Windows 8?

[Bribie G]

Probably been a thread started somewhere on this, but it's been a while, so:

I'm thinking of replacing my desktop dinosaur with one of those neat little boxes with the built in WiFi, HDMI, TB storage etc but of course it will come with Windows 8.

Doesn't look that much of a learning curve, especially after a couple of years with Android on other devices. What's peoples Win 8 experiences and opinions so far?

 

[Dave70]

Of Windows..

I'm about as computer savvy as a garden gnome, but I will say this. I have a Winblows phone.
Compared to my previous android equipped Motorola, its fcukin pus.
Worst selection of ****** apps EVER.
Hope this helps.

 

[warra48]

We have it on our new laptop, can't say I'm a fan of it.

Nowhere near as intuitive as what we are used to in previous versions of Windows.

It seems to be straddling the line between the old Windows for PCs etc and a Tablet type of system, and it's not the best of either.

 

[Airgead]

The consensus in the IT industry is that Win8 is the new Vista.

The fact that MS are rushing forward win9 with rumors that a lot of the "tablet" features being switched off by default on a PC because they are a really ****** experience on a desktop with no touch screen, serves to confirm that impression.

Cheers
Dave

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

Bribie..

Buy an andriod tablet or get a "white box" lappy or desktop and install Linux.

Andriod is a derivative of linux.

Lots poo poo linux, but it does everything you want and more. And its FREE with lots of community support and fully customiseable. Unlike Windoze, if you dont need it then remove it

Be a man and become free from the shackles of Micro$oft.

 

[sponge]

Yup, I've got it on my new laptop and it's a horrible mix of win7 and tablet.

I only use the desktop for it and haven't touched any of the apps.

It'll probably end up like vista, and just a poor little OS stepping stone.



EDIT: Beaten by Airgead re vista comment.

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

Bribie..

Buy an andriod tablet or get a "white box" lappy or desktop and install Linux.

Andriod is a derivative of linux.

Lots poo poo linux, but it does everything you want and more. And its FREE with lots of community support and fully customiseable. Unlike Windoze, if you dont need it then remove it

Be a man and become free from the shackles of Micro$oft.

 

[citizensnips]

I personally recon it's useless, I've stuck to Windows 7, love it compared to anything else

 

[tricache]

Using Windows 8 but I use my laptop mainly for movies, tv shows ect which I have "acquired" and I just have XBMC going 24/7 so I don't even see the ugliness of Windows 8

 

[Airgead]

Linux FTW!

 

[pk.sax]

Get something you can downgrade to windows 7. I think even Mac OS X doesn't keep pace with how well windows 7 is built.

 

[GuyQLD]

There's two issues with win8.

1. Designed for touch devices
2. Poor app support

I really like win8 in some applications but for a desktop you can shove it, win7 is still the king there as far as I'm concerned.

The poor app support stems from the lack of phone market share driving poor win8 sales and it all kind of snowballs. Microsoft also made some choices in the early days about their app store that proved unpopular.

Add to that the requirement to have either a win8 machine (or VM) to develop for win8 and you start to alienate your developers.

Really annoys me because it had potential, but they bolloxed it up.

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

Windows8 has become so popular that I have yet to meet anyone who uses it.

The only way I know Win8 phones exist is because saw one in a Hardley Normal catalog

Good to see Micro$oft taking a beating lately. The result of them being a bunch of *****

 

[Donske]

I'd like to second the few suggestions of Linux, if you're not doing anything fancy install Linux Mint and enjoy, one of the best operating systems I've used.

 

[Goose]

I would imagine that the other problem is you cant easily get Microsoft Office to run under Linux ?... I know that OpenOffice is a valid alternative, but most people prefer Microsoft Office over OpenOffice, not only because of compatibility issues

 

[zappa]

Windows 8 has widely been recognised as a colossal flop. If you must use Windows, I'd suggest looking at HP (unless you build yourself). HP have just announced they will be dropping back to Windows 7 for their PC lineup.

If you're not dependant on Windows apps, white box with something like Ubuntu or Mint is the way to go. There are many other Linux distros, but only Ubuntu and it's derivatives and spinoffs make installing drivers for proprietory hardware easy for non-experienced Linux users. This can be a plus for non-intel graphics cards and some closed wireless devices.

 

[Bribie G]

My huge dinosaur box with nothing in it apart from a motherboard and lots of empty space runs on 7, which I love.

I have a really good 25 inch full HD monitor so don't want to go onto a laptop or tablet, but only have one legal copy of 7 that I want to remain on the dinosaur.

Interesting about HP, thanks for the suggestion, the wee box I'm talking about at Officeworks is the one I'm looking at, might enquire about getting a Win 7 version of it if available.

I use Open Office, just fine.

 

[Cocko]

Get a Macbook air and a screen adapter.

Sorted.



h34r:



EDIT: Someone had to suggest the best.

 

[Linford]

Ipad? Ran a lappy with windows forever but converted to ipad few months ago. Took 5 minutes to learn how to drive it and haven't looked back. Music, vid, pics on hand and can do it all whilst tippin an AG back.

Rgds

Linford

 

[ljj101]

If you do end up getting Win8 you need to buy a program called Start8 (Google it - you can buy it online and download it) It will give you back the start button and let you avoid the most annoying Win8 features.