Has anyone else made the shift? (in Off-topic)

To Windows 8, its a pretty solid build of windows. Despite having a tablet/phone feel to it. It is responsive and faster than the previous releases. And has a lot better look color wise. Everything pops out IMHO.

Your thoughts on it?,
Alaskanpsyko

I like it quite a bit. Finally upgraded out of XP. If I had 7 maybe I wouldn't have, but 7 was too expensive. Very happy with the move. Runs great, much quicker, better multi monitor support, fixed my Netflix issue (no vsync on desktop in XP, only Vista or later could fix my issue), etc. I almost never use start screen for anything though, I just stay in desktop. Windows Key-X is a good shortcut to remember. Also windows key + shift + left or right arrow, if you use multiple monitors.

Meh, I like it for a tablet and I actually have a Windows 8 phone, which I absolutely love with the exception of apps.. because there aren't many good ones. However for a mouse/keyboard setup on a standard desktop PC.. I really don't like it at all. Call me old fashioned, but I miss all the things they took out, and I really don't like the metro start page at all.

The metro start window makes it easier exploring the tools. But this is an opinion of my own. I like it that it's faster than 7 and cost hell of a lot cheaper as an upgrade. If you want support for dvd playback just get something like vlc or klite codec pack, much better than windows defaults. Glad the school here has actual broadband speeds, it would have taken me a whole day to download it. Where at the local school here took 2 hours.(mainly because the transfer speeds fluctuate by about 70+kb/s)

I haven't downloaded it and tried it out yet, but based on what I've seen from the demo at work I'm not impressed. It's suited for a tablet style device. I suppose if you had a touch screen desktop or laptop then it would be nice, but with my mouse and keyboard I just feel like it's a waste. I am an Android user, but I've been considering getting the new Lumia 920 for AT&T because of the synergy with my Xbox. Seems like a decent platform for a phone, but like Xeno said, app support is weak.

Spent 1/2 hour playing on my bro's phone, liked it a lot for a phone OS. Heard it's great as a touch interface, not so good with a mouse. I'm still stuck on XP.

I was going to build a media server this summer but funds had to go elsewhere. I'll have enough in another couple of months to try again. Any thoughts on how Windows 8 would work for that purpose? I have an old touch screen I salvaged from a kiosk that I could use as an interface (4.3 ration and relatively low resolution though).

the lowest res win 8 will support is 1024x768 anything lower wont work.

Windows Media Center is free for Windows 8 for a limited time. No idea how it well it works though. I installed it since it was free but don't use it for anything, I run a hdmi cable to my TV currently. :)

There are free tools to make Win 8 work a lot like XP but I didn't end up installing any of them since I'm happy with Win 8 as-is. This is on a mouse/keyboard PC setup, no touch screen.