I have been curious and installed this cool preview from Microsoft last night 
Nobody said that none of the programs will work from Windows Vista computer!
so be careful. It took good few hours to reinstall all programs on Win8 again.
But in fact Windows 8 is there for free and works fine and quick !
support.microsoft.com/hub/4338813/windows-help
I am using Winders 95
Must be better than 6 and 7 and 8 cos it is a bigger number right?
I've got Windows 3
There's one right in front of me and two on my left.
But it's dark outside so I can't see anything.
So far they've been pretty good and all applications seem to work well.
Window opens,.... window closes. Window opens,... window closes.
What more could I ask?
Got W7...it works, so not interested in 8.
Had 95...'upgraded' to Windows ME (what a fked up OS that one was!), so went to 2000...shortly after went to Vista and 2 years later after several re-installs & bugfixes/updates I'm actually satisfied (home PC). At work it's W7 on a 64bit laptop/docking station and I reckon it's pretty good so won't touch it.
[edit] looks like tablet OS - my post prob not relevant.
Spoken to a techy about it and apparently it's as glitchy as vista....If it works, Don't fix it.
Just another means of turning over software. 
This is the only windows program i have been able to understand
And that was only last year 
Based on how MS has developed Windows I'd skip 8. They have a pattern of releasing a decent OS and then a dog that is followed up by another decent OS. 7 is basically how Vista should have been. 9 will be the way 8 should have been.
If MS doesn't pull something out that is pretty good then their market share will reduce. Unless you want to play computer games or some other Windows specific application, there really isn't any reason to use Windows anymore. If you are cheap then use a Linux distribution like Ubuntu or Mint. If you feel like spending some money, buy a Mac.
No way should you upgrade from an older MS OS to a newer one. Its asking for trouble. Do a fresh installation.
W8 looks interesting for a tablet....I want to change my net-book to tablet but haven't found a tablet with decent features for production of work yet... I need 1 or 2 USB and a SD card slot something the "fruit" hasn't got... but I'm prepared to wait.
There are a couple of tablets out there that will do the task with W7 but as W8 has just been announced I'll sit back and watch for the moment.
For MS its a make or break in the tablet market for them.....
Nebs, I knew you wouldnt be able to resist
www.cultofmac.com/107445/apple-will-murder-os-x-and-replace-it-with-ios-on-all-macs-starting-in-2012-report/
lowendmac.com/musings/10mm/ios-mac-os-x-future.html
etc. etc.
Thanks for the reminder, I've got an image of that Win8 preview I've been meaning to have a look at. Will be installing it on a virtual machine for sure, too much tweaking has gone into my Win7 setup to take a gamble on a real machine yet.
Pretty happy with the Metro UI in the windows phone so far. I suppose Win8 will really come into its own on a tablet. Remind me again why I need a tablet when I have a laptop and a smartphone?
As for Mac, GreenWife has one that I've had a chance to have a go with (and maintain on her behalf, with incorporation of various things to the house network and an OS update). Can't say I'm particularly impressed with any feature I've come across so far, and quite disappointed with the shortage of buttons on the mouse/touchpad.
From all accounts on Windows 8 I've seen if you stay in metro it works well but the flip flop between the desktop set up and metro is a bit screwy. And you need to learn a couple new short cuts and mouse hover points.
Think their using this to transition people through to Metro thinking and the next release with be a full metro experience in line with xbox and WP.
There is supposed to be a new/refresh cloud link "app" for W8 and W7 that I'm more interested in as I use the Live services instead of google.
GreenPat -- try installing a backup system on Greenwife's computer:
1) Buy external drive
2) Plug it in
3) Turn on Time Machine
Job done.
Then you can really easily go back in time to grab a copy of any file, saved at any time. You can even use this disk to build a new computer -- when you start up your new machine it says "Do you have a time machine backup of your old 'puter?" and if so you plug it in, boom your shiny new toy has all your old data, with a new operating system.
Has Microsoft finally sorted something like this out in windows 8?
Let's see if this thread can decide the best operating system, once-and-for-all.
Yeah, I used to bag Apple only two years ago. Then I was shopping for a new PC and I thought that, just for fun and interest's sake, I'd buy a Mac instead. A MacMini that could just plug into my existing monitor and keyboard etcetera. Now I own, in order of acquisition, a MacMini, an iPod, an AppleTV, two iPhones, AAPL shares, and I'm waiting for the next MacBook Air to come out.
No, I don't queue at midnight.
iOS won't replace OSX, that makes no sense technically. They're so very different underneath, and need to be. The look-and-feel will be similar, it already is with launchpad (that i never use), and iCloud will provide even more syncing, but underneath iOs and OSX are very different (surely?).
www.apple.com/au/macos/catalina/
...and here's my take on the future: Smart phones become powerful enough that they replace the desktop. Still need the peripherals of course. The phones just dock into your workspace. Seems very likely.
