JorgeA

Well, that's a bummer. The salesman's point was that our e-mail already lives in the cloud somewhere, so we may as well not worry about it, and happily join the matrix embrace Windows 8. :angrym: --JorgeA

Fantastic -- best rundown of Win8 that I've seen!! --JorgeA

That's weird -- my inbox has a message from MSFN saying that "franisblum6" had replied to this thread, but when I came here there was nothing from that person. Spam deleted by a mod?

Windows 7 is not just XP with eye-candy (I *hate* it when people say that...they said the same thing about Vista ) It's built on the secure foundation of Windows Vista! And Aero isn't just "eye-candy". Excellent overview of Vista that you found there, UltimateSilence. I'm still making my way through it. --JorgeA

I suggest you go and check out this thread, where you will see very little love expressed for Microsoft management. The thread started out as a follow-up review of Windows 8 from a "not highly technical" user's viewpoint, but has evolved into a discussion of everything that's wrong with MSFT. Short version: We'll enjoy Windows 7 (and some of us, Vista), but certainly not Windows 8. --JorgeA

A veteran Windows observer discusses the vast potential for customer bewilderment with respect to Windows 8 and Windows RT and what each of them can or can't do. --JorgeA

I had not heard about that (sorry if I missed it from before). Looked it up. Unbelievable! Here's my favorite of the reader comments: --JorgeA

This practice pre-dates the Patriot Act. At least one ISP as far back as 2000 kept about 3 months of emails backed up in the Mail Exchangers, and approximately 7-8 months on tape backup. OK, I looked it up, and my ISP says that they keep e-mails for 90 days and then they are gone, incapable of being retrieved. Well, at least 90 days is better than forever. --JorgeA

That makes sense. One more note about that visit to the store. The salesman was making a big pitch for Windows 8 based on how it stores everything in the cloud. We expressed our concern about leaving our personal e-mails in a big, juicy target of a server somewhere. In my Outlook, e-mails get deleted from the ISP as they're downloaded and then reside on my PC, which is a much smaller target. He responded by saying that copies of my e-mails are still stored somewhere at the ISP. Unless he was referring to Patriot Act type of stuff, I'm dubious about his claim. --JorgeA

I'm putting this on its own thread, instead of in "Deeper Impressions," for (hopefully) greater visibility: We were a bit early for a World Series party tonight and, to kill some time, drove to a big-box electronics store. I decided to test my wife's reaction to the Windows 8 Start Screen that's proliferating on store shelves this week, and asked her to walk with me to the computer department. "Here, let me show you what Windows 8 looks like," I said as she came out of the ladies' room. When we reached the laptop section, I pointed to one of the many purple Start Screens full of squares and rectangles. Unprompted, she said to me, "Oh, no -- I don't want all that cr*p on my screen!" --JorgeA

robertwm, Thank you (and welcome). I don't mind doing a bit of tinkering, that's part of the fun. I'll check out the Windows Theme Installer, keeping in mind the cautions given earlier in this thread. --JorgeA

Man, this should be engraved at the entrance to Microsoft headquarters... --JorgeA

Windows 8 does have Aero which is just as normal Aero but without translucency. Bao's Switcher (http://insentient.net/Index.html) does work in Windows 8, 7, and Vista. Go ahead and try it. Video demo here: This Switcher is a good illustration that Flip3D is still possible, someone may come up with a Flip3D replica or rebuild its original code. Thanks for pointing that out! Maybe I will try Switcher in one of the Win8 previews to see what happens. The video was an effective, well done demonstration. --JorgeA

I use Win+Tab and Alt+Tab pretty much interchangeably as the mood strikes me, and honestly I've never noticed any difference in response speed. If anything, I prefer Win+Tab because (as @Servelius says) the bigger thumbnails are easier to tell apart when you're dealing with a bunch of similar-looking windows. Then again, I never thought to keep the Tab key pressed and make Flip 3D go 'round and 'round! It's true that if you want to switch quickly between two apps, nothing beats Alt+Tab. But when I have three or more windows open, the quick tap method seems to work for only one pair of windows (the first two on the left). That is, quickly tapping Alt+Tab, twice, won't get me to the third window -- it'll take me back to the window where I started from. If I want to go to a third or fourth or fifth window, I have to pause and keep Alt pressed down while tapping Tab. Still, bearing in mind its limitations, Alt+Tab is fantastic. --JorgeA

That's my understanding of it, too. Still, he's no longer actively involved in what goes on over there. It does seem that when he stepped down was just around the time that MS lost its mojo, with Longhorn not working out and then Vista getting rushed into the market. Although it may just be wishful thinking on my part and not even those were the "good old days." --JorgeA

You've certainly aroused curiosity in what sorts of things it is you've done that might enable you to keep using XP far into the future, even if the level of expertise required is very high. --JorgeA

That's pretty neat, too, Andre (thanks for the link). I see on their webpage that it requires Vista. I wonder if it will work in Windows 7 or 8? EDIT: Never mind about Win8 -- the program requires Aero! --JorgeA

We are told that the future lies in the cloud, that soon we won't need terabytes of local storage because we'll have all our stuff in a central server somewhere; and Microsoft is helping to pave the way by making an OS designed for devices with 32GB of space. And then something like this happens to bring our heads out of the cloud, if only for a few minutes before we resume our ascent. --JorgeA

Flip 3D is by far the coolest feature of Vista/Win7 (IMHO)!! It introduces a measure of FUN into an otherwise sedate business tool. And of course I use the Start Menu for 95% of my program launches. I find it psychologically unsettling to have a cluttered Desktop, or a Taskbar full of little permanent icons. --JorgeA

CoffeeFiend, Good details, from someone who obviously knows what's involved. But if you're right about the practical obstacles involved, and then it turns out that Windows "9" isn't any better than 8, then it sounds like we're basically scr*wed in the long run. Would that be your assessment? --JorgeA

CoffeeFiend, It's too early for this sort of mass migration, considering that Windows 7 extended support will run till -- what, 2020? However, if Microsoft insists on foisting its Metro insanity on its customers -- and especially if, as some predict, they ultimately eliminate the Desktop altogether -- then as that date nears there will be an opportunity for alternative OS's to make a pitch to those who won't put up with it. You've already expressed the idea of changing over to the Mac, while I'm looking into a Linux flavor. Switching to the hybrid Windows 8 with the Metro Start Screen and no Start Button/Menu already entails a big change for a user, but a Windows RT-type system lacking a Desktop would be a much bigger one, about as big an adjustment as switching to Linux or the Mac, don't you think? None of our current programs would work there, either. That's where the opening lies for alternative OS's. Linux developers have eight years or so to devise sophisticated enterprise applications of the sort that you describe, and having a specific timetable ("2020 or Bust!") might be useful in making that happen. That's how I'm seeing it, anyway. --JorgeA

Fantastic explanation and advice, Charlotte -- and thanks for the links! --JorgeA

Andre, According to what I read on the WindowBlinds forum, they do intend to release a Windows 8 version. It is unknown, however, whether this will have Aero capability. BTW, while researching this topic, I came across this, which I thought you might find interesting (if you don't already know about it). I'd be curious to know what you think of it. --JorgeA

Hopefully somebody else reading this will have used WindowBlinds and can tell us. --JorgeA

yes. But the Longhorn Themes requires that you replace files, which is not good. So use the 6519 Theme. Thanks, Andre. That's a shame! How about using something like WindowBlinds. I found some pre-made Vista and Longhorn skins that look promising on their companion WinCustomize website -- is that OK, or do the same problems apply? --JorgeA