Help Microsoft and Get Free Software in Return
Microsoft wants your help shaping its products, and is even willing to dish out free software and Xbox games for your feedback.
Microsoft is calling on consumers to join its Windows Feedback Program, and is even offering free software as an incentive. According to Microsoft's Brandon LeBlanc, the program was created so that customers can be more actively involved with providing direct feedback to the Redmond company. Does this mean consumers have a new tool for complaining about the lack of a Start button/menu in Windows 8? Probably not.
"The program is invite-only and only available for customers in the US," LeBlanc said on the Windows Experience Blog. "We are actively seeking volunteers who are using Windows 7 or the Windows 8 Consumer Preview to participate. The program is not a way to submit bugs for the Windows 8 Consumer Preview, but rather a way to help us build better software by getting a broader understanding of your perceptions and experiences with our products."
Once consumers are chosen for the program, they can offer their input in two forms: through surveys or automatically by installing a special client on their PC that collects data. While the latter option sounds somewhat scary, there is a nice little payoff: free stuff. For those who stick with the program for four months using either method, they will be eligible for free software and Xbox games such as Microsoft Office 2010, Kinect Disneyland, and Forza Motorsport 4.
To join the program, head here. The link leads to a Microsoft-hosted sign-up page that requires an email address for notification of an open spot on the panel. "By participating in the program, you can help us focus our work on the features that you use most often, or tell us where to simplify our services when they're too difficult. Depending on your level of involvement, you could qualify for free software or could be entered into sweepstakes to win prizes," the page states.
As Microsoft indicates, consumers chosen on the panel will be able to directly influence how Microsoft design Windows and Windows Live services, including Hotmail and Messenger. You never know -- enough user feedback may convince Microsoft to implement some kind of Start button/menu in Windows 8 after all. Or maybe not.
Can I have my free software now, please?
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploads18/ibm+model+m+keyboard1299218132.jpg
Anyway, I still using Win7, no point in upgrading yet. Unless I get Win8 for free..
Was willing to use it with windows 7 (not with windows 8, I tried to use it for a while and just cant without getting angry. They should replace every error message in windows 8 with "Windows 8 messed up on something, to fix this issue, please install windows 7"
Can I have my free software now, please?
Too bad the slacker in me couldn't care either way.
I think you would end up paying more for the shipping than what it sells for if Metro is unable to be disabled.
if someone gave me a free copy of windows 8, I would hang on to it until windows 9 comes out. If windows 9 is good I would upgrade to 8 then upgrade to 9 if there was a vast improvement over windows 7 and it had a desktop/start button.
who's idea was it at M$ to even remove it in the 1st place? o_O
It is unintuitive because it is so radically different from every other OS out there that I know of. Linux doesn't do it, no other version of windows does it, and I believe neither does OSX. It's unresponsive because sometimes the OS doesn't recognize that you're hovering the cursor over that spot and so it doesn't react properly.
I can live without the Start menu but Only if they fix that problem.