Windows 8, LightRoom 3.5 and other photo software compatibility?

[Goldilocks]

I see Microsoft is having a special promotion on Windows 8 Pro for the month of July at $40. Currently I have:
LR 3.5,
PS CS5
Epson 3800 printer
2 Topaz plug-ins (B&W) and (Adjust 5)
I borrow a:
Spyder 3 Pro   for calibration

My desktop with 4 gb of ram has Windows Vista (home 32 bit) and my laptop has 2gb ram with Windows XP on it. I am not working professionally as a photographer, but I have been feed up with Vista for a long time with it's constant "not responding" status that takes forever. I'm using Lightroom 3.5, Photoshop CS5 extended and the Epson 3800 printer.  I borrow a Spyder Pro 3 for calibrating my monitors, and I occasionally use Topaz plug-ins. Are any of the programs that I am using compatible with Windows 8? What is the photographic community's consensus on Windows 8 Pro?

I have a very limited income and would appreciate any advice. Purchasing another Photoshop is definitely out of the question.

If there is a better category for me to post this question, please advise.

Thanks.
Goldilocks
a/k/a Linda

[Simon Garrett]

Do you mean Windows 8?  It isn't launched yet!  And from what I've seen (I've downloaded the previews) I wouldn't touch it with a barge pole. 

Assuming you mean Windows 7 then most people (including me) regard it as a significant improvement on Vista.  There is a "Windows 7 compatibility tool" on the Microsoft web site (that might not be the exact name, so Google for it).  You download that and run it, and it will warn you of potentially incompatible hardware and software.  It's pretty conservative, and even things it warns you about often run OK on W7, so Google for info about anything doubtful. 

Windows 7 64-bit will run on 4G of memory but I wouldn't recommend it on 2G - use the 32-bit version on the laptop and (I recommend) 64-bit on the 4G machine.   I can't remember if you get both 32-bit and 64-bit versions when you buy W7, but check.  In 4G memory, W7 is usually as fast as Vista.  However, W7 on a 2G laptop may be slower than XP. 

W7 Pro has virtually nothing for the home user over and above W7 Home Premium.  If the offer is only for Pro then fine, but don't pay anything extra for Pro over Home Premium. 

[Goldilocks]

I just checked. It is Windows 8 Pro. The deal is available til January 31, 2013, not July. So I have time to think about it. Any other views on Windows 8 as time goes along will be appreciated. So far, what is bad with Windows 8?

[Simon Garrett]

Windows 8 is Windows 7 with some behind-the-scenes improvements - and (to my mind) a quite horrid new "Metro" interface that replaces the start menu.  Imagine trying to use a huge ipad touch-screen interface on a PC, but without the touch screen.

Basically, Microsoft want to tell everyone that Windows 8 is a really cool touch-screen interface for tablets and smart phones (it may be, though the jury's out) and also the same interface is just great on a larger screen keyboard-and-mouse system (it isn't).  It's a wholly different style of user interface that makes using Windows on a normal PC or laptop a bit of a nightmare.  You end up constantly switching between two completely different user interfaces.  Metro uses huuuuuuuuuuge blobby icons that make very poor use of large screens (I mean anything larger than an ipad) and is not easy to navigate with a mouse. 

And it definitely isn't available yet!  You can download a "Release Preview" for free, but I'm pretty sure any order you place now won't ship for a few months. 

[Rhossydd]

a quite horrid new "Metro" interface that replaces the start menu.

I'd thought it was possible to bypass that and just use the familiar interface ?

I'll try the preview once I've retired this machine, but so far I've seen no reason to drop W7.

[Simon Garrett]

I'd thought it was possible to bypass that and just use the familiar interface ?

I'll try the preview once I've retired this machine, but so far I've seen no reason to drop W7.

In the previews, there are ways to partially bypass the Metro front end but the word is that Microsoft will break that possibility in the release version.  Microsoft want you to experience the full horror wonder of Metro. 

[Pete_G]

I've been mucking around with Windows 8 preview on my laptop and I would agree that Metro seems a bit clumsy using a mouse, although there are users who say, that if you get used to it, it really works well. Although MS plan to make it less than simple to disable Metro there will be dozens of hacks and apps available to do just that. Metro is getting pretty positive reviews as a tablet based OS, so I wouldn't count it out. However, I don't think I'm going to bother to upgrade to 8 in the near future since Win 7 64 works perfectly well.

[kaelaria]

Same here been using it for months ans will be holding on to win7 for a very long time and love it!  Metro with a mouse is an efficiency nightmare.

[meyerweb]

From what I've seen the biggest issue with using Windows 8 on a laptop or desktop is that it only lets you work on one full-screen window at a time. Imagine having a 23" or larger monitor and not being able to open multiple windows.

Microsoft is clueless. For a couple of decades (going all the way back to WinCE) they tried to convince us that an interface designed for large monitor, mouse and keyboard was perfect for a small touch screen. Now that they finally got a decent interface for small touch screens, they're making the same mistake in reverse, and trying to force fit it onto large screen, mouse, keyboard machines.

I think Win8 may be the product that finally buries Microsoft domination of the desktop / laptop once and for all. Businesses will never agree to adopt it (even more than they ignored Vista), and home users who do anything beyond web surfing will be horrified when they find out just how limiting Metro is.

[Pete_G]

From what I've seen the biggest issue with using Windows 8 on a laptop or desktop is that it only lets you work on one full-screen window at a time. Imagine having a 23" or larger monitor and not being able to open multiple windows.

Microsoft is clueless. For a couple of decades (going all the way back to WinCE) they tried to convince us that an interface designed for large monitor, mouse and keyboard was perfect for a small touch screen. Now that they finally got a decent interface for small touch screens, they're making the same mistake in reverse, and trying to force fit it onto large screen, mouse, keyboard machines.

I think Win8 may be the product that finally buries Microsoft domination of the desktop / laptop once and for all. Businesses will never agree to adopt it (even more than they ignored Vista), and home users who do anything beyond web surfing will be horrified when they find out just how limiting Metro is.

Yes, but one of the biggest panes on the Metro GUI is called "Desktop" and clicking on it drops you into the Desktop as we all know it. There will be ways of simply switching Metro on and off too, so it doesn't get in the way. Businesses never want to adopt new technology and MS is aware of this, that's why they are offering the upgrade to Windows 8 at $40. If MS lose the domination of the desktop, who will it go to? Apple...I don't think so..Linux...hardly...love 'em or hate 'em, I think MS will continue to dominate the business desktop for sometime to come, especially if they get cheaper.

[sniper]

Yes, but one of the biggest panes on the Metro GUI is called "Desktop" and clicking on it drops you into the Desktop as we all know it. There will be ways of simply switching Metro on and off too, so it doesn't get in the way. Businesses never want to adopt new technology and MS is aware of this, that's why they are offering the upgrade to Windows 8 at $40. If MS lose the domination of the desktop, who will it go to? Apple...I don't think so..Linux...hardly...love 'em or hate 'em, I think MS will continue to dominate the business desktop for sometime to come, especially if they get cheaper.

It didn't work with office, most business are still using 2003 and some 2007, hardly anybodies using the laters versions.

[Thomas Achermann]

...I just checked. It is Windows 8 Pro. The deal is available til January 31, 2013, not July. So I have time to think about it...

Linda, are you referring to the Windows 8 upgrade offer? This is only for new PCs (that come with Win7) purchased between June 2, 2012 and January 31, 2013 - when you by one of those you'll be able to upgrade to Win8 for $14.99. But I haven't heard of any upgrade program for $40...

[Rhossydd]

I've now spent a morning playing with the Win 8 preview and am not impressed.
Now I like the Windows GUI, it hasn't changed much really since Win 95 and it seems, now on W7, a well sorted, easy to use GUI. OSX is OK, if a little clunky if you want to do anything 'off piste' and most flavours of Linux seem intuitive enough to get on with some work, but Win*+ metro really doesn't hit the spot at all. What puzzles me is that it seems impossible to drive it without using the keyboard to go back and from the metro front end to change tasks. There's just too much important functionality buried deep in menus and relatively inaccessible. 

In the previews, there are ways to partially bypass the Metro front end but the word is that Microsoft will break that possibility in the release version.  Microsoft want you to experience the full horror wonder of Metro. 

That would be a VERY bad decision indeed.

Based on the preview I won't be upgrading.

[kencameron]

Based on the preview I won't be upgrading.

I will upgrade if the final version of Windows 8 is faster than Windows 7 on my medium and high end hardware, and if there is some way of giving it the look and feel of Windows 7. Based on my reading and my limited experience with the preview, it is too soon to exclude either of these possibilities.

[Pete_G]

Linda, are you referring to the Windows 8 upgrade offer? This is only for new PCs (that come with Win7) purchased between June 2, 2012 and January 31, 2013 - when you by one of those you'll be able to upgrade to Win8 for $14.99. But I haven't heard of any upgrade program for $40...

I think the ultra cheap $14.99 is for new computers as you say, but the $40 offer still seems to exist for everyone else.

http://windowsteamblog.com/windows/b/bloggingwindows/archive/2012/07/02/upgrade-to-windows-8-pro-for-39-99.aspx

[meyerweb]

Yes, but one of the biggest panes on the Metro GUI is called "Desktop" and clicking on it drops you into the Desktop as we all know it. There will be ways of simply switching Metro on and off too, so it doesn't get in the way. Businesses never want to adopt new technology and MS is aware of this, that's why they are offering the upgrade to Windows 8 at $40. If MS lose the domination of the desktop, who will it go to? Apple...I don't think so..Linux...hardly...love 'em or hate 'em, I think MS will continue to dominate the business desktop for sometime to come, especially if they get cheaper.

Businesses are perfectly willing to adopt new technology if it provides a benefit. Win 7 and Office 2007/2010 are selling just fine to business.

But businesses will continue to run Win7 if they don't like 8.  Many businesses, large and small, never adopted Vista.  My company (~10,000 employees) remained on XP until after Win7 was out and tested.  MS was pretty much forced by large computer makers to continue to offer XP to business customers because the manufacturers were afraid their customers would just stop buying new PCs. Office 2007 was a major change, but after some initial trepidation business moved to adopt it pretty rapidly because it really is better.

As far as the $40 upgrade, that's almost certainly aimed at consumers more than business. Companies rarely do major upgrades to desktops (or laptops) already in place. That's a logistics and support nightmare. If they move to Win 8 at all, it will be as the purchase new computers with that OS pre-installed.