by panhandlegirl 19 Replies latest social entertainment
had XP for a long time, no problems. Didn't entirely like Vista. Now I have W7 and it's OK once I figured out how to ignore the libraries and find what I want to find.
I have a feeling Windows 8 may be irrelevant to people like me who actually do work with the computer. I don't do much with music or photos or videos, but I write a lot and need a good word processor.
I think I'll keep this new laptop for a long time. There'll be Windows umpteen before I upgrade again.
I bought two computers this year (switched from Macs back to Windows, both a notebook and a desktop) and both systems are eligible for the $14.99 upgrade to Windows 8. Tried it on the notebook. Performance wise I found it to be on par with Win7... but the interface was something I just couldn't get used to. If it's supposed to be in response to Apple's integration of their OSX & iOS operating systems they fail miserably... the OSX is much simpler to navigate around... and much more user friendly (the swipe ability on the Apple cordless scroll mouse alone was pretty awesome I must say ). Wouldn't be entirely surprised if Win 8 turns out to be another ME/Vista..
Gone back to Win7 on the notebook... will probably still purchase the Win8 license for the desktop... in case I need to upgrade at a later stage. 
I don't know much about Windows 8, only that it seems rather pointless without a touchscreen. If I bought a PC with it, I'd probably exchange it for Win 7- but I installed 7, and went back to XP! It still works fine, with a lot of aftermarket software... and I'm not changing it until I have to!
You'ld think that they would put a touch screen specific version and another for key boardists and mousers. Or, they could make the former, w an update to slip stream it to touch screen.
S
It would make a lot more sense that way Satanus. Like I said earlier, Apple did it much better... the commands and interface on their systems are very much similar to their iOS. They successfully made good use of the keyboard/mouse combo and if you can operate an iPhone (or Android smartphone for that matter) you won't have any problems learning how to use a Mac.
Windows 8 just felt too clunky and like a big step backwards as far as the interface goes. Which is a shame as the OS itself (ie performance & reliability) is actually quite good.
There are some good things about Windows 8 but oh man, they seemed to have lost the plot a little and the result is a bit of a mess for both desktop AND tablet users.
You absolutely need to get the Start8 app to make the desktop usable unless you want the Fisher Price experience. Even if you like that and the metro apps, the fact that the dual screen support is a mess destroys all usability.
They really need a big switch that you can flick to say "open apps in the desktop version". Really, clicking on a 48px PNG to look at it and having it open on a full-screen app that doesn't allow switching monitors or even going to the first or next image is inexcusable.
It's like they focused too much on getting a tablet OS and then forgot about the majority of power users who liked things as they were. Other vendors have a separate OS for tablet and for desktop. I can see the attraction of having a single OS for both but I think it needs a lot more work.
A lot of the issues are fixable though and just need tweaking and probably a good service pack. It's nice having Hyper-V on the desktop for VMs and it's good getting rid of the overly-complex translucent windows (although they still have it on the taskbar and it's a bitch to turn off). For $39.99 it's an OK upgrade but I wouldn't go out of my way to recommend it to anyone right now.
Oh and of course ribbon-bars everywhere. I hate that thing. The result of too many focus groups which would only be filled with people who had nothing better to do or were too stupid to come up with an excuse not to go. Not enough people who actually use the products for day-to-day work.
I truly feel that software manufacturers (lol, ummm BILL GATES, HELLO! the master of manipulation) create new systems that require us to ask for help so that it feeds more money into the system.
As a former MS employee in both their support and product management group, I can assure you that is NOT true.
It's like they focused too much on getting a tablet OS and then forgot about the majority of power users who liked things as they were. Other vendors have a separate OS for tablet and for desktop. I can see the attraction of having a single OS for both but I think it needs a lot more work.
That makes a lot of sense, Si.
t
Makes you wonder:
Is microsoft that stupid
Does microsoft think that it can dictate to people
Is microsoft so far behind that they just threw this out there in an attempt to keep up
S
