Is there a list of stuff that was removed?

Just curious.

You need to buy packs to play things like dvds, or so some sites claim...

Well, Windows Media Center is the biggest example (and licensed technologies related to DVD movies playback, TV tuner whatever stuff (basically, stuff that was available through WMC)). Also, Windows Media Player cannot play a DVD movie by default. And the DVD Maker (or whatever that one was called) is also gone.

The pack is available for purchase, I think the price is $9,99, and it is free until the end of January, 2013, for all Windows 8 Pro users.

You can always use a third party player, like MPC-HC, VLC, one of CyberLink's solutions or whatever else you use.

Wow, they seriously took out DVD playback? That's ridiculous.

And yeah, I've used MPC-HC and FFDShow for years, but still. The average user doesn't use these programs, they use the stuff built into the OS. :\

Between that and the DirectDraw issue mentioned above, I'm not sure I want to buy the OS at all...

You can still buy the pack, its just been removed from the base of the OS to lower patents / licensing costs. ;) Besides, every single PC manufacturer already stated that it will include applications for DVD playback. Those building their own PCs are more than capable of handling this.

Personally, the last time I used a DVD movie on my lappy, was way, way, way back when I got the Extended Trilogy edition of Lord of the Rings. Probably in 2009. :)

I'm totally fine if they can keep on removing older stuff in order to reduce the cost of the OS.

I've pretty much decided at my age (I seem to spend less and less time on computers every year) that Windows 7 will be the last OS that I use on computers as we know them. Who knows what kind of technology is in store for us 10 years from now, but I have no intentions of upgrading to Windows 8. Absolutely no reason to, and based on everything I've read (which could be right or wrong but at this point, I don't even care anymore) about Windows 8, it's not a platform I want to support. Besides, I own four perfectly good licenses for Windows 7 already anyways. No reason for those to go to waste so soon.

That's how I feel about Windows 8 right now. Something may come along and change my mind, but I'd bet against it.

Edit: I mean to add that it's been kind of sad for me to realize that I'm probably done with Windows after 7, since I've been a windows user since 3.1 (I only had a Commador 64 before I got my first IBM with Windows on it, so I missed out versions 1, 2 and 3.0). Time sure does get away from you.

At least I didn't notice any gaming performance increase with the preview version, e.g. 3DMark11 gave identical results on the same machine in both Win7 and Win8, using the same NVidia drivers versions. (At first it did give about 7% better benchmarks in Win8, but that turned out to be just because I used older NVidia drivers on the Win7 side. When I upgraded them too to the same level, I got the same 3DMark boost in Win7, and the figures were identical.)

But it may be the desktop usage is more streamlined then, getting rid of excessive Win7 Aero fat etc. I didn't try to clock desktop use. :) I'm personally all for for Microsoft getting rid of the extra fat that they have introduced themselves to the two earlier Windows releases. Heck, even with Mint Linux I am now using the XFCE desktop, just because it is supposed to be the option for those who like their GUI fat-free.

Ps. I bought the Win8 Pro upgrade two days ago (cost me 15€), and downloaded/made the installation ISO file to the hard drive. Now it is waiting there for a reason to upgrade to Win8, maybe forever. :)

Possibly something in the same path as WindowsRT, iOS and Android? Ie. something that is pretty much embedded to the device you buy then.

Unity engine is now fully supported on Windows 8 (for building WinRT games) and Windows Phone 8. And best of all, both platforms can share the same background code, making this 'tears of joys' for game developers.

Also, the Build 2012 event is now under way. All Build 2012 attendees get Surface RT, 100 GB of SkyDrive storage (lifetime), and Lumia 920... dammit, I think it would have been cheaper to fly from here to the US and attend the event, than to buy these things separately.

In addition, for the next 8 days, the developer registration fee is pathetic 8 dollars. :)

EDIT: Forgot to mention, the Windows Phone 8 SDK is out with a free copy of Visual Studio 2012, Blend 5, and required emulators for building WP8 apps and games.

AND THEY ENABLED DEV REGISTRATION FROM MY DAMN COUNTRY, YEY, FREAKING, YEY!

But doesn't Microsoft want a substantial cut from developers who will be forced to sell their games through the App store? Isn't that going to keep basically all developers from ever switching over to 8?

Edit: Also, isn't there some issue with maturity ratings? Doesn't Microsoft limit what can be sold on the marketplace to low maturity ratings, which would mean a huge chunk of developers wouldn't be able to sell their games on Windows 8 at all?

So far I've read nothing but bad things about Windows 8 for gaming. Maybe the sources (they were all news articles) didn't have the information correct, but if it is, it sounds like a horrible platform for developers.

If you want to sell your WinRT software (applications and games) through Windows Store, yes, 30% at first, 20% after 25,000 sales (if my memory is correct). You're free to use whatever transaction systems you want, and there are even ways to avoid splitting profits. In return, they take care of hosting, certification, distribution, and all that stuff.

And how is that going to stop developers from switching to Windows 8? Game development wise, this is many times better than what any other store provides. The only downfall is the 'momentarily low' number of customers, which jumped from 0 to around 4 million in a few days, a number which should pass Battle.net and Steam in a few weeks. :p
You've read Valve's crap, who are scared that Windows Store 'might' steal away customers from them. And probably Rob Pardo's few lines where he bashed Windows 8, but in a later interview he said that 8 is actually not that different than 7. :)

About the ratings, pr0n crap is not allowed, and mature games are allowed (similarly to Xbox and pretty much any other store).

Actually, from my personal experience, the backwards compatibility has generally improved with each version.

Is 30% really cheaper than what Steam charges, you think? I have no idea, but I can't imagine steam charges more than 30%.

Also, it's not exactly fair to compare an App store, which is part of the operating system, to a limited product, like Steam or Battle.net, which strictly sells games and not other apps. Steam only recently began selling other software. Especially when Xbox live users are going to be lumped into that user base.

I have to be honest with you - I'm a little bit leery of your comments about Windows 8. Searching through this thread, you have done nothing but sing praise for Windows 8, which is completely the opposite of the general opinion about Windows 8 from pretty much everyone I know who works in the IT field, and the game developers that I've read about. That leads me to believe you have some kind of vested interested in the OS, which would make your opinions on the matter biased. I could be absolutely wrong of course, but I'm just saying, that's how it appears from my point of view.

I'm pretty neutral on Windows 8. I really don't care about it unless it gets to a point where I'd have to switch over. Like I said earlier, I have four licenses for Windows 7 Professional, so I see no reason to switch to Windows 8 and give myself less functionality. Waste of money for me to upgrade unless it provides a substantial increase in gaming performance, which it currently does not.

Oh, yes, man, I have a few dozen thousand shares which make me richer every time I convert a sale for Microsoft, yes, that is it!

Very funny =) Still don't trust ya, though! I think your "@live.com" speaks for itself =) You're promoting Microsoft quite heavily, whether you have a financial interest in it or not, which tells me that your opinions on Windows 8 are still going to be pretty biased. Don't take it personally; I'm not intending to be offensive. It's just an observation.