I haven’t tried the VGA port built-in to my motherboard (haven’t needed it) and the open-source ATI drivers didn’t work properly.

I will never again install Linux on a computer with parts newer than 2 years old. So… I’m having trouble understanding here… why on Earth would you want to install Linux on a newly purchased computer running Windows 8 — that is, a computer with recently produced parts with non- to barely functional permanently-alpha-status Linux drivers?

I will never again install Linux on a computer with parts newer than 2 years old. So… I’m having trouble understanding here… why on Earth would you want to install Linux on a newly purchased computer running Windows 8 — that is, a computer with recently produced parts with non- to barely functional permanently-alpha-status Linux drivers?

And dude It’s 2012, I don’t play games on my computer. For the rare instances that I actually have time to play video games I use a console.

While MS is pushing for a wall garden like app install system through the Windows 8 app store.

This will especially be true on ARM as MS is avoiding any issues with legacy support and running only approved apps that won’t hinder or otherwise cause problems for Windows running on ARM.

Mind to fully benefit from ARM’s power efficiency advantage everything from the OS to the app has to support the power saving methods they are using. While the lack of performance means they have to make sure everything runs as smoothly as possible… At least in the beginning until Windows 8 for ARM is more established.

So it’s not like they have much choice at the moment.

The App Store though won’t only provide Metro Apps but also desktop apps and even legacy apps for x86 systems and will also handle auto updating.

While MS is also going for more security in Windows 8 and the App Store helps provide another layer of security and is another reason why they’re going to be pushing it.

Overall they’re making Windows 8 less bloated than Windows 7, which in turn was less bloated than Vista. So they are trying to make things more efficient. While there are alternate ways to support legacy apps that could prove viable work around solutions.

But like you said in your final sentence, the balance is the huge issue…

I don’t care about ARM, ATOM, Fusion, etc. I am talking about real applications that require a x86 processor, installed not as Metro apps but as desktop applications accessible in the desktop interface. I have seen nothing to indicate Microsoft will force developers of x86 applications into the app store. That would be a huge Apple-like move if they did that and tried to grab a cut of all Windows software sales. But again, I don’t believe that is happening.

Metro apps bypass a lot of the difficulties of x86 applications. No registering extensions and classes and services. That means they generally won’t need to touch the registry at all. Installation will be simple and uninstallation equally simple. So sure, they will continue to work. No concerns there.

x86 applications are an entirely different story. Their installation involves the installation of all the sorts of files and components and registry entries that are exactly what you use a Windows reinstall to wipe out — usually because previous x86 applications have done a poor job of uninstalling themselves and there is a lot of leftover cruft. Figuring out which parts of that to keep and which to wipe out back to default Windows state is a huge issue.

While again, I’d emphasis that one of the key new features of the Windows 8 recovery is that unless the recovery is a major one then it can usually restore the system without needing you to re-install your apps.

Besides, I wouldn’t recommend running something like Photoshop on either Intel ATOM or ARM or even AMD Fusion based systems.  While higher range systems should also offer you a lot more space to work with and less worry of running short.

Though, since MS will also be setting up a app store for Windows 8 that it’ll be likely that any installed app will be registered to your account and thus easily re-installable.

Mind also that a lot of pre-installed systems don’t get a recovery disc anymore.  So besides these built in services it’s good to keep your own full drive backup for just in case…

Have fun for the next year, I guess, but don’t be surprised when the next generation of consoles come out and suddenly desktop games stop supporting DX9c.