Ditch a preinstalled version of Windows. My point was simply that most people probably wouldn't go to the trouble of doing that (my guess, as most people probably wouldn't know how).

I am really interested to get a Windows 8 PC. I currently have a Surface RT (which I truly enjoy) and a Windows 7 laptop (an old, powerful work machine). Having gotten used to Windows 8 in its RT form, I feel really comfortable in the Metro environment. Would like to see the two forms meshed. I feel like I won't…

Eh, I doubt the majority of users would do that, though. Keep in mind that this is gizmodo... we do not come close to representing the norm in terms of tech.

This was my response... I couldn't figure out how pinning a tile was difficult. But I never use desktop IE. Metro IE is actually pretty fantastic for most things. For other things, there is Chrome.

From everything I have heard Blue will be more of a simple upgrade from 8 rather than a full OS license (i.e. if you have 8 installed, it won't be a costly upgrade. If you have 7 installed, you can buy Windows 8 Blue as if you were simply buying Windows 8).

Worth noting, whatever it says about the product, is that (in terms of licenses sold) Windows 8 is doing pretty much the same as Windows 7 did in its first six months.

As part of my job I do a decent amount of coding... I can't tell you how much of a challenge it was to get used to the " : ; # and ' marks being in different places.

I use the German QWERTZ at work, but grew up (and use on my personal machines) using QWERTY. I can certainly attest to the difficulty in switching between the two, even when only a few major keys are moved around. Would certainly be a good method for locking people into an ecosystem.

These videos from Hadfield and the ones from Don Pettit are so fantastic. Not only are they just great to watch, but it really gives you a tangible connection to what we (as humans) are actually doing up there.

Yes... it certainly does not sound like he based his decision on what the people he is representing want (necessarily)...

Having recently (about 8 months ago) moved from a small town in the US to Berlin, Germany where I had no contacts whatsoever, I can certainly echo to advice in the article. I have met many people through sites similar to Meetup. The internet is such a great tool for meeting people—some people that also know almost no…

This has been my experience as well. Never for long periods of time, but there would often be moments when I would realize I had just driven through a stoplight and couldn't remember if it was green, yellow, or red... It never caused any problems, but certainly can scare you a bit to realize you haven't been paying…

As SirShow said, SMS isn't the primary case anymore (and will likely continue to become less and less so). Using fewer SMS's is one of the primary reasons for using chat apps.

I have used a mixture, but primarily stick with SMS. SMS simlply ends up being more reliable in terms of notifying me that I have a message than many other services. I also spend a decent amount of time going in and out of the subway, so will have periods of time where I have fine phone signal, but no internet.

The big question is simply when will we see products with these appearing in the market? I need a new machine and am willing to wait a while for it... In that vein, do any of you intelligent Giz readers have suggestions for something that is out now/might be coming out soon that I should look into?

Outlook.com really is pretty great now. I still use gmail primarily, but that is largely because I don't want to migrate everything over and use a new email address, but there is no longer any shame in using outlook.com like there was with hotmail..

If I get around to it I will check it out with the desktop version of IE on surface and the dev tools open.

I haven't bothered to try to comment on my surface since first trying on io9 some time ago, but I recall having an issue with the comment box disappearing when trying to reposition it.

Definitely agreed as well. I really like that the links are now housed in the sticky header of the site, but do miss the trending topics. May I suggest something more akin to a full-width expansion of the header? Closest example of what I mean is on the threadless.com site in their navigation. Provides ample room and…

I have been glad to use the new design on many of the sister sites, but just now discovered the private feed for things that I am following. While a great idea, I would LOVE to see if a bit better organized. Namely, a clear indication of which site the story is coming from. It is shown, but in very small text. Would…