What Do You Want from Windows 8?

[DeathPrincess]

What do I want from Windows 8...

In a nutshell: OS X.

You want a big bag driver issues and unpatched vulnerablities with a ugly GUI?
If you want a mac. buy a mac.
Unless you actually meant OS/2 which was so much better than Windows (according to Howard Stern)

 

[Shockey]

I want windows to not totally fuck up windows 7. I love my windows 7

 

[Unknown-One]

Why does everyone keep asking for WinFS?

First off, it was not a file system as some here seem to think. WinFS was a journaling system that was meant to run on top of NTFS, which provided things like indexed search, virtual folders (libraries), indexes of file and document contents, etc to Windows Code Name Longhorn.

The first itterations of WinFS were basically just a gigantic SQL database, which required a huge amount of system resources to manipulate. It worked, but it was far too slow and heavy to be acceptible.

Around build 5000, Longhorn development was reset, and Microsoft started over from a scratch (using Windows Server 2003 SP1 as a starting point). It was at this point that WinFS was split up into a number of individual components, most of which have already been integrated into Windows Vista and Windows 7.

Most of what WinFS had set out to do has already been done. The most they might do is beef up drive indexing to better match some of the original design goals and usage scenarios for the information contained within that database.

 

[Cakemeister]

Better backup for the Home Premium version
Better SSD support (a checkbox at install time)
Bootable USB (if not already there)
Install from a USB thumb drive
Eliminate BIOS - use UEFI
Eliminate registry
Family pack for say $200 for 4 copies
Built-in support for offline backup (maybe for Ultimate version)

 

[Axiomatic]

Reduce the bloat of the OS's installed footprint by not copying the driver.cab file to the hard drive. I have no problem sticking the DVD in to the drive when a driver lookup is needed.

The go to all other exe's and dll's and reduce the bloat there as well. Lets trim this fat boy up a lot more. I should never have to use nLite ever again.

 

[Azhar]

Reduce the bloat of the OS's installed footprint by not copying the driver.cab file to the hard drive. I have no problem sticking the DVD in to the drive when a driver lookup is needed.

The go to all other exe's and dll's and reduce the bloat there as well. Lets trim this fat boy up a lot more. I should never have to use nLite ever again.

the whole point of loading up the computer with drivers is to make the OS as plug-and-play as possible. Drive space are so cheap these days that you're in the minority and nobody really minds the extra space being used for ease of use and convenience.

 

[/dev/null]

Win8 wants:

* For the $99 version: LDAP support (even if no AD) and I want to be able to buy $100 of memory & not exceed microsofts artifical limitations.

* Activation removed. It's a PITA. I've had memory + disk issues and have already activated my win7 twice. I'm STILL chasing down stability issues (even after 30 days) hoping not to have to reinstall......hence I've activated multiple times in a short period. I'm sure MS will call me a pirate soon.

* ZFS Support. License it already!

* NFS Support (would make my life much easier)

* Standard LDAP instead of AD support

* Source code available

* Home should support at least two sockets. Pro can support 4+

* 64-bit should be the default option

* mdadm support would be nice

* A gui that has the flexibility of X but the speed of win7 would be REALLY nice.

* SSH option for RDP

 

[djBon2112]

~95% market share vs ~.08% isn't anything I'd call a failure.

Statistics fail much? Several recent articles are even calling 1% Linux penetration an understatement at this point... 0.08% is just pulling a number out of your ass.

OT:

I WANT FREAKING WINDOW SNAPPING! You know, if I drag window 1 beside window 2 I want them to align. Not resize, not fill up half the screen, but snap together so the edges touch. GNOME has had that for, oh, 6 years now? It's not hard to do...

That is the only thing I hate about 7. Though WinFS would be a nice addition if they can get mad performance (SSD optimization, anyone?)

 

[djBon2112]

Reduce the bloat of the OS's installed footprint by not copying the driver.cab file to the hard drive. I have no problem sticking the DVD in to the drive when a driver lookup is needed.

The go to all other exe's and dll's and reduce the bloat there as well. Lets trim this fat boy up a lot more. I should never have to use nLite ever again.

If they did that, then everyone would bitch about how, like XP, when you install it you have no drivers at all. I'd rather it take extra space then regress back to THAT nightmare! 1 GB, or even 10 GB, is nothing on a modern hard drive, so people need to stop acting like it is (SSDs are a notable exception, but they're coming down in price rapidly and are still a minority).

 

[phide]

On what basis do you make this claim?

On the basis of reality. The only 'improvement' that I'm aware of is registry virtualization in Vista, though it confers no practical benefit to end-users or to application developers (and is merely a Band-Aid fix to a fundamental problem). Microsoft has made some changes to the registry — though more changes to regedit and not the registry itself — but, as far as I'm concerned, no real improvements.

But a large part of the problems that some people have from the system is certain programs misuse of it (i'm staring at you EA).

The ability to misuse a system in a way that results in problems for application developers and end-users denotes that the system itself is flawed. In an ideal world, where application developers opt to do everything "by the book" (even though there really is no book, in this case), the registry would be an optimal system, but this is by no means an ideal world. Microsoft doesn't appear to genuinely respect that fact.

There is a certain "do whatever you want" mentality that Microsoft displays which sometimes results in really terrible experiences for users: There is no "way" in which things are done, which invariably results in a clusterfuck. I think more restrictive policies for how applications carry out their processes (like storing configuration data) could be very beneficial for end-users, and that could start with the introduction of application bundles. And as much as people seem to hate the idea of a desktop OS app store, Microsoft's app store might help with that as well. If Microsoft were to enforce certain operational standards for applications to be approved for the store, that could help a great deal.

 

[phide]

Statistics fail much? Several recent articles are even calling 1% Linux penetration an understatement at this point... 0.08% is just pulling a number out of your ass.

Yeah, and it's a moot point anyway: Success is not necessarily dictated by market share alone. Apple's been unbelievably successful with the Mac, for example, though its market share still pales in comparison to Windows. Linux is incredibly successful in its own right, particularly in the world of embedded devices, portable devices and in the server market.

 

[TwistedAegis]

I would like a "Single task optimizer" option that when a full-screen (non-windowed) application is opened, all other processes not directly related to that program are subsumed / put into sleep. When I'm gaming I want all hands on deck for the game, not random background crap.

 

[djBon2112]

I would like a "Single task optimizer" option that when a full-screen (non-windowed) application is opened, all other processes not directly related to that program are subsumed / put into sleep. When I'm gaming I want all hands on deck for the game, not random background crap.

If you have a Quad + 4 GB or better, it's really irrelevant. Most of the unused processes are sleeping in SWAP anyways.

Why does everyone keep asking for WinFS?

First off, it was not a file system as some here seem to think. WinFS was a journaling system that was meant to run on top of NTFS, which provided things like indexed search, virtual folders (libraries), indexes of file and document contents, etc to Windows Code Name Longhorn.

The first itterations of WinFS were basically just a gigantic SQL database, which required a huge amount of system resources to manipulate. It worked, but it was far too slow and heavy to be acceptible.

Around build 5000, Longhorn development was reset, and Microsoft started over from a scratch (using Windows Server 2003 SP1 as a starting point). It was at this point that WinFS was split up into a number of individual components, most of which have already been integrated into Windows Vista and Windows 7.

Most of what WinFS had set out to do has already been done. The most they might do is beef up drive indexing to better match some of the original design goals and usage scenarios for the information contained within that database.

(Just speaking for myself here) By "WinFS" I think a lot of people are really just talking about a new filesystem for Windopws. NTFS is great, but it's starting to show its age, and its performance can suffer a lot. I'd like to see NTFS 4.0 or a new FS to replace it. "WinFS" is just an easy placeholder name.

 

[DeathPrincess]

Oh I forgot! Get rid of the core parking!

 

[stevejg61]

i'd like to be able to rearange the application sin the task bar - not having them have to be in the order you brought the applications up in would be nice

 

[Azhar]

i'd like to be able to rearange the application sin the task bar - not having them have to be in the order you brought the applications up in would be nice

pin to taskbar does exactly this. It stays where you pinned it.

 

[Gorankar]

pin to taskbar does exactly this. It stays where you pinned it.

Even when they are not pinned you can rearrange the order of open programs on the task bar just by dragging them where you want.

 

[Azhar]

Even when they are not pinned you can rearrange the order of open programs on the task bar just by dragging them where you want.

Right, but it won't remain in that order next time you run programs unless you pin it.

 

[DeathPrincess]

i'd like to be able to rearange the application sin the task bar - not having them have to be in the order you brought the applications up in would be nice

Click and drag them to wherever you want. Even the pinned applications you can reorder etc.

 

[Flunk]

Anyone who said WinFS, the entire project was canned. We will never see WinFS, although they are working on something to replace it that may eventually be branded WinFS.

 

[Cerulean]

Anyone who said WinFS (above post tsk tsk), the entire project is already integrated with Windows 7.

What?

So far I see three crowds:
1) WinFS is the best partition format evar!!1, and Microsoft needs to recontinue and finish it
2) WinFS was already implemented into Windows 7, and it isn't what you think it is
3) WinFS was canceled

 

[Arainach]

Anyone who said WinFS (above post tsk tsk), the entire project is already integrated with Windows 7.

What?

So far I see three crowds:
1) WinFS is the best partition format evar!!1, and Microsoft needs to recontinue and finish it
2) WinFS was already implemented into Windows 7, and it isn't what you think it is
3) WinFS was canceled

Both 2 and 3 are correct. "WinFS" never shipped as a feature, but essentially everything it was ever supposed to do is part of Windows 7.

 

[Chimel]

@Unknown-One said it all already. I can add some insider information as well, i.e. that WinFS was Bill Gates' baby and conflicted with Windows Vista's management, because it was a revolutionary data storage infrastructure, but quite unrealistic considering that Vista development was already far behind schedule. This resulted eventually in scrapping WinFS altogether, resetting the Vista schedule, and the firing of Windows managers such as Brian Valentine, the guy who complained that when he arrived at 7AM in the morning, the car park was only half full, and when he left at 7PM, it was already half empty.

The idea behind WinFS was that any application developer or data provider could use the WinFS infrastructure to define data structures for easier design and interoperatibility, kinda one layer above SQL Server. Some ideas of WinFS were actually formalized in SQL Server and Windows later, although I didn't follow the details, but not the data storage concept.

 

[WBurchnall]

I want it to be 64-bit exclusive.
I want applications to be able to access more than the finite 2GB limit such as say 8GB so games can start to use my full 16GB of ram.
I want my games to look better while ideally running equally as fast or faster faster than they did when using Windows 7. I don't care which technology is necessary to make this a reality.

 

[WBurchnall]

If they did that, then everyone would bitch about how, like XP, when you install it you have no drivers at all. I'd rather it take extra space then regress back to THAT nightmare! 1 GB, or even 10 GB, is nothing on a modern hard drive, so people need to stop acting like it is (SSDs are a notable exception, but they're coming down in price rapidly and are still a minority).

Agreed. I'd like it if MS went back to giving you the option, which I think Windows 7 may have, as to whether you do or do not want the cab files installed the way the option is provided when installing Office 2007 or Office 2010. That system in my opinion is the ideal compromise. People with SSDs as you mentioned could choose to keep the cab files on the disc, those with 1TB+ hard drives could copy the cab files. I'd just like to see MS leave in this case a 'use recommended settings' aka 'I don't know what this option means' option for people like my parents where it could copy the cab files over.

That way, we don't get the Windows XP era issue of friends you never knew you had or co-workers you don't remember whom apparently remember you, calling you up asking to borrow your Windows XP disc b/c you must have one b/c you're a computer-guy

 

[Unknown-One]

I want applications to be able to access more than the finite 2GB limit such as say 8GB so games can start to use my full 16GB of ram.

This has been a non-issue for a long time. When running a 64bit version of Windows, 32bit applications can use up to 4GB of RAM, and 64bit applications can use up to 18 exabytes of RAM (in theory).

32bit applications that restrict themselves to 2GB do not have the "Large Address Aware" flag set by the developer. They either decided that their app wouldn't need more than 2GB, or bugs/problems come up when operating within the full 32bit address space (4GB) that they don't want to bother fixing.

 

[Chimel]

I don't mind installing the CAB files for convenience, but I agree that cheap disk space is not an excuse, and not even true for SSDs.
Today, it's more convenient to store only the directory of devices, the drivers actually used and the generic drivers, and pick up the corresponding driver files directly from a Web repository if you don't have the DVD handy and install a new device after the initial setup.

File transfer can also be optimized, no need to store or download the data files for a thousand printers when you use only one, and many devices require drivers that are usually provided with the device, not by Windows, AND need to be updated to the latest version from the manufacturer's site anyway.

Even big files such as the language packs are only about 50MB tops on Windows Update, except for 3.
They were much bigger in Vista, so much so that we had to cancel cool ideas like a "Swiss" version of Vista that would include setup and system files in French, German, and Italian, so that distributors could sell the same box or OEMs could preinstall the same version of Windows to all regions of Switzerland regardless of the language.

 

[Cbshahji]

i don't think there will be windows 8 probably windows Armageddon (in 2012 and will be released the day before the world ends (as some says)) and will cost either 1k/license or free depending on what really bill wants. either way i would skip it as it'll be like vista and suck big time.

sorry for being smart a$% but here it goes.

capable of running any and all application regardless of version/compatibility to run in it no matter what and that's all i ask. (so i can finally play old and gold 2d video games as i did when i was 10)

 

[Unknown-One]

capable of running any and all application regardless of version/compatibility to run in it no matter what and that's all i ask. (so i can finally play old and gold 2d video games as i did when i was 10)

Technically already possible using virtualization (VMWare being the gold standard), though it's not really built into the OS.

Replacing the current system for backwards compatability with a series of small virtual machine images and differencing disks (assuming Microsoft can get VirtualPC up to the same level of features and performance as VMWare) would offer near-perfect backwards compatability for older applications.

The question is, how do you integrate something like that into Windows in a clean and easy to use way? Virtual Machines are still fairly technical, in their current incarnation.

 

[firas]

what’s with the I want it 64bit exclusive! not releasing a 32bit version is not an extra feature for 64bit
I want it 4 cores and 3.6Ghz minimum core speed exclusive

 

[Cerulean]

what’s with the I want it 64bit exclusive! not releasing a 32bit version is not an extra feature for 64bit
I want it 4 cores and 3.6Ghz minimum core speed exclusive

and bluray and RAID0 256GB SSD exclusive; OS requires 90% of 512GB capacity, must be SSD, must be RAID0, must be 256GB for each disk.

Also, 32GB DDR3 exclusive.

 

[Cerulean]

EDIT: Wait, why isn't Linux like that?

 

[Paul Ed]

IE 7, 8 and 9 had/have a choice of search engines at the set up or on the first run. If you have 7 or 8 right click the search bar and change the default search engine. On 9 you just click the drop down and change the search provider. I've always had google, never used bing.

Live products are an optional install, it only comes up on windows update or if you download it. Dont download it and uncheck it from the updates, or right click and chose "hide update".

I tried to add another search engine, and then delete Bing, several times, but IE won't allow me to do it. Accident, Glich, or MicoSoft at their Best? Not sure, but certainly irritating.

Didn't intentionally D/L or install Live either, another example of MicroSoft doing what it wants, without my knowledge or consent.

 

[Azhar]

I tried to add another search engine, and then delete Bing, several times, but IE won't allow me to do it. Accident, Glich, or MicoSoft at their Best? Not sure, but certainly irritating.

Didn't intentionally D/L or install Live either, another example of MicroSoft doing what it wants, without my knowledge or consent.

Microsoft has never never EVER pushed Live Essentials or Bing Bar to users without consent. Not ever.

Maybe you need to slow down when you install other apps and watch what else you're installing. Oracle Java pushes Bing Bar as an optional install for example. Uncheck it and you won't have it installed.

Try not to slander a company for your own mistakes.

 

[Void]

Didn't intentionally D/L or install Live either, another example of MicroSoft doing what it wants, without my knowledge or consent.

Maybe you have windows update set to d/l and install updates automatically? That might be the only way it could have happened without your knowledge or consent, unless i'm missing something here.

 

[tvdang7]

Virtual desktop built in. Have gadgets on a separate page like mac does(Then again they have a dedicated button and we do not).

 

[Azhar]

Virtual desktop built in. Have gadgets on a separate page like mac does(Then again they have a dedicated button and we do not).

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/virtual-pc/

 

[phide]

I think he's referring to a feature like OS X's Spaces. Virtual desktops, not OS virtualization.

 

[Azhar]

oh, right. I know what that is. Linux has it too by default in KDE and Gnome.

I haven't needed virtual desktop in forever since I started using 2 or 3 monitors on a PC.

 

[DeathPrincess]

I tried to add another search engine, and then delete Bing, several times, but IE won't allow me to do it. Accident, Glich, or MicoSoft at their Best? Not sure, but certainly irritating.

Didn't intentionally D/L or install Live either, another example of MicroSoft doing what it wants, without my knowledge or consent.

If you have vista or windows 7 get the ie9 beta. If you have XP or worse get 7 first.

Then go here and add google search (theres others on there too if you want) make sure you set as default.

All taskbars are rather pointless, and IE9 gives you clear options during first run to disable addons and random crap. Do so.

To remove bing;
Press alt (to show menu bar) then go Tool>options.

1. Click the search settings to get to the add on box.
2. Click the search thing you don't want
3. Click remove
4. Choose not to be reminded about deafult search thing.
5. Profit.

Unless you have some weird group policy, or have some OEM machine then there is no reason why this wont remove bing. If bing was your only option you may have skipped the choose a search provider step every IE has done since 7. Because it has to use something it has bing as the placeholder unless someone chooses for themselves, otherwise that whole section wouldn't work. Bing bar doesn't come with IE, nor does live automatically install itself.