[pjchappy]

With Windows 8 ("W8"), et. al. getting bad reviews here and there, I was curious as to how many here have adopted W8 devices, or plan on doing so in the near future?

I upgraded my Windows 7 ("W7") PC to W8 Pro the day it came out.  I briefly tried the consumer preview for W8 a couple months ago.  I must say I am a big fan.  It took very little time for me to get used to the changes and I must say, I would not go back to W7.  Very happy with W8.  I really like the way the Start works and how it is highly customizable.  If you think of the Start screen as the old Start menu, there really isn't that much of a difference from previous versions of Windows (especially if you spend most of your time using the Desktop vs. W8 apps)

I also have a Windows Phone 8 ("WP8"; HTC 8x).  I had an Android phone for a few years and have extensively used iPhones.  I  must say, Windows Phone 8 is hands down the best smartphone interface I have used.  Highly customizable and extremely intuitive.  I was easily able to connect to my work e-mail account using the same standard e-mail app that I use for my Hotmail and Gmail accounts.  I am also able to use the Windows 8 e-mail app on my PC to do the same.  Everything is in sync and easy to use.  I also use OneNote on my PC and WP8, so I am able to instantly sync grocery lists, to do lists, etc. between these devices. 

Windows 8 vs. Windows RT vs. Windows Phone 8

For anyone that is a little confused on the differences between the new Windows operating systems, you can basically think of Windows RT as a version of W8 for mobile devices/tablets.  Windows RT comes preinstalled on a device, meaning you cannot upgrade anything you have to Windows RT.  Windows RT does not run x86 applications.  Windows RT devices/tablets use ARM processors.  These are low-powered, energy efficient processors that are found in many tablets and smartphones.  These processors simply cannot run x86 applications, due to the instruction codes needed to run them.

Windows Phone 8 is a lot easier to explain.  It is the Windows operating system for smartphones.

Windows 8 (standard or Professional version) is the full-blown operating system that is able to run all of your old Windows 7 (or older) applications.  This is the version that will be found on desktops, laptops and more powerful tablets (basically, ones with processors from Intel or AMD).

What's great about all three of these operating systems is that they all share the same kernel.  As such, programmers can write a program for Windows 8 and easily make this program also work on Windows RT tablets and Windows Phone 8 devices.  I have already found this integration between my Windows Phone 8 and my Windows 8 PC to be very user-friendly and highly beneficial. 

As I mentioned, I have Windows 8 (Professional) on my desktop PC at home; will be adding W8 to a new HTPC I am building this week; I have a Windows Phone 8; and right now, I plan on purchasing the Microsoft Surface Pro tablet/PC when it is released in January.  This is not to be confused with the regular Microsoft Surface, which is an ARM based device that runs Windows RT (see above).

With most businesses running Windows operating systems, I can see Windows 8 tablets, such as the Surface Pro, becoming a big hit in the office.

Please post your impressions of W8/RT/Phone 8.

Thank you,


Paul