will CoH run on the new MS tablet?

you won't, because it has classic mode that functions like windows 7
at least the PC version will, I think the tablet will as well

The ARM version - no
The Pro version, since it's x86, yes... but it's not "classic mode that functions like Windows 7." It's a desktop "app" you end up having to flip back and forth from the start screen to (no start menu, and MS has been aggressively tracking down and closing any means of getting anything like it back) depending on the app, or if you want to start something. It's a royal pain. (And makes the OS fairly schizophrenic - some of your settings are under Metro, others are under the now-harder-to-get-to Control Panel from the desktop, some seem buried in IE, or have the same name in IE but do different things, or....)

In fairness, and I know it's not screamingly obvious, there are (wait for the lack of surprise) two different keyboard-cover models. The black one - which seems aimed more at the x86 based Tablet Pro - supposedly has a bit more of a keyboardish feel and is a little deeper. Plus it *does* have USB, if you want to use a mouse... though it seems like an awful waste of a USB 3.0 port to just stick a mouse in it.

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And, in equal fairness, that problem could theoretically be solved with the simple expedient of using a USB hub. Might not be as performant, but it would work.

Still won't convince me to play on it, though.

Wait, waitwaitwait WAIT...

Are you saying this new one is worse than Vista? D= Because that's a whole new level of evil...

Originally Posted by Zwillinger GG, I would tell you that "I am killing you with my mind", but I couldn't find an emoticon to properly express my sentiment.

Originally Posted by Captain_Photon NOTE: The Incarnate System is basically farming for IOs on a larger scale, and with more obtrusive lore.

You know the old line... The next version of Windows takes the best of Windows CE, Windows ME and Windows NT --- Of course that gets them Windows CEMENT.

I am quite happy playing it on my laptop

I've played with the preview as well and I can definitively state that I will be skipping this version of Windows entirely. It takes the best aspects of Windows 7 and completely hides them away in a manner that makes it unfriendly, difficult, and painful to use. I could see that it may well have merit with a touch screen of some sort, but that excludes about 95% of the current windows customer base (probably more, really). Using 8 with a mouse is painful and confusing. It will flop worse than Vista, I'm certain.

I'm saying using Vista is a pleasure compared to Win8.

Go ahead. Download Virtualbox from Oracle (free,) then download the consumer preview from Microsoft (also free.) The only known difference from this to the actual release, at this point, is that they hadn't removed Aero yet from the preview. (Which means I don't know if the Snap to the sides still works in the release... which would really annoy me, as that's a really useful feature.)

See, Vista had reason to flop - some serious under the hood changes that broke some older programs and had to have drivers written differently. Not to mention a fairly... awful "ready for vista" program that basically said "Sure, you kinda sorta meet the minimum specs," leading to a craptastic experience.

The problem is that Win8 is going to come preloaded on tablets, and all THOSE sales are going to count as "Windows sales" (even though there's no other option.) So it'll be trumpeted as another success - though I foresee businesses downgrading to 7, the licenses for those machines, in many cases, will already be "sold" and counted in the total.

Of course, MS may very well price the Surface out of the market - it looks like the ARM version (can't run x86 programs, WiFi only) is starting at $600, from recent rumblings, where the iPad and many ARM competitors start much lower. (iPad v2: $400, current, $500.) The x86 one looks like it's starting in Ultrabook and notebook territory, around $1000. For that, I'd buy a real notebook.

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I'm sure they will be able to publish numbers saying that Win8 is a huge success. They were able to do the same with Vista. And I guess that's all they really care about. It's obvious they don't care about user feedback on how ungainly their new OS is. Or if they care, they've decided not to do anything about it.

I'm sure some VP at M$ decided that mobile devices are the future and thus Windows has to work great on mobile devices. Win8 accomplishes that, but at the cost of Windows working great on desktop devices. IMO, of course, there may be others out there that love it. I'm definitely not one of them and I really haven't heard of anyone that's tried it on a desktop and loved it either.

No, because that would be cruel to Vista. ;-)
EDIT: Let me put it this way, would you want to play CoX on a Windows Phone?

Note: When I first bought this Vista release laptop I Upgraded to XP. ^.^

Ow. Sounds like i'll want to pick up a couple OEM versions of Windows 7 after 8 goes live and before 7 gets deprecated unless some serious changes occur in the desktop/notebook versions of 8 early on. (i'll probably be building a new desktop sometime in the next year anyway. i've always wanted to try building a liquid cooled system...)

I both often use a laptop and play using the thumb pad instead of a mouse.

as others have said in the thread, there will be 2 versions of "surface." both will have roughly the same form factor, but vastly different performance:

- one follows the "oversized phone" approach of the iPad and will not play PC games. Mobile OS, Mobile processor, mobile capabilities.
- one follows the "undersized PC" approach of the UMPC (anyone remember project origami?) and might just have the capability. I met a guy with a first-gen UMPC at an airport playing WOW somewhat effectively several years back, so it isn't outside the realm of possibility.

Origami's stated goal was always to make a PC that could fit in a cargo pocket and cost under $600. The iPad just proved that the tech was more ready to up-size a phone instead of down-size a PC. The two "surface" versions are basically showing that you can do either, now.

Its also possible that a number of other vendors will produce their own via windows 8, and some of them may be targeting PC gamers with high-performance "undersized PC" models. I don't expect much in that realm, but I'd be happy to be proven wrong.

Going to be really pedantic here in this answer with the versions, but there's reason. Namely, I guarantee people are going to be confused with what does what thanks to the similarity of names.

The Microsoft Surface tablet will not be able to play any x86 software at all. The Microsoft Surface tablet (the first one to be released, estimated price $600) will have an ARM processor, and all software will be gotten through the microsoft store.

The Microsoft Surface PRO tablet may be able to run it. The Surface Pro seems to be getting targeted at about a $1000 price point, and will be released "a few months" later. It has an Intel i5 processor, and will likely take advantage of their integrated (Intel 2500) graphics - which, while it'll "run" COH, probably won't be pleasant. The smaller screen size *may* help, compared to my 1680x1050 screen, but it can't be that big of a difference. Expect to have to turn everything down. We do not know about the amount of memory.

Short answer, the Surface Pro *might* run COH. I doubt it'll be enjoyable. If you're looking for something to play COH in a portable form factor, look into a real notebook. If you're looking at alienware, the M14X (discrete graphics, Core i7 processor, upto 16 Gb RAM, Blu-ray drive) starts at $1099, just $100 over the Surface. And available now, and far more open. And it's not running Win8, itself a plus, IMHO.

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