I thought I was too.  Honestly don't care if people prefer 7, no skin off my back.  Just prefer it be informed rather than vague or inaccurate.

Personally, I think if there's one thing that would be almost universally agreed on it's that MS is doing a really poor job of outlining their future plans.

http://ventspace.wordpress.com/2013/01/31/follow-up-on-directxxna/

As developers, we need Microsoft to communicate clearly with us, in public. As MVPs we were asked to act as community representatives, to guide everyone interested in the tech and have an open line on future development. Apparently that means we get half-hearted vague emails from time to time that dodges our serious questions and casts further doubts about the status of the technology and teams, all covered by an NDA agreement. And then, shockingly enough, people get the wrong idea. We’re sitting on the outside, trying to play this stupid guessing game of “which Microsoft technology is alive?” XNA doesn’t support DirectX 10+ or Windows 8, but it’s still a “supported product”, as if that means anything in the real world. Windows XP is still a “supported product” too.

It shouldn’t take a leaked email to force a straight answer.

you'll just to ask a first-level support guy in Sydney

All this back and forth about Win 8. I don't have it so I can't say one way or the other but......just looking at the Start screen.....its butt fugly. No depth...no substance to it. Its all flat! I want stuff on my desktop (laptop) that I can play with. I want calendars and docks and icons and all the goodies SD makes. I can put them where I want, change 'em up even. Will Sysmetrix be supported on Win8? Only if Decker does it and the last update for smx was a year ago or close to it. If and when I get another machine, not any time soon though, it'll have Win 8 and be just another toy to play with. If I can't do what I want on Win 8 like I do on Win 7 then there's no sense having it other than just another toy.

why wouldn't it work on Windows 8? the fonts will look worse if it uses GDI+ instead of Direct2D, but i doubt Sysmetrix users would even notice that.

i think it is ugly because it is not consistent. on the desktop it's an unfinished mixture of two different styles that do not go together. 

nothing wrong with flat per se. after all all these bevels, shadows and gradients are just smoke & mirrors to distract from the low quality a computer monitor has compared to print. but now there are retina displays and the overall look of websites and applications will go closer to print. you see that gaudy stuff in biker magazines maybe but almost never in a quality magazine. overally the focus will shift to typography.

Windows 8  is not retina ready of course. :/

I don't know. I'm not a dev. You guys would know that stuff better than me.

I'm still ticked off that it has a limit as to how many buttons you can use, thirty. That's not a lot considering what I want to make it do.

moshi, your attempt to ridicule starkers is disgusting. you, me, nor the guy across the street know if starkers talked to the ms guy or not. only starkers knows and until it's proven that he's not being honest about it, i believe him. you can make valid points about a multitude of subjects since you seem to be a pretty intelligent person but to stoop to the level you did in that post is uncalled for.

This being the internet, I thought he was just trying to be funny.

I have to say that the only poster here that is providing information that I find interesting and valid only because of who his is........well, you know who he is. 

Bottom Line is still one of personal choice and should only deal with if the upgrade is for you.  

i am absolutely sure he talked to that support guy. i believe him just as well.

i just do not think a first-level support guy is a valuable source for Microsoft's long-term strategic decisions.

and i apologize for ranting. i misunderstood your intent and ranted before getting facts.

they do that since years with phone operating systems (without much success) or with game consoles (very successful). they gave up on mp3 players and phones (anybody remembers the Kin?).

there is a level playing field on internet browsers now.

there once was a level playing field on office suites.

they compete in search engines.

Really? I just outlined a few that I think are pretty darn compelling.  I don't mind different. I mind inferior. 

I really can't understand how anyone who uses Windows as a production machine can argue that Windows 8 isn't a significant step back.  You kind of trivialized my point about how annoying it is to find files via Start by talking about being able to just type in the name rather than go to the charms (as if the HOW you access the search was the issue).

If people like Windows 8, that's great. I want them too. I'd rather them like Windows 8 than move to a platform I don't develop for.  But it really bugs me when I see people suggest that those who don't like Windows 8 are just afraid of change or haven't given it a try.  

Windows 8 is fixable. I just don't know if it'll get fixed before its market is diminished.