Desktop tech: Windows 8 will be "largely irrelevant" to desktop users -- IDC analysts

ZDNet's MS-beat blogger, Mary-Jo Foley, reports...

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/microsoft/windows-8-will-be-largely-irrelevant-to-traditional-pc-users-idc/11336?tag=nl.e539

I still run XP on my main production machine, though I'm working out a solution where I can have a locked-down version of it and Adobe CS running in a virtual machine in a much more powerful Linux machine.

But then, I'm getting geeker by the minute and don't think that is a widespread kind of solution.

However, I think there is an interesting point in the above post, other than the fact that MS is not all that innovative:

OSs for things other than desktop machines (and kludged versions for laptops and mobile and set-top and console) are eclipsing the idea of personal computer as a modified desktop environment. What if someone could get enough penetration in to the mobile OS market that it becomes the standard platform for native application development, such that we don't have to to have apps on Win7 Phone and Android, and IPhone....

I don't have time to keep up with the issue, but it is interesting to me, and maybe MS isn't all that misguided in seeking to have a more integrated cross-platform OS.

Just remember - the rule is Odd Numbers Good, Even Numbers Bad. Skipping an operating system cycle seems to be de rigueur:

Windows 95 - yes

Windows 98 - no

Windows XP - yes

Windows Vista - no

Windows 7 - yes

Windows 8- no

Windows 9 - yes

Same holds true for Apple...

System 6 - no

System 7 - yes

System 8 - no

System 9 - yes

It also applies to software...which update was cooler, Pro Tools 9 or Pro Tools 10?

Beware the even numbers!

I had a slightly different experience, but who knows.

Windows 95 HELL NO!!!!

Windows 98 Okay

Windows XP Yes!!!

Windows Vista No

Windows 7 Yes

Apple was:

OS 9: meh

OS 10: Cool!!!!

For PT, I've liked PT8 and PT9 so far, but of course, PT9 was extra exciting because of the lack of a need for a "hardware dongle".

Is Linux still around ?

"Is Linux still around ?"

Some flavor of it is running most software on the web.

Like Ken, my interpretation of the every other version rule is a little off from Craig's...

2.x -- I installed it for a friend of a friend and it was a huge, floppy-swappin' ordeal. But I never used it.

3.0 -- Oops... how did that get out.

3.1 -- not as bad as I thought, turned out I had a wildly expensive late 80s machine whose bios hated Windows memory management.

WfWG (Windows for Work Groups) -- basically Windows 3.1 SP; I used it on other people's machines and it had a decent rep

Win 95 -- finally a sensible UI! Unfortunately, it had stability problems that were incrementally pushed back until, by the last of the slipstream patches, it was pretty stable (and was essentially Win 98 without the upgraded file system and no USB support, IIRC).

Win 98 -- extremely solid for me, and well-regarded generally, I think.

Win ME -- they managed to really fug up Win 98 and released it with far less than ideal driver support.

Win Pro 2000 -- very well regarded, much of the technology that would make XP such a winner, but drivers for consumer-oriented gear could lacking.

Win XP -- MS's first true, multi-threading, multi-tasking OS targeted to consumers, it ushered in a period of productivity and stability only shaded by the big box maker's perverse (but economically understandable) habit of prestocking their machines with heaps of what we've come to call crapware. Probably the pinnacle of 32 bit OS's in terms of efficiency, stability and performance.

Win (XP) Media Center -- they made the default 'skin' considerably less Tonka Toy looking, but threw some entertainment center oriented bloatware on top of what was essentially XP Pro without some of the enterprise-networking features. Contrary to common suggestions otherwise, as long as one disabled the Media Center components, it was a lean, clean running OS. (I'm typing on it now and it runs all my music production, video editing, web dev work, and virtually all my entertainment -- without the Media Center stuff. )

Vista -- Marred by a completely mismanaged initial release that was released way behind schedule (yet was far from ready), provoked by wails from the hardware community, who often see new Windows releases as big sales drivers. Others were not so eager -- particularly enterprise IT departments who by and large loved XP and the (not-quite) 'decade of stability' it ushered in for enterprise installations. In the initial release, performance (particularly related to the Aero graphic UI layer) was a big issue and many users experienced driver issues. Others had stability issues. By the final service pack, it had acquired a few hardy defenders.

Win 7 -- Tightened up, tweaked down, it was MS's 3rd generation 64 bit OS. Still not nearly as efficient -- and generally not as quick as XP [as measured by latency checkers like DPC Latency Checker], it was met generally with a sigh of relief. However, the hardware world had finally caught up, dishing up multi-core 64 bit hardware that ended up delivering 64 bit performance (that could break the 4 GB RAM barrier) on the new hardware more or less in line with (and sometimes better than) the performance XP had offered on earlier, slower hardware. Win 7 proved to be much better at making use of multi-core multi-threading versus the OS's primary competitor, OS X, as shown in benchmarks like those at www.DAWbench.com.

Win 8 -- ?

The other day I put the latest version of Ubuntu Linux on an old

PC I have lying around and was surprised to see it has a Windows 8

Metro style tiled interface as the default.

The other day I put the latest version of Ubuntu Linux on an old PC I have lying around and was surprised to see it has a Windows 8 Metro style tiled interface as the default.

Very nice. I have not had Linux on a pc in years. I had a Linux based emulator program that ran 24 7 for a couple years non stop. Never rebooted it once.

How is this different from any other menu based on icons? And can you turn it off? What else did the do to make us have to learn a different way of doing things or that wei'll have to fix when we switch operating systems? That's what's important to me.

Andy Ihnatko, who is a Macintosh/iOS pundit, wrote very favorably about the Windows 8 developer version that he previewed.

http://www.suntimes.com/technology/ihnatko/7653632-452/the-next-great-os-could-be-a-touched-up-windows-8.html

Well, Im a registered OEM with Microsoft, so I pay a yearly fee to them for all the software they offer. I was sent a beta invite for 8 but I never join in. But once it is released I will be able to download it and install it. I will at least install it on my personal rig to try. But I will probably not install it on our other PC's, most of which still run XP !!! I did build a new DAW rig that I installed Win 7 on and I have to say it was pretty painless and all my hardware worked with little effort on my part !!!! So, I'll at least try 8, but 7 works fine. And with 8 being basically a service pack release with very few added features.... it wont be installed on my stable Win7 daw.

- WFW 3.11 This is pretty much when I came into Windows for any music applications, though I had regular 3.1 for a short time before. There are still a few features I liked that MS didn't keep with Win95.

- Windows 95 - yes

- Windows 95B & C SR2 - Hell yes (Only came OEM with new PC's & much improved over original 95) I still have a few sealed copies I rescued that were slated for the dumpster. Working for a college can be fun during upgrade time.

- Windows 98 - No if you already had 95SR2

- Windows 98SE - Yes (IMO best Win OS until XP came along... much more stable than org 98)

- NT4 I was really into it for a while, both server and workstation. I got my first MS certification on NT4.

- Windows ME - Hell No! Shut de door, keep out de devil! The road from Win98 to Win98SE to WinME is a rags to riches to rags story.

- Windows 2000 - Maybe, but backward compatibility was a nightmare and MS really took the low road of bloated, sloppy and inefficient.

- Windows XP - yes and makes all other Windows OS's unnecessary. My old programs that wouldn't run on 2000 run fine with XP. (The biggest problem with XP is the activation process, which has gone off on me a few times when I significantly upgraded my hardware. I finally ripped the WPA right out of it. I won't say how, but I make no apologies. I paid full price for it, so it's mine and I don't need MS trying to disable my OS because I put a new processor in or something. I disagree with them trying to control in such a way, and such a flawed system. A day will come when you try to activate it after a fresh reinstall and you get the message,

I don`t know Craig, I thought OSX rocked.

Can we just admit that MS is playing catch up to Apple?

OS X was a huge step forward compared to the previous systems. But there are many significant aspects in which Apple is playing catch-up to Microsoft, starting with their late adoption of Intel technology, and the slow conversion to full 64-bit operation. Fact is, both copy each other mercilessly.

I

How long before you can

Honestly, you`re not missing much.

Windows 3.1 takes me back though... even I had a PC back then!

Seems like another life...

OK... I think I get a rep sometimes as a Luddite (or at least a grumpy old guy who doesn't like change-for-no-good-reason -- hell, I'd even go with that characterization)... so I thought I'd give a big thumbs up to this emergent technology -- which moves smartly past the smeary screen phase of personal computing...

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/emergingtech/minority-report-gestural-computing-pretty-much-here/3050?tag=nl.e539

OK... I think I get a rep sometimes as a Luddite (or at least a grumpy old guy who doesn't like change-for-no-good-reason -- hell, I'd even go with that characterization)... so I thought I'd give a big thumbs up to this emergent technology -- which moves smartly past the smeary screen phase of personal computing...

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/emergingtech/minority-report-gestural-computing-pretty-much-here/3050?tag=nl.e539

I have XP Media Center Edition, but never actually installed it on any pc. On my personal rigs I always just "Black Vipered" my pc's and removed all the fluff. Someone compiled an XP install based on DAW users and supplied a download link and instructions. You still need a valid install key, but it installs a very lean version of XP SP3, which many say is fantastic. Read about it over at Reapers forum. Let me check to see if I bookmarked it. Here it is. http://forum.cockos.com/showthread.php?t=30162 Very interesting stuff. While I downloaded the compliled lite version, I never got around to trying it. I basically was doing the same thing, but by tweaking a full install. And never had to reinstall XP, but if I ever had to rebuild, I would have tried this lite version to save time. If anyone is still using XP then definately read this thread over at "Reapers" forum and maybe give it a try.