Rumor - Microsoft to Release Windows Blue, the First Free

Although Windows 8 was launched last month, Microsoft is already giving the final touches to Windows Blue, the new Windows iteration that’s apparently supposed to come with some really huge surprises.

Citing sources familiar with Microsoft’s plans, The Verge reports that Windows Blue is going to be released in mid-2013 and will comprise significant UI changes, most likely supposed to address the controversial Windows 8 features.

......If rumors prove to be true, Windows Blue won’t be available as a standalone OS, so users would need an older Windows to upgrade.

Read more at source:
Microsoft to Release Windows Blue, the First Free Windows Ever ? Rumors - Softpedia

 

[gazz9496]

If it means some UI enhancements to the Start Screen without buying it, as a service pack of sorts, I'm all for it!

But what happens after that, I do not know...

if it offers ui enhancments to the start screen then they should be releasing those as standalone updates..that thing is awfull right now, while pretty it is just not in a finished state.

why can't we open a second instance of metro on another screen? i mean would that be too difficult?
why can't we resize apps to fit our needs rather than the current limitations?

those two things alone for me at least would make metro far better.

best i can tell metro uses very few resources and you just have to look at the pc specs of people with multiple monitors to realise they aren't doing it with crap computers.

all in all that is my biggest issue with windows 8, not how metro looks but how it works.

 

[alphanumeric]

+1 to what gazz9496 said. Metro's multi monitor support , or better put, it's lack of it, is a big turn off for me. This one size fits all concept isn't working for me.

 

[HippsieGypsie]

+1 to what gazz9496 said. Metro's multi monitor support , or better put, it's lack of it, is a big turn off for me. This one size fits all concept isn't working for me.

I agree with you two. :thumbup Although I like 8 greatly, I don't understand the sizing and multi monitor issues.

Firstly, I was thinking when looking at the Start Screen on my 17 inch monitor at how big the tiles were. I thought that's great for touch and fingers, but one doesn't need that size with keyboard and mouse. If one could shrink it, one could see more tiles. I like the idea of live tiles for at-a-glance info, but I'd like to see more of them. And I can't imagine how big they are on larger monitors! I'm willing to bet that one could fit a majority, if not all of the Start Screen on a monitor. It would certainly eliminate a whole lot of scrolling.

I don't know much about multi monitor, for I've never used it, but I read it's a nightmare. I agree that it needs to be addressed.

 

[alphanumeric]

I had a monitor (CRT) die on my so I had to move one monitor from this PC to my other rig. I'll be getting a new LCD this Christmas so I'll be back to dual screens on this PC then. Speaking of live tiles, something else that annoyed me with the Metro screen was it wouldn't stay open when I wanted. If I had a desktop program like Outlook open on my second monitor, as soon as I clicked it to answer or read an e-mail, the Metro screen would disappear and leave just an empty desktop on that monitor. I could open it again but as soon as I switched focus to a desktop program it was gone again. I don't know if that was a glitch with my setup or what, but it made my live tiles pretty well useless. I felt like I was playing whack a mole or something.

 

[HippsieGypsie]

Lol! Whack a mole! Funny! Will you be getting a touch monitor?

 

[alphanumeric]

No touch screen. It's an LG 22 inch wide screen, 1,920 x 1,080 for my PC in my bedroom. I'm also adding a Hauppauge WinTV-HVR-1250 TV Tuner card. It will be a Media PC/ TV / DVR. Once that's done I'll have my two I-INC 19 inch LCD's back on this PC. They aren't wide screen so no Metro snap for me. They are 4:3, 1280 by 1024. I'm running Windows 7 on this rig anyway. I'm still mulling over whether to pony up 40 bucks for Windows 8.

 

[gazz9496]

alpha it all depends on what your needs are right now, if you need the multi screen workspace then i honestly can't recommend windows 8 unless you are prepared to sacrfice the metro ui to gain it.

one hopes they start to think about desktop users sooner rather than later, because it's not just home users that would find metro's lack of function irritating but buisness alike that would find it cumbersome.

 

[LovingWindows]

one hopes they start to think about desktop users sooner rather than later

They were since Windows 1.0 and even more so on Windows 95 introducing the Start Menu.

As of current, Windows 8 is perfectly fine on desktops.

 

[gazz9496]

one hopes they start to think about desktop users sooner rather than later

They were since Windows 1.0 and even more so on Windows 95 introducing the Start Menu.

As of current, Windows 8 is perfectly fine on desktops.

I wasn't refering to previous itterations of windows.

as long as you have one screen and don't want to do multi tasking between desktop and metro apps without a crap load of flicking to and fro.

while it works on desktops it's far from being well thought out for desktops.

and that's ignoring the multi screen pc usage debate.

fine yes but not great not by a long way.

 

[Mustang]

As of current, Windows 8 is perfectly fine on desktops.

Dream on!

 

[Coke Robot]

As of current, Windows 8 is perfectly fine on desktops.

Dream on!

Windows 8 is pretty good on desktops, as long as you have a touch gesture enabled mouse, it's a fine breeze!

 

[alphanumeric]

I don't use a mouse on any of my PC's, touch or otherwise.

 

[alphanumeric]

one hopes they start to think about desktop users sooner rather than later

They were since Windows 1.0 and even more so on Windows 95 introducing the Start Menu.

As of current, Windows 8 is perfectly fine on desktops.

I guess it all depends on your definition of "fine". It might be fine for you but its not fine for me.

 

[JoBo]

one hopes they start to think about desktop users sooner rather than later

They were since Windows 1.0 and even more so on Windows 95 introducing the Start Menu.

As of current, Windows 8 is perfectly fine on desktops.

I guess it all depends on your definition of "fine". It might be fine for you but its not fine for me.

Not fine for me either! give me "START" or give me 7

 

[BillWindows]

They were since Windows 1.0 and even more so on Windows 95 introducing the Start Menu.

As of current, Windows 8 is perfectly fine on desktops.

I guess it all depends on your definition of "fine". It might be fine for you but its not fine for me.

Not fine for me either! give me "START" or give me 7

Just go to 7 and join the Windows 7 Forum then you can join your buddies and poke fun at Windows 8, good luck on your mission.

 

[alphanumeric]

I guess it all depends on your definition of "fine". It might be fine for you but its not fine for me.

Not fine for me either! give me "START" or give me 7

Just go to 7 and join the Windows 7 Forum then you can join your buddies and poke fun at Windows 8, good luck on your mission.

There is not nearly as much love versus hate there as there is here. The countless "Windows 8 is great - oh no it isn't" or "Windows 8 sucks -oh no it doesn't" threads are getting pretty tiresome if you ask me.

 

[Phone Man]

Not fine for me either! give me "START" or give me 7

Just go to 7 and join the Windows 7 Forum then you can join your buddies and poke fun at Windows 8, good luck on your mission.

There is not nearly as much love versus hate there as there is here. The countless "Windows 8 is great - oh no it isn't" or "Windows 8 sucks -oh no it doesn't" threads are getting pretty tiresome if you ask me.

 

[BillWindows]

Not fine for me either! give me "START" or give me 7

Just go to 7 and join the Windows 7 Forum then you can join your buddies and poke fun at Windows 8, good luck on your mission.

There is not nearly as much love versus hate there as there is here. The countless "Windows 8 is great - oh no it isn't" or "Windows 8 sucks -oh no it doesn't" threads are getting pretty tiresome if you ask me.

So what do you want to see just Windows 8 sucks?

 

[alphanumeric]

Just go to 7 and join the Windows 7 Forum then you can join your buddies and poke fun at Windows 8, good luck on your mission.

There is not nearly as much love versus hate there as there is here. The countless "Windows 8 is great - oh no it isn't" or "Windows 8 sucks -oh no it doesn't" threads are getting pretty tiresome if you ask me.

So what do you want to see just Windows 8 sucks?

I'd be happy if some of the threads just stayed on topic instead degrading into a slug fest when somebody tries to egg you on like you just did to me.

 

[pcRat]

Just go to 7 and join the Windows 7 Forum then you can join your buddies and poke fun at Windows 8, good luck on your mission.

There is not nearly as much love versus hate there as there is here. The countless "Windows 8 is great - oh no it isn't" or "Windows 8 sucks -oh no it doesn't" threads are getting pretty tiresome if you ask me.

there are some who refuse to find some good in 8.