Unsure to go with Win 7 or Win 8. Can 8 be that bad?

After looking at the Tiger Direct add for Windows 8 I'm still hesitant to buy it (for the new system I am building). I really don't need any of it's great new features (and all those pastel colors..well, they don't appeal to me at all).

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtools/item-Details.asp?EdpNo=4864601&sku=M17-8100

I just wish there were a couple great features 8 has that make it better than 7. So far, the best reason I've found is that it runs faster.

It really looks like it's a platform for MS products vs an operating system. Maybe it's because I don't use smart phones and have never used win7 but I'm bracing myself for being immediately disappointed....and that sucks.

I hope these programs that make it look liked 7 or XP really work.

 

If you are going to use apps to make it look like another OS, you might as well just use that other OS instead.

 

As a follow-up: I really don't care for Win 8 at all. Most annoying is the fact that I can't find system oriented things anymore. Classic Shell helps but it can't do everything.

I also can't get the screen colors to match my old XP ones. Did they remove any colors that weren't pastel?

I figure I was stuck though as I was building a new (and probably my last) desktop and wanted something that would last.

Oh well.

 

I warned ya.

 

In your 'where the heck can it be' frustration did you find out about the Win key, particularly Win + X? Lot of backroom stuff there. Also just typing a keyword on the Start screen will find almost anything, like 'sched' will unearth the task scheduler, 'sys' will throw up quite a few and so on.

But yep, it's a big learning curve for very little gain.

 

Heh, this reminds me when vista came out and the issues that brought out. Then windows 7 came out everyone was fine. Odd 7 and vista are quite similar.

I use 8 at work, no issues. Look forward to implementing some of the awesome server 2012 features, like data-dedup.

I will say this. It just takes time to understand how the OS works. I recently figured out how to close full screen apps. I use to just hit ALT + F4. Now, I just click drag down.

 

I would like to say, that everything is pretty much the same. WIndows 8 or 7. Except for the start screen. But, I'm not staring at the start screen all the time. It comes up, I click VMware (blah). and boom, back the the desktop. I find it quicker and easier. Also, searching for items is way better.

 

Everyone is resistant to change. Windows 8 is simply different than Windows 7. While there may be a good argument to stay with XP or Vista or Windows 7, eventually you will be "forced" to upgrade.

As the technology advances, the manufacturers try to make the OS's more user friendly, but because of that very thing really make it harder for us technicians to repair. It becomes harder and harder to get to the nuts and bolts of the OS when stuff fails and it will always fail. Money is rarely spent on making things maintainable.....alas that is not where the money is for the manufacturer.

This attitude stems from the fact that the PC was a poor design to begin with and really targeted to the more technical folks. Then the manufactures thought that moving it into the mainstream would be a good idea....more money. At that point a redesign of the hardware should have taken place, but not so much. The advances in this technology should be occurring way more quickly than they are......and that's why I think that "cell phones" will take the place of the PC. They were not encumbered with retaining old stuff...they started with a fresh pallet.


Sorry.....exit soapbox.

 

Actually, no. Eventually they will be forced to upgrade, but not use Windows 8. They can leave Microsoft altogether and this very well may be the catalyst for such a change.

Microsoft is getting tremendous blowback from Windows 8, so obviously it is not just a few people ticked off.

I also disagree with the poor design of PCs. As far back as I can remember, even the most nontechnical folks I knew had and used a PC in the family. Things were more difficult back too then than they have been in the last 15 years. Yet, these nontechnical folks managed fine.
Enter Windows 8. It is the first version of Windows in many years that actually changed enough to be more difficult to use than its predecessor. Microsoft is trying to shape the market to their will with Windows 8, and they are meeting a wall of resistance. The OS has no clear identity, and people have enough issues with one UI. Mashing a second one in is a recipe for disaster.



Cell phones might one day replace computers...in about 15-20 years. There is simply no way that a cell phone is useful for actual work, such as coding, development, graphics, multimedia, and so forth. Not in the forseeable future, anyway.

 

I agree with Adryn in that computers were easy enough to use with just a little effort.
My first PC was a TRS 80 and that would be about 30 years ago (pre Microsoft) and i could program it in basic,it was certainly no match for the speed of a modern PC but it was still a big leap from pen a paper.

http://img545.imageshack.us/img545/5733/trs80.jpg

 

Nope, they are trying to compete within the EXISTING market. You see most folks, even outside of the Apple cult, like the UI that Apple and Android brings. Microsoft is trying to get into that arena, while allowing the PC folks the ability to have their old interface at the same time. Why does a mega company do that? It's because they see where the future is heading. You will see consumers flock to tablets and expanded cell phones because they want things at their fingertips. Pc's do not give you that. Maybe the developers will still be using PC's but I don't think that will be the case in 5 years.

 

Are you kidding me that a TRS 80 was easy to use?

 

No they aren't.

There was no x86 tablet market before Windows 8 to speak of and still wouldn't be if MS wasn't trying to create it. They are attempting to bridge niche products with mainstream. They tried this in the past and failed. Now they are trying again.


A blast from the past shows you this is no new concept. It didn't catch on then, and is meeting serious resistance now with Windows 8.
http://www.pcworld.com/article/187062/microsofts_history_with_the_tablet_pc.html

Microsoft is trying to recreate what THEY envision as a PC, not what everyone else does. If you think they are visionary, well great. Let me know when their stock starts jumping back up to indicate that.


If they were simply trying to compete in the existing tablet market, they would stick with Windows RT and have something a bit more palatable for laptops and desktops instead of Windows 8.

Apple has the right idea in SLOWLY introducing features from their mobile OS in an attempt to make a unified interface (or close) between tablets, phones, and PCs. In this respect, they can also get a feel for what their consumers will tolerate. This whole "Drop a brand new interface without warning and force it down your throat" is a textbook example of what NOT to do in a software development project. Microsoft thinks they can just throw unlimited amounts of money at the problem and it will resolve itself. Maybe they are right. So far, it doesn't look like it though.

As for PCs not allowing things to be available "at your fingertips", then try a laptop. More powerful, more useful, and nearly as portable.


My mom is pretty open-minded to tech, and likes to try new things. So I set her up with an ASUS laptop with some nice specs and a 1080p touchscreen. Naturally, it came with Windows 8. At first, she was like..."I can get used to this, it is just a little different." She called me a month later, near a emotional breakdown. She couldn't take it anymore, and was CRYING. It had disrupted her work life so much, that it caused her serious problems. I won't go into why she didn't call me sooner. I came over, installed Start8, and set things up for her. She has never looked at Metro since, and is happy once again.


Now, we can go on about how, "well this is why businesses haven't adopted Windows 8 yet", but it just proves my point. It is NOT THE ANSWER to combining the tablet and PC market except for some casual users.

You simply don't build a customer base that is used to a certain interface and method to use your product, and then pull the rug out from under them with a brand new way to do things. You will be met with hostility, more often than not.


Now, you can call me BIAS all you want, but I offer this screenshot:

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/2056318/w8_typed.png



Typed in a Windows 8 environment.

 

I have a confession to make. I have a Windows phone with live tiles that I can't express how much I really, absolutely adore. It's the best phone I have ever, ever had. With that in mind, I professed a few times that I was sure that I would love Windows 8 because it's essentially the same thing as my phone but on a larger scale. Oh, I was wrong! It's not much like my phone and I don't really care for it at all.

Being someone who is used to and likes the live tiles, they didn't bother me but it was too cluttered and I don't like clutter (was on a friend's PC, so it might have just been their choices) but what really agitated me the most was how almost everything opened to that ridiculous full screen! I found myself saying many times, how do I get out of here? I clicked and clicked and clicked and eventually figured out that I could drag it to get rid of it. Why? Why did they make everything full screen automatically and why did they remove something so easy as that little red x in the corner of the app? In addition to that, I wasted a good deal of time trying to figuring out where they hid everything; Device Manager, My Documents, Control Panel, etc. I had a hard time navigating to what I wanted to find and where I wanted to go. Finding things through the search feature was probably the only thing that was ridiculously easy to use. Also, I think that since the monitor was not a touch screen monitor, it also subtracted from it's likeably for me.

I'm not the savviest tech person but I do know a fair amount and this was a huge learning curve for me. I'm sure I'd get used to it in time but I don't see any need for it or rush to have it. Having worked on every OS from 98 to (now) 8, I'll stick wit my favorite... 7. It has everything I need, or could want.

 

Thank you for your input. It is similar to what I hear of techy and non-techy people alike.

 

Personally, I hope that MS isn't going the route of full screen apps. That just doesn't work. For corporate IT. For, really anyone. VMware I know is big at the moment of working on the web. The web is nice and all, but slow.

Reading about Blue, I don't know.

About wondering where everything is in windows 8, it is easy c:\users\username\my documents.
Still the same place since vista. Via, username.v2 heh:-D

I frequent command line, or powershell, to get me going. I know that won't cut it for the typical "user" but, it is just a shell.

 

Earthling...I would be interested to see what kind of response you would get from my XP test. I was basically set to change from XP, but I decided to do some experimenting with it first...mostly just for fun. I installed these:

Process Lasso-Main tab->"ProBalance enabled" AND "Gaming/multi-media mode enabled"...Options tab->General Settings->"Recheck processes every->250 ms
GBoost-3,5,6,8,9,10,14,15 set to yes
JetBoost-I opened task manager, so that JetBoost would recognize it and then deselected every choice in JetBoost...didn't want to go after Windows settings for the test)

I am sort of canvassing to see if anyone else gets the same results I have gotten. It's the strangest effect I have run across in 20 years of using a PC. I promise, this won't blow up your temps...or at least it didn't affect mine...

For anyone I recommend trying this. I mean the programs are harmless, and it seems worth it to me for the sake of knowledge if nothing else...and a few laughs I admit...

 

AtlBo:

What were your results/strangest effect?

 

So would I but the only XP I still have is in a VM in Win 8

 

That is highly subjective. My 9 year old daughter can use it, but likes Windows 7. My mother can use it as well, but as you read, she was in tears with it.

 

cipher...I just recommend trying this with a mind for attention to the little things...