11/30/2012 01:50:07 PM EST

Getting a touchscreen monitor will change your Windows 8 world. That's when it really pops!

United StatesMichael Osborne

11/30/2012 02:13:13 PM EST

Completely agree, David! I am also not looking to upgrade to Windows 8 any time soon - unless I get a Windows capable tablet. Also, a touchscreen monitor is ok for some applications, but I cannot imagine that it would in any way increase my prodcutivity while working on databases or anything text based - or help at all with my online gaming. Plus it's difficult enough to set up an ergonomic work area with a standard desktop machine, keyboard and mouse - I can't wrap my mind around making a touchscreen desktop monitor set-up in any way ergonomic while still including a real keyboard - for the real work. I suppose I might be unimaginative, but I don't really think so.

United StatesTerri B

11/30/2012 02:13:58 PM EST

I'm looking at Win8 as part of their whole cross integration strategy. What I'm hoping for (probably in vain, but..) is that MSFT will get the integration between the Xbox360/Windows8/Surface/WinPhone all working, if not cleanly, at least moderately effectively. I've started to *want* to work on a tablet, so I have hope that this is the start of being able to take some of the desktop-centric programs I specialize in (Max and Maya) and get them into a more portable format.

United StatesKimberly Unger

11/30/2012 02:18:57 PM EST

Problem is Microsoft is looking at all these devices (smart phone, tablet, netbook, laptop, and desktop) as nails and Windows 8 is the hammer. Look at Apple and you will see that they still have OS X sitting right next to their iOS. They get the fact that there is a need for two different OS's and have managed to bridge the gap between the two OS's in a fairly logical manner.

United StatesRobert

11/30/2012 02:24:01 PM EST

"The desktop machine is designed for production, the tablet is designed for consumption." THIS -- sums up why I didn't run out and buy a Surface even though I've been waiting for them for months. The only reason I would want to carry a larger device around with me, as well as a smart phone, is so I can actually PRODUCE things.

United StatesJanet

11/30/2012 02:25:25 PM EST

Microsoft is chasing a phantom. They're betting the farm on the desktop and mobile interfaces converging. I believe they are wrong; the use cases for the two are sufficiently different that no single interface will ever be ideal for both, and users don't seem to be clamoring for unification. Touchscreen desktop monitors don't really make sense, at least not for content creators. (A desktop computer that is basically used as a TV with benefits is another matter.) The typical desktop monitor is too big and too far away for a touchscreen to be anything but an ergonomic nightmare, not to mention the fact that serious desktop users don't stop at one monitor.

United StatesShirley Dulcey

11/30/2012 02:47:37 PM EST

"The desktop machine is designed for production, the tablet is designed for consumption." Exactly. For nomadic production, I much prefer a netbook to a tablet, but nothing beats a desktop system for getting work done and working with multiple applications in parallel.

United StatesCarl

11/30/2012 03:41:57 PM EST

Just last night I saw a Windows 8 commercial and thought "I wonder what David thinks about this...." and today, here it is! I'm thinking we don't need to go there yet, after reading your review!

United StatesKaren Malcor-Chapman

11/30/2012 04:45:00 PM EST

David couldn't be more spot-on in pointing out the 'desktops are for production, tablets for consumption' dichotomy. I have read a number of comments about how "awesome" WIN 8 is with a touch screen. I spend hours everyday on sound recording/editing software. Just as a test, I pretended to run through a few simple tasks on my monitor, as though it were a touchscreen. After about 90 seconds, I realized I would have to be holding both arms suspended in mid air all day... or place a touchscreen flat on my desk, with my head tilted down in a cramp-inducing angle and still have to move the touchscreen back a foot every time I needed to use a keyboard-based program that was not made for WIN 8. Like David, I have used Windows since it was DOS on 5 floppy disks, and this is the first time I feel they have made the corporate decision that I am no longer their target market. Am I missing something here?

United StatesTom Kane

11/30/2012 06:45:26 PM EST

I'll stick to my Vista and 7 on my laptop. The haptics are so important for me.

CanadaShirley Meier

11/30/2012 08:16:22 PM EST

Spot-on analysis. Tablets are a 'replacement' for a computer only for certain functions, and trying to create a one-size-fits-all OS to handle both is doomed to failure.

United StatesKeith Stanley

11/30/2012 08:17:43 PM EST

I agree with you here, David, especially the part about production versus consumption. SHOULD the gap be bridged? Remembering back to when DOS was removed from Windows, I had a bad feeling. I would have to REALLY work to get to certain files, or to hand remove a virus from a machine. And "kids nowadays". I can see someone in an office needing IT help, and not even knowing what files and folders are. XP was juuust fine. We totally avoided the WTF that was Vista, especially the more we heard from high middle knowledge users about the weird things it did. We don't want to spend all our time trying to get things transferred over, we just want to sit down and get to work. Now Windows 8. It boots fast? And? You assume I even turn off my machine... Another interface that may or may not be familiar? iDon't, and the Droid interface changes with every freaking upgrade. The last one made my phone autistic. How many "upgrades" will we get under Win8? Meet or exceed the XPSP2, or will we just rename it root beer, then sasparilla, and then start shaking our canes at these whippersnappers? We did go to Win 7 with the newest laptop and desktop, and we really like it. The TRUE plug and play, where it automatically finds what I need to print, that was neat. Not really being able to share two computers no matter how we give permissions ain't so great. And of course, no help, since BOTH the online store AND the big box stores DO NOT send the Windows registration paperwork with the computer. So make the magazine cover as glossy as you want, Windows. Just know that there are some niggling matters in the back pages that still haven't been addressed.

United StatesBrandy

11/30/2012 09:12:14 PM EST

I've got a monster big-screen old-skool projector TV, and when XBox switched over to the new style of interface, all I could think was...man what a waste of screen space. Tiles are great on a phone, but when there's acres of pixels to spare it just seems dumb. Give me old-fashioned menus any day.

United StatesSteve Bruns

12/01/2012 03:25:02 AM EST

I've been reading up on w8 and preparing to support it for friends... I know I'll need to, just as I've helped them with all their systems since w98se. I'm NOT looking forward to it! I've heard that it's 'very easy' to make it look and work like XP - or at least w7. I'm not sure yet but I'm positive I'll want to try it to find out.

CanadaJames Ferris

12/01/2012 01:25:13 PM EST

I pretty much agree with this article and am glad to know I am not alone. I love 7 on my laptop and am eyeing a tablet with 8, but don't see it as something I want on a desktop. I still have XP on my desktop and want to upgrade that, which I suppose I will go ahead and upgrade it to 7. I just don't see the same OS being needed on all devices.

United StatesJanet Schmidt

12/01/2012 04:33:43 PM EST

Wow. Glad I bought my new computer when I did, running Windows 7. 8 sounds like a bit of a clusterf*** for those of us who want to use our computers as computers, and not as jumbo-sized smartphones.

United StatesGale

12/02/2012 02:38:13 PM EST

If Windows 8 is more geared toward consumers rather than producers, that will be fine for the millions of people who just consume and produce little other than tweets, text messages and short emails. But if Microsoft doesn't pay enough attention to people who use their computers to produce, then people who produce will find an OS that is willing to cater to them. I guess I'm old-fashioned. I find little need to be connected 24/7 no matter where I am. I'm fine with sitting down at a desktop machine to do stuff, even if it's just consuming. I like getting up and walking away to do things in Real Life and out in the Big Blue Room. Heck, I don't even carry my cell phone - which is just a cell phone - with me most of the time.

United StatesRick Wales

12/03/2012 05:16:36 AM EST

I haven't used Windows 8 but I have to agree on the differences between laptop and table. I bought an iPad last summer to try it out and see if I could justify the price by using it some for work. It cost me $1200, which included the most memory, and wireless+cellular so I could use it anywhere, as well as a nice cover and a wireless keyboard. I really didn't enjoy using it and found it clunky for editing a simple text file. I do a lot of copying and pasting in my work, and I found it hard to do with the iPad. I didn't think the interface was all that intuitive. The screen is so small. Fine if all you want to do is read or play a game, but why would I want to watch a movie or tv show on such a small screen? It had some fun apps and games but I returned it because it was just too expensive to be a toy and not good enough for work.

United StatesSuzanne Lanoue

12/07/2012 06:52:08 PM EST

I may seem somewhat backwards, but I don't even own a smart phone. (I do have an iPod touch--I bought it because my Palm was physically showing its age. It needed a new cover, a new digitizer, a new screen protector, and the plug for the charger was starting to show its age.) I enjoy my iPod, but I don't do serious work on it. I use it to consume other people's work. I take short notes on it. My biggest use of it is for my calendar. I've heard it said (and been pooh-pooh'd for repeating it), Vista was the best thing to happen to Linux (and/or Apple). Laugh if you will, but what company passed Microsoft and now has the largest market capitalization? (Last I looked IBM had passed MS, too.) I'm glad my desktop running Windows 7 runs so well. I don't know what I'll buy to replace it, but I can guarantee it won't be anything running Windows 8. I'm tired of replacing applications just to keep up with the OS. The only application I need to keep upgrading is for preparing and filing my taxes. I think the MS-Windows ecosystem is flawed--I doubt I'll be alone in leaving it behind. That is, unless Microsoft comes up with a suitable new desktop OS that runs my old applications. I would rather replace everything one more time and be done with it. I don't need the latest and greatest. I need a tool to help me get my job done. If Windows XP were easier to keep safely connected to the Internet, I would still be running it.

United StatesMichael

12/08/2012 05:57:20 PM EST

Is there an OS that allows you to be able to video conference your friends via your computer whilst working on something and listening to music and surfing? I think they should minimalise the info you see with the next OS, only presenting what you need to see at any one point. People can do the first five, but looking at small print at the top of the screen and all round as well and then getting delay/interupt messages too...

United KingdomCarl Rylander

12/08/2012 07:09:42 PM EST

Very informative...at my workplace, we've just started learning how to support Windows 8 Mobile phones...I can see the possibilities of being able to seamlessly go from phone to tablet to computer. I still like my Android, though...decisions!

United StatesMike Moffit