The Windows 8 operating system forces you to re-boot to install updates. This is 2012; why can the operating system not install updates whilst the operating system is up and running and there is a user logged into the system doing their work? Apparently after 2 days it forces you to re-boot to install your updates and you have to quickly save your work and then re-boot your machine. Meanwhile the Ubuntu Linux distribution I am using to type this posting allows me to install the updates in the background and I am able to keep working whilst the updates are installed. But Windows 8 is not as good as Ubuntu; one the default Lightdm login manager is replaced with the kdm login manager; this distribution really becomes a useful desktop operating system. just type sudo apt-get install kdm to install a better login manager. If you want to try your hand at torrenting; the Vuze torrent client is a good choice; just type sudo apt-get install vuze to install this application. Windows 8 is very popular; but like popular music such as the viral Gangnam Style song; it is just a virally advertised product and it does not have any real reasons to like it in the long term. The tablet craze that has created the Gnome 3 and Unity desktops is not assured of long-term survival. Some new technology might come into being that will be better than the tablets and then the creators of new technology might create a whole new paradigm to take advantage of this new technology.
We already have neural technology that allows a person to control a computer game with their mind. Will this ever take off in the future? This could be a good way for the disabled to control a computer and re-gain some independence by wearing an exoskeleton suit that would allow a paraplegic person to walk again. None can say that technology would not be useful to humanity in the future. But forcing users to re-boot their machines every time the system wants to install Windows updates is moronic. In Windows 7 you could choose to put off the updates for 4 hours until you are next prompted; but you did not have to re-boot right then and there; Ubuntu does not prompt the user to re-boot after installing critical updates; but if you install a new kernel version or a GNU Libc update then it is prudent to re-boot to use the updated code. But you re-boot your system when you want to not when you are forced to; as that is just plain disrespectful to the user. Better to just install updates whilst the operating system is up and running; but I am not sure if it is possible for Windows 8 to do that; Windows 7 would install updates whilst the OS was shutting down. I wish that Microsoft would work out a way to install and configure Windows updates whilst the operating system is running; but that may not be possible. They are lagging behind Linux that has been able to do this for a long time. The Debian Linux distribution and the related distributions like Ubuntu and Linux Mint are capable of installing updates whilst the operating system is running; why can the Windows operating system not do this?