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I was in a competitive situation today pitching a new colour copier. The competition came in pitching a used Ricoh copier probably because they can make a lot more money selling a used box than a new one.

This customer seemed quite concerned about keeping current with technology but was attracted to the lower cost of the used box.

I understand that many customers plan to put Windows 8 IT purchases off into the future but if you are buying a copier on a five year lease, it is very likely your organization will have a Windows 8 PC.

I discovered today that the transition to Windows 8 might not be as smooth as simply saying that the Windows 7 print drivers will work A-Ok.

There are some real issues with SMB scanning that can only be fixed with firmware updates. Toshiba and Ricoh do not plan to begin to release updates until Jan 2013.

Where do you think that leaves the customer with the prospects of a manufacturer bringing out timely updates for a discontinued product?

Does anyone know where the other MFP manufacturers are with Windows 8 compatibility release dates?
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FYI. To be technical, Windows 8 introduces SMB V3, improving security features among other things.

http://www.windowsecurity.com/...SMB-Connections.html


Although supposedly backwards compatible with SMB V1 & V2 found on most current MFPs, the transition is not quite as seamless as Microsoft hoped for. SMB V3 will likely require firmware updates from all of the copier manufacturers to be compatible.

I have no idea on the Universal Print drivers until you try them.

It is only a short time frame into the future that you will not be able to buy Windows 7 anymore from most retailers. I am told you will be able to buy Win 7 Pro from VARs for many months into the future. I have read that it is possible to convert a Windows 8 PC back to Windows 7 upon initial acquisition but this is not an easy task.

I have also read that if you buy Windows 8 Pro, SMB scanning is possible.

To put this all in perspective, I do not think you are going to see many large businesses convert to Windows 8 anytime soon.

This issues described above are going to occur with the early adopters in small business who go out and buy a new PC or laptop from Staples and then ask you to connect their MFP to it.

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Microsoft fired the guy who headed up Windows 8 because he wouldn't bend on making the desktop version more compatible with standard Windows users. Yes cool for tablets, but for keyboard and mouse, more problems.

They hid Control Panel and I still have no idea where the dos prompt is yet.

Microsoft screwed up bigtime on this. No business is going to jump to Win8......they are slowing moving to Win7 and Office 2010. Many are still on XP.

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