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Windows 8; Love or Hate?


Hidi

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I agree for the most part, though to be fair, the functionality is still there, you just have to click on a lot more shit to do it.

Metro is just a poor UI paradigm for Keyboard and Mouse. You'll get no disagreement from me that MS SHOULD have left a desktop-centric configuration available for people not using touch devices, but the OS is in no way gimped because of Metro. I've yet to find something I couldn't do in Win7.

Windows RT is a different story, but that OS is only being put on tablets right now, as it should be.

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I'm going from vista 32 bit on my old workhorse desktop computer to windows 8 64 bit. Finally, my RAM will be used to its potential. Come hell or high water, I will enjoy this.

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There are some nice things about Windows 8, IMHO. I like the new file operation windows.

A lot of it reminds me of Windows Vista, as it seems to reintroduce a lot of its concepts.

Family Safety, Windows Defender, a Store, the updated games, new UI, emphasis on security, etc.

I hated trying to use Peek because the stupid Charms bar got in the way, but thankfully it can be (mostly) disabled through the registry. After doing that, and disabling the Lock Screen (as per DZComposer's instructions), it wasn't really that bad of a experience.

Still, I prefer Vista and 7 to it.

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Well, now that it's been a week I might as well post my general impressions. Note that I rarely use my computer for anything but writing or playing games, so my perspective is very much that of an 'average user' i.e. a knuckle-dragging, drooling pond creature compared to some of the people in this thread.

Getting used to the clusterfuck previously known as the Metro panel (or something) took little under an hour, after that, the hotkeys became second nature. I've heard complaints that shutting the PC off in windows 8 is an excrutiatingly laborious process (two or three more operations required to get to it than in prior windows operating systems) but I can't say it bothers me too much. The lock screen is a little superfluous but I enjoy the option of having it there - there's nothing like plastering Goatse all over it and daring your friends to try to log on.

As for the additional programs - sorry, 'apps,' they're neat, but I can't say I've seen any that strike me as particularly useful. They're slick, obviously designed to be used on a tablet, and a bit of a pain to use on PC, so it's not something I can see myself getting into. A PDF reader now comes standard with the OS, which is cool, but is positively anorexic compared to Adobe Reader. I mostly use it because it's not as visually noisy as the alternative.

Having gone from the abyssal despair of a tired, sluggish Vista 32-bit OS to Windows 8, in which I am now able to get full use out of my staggering, overwhelming, gargantuan total of 4gbs of RAM (holy crap, an extra 500 megs of RAM is used now! yes I'm being sarcastic), I'm pretty satisfied. The performance bump has been noticeably good, but of course, with only 4 gigs on board you can't expect too much. However, switching over to Windows 8 has given me the impetus to start thinking about getting slick new parts for my old workhorse of a computer. I can't wait!

There are some compatibility problems with certain games, of course, and the OS, being relatively early in its release, has some issues. I had a pretty bad memory leak until I got that patched out. Aside from that, I haven't come across any problems dire enough to be called a deal-breaker. Anything is better than fucking 32 bit Vista at this point.

Overall, from this ignorant, loathsome, technologically backwards luddite of a peasant, I'd say that Windows 8 is worth every penny. However, I can definitely see passing it over if you actually program anything or are a designer, of course. And if you have Windows 7. Compared to it, Windows 8 is hardly an upgrade right now.

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  • 3 weeks later...

I don't have it yet, I've had windows 7 for about a year. :(

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It's obviously designed for tablets.

 

If microsoft wanted to break into the tablet market so bad, why not just make a dedicated operating system for tablet-type computers?

 

I like it, it's fun to use on my PC. But honestly, I prefer windows 7 just because it's easier to use and more accessible on a regular computer.

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Aside from the fact that I had to RTFM in order to figure out how to do many things... like CLOSING A PROGRAM, it works awesome for me on my new laptop. They try to hide lots of so-called advanced features - apparently closing programs is one of many that I think should be out in the open. :P

 

I think it'll actually confuse more people than it helps. Hiding things does not make it more user friendly - hiding things generates more calls to tech support when people can't figure out how to even open the freakin' Start menu. All OSes have learning curves but I think Windows has taken a step backwards not forwards. XD

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They basically took the GUI we've all came to know and did some heavy modifications to it. Specifically by adding the metro UI and what not, and also doing away with the start button.

 

I find that after awhile, it begins to resemble windows fairly enough - but not as much as I'd like it to be. You can't please a nazi and a communist at once - it's no exception to tablet users and windows users either.

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