Shard

Steve's the man! Though he probably hasn't stopped spinning underground after Apple Maps!

geedee

That and a few other things.....

MarkG

Xbmc is out for Android now (at least as an alpha release) so that's making it far more useful. They don't seem to have MythTV integration working yet so I can't watch TV on it.

ultrarunner

Love XBMC on my HTPC back in the days before the myriads of streaming boxes came out. MythTV on Android will be great

Steve_

Microsoft ran much better under Bill Gates that it does under Ballmer, who is a wanker as far as I'm concerned. Everyone since the developer preview was saying Windows 8 (aka Windows Hate) was a botched Frankenstein's monster but they carried on regardless.

What Bill Gates made a point of doing was using the new OS himself before it was released, Ballmer might of but he's an idiot so didn't pick up on the obvious problems it has.

So then Ballmer eventually starts to worry that Sinofsky has lost the plot (which he hadn't really, but he wasn't sticking to the "plan") and Ballmer asks Bill, and Bill says to get rid of him. Which may or may not turn out to be a good idea, but getting rid of him when they did just created the impression that Windows 8 is even more crap.

It's a shame really because the bits of Windows 8 that Sinofsky was clearly responsible for are quite good (e.g. new ribbon in Windows Explorer, new version of chkdsk, new version of Task Manager, SMB 3, etc), but they've plastered this awful UI over it which it looks to me as though Sinofsky was resisting because it is stupid, but that doesn't fit with the "plan", so as usually happens when a committee can't agree - you end up with a shit product.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69RllXjCL6o

Steve_

I actually quite like Apple Maps, it works okay in North America, I did put in a few European locations and they came up incorrectly. But it's the only mapping software I've used so far that shows my address correctly on the map. Also it seems to give me more sensible routes than anything else I've used so far.

Okay so you put London in and it comes up with London, Ontario but why would that be a problem for me?

Shard

Yes Ballmer always comes across as the guy who got the top post by chance, not by actual ability, the kind of guy who would be loudest in a rib shack. He does seem to have presided over Microsofts drift into bloated mediocrity too.

Getting rid of Sinofsky right when W8 is launched looks incredibly poor judgement. No idea how capable Sinofsky was, but it does create a strong impression that there are issues with the new release.

Not sure desktop users want to start touching their screens either. Half baked comes to mind.

Alan2005

I use a PC under my TV. Something for which I think the new tiled interface of windows 8 would do well. Tried installing it and my PC kept crashing with some hardware error and I had to go back to 7... pity. I'll try again in a few months when they've fixed stuff.

ultrarunner

You do realise you have to do a "clean install" for it to install smooth?

Alan2005

Yeah I did that. I even used the windows debug tool kit to find out what was wrong (for those that don't know, holding windows key + E down for 45s opens up special options to help you speed up your PC as well as a lot more detailed hardware problem solving tools, works in vista, 7 and 8)

geedee

MarkG

Wasn't he Bill's room-mate in college or something?

Shard

No idea. Could have been. I guess it's just his co-founder status.

Shard

Good YT clip. SB is such a clown.

ultrarunner

Time to upgrade your rig then...what year are we talking here?