4 ms·

For what its worth.... Its my No3 son's 14th birthday and he has gathered enough money for a new PC. He wants a new one for school and games. He is not some ge

by alan_cx 13y ago

For what its worth.... Its my No3 son's 14th birthday and he has gathered enough money for a new PC. He wants a new one for school and games. He is not some geek programming whiz kid. He "uses" a computer, he "consumes" the internet. He is, in short, a mere kid user. He already owns a laptop with Windows 8. The discussion on spec and costs comes round to the operating system. Exact quote: "I don't want windows 8, its a load of complete sh... crap. I'd rather have Windows 7". Kinda took me by surprise. I assumed being a kid he'd like and want the newest, latest, whizzy thing. But no. Even a 14yo lad who is not a geek doesn't want Windows 8, even after using for many months. I reckon that is pretty damning.

BCM43 13y ago
How much of that is him actually having tried it out and deciding that he does not like it, and how much is him having heard about windows 8, and deciding through that?
- alan_cx 13y ago
  Yeah fair point, and I wonder how much influence I might have had too. On the me front, I have never discussed or commented on it to or with him. Frankly, such discussion would bore him senseless. The discussion about the PC spec, which was me trying to match budget with expectation, was hard work!!! But, the one thing he jumped on was not AMD v Intel, not RAM or disk size, not graphics card chip set, its was no Windows 8. As for usage v PR, all I can say is that, as I tried to point out with my not geek comment, he is not in circles where things like OS's and PC specs are important. He not a computer person. As I said, he is a consumer, not a creator or hacker. The tech details are as important to him as the tech details of a TV or stereo. Basically, does it do what I want? See what I mean? Also, he has used Windows 8 for months on his laptop. Plenty of time to get over initial shock and simply get used to it. Well, clearly, he hasn't. So, in his case, I would say his rejection of Win8 is experienced based and genuinely his own.
- prawks 13y ago
  He stated he owns a Windows 8 laptop already, which is very revealing. I'd also say his interest in Windows over OSX makes him much less of a bandwagon-rider (though it could be the pricetag as well).
- Shorel 13y ago
  What I truly don't understand is why when it comes to Windows8 lots of people like you try to defend it, but when it comes to Ubuntu and Unity almost nobody does.
  - mikeash 13y ago
    There's no "defense" here, just pointing out the potential influences.
talmand 13y ago
Actually, people who desire the newest, latest, whizzy thing is a niche market. Most people simply want something that works.
- alan_cx 13y ago
  Not with kids, no way. "People", maybe. Think fashion.
  - bornhuetter 13y ago
    Fashion isn't about having the latest, it's about having what everyone else has decided is cool. Vintage is sometimes "in fashion".
  - glomph 13y ago
    The newest windows is NEVER in fashion :P
  - talmand 13y ago
    Kids are "people" too. I guarantee if you hand them a new, shiny electronic toy that is total crap then it won't be long before they want something different.
wslh 13y ago
It reminds me when I installed OpenOffice for my wife many years ago ;-)
Livven 13y ago
These type of arguments are like No true Scotsman, just applied to the object instead of the subject. Totally useless counter-anecdote to illustrate: I'm not much older than your son, I do program and tinker around with stuff and use command lines etc. but prefer Windows 8 over Windows 7. According to your logic that should not be possible, since if even your son doesn't like Windows 8, how can someone more technical than him like it? BTW I don't care much for the Metro interface. It's barely usable on tablets but totally worthless on a desktop. However that doesn't make the desktop any worse – only the Start menu is missing, which I haven't used in Windows 7 either. Otherwise the desktop environment is another solid Vista-to-7 like improvement, though this fact usually gets lost in all the "OMG what is this Start screen" noise.

by alan_cx 13y ago

BCM43 13y ago

How much of that is him actually having tried it out and deciding that he does not like it, and how much is him having heard about windows 8, and deciding through that?

alan_cx 13y ago
Yeah fair point, and I wonder how much influence I might have had too. On the me front, I have never discussed or commented on it to or with him. Frankly, such discussion would bore him senseless. The discussion about the PC spec, which was me trying to match budget with expectation, was hard work!!! But, the one thing he jumped on was not AMD v Intel, not RAM or disk size, not graphics card chip set, its was no Windows 8. As for usage v PR, all I can say is that, as I tried to point out with my not geek comment, he is not in circles where things like OS's and PC specs are important. He not a computer person. As I said, he is a consumer, not a creator or hacker. The tech details are as important to him as the tech details of a TV or stereo. Basically, does it do what I want? See what I mean? Also, he has used Windows 8 for months on his laptop. Plenty of time to get over initial shock and simply get used to it. Well, clearly, he hasn't. So, in his case, I would say his rejection of Win8 is experienced based and genuinely his own.
prawks 13y ago
He stated he owns a Windows 8 laptop already, which is very revealing. I'd also say his interest in Windows over OSX makes him much less of a bandwagon-rider (though it could be the pricetag as well).
Shorel 13y ago
What I truly don't understand is why when it comes to Windows8 lots of people like you try to defend it, but when it comes to Ubuntu and Unity almost nobody does.
- mikeash 13y ago
  There's no "defense" here, just pointing out the potential influences.

talmand 13y ago

Actually, people who desire the newest, latest, whizzy thing is a niche market. Most people simply want something that works.

alan_cx 13y ago
Not with kids, no way. "People", maybe. Think fashion.
- bornhuetter 13y ago
  Fashion isn't about having the latest, it's about having what everyone else has decided is cool. Vintage is sometimes "in fashion".
- glomph 13y ago
  The newest windows is NEVER in fashion :P
- talmand 13y ago
  Kids are "people" too. I guarantee if you hand them a new, shiny electronic toy that is total crap then it won't be long before they want something different.

wslh 13y ago

It reminds me when I installed OpenOffice for my wife many years ago ;-)

Livven 13y ago

These type of arguments are like No true Scotsman, just applied to the object instead of the subject. Totally useless counter-anecdote to illustrate: I'm not much older than your son, I do program and tinker around with stuff and use command lines etc. but prefer Windows 8 over Windows 7. According to your logic that should not be possible, since if even your son doesn't like Windows 8, how can someone more technical than him like it? BTW I don't care much for the Metro interface. It's barely usable on tablets but totally worthless on a desktop. However that doesn't make the desktop any worse – only the Start menu is missing, which I haven't used in Windows 7 either. Otherwise the desktop environment is another solid Vista-to-7 like improvement, though this fact usually gets lost in all the "OMG what is this Start screen" noise.