What Do You Want from Windows 8?

Give me a command window with capabilities similar to PuTTY and a real shell to work in with useful commands (hint: everything Unix has.)

PowerShell, which has remoting in 2.0. Inlcuded with Windows 7.
 
I'd like to see the option for an advanced install so that I can forgo all the useless bloat and pretty graphics M$ thinks is sooooooo important. Make it like a checklist and only leave the absolute necessities checked off.

- I don't need special themes - or any for that matter, but let people who want that stuff install it.
- I don't need Windows search or the indexing feature - please get rid of this!!!
 
So it wasn't always exactly 5 years, but the point is it used to be major releases would be at least that long until Vista bombed, but now that Microsoft fixed that so quickly with the stable and successful Windows 7, it seems kinda premature that they ready another replacement so soon, especially since we're all still using NTFS which is nearing 20 years old.

Eh, I would say that ~3 years is accurate enough as all one can really have for a metric of what constitutes "new" is when MS packages up a new box to set on store shelves. In which case you do have regular short releases between 3.0, 3.1, 95, 98, 2K, ME, XP, and Vista, 7, 8.

But even if one were to use your scheme for numbering, Windows 7 (NT6.1) is not a major revision from Windows Vista (NT6.0), which would put Windows 8 closer to that 5-6 year time frame for a bigger update.

MS can't really afford to release major revisions any faster than that anyways, as there's going to be a limit to how quickly their business market is able to keep up. There's still large corporate clients out there that are only now upgrading terminals from 9X to XP. Also since their server OS is somewhat tied to hip of their desktop windows, there's definitely limits as to how/when these new OS deviations come.
 
What I'd like to see:

Search that works regardless of the file extention, including the searching of file contents.
File sorting that treats - as a negative number instead of the abs() value.
A more reliable way to remove a user from a folder's security permssions.
Automatically "Run as Invoker" when an application is detected as a setup installer and requires elevated security permissions.
 
when i hit apply these settings to all folders make it actually apply to all folders. whenever i plug in a new external hdd everything shows up in in the giant icons instead of details view
 
Less limitations for repair/upgrade installs. Should be able to repair/upgrade from boot CD. Should be able to repair install to/from any service pack level. (Basically do what you could do with XP)

Ability to perform SFC from bootable OS media.

Ability to manually extract and restore registries from restore points from recovery console (like you could in XP.)

Some sort of safe mode-like alternate mini-OS that can be booted into to perform repairs, virus scans, etc that doesn't rely on any of the system files or registry from the full OS. Maybe like the recovery console, but with a GUI.

Surprisingly enough, there is a bootable DVD toolkit from Microsoft that does all this. They call it MS DART or, Diagnostic And Repair Toolkit. It includes stuff like SFC scan. a crash analyzer, registry editor, integrated MSE (which can update from the internet) autoruns etc.

Generally it is only available to enterprise customers but we managed to get our hands on it somehow (computer repair shop) from torrents or something.

for more info: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee460909.aspx
 
To keep the registry so I don't have to run a virtual machine or a install a legacy OS for most programs not written specifically for Win 8.
A Win2K classic GUI theme to shut up the people that refuse to use the search bar, or just prefer the old look.
For the EU not to sue MS because they included some piece of random software it makes sense for them to include.
A built in sandbox.
I would also like for Win 8's box art to have a pimp suit wearing Bill Gates bitch slapping Linus Torvalds in a black and white playboy bunny suit and Steve Jobs in a leopard stripe leather mini and high heels.
 
I sat here and tried to think for a few minutes, but honestly I can't really think of anything, I'm pretty damn happy with Windows 7. I suppose if anything, I'd want them to improve the Aero GUI. I want everything to match everything. I want all of the old, archaic icons gone and replaced with new, high resolution ones all around - none of the 'olden days" stuff left over. I'd want them to get rid of the fat borders around the windows. You've got a dark border and then a light border, and it's annoying. I know it's there for *cough* idiots *cough* so they can see the window borders clearly no matter what wallpaper color they use, but it's ugly. I LOVE what this guy has been doing with his Soft7 visual style:

http://ap-graphik.deviantart.com/ar...-2-183267265?q=sort:time+favby:alienfast&qo=0

THAT'S an example of a damned nice visual style. You've got clear with clear, grey with grey, smooth gradients, etc. Windows Aero is sort of a mess with the clear windows, the explorerframe.dll with the big, blue, aqua style left and right buttons, the fat red X button, etc. All of that needs to be done away with.
 
Ugh, cloud computing. I am not interested and I do not feel that it is reliable enough to be a viable storage solution.
 
Windows 8 should include a dialog shown to any user who disables more than three services or reverts more than one aspect of the OS to "classic mode:"

"You appear to be tuning your OS for maximum performance. Please be aware that we have already done this, as we wrote the damn thing, and we know what constitutes maximum performance. The features you are disabling are what make this OS great; you should really learn how to use them to your benefit. Even if you don't use them, leaving them on has no impact on performance, and they will be there in case your needs ever change in the future.

Nevertheless, as a courtesy we have provided you with the ability to disable these features. By continuing, you forfeit your right to complain about the speed, stability, and/or usability of your OS, all of which your actions may negatively impact. You also may not complain about Microsoft's inability to achieve these goals without the use of "bloat" and "resources." We cannot fix problems if you disable our fixes.

Thank you for purchasing Windows 8 - but seriously, you may as well have just stuck with XP."

Then, the product won't get negative reviews from people who buy it, turn everything off, then complain that their OS can't do anything.
 
windows 8?
i don't give a shit about it.

gonna be using win7 for the next 9 years, just as i did with xp
 
More transparency. I don't like options hidden away. I hate extra clicks to stuff. A more optioned network setup that isn't stuck back at windows 98. Better ability to define ip addresses and associate places with them instead of having to manually select home all the freaking time. This is a requirement for laptops / tablets. If you change networks all the time and use ethernet, then yea. One alternative address don't cut it, especially one that defaults to public all the time and won't let you change it.

Get rid of libraries. Or at the very least make them start empty and no "demos" or "samples" which make for easy backups. Another alternative is being able to say what the default folders are for certain files and be able to define those file types.

Speaking of which, it should have a better way of syncing to backup drives.

Mobile desktops. I'd like to place a tablet next to my screen and have stuff "jump" off the desktop to the tablet, then later back again. Forget the win7 phone, it'll never do, get a win7/8 tablet going instead and bundle a bluetooth headset for skype or something. Have the OS license also cover the mobile device.

Able to play xbox games. Come the fuck on already.

Get rid of the experience index, it's not used by anything.
 
windows 8?
i don't give a shit about it.

gonna be using win7 for the next 9 years, just as i did with xp

At least for gamers, Microsoft need only say "DirectX 12 is only for Windows 8" and we follow en masse.

Windows 8 should include a dialog shown to any user who disables more than three services or reverts more than one aspect of the OS to "classic mode:"

"You appear to be tuning your OS for maximum performance. Please be aware that we have already done this, as we wrote the damn thing, and we know what constitutes maximum performance. The features you are disabling are what make this OS great; you should really learn how to use them to your benefit. Even if you don't use them, leaving them on has no impact on performance, and they will be there in case your needs ever change in the future.

Nevertheless, as a courtesy we have provided you with the ability to disable these features. By continuing, you forfeit your right to complain about the speed, stability, and/or usability of your OS, all of which your actions may negatively impact. You also may not complain about Microsoft's inability to achieve these goals without the use of "bloat" and "resources." We cannot fix problems if you disable our fixes.

Thank you for purchasing Windows 8 - but seriously, you may as well have just stuck with XP."

Then, the product won't get negative reviews from people who buy it, turn everything off, then complain that their OS can't do anything.

I disable a ton of unnecessary services each reformat on my OEM Windows 7, and I'm perfectly happy. Who are these mysterious people with enough know how to optimize their Windows 7 by disabling services, yet then complain about it? Anyone complaining about Windows 7 probably bought a pre-built Dell with tons of pre-installed crapware slowing down the OS. I don't know any PC builders disappointed with Windows 7.
 
  • 64-bit only
  • No more Starter edition like the ones in Vista and Windows 7, it is insulting to users and creates a massive tech support pain for DVD playback
  • Less confusing versions and cheaper prices (especially for netbooks), 3 basic, enterprise and ultimate versions would be better than the aberrations generated by the marketing people
  • An easy way to configure the machine, home network and router for remote access
  • Native Blu-ray support in Windows 8 Ultimate (at least) WMP/WMC, just like for DVDs, including playing ripped BDs, not just ISO images. And BD playback that does not require Aero to shut down
  • A movie library in WMP, just like the one in WMC. Well, a better one, I don't want to download the dvdid XML files manually or use a third party software for that
  • A dedicated "Radio" section in WMP left bar, to store radio playlists separately from normal playlists
  • Fix the annoying WMP bug (not AutoPlay/AutoRun issue) that automatically stops playing your music and starts playing an inserted video disc even when you only wanted to rip it with another software or just browse it in Windows Explorer
  • The default File|Open feature should be able to pull any file from any online storage location like Google docs or backblaze, not just Microsoft cloud, and publish open standards so that any application can open and save any file stored anywhere
  • A default cloud space in SkyDrive, so that every single new document in Notepad and other apps like Office would be stored there, and old documents could be archived offline automatically too, with the possibility to work on a sync copy when disconnected from the network
  • The title bar of every window should have an "Always on top" option and other attributes such as transparency, skins, etc.
  • An easy way to aggregate disks like in WHS and assign them to system, data, backup, archive purpose. I don't want a single user real file such as saved games, favorites, program data to be stored on my system partition. Only garbage files such as cached browser pictures, etc.
  • Built-in Virtual PC: I want to be able to install Mac OS and Linux or XP on my machine to play with them and compare OS, disable and enable them at will. Like Mac's BootCamp
  • Lossless FLAC support in WMP/WMC
  • More native video codec support in WMP/WMC (flv, mkv, etc.)
  • A WMP music library that does not delete album information by default when it's filled in manually, or that keeps only a single high res artwork file for each album, or more if you have the album back page art or the whole booklet, not 3 identical low res files.
  • Smarter power settings that don't put the netbook to sleep when you are watching a movie but you didn't move the mouse or touch the keyboard for 20 minutes, or when you are running a slideshow
  • Restore the Quick Launch toolbar, or at least make it easy to add it in one click
  • Built-in Registry cleaner and integrity verifier
  • A more readable Programs & Features Control Panel. I'd like to see programs grouped and collapsed/collapsable under each publisher, I would also like to have the option to block installation of programs that don't provide publisher or version information properly
  • Setup of Windows Vista and Windows 7 is still too slow. Surely it could multitask better, like copying files while checking the system and asking user information. A USB stick edition instead of DVD would be great too, or an easy option to create a USB stick yourself directly from the installer, faster if you need to install several machines, with a way to memorize the user information you type in answer files for different profiles, so you can select them later or reuse the previous information such as location, time zone, languages, etc.
  • Something really innovative and revolutionary in design to justify the upgrade, like multiple desktops on a single or multiple monitors, 3D interface, more touchscreen support, new games
  • A frigging remotely accessible home automation interface, for security, multimedia and appliances. I want to be able to listen to an Internet radio from the bathroom, or select a stream or a podcast, watch TV or consult a recipe from a kitchen, program the coffee machine from the bedroom, watch security cameras from work, stuff that science fiction writers wrote about since last millennium, is rather easy to implement with today's technology, but hasn't made it to the main public yet because, as much as I hate to say it, Microsoft has not added support for it in Windows
 
I want an OS that can talk to me and understands vocal commands :D
 
[*]An easy way to aggregate disks like in WHS and assign them to system, data, backup, archive purpose. I don't want a single user real file such as saved games, favorites, program data to be stored on my system partition. Only garbage files such as cached browser pictures, etc.

Yes, that.

I also want to see what was promised for vista/7, that being every program keeps its own files in its own folder. All required files to run it, (apart from standard system files of course), and all saved games, etc. No adding extra files to the windows folder or anywhere else on the system partition. Gets rid of the registry too and makes it so when you delete it, it's totally gone.

MS did have an operating system like that about 17 years ago called dos 6.22...... Bloody brilliant defrag tool with it too. :)
 
Windows 8 should include a dialog shown to any user who disables more than three services or reverts more than one aspect of the OS to "classic mode:"

"You appear to be tuning your OS for maximum performance. Please be aware that we have already done this, as we wrote the damn thing, and we know what constitutes maximum performance. The features you are disabling are what make this OS great; you should really learn how to use them to your benefit. Even if you don't use them, leaving them on has no impact on performance, and they will be there in case your needs ever change in the future.

Nevertheless, as a courtesy we have provided you with the ability to disable these features. By continuing, you forfeit your right to complain about the speed, stability, and/or usability of your OS, all of which your actions may negatively impact. You also may not complain about Microsoft's inability to achieve these goals without the use of "bloat" and "resources." We cannot fix problems if you disable our fixes.

Thank you for purchasing Windows 8 - but seriously, you may as well have just stuck with XP."

Then, the product won't get negative reviews from people who buy it, turn everything off, then complain that their OS can't do anything.
Pretty severe case of fanboyism you've got there.
 
Pretty severe case of fanboyism you've got there.

Indeed, but he does bring up a point. I've seen people do that. Disable everything in the OS and then bitch. When asked why they don't enable the new things you never get sane answers. Always whatever bullshit they have chosen to believe.
 
Kill off the registry
Always use highest refresh rate checkbox
WinFS
Improved kernel scheduling
Intense I/O processes don't slow PC to a crawl.
Evolve the audio stack for easy bitperfect output or built in EQ, etc.
WMP got more format compatibility, why not the internal windows ZIP utility?
Calclator can use variables.
 
1) Prints money.
2) Grants me three wishes.
3) Builds an island, transforms into a jet and flies me there.
4) Indestructible
 
I just read through the thread and replied as I saw em => long post.

No more libraries would be nice...

Defiantly going to have to elaborate on that one:
Was that a stab at good ol' win32.h and your just another linux fanboy?
Or do you actually have some complaints with Microsoft's provided language and its DLLs (I always thought C# was surprisingly well thought out)?
In standard terminology, AFAIK, the libraries are handled by the linker at compile time (or rather, shortly there-after), not at run time.
Or am I missing something?

WinFS would be nice. Finally.

And yeah WinFS would be nice but if and only if they can virtualize NTFS on it as well as they can emulate 32bit code on a 64 bit environment: All the code written for windows is written for a non-relational file system like NTFS, and if that cant be emulated proper by WinFS, WinFS is looking at the same problem Itanium is/was.

-I want it to be 64bit exclusive.
-I want an overhauled Windows Media Center. Top to Bottom.
-Multiple desktops
-Start bar that spans across multiple monitors

A) isn't happening, more in a sec
B) I think Microsofts got this product slated for continued support but no further development. I havn't built an HTPC (although I've been planning to for years), but from what I can tell its perfectly designed for that, and MS doesnt want it for anythings else.
C) this is a feature now supported in every common linux distro (ie ones with either Gnome or KDE), and OSX, and still isn't in Windows. WHY? It drives me NUTS not having it.
D) My startbars always vertical (set to "never combine", so good, can have about 30 programs running before i hit a problem. love it)

Alot of people seem to be under the impression windows needs to go 64bit exclusive. This isn't happening, at least not for a very long time. Pretty well everybody out there is still compiling 32bit code (I know I am), because for most applications the features provided by a 64bit computing environment dont represent any actual advantage, and represents several disadvantages (code is bigger, netbook platforms dont suport it). Heterogenous 64bit + 32bit computing is the future).

Furthermore, there are thousands of platforms that are still 32bit which microsoft needs to support. Keeping in mind that the 64bit-ness of an OS is determined by its kernel and the abstracted memory it supplies, WinPho 7 is almost definitely based on NT 6, and we know that architecture is 32bit. IBM's Power is also probably 32bit, so the NT6 (NT5?) port to the Xbox 360 is also 32 bit. Microsoft is going to have its code running on 32bit applications all over the place, and if they keep a common code base (which they must). In more traditional x86 space: Atom is only 32bit, so it cannot run a 64bit OS.

No, 32bit emulation on 64bit works surprisingly well, requiring only a few cloogy exceptions, so I think its the way of the foreseeable future.

Yeah, I don't see what the issue is here. I have all kinds of stuff running on my sig rig, Sql Server, IIS, Apache, etc. and even record TV while gaming, nothin' slows down. Even lesser machines can run all this stuff with enough memory no sweat while gaming.

IIS and Apache? And a bloody sequel server? Good god man: you're insane. Does it actually serve anything or just, manage a small home network?

- sell it to me via a write-protected USB key
- native 7z and pdf

A) would be nice.
B) like a winzip++? Would be nice, but that would depend entirely on the licensees of the .rar and .7z spec, and I think those, while open, are not free. Would be nice, and yeah, in IE9 they should pull a Google and integrate a pdf viewer that doesn't support the insane things adobe seems to want their files to support (JavaScript in pdf spec? really Adobe? you are bat shit crazy...)

No Edit FTL. Zune as the default media player. If they're pushing Zune for WinPho7, Xbox and Win 7 there's no reason not to ditch WMP and focus on making Zune better than it already is.

I think your right, and going one step further: If I were Microsoft I might well partner with the OEMs to try to push a zune hardware + PC bundle. I cant speak for everybody, but I think a gook chunk of people use iTunes because its just the defacto standard, even though its just such horrible software (even in a POSIX environment they don't handle the goddamn file system tags properly. I dont understand this.)

Can somebody link me to a list of Software Engineers Apple employs? Because I think that list is smaller than Apple would have us assume it is. This company, time and time again, has shown us they dont know how to properly implement complex systems in software.

Let's see:
- Immediate application of environment variables. No, I don't want to restart my computer or kill all instances of cmd.exe and explorer.exe just to apply an env var. This has been a problem forever.
- I never want to see "you must restart your computer for your changes to take effect".
- ext2, 3, 4 support. Yes, really.
- A way to get rid of more annoying wastes of screen real-estate, like that "organize" bar in Explorer.
- Get rid of the horrible new bootloader and fire the morons who designed it.
- Forget the registry. Apart from being exploitable and impossible to edit in its raw state, traversing large data structures one-after-the-other is slow in comparison to parsing a little configuration file.
- A package manager, perhaps?
- A real collection of shell tools (and not absurd like Powershell).
- Customizability, like a method of skinning, or an actual way to replace the window manager that isn't an error-prone hack.
- Don't disable compositing if I don't want to use that Aero shitheap
- A more sane way to change file ownership and permissions.
- Multiple desktops, yeah?
- Don't shit yourself when you discover another OS is installed elsewhere. Thanks.
and plenty more!

We'll never see the day, though...

Don’t have to ask if your a Linux geek, but I've got one question: having just started really getting into a shell scripting language (and having ls'd PowerShell once or twice), what makes PowerShell absurd?
Aside from the file system stuff, do you think we'll ever see a bash proper on windows?

I agree with all of this. The real piss off for me is that in pretty well every single instance of "restart your computer now please" is the requirement that a single service needs to be restarted, which you can almost always do safely from the service manager. Bummer.

But yeah, as regarding package manager stuff: Paul Thurott has said he has sources at Microsoft hinting at this kind of system. Apple has publically stated they're doing this for the next OSX. The only way anybody does anything on Linux is using the package managers (granted most probably do it from command line), but a facility that allowed people to browse all applications written for windows... if Microsoft could make it accessible, and useful, it would be amazingly helpful not just to regular consumers but even power users: I know for a fact there are applications that would make my life easy if I could just find them. But this is going to spark an absolute fuckload of lawsuits, if you are going this route Microsoft, all I can say is you'd better have found the lawyer-equivalent of "prefiring" in counterstrike.

The thing I personally would like to see is Windows less locked to a machine and more locked to me. If I log on, I want PCs to have the facility to know my steam account, know my Zune account, know my hardforum account, and present me with something that isn't totally and completely independent from machine to machine. I know that asking for gigs and gigs of data/code to magically port itself between machines is a stretch, but bookmarks, I mean, can I get those to follow me around (well yes with mozilla on machines that you own and are allowed to personalize, unfortunately SFU's network is so arcane it still has me mounting virtual network drives). And even if you cant move all the data instantaneously, with all this new one-click application model, with stub exe's and streaming execution (ie word 2010), can you maybe stream my content when I launch Zune on a PC that isn't mine, so that I can at least access all my music, even if it is with a little streaming-associated delay?

I mean, I guess I'm asking for what the .net passport promised us years ago.

Yeah I mean, tl:dr, to summarize using one of Microsoft's own terms: I want Windows to be more "to the cloud!"
 
Aside from foundational changes that have been mentioned in this thread such as file system change, registry removal, etc.

I have yet to see many suggestions that couldn't be solved via a service pack for Win7, saving us the $100+ involved in an upgrade, and helping Microsoft's sales strategy (new ways to sell windows to us ie. usb key, better management of upgrades, management of licenses, etc. <-not features that users should be paying development costs for IMO) People are suggesting native support for codecs, changes to WMP, small tweaks in the GUI/menu systems, better multi-monitor support, even changes in the default theme.

Most of people's wants at the moment seem to be minor, and selling a product labeled as Win8 without significant changes to the OS itself seems to further dilute a market already complicated by several different version of the existing platform (home, home premium, pro, ultimate, etc.)

I'd much rather that MS concern itself with fixing the minor quibbles via SP and keep it's user base happy while slowly working toward a significant shift in the next version that everyone can be excited and more than willing to throw money at upgrading to.

Sorry for the wall of text and please anyone point out if I am fundamentally flawed in my line of argument.
 
What's the saying..... Don't fix what isn't broken? Please do this Microsoft.

The only good and useful thing I could see being a breakthrough is an actual keyboardless version of Windows that could (95-100%) listen and do the commands I speak into a microphone.

Because right now.... the ish don't work half the time you say somethin!
 
Green Screen of Death instead of blue

I do not concur.

Green = happy = life

They should make blue screen of death perhaps a red screen with a skull, so the stupidest of stupids can remember easily what broke when they hand you their computer to fix.
 
@MrWizard6600 Isn't it a problem with the compiler if you cannot specify the target platform in the compiler, i.e. compile 32-bit code from a 64-bit Windows? You can for instance use the "-m32" switch in x64 Linux gcc. In that case, nothing would prevent Windows 8 to be 64-bit only and still support 32-bit apps.

Actually, most Atom processors for netbooks are x64 CPUs, and most likely all will be by the time Windows 8 ships. The upcoming Cedar Trail Atom processors are supposed to support Blu-ray and dual display, but I couldn't find any information on their x64 support.

@Nospheritu I agree that most of the suggestions here could be implemented via Service Packs and don't require drastic infrastructure changes, but unfortunately Service Packs are mostly used for bug fixes, not for feature improvements. That's a decision Microsoft tries to stick to after people complained that Windows XP Service Packs kept adding new core features such as USB 2.0, WPA, Bluetooth, etc.
 
A more consistent UI - you can't expect all third party developers to follow Microsoft's UI design guidelines, but at least you can expect that all all Microsoft applications follow some kind of standard.

Lower prices - Computer prices keep going down, the cost of a Windows license keeps going up. The price of the Windows license can reach almost half the cost of an entire low-end system, especially if you go with a retail version (which you're supposed to do). Add a full Office license to that and you have yourself one very expensive typewriter.

A single "user" license should be valid for at the very least two computers. You shouldn't have to buy a "family pack" just to use on the computers you own yourself.

Two versions are enough - a Home version without the ability to join domains etc., and a Professional version for businesses. They shouldn't dumb down the Home version so much that power users need to go with the Professional version.
 
Better integration with NAS boxes. Windows Search to be able to work with NAS boxes.

As mentioned can we have Add/Remove Software back as it was with XP.

As mentioned a custom install option.

As mentioned just a Home and Pro version. Ultimate versions are a rip-off.

Fix the 'if you delete the delete the desktop icon it messes up the start list icon for the same app' bug.
 
Didn't read everything, but I'd like to be able to come out of sleep mode and not get a ton of explorer errors.
 
I want it to be exactly like windows xp because it's the greatest OS evar!!1 according to people from the year 2001
 
They already added in native ISO burning in 7, but how about expanding that to other image formats? And adding in native image mounting such as just right clicking an ISO and choosing "Mount to H:" would be great as well.
 
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