4 ms·

I had not switched to win10, but was told by others who did saying that win7 > win10 > win8, i.e. win7 is the best, is it true? I have a dual-boot win7 for tax-

by ausjke 11y ago

I had not switched to win10, but was told by others who did saying that win7 > win10 > win8, i.e. win7 is the best, is it true? I have a dual-boot win7 for tax-filing that I had not booted into since April, using linux daily. This news made me feel relieved a bit that it's good I did not have win7 running and got automatically "upgraded".

smt88 11y ago
8 was really, really similar to 7, except for the start menu. The start menu made little difference to me because I just create taskbar/desktop shortcuts or press the Windows key and type what I want. People bitched about the new start menu because they weren't willing to see that there were better ways to find their programs. 10 is really, really similar to 8 as well. The only noticeable difference is, again, the start menu. There are small things here and there (and a much nicer graphical design), but otherwise it's pretty much the same. If you have enough storage, I'd suggest just trying Windows out as a dual-boot option. If you don't like it, you can always remove the Windows partition, no harm done.
- mintplant 11y ago
  YMMV if you're on a laptop, though. Some models lose control over screen brightness with the 7 -> 10 upgrade, locking it to 100% all the time. Microsoft doesn't have an explanation or fix.
- grimman 11y ago
  > People bitched about the new start menu because they weren't willing to see that there were better ways to find their programs. What exactly was the better way though? I'm still on Win7 in my primary computer, having Win10 (and previously Win8) installed on my secondary. On Win7 I press the start button and type the name of what I want to run (or find) - this lets me do what I want very quickly with a minimum of interruption. Win8 was similar, but it threw a jarring fullscreen slab of apps in my face. I say it was similar because it still let me start typing right away and get to the stuff I wanted with minimal hassle. Win10 is a whole different beast, I feel. The search was decoupled from the start menu; but the start menu itself returned to most of its former glory (unintrusive, no jarring screen transition). The key factor here is that I can no longer just start typing to get to an app, and I have yet to invest the necessary time into seeing if it is at all possible since it's still my secondary machine. Right now, amidst all of the anti-Microsoft scaremongering, I'm also finding it less likely that I'll keep going down the Microsoft path. Linux is starting to look more and more attractive, with OS X a strong second place contender. And not just for the start menu.
  - kemayo 11y ago
    > The key factor here is that I can no longer just start typing to get to an app, Not sure what you mean; Windows 10 is exactly like Windows 7 and Windows 8 here. You hit the start button / start key, you start typing, and the things you want start popping up.
    - grimman 11y ago
      > Not sure what you mean; Windows 10 is exactly like Windows 7 and Windows 8 here. You hit the start button / start key, you start typing, and the things you want start popping up. I can assure you, that is not the way it currently functions on my Win10 machine. For me the search bar is a magnifying glass next to the start menu, at a minimum, or a full-blown text field. Regardless of which state, I have to click it before being able to type and search.
- Teckla 11y ago
  People bitched about the new start menu because they weren't willing to see that there were better ways to find their programs. I really hate seeing this "blame the victim" mentality. People here on Hackers News might be prepared to seek and deploy alternative start menus, but for many, perhaps most, non-technical users, it's a difficult and scary prospect.
  - smt88 11y ago
    So what are you saying? No company should improve its UI? To be clear, Microsoft thought they were improving the start menu (the point-and-click, non-search usage of it) as well. It may be better, for all I know. But starting with Windows 8, I just totally stopped using it, so I can't weigh in on that. Windows also comes with a tutorial at the beginning that explains the new UI.
sz4kerto 11y ago
> is it true No. If you're really nervous about telemetry, etc. then maybe. Otherwise, Win7 looks ancient if you get used to 10 -- it's faster, it has better display scaling, better multi-monitor support and window management.
- Silhouette 11y ago
  My main Win7 workstation doesn't have a lot of noticeable lag anyway. In what ways is Win10 significantly faster, in your experience? Likewise, my Win7 workstation has a couple of large monitors attached, but five minutes setting up WinSplit Revolution gave me a more convenient way of organising all that space and the windows within it than any version of Windows I've ever used (and most window managers on other platforms, for that matter). There are a couple of annoyances, but those seem to be more to do with the graphics drivers and use of DisplayPort than anything else; is Win10 noticeably better at handling such things for you?
  - togusa 11y ago
    I've used 7, 8 and 10 extensively. Windows 8.1 with Classic Shell's start menu is the sweet spot at the moment if you ask me. It has the explorer and task manager additions that windows 8 brought in, boots faster than 7 and doesn't have as much of the UI replaced. I'm going to be honest and say that if there was a way to get rid of the charms bar and network panel, it'd be perfect. TBH I'm going to use it until EOL in 2023 and then do something else.
anonymuos 11y ago
Windows 7 is not ancient or outdated by any means. If you enjoy a non-messed up user interface and can live without stupid apps, stay with Windows 7.

by ausjke 11y ago

smt88 11y ago

8 was really, really similar to 7, except for the start menu. The start menu made little difference to me because I just create taskbar/desktop shortcuts or press the Windows key and type what I want. People bitched about the new start menu because they weren't willing to see that there were better ways to find their programs. 10 is really, really similar to 8 as well. The only noticeable difference is, again, the start menu. There are small things here and there (and a much nicer graphical design), but otherwise it's pretty much the same. If you have enough storage, I'd suggest just trying Windows out as a dual-boot option. If you don't like it, you can always remove the Windows partition, no harm done.

mintplant 11y ago
YMMV if you're on a laptop, though. Some models lose control over screen brightness with the 7 -> 10 upgrade, locking it to 100% all the time. Microsoft doesn't have an explanation or fix.
grimman 11y ago
> People bitched about the new start menu because they weren't willing to see that there were better ways to find their programs. What exactly was the better way though? I'm still on Win7 in my primary computer, having Win10 (and previously Win8) installed on my secondary. On Win7 I press the start button and type the name of what I want to run (or find) - this lets me do what I want very quickly with a minimum of interruption. Win8 was similar, but it threw a jarring fullscreen slab of apps in my face. I say it was similar because it still let me start typing right away and get to the stuff I wanted with minimal hassle. Win10 is a whole different beast, I feel. The search was decoupled from the start menu; but the start menu itself returned to most of its former glory (unintrusive, no jarring screen transition). The key factor here is that I can no longer just start typing to get to an app, and I have yet to invest the necessary time into seeing if it is at all possible since it's still my secondary machine. Right now, amidst all of the anti-Microsoft scaremongering, I'm also finding it less likely that I'll keep going down the Microsoft path. Linux is starting to look more and more attractive, with OS X a strong second place contender. And not just for the start menu.
- kemayo 11y ago
  > The key factor here is that I can no longer just start typing to get to an app, Not sure what you mean; Windows 10 is exactly like Windows 7 and Windows 8 here. You hit the start button / start key, you start typing, and the things you want start popping up.
  - grimman 11y ago
    > Not sure what you mean; Windows 10 is exactly like Windows 7 and Windows 8 here. You hit the start button / start key, you start typing, and the things you want start popping up. I can assure you, that is not the way it currently functions on my Win10 machine. For me the search bar is a magnifying glass next to the start menu, at a minimum, or a full-blown text field. Regardless of which state, I have to click it before being able to type and search.
Teckla 11y ago
People bitched about the new start menu because they weren't willing to see that there were better ways to find their programs. I really hate seeing this "blame the victim" mentality. People here on Hackers News might be prepared to seek and deploy alternative start menus, but for many, perhaps most, non-technical users, it's a difficult and scary prospect.
- smt88 11y ago
  So what are you saying? No company should improve its UI? To be clear, Microsoft thought they were improving the start menu (the point-and-click, non-search usage of it) as well. It may be better, for all I know. But starting with Windows 8, I just totally stopped using it, so I can't weigh in on that. Windows also comes with a tutorial at the beginning that explains the new UI.

sz4kerto 11y ago

> is it true No. If you're really nervous about telemetry, etc. then maybe. Otherwise, Win7 looks ancient if you get used to 10 -- it's faster, it has better display scaling, better multi-monitor support and window management.

Silhouette 11y ago
My main Win7 workstation doesn't have a lot of noticeable lag anyway. In what ways is Win10 significantly faster, in your experience? Likewise, my Win7 workstation has a couple of large monitors attached, but five minutes setting up WinSplit Revolution gave me a more convenient way of organising all that space and the windows within it than any version of Windows I've ever used (and most window managers on other platforms, for that matter). There are a couple of annoyances, but those seem to be more to do with the graphics drivers and use of DisplayPort than anything else; is Win10 noticeably better at handling such things for you?
- togusa 11y ago
  I've used 7, 8 and 10 extensively. Windows 8.1 with Classic Shell's start menu is the sweet spot at the moment if you ask me. It has the explorer and task manager additions that windows 8 brought in, boots faster than 7 and doesn't have as much of the UI replaced. I'm going to be honest and say that if there was a way to get rid of the charms bar and network panel, it'd be perfect. TBH I'm going to use it until EOL in 2023 and then do something else.

anonymuos 11y ago

Windows 7 is not ancient or outdated by any means. If you enjoy a non-messed up user interface and can live without stupid apps, stay with Windows 7.