Windows 8 Pro

[Conor]

Originally Posted by Apache

I have to agree with you. I built my first computer about 12 years ago and never looked back. I can do it cheaper and better. And if the computer gets screwed up I know exactly who to blame.
Apache

I used to, but haven't used anything but laptops for the past three or four years. Prices are much the same, at least for computers suitable for my purposes (Office, email, and web browsing).

[bgalbrecht]

Originally Posted by GlenBarrington

[*]Never buy a new Win based computer until service pack 2 has been released. It always takes at least 2 SPs for MS to shake out the bugs.

From what I've read, Windows 7 will never get a service pack 2. I don't use it much, but Windows 7 appears to be quite usable and reliable.

[FizzyWater]

Originally Posted by Joykins

Yup. The thing I did right before Windows 8 came out was snap up a nice Win 7 laptop cheap on clearance. I plan on using 7 until I get a new laptop. at work we're starting to use 7 this year but I'm still on NT, so I'm in no rush at all. I'm still figuring out Office 2007 tbh and I work in IT

And you know? The only reason I got that new laptop is because my old Vista one from '07 is literally falling apart. I'm giving it to my kid for Minecraft once I get all the possible bloatware off it.

This is pretty much what I did, too, but the laptop I upgraded from was one bought the last year XP was available (I never bothered with Vista). I might have continued to use that, but the June storms caused a power surge that either overwhelmed my surge protector or it came via the network cable, which is not connected to the protector - it did something. I was able to restore the computer from the original restore disks, but I was too nervous that something more critical was wrong. I wasn't hearing anything interesting to me about Win 8, so I decide to go buy a nice laptop that still had Win 7.

My workplace is *supposed* to convert to Win7 sometime this year....of course, I heard that late *last* year, so I don't know if it's true or just another rumor.

And I *still* hate the Office ribbon we were forced to deal with when we upgraded to 2007.

[rhadin]

Originally Posted by GlenBarrington

2. Never buy a new Win based computer until service pack 2 has been released. It always takes at least 2 SPs for MS to shake out the bugs.

Presumably, then you have not upgraded yet to Windows 7 and never will. Microsoft has no plans to release a SP2 for Win 7.

Having used every version of Windows except Vista -- saw no reason to upgrade to Vista -- I can't imagine using an earlier version than Win 7. It is an excellent OS, even though it only has SP1 .

[FizzyWater]

Originally Posted by rhadin

Having used every version of Windows except Vista -- saw no reason to upgrade to Vista -- I can't imagine using an earlier version than Win 7. It is an excellent OS, even though it only has SP1 .

I have to admit, I would have happily stayed with WinXP. And the changes to the Start menu and Windows Explorer in Win7 made me crazy ... until I discovered Classic Shell and put most of the things back to the way I preferred them.

[Kumabjorn]

Isn't that a rumor rather than announced by MS? Perhaps a ruse to make people switch to 8? I did? Then again, I/m probably too easy to convince.

[StoryEnthusiast]

Originally Posted by GlenBarrington

1. NEVER upgrade your Win based computer to a newer OS. Always wait till you buy a new computer.
   
2. Never buy a new Win based computer until service pack 2 has been released. It always takes at least 2 SPs for MS to shake out the bugs.
   
3. At first, everyone hates the newest version of Windows, but no one knows how good or bad that particular version is until the first beta for its successor is released.

Very much agreed.

[carld]

I upgraded to Win8 as soon as it was released. Other than a bit of a learning curve it seems to be working well. I'm not sure it's really worth upgrading if you're happy with Win7, but I thought I'd give it a go anyway.

There are things I like, and some I don't. We'll see how it works out over time.

[Ekaros]

I get some weird enjoyment out of it on my laptop, wouldn't consider for desktop. But for laptop with decent touchpad it's interesting system... Not too much experience yet though...

[Kumabjorn]

I haven't adjusted to the Start screen yet. I kind of like the full screen browser and e-mail app, but there is still a learning curve, maybe that is what I enjoy.

[DarkScribe]

Originally Posted by Kumabjorn

So I downloaded and installed Windows 8 Pro, and now there are a few things that don't work anymore. My external speakers, for some reason now mutes the system. My WiFi printer has disappeared and I had to download and reinstall Office (but that may have been my mistake, I only wanted personal files left).
Anyhoo, what is a good place to get help with the new Windows 8. Something akin to MobileRead.

I have been using Windows 8 since the first Beta release - I put it on an old dual core system. It still hasn't got drivers for many of my peripherals, including some high end video cards. None of my "retro" emulators work on it. Photoshop and Illustrator freeze on it. Acronis back-up crashes on it. It won't talk to the Macs on my network. It still has memory leaks (needs regular re-booting when it starts to stagger) and basically is a giant step backward with regard to productivity.

Many reviews are bagging it, and it might turn out to be another Vista or Me. There is no way that I will consider putting it on one of my work machines - I need to get things done, not spend the day chasing my tail over yet another Windows 8 problem.

Addendum: A headline in local media asking "Is Windows 8 going to destroy Microsoft"? People are turning away in droves. Nearly all the reviews here are either outright negative or very cautiously optimistic.

Quote:

"Analysts don't expect Microsoft's corporate and government customers to immediately embrace the new system, no matter how much it's hyped. About half of this traditionally cautious group of customers still haven't upgraded to Windows 7. Most analysts expect companies and government to hold off on switching to Windows 8 for at least another year."

None of our schools are allowing "upgrades" for the time being.

[Rizla]

MS still hasn't fixed W7 search functionality.

Upgrade to W8 atm = absolute madness.

[HansTWN]

Originally Posted by DarkScribe

I have been using Windows 8 since the first Beta release - I put it on an old dual core system. It still hasn't got drivers for many of my peripherals, including some high end video cards. None of my "retro" emulators work on it. Photoshop and Illustrator freeze on it. Acronis back-up crashes on it. It won't talk to the Macs on my network. It still has memory leaks (needs regular re-booting when it starts to stagger) and basically is a giant step backward with regard to productivity.

Many reviews are bagging it, and it might turn out to be another Vista or Me. There is no way that I will consider putting it on one of my work machines - I need to get things done, not spend the day chasing my tail over yet another Windows 8 problem.

Addendum: A headline in local media asking "Is Windows 8 going to destroy Microsoft"? People are turning away in droves. Nearly all the reviews here are either outright negative or very cautiously optimistic.

Quote:

"Analysts don't expect Microsoft's corporate and government customers to immediately embrace the new system, no matter how much it's hyped. About half of this traditionally cautious group of customers still haven't upgraded to Windows 7. Most analysts expect companies and government to hold off on switching to Windows 8 for at least another year."

None of our schools are allowing "upgrades" for the time being.

Businesses and institutions have never upgraded to a new version immediately. And they never will. That is because technical personnel don't want all that trouble. So this really doesn't mean anything.

[CommonReader]

Originally Posted by DarkScribe

.
Quote:

"Analysts don't expect Microsoft's corporate and government customers to immediately embrace the new system, no matter how much it's hyped. About half of this traditionally cautious group of customers still haven't upgraded to Windows 7. Most analysts expect companies and government to hold off on switching to Windows 8 for at least another year."

Talk about the bleedingly obvious. The larger the company, the longer it takes to move to the next operating system. There are plenty of large multi-national companies that are still running on XP.
Most tech reviewers in the media seem to consist of media-studies graduates who believe that the ability to switch on an iPad is sufficient qualification to write about IT issues.

MS simply had to move forward to accommodate touch surfaces. However, unlike Apple they don't force you to upgrade or perish. They are still providing security updates for XP, after all, while you will be hard pressed to find someone who will even recall the name of the OS that was used by Apple at the time of XP's release.

[Joykins]

Originally Posted by CommonReader

Talk about the bleedingly obvious. The larger the company, the longer it takes to move to the next operating system. There are plenty of large multi-national companies that are still running on XP.
Most tech reviewers in the media seem to consist of media-studies graduates who believe that the ability to switch on an iPad is sufficient qualification to write about IT issues.

Yeah, my large company decided to switch to Win 7 a while back, but they're doing it through attrition--which means I get it the next time they decide I need a new computer, or when my current computer dies -- it'll be a while yet, I just got this NT machine last summer.