windows 8

[jefboyardee]

Windows 8.1 will resurrect the Start button, but not the Start menu

With Windows Blue you’ll get a Start button in the bottom left corner – but when you click it, it’s the Metro screen that’ll jarringly greet you, not a resurrected Windows 7-style Start menu.

 

[MacFett]

As long as it is hackable or allows start 8 to keep working flawlessly I'll be fine. Otherwise I will be requesting an upgrade to win7 .

 

[jefboyardee]

Modern, my arse...

 

[markdavis0011]

At first, i though this Windows 8 would be nothing more than a marketing crap but one of my friends installed it in his Lappy. I was amazed to see the processor's temperature which wasn't exceeding 50 degrees even after quickly closing the COD 4 game. The normal temperature remains at 39 to 41 degrees and this shows the less burden that Windows 8 puts on the computer.

 

[jefboyardee]

Having tried and abandoned W8, I’m either waiting for W8.1, which looks increasingly doubtful, or getting a W7 CD. But I’m surprised to see that they’re still approaching a hundred bucks.

I mean really, who would want to spend money for a previous OS? Me, for one, it seems.

 

[ZeroGeined]

And me once I get the rest of my budget together for my custom PC

 

[MacFett]

I have fully changed my stance on Windows 8 after having to set up parental controls for it. They were so easy and functional and since they're part of the OS they're not easily bypassed.

As a father of a troubled 16 year old I'm very pro Windows 8.
As a computer geek and gamer I'm very pro Windows 7.

 

[LucasV]

Troubled 16 year old. Really, parental controls on a 16 year old???

I agree with it, why not?

 

[mikedt]

Troubled 16 year old. Really, parental controls on a 16 year old???

Parental control on a minor.. I don't see why not IMO.

 

[EarlyMon]

Please let's be clear - we have a strict policy of not putting up with people telling others how to raise their kids.

Have an opinion about whether parental controls are a bad thing here?

Fine. Just don't post it here.

Cheers, thanks.

 

[sfbloodbrother]

Please let's be clear - we have a strict policy of not putting up with people telling others how to raise their kids.

Have an opinion about whether parental controls are a bad thing here?

Fine. Just don't post it here.

Cheers, thanks.

Oh, I'm not saying its good or bad, or anything. It's just new to me as I've never had any parental control restrictions before. But its a good thing to have the options to have them for the parents that want them.

 

[ZeroGeined]

Priceless. And a good reason to have the controls:

http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/3572956

 

[nickdalzell]

Except for the horrid Fisher-Price looking UI, Windows 8 seems stable, boots up fast, isn't nearly the memory hog and resource hog that XT/Vista/7 ended up being, and they do give some of us who prefer a normal desktop the 'desktop' mode. i use that mode often on the one Win8 computer i got, which exists purely for gaming. 99% of my games won't run in Linux, and those that do, do poorly.

Everything else, my Chromebook, phone, tablets/PADDs, and even Tivo run some fork or type of Linux/open-source OS which comprises 90% of my non-gaming use.

When the Play Store and their various apps tried to force their Windows 8-looking UI on me i downgraded and patched so they would never update on their own. i'm not a fan of what looks like a modern take on an old CGA-style UI from the early days of computing. i refuse to relive DesqView or Packard Bell Navigator again.

 

[unnamedny]

Just bought a new laptop, I made sure it runs on Windows 7. It was a really stupid idea to remove a start button and desktop interface. As far as I can remember it has been around at least from Windows 3.11, ofcause no one would like it.
Windows 8 is a failure, if not for regular users, but for professionals who need to set up VPN and have job specific apps for medical facilities, POS for restaurants, researchers etc. This softwares simply do not work and businesses have a huge headaches

 

[Codegerm]

My answer to Windows 8 is a solid "No". I don't have a tablet, I have a normal laptop and a tower PC. I tried Vista on the tower only to remove it and go back to XP. The Laptop came with Windows 7 64bit and I set up a dual boot with Linux. I find that setup works well for me and 7 boots up plenty fast enough. If I wanted my laptop to have an Android looking OS, I would want it to be Android.

 

[nickdalzell]

Windows 8's only real benefit is the lower memory footprint and improved memory management. this excels in gaming, or 3-D graphics. Windows 7 was stable but still had the same crappy memory management of Windows NT 4 and Windows XP, meaning it would eventually crap out from lack of available RAM. Windows 8 manages memory more like Android.

Vista was stable but people hated it because it annoyed users with endless UAC prompts for seemingly innocous things like changing the desktop wallpaper or setting the clock. the entire point behind UAC was ineffective as people eventually got into the habit of clicking 'YES' or 'OK' by default just to get rid of them. then Vista laptop users dealt with a huge bug with the wifi going out and giving 'unidentified network: local access only' where the only fixes were reformat and reinstall, or reset or factory reset the router. if in a public wifi without internet at home, this was a problem. A college or university will not bring their entire network down just to fix one laptop with a DHCP glitch.

 

[mikedt]

Vista was stable but people hated it because it annoyed users with endless UAC prompts for seemingly innocous things like changing the desktop wallpaper or setting the clock. the entire point behind UAC was ineffective as people eventually got into the habit of clicking 'YES' or 'OK' by default just to get rid of them. then Vista laptop users dealt with a huge bug with the wifi going out and giving 'unidentified network: local access only' where the only fixes were reformat and reinstall, or reset or factory reset the router. if in a public wifi without internet at home, this was a problem. A college or university will not bring their entire network down just to fix one laptop with a DHCP glitch.

From what I remember one of the main problems of Vista, was that PC makers were forced to pre install it on budget machines that were meant for XP. Things like Pentium 4, 512mb RAM and crappy integrated graphics. While fine for XP, but hopelessly under specified for Vista. XP originally would run on a Pentium 3 with 128mb RAM.

Think a similar thing now. MS is forcing a touch screen UI onto desktops and laptops that don't have touch screens.

Although Win 8 has been out for almost a year now. Most new PCs I've seen still come with 7, and non of them seem to have touch screens unless they're in tablet form. I kind of get the idea Win 8 isn't doing very well so far.

 

[Xyro]

Just bought a new laptop, I made sure it runs on Windows 7. It was a really stupid idea to remove a start button and desktop interface. As far as I can remember it has been around at least from Windows 3.11, ofcause no one would like it.
Windows 8 is a failure, if not for regular users, but for professionals who need to set up VPN and have job specific apps for medical facilities, POS for restaurants, researchers etc. This softwares simply do not work and businesses have a huge headaches

I can vouch for VPN software working just fine in 8 - you just have to click through to the desktop first

 

[nickdalzell]

with laptop makers these days putting touchscreens in laptops, i am guessing that is their solution to the 'Windows 8 is meant for touch' argument. when i bought my gaming laptop i was warned 'it won't have a touchscreen' by the salesman, which i replied 'i know, that is why i am purchasing a laptop'

 

[Seanette]

I just bought a laptop, and since it's nearly impossible to get a Windows 7 laptop in stores in my area (I did insist on being able to check out such things as the keyboard in person before buying), I got a touchscreen model.

There's a definite learning curve (I wound up buying "Windows 8 for Dummies") moving from Vista straight to 8. I really don't have a solid opinion yet, except for agreeing that removing the Start button was pretty lame. Classic Shell solved that for me.

I do miss one option I had in Vista: I was able to create my own quick-launch toolbars by putting shortcuts in folders and dragging those folders to the edge of the screen. Wish I still had that solution available, since I dislike a lot of stuff cluttering the desktop.

So far, I spend 90+% of my time in the Desktop mode rather than the tiles. That's what the programs I prefer (Thunderbird, Chrome, etc.) run in.

 

[nickdalzell]

i only see the tiles a few seconds after my machine boots up before i click 'desktop' where all my game icons are lined up in a nice little grid, choose game, DONE! Steam has become the default UI on that one laptop.

 

[sfbloodbrother]

i only see the tiles a few seconds after my machine boots up before i click 'desktop' where all my game icons are lined up in a nice little grid, choose game, DONE! Steam has become the default UI on that one laptop.

I don't get why it was such a big fuss over where the computer boots up to.

 

[Seanette]

Update: found a cute program that gives me a Macintosh-style "dock" for my shortcuts, which allows me to clean up the desktop clutter. Also found one that gives me back a Start menu with a Shut Down process that makes sense to me.

 

[sfbloodbrother]

Update: found a cute program that gives me a Macintosh-style "dock" for my shortcuts, which allows me to clean up the desktop clutter. Also found one that gives me back a Start menu with a Shut Down process that makes sense to me.

Nice, care to share the doc? I may want to use it with my computer.

 

[Seanette]

ObjectDock, by Stardock, which also has a utility that allowed more customization of my lock and tile screens.

ClassicShell can be thanked for that Start button.