There is nothing that I have found that ran in w7(x64) that does not run equally as well in w8(x64). And that includes quite an array of software titles, both high end pro stuff to silly consumer apps, and even many old specialty utilities that I end up using from time to time.

One big downside for me is that Windows 7 Pro and Ultimate have a Windows XP Mode which allows me to run many of my old applications which are not compute intensive and run fine. Quickbooks is one that comes to mind right off the bat. I'm also running an old version of Photoshop Elements, version 4 actually, which I really like. Nero Showtime is another older app that I love. Small, stable, and pretty much plays anything. I also recently discovered that CorelDraw X5 is not Win8 compatible. I'll need to go to X6 when I move to Win8.

So basically all of my x64 programs run in Win 7 x64 and my older XP programs run as well. I can upgrade as I see fit instead of being forced to spend an enormous amount of money for really no reason I can see. On top of all that I don't like the win 8 gui or the fact that you can't buy a retail version which can be moved from PC to PC as you upgrade. All Win 8 licenses are locked to the machine you buy them for.

I stayed with XP from 2002 until 2012 and I have a feeling I'll be staying with Win 7 for quite a long time as well since I doubt we'll be moving past 64 bit for quite some time since 64 bit processors can access 16 exabytes of data. That's 16 million TB's. Kind of a ridiculous amount of data.

Finally I want to wait until Win 9 and see if Metro really has staying power or is just a leap to convergence MS is trying to make. I have a feeling we'll see Metro on touch devices and the normal GUI on non-touch devices in Win 9, or a very easy way to switch the OS back and forth.

Just my thoughts on your question.

Sheesh. Coreldraw 15 works fine on my windows 8 machines. Why would quickbooks, or something like that NOT work in Windows 8? Or Photoshop Elements? Like I said, I've used all kinds of odd, old programs, things like file renaming programs and undelete programs, things that might be system level type programs that I expected might not work in a new OS, they worked fine. Also, w8 does have a compatibility mode just like w7 has, if thats what you're referring to, implemented slightly differently but you can choose back to xp/sp3. If you're referring to the virtual machine mode that W7 Pro offered, then that's probably correct.

"All Win 8 licenses are locked to the machine you buy them for."

Win 8 upgrades were (are still?) on sale for about $50. You didn't have to specify anything when you bought it.

Thanks; this laptop will come with whichever I specify, but the a la carte price for Win 7 Pro is about $100 more than Win 8 Pro, so that is a small consideration. Is anyone running Win 8 in "Win 7 emulation mode" ( by that I mean using the various Win 8 settings and third party utilities to make Win 8 look and act like Win 7)? I'm wondering if some of the 3rd party utilities might have some effect on stability. Wrestling with Vegas Pro 12 daily, I really don't need any more possible complications that could possibly affect Vegas stability.

Windows 8 essentially has two views....desktop (which is almost exactly like W7) and the tiled view which is geared more towards touch screens. It is easy to toggle back and forth.

I primarily live in the desktop view and my 7 year old daughter primarily uses the tiles. It really is an easy transition with no downsides as long as you enjoy learning new things.

That being said there are a few tricks that will make your life much less frustrating, so basic training is important.

I have Windows 8 installed on a non-touch screen desktop and laptop. I could certainly see how a touch enabled laptop would create a very hybrid like experience.

If you enjoy a 15-20% performance increase, Win 8 is a good thing. So far, I have otherwise not seen any real difference with Win8 and Win7. Lots of noise about the Start Screen, silly. If you don't like it, don't use it.

"Windows 8 essentially has two views....desktop (which is almost exactly like W7) and the tiled view "

But I have my Win7 looking like XP!

I have my 7 looking like XP looks when it's in classic, which looks just like 98SE.

The screen is mine. I hate how the newer XP "chicklet" UI and Win 7 have such tall start menu bars. I like mine to be very thin so that the rest of the screen is mine to play with.

Me too. So can the Windows 8 desktop be made to look like 98SE?

Corel says X5 is not Windows 8 compatible. Perhaps it's working for you, perhaps not with the right (wrong) series of keystrokes.

As for no retail Win 8 licenses. I don't play fast and loose with my software licenses. I follow the EULA.

Looks like MS is listening though as the Win8 update coming this summer "Blue" might roll back some of the Metro nonsense.

There was a list of software's that were not compatible with Windows 8 on my system that some would be a paid upgrade to. Turns out they all work on my system as far as what I use them for. There are certain features that I do not use that do not work in Windows 8 but since I do not use them I do not care.

Vegas 12 was listed as being compatible with Windows 8 BUT it is not compatible if one uses driver 296.10 and a 560 ti.

So, Your Mileage May Vary.

Yes, it is very easy to have a 98SE look...just keep running the same software that is badly outdated.

Seriously, I encourage you to do some of the free online training. I am not claiming you will warm up to everything (it takes me a while for some things), but overall if you are sincere in your attempt I think you will be pleased.

Personally, I have my task bar hidden and there are no start menu bars in W8. The two most disconcerting items until you find them:

- No start menu (instead move mouse down to lower left, when tile appears just right click to get a power user menu)

- No search box (instead just start typing when in the tiled interface (although it does force you to search by type which I am still getting used to)

Oh...and if you have never used it, get familiar with your "Microsoft" key.

I think I will wait until there is a compelling reason to upgrade to Win 8.

The only reason I went from XP to Win 7 was to get 64 bit operation, so that I could use more RAM. Since then some software, like Vegas 12 and Premiere Pro CS5.5/6 only run on 64 bit Windows.

I still run XP on another box for hack work and to run old but useful software that won't run on Win 7, and for which there are no upgrades.

+ 1 peter's opening comment.

having played with it, installed on a 'office' computer just to 'test' in the long term, i see nothing that compelling either.

talk of boot time is irrelevant with a 'working' desktop which stays on most of the time anyway (on the road laptop might be another matter, but hey, i'm usually enjoying a coffee when i need to boot up on the road ;-))

performance gain? i want empirical proof that there is any (significant) gain in regards to either nle or ps. frankly for everything else i don't care if it's 50%

Even the laptop i carry with me rarely ever boots, since it's almost never shut down. I just hibernate it. "back to operation" time after hibernation is way less than a minute.

I guess I'm leaning towards Win 7 at this point. I use a legacy RME PCI sound card for which the RME legacy drivers actually worked in Win 7 on my old machine and I presume will continue to work on a new machine with Win 7. At some point I suppose Win 7 will be retired and I will migrate, but for now I don't see a large benefit and I see more than a few minor irritations.

Thanks for all the input; it was very enlightening.

drmathprog, an interesting point, now that you bring up a pro audio card. I have 3 different external audio cards for different machines, a Line 6 ux1, an m-audio fasttrack and an m-audio firewire audiophile. The interesting thing I found about w8, when it was first out as a consumer preview, is that all my audio cards worked better. And by better, I mean just slightly. I use my audio cards to play guitar with mostly, using Guitar Rig or Waves Guitar. I would get intermittent pops or clicks in all versions of w7 and xp for that matter, if I set the latency to it's lowest setting in each respective card (asio drivers, of course). Each machine seemed to have a slightly different setting too. With w8, I was able to set all cards to their lowest latency setting, glitch free. That really impressed me as I've been dicking around with sound cards and computers for a few decades. And this was all with old w7 x64 drivers. line 6 now says their drivers support w8 but they're still dated the same as the old ones. I would recommend to anyone, however, if they have some legacy hardware like an RME card, which is still a great piece of hardware, to make sure that it functions in w8 before switching. I just wanted to point out that on some hardware w8 seems to clearly have some real benefits.