to be honest I think even if I was to buy a new laptop with windows 8, I would just clone that image and just restore a windows 7 image with all my apps etc. That or just change the hdd with mines
But thanks for all the insights.

Win8 does perform better, and has some cool new features (built-in ISO mounting, for example, is long overdue). If you do what I do, and mostly treat it as Win7 that has one more slot on the Taskbar than normal, it's a great OS. There are some things that mildly bug me, like the removal of window border transparency, but that's hardly a big deal.
The Win+X menu (or right-click on Start) can be done from anywhere; you don't have to be on the Desktop already. Selecting the Control Panel from that menu will open up the Desktop-mode Control Panel whether you're in the Desktop, the Start screen, or some Metro app.

I actually prefer the lack of border transparency and the flat colours etc, guess that's just personal preference though.

If you have a spare box--techies should always have a spare box--pop Win8 onto it to play around. If you're happy with Win7, I'd stick with that for your production box(es).
It's OK to skip Win8 (and 8.1). It's a transition rev, and biz won't migrate to it. There'll be more changes when Win9 rolls out next year, so even if you're set on sticking with Win, you can save half the work by jumping on Win9 then, because sure as heck you won't stay with 8.x when 9 is out.
Basically, if it's fun, then do it. If it's work, then don't.

There hasn't even been so much as a hint from Microsoft that there will be a windows 9 any time soon. I think we're in for a few more years of updates yet, windows 8 can still be "fixed".

Microsft stated - over a year ago, I think - that Windows was moving to an annual, smaller-releases cycle. Win8 and WP8 were the first OSed released after that announcement, with "Blue" for Windows and Windows Phone expected later this year (about one year after the W*8 releases). WP9-related job postings, referencing that OS by name/number, have already been posted on LinkedIn as well.

Is the new Windows 8 finally worth the transition from 7?

My biggest fear is that troubleshooting, and the hell hole of creating network drives, sharing permissions and all kinds of other thigns I had to do to stream my Media to my android and PS3 will just repeat itself or get worst if I upgrade.
What are the general experiences with media and directory sharing on Windows 8 vs Windows 7? Can you drop all of Microsoft's security mechanisms as a whole?

hm
write a simple script for your network file sharing, are you doing an upgrade or going from scratch?

buffalosolja42 said:
write a simple script for your network file sharing, are you doing an upgrade or going from scratch?
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Unsure about that. I would like to from scratch since if I do make the move to Windows 8 I will probably load it onto an SSD and have two HDDs for storage

Wrong forum, mate. This is Windows Phone 8. The Windows 8 forum is over there. Please ask a moderator to move this thread.

I was shocked with how stable Windows 7 is, it very rarely freezes or reboots etc.
I can't believe how often Windows 8 freezes, reboots, fails to start, can't diagnose startup problems or if it does, I do it 3 times and somehow it finds a problem on the third time, why is that?
I use exactly the same programs on each OS. I have used 8 preview, 8 and now 8.1 each one is unstable and creates problems. For a desktop user, it's a nightmare.

SharpnShiny said:
I was shocked with how stable Windows 7 is, it very rarely freezes or reboots etc.
I can't believe how often Windows 8 freezes, reboots, fails to start, can't diagnose startup problems or if it does, I do it 3 times and somehow it finds a problem on the third time, why is that?
I use exactly the same programs on each OS. I have used 8 preview, 8 and now 8.1 each one is unstable and creates problems. For a desktop user, it's a nightmare.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have been running windows 8 on my daily use machine since the week it launched, not once has it frozen, rebooted or failed to boot. Nor have I heard of such prolific issues from anyone else

Honestly I threw 8.1 preview on one of two new boxes at home, 7 Ultimate on the other.
Both with SSD caching and boot times are similar. Performance also seems similar.
I got one copy of 8 for one system and one for the other.
Metro was made for touch screens (and is great with one) - but the box with 8 will never have it.
So I have it boot straight to desktop and I'll live on the desktop except for occasionally finding an app.
(Think I might look at that Pokki or other start menu alternatives..)

If you have a touch screen go 8. If you don't stick with 7...

According to me it is not up to the mark...... 7 is better may be future updates may change my attitude...
Sent from my Xperia U using xda app-developers app

I cannot find *one* thing superior in windows 7 to windows 8 bar the fact that driver signature enforcement is enabled (but can be disabled for a single boot if you need to install some drivers anyway, once installed an unsigned driver will work fine after a reboot).
Start button being absent like everyone complains about. Who seriously uses the start button? All it does is let you launch programs or shut the PC down. Well I can launch programs just fine from desktop (albeit I like a clean desktop so don't), task bar, start screen or via search. Search is easy to get to, hit the windows key to go to the start screen, start typing and it immediately searches for that program. Shutdown, I never shut down from the start bar anyway and haven't in years, Control-Alt-Delete, or charms bar > settings > Power > Shutdown. Or windows key + D to go to desktop (or the button on the task bar, or some other way that I don't care to mention) and hit alt-F4 and windows will prompt for shutdown. Admin functions like control panel etc, hold the windows key and press X, a menu appears where the start button used to reside and lists most useful functions immediately, or you can move the mouse into the bottom left so the button to go to the start screen appears and then right click it.
Metro/Start as they prefer to call it that (seriously, they dropped the metro name way before full release) you look at for all of 2 seconds. I have a tile on it to go to desktop, but prefer to use windows key + D. Other than that, I actually use it with tiles for my favourite programs neatly pinned to it.
The start button is archaic. I saw someone saying that its impossible to throw away years of using a start button, I honestly wondered who was still using it, it was hideous. I got my first PC when I was 8, 2002 if you must know. At the age of 8 you learn to do things 1 way and usually stick to that. Yet I got windows 8 shortly after release (it was still during the discounted price period) and adapted to the lack of start bar within an hour, prior to that I was a heavy computer user. There we go, 11/12 years of heavy computer usage with the start bar being present and I throw it out within an hour. That was so hard.
Things change. Deal with it. The start button has been with us for how long and it is finally old enough that it needs putting to rest. Once upon a time we only used "primitive" command line entry systems (many still do), many of those users were angry when the modern desktop appeared, now its commonplace.

SixSixSevenSeven;45816830 ...
Start button being absent like everyone complains about. Who seriously uses the start button?[/QUOTE said:
Are you serious?
Given that Windows 8 has been dubbed the new Vista by many major publications, computer experts and power PC users, and that one of the biggest complaints among these users and businesses in surveys and that feedback from multiple major global PC manufacturers from consumers that the Start Menu was one of their key issues, given that the largest computer manufactuer by sales - Lenovo has intervened and preinstalled the free Start Menu replacement Pokki on all new Windows 8 machines, given the sheer amount of questions on this site about the Start Menu, give the huge number of sales of 3rd party software that replace the missing Start Menu (such as Start8) I would say many, many, many of us use the Start Button and the Start Menu.
Logical error #1 'If I have no use for this, then no one else does' ...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Vista came out six years ago. Huge numbers of people *still* actually go into a menu structure to find their programs instead of just typing a few letters of the program name or description or executable file name, then hitting Enter.
The only conclusion I've been able to draw from this is that the majority of computer users are, in effect, idiots. This seems somewhat unlikely, but I'm pretty sure that recognizing the advantages in speed and convenience do not require above-average intelligence, yet people still fail to take advantage of it.
The Start screen is irrelevant to me, aside from its segregation of search results (fixed in 8.1 anyhow). The demand for Start Menu replacements says an awful lot about the intelligence of the Windows userbase, more than about the quality of the OS in general. With that said, I will grant that the Windows devs may have screwed up by failing to take into consideration just how dumb their target market is (at least with regard to computers).
Educating them - on a grand scale, the way MS did for the Start button in Win95 - might work. It would be interesting to see. The MS of today seems completely incapable of effective marketing and communication compared to the Microsoft of yesteryear, though.

In my opinion, Windows 8 is a great system for what is under the hood. The system and startup is dramatically feature and has much more safety features built in. The fact that Microsoft built in Microsoft Security Essentials means that you no longer have to deal with anti-virus and firewall stuff and since it is built in, it doesnt slow down your system anymore is a bonus. Also, the new backup features, performance tools and task manager are greatly improves and much better then recent versions.
As for the metro (or "modern") garbage, If you are using your PC as umm.. a PC it is really un-needed and unnecesary but is easy to get rid of using third party apps to get you back to the Windows 7 style desktop. I currently use Startisback which also makes other desktop changes to get rid of metro completely. If you want apps, installed Google Chrome and use Google's new desktop apps. This would also make it much easier for Android users as everything pretty much syncs with the phone.
One small other "rant" make sure you use a uxtheme patcher and a visual style... whose idea at Microsoft was it to use black text in the window border but white text on the taskbar?
In my opinion that gives me the best of all worlds.

SharpnShiny said:
Are you serious?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually I am. I find the idea of the start button to just be obsolete and the new system to be FASTER for power users who can be bothered to get their heads out of their asses and adapt to change.

SixSixSevenSeven said:
Actually I am. I find the idea of the start button to just be obsolete and the new system to be FASTER for power users who can be bothered to get their heads out of their asses and adapt to change.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes because clicking then moving your hands to the keyboard then typing is so much better than click click and click.
Saves movement, saves time but I guess it's just obsolete

hakcenter said:
Yes because clicking then moving your hands to the keyboard then typing is so much better than click click and click.
Saves movement, saves time but I guess it's just obsolete
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
don't need the mouse to navigate windows 8 itself. See that lovely windows logo key, press it, takes you straight to the start screen where you can start typing. Want to get to the settings charm to shut down the pc, windows key + I, if you want you can even navigate that menu with the arrow keys but alternatively the icons are large so easy to hit with a nice imprecise high speed mouse movement. Windows key + X, opens a menu with things like control panel and device manager etc, in this list each item has a single character somewhere within the item name underscored, press thus character and it selects that menu option, Win + X and then C opens the command prompt for example. Very little mouse use is required, can do most things for windows 8 itself (except apps and desktop programs) with just a keyboard.

tp2215 said:
...
One small other "rant" make sure you use a uxtheme patcher and a visual style... whose idea at Microsoft was it to use black text in the window border but white text on the taskbar?
In my opinion that gives me the best of all worlds.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Could you recommend a uxtheme? You use it to restore some Windows 7 font/UI right? Do you restore glass/Aero? I've been using Start8 which I like a lot, but for the other features they really want you to pay at several gates...in the end, making Win8 look a bit more like Win 7 costs a small fortune with them.
edit - I just spotted the popular early mod of aero in 8 has come out of beta and is still free: http://glass8.berlios.de/
This update is really interesting...it's Aero Glass within a Win 8 framework...it's a curious UI mix.

SharpnShiny said:
Could you recommend a uxtheme? You use it to restore some Windows 7 font/UI right? Do you restore glass/Aero? I've been using Start8 which I like a lot, but for the other features they really want you to pay at several gates...in the end, making Win8 look a bit more like Win 7 costs a small fortune with them.
edit - I just spotted the popular early mod of aero in 8 has come out of beta and is still free: http://glass8.berlios.de/
This update is really interesting...it's Aero Glass within a Win 8 framework...it's a curious UI mix. *pets cat and ponders*
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For some great uxtheme just search around deviantart here is a good place to start http://www.deviantart.com/customization/skins/. There are lots of them scattered around that, if anything, will restore the look back to Windows 7. Most of them have versions that will also tie right into the aero mod that you mentioned. One word of advice though from expereince, if the pc wants to update, switch back to default style before restarting. Microsoft released several updates that seem to "softbrick' your pc if the patch is installed. It will just boot with a black screen and the only way to repair would be to refresh or system restore.

hakcenter said:
Yes because clicking then moving your hands to the keyboard then typing is so much better than click click and click.
Saves movement, saves time but I guess it's just obsolete
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just for the record, the keyboard is always faster than the mouse.

mcosmin222 said:
Just for the record, the keyboard is always faster than the mouse.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not when you count time from shifting your hands from the mouse to the keyboard.
Like browsing the web, then you wanted to open up Photoshop well now your up crap Creek cause you can't just have a simple shortcut on the ready.
Anyone defending the missing power user feature of having a central location for common tasks is just sailing their boat to no where. Especially when you look at the fact the guy that pressed for 8 was fired... Yawn.
Watch the next windows brings it back then all you crazy dudes won't find a single utility to remove the menu cause it's just stupidity at it's finest.

What do you Think of Technical Preview

This thread is to discuss the Windows 10 Technical Preview. Some things can be things that you like and don't like about it and bugs you have come across while testing it out. Here are some things I like about it.
Pros:
- Start menu has returned (yes I'm a laptop user and this is very welcoming for me)
- Seems to use slightly less RAM than Windows 8 did and a good bit less than 7 did.
- Most apps and programs seem to work without any problems or compatibility issues.
- You can now run modern apps from within the desktop which helped solve the two-faced issue that Windows 8 suffered from
- Multiple desktop support, something Linux and Mac have been able to do for years now.
- You can now create desktop shortcuts for modern apps
Cons:
- With there being practically no window boarder, some programs may look weird or render improperly
(example: there is a dark bar under the close button in Chrome EDIT: Chrome has been updated and doesn't do this anymore)
- Windows Explorer may freeze up and stop responding for about 30 seconds (it usually will work again when you close the Explorer window and reopen it)
- Charms work on the desktop, but not in modern apps (Charms are completely gone in build 9926, but it doesn't bother me)
- You can't remove or move the search or task view on the taskbar (I find them useful, but I know the shortcuts for them and they just add clutter to my taskbar EDIT: It's been fixed for a while I know, but I never updated the thread for it)
- Navigating the task view can be a bit cumbersome and your added desktops don't save.
Bugs I've come across:
- Textbox went away at the lockscreen, forcing me to restart
- Snap is currently broken. I can only snap one window but I can't snap another window while the first one is snapped (EDIT: This issue seemed to fix itself after restarting my computer. Snap works properly now after rebooting)
- Second display support is currently broken. When you plug a laptop or tablet to a screen wit ha higher resolution while the computer is either off or asleep, you will be greeted with either a black or blue screen, which also forces you to restart (fixed with October 2014 patch)
Workarounds:
These are temporary workarounds to fix various issues, bugs or annoyances in Technical Preview
- To be able to snap two windows, snap your first window and then minimize it. Open or select your second window and snap it to the other side. Bring back up your first window and both windows should be equally split across the screen.
- To use a second screen, tun on your computer and log on before connecting it to a second screen. Also, unplug the second screen before putting your computer to sleep, or else you will have the same problem

I'm a laptop user - is it still possible to keep the Windows 8 style start menu? I prefer that, better to make full use my 17" screen, rather than the imo annoying Windows 7 menu that opened up in a postage-stamp-sized window.
I had multiple desktops on my Amiga 19 years ago Though the downside is it's harder to do things like drag and drop, and more confusing keeping track of where things are. Can't say I've missed them.
I agree it's annoying if the search button can't be removed - similarly it's annoying they stuck the start button back in Windows 8.1. I know the shortcuts for keyboard, and the hotspot worked fine with a mouse/touchpad. Particularly annoying on my 10" Transformer Book where I have less screen space.

mdwh said:
I'm a laptop user - is it still possible to keep the Windows 8 style start menu? I prefer that, better to make full use my 17" screen, rather than the imo annoying Windows 7 menu that opened up in a postage-stamp-sized window.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In the taskbar properties, you can customize the Windows 10 start menu settings. Here you can activate start menu as well kown of Windows 8 by turning off the Windows 10 start menu.

Tested it and removed it. Nothing to see if your not an developer or IT pro. And the fact that you can only use
it when your online, or at least use an online account just creeps me out. It looks like MS is going to close the
system up and demanding users to use cloud based systems. In other words, there getting even more on the
data mining bandwagon. And closing it up is hoping an new bread of developers will commit to Windows again.
Which isn't all that bad if the price and quality of the apps get way better then they are now.
Sure, they call it an tech preview, but they obviously already have the thing ready. The tech demo is buggy
by design that's for sure. And the start menu, if that is going to be the way it's going to be, is just silly and boring.
Must be an prank, surly they can come up with something more inspired. Using windowed apps on the desktop, an
sell point. seriously? Been doing that from Windows 8. Other features underlined for the time beeing all boring!
So move along, nothing to see for now.
All in all, if the preview is any indication, it will be nothing to write home about. For the average user.
Just the same old thing again. Except if the apps get consistent design! Not that oldskool Windows crap.
I have been using Windows from 1.0 or at least 30 years in my case. And its still flat and squared. Just saying...
XP endured for 10 years. Sure, it was an robust OS after win 9x, I loved it. Also loved 95-98 NT2000, so..
But was also glad to see Vista(..) after all those years working with the same old thing. Windows 7(what Vista should have been) was sweet but eventually quickly broken. 8 an experiment. 8.1.1 what 8 should have been to start with. Now that I am no longer in IT for some years, I hope that windows 10 will amuse me like Android or Mac does for Apple users. But respect individuality and freedom within the os. No forced net hookup and no extra data mining/spying.
With that out of the way, Windows 10 is either going to be an NT2000, Vista or a 8 seeing that 8.1.1 is just getting momentum and an base in the tablet segment.
What is there to think about Windows 10 Preview, if you are just an user, nothing. Just being an bore

Buggster said:
Tested it and removed it. Nothing to see if your not an developer or IT pro. And the fact that you can only use
it when your online, or at least use an online account just creeps me out. It looks like MS is going to close the
system up and demanding users to use cloud based systems. In other words, there getting even more on the
data mining bandwagon. And closing it up is hoping an new bread of developers will commit to Windows again.
Which isn't all that bad if the price and quality of the apps get way better then they are now.
Sure, they call it an tech preview, but they obviously already have the thing ready. The tech demo is buggy
by design that's for sure. And the start menu, if that is going to be the way it's going to be, is just silly and boring.
Must be an prank, surly they can come up with something more inspired. Using windowed apps on the desktop, an
sell point. seriously? Been doing that from Windows 8. Other features underlined for the time beeing all boring!
So move along, nothing to see for now.
All in all, if the preview is any indication, it will be nothing to write home about. For the average user.
Just the same old thing again. Except if the apps get consistent design! Not that oldskool Windows crap.
I have been using Windows from 1.0 or at least 30 years in my case. And its still flat and squared. Just saying...
XP endured for 10 years. Sure, it was an robust OS after win 9x, I loved it. Also loved 95-98 NT2000, so..
But was also glad to see Vista(..) after all those years working with the same old thing. Windows 7(what Vista should have been) was sweet but eventually quickly broken. 8 an experiment. 8.1.1 what 8 should have been to start with. Now that I am no longer in IT for some years, I hope that windows 10 will amuse me like Android or Mac does for Apple users. But respect individuality and freedom within the os. No forced net hookup and no extra data mining/spying.
With that out of the way, Windows 10 is either going to be an NT2000, Vista or a 8 seeing that 8.1.1 is just getting momentum and an base in the tablet segment.
What is there to think about Windows 10 Preview, if you are just an user, nothing. Just being an bore
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are missing the point.
This is a preview, microsoft needs to keep track who is actually testing it. Don't worry, there will be no such thing as a cloud OS. Plus, this version is just to test stability and stuff. Features will be added in time.

You are missing the point.
This is a preview, microsoft needs to keep track who is actually testing it. Don't worry, there will be no such thing as a cloud OS. Plus, this version is just to test stability and stuff. Features will be added in time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think you are missing the point here(no insult intended) Cloud is already integrated in the OS, every iteration a bit more. A lot of users already use there Outlook account
to log on daily and use the cloud drive. MS don't need to keep track in the way you mean with this preview. There are lots of background services already sending telemetry
to the servers, with unique id.
So the preview, as we all know it's an preview for testing, doesn't really need your explicit permission to use your system data. That's already part of the agreement of using this preview. It's "informally suggested" you test it as your daily driver. That's why they ask for an personal outlook account. In which you give explicit permission to use your private data and cover any legal issues. What else would be the point of testing it publicly without explicit user data and telemetry. I'm not slandering MS here. That's not my intention.
Again, there's not much to test for your normal user. The new feature aren't in there remember? Your not getting anything. It's you that's being tested

There could still be a local account be used... There is an option on account create
The search box on the task bar could be hidden with menu on right click

Windows 10 became laggy and slow after few days... Super UI, have to wait for final release.

Well I did come across a minor wifi issue when trying to connect to my college wifi. The issue I had was it had a hard time connecting to it at first (I was able to get it to connect after trying a few times). I think the issue was it couldn't figure out the network security settings (which requires logging in with a username and password) and it would immediately pop up saying can't connect to network. Another wifi issue I've came across is there is difficulty disconnecting from a network and hopping on another one. When you hit disconnect, it will sit there with the spinning circles until you switch the wifi adapter on and off.
In all honesty though, it could be my laptop causing the problems because it's a 4 year old computer but I never ran across those issues on Windows 7

no contora up till now
I experience some bugs wth windows store

I think Cortana is jealous of Android
True story:
I installed build 9926 (major hassle but another story) and started playing with Cortana.
I set Android as topic that interested me and a few links popped up. I clicked a link, IE opened, and the page started loading, and just kept loading - no text. A minute later (I'm running Win 10 in VMWare) I copied the link, went to my host system, and pasted it into Firefox. Worked fine. Another two or three minutes later, IE said the page was running 'a very long script'. I clicked to send a frown (IE feedback to MS) A window popped up, I explained the problem, and Win 10 crashed. HARD. Just locked up. Finally had to delete the VM and reinstall.
I'm kind of afraid to tell Cortana I like Android now.

BSOD
Tried installing the Preview on my PC. Nothing unusual happens during the installation. All runs well after series of restarts. The problem only arises after I switched off my PC. When I opened it again I was greeted with BSOD.
Anyone here experiencing the same issue?

JeySi said:
Tried installing the Preview on my PC. Nothing unusual happens during the installation. All runs well after series of restarts. The problem only arises after I switched off my PC. When I opened it again I was greeted with BSOD.
Anyone here experiencing the same issue?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can't say that I have, but can you include any other information within the BSOD such as the bugcheck code or any other text besides the usual "Your computer has been shut down and we're collecting data" text? It could be a driver that's being updated through Windows Update or a preview update that's causing issues.

i think windows 10 will be a success unlike windows 8 failed to attract users