Okay, I have been using OS's long enough to be an expert. Unfortunately, the company I know and at some point I swear I trusted them, took all the stuff I knew and threw it out of windows. So, basically all that useless information I was learning while other kids were going outside and playing with each other is slightly more useless than before I got Windows 8. Now, I am trying to give the new OS and change in general a fair shot, but gosh darn if they didn't make even the simplest of things completely different. It's rather illogical. Not to digress, but I mean, why exactly is it necessary to outright delete functionality that had no real flaws in favor of something that has many? Even if they were trying to satisfy some nazionalist agenda to remake all UI into the one master UI, they are making is WWII era difficult to adjust to the new system.
So here are my questions that I shouldn't have to ask because I am not 6 years old and I have used a computer before:
Why does the start menu have more functionality than my desktop? Which one should I be using to launch programs?
How much extra computer resources are being used to run that new start page?
How do you multitask when in an app? I can't seem to access anything other than the app I am using. Is there a way to bring up a task bar? It has never been so hard to play solitaire and watch TV at the same time. Please tell me I am missing something here.
How do you exit an app? Why is there no exit button on any apps? Currently I have to go to start, go to desktop, hover mouse over left side of screen, right click, click close. Is that how you do it or am I missing something simple?
Are hotkeys still in use or is that too convenient for the new OS? Which ones no longer work?
How do you minimize an app? How do you use an app while still using the desktop?
Are there any changes in basic user directories I should know about?
"Arrested Development" is a much kinder term.
As I've stated before, XP still serves a purpose on the hardware it is on. So does Vista and Win 7. Are they inferior to Win 8? Possibly. Do they still do the same job they were intended to do? Absolutely. Do they really need to be replaced? Hell no.
There was a good reason MS kept XP around for so long and the same will hold true with Windows 7 (my own future prediction)
The market will have the last say and I for one will keep my money in my pocket.
Well, there is the cost factor. At its current price, moving from XP to Win 8 looks pretty good. Like it or hate it, it is the current OS now and for 40 bucks, that's a pretty cheap ticket.
It should get you a low cost upgrade to Windows 9 when it is released. If you already have a Win 7 license though, it would be hard to justify spending money on Win 8, imho.
You missed a few...
I'm not a huge fan of Betanews anymore but this one makes some good points (some of which I've already made more than a few times.)
http://betanews.com/2012/11/18/windows-8-is-not-a-failure/
Features like improved security, reset and refresh, support for UEFI, secure boot, better multi-monitor support, file history, storage spaces or hybrid boot are not as visible as the new Start screen or the missing start menu.
Some hardware and software will run on Win7 that won't run on Win8, you would of course want to consider that and factor in anything relevant.
Yes, old software might not be compatible. But in a few months new software will come out that is only compatible with Win8. That is the nature of their monopoly. That is why I didn't have a choice. I feel like an American during WWII. What Japanese internment camps? I don't see any... oh those ones. Well, I don't really have a choice do I? Nope, that a government thing. (Metaphor Guilt Trip Applied)
They will get long term profits from the forced switch to 8. That is the business model. It probably has something to do with contracts they make with Microsoft or a basic understanding that all of their customers are eventually going to have Win8. So it would cost more to make two versions of the software.
It has better performance than Windows 7, though the performance boost is not major for general computer use...if you are using winXP then both 7 and 8 will seem like major performance boosts...
Don't take this the wrong way, but if you are still using WinXP and don't plan upgrading for another year, I'm going to assume whatever you do upgrade to, you'll be using for a very long time...windows 8 (being newer) will probably have longer official support than windows 7...that being said, I'm wary of statements that windows 7 won't be supported for very long...you probably would be okay with windows 7 for several years, assuming nothing of value to you comes out exclusively for win 8 or higher...
Windows 8 is basically Windows 7 plus a tiles interface...vista and 7 changed a lot of the interface (things like how to change settings via control panel, etc.), and those changes were incorporated into windows 8...so, windows 8 will have a higher learning curve because it includes all the new interface added by vista/windows 7 plus all the new tiles/metro stuff....if that concerns you, windows 7 may be easier to move up to....
Uh, it's called Backwards Compatibility, not 2 versions. And basing a business model on an assumption is not a sure-fire road to profit. MS didn't seem to think that "all their customers" would have XP, Vista, or Win 7. Why would they think that for Win 8?
For anyone interested, here's Microsoft's lifecycle fact sheet:
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows/products/lifecycle
Says who? Yes it is.
Say what you want to Starkers. The fact remains that a click on the start menu and selecting an app to start from the list of most used apps in Windows 7 is MUCH faster than switching to Metro to select a new app to run. Using an X in the right upper hand corner is much faster than swiping a "hand" from the top of a running app and pulling down to exit an app.
Windows 9 will look like Windows 7. Anything that resembles Windows 8 will only be found on a tablet.
LOL, great answer. but the real answer will be Windows 9, after Microsoft realizes what a piece of shit win 8 is and fails miserably with most everyone.
BTW, Star-dock came out with a great little program called Start8. it fixes what MS should have or should be adding back into windows 8 in the first place.
Quoting Darksxx, reply 37 LOL, great answer. but the real answer will be Windows 9, after Microsoft realizes what a piece of shit win 8 is and fails miserably with most everyone. BTW, Star-dock came out with a great little program called Start8. it fixes what MS should have or should be adding back into windows 8 in the first place.
i think this is the perfect example to my previous post...and shows that MS has not done enough to explain the OS The startmenu is the new Start interface and the Startbutton is also at the almost same location as it was in earlier windows versions... bottom left of the taskbar its just not visable. Besides the not good explanation by MS i blame bad reviews also for the pecs of the „windows8 is shit“ perspective that is so widely spread. Quoting kona0197, reply 36The fact remains that a click on the start menu and selecting an app to start from the list of most used apps in Windows 7 is MUCH faster than switching to Metro to select a new app to run. Using an X in the right upper hand corner is much faster than swiping a "hand" from the top of a running app and pulling down to exit an app. Mhh i don´t think so windows8 is pretty keyboard shortcut based in usage...using them speeds up everything incredibly- i press the windowskey while you move your mouse to the start button…or i also use the mouse to open it ( see above )and select the app i want to use in the list like you do in the earlier windows version- or i can simply hit windowskey+F to directly search an application i want to use, thats 3 options already, i have the freedom of choice which i prefer to use...and im certainly not slower with using the windowskey i could bet iam even faster that way also there is desktop shortcuts that you can make but i didnt take that option in because i wanted to keep it fair Swipe closing apps: you dont have to close the apps that run since only the audio/video/messenger apps will stay active and continue to use resources when you switch back to the desktop also why should it be slower in closing non apps based or normal programs? It is the same as in earlier windows versions you click the close button with your mouse since these are still desktop progs and not apps. Since there is no need to close apps at all, but you want to hear that your faster in windows 7 yes you are faster by closing a desktop program compared over the swipe close for a "Start app" but it remains the same for desktop programs on both OS... apps swipe can be left unused if again you take advantage of keyboard shortcuts alt+F4. Turn it like you want, there is no disadvantage
Edit: Roloccolor beat me to it...
If you are at your desktop, clicking the bottom left corner brings up the start menu/screen for BOTH windows 7 and windows 8...if you have 7, you'll see a pretty windows icon...if you have 8, there's a thin rectangle (similar to the sliver on 7's bottom right that minimized everything) that you can click on (hovering over the rectangle gives you an aeropeek of your start screen) ...in either OS, you can instantly bring up the start menu with one click....
Once you are at the start menu/screen, windows 8 displays all your apps much better than windows 7...whereas the start menu from 7 would only display ~8 or so apps, the windows 8 start screen can display dozens...additionally, the live tiles allow you to see status updates in regards to many apps, which is something windows 7 cannot do...
All the "non-app" stuff like control panel, run, command prompt, file explorer, etc. can be added to your windows 8 start screen as you desire...
i want to add something to the disadvantage for windows8 , windows8 login is connected to a live account you can only use it alone if you dont want anyone to read your messages instant messengers and so on since they are always on - unless you dont use the apps and still use desktop messengers and so on. Dont know if this can be passed by using a guest account that would make it possible for visitors to use the pc without seeing your private love letters but havent tried that yet.
How does that work for those that do not choose to run Stardock software.?
Everyone knows clicking the mouse is much faster than using the keyboard.
Yet while using an app Windows 7 is much faster for launching a new app. No "Metro" to switch to first.
Exactly. Some of us use a better service called Gmail.
I have yet to use any of these supposedly necessary Windows 8 keyboard shortcuts.
I still use alt-tab, just like in 7.
Fantastic.
So, that's great and faster if you only ever open those eight apps. Full of junk directories and uninstall links and readme links and tiny little icons otherwise.
And you don't need a new email to open up a MS account.
I know. I have a Hotmail account. I just don't use it. I prefer Gmail. It's the fact that MS wants to tie people into using a Live account that bothers me.
Oh and I'll bet going to start and all programs and selecting another app in Windows 7 is still faster than switching to Metro.
It's not a Live account. It's an MS account. You can use Passport to tie it to a Gmail account, with no MS email involved at all.
And you'd be wrong. The only slow part of the Start Screen is setting it up the way you want it at first.
I don't know. I hear many complaints from people around town that Windows 8 is not a good OS. Time will tell.
You realize you can create a live account using your gmail address right? I use my gmail address as my Win8 login and never use live.com.
You could bet that, but you'd be wrong. After a while using Metro you come to learn where your tiles sit. I hit the windows key and WHILE my finger is pressing the key my mouse is already moving towards the area of screen real estate that I know the tile is in. By the time Metro is up, I'm only moving the mouse across a small piece of screen. Once I got comfortable with the change in work flow I realized it was better than Win 7.
I was a Windows 8 skeptic. I didn't touch it until the commercial release because I thought 8 looked terrible, the reviews were bad, and because I wanted to give MS a chance to finish their product before it turned me off. After giving it a few weeks of break in I'm convinced its a better OS. It has its flaws, sure, but it's better and the Metro start menu is infinitely better than the old Windows start menu.
It's different though, and people don't like change. I get that. MS was either going to support the same old Windows 95 through Windows 7 start menu look forever or they were going to change at some point and upset people. They changed. People are upset. People will get over it or they'll flee Windows. Time will tell which.
I hear from people on the internet that the earth is flat, that we didn't really go to the moon, and that George W. Bush was secretly behind 9/11 because he wanted to give DoD money to his buddies at Haliburton.
People on the internet are often wrong. Find out for yourself. Have you used Windows 8 for more than 15 minutes? Half of what you're writing reads as if you haven't. It's strange to have such strong opinions about the subject if that's true.
If you have used it significantly, then I guess we just disagree.
I wasn't talking about people on the internet. Actual people that I know from around town.
isn't it funny how people who have yet to use the os are experts about it already? all that knowledge gathered strictly from others have said...
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