Windows 8 is not at all like windows 7

[Damselfish]

I've run them all too. I really do wonder if it will be "everyone gets used to it" or "go the way of ME and Vista." Time will tell. I do like the Win8 ads with the people around the conference table...

After years in the software biz, I fully understand why stuff evolves, new stuff comes out, and old stuff gets obsoleted. Lots of it is a good thing, and a lot is necessary, and I don't even think people always hate the change per se. But for an awful lot of people anymore it's just different and not really better, so I can also understand the whining. All the time/effort/aggravation in the "getting used to it" part often has little or no reward.

Personally, I've got XP on one system and Win7 on another that I use about equal amounts, and don't get any benefit from Win7. It's just an ongoing nuisance to find stuff or figure out how to do the same things differently. (Plus I've got software that only runs on XP, software that only runs on Win7 - and that is a headache I still haven't completely solved, since I really need to run them on the same system. Just to keep things interesting, my Mac is involved that mess too.)

 

[drbill]

"Upgrading" a computer to a new Microsoft OS too often involves having to buy new versions of your existing software. I'd be less adverse to new a OS if applications were forwards compatible with it. At least on the Win 8 laptop I can run XP apps under VMWare (but I had to buy a fourth copy of the XP OS).

 

[ekremer]

Try this for win 8.
https://www.stardock.com/products/start8/
You should be much more comfortable with it after you get that. it will start win 8 in desktop mode.
(I run win 7 and Ubuntu exclusively on my non touch devices)


I hate how Microsoft has forced desktop and traditional laptop users to use the "metro" ui, but the performance and security upgrades in Win 8 are really nice. It preformed way better than Mac at the last Pwn2Own, and Blackhat conferences. (but so did Windows 7 if anyone wants some fire on why win is better than mac)

 

[AG]

www.startisback.com. Best $3 you'll ever spend.

 

[Allison Finch]

I also dislike the "tiles" base of windows 8. AND, my photoshop cs4 will not operate on it. It is making me buy cs6. THAT pisses me off more than anything.

 

[ScubaMarc]

I do not get all the issues, i using windows 8 in the desktop mode and the metro is just the start up menu. Normal use is exactly the same. On a laptop i never use the metro interface, so there is no difference to win 7. Just get in the habit of going right to the desktop and not use metro. I do admit looking for settings is different.

 

[The Chairman]

I need one PC to run Windows for Adobe products. Everything else is a version of Linux or Droid. Windows 8 has a learning curve and I shortcutted that by installing "Classic Shell" which gives me a Start Button. It's def handles 64 bit processes better than 7 and far, far better than XP.

A recent lightning storm has hit my Win PC and I am in the middle of rebuilding it. I started with the power supply and a new cabinet, but the motherboard still crashes. So I am upgrading to an Asus Sabertooth MB with a 3.5 Ghz i7 processor and 16 gigs of dual channel RAM.

 

[ekremer]

Pete, that is the same rig I am running, That sabertooth MB, I was weary about it with all the plastic, but it is really awesome. However, why not just run Windows in a virtual machine on one of your linux boxes? If I wasn't such a huge gamer I would be doing that.

 

[Diver0001]

I just picked up a new laptop today and it has windows 8 installed. I only have one thing to say about it, I HATE IT.

Anybody else feel the same as I do ?

Jim Breslin

I have windows 8 on my desktop and my daughter has it on a laptop with a touch screen.

In both cases I think it works just fine and some things are considerably easier with Windows 8 than in previous versions because of the vastly improved search mechanism.

That said, the user interface is an unqualified paradigm shift as compared to traditional windows navigation. It took me several days to get my mind around it but the more I use it the quicker I can find things. As for the app store... The Windows 8 apps are, for the most part, shockingly amateuristic and so far I haven't found a single one that I thought deserved to be installed on my computer.... maybe if you had it on a telephone and you couldn't install a normal program, but for a laptop or a PC exploring the app store is 100% wasted time.

R..

 

[kelemvor]

Try this for win 8.
https://www.stardock.com/products/start8/
You should be much more comfortable with it after you get that. it will start win 8 in desktop mode.
(I run win 7 and Ubuntu exclusively on my non touch devices)

I have to second this recommendation. Start8 is great, lets you set things up to run just like they did in 7 while keeping the newer win8 features available if you choose to use them. They have a free trial, and it's only 5 bucks to buy it.