Well last night I got a Key to Windows server 2012. And I was wondering Can I use this as my Home desktop OS? And one other thing Server 2012 only comes in 64 bit I believe. I've always run a 32bit OS. I don't know the first thing about 64bit OS's. My Computer supports 64bit OS's but I've never tried one. Some of the things I like to know. 1. Will my 32Bit Programs work on a 64bit OS? 2. Will I need to use 64Bit Drivers? Or will my 32Bit drivers work? That's all I want to really know...
most of your 32bit software will run with 64bit os, except av-programms. for server there are other licences required. one that will work with server2012 is the preview of comodo cis for win8 (version 5.12). for the drivers, you must have 64bit drivers.
Windows Server works fine as a regular OS, but it may have a bunch of features that you don't need. Personally, I prefer Windows Server 2008 R2 because it is less flashy and more to the point. I've used both current Retail versions of Windows; Windows 8 Pro, and Windows Server 2012. Windows 8 Pro is a tad simpler, it is very fast, and you can utilize Hyper-V if you enable it. It nice to have at least one home computer with server running on it, so you can familiarize yourself with its functionality and test out different roles and features. If you aren't interested in doing that, or are not in the IT industry, I would recommend sticking with Windows 8 Pro for your desktop operating system. You can also retrieve your start menu by using Classic Shell. I will be publishing a tutorial video soon on how to do this.