Direct X 11.1 is Windows 8 exclusive, no plans to retrofit

[Arras]

(I removed ones I had no issues with)
1. That Refresh button is going to be HELL! Imagine how many people are going to phone Tech Support because they pressed that button. Imagine.
2. Windows 7 has a backup feature, not sure whether it has selective restores though.
3. Umm... yeah Vista and Win7's start menu says hi. I can search my computer just as easily here as on Windows 8.

1. It's located in PC Settings (somewhere most techno-idiots wouldn't look, this is only a problem for the guys who think they are smart but actually have no clue what they're doing) under General and lists what it does quite clearly.
2. It's different. Win7 just backed up your whole drive. This basically copies the files every time you change them and allows you to pick what files to restore to what date.
3. The Win8 search allows you to search for apps, files, settings and anything that can be found using one of the apps (like, search inside the Store, Wikipedia, Mail etc).

 

[Minox]

Exclusive or not, a fair share of games are still being made with DX9 in focus. Due to that I find it somewhat unlikely that this is something you'll notice immediately but rather one or two generations away when DX11.0 has become the new DX9.

And even so, there is still openGL which should not suffer from such artificial limitations.

 

[Qtis]

oh I'm not falling for it this time, would never have left windows xp if microsoft didn't have to go out of its way to be a jerk.
Am I the only one who hates what Steve Ballmer is doing to microsoft?

Windows 7 changed quite a bit to the better. Vista was a disappointment, but comparing Windows XP with Windows 7 shows a clear winner. Windows 7 has more advantages than Windows XP in terms of new features and support for new hardware solutions.

ps. Running Windows XP on a virtual machine is a good option if you really need to use it for something (gaming for me). Otherwise go for Windows 7/8. Especially if your computer is newer.

 

[Jamstruth]

1. It's located in PC Settings (somewhere most techno-idiots wouldn't look, this is only a problem for the guys who think they are smart but actually have no clue what they're doing) under General and lists what it does quite clearly.
2. It's different. Win7 just backed up your whole drive. This basically copies the files every time you change them and allows you to pick what files to restore to what date.
3. The Win8 search allows you to search for apps, files, settings and anything that can be found using one of the apps (like, search inside the Store, Wikipedia, Mail etc).

Yeah... never underestimate the end user who thinks he knows what he;s doing my friend.
And I'll give you the in-app search bit (I can search for mail but that's only because they're stored as files) but I can find files, settings, apps, anything from my own search bar.
This is a silly argument though.

 

[Foxi4]

Exclusive or not, a fair share of games are still being made with DX9 in focus. Due to that I find it somewhat unlikely that this is something you'll notice immediately but rather one or two generations away when DX11.0 has become the new DX9.

And even so, there is still openGL which should not suffer from such artificial limitations.

Do note that they're produced that way to support the last generation consoles, which by now became a handbreak of the industry - those consoles are being phased out soon though, and DirectX 10/11 will become the standard as new ones roll in.

 

[Jamstruth]

Spoiler

Err... Two resizable windows in Windows 8. Problem?
The workflow issues are not due to the system differences themselves - you still have a massive desktop full of icons and a search bar - you literally have the same features, you just "click less" than if you were to use the Start Menu.

I was referring to the Metro apps which Microsoft are pushing as the new wave of apps and wanting to fade old traditional desktop ones. The workflow differences are due to the differences between this and desktop. If I want to have 2 Word Documents open at the same time for reference this is limited by a Metro app. If I want to run a program in a small window in the corner while another take up most of the space I can't do this in Metro.

Spoiler

A SEARCHBAR! THAR SHE BLOWS!

Yep. That sure is a search bar taking up my entire screen there. This wasn't actually a dig at Windows 8. When I was writing that post the most recent one was somebody asking if anybody used the Start Menu. I sure do

 

[Foxi4]

...but I can find files, settings, apps, anything from my own search bar.

...and you can find settings, files, apps and "anything" from Windows 8's searchbar likewise, as I've shown earlier.

 

[Jamstruth]

...and you can find settings, files, apps and "anything" from Windows 8's searchbar likewise, as I've shown earlier.

My point was that it wasn't a feature new to Windows 8.

 

[Crimsonclaw111]

Will wait for Windows 9 or whatever the next iteration becomes.

 

[EJames2100]

When I loaded it up it confused me for a few minu8tes, found the desktop button, googled 'Windows 8 start button', downloaded ClassicShell, now I have a start button and it auto-skips Metro for me.

So faster loading times, boots/shuts down far far quicker, and just seems overall a bit snappier.
It's a decent upgrade from 7.

So I don't really get where the Win8 hate is coming from.

 

[Arras]

Yeah... never underestimate the end user who thinks he knows what he;s doing my friend.

Trust me, I know. That's why I said it would be a problem for those who think they are smart but actually have no clue what they're doing

 

[Foxi4]

I was referring to the Metro apps which Microsoft are pushing as the new wave of apps and wanting to fade old traditional desktop ones. The workflow differences are due to the differences between this and desktop. If I want to have 2 Word Documents open at the same time for reference this is limited by a Metro app. If I want to run a program in a small window in the corner while another take up most of the space I can't do this in Metro.

You know you can dock and resize Windows in Metro too, right? In fact, you can even work "one side Metro, one side Desktop" with ease, effectively turning the MetroUI into a sidebar. Moreover, the "Desktop" is not being phased out - the Start Menu is.

 

[shakirmoledina]

Some food for thought...

Spoiler

And yes, I know you can put icons on the taskbar. You can put icons on the Metro UI as well, so that's not an advantage.

you could put an internet explorer shortcut on the desktop and set the mouse to run in one click and not the default two.

then again, I have that games run slower on 8 and engadget tests prove that. I hope this gives performance improvements over JUST quality.

 

[Foxi4]

you could put an internet explorer shortcut on the desktop and set the mouse to run in one click and not the default two.

then again, I have that games run slower on 8 and engadget tests prove that. I hope this gives performance improvements over JUST quality.

Of course you can put it on the desktop, but as I said, desktops have no tabs. In other words, you are limited as far as space for icons is concerned. In Metro, you are not - you just slide until you get to the app you're interested in.

 

[Minox]

So I don't really get where the Win8 hate is coming from.

Personally I dislike how they're trying to force touch movements upon people without touch-interface devices. Things that might make sense on a touchscreen does not always work when using a mouse and keyboard - it might actually make things a whole lot more tedious than they have to be.

That and I'm not a big fan of them not allowing side-loading of Metro-style programs unless you activate a dev license through the use of console commands.

 

[RodrigoDavy]

Embrace the pain of Ubuntu! (proud Ubuntu user)

 

[Foxi4]

Ubuntu is the Linux for the masses - it's actually quite nasty considering other choices and has inheritent design flaws as well as a myriad of issues.

 

[RchUncleSkeleton]

If game developers are smart they won't create anything that requires DirectX 11.1 until either Windows 8 has gone by the wayside or until microsoft decides to release it for Windows 7. Personally I'm still running XP and completely happy with it, of course I'm not a PC gamer and the last game I did play on PC was GTA: San Andreas/Half Life 2.

 

[zygie]

Well this quickly turned into another argument, but that was inevitable. That being said, I like change, and I'd get Win8 before next year (especially since I'm getting it for $15).

I thought about the whole start menu thing and I realized I only ever use the start menu for clicking shut down.

I've also used every version of Windows and while some did have shortcomings they're not entirely worse than the last one, so it's not a big deal for me. I especially dislike using XP after going through Vista, but that's me. 7 was a natural step up, so I'm looking forward to having 8, bad press or not.

 

[Minox]

Ubuntu is the Linux for the masses - it's actually quite nasty considering other choices and has inheritent design flaws as well as a myriad of issues.

Indeed. There's a reason why Linux Mint has managed to overtake Ubuntu in terms of popularity.