http://www.zdnet.com/five-reasons-wh...ed-7000012104/
Ouch.
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My PC runs Win8 and I totally agree with the whole article. I'm using a shell to be able to use a Win7 interface, the Metro interface does not belong on a desktop at all....it's a waste of space and resource....not that I feel strongly about it. I'm used to using whatever is around but this has to be the biggest failure I've ever seen from MS in an OS.
My first reaction to Windows 8 was with the Surface RT. Being an iPad user, I initially found the Windows 8 interface extremely unintuitive and I would generally say, that if you are a happy iPad user, you probably won't like the Surface/Win8 combo.
That being said, I recently built a new high end desktop and decided to go with Windows 8 x 64 to force myself to learn the new way, as I work with computers alot and figured I may as well bite the bullet now. At first there was a lot of frustration as I found myself Googling how to do things I instinctively knew on older versions. Simple things, like, how do you close a Win8 App? There is no little X in the upper right hand corner. (Regular programs still have that of course.) However, once past the knee of the learning curve, I have to say that I actually like the interface, and think it will be important for this reason. Touch screens are likely to become more common, even on desktops. In the short term, we are already seeing many laptops with touch screens built in. Then there is the new breed of "hybrids", which are essentially ultrabooks or laptops with screens that can be flipped in a way to be used like a tablet. I see this as a market that will grow.
Microsoft clearly sees a future here for touch screens as well, and I wouldn't count them out just yet. http://news.softpedia.com/news/Micro...o-333672.shtml
It remains to be seen whether Windows 8 will be a marketing success or not, of course. I suspect that the desktop market is going to shrink, giving way to other/smaller devices that focus on the social networking aspect. Between that and dedicated game boxes that stream video and provide home theater capabilities, the majority of people will not need a traditional desktop. Furthermore, I don't think there is a compelling reason to upgrade to Windows 8 from 7 on existing hardware. The interesting thing will be what ratio of new desktop and laptop sales are sold with 8 vs. 7 going forward.
I've shown a few people how to use the touch interface, and so far, none have reacted negatively to it. The response is usually, "Oh, ok. That's not so bad." I think the hurdle for Microsoft is that most people are so familiar with doing things the old way that they will be frustrated trying to figure it out on their own.
Having both the Metro interface and the Desktop available on the same system doesn't really bother me. And, if you really want to make it act like the Win7 desktop, there are ways.
Steven, I think you right - we are in a transition period. Windows 8 will get there in the end, even if it has to become windows 9!
Hardware is changing fast.
What will matter will be real live performance (speed, stability) compared to Windows 7 and other OS and you can't tell much about those factors, yet.
People are overreacting on Windows 8. Yes it's different, but that doesn't mean it's worse. It takes a little getting used to if you used a different OS before, but that's the case with all new things, normally. Sure Windows 95 till 7 got the same GUI, basically. But trying something a little new isn't bad in days of touchscreens everywhere, even desktops have them...
What will matter will be real live performance (speed, stability) compared to Windows 7 and other OS and you can't tell much about those factors, yet.
People are overreacting on Windows 8. Yes it's different, but that doesn't mean it's worse. It takes a little getting used to if you used a different OS before, but that's the case with all new things, normally. Sure Windows 95 till 7 got the same GUI, basically. But trying something a little new isn't bad in days of touchscreens everywhere, even desktops have them...
And that's a good thing how exactly?Quote:
Originally Posted by vincewicks
I have spend years and years training children, family, friends and customers to keep their finger OFF screens, then someone decides that making screens you need to touch is a good idea?
Bonkers :D
Whether we agree or not, almost all new mobiles have nothing but touch-screens. No more keys to press to dial or text. It's the virtual keyboard, or nothing, on these phones!
We weren't asked whether we wanted it or not, it was decided by... well, someone!
Smartphones and pads are a different kettle of fish altogether, I'm with you there Rik ;)
A someone who occasionally swipes his finger across the screen, I look forward to the day when it actually works, which can't be too far away now.
Windows 8 is in a difficult place - a transition between mobile and desktop. Windows 7 is a perfectly good OS, so the move to W8 isn't an imperative and when you do get there, the desktop version leaves you in essentially a mixture between both worlds.
On my Mac, it sometimes feels like I'm using an iPad. I can swipe across the trackpad and move between multiple screens. The app launcher is very similar. If I had a 15" iPad with the power of the MacBook and a clip-on keyboard, I'd be very, very happy. Microsoft is trying that trick with the surface.
Windows on mobile is getting some very good feedback. I often wonder about Steve Balmer though, he has a charisma bypass to say the least.
I've been using Windows 8 since the first of year.
I also have a Nokia Lumea with Windows 7.5 which was like a pre-release of Windows 8.
I like it. I did not try to make it like Windows 7. What's the point? It takes almost no time to get the idea.
I do get the feeling that the product is not quite there yet. Unless you are dealing with one of the Metro apps, you are working in the Window's 7 desktop. I would have expected more integration and a one screen environment. Or at the least, a desktop environment that looks like it belongs to the Metro screen world.
I am quite positive about the experience, I thought that Vista was the first really stable and error free OS in my experience so long that you had enough memory and used programmes that were designed to run on Vista. It was so slow to boot up after a period of time and it wasn't that great at running movies, slideshows and it wasn't visual enough when compared to your phone. Now we have a fresh OS which is also stable, super fast in boot up time, error free and it's nearly there with the visuals. MS is not asking the earth for the product, I paid under £15 for the download upgrade, a few years back remember what you paid for Vista. Yes there are a few gaps if you're using desktop but remember the systems that it has to cover as a OS. I find it a great way to get news, weather and Apps. without having to use Google. Because also I have a Windz 8 phone I have no problems with the dreaded DRM moving music around and don't have to use I Tunes which I think is a terrible programme and won't have it on my main computer.
ZDNet had an interesting article this morning http://www.zdnet.com/just-how-much-d...-8-7000013319/
I now have a windows 8 machine but I haven't started using it for anything but watching BBC TV yet, so I cannot comment on that. But I do have a Windows 7.5 phone that I like .
Yes, it's often forgotten how much WindowsXP was hated and the problems it brought when it was first released into the comfort zone that Windows 98 SE had provided, far worse than Vista ever was.
I was in the direct line of fire during the XP release working as the computer tech in a PC shop.. Was a bit of a stressful time, I remember it well.
I regarded WindowsXP as the Disney version of windows when it came out. I absolutely loved Windows NT. Hated Windows 95 and 98 and I think my wife had Windows Millenium. Yugh!
Vista I avoided and was quite happy with XP. Windows 7 has been really good (though it won't update my wife's Dell properly). Windows 8 will get there too.
..almost forgot, I used Windows 2000 for a while too!
Ok, where to start?
I am using Win8 but not the goofy interface provided if I can possibly avoid it. It does not belong on a desktop......period.....bad choice to not have a proper desktop for those user types to immediately boot into and work from. I understand the reason for doing this but as usual, MS has done something that is EXTREMELY unpopular for most from what I've seen.....and feel.
I am progressively changing my default opening programs one by one as I use them to avoid being in the Metro Screen....the point? It's not good for desktops....period! That is the point, I expected much better from MS this time as they seem to have been getting better at progressing with their OSs. The Metro desktop doesn't belong on a desktop, so it is misnamed. It belongs on portable device that will support it as that is where it functions best....get a touch screen you say? No thanks, my mouse still works just fine thank you and I don't have carpel tunnel yet but I'd bet I would have in a few months of swiping across a 23" screen time after time playing with that screen.
Metro has it's place as does a Win7 type desktop. That option should have been a switch within Win8, and perhaps it will become one yet with an improvement (read patch) down the road.
I HAVE made my PC Win7ish just because I like it, it works for my desktop and I'm very familiar with it. That is the point.....if you don't use portable devices then Metro is likely not for you....if you do use Metro on a touch screen, watch out for your Tommy John surgery in the near future....
You may be able to tell from my tone that I don't like the Metro interface (which btw MS is promoting voraciously on TV as it has truly been their worst endevour yet for a new look) and my mind will certainly not change for desktop use.
Desktop use is most likely going the way of the dodo sometime in the near future but until then, I expect to have a user interface that works......Metro certainly does not.
Sorry this is so long, btw, I'm a very seasoned PC user and tech so if you're thinking this is a newby type statement, rest assured, I've seen, played, used, discarded, upgraded, removed, troubleshot, cursed at and installed every iteration of MS O/Ss that have existed....
When I go into Metro, I have no real problem working very briefly in it and am sure I could get used to it but am not interested, it doesn't work efficiently for me as a desktop so why use it?
Speaking of windows 8 i came to know that the security of the os is to low compared to win7
I'm curious to see what evidence there is for that.Quote:
Originally Posted by technobyte
More Win8 fodder.
Also, regarding earlier versions, WinXP was a huge improvement over Win95/98 for our company when we adopted it. Desktop support dropped significantly as XP's memory management was better and was overall much more stable. Win95/98 would crash requiring a complete reinstall, on a not infrequent basis. It's not that XP was completely bulletproof, but it was substantially better.
yes, format the drive and install win 7 or ubuntuQuote:
Originally Posted by StevenWWinters
win 8 on the desktop is a disaster of a nightmare mixed with a catastrophe, like putting a turbo on a lawn mower, interesting for a few seconds but actually gets in the way of cutting the grass
its fubndamentally flawed, telephones and tablets are portait, desktop are not, telephones and tablets are for fingers, desktops are not
when i'll finallystop using a mouse-driven desktop computer it'l be because somebody invented a way to be as productive as i am now with a large graphics capable tablet, but you can be sure that it certainly wont be running windows 8 which i think will be as widely derided as vista is now
just my opinion, but i really do think win8 is just awful
just install the open source 'classic shell' (3 minutes )
set it boot to the desktop
and stop whining........
there... you have Windows 7 back
except you don't - you just have a look alike desktop...
Try recording something from your PC TV tuner using Media Center with Win8 and see how similar a Win7 look-alike add on makes it.Quote:
Originally Posted by cmpan1
even if that were true (which it isnt) why should i switch to a new os and then download a freebie addon to help me to use it efficiently, gods sakeQuote:
Originally Posted by cmpan1
ps i never had a problem with win xp, thought it was a vast improvement over win98 after sp1
Hello,
Me I have a suggestion,
I would recommend to switch to Linux, these are the distributions I like most:
PCLinuxOS: http://www.pclinuxos.com/
Mageia: http://www.mageia.org/en/
Following is a set of interesting articles regarding Windows Migration to Linux.
In my opinion this is an easy path in order to migrate from Windows to Linux:
1. Windows Migration: Welcome To Linux. Welcome To PCLinuxOS!
http://pclosmag.com/html/Issues/201212/page03.html
2. Windows Migration: Download, Verify, and Create A LiveCD or USB
http://pclosmag.com/html/Issues/201212/page04.html
3. Windows Migration: Live Session & Installation
http://pclosmag.com/html/Issues/201301/page01.html
4. Windows Migration: Keeping Your System Up To Date & Installing Software
http://pclosmag.com/html/Issues/201301/page02.html
5. Windows Migration: My Journey to PCLinuxOS
Contains very useful information on listing the Windows programs that can be needed and their counterpart in the Linux World.
http://pclosmag.com/html/Issues/201302/page01.html
6. Windows Migration: What Software Do I Need?
A General List of Linux programs (in blue font) that can replace Windows programs (in red font):
http://pclosmag.com/html/Issues/201302/page02.html
7. Windows Migration: Configure Your Computer with PCC, the PCLinuxOS Control Center
http://pclosmag.com/html/Issues/201303/page01.html
8. Windows Migration: Fine Tune Your PCLinuxOS Installation
http://pclosmag.com/html/Issues/201303/page02.html
9. Windows Migration: Desktop Environments & Window Managers
http://pclosmag.com/html/Issues/201304/page03.html
10. Windows Migration: One Installation, Two (Or More) Desktop Environments
http://pclosmag.com/html/Issues/201304/page04.html
Hope this can help for those tired of Windows.
Best regards
joejac
Well the debate about Windows 8 took an interesting turn in our household.
My wife's laptop was getting a bit long in the tooth so I spotted a reasonable buy on ebay and bought it. She would be moving from a 1.6Ghz Core Duo, Windows 7 machine to an i3 Windows 8 ultrabook (slim laptop without DVD) that was rather sleek.
Well, the Asus ultrabook keyboard wasn't as good as the Dell and my wife hated Windows 8. To make things worse, only Java 32 bit was installable on this 64bit machine and she plays yahoo games and they kept dying.
I just sold the machine again on ebay, to be replaced by another Dell running Windows 7.
I could have installed Windows 7 on the ultrabook, but it wouldn't have improved the keyboard.
I could get used to WIndows 8, but I completely understand why people hate it. It's certainly a shock to the system. I found the transition to MacOSX more straightforward.
Really? Why is that? 32 bit only browser?Quote:
Originally Posted by pauland
The Win8 issues could probably be resolved, but the keyboard, not so much...
FYI, a couple of Win8 update rumors.
http://www.theverge.com/2013/4/16/42...desktop-option
http://www.theverge.com/2013/4/22/42...1-start-button
Java 32bit is the only option - apparently it has to run in a certain mode on Win 8. I suspect that whatever the issues were, may have caused the java-based yahoo games problems, though I couldn't find any.
The ASUS ultrabook had an i3 and by default was shutting down the networking to save power by default!
If the keyboard had been a bit better and the games didn't just die, we'd have kept it, I think. My wife was really annoyed at the right panel sliding over and the date popping up too.
There was no one thing that made us ditch it. I did consider loading Windows 7 on it, but the keyboard wouldn't have improved. My wife didn't get on so well with the trackpad either ( though that may have just been to do with it being multi-touch). Early-on she got in a muddle with pinch and zoom, so I disabled it.
It did make me realise how good Dell is for upgradability. Upgrading the disk drive would have been a major pain.
The machine did have an "instant-on" capability and that really was very good.
Pity, it was a great looking machine and I'm sure for other people would have been a good purchase.
There's hope... DOS!
Attachment 96203
I hated DOS when it was current. A poor shadow of the unix systems I worked with.
Not that it matters now, but I just got around to checking my Win8 system and 64 bit java is installed. You can test in a command prompt with:Quote:
Originally Posted by pauland
java -d64 -version
For 64 bit, should get a response like this:
java version "1.7.0_21"
Java(TM) SE Runtime Environment (build 1.7.0_21-b11)
Java HotSpot(TM) 64-Bit Server VM (build 23.21-b01, mixed mode)
Dunno if it's of interest but I recently got a new machine for my home recording studio. My old one ran on XP but was beginning to chug a little, so I reasoned that I'd better buy now as I wanted Windows 7 (didn't fancy 8. Still don't). Last Summer I bought a seriously kicking Dell XPS 8500, which is the machine I'm using right now as my main office/design machine. It has an i7 processor and 16 gig of RAM. It's great. It's also very quiet, which is important as my office is also my studio. It's great that I can make studio voice recordings with the office machine still running. A quick tweak with noise reduction software and all is great.
I called Dell and said that the XPS was great. Can I have the same again? The answer was no. Although their Business section says "We recognise that as a business you need to be able to choose an operating system that suits your needs." it's actually not true. You can't buy an XPS with Windows 7. They won't sell you one. You can only have it with Windows 8. Apparently their licensing agreement with Microsoft prevents them from selling you that combination.
In the end they sold me an Alienware Aurora, which is a gaming machine. They said that it would be as quiet, if not quieter than my favoured XPS. It wasn't. It was huge and when I fired it up it sounded like a Combine Harvester by comparison. I then spent a month from Hell trying to get it sent back. In the end I had to complain to Michael Dell's office US before they finally collected the thing and refunded my money. Interesting point here for would be Dell UK customers. If you can avoid it, and want any chance of returning a product, never buy from Dell Business, because your contract has practically no right of return. Whereas if you purchase from Dell Home and Home Office, you are covered by the Distance Selling Regulations Act and you can basically just send it back if you don't like it (although it still took me a month of calls to get them to do so).
In the end I bought a PC from a company called Quiet PC. And it is indeed completely quiet. The machine is completely fanless. You press the button and apart from a green light that comes on at the front, you'd never actually know it was on until the screens come to life. It cost a little more, but it's actually a little higher spec than my XPS, and it's Windows 7 Pro 64. It actually has two SSD hard drives, so aside from the CD/DVD drive, it actually has no moving parts whatsoever.
Steven,
Windows 8 is history in our house.
This is what the Java help says:
Will Java run in Start screen on Windows 8?
Microsoft Windows 8 does not support plug-ins in the Start screen and therefore Java will not run in the Start screen. You will have to switch to the Desktop screen to run Java.
When will Java be supported in Windows 8?
Windows 8 is officially supported with the release of Java 7 Update 10. Java will only be supported in Desktop screen. Java will not run in the Start screen.
Why do I only get the 32-bit Java when I go to Java.com?
Java.com provides a Java version based on your browser and operating system (OS). If you are running a 64-bit version of Windows 8, you have access to 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Internet Explorer 10 on your system. The desktop version of the Windows 8 OS does not run in a full 64-bit mode (unless you have Enhanced Protected Mode in Internet Explorer 10 turned on), thus 32-bit Java is the default.