Windows 9 Beta Testing

Anonymous
2014-03-26T00:26:52+00:00

Hello.

My name is Logan, and I am a student programmer with a little bit of experience in VB, Java, and C# under my belt so far. 

I'm very interested in beta testing Windows 9 (code name "Threshold") just as I beta tested Windows 8 a few years back.

There are rumours circulating that Windows 9 may be release later this year, or early next year, which means that beta testing of Windows 9 should start soon, if not already, and I can't seem to find a single piece of information on how to legally obtain a copy of Windows 9 beta, or even where to look or listen for when it does become available.

If anybody knows anything whatsoever about this subject, please reply to me.

Thanks.

Windows for home | Other | Install and upgrade

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Anonymous
2014-03-26T14:42:57+00:00

Stop paying attention to rumors.

When MS is ready for Beta testers. they'll announce it at www.microsoft.com and not before they're ready.

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  1. Anonymous
    2014-09-14T01:46:10+00:00

    I told one of the beta test techs what I thought of Windows 8 and not everyone is going to have a touch screen so they better have a way to switch it back to a Windows 7 GUI. He told me how to get something similar but it wasn't even close! I told him Windows 8 was going to be a bust because people would not want their computers to look exactly like their smart phones and tablets. He disagreed and said it would be easier to navigate Windows 8 since most people are already familiar with their tablets and phones' interfaces. I still disagreed. Well.......................I was right like so many of the other beta testers out there. Microsoft has listened but the question is HOW MUCH???

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  2. Anonymous
    2014-09-14T02:21:51+00:00

    On Sun, 14 Sep 2014 01:46:10 +0000, frodoboy wrote:

    I told one of the beta test techs what I thought of Windows 8 and not everyone is going to have a touch screen so they better have a way to switch it back to a Windows 7 GUI. He told me how to get something similar but it wasn't even close!

    Let me point out something that you perhaps don't realize: Windows 8
    has two interfaces; the Modern/Metro Interface (which may be all
    you've looked at) and the traditional Desktop Interface. You can use
    either one or both.
    That traditional  Desktop Interface is almost identical to Windows 7's
    interface; the biggest difference is that there is no Start Orb to
    click to bring up the Start menu. But note that you can get the Start
    Orb back by using one of several third-party programs, either free or
    very inexpensive (Classic Shell at
    http://classicshell.sourceforge.net/ and Start8 at
    http://www.stardock.com/products/start8/; my personal preference is
    Start8, but they are both very good). 
    And going from one interface to  the other is very easy; there are
    several ways, but simply pressing the Windows key is perhaps the
    easiest.
    I use Windows 8, almost exclusively with the traditional desktop
    interface, and with Start 8 installed. If you were to look at and use
    my computer, you would have a hard time realizing that it's not
    Windows 7.
    I also recommend that you read "How to Make Windows 8 or 8.1 Look and
    Feel Like Windows 7" at http://www.howtogeek.com/elk/298/45121/4206

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  3. Anonymous
    2014-09-14T03:52:39+00:00

    Yes...I had trouble with 8, but I upgraded to 8.1 and I was able to make myself at home.  I had to watch a couple of Scott Hanselman's videos to get past an intuitive block I had though.

    If you move the mouse to the lower left corner of the screen, a square Window button is displayed that lets you switch between desktop and the metro interface.  You have to run "Desktop" as an application first.  But basically, the metro part of the interface becomes a large Start menu then.  I actually liked it once I figured that out.  And also you can right click that little Start button and get access to a lot of things that were hard to find in the metro interface like control panel....and they even brought the Run dialog back!  Yes!  But the metro interface needs a little work.  The down arrow to see all programs...at first I didn't really notice it, and it is positioned oddly...maybe because the edges of the screen have functions.

    I like the left edge showing running programs.  It is interesting.  I like the new task manager.  I like the speed.

    The Charm bar is interesting conceptually, but it is a pain to get to with the mouse.  The features of the Charm bar are incomplete.  Also, why are options that only work with Apps shown in the charm bar when no apps are even running let alone have the focus.

    After learning that stuff, the remaining problems with Windows 8 are basically that nobody tested with a mouse when designing it.  I have a laptop that came with win8 and it is NOT touch screen.  Honestly, I don't really like when things swipe to the right to get more content...like the metro interface and the new azure mgmt. portal.  I wish there could be an alternate mechanism if everything doesn't fit on one screen.

    So they tried to force us into this new paradigm, but it wasn't ready and people weren't ready...and in actuality, Desktop and Device OS can be similar but there are tiny things that show which platform it was designed for.  It is like playing a game that was designed for X-Box, but not properly ported to PC.  

    But overall, it isn't as bad as I thought.  At least I'm not angry any more when I use my laptop...but I too am looking forward to the Win9 beta.

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