Recommended Posts

This needs to be OPTIONAL. Desktop users obviously don't need to worry about battery life and can thus run aero glass. I'm fine with Microsoft replacing the default theme in Windows 8 but they should still keep Aero glass to use.

  • Like 2

Isn't funny how every bitches moan when products are updated. This has always the been the case with Windows. It was thecase with mouse and the GUI. I still remember people screaming about the changes. My guess is in 3 to 4 years touch based computers are going to be the norm.

Did you notice that Microsoft changed the screenshot of the desktop in their blog.

The new screenshot doesn't show the new icon.

Compare this picture with the one in the first post (emphasis on the task bar area):

I didn't see that. No worries, there's a backup on my HDD if anyone wants a peek at the icon.

  • Like 1

Isn't funny how every bitches moan when products are updated. This has always the been the case with Windows. It was thecase with mouse and the GUI. I still remember people screaming about the changes. My guess is in 3 to 4 years touch based computers are going to be the norm.

From the beginning of the BW8 blog:

Here are a couple of published expert opinions from early 1980s print publications about whether the mouse would catch on:
  • ?Mice are nice ideas, but of dubious value for business users? (George Vinall, PC Week, April 24, 1984)
  • ?There is no evidence that people want to use these things.? (John C. Dvorak, San Francisco Examiner, February 19, 1984)
  • ?I was having lots of fun, but in the back of my corporate mind, I couldn't help but think about productivity.? (George Vinall, PC Week, April 24, 1984)
  • ?Does the mouse make the computer more accessible, more friendly, to certain target audiences such as executives? The answer is no.? (Computerworld, October 31, 1983)
  • ?There is no possibility that this device will feel more comfortable to the executive than the keyboard. Because of its ?rollability,? the mouse has the aura of a gimmick?? (Computerworld, October 31, 1983)
  • ?The mouse and its friends are merely diversions in this process. What sounds revolutionary does not necessarily help anyone with anything, and therein lies the true test of commercial longevity.? (David A. Kay, Datamation, October 1983)

So, as you can see, the mouse was considered gimmicky, unnecessary, and not useful for mainstream use. On the other hand, some people are now asserting that the mouse is dead.

:D

  • Like 3

My guess is in 3 to 4 years touch based computers are going to be the norm.

Guess again. No one is going to sit at their computer and stretch their arms out to touch everything on their screen, imagine how tiring that would be, not to mention the fingerprints and sore fingers. I'm trying to imagine using Photoshop or playing Diablo III like that, lol.

The mouse is not going anywhere.

I didn't see that. No worries, there's a backup on my HDD if anyone wants a peek at the icon.

What is the new icon everyone is talking about? Something about MS Photoshoping it out or something. Anyway, look at his screen from W8B. Look how the tiles have changed. 1000% better than the CP imo.

What is the new icon everyone is talking about? Something about MS Photoshoping it out or something. Anyway, look at his screen from W8B. Look how the tiles have changed. 1000% better than the CP imo.

Yea, they seem to have a gradient to them, the tiles in the CP looked too flat for my liking, the Mail and Calender ones are the most obvious.

This is classic, poor MS, damned if you do damned if you don't till the end. People moaned how the desktop and start screen don't match at all, now they're working to get the desktop to better fit with the start screen and you have a group moaning about those changes now. It never ends.

I think all of the changes are pretty much irrelevant to me, if windows 8 will boot to metro, and there's no way of changing it, then there's just no good reason to purchase it no matter what other changes they make to it.

This needs to be OPTIONAL. Desktop users obviously don't need to worry about battery life and can thus run aero glass. I'm fine with Microsoft replacing the default theme in Windows 8 but they should still keep Aero glass to use.

When it comes to windows 8 Microsoft have their feet planted firmly in the air.

I think all of the changes are pretty much irrelevant to me, if windows 8 will boot to metro, and there's no way of changing it, then there's just no good reason to purchase it no matter what other changes they make to it.

It's already possible in the CP, and Windows 8 server, but at the end of the day if you are ready to quit Windows because you have to press a single click at startup then you might have a problem :) Also it would be nice to you to learn how the Metro start screen works.

It's already possible in the CP, and Windows 8 server, but at the end of the day if you are ready to quit Windows because you have to press a single click at startup then you might have a problem :) Also it would be nice to you to learn how the Metro start screen works.

A start menu that takes up the entire screen with giant tiles is dumb. That's ok for a tablet but a big desktop monitor? It's ridiculous.

Reminds me of how the Office 2010 open file menu covers the entire screen. Microsoft is off their meds.

A start menu that takes up the entire screen with giant tiles is dumb. That's ok for a tablet but a big desktop monitor? It's ridiculous.

Reminds me of how the Office 2010 open file menu covers the entire screen. Microsoft is off their meds.

People said the same thing about the Start Menu in Windows 95.

Guess again. No one is going to sit at their computer and stretch their arms out to touch everything on their screen, imagine how tiring that would be, not to mention the fingerprints and sore fingers. I'm trying to imagine using Photoshop or playing Diablo III like that, lol.

The mouse is not going anywhere.

I didn't say they mouse is going away. Just like the keyboard didn't go away when the mouse was added. I just think touch is going to be added to computers thats all. Most computers sold nowadays are mobile computers not desktops and thats going to continue.

Regardless of what anyone thinks, I believe that they (Microsoft) know what they're doing, so I plan to keep on truckin' on and testing the CP as much as I can...that is, as much as my vhd on native hardware allows me (I've ran into some small issues such as games, for instance, not launching on a vhd....but I don't really care too much about that, I want to see what I'll be working on for the next few years more than anything I guess). I still haven't found the guts to use it as my main OS, no, but it's getting there....and they're (Microsoft) listening! Perfection isn't made in a day...or a year...it takes time and patience, which I find it not too common in the real world as much as it used to be (everything is supposed to be instant gratification, and that's just not how things work) Personally? I like the idea myself, never liked the whole glass concept....plus, I had to keep my hardware updated, which meant new purchases every few months just to keep up with the "Jone-ses". Good move, Microsoft. Way to get back into the groove again. </personal opinion>

  • Like 1

People said the same thing about the Start Menu in Windows 95.

Windows 95 was a huge success when it launched. A quote from one single person saying they didn't like it doesn't mean much, especially compared to the massive amount of negative feedback Windows 8 is getting.

  • Like 3

Windows 95 was a huge success when it launched. A quote from one single person saying they didn't like it doesn't mean much, especially compared to the massive amount of negative feedback Windows 8 is getting.

It is impossible not to **** off any group of people when Windows is used by 1.2 billion users. If Neowin users had their way, WIndows 8 would be Windows 7++, which will eventually spell the death of Windows in the next 10-20 years.

Comments like this always makes me laugh.

Have you ever tried OS X once in your life ? It has many ****ty things like no real fullscreen, lack of games etc.

Plus you'll lose all your software that have to be bought again/you'll have to find the mac equivalent and so on, so much for not staying with Windows 7/wait for Windows 8 RTM and try it!

You don't have a clue about what you're talking about, and I DO have extensive experience with Mac OS.

This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Posts

    • Gotenks98 is right... Outlook (new) is absolute trash. Doesn't Mozilla have an Enterprise Version of Firebird?
    • Microsoft Weekly: Surface Laptop Ultra, Windows 11 context menus, Build 2026 recap, and more by Taras Buria This week's news recap is here, with Microsoft announcing the new Surface Laptop Ultra, fresh chips from NVIDIA for Windows on ARM, a no-build week, fixes for Windows 11's context menus, gaming news, reviews, and more. Quick links: Windows 10 and 11 Windows Insider Program Updates are available Reviews are in Gaming news Great deals to check Windows 11 and Windows 10 Here, we talk about everything happening around Microsoft's latest operating system in the Stable channel and preview builds: new features, removed features, controversies, bugs, interesting findings, and more. And, of course, you may find a word or two about older versions. At Computex 2026, together with NVIDIA, Microsoft announced the Surface Laptop Ultra, its most powerful laptop to date, powered by NVIDIA's RTX Spark processor. Details about this computer are currently scarce, as Microsoft has only revealed certain parts of its specs. So far, we know that the computer has a 15-inch mini-LED display, a rich set of ports, a powerful processor, and all-day battery life. It also comes with a new wallpaper, which you can already download here in full resolution. The Surface Laptop Studio is not the only NVIDIA-powered Surface, which Microsoft unveiled this week. At Build 2026, the company also debuted the Surface RTX Spark Dev Box, an odd-shaped desktop with a 20-core NVIDIA Grace CPU and an NVIDIA Blackwell RTX GPU with 6,144 CUDA cores and fifth-generation Tensor Cores with FP4 precision, connected via the NVIDIA NVLink-C2C chip-to-chip interconnect for high performance. According to Microsoft, it can run models with up to 120 billion parameters locally without relying on cloud GPU infrastructure. These two new Surface devices are likely to cost quite a lot, and for those who need a more affordable device, Microsoft is preparing the next-gen Qualcomm-powered Surface Pro and Surface Laptop. This week, details about these two devices leaked in plenty of detail. Other announcements at Build 2026 include the following: Microsoft unveils new security tools for IT admins and developers building AI products Microsoft announces Scout, an OpenClaw-powered personal agent for enterprise customers Microsoft unveils MAI-Thinking-1 reasoning and MAI-Code-1 coding models Microsoft announced a new Windows 11 native command-line utility Microsoft unveils Majorana 2 quantum chip, accelerating commercial timeline to 2029 Microsoft believes that AI agents will eventually replace apps through Project Solara Microsoft introduces Web IQ, a Bing-powered search system built for AI agents Last week, Microsoft released a new Experimental build, which introduced a major Start menu upgrade. It now lets you toggle off specific parts of the menu without affecting other features, resize the menu, and hide additional UI elements. We published a closer look here, so if you want to know what Microsoft is cooking without enrolling in the Insider program and installing unstable builds, check it out. Speaking of new features, many users are very annoyed about the way Microsoft delivers them. Recently, a frustrated user shared their experience with gradual rollouts, and even Microsoft engineers admitted there is a flaw in the system that prevents new features from applying properly. One of those new features includes the ability to uninstall AI models in Windows 11 with a single click. Windows 11 is finally getting fixes for its slow context menus. Marcus Ash from Microsoft confirmed that the company is working on fixing Windows 11's context menus. Reworked context menus are going to be faster, simpler by default, and "configurable to what you use most." According to Marcus, Microsoft will share more details soon. Windows Insider Program Windows 11 preview builds, released last week, are now available for download as standalone ISO files. These days, Microsoft regularly pushes new images, allowing users to clean-install its recent Windows 11 preview builds faster and easier. If you want to try the latest Windows 11 features without jumping through the Windows Update hoops, get those new images here. Sadly, Microsoft did not release new Windows 11 preview builds this week. Come back next time. Updates are available This section covers software, firmware, and other notable updates (released and coming soon) delivering new features, security fixes, improvements, patches, and more from Microsoft and third parties. Microsoft is preparing new features for Teams. Later this month, the messenger will receive a new download manager with auto-dismissing notifications, reducing clutter and making the overall experience less annoying when dealing with downloads. Mozilla released Firefox 151.0.3, a new bug-fixing update for the browser. It is a small release, which fixes problems with pasting into text fields and the oversized VPN button on the toolbar. The update is now available for all users in the Release channel. Here are other updates and releases you may find interesting: VS Code 1.123 introduces massive upgrades for persistent AI developer workflows Microsoft OneDrive is getting a simple yet much-needed feature Microsoft faces heat after quietly blocking promised Office features on Apple systems Microsoft resumes forced Copilot app installation on some Windows PCs Browser vendors pen an open letter to Microsoft, saying "enough is enough" Here are the latest drivers and firmware updates released this week: AMD Radeon Software 26.6.1 with optimizations for F1 25: 2026 Season, World of Tanks: HEAT, and various bug fixes. Reviews are in Here is the hardware and software we reviewed this week Steven Parker dropped more mini PC reviews this week. GEEKOM Air12 2026 Edition is a low-power, affordable computer with an Intel Tiger Lake Pentium Gold processor, up to 16GB of memory, and 512GB of storage, costing just $349. It is light, quiet, energy efficient, and has modern ports on the front. However, the front-facing USB Type-C is data-only, and there are some quirks with the computer's memory, so check out the full review. The AMD RX 9070 GRE has been released worldwide, and we published a benchmark review comparing this powerful graphics card to the RX 9070 XT, 7800 XT, the NVIDIA RTX 5070, and RTX 4070. It has solid, balanced performance, plenty of RAM, and low temperatures, but watch out for mediocre ray tracing performance and not the best efficiency. Also, we reviewed the Cuktech 10 Ultra, a compact, high-power charger with four ports and a big display full of various stats. This tiny charger can pull nearly 120W and spread that power according to each connected device's needs. It also comes with a high-quality 240W cable, three power modes, and retractable prongs. The best part? It is quite affordable, just make sure you have an outlet placed in the right spot to benefit from the built-in display. On the gaming side Learn about upcoming game releases, Xbox rumors, new hardware, software updates, freebies, deals, discounts, and more. Do you remember the ASUS ROG Xbox Ally, Microsoft's first handheld console designed in partnership with ASUS? This week, ASUS revealed a new version of the device to celebrate twenty years of its Republic of Gamers brand. The new ROG Xbox Ally X20 features an OLED display, a transforming D-Pad, TMR sticks, and other changes. However, the chip inside the console is still the same. Forza Horizon 6 launched last month to critical acclaim, but the game will soon have a new rival made by those who used to work on Forza Horizon titles. Mike Brown from Maverick Games announced Clutch, an upcoming racing game with a story-driven campaign, deep car customization, and rich multiplayer. The game is coming to PC, Xbox Series X|S, and PlayStation 5 in Spring 2027. The next update for Minecraft now has a release date. This week, Mojang announced that Chaos Cubed will be available on June 16, 2026. In addition, Mojang published a teaser of the next Minecraft movie. A Minecraft Movie Squared has now been confirmed for a release somewhere in 2027. NVIDIA GeForce Now is getting 18 new games in June. Those include Jurassic World Evolution 3, Fatekeeper, GOALS, Gothic 1 Remake, NTE: Neverness to Everness, and more. If you are a Game Pass subscriber, you can also get new games soon: Persona 5 Royal, Starseeker: Astroneer Expeditions, and more are coming to the service this month. Sumer Game Fest 2026 happened this week, where we saw plenty of new games, including Alien Isolation 2, Final Fantasy VII Remake Part 3, Gen Atlas from the Shadow of the Colossus creator, a new Cuphead game in 8-bit style, a new expansion for Mafia: The Old Country, and more. Finally, here are this week's Weekend PC Game Deals, full of discounts and the latest freebies from the Epic Games Store. Other gaming news includes the following: God of War Laufey announced, introducing Kratos' wife as the new protagonist Ori studio's No Rest for the Wicked 1.0 release and console plans announced Microsoft launches Godot Sample to streamline Xbox PC game development on the engine Great deals to check Every week, we cover many deals on different hardware and software. The following discounts are still available, so check them out. You might find something you want or need. Samsung 990 PRO SSD 2TB NVMe - $389.99 | 39% off Sonos Sub 4 - Wireless Subwoofer - $759 | 16% off Logitech MX Creative Console - $159.99 | 20% off This link will take you to other issues of the Microsoft Weekly series. You can also support Neowin by registering for a free member account or subscribing for extra member benefits, along with an ad-free tier option.
    • Let's goooooooo! I've been loving the entries so far! I still have to finish Rebirth (things have been busy!)! Excited for this next installment.
    • "Revelation?" I was hoping for this episode to be called "Reunion". Oh, well... In a related note, the Final Fantasy VII compilation has received an EC entry, short for Ever Crisis. For those who don't know, it already had AC, BC, CC, and DC entries, short for Advent Children, Before Crisis, Crisis Core, and Dirge of Cerberus. I hope it doesn't get an FC entry becaude that would be a freakin' crisis.
  • Recent Achievements

    • Week One Done
      pestcontrol46 earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • One Month Later
      pestcontrol46 earned a badge
      One Month Later
    • Week One Done
      JKR earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • Rookie
      moog19 went up a rank
      Rookie
    • Mentor
      grik went up a rank
      Mentor
  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      515
    2. 2
      PsYcHoKiLLa
      277
    3. 3
      Skyfrog
      76
    4. 4
      +Edouard
      71
    5. 5
      FloatingFatMan
      68
  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!