Windows Blue Confirmed, to hit RTM in june with august release

[cboath]

How about including an option for the Win7 start menu? Nope? Too difficult?

WinXP and Vista must have been designed by some AMAZING developers to have included two Start menu layout options.



Nope, I think it simply means that they'll move to a less-customer-friendly schedule for dropping support for older operating systems.

There seems to be a suspicious amount of compatibility issues that have cropped up in Win8 and I haven't heard a good reason why yet. Why doesn't Office 2003 work on it? I know why Office 2000 and 2002/XP didn't work on =>Vista perfectly, not so sure about Office 2k3 and Win8.

On the office front, you're surprised a package 10 years old and 4 revisions old doesn't work on a new OS? No offense, but I don't count backward compatibility in terms of decades.

In 2003, they were on a much older version VC++ or whatever they wrote it in than they are today. It's easily possible the base api's used are no longer available in 8. It's equally possible I guess they simply didn't want to support it. 10 years is a LONG time to support a software product version. Most companies go back only 3-4 years worth. They aren't making OS's, but still. Just because XP got an extended life is not a reason to support office 2003 forever. Admittedly when I first read the post I thought it was odd it wasn't supported as well until I recalled it's release date.

Stunning that some still won't let the start button issue go. It's dead.

 

[M0RPH]

I see a lot of people going into wishful thinking mode with this Windows Blue. You're all wanting it to be this great update that fixes Windows 8. I think a lot of people are gonna be in for a disappointment.

 

[OneOfTheseDays]

MS still doesn't get it at this point. They are all-in on Metro, despite being a clear failure in the desktop PC space, and Blue will likely only marginally fix things. The fundamental problem is Metro doesn't work in the desktop PC environment, it hinders productivity.

 

[mikeymikec]

On the office front, you're surprised a package 10 years old and 4 revisions old doesn't work on a new OS? No offense, but I don't count backward compatibility in terms of decades.

It comes down to peoples' expectations, that's what pretty much dictates the policy of the companies that sell products to them. If enough people got annoyed with MS because Win8's compatibility is nowhere near as good as previous versions of Windows*, they would change their tune.

I suspect that most peoples' needs would be satisfied completely by a very old version of Microsoft Office, for example. I for one cannot remember the last time a new feature in MSO or LibreOffice made me think "wow, that will be so useful!".

In 2003, they were on a much older version VC++ or whatever they wrote it in than they are today. It's easily possible the base api's used are no longer available in 8.

A technical reason, if it was a technical reason why it doesn't work, is the most valid one. IMO it's more likely that something was purposefully yanked from Win8 to stop MSO2k3 from working because that suits Microsoft perfectly fine. I find it a bit suspicious that previous versions of MSO still at least partially (or mostly) work on older versions of Windows, but MSO2k3 allegedly does not work at all.

Furthermore, if it is a technical reason why MSO2k3 doesn't work on Win8, it would be very useful to know it, because if someone asks me "do you know if xyz works on Win8?", then I can possibly answer the question based on that knowledge, as opposed to "well, judging by MS's past record, I would expect MSO2k3 to at least basically work" or "well, based on the alleged fact that MSO2k3 doesn't work on Win8, I wouldn't expect any app older than <figure pulled out of ass> years to work on Win8".

It's equally possible I guess they simply didn't want to support it.

Support and compatibility are not the same thing. I don't expect Corel to support my copy of CorelXara 1.5 from 1996, for example, but it works fine on Windows 7 64-bit.

* - not stating a fact about Windows 8's general compatibility, it's a hypothetical situation.

- edit - After a bit of digging, I found this:
http://office-watch.com/t/n.aspx?a=1770
If it is a case of FoxPro compatibility, that doesn't surprise me. There isn't any information about how much it affects general Office 2003 usage though. I would have thought that if a custom install is done, excluding anything FoxPro-ish, I would expect it to work.

 

[Mem]

It comes down to peoples' expectations, that's what pretty much dictates the policy of the companies that sell products to them. If enough people got annoyed with MS because Win8's compatibility is nowhere near as good as previous versions of Windows*, they would change their tune.

I suspect that most peoples' needs would be satisfied completely by a very old version of Microsoft Office, for example. I for one cannot remember the last time a new feature in MSO or LibreOffice made me think "wow, that will be so useful!".

A technical reason, if it was a technical reason why it doesn't work, is the most valid one. IMO it's more likely that something was purposefully yanked from Win8 to stop MSO2k3 from working because that suits Microsoft perfectly fine. I find it a bit suspicious that previous versions of MSO still at least partially (or mostly) work on older versions of Windows, but MSO2k3 allegedly does not work at all.

Furthermore, if it is a technical reason why MSO2k3 doesn't work on Win8, it would be very useful to know it, because if someone asks me "do you know if xyz works on Win8?", then I can possibly answer the question based on that knowledge, as opposed to "well, judging by MS's past record, I would expect MSO2k3 to at least basically work" or "well, based on the alleged fact that MSO2k3 doesn't work on Win8, I wouldn't expect any app older than <figure pulled out of ass> years to work on Win8".

Support and compatibility are not the same thing. I don't expect Corel to support my copy of CorelXara 1.5 from 1996, for example, but it works fine on Windows 7 64-bit.

* - not stating a fact about Windows 8's general compatibility, it's a hypothetical situation.

- edit - After a bit of digging, I found this:
http://office-watch.com/t/n.aspx?a=1770
If it is a case of FoxPro compatibility, that doesn't surprise me. There isn't any information about how much it affects general Office 2003 usage though. I would have thought that if a custom install is done, excluding anything FoxPro-ish, I would expect it to work.

I think most of blame is Microsoft not Win8,for example I always used Open Office/Libre office and it just works regardless of what Windows I use,being free is also icing on the cake as well.

You would think the price you pay for Microsoft office software would make it more compatible but no they charge you arm and a leg with limited life span.

 

[mikeymikec]

I think most of blame is Microsoft not Win8,for example I always used Open Office/Libre office and it just works regardless of what Windows I use,being free is also icing on the cake as well.

You would think the price you pay for Microsoft office software would make it more compatible but no they charge you arm and a leg with limited life span.

And they seem to be engaging in even more chiselling if what I understand about Office 2013's licensing agreement is true - retail versions of older office versions would allow you to transfer the licence from an old PC to a new one (as long as it is only installed on one PC at a time), but they may have got rid of that now.

The only good thing I've heard is that (again, from what I understand), the licensing agreement on a basic copy of Win8 has been altered to allow transferring from an old PC to a new one. (citation needed!)

 

[cboath]

Not saying that I agree (i don't) but the reason the retail versions of 2013 are limited to 1 machine for life is that they're trying to switch people to a yearly subscription (365). It's good in theory - $100/yr for 5 seats (i think). Problem is, if you're single or even just a 2 machine household it's not that great a deal and neither is the retail 2013. Now, if you're a family of 4 or 5, it's a no-brainer. 20-25 a year for a seat of office and continually having access to the current version? Yes please.

A large part of the software world has or is currently doing the same type of thing.

Whether anyone agrees, the point is to get people to go subscription instead of a single retail copy.

 

[Nothinman]

I see a lot of people going into wishful thinking mode with this Windows Blue. You're all wanting it to be this great update that fixes Windows 8. I think a lot of people are gonna be in for a disappointment.

This. Everyone's thinking this will fix their personal pet peeves with Win8 when most likely it'll just include subtle fixes that couldn't make it into the original RTM.

 

[Mushkins]

This. Everyone's thinking this will fix their personal pet peeves with Win8 when most likely it'll just include subtle fixes that couldn't make it into the original RTM.

It's definitely not going to magically "fix" Metro like people want, but i'd at least expect a handful of noticeable UI tweaks considering the negative feedback thus far. Vista just ran like molasses in the winter when it was released, Windows 8 has some legitimate UI usability issues for many people. A couple small tweaks could considerably increase adoption rates, especially in the enterprise.

 

[Mem]

This. Everyone's thinking this will fix their personal pet peeves with Win8 when most likely it'll just include subtle fixes that couldn't make it into the original RTM.

I only want more customization options in Metro and I will be happy,not asking for much .

 

[Sleepingforest]

I'm hoping for consistency. That is, when I'm in desktop mode, Win8 won't open up a Metro PDF reader, and popup alerts will be a window (or the small "USB device" popup rather than a huge section of my screen.

Fullscreen should stay in Metro, windows should stay in the desktop.

 

[Zaap]

I see a lot of people going into wishful thinking mode with this Windows Blue. You're all wanting it to be this great update that fixes Windows 8. I think a lot of people are gonna be in for a disappointment.

Sounds like the perfect new slogan for the Ballmer era:

Microsoft
"...a lot of people are gonna be in for a disappointment."

Yup, gone are the days when it was realistic to expect a new OS to be a great update to the last, that actually fixes problems. How quaint. Now it's all about being a servant to some big company's hoop dream of being a leader in the tablet market. Now that's progress.

 

[wirednuts]

i wish they would have just continued on with win7 and made it better. there was still bugs they could have fixed, and features they could have added ***COUGH COUGH BETTER MEDIA CENTER COUGH****

 

[Nothinman]

I'm hoping for consistency. That is, when I'm in desktop mode, Win8 won't open up a Metro PDF reader, and popup alerts will be a window (or the small "USB device" popup rather than a huge section of my screen.

Fullscreen should stay in Metro, windows should stay in the desktop.

That would be huge; it definitely seems like a lot of little details were glossed over while shoehorning Metro into Win8.

 

[ultimatebob]

Vista's failure was on 3rd party manufacturer's not Microsoft's. The end result of that was a change in the way 3rd parties participated/were required to participate in the win 7/8 development cycles.

On top of that, the other problem was people who didn't listen. MS said way before release not to bother putting it on machines more than something like 9-12 months old. People stuck it on old machines (much older than a year) and blamed MS.

I can admit to 2 issues. 1, my older (as in 3 year old) sound blaster card was obsoleted by Creative labs. The new one I got also had an issue because I got it prior to RTM and the genious's at creative labs didn't bother to start development of drivers until they had a gold copy in hand. Issue 2 was my older HP printer. Took HP 6 months after release to make a driver for the printer.

Neither issue was MS's. Other's with similar issues just blamed MS.

Something that always bugged me is MS never fought back on the issue, or so it seemed. They dictated the bully pulpit to the idiotic apple commercials and just ignored the issue like they were above it all.

Yeah, I got screwed by both of these issues. HP never bothered to write fully featured Vista drivers for my PhotoSmart printer, and the Creative Audigy drivers were horribly buggy for about six months after Vista shipped.

Both Windows XP and Windows 7 also seemed to run a lot faster on the same hardware.

 

[hclarkjr]

more screenshots of blue here http://news.softpedia.com/news/Wind...n-IE11-Leaked-Screenshot-Gallery-339863.shtml

 

[blankslate]

Why dosent microsoft make an MS brand line of laptops/desktops? They could decimate their current partners (who are failing anyway) by not confusing the balls out of everything (HP Pavilion g6-2242sa..... are you kidding me?

Running the ship like apple and controlling every single little thing ad nauseum would work great. Problem is, they'd get hauled in front of the US Antitrust courts, EU courts, etc in a heartbeat. Yet the same divisions have no problem with Apple running their show that way.

Yeah, well MS did tightly integrate their OS and Browser in a way that surely did not help Netscape. After the European anti-trust suit over that MS let's you set another browser as the default browser and after xp vista and 7 didn't use the browser for updates.

As for Apple they've always (afaik) provided their OS for their computers. MS started as a software company and seemed quite content with providing an OS for a wide array of PC hardware... it could be said that it's one of the reasons MS has a larger desktop and laptop OS share than Apple.

The relatively small, in comparison to MS's, share of the OS market probably makes anti-trust lawsuits against Apple rather unnecessary, at least in the eyes of the EU courts, at this point as well.

 

[N4g4rok]

That is, when I'm in desktop mode, Win8 won't open up a Metro PDF

That can be fixed up by playing with file associations. For some reason, there isn't a default desktop PDF reader for windows, but if you download Adobe Reader, or something similar, it should ask you if you want to use that from now on. Some Metro applications know to use the metro counterpart if the file is open within the context of the metro app. I don't know what/how it decides which on to use, but it would make more sense to remain in the context of whatever UI you are currently working with.

it'll just include subtle fixes that couldn't make it into the original RTM.

I'm still not sure how these updates weren't already in the original release.

 

[Nothinman]

I'm still not sure how these updates weren't already in the original release.

Development schedules. Bugs have varying priority and most of the things people are bitching about aren't showstoppers because the functionality is there and still works just fine, if not how we all would like. The shutdown functionality is a great example, it's not easy to find by any means but the button is there if you know where to look. I would say that's technically a bug but not something worth holding up the entire product in order to fix.

 

[Chiefcrowe]

FYI after many complaints they changed the licensing for office 2013

Microsoft confirms it will now let consumers transfer Office 2013 to a different PC

http://thenextweb.com/microsoft/201...sumers-transfer-office-2013-to-a-different-pc

 

[Mem]

i wish they would have just continued on with win7 and made it better. there was still bugs they could have fixed, and features they could have added ***COUGH COUGH BETTER MEDIA CENTER COUGH****

Then there would be no real change and lack of new ideas.

Personally I've got use to every OS from DOS 6.22 days to Win8/Linux distro's etc..

More positive feedback on Windows Blue here at OCUK,http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18499469

 

[Chiefcrowe]

Article on the new Blue update. I am hoping for more changes...

http://arstechnica.com/information-...ndows-blue-leaks-more-metro-more-multitasking

 

[Mem]

Article on the new Blue update. I am hoping for more changes...

http://arstechnica.com/information-...ndows-blue-leaks-more-metro-more-multitasking

What changes was you hoping for?..Personally I just wanted more customization in Metro so looks like I got my wish.

I don't think you see any major changes until the next major OS ie Win9 and even then they will probably keep some or most of the ideas from 8/Blue IMHO.

 

[Chiefcrowe]

I guess i'm hoping for more customizable start screen and ways to change the theme/look of it since it seems like they want everyone to use it from now on...
I'm not a big fan of the way the tiles look, they are kind of blocky.

 

[MrColin]

Based on the OP, it sounds like they are borrowing from the Apple playbook with selective vague "leaks" to crowdsource the prerelease hype engine and add value in the eyes of consumers. Smart.