The_Neverending_Loop

So apparently windows 8 release date is set for Late 2011, early 2012, and I feel like Windows 7 just came out the other day!

Allow me to rant if you will, I'am all for companies putting extra time and effort into a product to make it better, and should be rewarded for their time and efforts.  But more and more (Especially with video games) I feel like they are churning out the same product, repackaging it and expecting you to pay full price for the same game you bought just last year (i.e call of duty, sport franchises).  

Now my transition from XP to windows 7 was mostly welcomed, as I had XP for a while and I do enjoy some of the new features that windows 7 brought with it, (even though alot of them I actually prefer how they were in XP, like ribbons, I hate ribbons give me my good old menu bar any day of the week)

So iam basically worried about a number of things,

1.  Microsoft is known for shoving their new technologies down developers throats will they be doing this for windows 8 by increasing capabilities of their own products, while decreasing that of others, which is of great concern to me because I develop on windows but I use alot of non microsoft technologies.

2.  I feel that microsoft has a bad habit of trying to hold peoples hand to much while computing, this is annoying for me because I as an experienced user know what Iam doing, and this "hand held" type environment I feel gets in the way of my productivity alot of times, and is major annoyance most of the time.

3.  Will my current applications be directly affected by (1) should I worry about backwards compatibility?

4.  How much new stuff will I have to learn in order to be able to accomplish the same task I did before? I believe as a programmer it is my duty to stay ontop of the latest in technology and familiarize myself to some degree or else I would be left in the dust.

Sorry if it sounds like Iam complaining but it is a big concern with me, when I hear news like this, especially when not alot of time has passed since the last OS upgrade.  Thoughts and comments?

Ghost the movie with patrick swayzee... I would soooo play that

well me personally I believe when you die you cease to exist, but the way I see it when that happens ill be to dead to care! that and no more taxes woot woot!

I've been thinking about this for a while now, and I was wondering If i couldn't afford virtually any lag would it be possible & how to directly network me and my friend's machines in a local (not so local) area network?

Not to actually play multiplayer solitaire as the title might imply, but we are both musicians and jam alot and I thought it would be very convenient if we could jam from the comfort of our own homes some time, but if we plan on playing together the ping will have to virtually be zero.  any thought or ideas?


[Edit] -- By the way this is mainly theoritical so any zaney answers like run a 10 mile cable will be accepted, except for running a 10 mile cable.....