# Windows 8



## mikellmikell (Nov 9, 2005)

Ok been listening to the wife curse for 2 weeks about Windows 8 . It is getting less and less so I figured i would get a new computer with 8 now that she can help me. 

How about a sticky with windows 8 questions 

I'm regretting ondering it already 

Thanks


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## Nevada (Sep 9, 2004)

I reverted back to Windows 7.


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## Pearl B (Sep 27, 2008)

I really wish they would settle on one version of windows and just stick with it!


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## mnn2501 (Apr 2, 2008)

Pearl B said:


> I really wish they would settle on one version of windows and just stick with it!


They wouldn't make money if they did that. Their entire business model revolves around making their older software obsolete.


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## tgp7799 (Dec 29, 2011)

Windows 8 reminds me of another Vista ..... a bunch of junk.


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## arabian knight (Dec 19, 2005)

tgp7799 said:


> Windows 8 reminds me of another Vista ..... a bunch of junk.


Well when Windows comes out with a "special mouse pad" that will make 8 look and run similar to a tablet THAT will make it easier to stomach.
Now Apple has already done this with there updated version of OS-X Version Mountain Lion.
My desktop now works and acts similar to a iPad. LOL IF I Choose to use what Apple calls their "Magic Mouse Pad". 
And of course Apple does not have a Start Menu. LOL You get used to it.
But they have where Windows 8 doesn't a "Dock" where you Put Icons you use. And they are not using that "Tile" stuff that MS has. LOL
As Windows 8 was really made for Touch Screens~
And now I see Best Buy is having a 100 bucks off maybe even more on Lap Tops with Touch Screens. But I DO NOT and WILL NOT want to use a touch screen for home use~!!!!!!
But now that I have this Magic Mouse Pad, it "simulates" a iPad with its touch screen. Keep up the good work Apple, and stay one to two steps ahead of MS in their failed attempt at trying to make their OS simulate their MS OS Tablets. LOL


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## Nevada (Sep 9, 2004)

ZDNet doesn't have a kind word for Windows 8.

http://www.zdnet.com/five-reasons-why-windows-8-has-failed-7000012104/


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## Kung (Jan 19, 2004)

Nevada said:


> ZDNet doesn't have a kind word for Windows 8.
> 
> http://www.zdnet.com/five-reasons-why-windows-8-has-failed-7000012104/


The 8 adoption rate makes perfect sense. Why? Because Windows Vista *SUCKED* whereas Windows 7 fixed almost every problem Vista had. Of course people would be a lot less likely to want to migrate to it.

Now, on to the points:

*



1. Metro, aka Modern: An ugly, useless interface.

Click to expand...

*This entire gripe can be fixed by installing a program, or doing a regedit. Meh.


> *2. Windows 8 brought nothing innovative to the desktop.*
> 
> Can you tell me one new thing that Windows 8 brought to the desktop that was truly innovative? Exciting?


Uh, yeah. Windows Storage Spaces. And PC Refresh. And File History. And a VASTLY improved Task Manager. And native ISO support. Oh, and a much more intuitive repair process. I could go on.

Plus it boots a HECK of a lot faster than 7 did.
*



3. Developers hate it.

Click to expand...

* That's nice. How about the users?http://www.zdnet.com/pc-gaming-comes-to-ubuntu-linux-with-steam-client-release-7000011340
*



4. Legacy Windows 7 users aren't moving.

Click to expand...

*I just said this. In fact, the explanation under this heading attributed the high migration rate to Windows 7 to Vista's dismal failure. That's not Windows 8's fault; rather, I'd say it's indicative of 7's success.
*



5. Tablet, smartphone, and desktop competition.

Click to expand...

*That one I'll grant, as they were indeed the Johnny-Come-Lately to the tablet/smartphone game.

This being said - has anyone here actually tried a Surface? If I want a cheap general-use tablet, then I'm not impressed. HOWEVER....there are some aspects of Surface that are a big deal. Build quality is fanTAStic. It is indeed a decent tablet OS - it's just as fast, if not faster, than iOS. And there are some design aspects that make a LOT of sense.

For example, a lot of tablets wouldn't make sense for government usage. But Microsoft built/designed the Surface...so Windows RT/8 will likely run faster on Surface than other tablets running Windows RT/8. If they can build in a CAC reader, it'll be freakin' PERFECT for government usage. And the cover/keyboard thing is another good idea - that way, it's not a wireless keyboard (which would be allowed only if encrypted), but it's also not a pain in the butt USB keyboard.

My point is that a lot of the criticisms are either misplaced or make no sense, OR are from a tech's point of view.


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## WhyNot (Jun 21, 2011)

I don't usually move to a new OS or add it to one of my machines until more users are going to...or otherwise makes sense to me (doesn't have to make sense to others, just me lol). For this very reason I moved personal from Windows 2k straight to 7. Bypassed my own personal copy of Vista...as I did with WinME. 

At my last shop when WinXP came out I moved my technicians onto it, I kepts Win2K. I had it so tweaked I didn't need antivirus....imagine that  I looooooved Win2k. Loooooooooved it lol.

Win7 is/has been good. I have several different builds of it.

I've had one machine with Win8 on it for about 3 weeks. I like it actually. To me it is a beefed up Win7. I like the GUI better actually....not necessarily the start screen specifically...but the graphics of the GUI seem just. Well I like them better. And it matters because of how many hours I am in front of it lol.

It is much more intuitive on a lot of things than Windows 7. For instance, printers and MFD's.....the other day I stared at my several different printers with horror, finally going to get them all installed on 8. Well guess what? hahahaha! I did not even need a disk to install all the devices on the MFD's. This is much different and much of an improvement from Windows7 honestly.

People complain about how bloated Windows has been over the years....anyone ever notice last few years how bloated HP and etc are making their software and etc? Also noticed while Win7 will detect MFD's as several different and separate devices, Win8 will show it as one and then will menu out the individuals....and you can operate each without having the original software...which makes it very nice.

Few weeks ago I was involved in a staging set up for a large deployment....500 workstations, each had 2 monitors so 1000 monitors and 900 different printers. Windows8 and networked. What I thought was going to be a nightmare....was a really enjoyable three days.

It ain't all that bad.


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## Kung (Jan 19, 2004)

Thank you. LOL Don't get me wrong...there are things I don't like about 8 for sure - if you're on a laptop Metro makes *NO* sense whatsoever.

But it's easily bypassed/disabled. And as I pointed out above there are a lot of improvements. Oh! Forgot one - the 'transferring files' dialog box is actually FUNCTIONAL now.


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## mnn2501 (Apr 2, 2008)

Kung said:


> That's nice. How about the users?


Every user I have talk to has nothing good to say about it.
Most that are even slightly tech savy have made modifications to it to make it more like a Windows O.S. and less like a smart phone.


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## arabian knight (Dec 19, 2005)

mnn2501 said:


> Every user I have talk to has nothing good to say about it.
> Most that are even slightly tech savy have made modifications to it to make it more like a Windows O.S. and less like a smart phone.


 agree as Windows 8 was more made for Touch Screen, Period. That was there objective. But not that many have touch screens and I sure as heck would not want one if I had a desktop and not a laptop.
I see now MS is trying to give Huge Discounts to suppliers on 8 now so MAYBE they can sell more, but so far people have spoken with their wallets and IF POSSIBLE have either not bought a new computer with 8 on it or some have even navigated away from MS to get a Mac, and then put Windows on their Mac along with the Apple OS. LOL


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## Kung (Jan 19, 2004)

mnn2501 said:


> Every user I have talk to has nothing good to say about it.
> Most that are even slightly tech savy have made modifications to it to make it more like a Windows O.S. and less like a smart phone.


Every user? 

As far as the modifications go, the ONLY modification I've had to do was to spend $5 for Start8, and even THAT'S only because it's the best program there is - it gets rid of all of those annoyances (charms bar, hot corners, Metro interface, etc.)

I do get your point, believe me...I just think people doth protest too much. My wife hated it too....so I loaded Start8 on her computer and told her "Give it 3 days."

At the end of the 3 days she admitted she liked it better because it was faster.


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## mnn2501 (Apr 2, 2008)

Kung said:


> Every user?
> 
> As far as the modifications go, the ONLY modification I've had to do was to spend $5 for Start8, and even THAT'S only because it's the best program there is - it gets rid of all of those annoyances (charms bar, hot corners, Metro interface, etc.)


 Yeah, every user I know -- admittedly not a terribly large group(as most people I hang with are happy with Win7, and a few still love XP)

I looked up Start8 and it appears you got rid of a lot of the Win8 "features", so it appears you didn't like it either.


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## arabian knight (Dec 19, 2005)

And something like this is not going to help MS at all, only hurt.
*Samsung Exec Bashes Windows 8*


> A Samsung executive this week likened Microsoft's new Windows 8 operating system to Vista, the widely criticized OS put out by Redmond several years ago in between its far more successful Windows XP and Windows 7 platforms.
> Microsoft launched Windows 8 last October to great fanfare as the successor to Windows 7 but the new operating system's failure thus far to revitalize the moribund PC market has emboldened critics like Jun Dong-soo, director of Samsung's memory chip business. Jun told the Korea Times this weekend that "Windows 8 has failed to boost demand for Windows-based computers," according to a review of the Korean-language article by Forbes.


http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2416423,00.asp?kc=PCRSS03069TX1K0001121&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ziffdavis%2Fpcmag%2Fbreakingnews+%28PCMag.com+Breaking+News%29&utm_content=My+MSN


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## Ross (May 9, 2002)

My wife put it on her fairly new Toshiba laptop, and its really not a great match. Sure everything new takes getting used to but the darn thing freezes so often it drive her nutz! It never did on 7. I'm going to stick with my ol XP desktop a while longer.


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## unregistered41671 (Dec 29, 2009)

Ross said:


> My wife put it on her fairly new Toshiba laptop, and its really not a great match. Sure everything new takes getting used to but the darn thing freezes so often it drive her nutz! It never did on 7. I'm going to stick with my ol XP desktop a while longer.


When XP is gone capoot, don't know what I will do. Old dogs don't learn new tricks easily.


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## mikellmikell (Nov 9, 2005)

Ok the wife is getting used to it and it is easier to do certain theings she says. So I ordered another HP just like hers fron Tiger Direct and it arrived Friday. I said Sunday was going to be crappy and rainy so we would move files and such together. It was DOA nothing no go no way. So I called this morning and they are shipping another today and mine will be headed back tomorrow. 

Not sure if it's a good sign or not.
As the Windows 8 World Turns


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## Kung (Jan 19, 2004)

mnn2501 said:


> I looked up Start8 and it appears you got rid of a lot of the Win8 "features", so it appears you didn't like it either.


If I didn't like Windows 8, I wouldn't have had it running on every laptop at my house.

I didn't like the "Metro" implementation or the lack of a Start button, but I'm good with everything else.


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## Nevada (Sep 9, 2004)

Kung said:


> I didn't like the "Metro" implementation


Yes, by default new program icons are added as tiles to Metro. I don't get that. I mean to run an application you are supposed to leave the Desktop to the Metro tiles, the start application back in the Desktop. It seems more efficient to simply leave the application icons on the Desktop.


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## mnn2501 (Apr 2, 2008)

Kung said:


> I didn't like the "Metro" implementation or the lack of a Start button, but I'm good with everything else.


to the average user, what else is there?


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## Kung (Jan 19, 2004)

mnn2501 said:


> to the average user, what else is there?


Uh, the entire rest of the operating system. Plus all the other improvements (Storage Spaces, improved Task Manager and copy/paste dialog boxes, PC Refresh, File History, etc.

You seem to be hung up on this whole "Metro" thing. Metro is not the entirety of the OS; and in my case, it's literally the ONLY thing I don't like. I COULD deal with it if need be. I just don't have to - there are free and paid software packages that'll hide Metro.

True, the average user might be ticked off by it, but the average user can Google "how to get rid of Metro" as easy as I can. You may argue that 'shouldn't be necessary' but there's tweaks we've all done to different OS's that shouldn't be necessary.


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## mnn2501 (Apr 2, 2008)

Kung said:


> Uh, the entire rest of the operating system. Plus all the other improvements (Storage Spaces, improved Task Manager and copy/paste dialog boxes, PC Refresh, File History, etc.
> .


Which the average user will not use. I realize many of us here are not average users, but we work with average users.

I'll put you down in the 'Like it' column.

I just think its a marketing ploy similar to WindowsME.


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## Kung (Jan 19, 2004)

I would agree that most users wouldn't use Storage Spaces. 

However, File History, PC Refresh, the Task Manager/Copy & Paste dialog box update? Absolutely they like and use those features (if they know about it - and if they don't, that's more the fault of Microsoft's marketing than Windows 8 itself).

I'm not saying they're all power users; nor am I saying that 8 is 'better' than 7. It's not. In fact, realize and understand I did NOT like it once I installed it on my laptop initially. My overarching point is not at ALL that 8 is better than 7.

What I'm trying to say is that while I would NOT tell people to update to 8 if they have 7 or Vista, I also would not tell people to downgrade simply because they got a new computer with 8 on it. 

In every case (both for myself and for regular users), if I tell users to give it a week, and do literally NOTHING other than disable Metro and the eye candy (charms bar, etc.), 99% of them not only have no problem with it, but like it. In fact, the users that I've told literally NOTHING to (in other words, didn't tell them about the new features) discovered the Task Manager, Copy & Paste update, and the speed increase on their own. One guy downgraded to 7 and actually ended up upgrading back to 8 because he noticed 8 was faster - on the contingency, of course, that I could 'disable the flashy crap.' LOL

Anyways...again, I'll stress I'm NOT saying 8 is superior to 7. Not at all. But with a tweak or two, and some notification of the new features, most of the users I've run across ARE satisfied with it. But YMMV, of course....and in the end, it's the user's decision, of course.


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