I do not have MSDN as yet so I'm going to have to wait a while, but I'll be keeping a keen eye on this thread to keep abreast of what the RTM has to offer.

Hopefully it's good rather than bad news.

Downloading it now and I may check it out when I get time, but I do not hold any hope for it unless I can get it to look and function exactly like Windows 7.

Please keep it classy at least.  [e digicons]:banhammer:[/e]

It's not the UI or the tech, it's the Microsoft Store that will be the biggest issue.

W8 H8. [e digicons][/e]

I like your visually acute political commentary.

I installed win8 RTM Win

I had been playing with the beta the RTM is about the same. I like the OS. The new start screen is easy to customize and

 contrary to what everyone says you only see the start screen when you open a program.

Other than that it's like being on windows 7. all the software I use most is pined to the taskbar.

 So I hardly see the start screen. All in all I like it                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      

As much as I dislike the OS formerly known as Metro, I could see my wife using and enjoying Win8. She's learning to use a PC which has Vista 64 bit on it. Since she has no idea of how to use a traditional Start Menu, I think this would be easier to learn and use for her. As long as she can get to FB and her mail, she'll be happy. [e digicons]:grin:[/e]  

I'm not sure if it's going to be worth $40.00 to upgrade but I certainly would consider it on the PC she uses. Besides, sooner or later some family member will have Win8 and I'll need to be able to navigate the OS to work on it.

Put me down as a Maybe8. [e digicons]:maybe:[/e]

Yeah, that's my concern, that the cost of the OS will blow out as we discover more than useful free apps are now for sale... or that reasonably priced apps cost more in Win 8 because MS has to take a 50% cut on others work/ingenuity/developments.

Anyhow, the main reason I came back into the thread was to ask those with the RTM if they've noticed any significant or important changes from the Release Preview.... as in are there any improvements or are there new/altered features that aren't so good.

I'm currently in the Release Preview and find it not too different than Win 7 when in the desktop mode, though Winstep Xtreme helps make it more usable with WorkShelf and the NextStart start panel... not forgetting Start8 which allows booting directly to the desktop.  With these installed there's never a need to deal with "don't call it Metro anymore" at all and I'm as happy as a hog in muck.  I just hope that we can still use these Stardock and Winstep apps when Win 8 becomes available to the regular public in Oct/Nov.

Well lucky, lucky me, I'm currently downloading the RTM for a free 90 trial.... so no waiting to test it out for myself.  Whoooppppeeeee.

I found the info here at Tweaking With Vishal.  From this page there are links to the Microsoft Download Service for the 32 bit and 64 bit versions of the Win 8 RTM.

So yeah, it's all legal and above board.  The only thing you need is a valid Hotmail/Livemail account and a password registered with MS.... if you used an account to download the Previews then you can use that one... I did.

Why not, folks... it won't cost you anything to try out the RTM and truly evaluate this OS. [e digicons]:sun:[/e]

Yes, mate, we really need these apps to bring Win 8 into line with a regular desktop experience.  Without them Win 8 would be a woeful and highly frustrating, hair pulling, tantrum inducing experience, so thank you, thank you, thank you for Winstep Xtreme... it is the difference between giving Win 8 a chance and totally rejecting it as unusable.

While Stardock's Start8 allows users to boot directly to a regular desktop while replacing the start button , I do not like the subsequent tiled menu which more-or-less replicates the Metro UI but in a condensed format [sorry Brad, but it just isn't for me], which is why WSX is so important to me.  The NextStart component provides a workable and familiar start menu that links to everything you'd ever need... what's not to like!!!

Whoa, in the time I took to type this out [approx 15 mins with distractions] [also, one finger typist here] the download has reached 78% and has only 14 mins to go.

Anyhow, it's 4.45am so I'll be back later today [Saturday here in Oz] with opinions/what I've learned about the RTM

Well I have the RTM installed and here are my thoughts/observations so far:

1: While the "don't call it Metro" UI is a little prettier than in the Preview releases, I still don't like it and don't want to have to deal with it.

2: The desktop UI looks flat and uninteresting since MS removed Aero.  It will definitely need WB to give it some character and substance.

3: Vistart, a start button/menu replacement app no longer works... did in the previews but not in the RTM, suggesting that MS has implemented blocks for some 3rd party apps that provided start buttons and boot to desktop.

4: The good news is that Winstep Xtreme works without issue in the RTM.... as do Fences CursorFX and Iconpackager.  WB doesn't as yet and I've not tried any of the other Stardock apps.

That's it for now... 'tis past my bedtime at 11.17am

Sorry to hear of your involuntary confinement in the Hoosier State, LS.  Parts of it are not so bad (my home state). [e digicons][/e]