thoughts on Window's 8,1 ?

[baerpath 517]

Worth the effort ?    Never was a computer guy. Is it worth the price, free.

[Coadster32 793]

I suppose anything is worth free, if it's a computer attached to the operating system. If you're upgrading what you have, you might 2nd guess it. I have 8.1 @ home with a touchscreen monitor. They more or less made it "app" friendly, like a smartphone. The jury is definatly out on it. Some folks don't like the app stuff, but you can turn off the function with a little this and that. My wife loves it, so I stopped messing with it. (Happy wife, happy life)

 

Just thought about it...not sure if you mean upgrading from 8.0, or some other OS. Some guys who did the 8.0-8.1 upgrade crashed out pretty bad. Mine did OK, but it was a new computer only 2 days old.

[nylyon-(Admin) 7,130]

First, I don't like Windows BUT because of RedSquare I have to use it so  I can test things when they're reported to not work.  On my Mac I have VMWare Fusion which allows me to run virtual machines of different operating systems.  Shortly after windows 8 came out, I bought it and installed it on a virtual machine.  Needless to say, I didn't like it at all. 

 

I was really looking forward to the FREE upgrade and when available I went to upgrade right away.  It took me 3 weeks to upgrade and I AM a computer scientist.  Turns out that Microsoft discontinues several drivers for Windows 8.1 which will break the upgrade. If you have a newer computer you're not likely to have a problem, and the good news they roll back the upgrade so no harm no foul. 

 

So now that it's upgraded I still don't like windows but I like 8.1 a lot better than 8 and would recommend giving it a shot.

[flyovrcntry 115]

I bought a new PC and had 8 and upgraded to 8.1, in my lo-tech opinion,it blows, they say it's great for laptop. I want my 3.1 WAH WAH  

[rmaynard 14,951]

I don't know what Microsoft is thinking when they bring out a "new and improved" operating system. They seemed to forget that not everyone has a touch screen monitor or laptop. I certainly don't. I guess they think it will increase sales.

 

I will continue to use Windows 7, and in the case of the PC that I am typing this on, Windows XP, until it will no longer run. By that time, they will have discovered that Windows 8.whatever was a mistake, and create a system that will work for everyone.

 

Just my 2 cents worth.

[nylyon-(Admin) 7,130]

I had always thought that having a touch screen would be nice and why Apple never did it on the laptops or iMac's.  While Christmas shopping, I stopped at the Microsoft store and was playing with one of the desktops.  Having the touch screen was cool for about 30 seconds, then it became quite annoying.  Don't get me wrong, it would probably be okay if the OS did't almost require it.

[varosd 1,185]

engine oil + touch screen=mess

[Racinbob 10,421]

engine oil + touch screen=mess

That's funny. But the same goes for a mouse and keyboard. I'm still using Vista on my desktop and the wife has 7 on hers. I just bought a new laptop with 8 and upgraded to 8.1. Windows 8 (or 8.1) are very geared towards a touchscreen which I don't have. My verdict is still out on it because I haven't played with the new laptop much yet (still on desktop). I'm an old dog and don't like change. I prefer Vista over 7 but from what I see 8 or 8.1 will be fine. It's just a learning curve. I learned Vista and the wife got 7. I didn't need to use 7 so I didn't learn it and get frustrated whenever the wife wants me to fix something on hers. I bought the Windows 8.1 For Dummies book and intend to learn it. Just in time for a new system to take it's place.

[baerpath 517]

3 try's so far keeps going back to 8 at least

[nylyon-(Admin) 7,130]

You'll need to search up the error message it gives you.  When I was upgrading my virtual machine, it turned out to be a defunct driver.  I had to do a lot of changes (which removed my windows activation) to get it upgraded.   I do like 8.1 better than 8, but I'm still not thrilled with it.

[Don1977 604]

I saw this on another board. This fellow bought a new desktop computer with windows 8 - something not sure witch one. His statement " I wish I had bought a laptop, that I could throw further."

Edited December 19, 2013 by Don1977

[can whlvr 991]

im very computer illiterate,i had to get a new laptop 3 daye ago and I don't like the new stuff,very confusing,give me the guts to an 8 speed anyday

[baerpath 517]

Well after all the hype, we found that we need a new desktop. Trying to figure  seems all of them have programs and features we just don't need. And to upgrade/fix ours is around $280 and it's 7yrs old, not much less than going new.

Any thoughts ,

[Racinbob 10,421]

Personally, I wouldn't spend that much on a 7 year old computer. I'm still running Vista on my desktop but bought a new laptop a short time ago with Windows 8 (now 8.1). I'm better with the 8.1 now but I would prefer Vista or 7. I thought about dumping the 8.1 and loading an older OS on it but decided to leave it alone. If I were in your position I would probably have a desktop built up and load 7 on it. Microsoft is dropping support on XP in the near future so it could become risky to use it. I think (guessing) that Vista and 7 will be supported for a fair amount of time but it seems certain that Vista will be the next victim.

[nylyon-(Admin) 7,130]

Duane, I agree I wouldn't drop a dime on an old computer.  A 7 year old machine will have a slower single core processor and simply can not keep up with the modern software demands.  While I know this is a Windows thread, I recently picked up a Macbook 2010 for just under $300.  It's modern enough to run the latest stuff and old enough to be reasonably priced.  The message here is you can get a slightly older machine which still has plenty of life in it for less than the equivalent new system (Mac or PC).  

[racin_ny 25]

Buy a computer with windows 7 on it and hope that Windows 9 is better.  I haven't talked to a single person that said "I love Windows 8 it is so easy to use."

[KATO 115]

Absolutely Hate Windows 8...I have converted 2 new machines recently back to Win 7

one was an HP... drivers were a problem for Win 7 since machine was designed for win 8

but managed to get it working.There are still new machines available with Win 7 installed

but you have to search for them, their startin to get pretty scarce.

[seuadr 488]

I don't know what Microsoft is thinking when they bring out a "new and improved" operating system. They seemed to forget that not everyone has a touch screen monitor or laptop. I certainly don't. I guess they think it will increase sales.

it will increase sales - devices are going the way of touch screens. they are developing proactively instead of retroactively.

 

i'm not a huge fan of windows 8.1, but i can't fault them for the direction they are going. you can make it look at heck of a lot like windows xp/7 if you want to, either through customization or programs like classic shell which change the settings for you. both work fine.

[stratostar250 919]

We have one laptop with Windows 8, and 8.1 is better and did step it up, but, I've used windows all my life, and I will say with all honesty, if I had to get a new computer at this time, I wouldn't even bother with any Windows 8 computers, I would go straight to a mac.  Ubuntu doesn't run too bad either, it's a tad bit slow, but that works decently also.  

Edited May 12, 2014 by stratostar250

[nylyon-(Admin) 7,130]

Being a Mac user, I was a little upset that Apple explicitly said NO touch screen for the Mac's.  Our local mall has a Microsoft store.  I went in to play with Windows 8 on a touch screen thinking this would be really slick.  What I found out was really the opposite.  While the touch screen is kinda cool, for me a laptop or desktop is just used with a mouse or trackpad, and it's very uncomfortable to move your hands from the keyboard to the screen and back again. 

 

I think that if Microsoft designed the O/S to have touch-screen as an enhanced capability, that would have been nice, but Windows 8 seems to have a dependency on the touch screen which became quite annoying. 

 

My work computer is Windows 7 (no touch screen) and it's fine.  I'm not big on Windows to begin with, but I like the user interface from Windows 7 as opposed to Windows 8.  The Mac is more like traditional Windows than Windows 8 is!  I heard that 8.2 gives the option for the classic look and feel?