Stardock, I hope you're on the ball..
Windowblinds for any MS OS has always been developed (<- RTM'd) after the RTM version of the OS was made available. It's done that way simply because no one knows what the finalized features of that OS will be until they're.... final.
Don't worry, though... Neil isn't a slacker.
As we get closer to the Windows 8 release you can assume we will be looking at updating the applications with Windows 8 support where possible.
Stardock, I hope you're on the ball.
Literally, in some cases. We have a couple people with those ball chair things. Quite comfortable.
In all seriousness, though, we are not sitting idly by, and are watching Win 8 developments very closely.
Sure, it definitely make sense to wait until after the RTM is released.
Actually, I didn't really think you wouldn't be on the ball..
I am "on the fence" about W8... I REALLY miss all the functionality and eye-candy that Stardock/Wincustomize provide... my W7 desktop is rocking and it will be a close call as to whether or not W8 provides enough incentive to switch! That's a first for me...from the original W2.0 to W3.1 and on and on...the update was reason enough to change up... but now, with W7 being so solid the choice will be a tough one. If our wonderful tech staff can overcome the problems that M$ have dealt them, then in all likelihood I will raise the white W7 flag and replace it with the W8 standard... time will tell!
Is it the point of an OS to present problems which have to be overcome, or to be the answer to more efficient and esthetic computing?
I feel it's the latter.
Did we start playing "The Floor is Lava" and no one told me?
The point of an OS is so that you don't have to interact with hardware directly. It provides a layer between you and the hardware to make using that hardware more useful. The "problems which have to be overcome" that inevitably present themselves seem to be (mostly) in one of two categories: limitations or unintended consequences.
Limitations could be hardware based, as in technology isn't advanced enough at the time of release, or software based, as in having to support legacy APIs, etc.
Unintended consequences are the trickier ones. Looking at the reasoning behind removing the start menu, Microsoft stated that its usage had dropped by 11% between Vista and 7. This was attributed to things like the being able to pin to the taskbar, which is fine, but the usage didn't drop to zero.
The biggest thing they didn't think about was what it was still used for. My theory is that it's now used more often when someone doesn't know where something is, so that's where they START (get it?) to look when they try to find it. Without that single point of connection to their computer, what they're faced with is a mish-mash of different places where only some things are, and that's where a big portion of the userbase is going to be alienated. They've taken out a release valve for confusion.
Microsoft looked at the frequency of usage, but not the importance of usage.
Quoting DrJBHL, reply 7Is it the point of an OS to present problems which have to be overcome, or to be the answer to more efficient and esthetic computing?
Leap Motion is probably the advance in hardware/OS handling of the decade (imo). Can't wait for it to hit the market.
My theory is that it's now used more often when someone doesn't know where something is, so that's where they START (get it?) to look when they try to find it.
However the chances that i install W8 in my lifetime as a daily OS are zero. It's an awful cobbled up mess that can't ever be massaged to work well as an UI. Will see what W9 looks like.
My only question has to do with statements Microsoft has made around Metro and the UI in general. They now say the UI is simply an application now. Is that true? If so, does that mean we might see some cooler desktop options from SD that could involve UI apps? Just curious as it seems like it could really open up the door to some creative, and actual usable, options.
You shouldn't believe everything Microsoft say about Windows 8.
Quoting gmcpherson, reply 14My only question has to do with statements Microsoft has made around Metro and the UI in general. They now say the UI is simply an application now. Is that true? If so, does that mean we might see some cooler desktop options from SD that could involve UI apps? Just curious as it seems like it could really open up the door to some creative, and actual usable, options.
Trust me, I don't. That is why I'm asking the question here. It seems unlikely as that would mean the interface was a "snap on module", like the old Win16 subsystem. However, if it were that simple, I would think we'd already see articles about folks coding shell replacements, and see more open source betas in the wild. In any case, given Stardock's extensive experience coding to the Windows UI environment, I am interested to hear what their take is on this. Or if anyone on the forums has had similar exposure, I'm curious as to how this compares to say, Windows 7 UI.
The biggest problem with Win 8 is there is an inherent assumption that everyone is using a touchscreen. It is specifically designed for touchscreens and is horrible for us keyboard and mouse users. We will need a new front-end so we can actually use the system. If the previews are anything like the final product then it is not good for PC users.
I don't think they're assuming you are going to use a touchscreen right away, but they're betting on touch being the way the industry is heading. It's risky, because even though they might be right, they're sacrificing the short term (desktop users) for a potential new paradigm in the long term. If they lose too many before touch becomes pervasive, they might not be able to capitalize when it does.
The sad part is, with a small number of adjustments to a few key areas, they could have mitigated that short term hit (though not entirely, to be sure), while leaving them in a good position for the long term.
I had a run with this whole "new paradigm" stuff. I have to say I think it's more than just trying to anticipate the next input trend. In my opinion it looks to me as an attempt to push things very hard in a direction that favor's touch non-desktop type machines. I think Microsoft wants it's own platform that locks a user into their software, etc. Take a look at what's involved in writting software for an ARM based device running win8. According to MSDN the only way to get software onto one of those things is via Microsoft's web site. So I have to conclude it's a customer lockin tactic.
I guess desktop users Are a bit problematic. The gaming industry seems to think so, or at least some gaming companies. We install what we want, pretty much when we want. We have alternatives, however sometimes unattractive, and often end up doing all sorts of unexpected things. Where as I suppose the non-technical/non-articist type user is content to get onto the web and stick with in a limited set offerings and so on.
At least that's my feeling about it right now. I'd love to find I'm wrong and in fact out in outer space, ya know?
I haven't tried out an of the beta builds of server 8 as yet. Maye the expectation is that desktop users will be better served with a server OS, whether actually using it for that or not. I know there are some dev type folks that prefer to use server and so on. But I haven't seen anything thus far that would indicate that is the thinking in any of the Microsoft noise thus far.
I'm so way hoping windows blinds/Desktop X offer an alternative. Windows 8 does have some really cool aspects to it, under the hood. Not all of which I'd expect to be back ported to win 7.
I'm in the beta test for a expansion of a MMO game. I told them that I'd toss a copy on Win 8 to see how it works. Since my other copy was sometime last year I downloaded a new one. I was happy to find out it had changed a bunch. No, darn welcome page is still there, and they have something related to Mickey to replace the Start Menu BUT I could at least go more than five minutes without swearing.
To the game. No, darn thing hangs during install so I cheat and copy it from my everyday computer. It seems to last a while that way. With the distraction of Olympics and such, I went back to getting lost in a new game using my regular laptop.
I am looking to forward to windowsblinds 8.