Similarities between Windows Vista and Windows 8

[chrisj1968]

Im sat here looking at my desktop, and it doesn't look "touch-first" to me at all. Looks identical to my Windows 7 desktop. Could you highlight the areas? Unless you mean having a touch-orientated start menu means the entire OS is "Touch First"?

by default windows 8 boots to the modern UI. I could go to desktop in a snap. MS tailored 8 to appeal to the touch crowd. The hard part is, what will MS stabbing OEM's in the back going to have on the OEM partners? It was reported here that MS blamed OEM's for windows8 lack luster sales. to me, MS needed to double up on their OS to try and save face by issuing surface RT and pro systems to try and squeek sales numbers. MS obviously are trying to pad their numbers and save face on windows 8.

techspot article http://www.techspot....y-relaunch.html

windowsdaily news http://archive.windo.../2013/0128.html

Toms hardware http://www.tomshardw...-OEM,21392.html

So it goes with saying that, MS backstabbed the OEM's and system builders. This WILL hurt MS in the end.. in business, there are NO loyalties, just dollar signs..

[McKay]

by default windows 8 boots to the modern UI. I could go to desktop in a snap. MS tailored 8 to appeal to the touch crowd. The hard part is, what will MS stabbing OEM's in the back going to have on the OEM partners? It was reported here that MS blamed OEM's for windows8 lack luster sales. to me, MS needed to double up on their OS to try and save face by issuing surface RT and pro systems to try and squeek sales numbers. MS obviously are trying to pad their numbers and save face on windows 8.

techspot article http://www.techspot....y-relaunch.html

windowsdaily news http://archive.windo.../2013/0128.html

Toms hardware http://www.tomshardw...-OEM,21392.html

So it goes with saying that, MS backstabbed the OEM's and system builders. This WILL hurt MS in the end.. in business, there are NO loyalties, just dollar signs..

The desktop, something generally most people will spend most of their time in is unchanged largely.

[Growled Member]

One thing for sure, if you compare Vista and 8 they are similar in one way.....poor sales.

[Dot Matrix]

PC sales have been on the decline long before Windows 8.

It was only natural when you have multiple companies who raced each other to the bottom: Bland hardware, uninspiring designs, completely hosed with crapware, etc...

[PGHammer]

Windows Vista was still a desktop OS, and its changes added to/enhanced that.

Windows 8 is totally different, and is a touch os first.

no real idea what you're trying to get to with this topic since you didn't include a point.

Windows 8 is, if anything, a touch OS second - not first; 8 retains the Win32 (or WoWx64 for the x64 SKUs) code, Is touch more OBVIOUS than was the case in Windows 7? Yes - I'm not disputing it, nor is anyone else that USES Windows 8 today, even on non-touch hardware. From what I am hearing, that's your REAL issue - it's more obvious. While Windows 7 supported touch, it wasn't as glaringly obvious - nor was it as fleshed out as Windows 8, let alone Android.

That is, in general terms, the similarity the OP was referring to between Vista and 8 - it called attention to the differences with its predecessor in a glaringly-obvious fashion.

However, unless the changes ARE glaringly obvious, users will, in fact, ignore them. They will insist on doing things the same old way. And, if it no longer cuts any ice, they can - and will - move to something that fits how they want to work.

What you really want is for a feature that YOU don't use to be invisible.

[syobon999]

watch out windows 8, history is being re-written and Vista isn't as bad as Windows 8 is coming off, Windows Vista is in many aspects better than Windows 7 and an large improvement over XP, Windows 8 is an aberration.

[Atomic Wanderer Chicken]

Technically, Windows 98 is superior to WIndows 8 because it is 90 more than 8 and has a start menu! :rofl:

[syobon999]

Technically, Windows 98 is superior to WIndows 8 because it is 90 more than 8 and has a start menu! :rofl:

lel

[Azies]

The desktop icons are the same? Otherwise nothing. lol

[Growled Member]

PC sales have been on the decline long before Windows 8.

That is true but Windows 8 hasn't helped any. People might have bought it if it had been complying enough.

[PGHammer]

That is true but Windows 8 hasn't helped any. People might have bought it if it had been complying enough.

Complying enough? What do you mean by that? Not as *in your face* in terms of touch support?

The problem with additional support (including touch), is if attention isn't called to it, it will be ignored. While Windows 7 had touch support in a rudimentary fashion, it DID have it - and it got almost universally ignored, and especially by developers, which was followed by users.

How many of us in technical support have felt like we have had to beat users over the head to get them to use a particular feature in a new OR rewritten application?

As much as we might not WANT a new feature, there will be demand for new features, and new ways of doing things - that is all too human.

Otherwise, things get stagnant, and get overtaken by events (read - obsolete).

Microsoft does not want to be rendered obsolete - hence, they MUST advance and move forward.

[Growled Member]

Complying enough? What do you mean by that? Not as *in your face* in terms of touch support?

Touch is old news. We had that on our phones for years.

[Brandon H Supervisor]

Touch is old news. We had that on our phones for years.

touch screen phones have only been mainstream for roughly 6 years. that's not that long

[PGHammer]

touch screen phones have only been mainstream for roughly 6 years. that's not that long

touch screen phones have only been mainstream for roughly 6 years. that's not that long

And touch has been available in other areas (such as ATMs, for example) even longer. However, it took touch becoming a near-ubiquity in phones (cell phones in particular) for it to gain ANY headway outside of niche usage.

How many of us have touch-style hardware in most rooms of our homes, apartments, and condos? Home theater equipment (not just the TV), kitchens (from ovens to cooktops, including coffeemakers), etc. However, finding touch-support in Windows gets all too many of us in the same mood that President Obama would be in finding Rush Limbaugh at Camp David. Basically, "What in the heck are you doing HERE?"

Windows 8 is a great big kick to the complacency.

We had seen (or even USED) touch in almost every OTHER area of our lives, and because touch had been expensive for desktops, apparently all too many of us assumed it would stay that way.

Sorry, but no. Not happening, folks.

Touch is a technology (or rather, a group of technologies). Like all technology-based ANYTHING, as it matures, it gets cheaper to implement. And the cheaper it gets to implement, the closer to near-ubiquity (if not outright ubiquity) it gets.

Canute had better luck with his broom against the sea - or LSU had better luck against Alabama in the BCS Championship last year - than anyone would keeping touch out of Windows.

I'm not necessarily a FAN of it - I have mentioned before that, given my druthers, I'll stick with a keyboard and mouse as my preferred peripherals to use with Windows.

However, neither Sisyphean efforts - or drowning - are my thing. And resisting the invasion of touch strikes me as leading to both.

[Noir Angel]

Vista was eventually made more usable because Microsoft learned from the mistakes made in Vista. I'm not seeing the trend continuing with Windows 8, in fact their attempts to further gimp the use of start replacements tells me that they're going to carry on forcing this path whether their users like it or not. I suffered through Vista because I saw Microsoft's intentions and I had faith they would try to correct the mistakes. I also see what they're doing now and my level of confidence in them is at an all time low. As a long time customer and advocate they're fast losing my respect.

[Detection]

Vista is in many aspects better than Windows 7

Name some ?

[Growled Member]

Windows 8 is a great big kick to the complacency.

Whether it is a good kick or a bad kick has yet to be determined. :D

[PGHammer]

Whether it is a good kick or a bad kick has yet to be determined. :D

Exactly. Vista - for all its faults - turned out to be a surprisingly GOOD kick in the complacency; consider how many of Vista's *faults* turned out to be the fault of poor executions by OEMs, and not the fault of the OS at all.

The bigger issue with Windows 8 is that this time it's the USERS that are getting the kicking.

We are, by and large, the SAME folks that have been buying tablets, slates and smartphones (with non-Microsoft operating systems on them) that support touch - did you really expect Microsoft to NOT notice?

There is, apparently, a market for an operating system that is compatible with our data, our games, AND our applications, yet also supports touch better than Windows 7 - that is precisely what we have been saying by dint of what we have been buying.

Are we lying to Apple, and Google, and all those tablet, slate, and smartphone OEMs and IHVs - or are we lying to ourselves?

[Noir Angel]

I don't think we are lying to ourselves. For starters I personally have no interest in tablets as they are incapable of doing what I want a computer to do for me, and the reason people buy Android and iOS tablets is that their manufacturers have been smart enough to develop their tablet OS separately. The problem with Windows 8 is that it's not a solution that fits either market well. The fact that they have to leave in all the desktop stuff causes a lot of space wastage on tablets (even the most heavy Android and iOS ROMs only use a couple of gigs) and an interface that doesn't work well on desktop either.

Yes, tablets and smartphones can account for *some* of the decline in sales of traditional computers but I simply refuse to believe that the biggest sales drop in history just happens to have coincided with Windows 8's release and the assertion that this is all one big and unhappy coincidence.

[BajiRav]

I don't think we are lying to ourselves. For starters I personally have no interest in tablets as they are incapable of doing what I want a computer to do for me, and the reason people buy Android and iOS tablets is that their manufacturers have been smart enough to develop their tablet OS separately. The problem with Windows 8 is that it's not a solution that fits either market well. The fact that they have to leave in all the desktop stuff causes a lot of space wastage on tablets (even the most heavy Android and iOS ROMs only use a couple of gigs) and an interface that doesn't work well on desktop either.

Yes, tablets and smartphones can account for *some* of the decline in sales of traditional computers but I simply refuse to believe that the biggest sales drop in history just happens to have coincided with Windows 8's release and the assertion that this is all one big and unhappy coincidence.

He is what my four "PCs" do for me:

1. My home desktop PC: Mostly used for photo+video editing (home stuff), browsing and acts as a media server to my Xbox

2. My work PC: Mostly used for development related stuff (eclipse, git, visual studio blah blah), browsing, Outlook and music.

3. My tablet PC - iPad: Mostly used for bedtime browsing and email, occasional Skype calls.

4. My phone - Lumia 920: Phone, email, podcasts/audiobooks/music in car, foursquare, twitter etc. typical mobile phone stuff.

There is no touch hardware whatsoever on #1 and #2. Now there is no reason I can not use a Windows RT tablet for #3 and in fact, given how smoothly Windows 8 syncs between #1 and #2, I would rather use a WinRT tablet - the reason I don't is because it was given by work for our mobile app stuff. I really like how it syncs website data/logins and my other settings such as input language.

I think Microsoft is on the right track with regards to one OS fits all - they just need to somehow blend all 3 types of systems listed above. I personally think Windows 8 mostly hits the sweet spot between too-touchy and non-touchy. They obviously need to work on it further and make it better for people with both needs (and fix those awful first party apps).

I don't think lack of start menu/button is much of a problem and the whole argument about "loading tablet UI on desktop" needs to be revisisted from people who don't like it.

[Noir Angel]

I'll revisit that argument when it stops being true for me, thanks.

[Skin]

vista and win8 are similar in that they are the bridge OSs in terms of forcing people to adapt and change over from the old.

In both regards, it took folks an OS to stop them really whining and accept what was put out next... if it was really better then the last is up for debate, but in terms of performance gains and overall stability, both are wins.

By win9, or 8.1 maybe, people will have given up on complaining for the sake of it, and realize that both vista and 8 were by no means failures, and were in fact the logical stepping stones in coding and sales.

[Noir Angel]

Nice try, but Vista wasn't a complete paradigm shift, it was a technological shift.

[Studio384]

• Windows Vista and Windows 8 both introduced a new visual style / interface which encompasses various parts of the operating systems: Windows Aero, and the Windows 8 UI respectively.
  
  • There is a difference between a new visual style and a new interface.
    

  [*]Both had a revised Windows Explorer interface and new file management windows.

  • Windows Vista's explorer didn't change that much compared to XP.
    

  [*]Both of the operating systems included an anti-malware solution: Windows Defender and Microsoft Security Essentials.

  • MSSE is not part of Windows. Both Vista and 8 have Windows Defender, just like XP and 7.
    

  [*]Fully integrated a child monitoring feature: Parental Controls and Family Safety.

  • Uhm, they booth have a taskbar?
    

  [*]Introduced ?Live? features: Windows Sidebar (and Gadgets) and Start screen (with Live Tiles).

  • Windows Sidebar, a "Live" feature?
    

  [*]Bundled new E-Mail, Calendar, and Contact features.

  • Just like very other operating system...
    

  [*]Integrated seamlessly with a digital distribution system: Windows Marketplace and Windows Store.

  • Windows Marketplace was not integrate in Windows Vista like the Windows Store in 8.
    

  [*]Finally, both operating systems had a significant visual overhaul of the standard Windows games, such as Minesweeper.

  • I'm sorry, but on all Windows 8 systems I have (4), I didn't find any game until I downloaded them.
    

[COKid]

Some people just can't handle the truth even when it's staring right at them.