Recommended Posts

I was being sarcastic, although there is some truth in it.

I just signed off on purchasing 500 Win 7 desktop workstations, where I work.

We are skipping Win 8 upgrade for the simple reason of inefficiency and loss of productivity.

I am glad that there are brave and curious souls out there that are willing to work with anything new that's thrown at their plate.

Personally... actually by consensus, after using Win 8 for couple of months, we decided to stick with Win 7.

I work in the financial industry - R&D dept.

I hope they are good PCs. You probably just bought something that will have to last until they stop supporting it.

Windows 8 is different and makes you rethink some of the things you are used to, but calling it unproductive for professional use is just silly

Once you get used to it, it's just as productive as Win7

Microsoft needs to choose. Metro or desktop. Having those two paradigms at the same time doesn't work. and honestly it sucks when you have to fight against interface mechanisms intended for a touch screen when you only have a mouse or trackpad

one of the things that drives me nuts about Windows 8 more than the lack of a start button is the lack of a "Computer" button. Yes, I know you can click the explore button and then click "computer" on the left, or you can right click the "Hidden" start button and choose computer, or you can just click start and search for it. I still miss an actual physical "Computer button"

The fact that you can search for it, but can only pin it to the start menu is retarded.

That's not some new Windows 8 problem though is it? Windows 7 doesn't have a "Computer" button either, if I recall correctly.

That's not some new Windows 8 problem though is it? Windows 7 doesn't have a "Computer" button either, if I recall correctly.

It does, on the start menu. You can view it as a menu or link. Not the end of the world but for people who used the Start menu this way, they will find some of Windows 8 less efficient.

Microsoft needs to choose. Metro or desktop. Having those two paradigms at the same time doesn't work. and honestly it sucks when you have to fight against interface mechanisms intended for a touch screen when you only have a mouse or trackpad

Well if you think desktop / metro is bad, just imagine straight metro on the desktop.

If the desktop really is a dying breed, then let it die with some dignity.

Win8 is a whole different story and far more efficient and productive to use than 7 thanks to Metro.

"far more efficient and productive"? That depends on the user and the tasks at hand. I boot directly into the desktop, as I have no need for a tablet interface on a laptop. I'm as big of a fan of Microsoft as anyone, but the way they did Windows 8 is just so discombobulated. They should have never gone the hybrid route, imho. But whatever, my $.02. I'll stick with it. This will be my last laptop anyway.

To people saying they shouldn't bring the start button back...

At first I thought it was dumb that MS got rid of it, then looking at screenshots, I thought it looked stupid not being there.

After trying Win 8, it's absolutely retarded that it's gone, seeing is that to bring up the Start Panel, you move the mouse cursor down to the lower left corner, then a little box pops up and you click on it to go to Start Panel. Now how much sense does that make?!? Would have been faster to just have the Start Button there and click it to still bring up that Start Panel.

I think people that do like Win 8 like the Start Panel, and I ain't saying it's bad, but what does removing the actual Start Button have to do with it, when you gotta click down there anyways? Think about it. Der.

So in summary of this topic: "Windows 9 in development, almost exactly like Windows 8"

...yay?

That pretty much sums it up. :laugh:

To people saying they shouldn't bring the start button back...

At first I thought it was dumb that MS got rid of it, then looking at screenshots, I thought it looked stupid not being there.

After trying Win 8, it's absolutely retarded that it's gone, seeing is that to bring up the Start Panel, you move the mouse cursor down to the lower left corner, then a little box pops up and you click on it to go to Start Panel. Now how much sense does that make?!? Would have been faster to just have the Start Button there and click it to still bring up that Start Panel.

I think people that do like Win 8 like the Start Panel, and I ain't saying it's bad, but what does removing the actual Start Button have to do with it, when you gotta click down there anyways? Think about it. Der.

The start screen doesn't make any sense for me, I don't need a tablet interface on my computer. But as I said earlier, I think Microsoft should stick to their original plan, given the number of start menu replacements out there for me to use.

Demanding that they don't put back a feature that a lot of people clearly want judging by the sales of start menu replacements just to satisfy you, who is the clueless one here?

for sure. the couple thousand at most third party start menus == 40+ million windows 8 activations. How dumb of me

We are skipping Win 8 upgrade for the simple reason of inefficiency and loss of productivity.

How are you losing efficiency and productivity ? when the start screen opens just as fast if not faster, offers faster locate and click, allows MORE organized pinned favorite apps than the largest disorganized list of pinned start menu apps on 7. allows you to organize the pinned apps as you see fit, increasing organization and efficiency.

In no way does 8 reduce efficiency and certainly not productivity. for the majority of users it will increase efficiency.

For pretty much EVERYONE it will have little practical effect as most people at work have 1 - 3 apps open depending on the job they do. So the launcher being better has absolutely NO practical effect on their efficiency or productivity at all.

To people saying they shouldn't bring the start button back...

At first I thought it was dumb that MS got rid of it, then looking at screenshots, I thought it looked stupid not being there.

After trying Win 8, it's absolutely retarded that it's gone, seeing is that to bring up the Start Panel, you move the mouse cursor down to the lower left corner, then a little box pops up and you click on it to go to Start Panel. Now how much sense does that make?!? Would have been faster to just have the Start Button there and click it to still bring up that Start Panel.

I think people that do like Win 8 like the Start Panel, and I ain't saying it's bad, but what does removing the actual Start Button have to do with it, when you gotta click down there anyways? Think about it. Der.

Actually the removal of the start button makes perfect sense if you look past the desktop.

for the desktop, it's still there in the corner. and because of the metro apps, the pop out button needs to be there since you need a way to call the start button when in full screen metro apps. this allows you to have full screen apps and quick access to start without the taskbar taking up a significant part of the bottom of your screen and disrupting the metro experience.

So if they had kept the button, you would have had to buttons on top of each other. and as I said, it's not gone anyway, just hidden.

The start screen doesn't make any sense for me, I don't need a tablet interface on my computer. But as I said earlier, I think Microsoft should stick to their original plan, given the number of start menu replacements out there for me to use.

But it's not a tablet interface, and in fact it works in general better with a mouse and keyboard anyway.

I hope they are good PCs. You probably just bought something that will have to last until they stop supporting it.

Microsoft needs to choose. Metro or desktop. Having those two paradigms at the same time doesn't work. and honestly it sucks when you have to fight against interface mechanisms intended for a touch screen when you only have a mouse or trackpad

I've been using Win8 for almost a year now without any form of touch and I really have no issues moving around.

  • Like 1

Google translate does a decent job for anyone who wants to read it.

I read it, could it be true? I mean they would really have a windows 9 started already!? win8 is just out.

Someone said in a later post "He is a Microsoft official. . ." Regarding to the OP I think

Of course. How soon after Windows 7 went RTM did Windows 8/Windows Server 2012 development kick off?

Also, Windows 9 will likely be a *tick* (to Windows 8's *tock*) - just as 7 was a *tick* to Vista's *tock*.

It does, on the start menu. You can view it as a menu or link. Not the end of the world but for people who used the Start menu this way, they will find some of Windows 8 less efficient.

That's right. I thought he meant a button on the taskbar.

To people saying they shouldn't bring the start button back...

At first I thought it was dumb that MS got rid of it, then looking at screenshots, I thought it looked stupid not being there.

After trying Win 8, it's absolutely retarded that it's gone, seeing is that to bring up the Start Panel, you move the mouse cursor down to the lower left corner, then a little box pops up and you click on it to go to Start Panel. Now how much sense does that make?!? Would have been faster to just have the Start Button there and click it to still bring up that Start Panel.

I think people that do like Win 8 like the Start Panel, and I ain't saying it's bad, but what does removing the actual Start Button have to do with it, when you gotta click down there anyways? Think about it. Der.

The start screen preview window isn't supposed to be clicked. The user actually uses the thing in the same way as start button: Move the mouse to the bottom left corner, and click. The image itself isn't really supposed to be a click target, evidenced by how the preview disappears the moment the mouse moves more than a few pixels away from the corner.

Actually I wasn't aware anyone actually regularly put in the effort to stop on the actual image of the button, and then clicked that. I always relied on the corner itself. That's a lot easier.

As for removing the button, I guess it gives more room for one more pinned icon...?

Demanding that they don't put back a feature that a lot of people clearly want judging by the sales of start menu replacements just to satisfy you, who is the clueless one here?

Start Button is still there, move mouse to bottom left corner, left click.. same as it always was.

Of course. How soon after Windows 7 went RTM did Windows 8/Windows Server 2012 development kick off?

Also, Windows 9 will likely be a *tick* (to Windows 8's *tock*) - just as 7 was a *tick* to Vista's *tock*.

Windows 8 was in developement quote some time before Win7 was finished in fact.

Start Button is still there, move mouse to bottom left corner, left click.. same as it always was.

not really. it's been replaced with a hot corner.. a purely 'touch' concept..

and also you're missing the fact that it's not the button that we're missing. It's the damn menu that goes with it. It's the fact that the start screen takes up your whole desktop.

not really. it's been replaced with a hot corner.. a purely 'touch' concept..

and also you're missing the fact that it's not the button that we're missing. It's the damn menu that goes with it. It's the fact that the start screen takes up your whole desktop.

u

mm actually, the hot corner is PURELY a mouse concept. the hot corner doesn't work at all with touch, only the side bar slide ins work on touch.

and OMG, a faster, more organized more efficient launcher that you see a handful of times a day takes up your whole screen :rolleyes:

u

mm actually, the hot corner is PURELY a mouse concept. the hot corner doesn't work at all with touch, only the side bar slide ins work on touch.

and OMG, a faster, more organized more efficient launcher that you see a handful of times a day takes up your whole screen :rolleyes:

why would you explain something to people that obviously have no clue. You can tell by reading the stuff they put that they don't know how something works. Its the generic W8 comments that you see in all forums just copy and pasted by someone else. Go on facebook and go to the Microsoft and windows page, you see it in the comments to everything there as well. Ignorance is easier then experimentation.

I would like to see some changes to the colour palettes used for both Modern UI and especially the Desktop as no matter how hard I try, it still looks a bit like pastel hell.

Other than that, I like where they are going with things. I would imaging that at this stage they are just starting to build things on top of a Windows 8 fork, just as they did for Windows 7.

damage control ?

failure ?

Okay, PANICKED damage control and MASSIVE failure. No need to get so pickayune about it. :)

why would you explain something to people that obviously have no clue. You can tell by reading the stuff they put that they don't know how something works. Its the generic W8 comments that you see in all forums just copy and pasted by someone else. Go on facebook and go to the Microsoft and windows page, you see it in the comments to everything there as well. Ignorance is easier then experimentation.

And kneejerk responses like yours are easier than actually trying to address the specific points being raised. Saying "Deal with it" and (my personal favorite from the Metrotard camp) "You're being left behind" doesn't say anything of substance at all.

Okay, PANICKED damage control and MASSIVE failure. No need to get so pickayune about it. :)

Damage control for what ?

and what failure. there is no failure. Windows 8 is selling well and everyone I've shown it to novice or advanced users takes to it immediately and once I show them how it works no one picks 7 over 8, even if they come in with their minds set on 7 because the media told them 8 is horrible.

I wish I could fail the way MS does if you think this is a failure.

This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Posts

    • Amazon may use OpenAI and Nova models after Anthropic reportedly raises costs by Karthik Mudaliar Amazon is reportedly considering to use OpenAI models and even its own Nova family of AI models after Anthropic raised the cost of using Claude inside Amazon services. According to a report from The Information, Amazon is weighing its options to reduce costs under a new arrangement with Anthropic. But back in April, Amazon said it would invest $5 billion more in Anthropic, with the possibility of adding up to another $20 billion if certain commercial milestones are met. That investment actually came on top of another $8 billion Amazon had already put into the Claude maker. Anthropic, meanwhile, committed to spend more than $100 billion over 10 years on AWS technologies, including Amazon’s Trainium chips. Amazon isn't just a customer of Anthropic but also one of the most important backers and cloud partners. This is why it makes it interesting that Amazon is considering other alternatives to handle its internal workloads. Although Amazon has been building its own options for a while now. Its Nova family of AI models was announced in late 2024 for Amazon Bedrock, with models aimed at text, image, and video tasks. Amazon pitched the model around cost and latency at that time. With that said, OpenAI has also become a more realistic option recently for AWS customers as well as for Amazon itself. Earlier this year, OpenAI brought its latest models and Codex coding agent to Amazon Bedrock, after changes to its previously more restrictive Microsoft cloud arrangement. This allowed AWS to serve even those customers who wanted other alternatives from Claude, without having to move workloads out of Amazon's cloud. Evaluating alternatives could also be due to commercial pressure and not necessarily a sign of a damaged partnership between Amazon and Anthropic. Whether or not Amazon is actually considering switching entirely to OpenAI's models or its own Nova models remains unknown at this moment.
    • Samsung introduces new AI classroom tools and interactive displays at ISTELive 2026 by Fiza Ali Samsung has announced several new education-focused software features and interactive displays for schools during ISTELive 2026, taking place in Orlando, Florida, from 28 June to 1 July. The focus of these updates is on making shared classroom displays easier to use for teachers while giving IT administrators more control over managing devices. One of the key additions is the Samsung Account Management Solution (AMS). In many schools, multiple teachers share the same interactive display throughout the day, which means signing in and setting everything up can become repetitive. With AMS, teachers can log in by scanning a QR code or tapping an NFC-enabled ID card. Once signed in, their personalised workspace, including wallpapers, bookmarks, app shortcuts, and files, can be instantly accessed through Home Personalisation. Samsung has also included a screen lock feature, allowing teachers to lock the display if they need to step away briefly. Furthermore, the company is also updating its Education Portal with new tools designed for school IT administrators. The portal will allow IT administrators to register teachers, enrol devices, and manage user access from a central dashboard. Administrators can also link NFC cards to teacher accounts, making sign-ins quicker across shared displays. Another addition is a Tags feature that lets schools organise displays by building or classroom. Those tags can also be used to send emergency notifications to selected Samsung Interactive Displays through compatible platforms such as InformaCast and Raptor. Moreover, the tech giant's AI Assistant is gaining several new features aimed at supporting everyday classroom tasks such as lesson planning and classroom engagement. One of the features is Circle to Search, which lets teachers circle text or images on the display to quickly find related information, videos, or web results without interrupting the lesson. The content can then be brought into Samsung Whiteboard. Another feature, Live Transcript, converts spoken lessons into real-time captions, which could be useful for students with hearing impairments or those in multilingual classrooms. The AI Assistant also introduces AI Summary and AI Quiz. The summary tool creates summaries of recorded lessons, while AI Quiz generates questions based on lesson content so teachers can quickly check how well students are following along. Teachers signed in through Samsung AMS can also return to their previous AI-generated lesson materials without logging in again. Alongside the software updates, Samsung has expanded its Android-based Interactive Display range with three new models: the WAF-S, WAFX-PS, and WAHX-M. The WAF-S and WAFX-PS ship with Android 16, bringing updates to security, accessibility, and overall usability while maintaining compatibility with Google's education services including Google Classroom and Google Drive through EDLA certification. Meanwhile, the new WAHX-M is the biggest addition to the lineup, introducing a 98-inch display for larger spaces such as lecture halls and conference rooms. It will also be available in 65-inch, 75-inch and 86-inch sizes. Samsung says the WAHX-M further includes on-device AI features such as voice commands, text-to-speech, and an AI calculator, alongside support for Samsung AMS and AI Assistant. Samsung AI Assistant has been available since April, while Samsung AMS and the updated Education Portal will begin rolling out in July.
    • It's been $24 (single) or $89 (4-pack) for many days on both Amazon and Walmart as far as I know. That isn't a big discount. If these end up like the 1st gen, the 4-pack will routinely get down around $80, give or take a dollar. I think they have even hit $69 at times.
    • Microsoft brings Claude to its own Azure infrastructure, powered by Nvidia GB300 Blackwell by Karthik Mudaliar Anthropic's Claude models are now generally available in Microsoft Foundry on Azure and are running on Nvidia's GB300 Blackwell Ultra systems. Nvidia wrote in its announcement that the models are hosted on Microsoft Azure and accelerated by GB300 Blackwell Ultra GPUs, with Quantum-X800 InfiniBand networking used to support larger agentic systems and specialized sub-agents that can operate across business domains. This is great for customers and enterprises that want to build autonomous and domain-specific AI agents using Claude without moving outside Microsoft’s cloud platform. Microsoft currently offers Claude models in Foundry in two forms: “Hosted on Azure,” which runs end-to-end on Azure infrastructure and is generally available, and “Hosted on Anthropic infrastructure,” which remains in preview. This separation is quite important for organizations that have procurement, compliance, data processing, or internal governance requirements tied to Azure. Anthropic currently has 11 Claude models listed in Microsoft Foundry, including Opus 4.8, Sonnet 4.6, and even the unavailable Mythos and Fable models. Billing is handled through Claude Consumption Units (CCUs). Microsoft says CCU is an invoicing unit for Claude models in Foundry, with token usage converted using Anthropic’s published per-model token rates. The usage is billed through Azure Marketplace just like models from other distributors and appears on the customer's Azure invoice, while eligible spend can count against a Microsoft Azure Consumption Commitment. For starters, GB300 NVL72 is a rack-scale, fully liquid-cooled system that combines 72 Blackwell Ultra GPUs and 36 Grace CPUs. Nvidia has listed 37TB of fast memory, 130TB/s of NVLink bandwidth, and FP4 Tensor Core performance of up to 1,440 petaflops with sparsity. The deal is also part of a three-way partnership between Microsoft, Nvidia, and Anthropic. Under the deal, Anthropic has committed to buying $30 billion in Azure compute capacity and contracting additional capacity up to one gigawatt. Nvidia and Microsoft also said they would invest up to $10 billion and $5 billion in Anthropic, respectively.
    • WhatsApp is getting usernames, and you can reserve your preferred one now by Fiza Ali Sharing your phone number isn't always something you want to do, especially with people you've just met. Whether it's someone from a class, a local community group, or a sports team chat, handing over your number can feel like giving away more personal information than necessary. That's exactly the problem WhatsApp is trying to solve with its upcoming usernames feature. The company has announced that users can now reserve a unique WhatsApp username ahead of the feature's wider rollout later this year. Once usernames become available, they'll let people connect without revealing their phone numbers. It's a change that makes a lot of sense for group chats. Right now, everyone in the group can see your phone number. With usernames enabled, that won't necessarily be the case when someone contacts you for the first time. WhatsApp says it's opening username reservations early because more than three billion people use the app, meaning plenty of people are likely to want the same usernames. Reserving one now gives users a better chance of securing the name they actually want before the feature launches more broadly. If your preferred username is already taken, WhatsApp will also offer a built-in username generator to suggest available alternatives. The feature isn't only aimed at individual users. Creators, businesses, and organisations will be able to claim the same username they already use on Instagram or Facebook, making it easier to keep a consistent identity across Meta's apps. Furthermore, privacy is a big part of how WhatsApp is introducing usernames. There won't be a public directory where people can browse or search for usernames. Instead, people will need to know your exact username before they can start a conversation with you. Additionally, users can also choose to enable a username key, which adds another layer of control by requiring people to enter that key before sending a message. Once the feature rolls out, people who choose to use a username will no longer have their phone number shown when messaging a person or business for the first time. If you want to reserve a username, make sure you're running the latest version of WhatsApp, then head to Settings > Account > Username. The tech giant says usernames will roll out gradually over the coming months, and users will receive an in-app notification when the feature becomes available in their country.
  • Recent Achievements

    • Reacting Well
      NovaEdgeX earned a badge
      Reacting Well
    • Week One Done
      NovaEdgeX earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • One Year In
      BA the Curmudgeon earned a badge
      One Year In
    • Conversation Starter
      rosiecharles earned a badge
      Conversation Starter
    • First Post
      KMilenkoski1202 earned a badge
      First Post
  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      536
    2. 2
      +Edouard
      269
    3. 3
      PsYcHoKiLLa
      150
    4. 4
      Steven P.
      98
    5. 5
      macoman
      65
  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!