[domstone86]

Before anybody starts bashing the fact there's no Service pack for Windows, it's not had enough time to be tested, windows is rubbish etc. Do research!

The consumer beta comes out tommorow. I've done some research, and my current windows install is buggy anyway (My fault for taking the wrong things out to fit on a memory stick), and Windows 8, despite it's quirks seems like it'd be good for what I want to use it for.

There are a couple of features, one of which is that it suspends background applications that don't tell the system that they still need to be in use, among others.

I'm aware that there is a lot that could go wrong, but is there anyone who has experience that can shed light on this.

[The Corsair]

Perhaps this is a discussion best suited to The Bar

[candle]

Hi Domstone86,

I can’t say that I know too much about Windows 8 yet but I am not sure why you think it will be that much better for recording purposes than Windows 7.  I don’t think automatically suspending background applications would be that compelling since application that are running under Windows will only start to degrade performance once you start running low on memory or if they are doing a lot of background processing.  So I would not see automatically suspending background processes as a must-have feature.  Maybe getting more RAM or possibly using 64bit Windows 7 (if you do not have it already) would be a better spend.

There is also a risk that there may not be as good (if any) support for various hardware devices that you may have including sound cards or audio interfaces until the hardware manufactures update their drivers.

If you are having problems with your Windows 7 install then most people would recommend that you do a clean install of Windows 7 by backing up all your personal data and settings first and then formatting the C: drive when installing.  The following link looks promising but I can’t say that I have verified the steps personally: http://pcsupport.about.com/od/operatingsystems/ss/windows-7-clean-install-part-1.htm

The other option if you have a restore disk or restore partition is to use that method to get back to a clean state for your computer, again after making sure that you have backed up everything first.

Then I would recommend checking with your hardware manufactures that you have the latest drivers for all your hardware, sometimes the ones windows install do not have all the features you may want or they may not have the latest fixes etc.

Best regards

Peter

[tone]

Whatever fantastic user-friendly features Microsoft include in the new version of windoze, there's going to be two things wrong with it. One, it's a horrible operating system. And two, http://vigilantcitizen.com/latestnews/windows-8-will-have-a-kill-switch/ the kill switch is a big no-no in my book.

[candle]

So you must have linux so that you can check the source code of any application you have?

And what about Gatekeeper in OS X Mountain Lion?  Isn’t that restricting freedom also?  Either way I think it is important to get the balance between security and freedom right and give people the options to choose how much freedom vs. security they want from their OS.  At least MS and Apple are taking security more seriously now and owning up to their responsibilities in tackling malware rather than leaving security entirely up to anti-virus companies.

As for Windows is bad Apple ? (Linux ?) is good!  I think it is good to have a healthy competition between them and keep them both on their toes so that innovation will continue to happen.

Cheers

Peter

[estreet]

Much as I hate it when operating system arguments break out I'll chuck in my 2 penneth and keep it simple.

In my time I've coaxed at least 10 people away from Windows and onto Macs - not a one of them has gone back.
I'm not an OSX fascist - I run 2 PCs and 3 Macs. The PCs still run XP which

[Schavuitje]

I NEVER switch to the latest version of windows until it has been out for a while.

Of course microsoft release everything full of bugs because they can't be bothered to release a fully refined product and

it makes much more sense for them, also financially, to have everyone who buys it being the guinea-pigs.

Then eveyone can report back to microsoft where things are going wrong so that thier software writers can then patch it. Rather than do

the hard work and find and fix it in the first place.

Eventually when all the guinea-pig have pulled their hair out in frustration and the thing is more refined, I'll get it 

[tone]

You got me - I'm a linux geek! But I'm also a fan of OS X - anything unix-based is on the right tracks in my book. But Schavuitje is absolutely right, MS do tend to release before they've really finished the OS. I agree that most people who go from windows to OS X never look back, not because Apple are any less evil than Microsoft, just that they're much, much better at interface (and product) design.

[Schavuitje]

It's true Tone... Microsoft can't compete. Have been thinking of a mac or switching os for a while.

The only problem I have is that I also have a gaming night once a week, where me and a couple of friends play online

and talk to each other over voice comms. So I'm torn between what is best for my music and having something that is great for gaming agggh!

Maybe I just need two computers hahaha.

Totaly agree though. For music i think microsoft is the worst.

[domstone86]

Sorry, guess I posted in wrong forum!

Anyhow, at least there's a good discussion going on! I guess I didn't elaborate on what features I felt were relevant for me on it!

I only have 1 PC that I use. If I could get a Mac, I would, but right now, stuck with what I have!

I'm currently using Windows 7 x64 with 16GB RAM. My main issue with the RAM is my audio interface driver (Tascam US800) has an obscure memory leak. It took me a lot of searching, but I was getting fed up with the fact that I was reaching my 16GB, despite the fact the processes never usually went past 8GB. It turned out that all audio routed through the interface that was not ASIO was buffered into the system memory, and was never released! So I would be listening to something on soundcloud or watching a video then run out of memory. Part of me is hoping that windows 8 has a different sound architecture that may approach things slightly different. It's a longshot of course, and one that involves me not knowing much and relying on luck!

I'm also a bit hooked in by the skydrive feature. I had tried to use the Windows Live sync feature in the past, and I've also attempted to use dropbox, but I found that they weren't intuitive enough, and was difficult to access on the other end. Then I saw this video:

http://blogs.msdn.com/b/b8/archive/2012/02/20/connecting-your-apps_2c00_-files_2c00_-pcs-and-devices-to-the-cloud-with-skydrive-and-windows-8.aspx

As a disorganised student, I'm sure I'd find that very useful!

The other thing that drew me to it was the reset and refresh feature. I have a 128GB SSD which I feel guilty on every reinstall. I don't like writing to the drive unneccisarily due to the shortened life of the product. I reinstall windows at least every 6 months, though it all depends on what I've done to it. And I don't like having to make sure all my data is backed up properly. I have a network drive where I have a copy of everything, but it takes me around a day to organise everything!

http://www.pcworld.com/article/247360/windows_8_reset_and_refresh_microsofts_new_ways_to_restore_your_pc.html

That for me makes life much more worthwhile! Also the native ISO mounting and PDF reading is always good!

Finally, it is SUPPOSEDLY faster than Windows 7. Boot time is anyway.

I'm not advocating windows 8, just shedding light on features I feel might be useful to me. I'm fully aware of the fact there are going to be bugs, though I don't think it's a repeat of Windows Vista. The Metro system MIGHT be a total flop and I might hate it, but then I might find it increases productivity.

The killswitch does sound a bit crazy though, I think if I were to buy the RTM, I'd find a way to disable that!

I do eventually plan on getting an iMac 26 inch. One day...

[Ramshackles]

Im still on xp for music... 

[domstone86]

Hehe I stuck with XP until I got my SSD. XP doesn't have TRIM.

[tone]

Although I use 'mac' for music, I don't actually have a mac (any more). I'm using a Dell D430 laptop which I bought as a reconditioned unit for £150, and hacked it to run OS X. It's not perfect, but it runs logic, and that's all I care about. For everything non-musical, it's linux all the way

[Schavuitje]

The only reason I switched to Windows 7 from Vista is because Vista didn't support a quad core processor.

It only ever used two.

To me things never seemed so uncomplicated as when a friend and I used to use cubase and an atari stfm.

Did the job perfectly.

[tone]

Heehee yes those were the days Schav, atari ST, cubase and a Korg M1. How things have changed....