5 ms·

Windows 8 - best to pass it up: review

5 points by seminatore 14y ago

f4stjack 14y ago
Nope, I disagree with the review. Although the interface looks like you have to use it with a touch screen, I haven't had any problems while using it with mouse and touchpad. The boot speed is outstanding, outlook and web service integration is superb and all in all it is a good operating system. Maybe not your cup of tea, but all in all it is good.
- dromidas 14y ago
  Yeah I don't think the interface requires a touch screen at all, or is even beneficial for it, at least on a desktop. I spent maybe 1 or 2 seconds combined in the 'start screen' simply cause its easy to use it to launch random stuff by hitting Windows key then typing a few letters then hit enter. It's definitely worth upgrading since task manager stuff and a lot of the file system things were dramatically improved. Quite a good experience once I learned the Windows+X key combination.
RandallBrown 14y ago
His only big complaints were that upgrading didn't go smoothly, in part because he was running Norton Antivirus (seriously?) and turning the computer off was different? I can agree that Windows 8 isn't necessarily going to be everyone's favorite thing, but this was a terrible review.
- ygra 14y ago
  I've been turning off my computer by pressing its power button for ages. I rarely found the need to dig up the Shutdown button (which was a little unpredictable in Windows 7 anyway, altering between meanings depending on the system state).
gte910h 14y ago
I do not understand why people upgrade OSes very quickly. There are always bumps for the first few months.
blisse 14y ago
The same complaints can be had for any operating system. I don't know of any OS upgrade I've had where it's run perfectly every time I used it. Windows 7 has crashed numerous times. Xubuntu and Ubuntu crashed less, but still enough times to get annoying. And I think I had to log off to be able to shut down my laptop running Ubuntu for some time. I couldn't find any Shut Down button. So this review is pretty bad if this is as far in-depth as he goes.
doctorwho 14y ago
Trying to run a newly released OS on a 3 year old machine? Hey, let's try running Windows 8 on a Commodore 64, I'm sure some people still have those around. Sure Microsoft has made it affordable but they also have a minimum required hardware spec. Ignore it if you like but don't expect it to work on out of date equipment. That's just generally bad advice.
- dagw 14y ago
  I'm running Windows 8 on a three year old machine (which wasn't even top of the line when I bought it) and it's incredibly smooth. The secret, a $100 SSD.
bsphil 14y ago
I've already gotten rid of the Metro start menu[1] (this is a dual screen desktop), and I've been very pleased with the results. Windows 8 is unsurprisingly superior at working out of the box with drivers, which I've enjoyed. I can't say it's worth that much of an upgrade though. I certainly wouldn't go out of my way to buy it. [1] = http://classicshell.sourceforge.net/ http://classicshell.sourceforge.net/

5 points by seminatore 14y ago

Nope, I disagree with the review. Although the interface looks like you have to use it with a touch screen, I haven't had any problems while using it with mouse and touchpad. The boot speed is outstanding, outlook and web service integration is superb and all in all it is a good operating system. Maybe not your cup of tea, but all in all it is good.

dromidas 14y ago
Yeah I don't think the interface requires a touch screen at all, or is even beneficial for it, at least on a desktop. I spent maybe 1 or 2 seconds combined in the 'start screen' simply cause its easy to use it to launch random stuff by hitting Windows key then typing a few letters then hit enter. It's definitely worth upgrading since task manager stuff and a lot of the file system things were dramatically improved. Quite a good experience once I learned the Windows+X key combination.

RandallBrown 14y ago

His only big complaints were that upgrading didn't go smoothly, in part because he was running Norton Antivirus (seriously?) and turning the computer off was different? I can agree that Windows 8 isn't necessarily going to be everyone's favorite thing, but this was a terrible review.

ygra 14y ago
I've been turning off my computer by pressing its power button for ages. I rarely found the need to dig up the Shutdown button (which was a little unpredictable in Windows 7 anyway, altering between meanings depending on the system state).

gte910h 14y ago

I do not understand why people upgrade OSes very quickly. There are always bumps for the first few months.

blisse 14y ago

The same complaints can be had for any operating system. I don't know of any OS upgrade I've had where it's run perfectly every time I used it. Windows 7 has crashed numerous times. Xubuntu and Ubuntu crashed less, but still enough times to get annoying. And I think I had to log off to be able to shut down my laptop running Ubuntu for some time. I couldn't find any Shut Down button. So this review is pretty bad if this is as far in-depth as he goes.

doctorwho 14y ago

Trying to run a newly released OS on a 3 year old machine? Hey, let's try running Windows 8 on a Commodore 64, I'm sure some people still have those around. Sure Microsoft has made it affordable but they also have a minimum required hardware spec. Ignore it if you like but don't expect it to work on out of date equipment. That's just generally bad advice.

dagw 14y ago
I'm running Windows 8 on a three year old machine (which wasn't even top of the line when I bought it) and it's incredibly smooth. The secret, a $100 SSD.

bsphil 14y ago

I've already gotten rid of the Metro start menu[1] (this is a dual screen desktop), and I've been very pleased with the results. Windows 8 is unsurprisingly superior at working out of the box with drivers, which I've enjoyed. I can't say it's worth that much of an upgrade though. I certainly wouldn't go out of my way to buy it. [1] = http://classicshell.sourceforge.net/ http://classicshell.sourceforge.net/