An impressive selection of features.
I wonder how many will work?
Remember Longhorn. That turned out well.
Much of Microsoft's marketing push for Windows 8 has focused on consumers, but Redmond took time at its annual TechEd conference in New Orleans to explain that its forthcoming Windows 8.1 update will include lots of new enhancements for enterprises, as well. For the first time, Microsoft confirmed that Windows 8.1 will indeed …
This post has been deleted by its author
Of course the majority of these features have been implemented and have been in use by many admins of NT/Win2000/Server with the aid of scripting and third party apps for years. Nice of MS to make things a little easier.
Still, I'm happy that I don't have to support Windows and its users anymore..
It all sounds good.....on the surface. My question is how easy it will be to use these new "features" and what their limitations are. Is there a demo of 8,1 somewhere to try these?
Not bashing, but MS talks big but delivers small. People are wise to talk. they want to try it first. I'm with them.
WIDI (Miracast is to new for most companies) is not that uncommon. The receiver box is small and carrying one when visiting a customer is convenient. Plug the VGA from the beamer in and you have a fully mobile device for presentation or handing around the table. Same for house-internal use.
WIFI-Direct to a localized printer using WPA2 and a solid, regular changing key - sure why not. Have this for consultants/guests etc. The unit is NOT in the main network
...aye, I will tell everybody here that we will replace all their Android and iOS tablets, phones etc, with a bunch of Windows 8.1 and Windows Phone devices, solely to be able to manage them with MS-based BYOD-management solution...
...or I might just simply install the new BlackBerry Enterprise Services 10 for free and pay $99/device as I go and easily manage iOS, Android and BB10 devices, down to the last details (latter even supports isolated work and private areas so I can limit movements of my info, apps etc but cannot check those kinky pics of the wife)...
...hmm, I wonder which one I will choose...
...FYI: http://us.blackberry.com/content/dam/blackBerry/pdf/BB10-Corporate-level-EMM-Datasheet.pdf
...except those numbers were *US-only*, *estimated* based on phone interviews and most importantly *before* BB even launched their new BB10 OS and devices here in the US - it's all in the footnotes, you should make a habit of reading them, y'know.
FYI those new devices are shipping at an estimated rate of 1.5M/month since February (and much to my surprise their newest kb-sporting Q10 is reportedly *outselling* Galaxy S4 and iPhone 5 at least in the UK and France, by some decent margins - once again, Q10 will only launch tomorrow here, in the US.)
Read on, Vogon:
http://seekingalpha.com/article/1476211-blackberry-10-demand-estimated-at-1-5-million-units-per-month
http://seekingalpha.com/article/1467011-blackberry-q10-outsells-iphone-5-and-galaxy-s4-in-france?source=email_rt_article_readmore
Bought a new Windows 8 laptop a short time ago. Then spent several days trying to make sense of the new layout. Completely unusable IMHO.
Then google'd the issue and came up with a software product called StartIsBack. Downloaded, installed and was instantly back in the land of happy camping. Familiar start menu and boot to desktop, without being bothered by Microsoft's awful start screen. Registration fee of $3 took nanoseconds to confirm.
I am not connected with StartIsBack. Just a very happy customer.
Or you could have used the free www.classicshell.net although giving a donation is nice.
I installed W8 on my Macbook recently. It took me about 30s to figure out the new layout. Seriously are you that stupid you can't figure out a big scrollable screen full of icons... annoying perhaps but unusable, absolutely not.
Did you actually spend days trying to figure it out, or days deliberately not understanding so you could complain about it while I was getting work done on mine?
"Too bad the rest of the planet is not as smart as you are! You must feel so lonely up there!"
Actually, I'm up there with the super-geniuses too, apparently. And so is my mother who similarly managed to use Windows 8 fine.
Seriously, children are able to learn the Windows 8 interface easily in no time. You really want to argue that you're less intelligent and IT capable than them?
"Seriously, children are able to learn the Windows 8 interface easily in no time. You really want to argue that you're less intelligent and IT capable than them?"
You mean as long as the newly installed apps automagically appear on the start-screen and they don't have to figure out how to access the "All Apps" screen.
Oh and what's wrong with the "X closes the app"... come on.. dragging down the window to close an app... how stupid is that? And who would have figured THAT out?
And then there's the ridiculous amount of steps to close down the Windows... is that progress? Really? Oh Dear!
Sorry but windows 8 is NOT an intuitive OS when the majority of apes have been trained to use a start-button and a start-menu with a simple upwards menu (with easy accesable "All programs") and shutdown.
In fact if I really need to revert back to a 90's look of an OS then I'd rather use RISC OS on Raspberry Pi. At least THAT combo boots up insanely quick (and is really intuitive).
Cheers
"Did you actually spend days trying to figure it out, or days deliberately not understanding so you could complain about it while I was getting work done on mine?"
This is the same reason the people bitch about Linux. No one want to relearn something they've been doing for years. Kind of Ironic isn't it?
I would venture to guess most Sysadmins/tech enthusiasts don't have problems, I don't envy people that have to support users though.
JDX said " annoying perhaps but unusable, absolutely not."
Why should I or anyone else use, much less PAY for an annoying product?
I've had Win8 for months. I'd try to use it... and yes, I know/knew some of the short cuts and where things are at... but Windows 8 is butt-ugly and just not enjoyable to use.
That wasn't the point. The point is IT people are claiming it is UNUSABLE for them. This is patently false. For a non-IT person, the missing start button can be considered unusable since they may literally have no idea what to do. But people here aren't speaking on behalf of their mum, they are saying they themselves find it unusable.
Really? You can install and configure Linux but you literally cannot use W8? Look up the meaning of the word unusable.
Fine to complain if you find W8 annoying or crap, but saying it is unusable is, I would claim, a flat-out lie. You do not deserve to work in IT if you can't figure out awkward software... because about 50% of software is annoying. How about all those Linux tools which rely on you memorising hundreds of shortcut keys?
"Fine to complain if you find W8 annoying or crap, but saying it is unusable is, I would claim, a flat-out lie."
I'm sure you could do a days work with someone standing behind you playing bagpipes. It's not impossible but how long could you keep it up before you kill something?
I have used Windows 8, but if the boss gave me a shiny new W8 touch screen laptop it would not be long before I killed something.
@h4rm0ny
The enterprise featureas are a +"Nice to Have" list of things.
But what everyone really wants is the damned start menu back to what is was and at least to give us the choice to use TIFKAM or not.
Windows 8 is probably ready from an "administrators" point of view it is not ready from the "Users" point of view. This is an OS that has been desinged for touch screen computing, how many office workers do you know that have touch screens ?
It's not hatred, it's frustration, two very different things. We want a new OS just not this one.
Could it be that all those enterprise options are far less useful in a business environment than having a more workable Desktop environment?
I know this will come as a shock to you, Desktop mode is what business want/need/use on Enterprise computers.
Look I can wipe your device remotely!, thanks it is a piece of crap anyway.
beyond absurd, but at times comic :D unreasoning hatred towards MS has been around almost as long as MS itself, nothing changes but the world still goes round and while it does most of us are still using MS products among others happily. bit like teenagers hoping for some form of revolution this lot will grow up and pass the IT graffiti can on the next gen sooner or later. Start the revolution now and down vote this post ... lol
True... almost.. But the world is a difference place now than... 8 years ago. There was only WIndows, 3% Apple Macintosh and a sliver of Linux on desktops. (Not counting servers) - Smart Phones were less than 1% of the total phone market (Windows CE) and Symbian.
The tablets and smart phone changed everything. By 2014, tablets will over take notebooks... ouch. In todays world, as long as you have access to the internet and not a business that requires MS-Office... you don't need Microsoft. For gaming? PC Gaming is very weak... with most games going to console, which look better on a 60: screen compared to a typical 24" display.
How many of these features will only be available in the more expensive versions? Will 'boot to desktop' be available in all versions, or just Enterprise?
It sounds as if they may be getting somewhere half decent with this version, now if only someone senior would honestly admit that the whole initial Metro thing was an appalling cockup and apologise and say they should have listened to user feedback in the first place, then they may well start to regain a bit of credibility, but not if they keep wriggling and pretending all was wonderful and no-one made any mistakes.