Posted on 06/30/2014 8:18:40 PM PDT by Utilizer
One of Microsoft's main goals with 'Threshold,' the next major version of Windows, is to win over Windows 7 hold-outs.
Windows "Threshold," the next major version of Microsoft's Windows operating system due to hit around the spring of 2015, is coming into focus.
And not too surprisingly, one of the Microsoft Operating Systems Group's main goals in designing and developing the coming operating system (OS) release which may or may not ultimately be branded as "Windows 9" is to try to make it more palatable to hold-out Windows 7 users.
In order to do this, Microsoft is working on including in Threshold lots of new features specifically aimed at "desktop" users, meaning those who interact primarily with their Windows computing device from a desktop or laptop PC with mouse/keyboard and optional touch.
With Windows 8.1 Update, Microsoft officials designed Windows around a set of profiles based on the hardware specifications of the devices in use. Certain devices running Windows 8.1 Update include Power and Search buttons on the Metro-style Start screen; others don't. Some of those running Windows 8.1 Update have their machines start up by default in the Desktop/Win32 legacy environment, while others on touch/mobile-first devices start up in the Metro-Style Start Menu by default.
(Excerpt) Read more at zdnet.com ...
Hold out my @ss, I just started using Windows 7 a few months ago. After dealing with the wife’s Win 8 machine and the Xp BS MS played, no way will they stampede me again.
And yet, I have yet to see them boast about how their latest and greatest release uses less resources, takes up less hard drive space, or demands less of basic memory footprint just to run. That at least would be a selling point for many.
Too, they still will not release their official standards for such small things as the ntfs filesystem, and each new release of their "Office" products is less and less compatible with previous versions.
Even now their latest offerings to date will not run certain windows programs I rely on, which provides even less incentive to pay yet another 125 dollars for their latest produt.
I’m on Windows 7, but I miss XP.
I run 8/8.1 on all my desktops and I’m getting to where I don’t like 7 anymore and as for XP...blech! How archaic.
Haters gonna hate I guess.
Computers are supposed to be about productivity. Spending time learning how to use a new operating system to do the same tasks in a different way is not productive.
IMHO, Windows should be more like Linux in one way. Upgrade the underlying software base, but keep a WinXP shell, Win7 shell and create a new Win8 shell like Linux has KDE, Cinnamon, XFCE, etc.
That way, I can upgrade to the latest Windows to support new hardware and get all the latest security fixes, but don’t have to re-learn basic tasks that shouldn’t change from version to version.
How many millions (or billions) were lost re-training experienced Office users when they went to the “ribbon?”
You could always re-install XP on the next machine. Perhaps an inexpensive refurb business machine from a reputable dealer like NewEgg.
How's THIS:
For "archaic"?
I have been running Windows 7 for over a year after upgrading my desktop from Windows XP and really like it. I have tried Windows 8 and 8.1 on friend’s computers and absolutely hate it. Even doing simple tasks like upgrading anti- virus software or installing Skype become hours of frustration. While Apple’ s OS has its quirks it is half way intuitive and you can quickly master the basics. Even geeky Linux is more straight forward than Windows 8. Windows 8 is a dud and the boys at Microsoft need to go back to the drawing board and come up with something better than Windows 8 before I will consider upgrading.
So very true. That is one major advantage of Linux and why I prefer it so much. Once you decide on the particular Window manager you prefer, whether it be KDE (My personal favourite), Gnome, LXDE, Step 9 (NextStep), or whatever, upgrading to the next release is not a major headache and things work pretty much the way you expect them to.
I mean, I am quite attracted to PC-LinuxOS although I do not like to depend upon .rpm files for some programs. But it really is a very nice-looking interface, I must admit.
Also you do not have to pay about 125 dollars each and every time you upgrade in Linux. More for the MS-Office products, I believe, while the Linux system offers their version(s) as defaults on pretty much every distro. AND backwards-compatible with the previous versions of MS-Office files, no thanks to MinisculeSquish who refuse to help with compatibility concerns.
*Ahem* “produt” should be “product”. Getting tired...
See My #28 and #29. :)
7 does everything I want. If the newer Windows pays my bills, cures cancer and brings world peace...I’ll buy it.
XP served me quite well for a long time.I see no reason why 7 won’t do the same.
Well, the ‘newest’ Windows does one out of those I would wager, but then again so does Win7 and XP as well so why upgrade?
Well, I suppose anything is possible. Then again SimplyMEPIS 7.0 is a bit newer than XP (from 2007) and much more stable so you could always try that route. :)
For a lark a fellow sysadmin loaded NT4 into a VM and tried to go online with it. Hilarity ensued.
I think Win2k or ME had just come out and when others saw the OS identified on the system it was pretty funny then as well. :)
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