For several months now I've only used an email account provided by my ISP, but because Win 8 is tied to your email account, to log in and such, I opened a Hotmail account specifically for Win 8 and any communications there may be between Microsoft and myself.  However, I will use it only for this and my personal mail will still go to my ISP based account.  Thing is, when you're setting up Win 8 it asks for your fave email address, so I'm assuming this could be a G-mail or Yahoo account if you so desired.  I could be wrong, but it reads that way.

I don't see how that locks you in.  Sure, Win 8 ties to an email account, but it doesn't have to be a personal one you keep for friends and family, etc.  As I just explained above, I opened a Hotmail account purely for the purpose of logging into Win 8, etc, but it has in no way changed the way I send and receive emails  I still use my private account as I always did, it is separate from any dealings I may have with MS, and because I've not given the Hotmail address to anyone else, it just sits there unobtrusively on the desktop unless there's mail from MS.... the key point being, I don't have to use it should I choose not to.

Tom... I don't have any experience with it as I'm not planning to do W8... It could be a very similar app. It's new as far as I can tell, and I haven't seen any reviews worthy of the name. Might be something to try, and if you do, always establish a restore point ahead of any changes so that it's easily restored. 

I only let you guys know what I find here and there. No obligation to try, and no worries if you don't.

Yes, it can.  You can make an account on passport.net that ties to any email.  It's possible Win8 will set it up as such automatically if you're not using a Live email...I wouldn't know.

I thought so, but seeing as I didn't already have an account I wanted to tie to Win 8, I thought it just as easy [if not easier] to open a new Hotmail account to do the job.... and so far so good.

Now, here's the big question!  Does anybody here know if Win 8 could be ported to an Android tablet if it has sufficient specs? 

Oh, and not as a dual boot, but to replace the Android OS altogether.

The reason I'm asking is that I could have a spare 10.1" Android tablet soon, and rather than run two Androids I could run one with Win 8 Pro instead, because at $39.99, currently, it would be quite economical to do... IF it's at all possible. 

Now the tablet in question has better than the minimum specs Win 8 requires, so I don't see a problem there, but it's whether the A10 [1.2ghz] CPU is compatible.  I've done some searches but the definitive answer has not yet presented itself.  Though there has been nothing to say it can't be done, there's been nothing to say it definitely can be, so if anyone with more tech knowledge than I can answer this absolutely, I'd much appreciate it.

Really hope if I ever get Windows 8 that I can use Gmail with it. Microsoft email services outright suck.

I believe some of them are technically capable but MS has a rigid set of hardware specs for RT which may not actually be met.

There's currently no known method of installing Windows RT on another box that I've been made aware of.

Windows 8 is an OS for the Intel x86 processor architecture. so the answer is a definitive no.

maybe some day in the future you might be able to get an illegal copy of Windows RT. combine that with a few homecooked drivers and that might become a possibility.

Well it looks like you'll be able to use your Gmail account if you want to.  Seems I could have used the account linked to my ISP if I had wanted to, but I prefer to keep that purely for friends and family so that business matters and personal stuff are kept separate.

I didn't think Windows RT was available unless pre-installed, so I was thinking more along the lines of Win 8 Pro.  Besides, RT is all locked into its own eco-system and I'd want a lot more freedom than that when looking to install apps and tools, etc.

Oh well, that puts paid to that idea.  Never mind, it's not imperative that I have a Win 8 tablet this instant, and it may just be to my advantage if I wait a while and look into a Surface further down the track.

  I use my own email address with a domain I bought linked through gmail to log into windows, and I use it to send/receive email with the email app.

I actually had no intention of buying windows 8...never looked at any of the preview software, didn't bother reading anything about it.  I have a rule about buying every second release, so I have managed to skip windows 2000, and windows vista. 

But it was only 40 dollars here to upgrade, and came with free windows media center (which I use to stream movies to the xbox so the kids don't mangle my DVD's).

So I could wait, and spend 200$ on the next release, or just upgrade now. 

I admit there is some learning to do....I used up my full range of colourful metaphors when I couldn't figure out how to print, for example.  (Its a device, under the charms).  My life certainly improved when I discovered hot-keys (window-c for charms).  But all in all, as I use it, and figure things out, it gets easier and easier to use.

I also picked up a surface, as I needed a tablet that wasn't a toy.  And Windows 8 works very well on it.

I'm interested in getting a Surface later on, so it would be interesting to read your thoughts as time passes and you get to use it more.

BTW, which Surface do you have?  I'm thinking I'd like to go with Pro because the RT Edition is locked into MS' app store and I'd want to be able to install my own programs, but if the RT Edition gets more positive than negative reviews, then I may have a rethink that when the time comes to purchase.

What do you do with it that other tablets do not that qualifies it as "not a toy"?

I looked at Market share for 8 and its users are currently registering the same vast numbers as users of Win 9x and 2K