So I am curious if anyone has switched to using Win 8. I think a few members here have and I am considering it since its only $40 at the moment, cheap.

I am using Windows XP Pro which is getting a bit long in the tooth, so it's tempting. Of course the user interface is a major change. I can get used to it I am sure. So I am looking for opinions.

The down side for me is I'll have to re-install everything. The upside is I'll have to re-install everything. It will be like a new machine and be more responsive, the registry is getting bloated at this point.

Thanks in advance for your comments.

Paviii

I know that some people really like it; unfortunately, I don't.

In fact, I hate it very, very much. The metro interface is terrible, maneuvering through the menus and tabs (with a mouse) feels like you're handling a tablet with a brick.

On the bright side, you still have the windows 7 layout separately (which is implemented as a "tab").

I agree with Tottel, I'm staying away from W8, aside from taking a look at it in a virtual machine.

It does have some nice improvements, but the force-fed interface is a no-go for me. I want a business OS and while I understand MS's idea of a uniform look across devices and a "dumbed down" interface, they're clearly aiming at end-users with this one.

I'll do my developing in my W7, I'll test it in W8 at some point, but that's as far as I'll go. Here's hoping for a business flavor Windows 9.

I am using it. While the metro interface is still not entirely my thing, the overal experience is much better than the consumer preview.

Thanks guys. Sorry about the delay in replay. Lost power due to Hurricane Sandy for the last couple days.

I'll keep this in mind. I might just upgrade to 7 in the short term.

If you have multiple monitors windows 8 is great as you get two task bars (one per screen), second Hyper-V is built-in, so for running Virtual Machines etc that's a nice touch (might want to check if this still is included, I'm running RTM).

Further, Search is a giant improvement, as in, it's something you will rely on heavily. It's got a number of new features that are awesome, but the thing is, it's different. If you want to spend a week or more learning it, it's definatly worth it, any less and you might find yourself pulling your hair.

Well, I bought it because it was only $40. I'm going to wait a bit before installing it so they can work out the bugs--maybe poke around with it on a virtual machine. I am, though, eager to see how well the cross-platform system works. Say what you will about MS, but they are actually VERY developer-friendly.

Has anyone installed it on Win XP Pro. When I look at the system requirements it appears that I should be able to install it. When I run the application they give to check if your system is compatible I get the ever so helpful "This Platform is Not Supported".

The web sight says it supports upgrade from XP but I wondering if that is based on XP System Pack 3. XP Pro only went to System Pack 2.

Paviii[/align]

XP pro has service pack 3.

Interesting. When I looked about 8 months ago I could not get it to install. Maybe I grabbed the wrong one but I was pretty sure I grabbed the only one available. I'll look again. Thanks.

----Edit----
Okay. I looked again. SP3 is available for XP Pro 32 bit but not for XP Pro 64 bit. I am running the 64 bit version (I failed to mention that previously) which was why I could not install it previously. Thanks for the post though.

I see... XP 64 is a bit of a lemon. I would not recommend it to anyone.

As far as Windows 8: I'm starting to like it. When I first started with it, I was completely lost, but the more I use it, the more I like it. The metro or whatever interface is a little bit wonky with a mouse at first, but it doesn't take long to get used to.
MS has moved away from their tried and true desktop/windows/menu system, so Windows 8 feels like an entirely new OS instead of an upgrade, and I am liking it more and more as I use it. The app system is interesting, too, because you can't generally just close an app, really(unless you do it through the task manager or right clicking on it in the 'open apps/programs' bar). While this sounds bad, they used a neat trick to make it use less memory and CPU while not in use, and even hibernate it when it's been inactive for a while. This actually reminds me of what they did with DirectX when you minimize a game.....

I'm going to give it my thumbs up.
That's my 2-cents.

I'm on XP-pro and mint linux
And both kick ass!
There's nothing I have tried installing requiring a newer OS.
XP is a lean power house on new hardware!

Thank you esenthel for support XP (directX 9)!

(03-18-2013 02:33 PM)gwald Wrote:  I'm on XP-pro and mint linux
And both kick ass!
There's nothing I have tried installing requiring a newer OS.
XP is a lean power house on new hardware!

Thank you esenthel for support XP (directX 9)!

Lol Bro Xp

Lol Mike it's so damn nice but I advice you to use windows 7

I've been on Win8 since consumer preview... To be honest... the main differences are cosmetic.. Otherwise it's much of a muchness and generally the same thing.

I figure if my game is going to stuff up, it will probably stuff up on Win8 rather than 7 or XP so I develop on Win8..

Recently I haven't noticed any bugs.

--Mike