Windows 8 - Good buy?

[taemo]

bump.

anyone else using Windows 8 for personal use?

I have to agree that the Metro UI sure may make sense on a tablet but on a desktop or even laptop. No.
I find it annoying that if you move the cursor to any of the 4 corners of the screen, then some sub-menu will show up.
I hate how hidden Control Panel is.
I tried liking Metro, putting all my favourite software on the front but it felt like an extra step to do just to launch an app.

Overall, I've had my laptop running Windows 8 for 2 weeks now and it's not bad when you install Classic Shell.

I might do my computer next and maybe my desktop at work as well.

[ExtraSlow]

Windows 8 came preloaded on my new laptop. Hate it. Probably would be great on a tablet, but the gestures are stupid on the tiny little trackpad.

[iceburns288]

Update to my Windows 8 review in one line:

After using W8 for a month, when I get home, I'm going to reinstall Windows 7.

[sabad66]

The thing with win8 is that you simply just need to modify your workflow a bit. Once you get used to it, you'll find its actually a lot more efficient. Biggest tip from me would be to push the start button on your keyboard and type what you're looking for right away (don't need to use the side charms search).

[revelations]

Had a chance to sit down and really use 8 for a couple of hours.

- its great for people who have a touch screen and have never used PCs before (or very little experience), the metro interface has most things fo most people (email, weather,news, music, etc.) My parents would love this.

- using a mouse is just painful with it (can be done, but it doesent feel right at all)

- if youre switching back to the classic interface, might as well stick to 7.

- mem express doesent sell any W8 compatible touch screen LCDs

-I can see this being the future of home PCs (all in one) -

[iceburns288]

Originally posted by sabad66
The thing with win8 is that you simply just need to modify your workflow a bit. Once you get used to it, you'll find its actually a lot more efficient. Biggest tip from me would be to push the start button on your keyboard and type what you're looking for right away (don't need to use the side charms search).

I was a huge proponent of this notion but I've found the Modern interface has nothing to offer for me (note for ME, not for everyone). The apps are cute in principle but the performance is god-fucking-awful. The battery life is roughly the same but general usability performance has decreased (more lag when opening programs, switching tasks, etc).

The kicker for me is that I'm still having a plethora of compatibility issues and frequent crashes across the board. On average it takes me > 1.5 tries to open file explorer (meaning that more often than not, it crashes when I open it so I have to wait for explorer to restart then try another instance!) That kind of performance on such a simplistic yet essential application is astounding to me for a release-to-customer product. It sounds like nitpicking but it's just one concrete example from a wide range of similar bugs.

Also, Microsoft turned me down for a job offer, so I'm bitter about that. W8 has still been pretty underwhelming though.

[flipstah]

Originally posted by revelations
Had a chance to sit down and really use 8 for a couple of hours.

- its great for people who have a touch screen and have never used PCs before (or very little experience), the metro interface has most things fo most people (email, weather,news, music, etc.) My parents would love this.

- using a mouse is just painful with it (can be done, but it doesent feel right at all)

- if youre switching back to the classic interface, might as well stick to 7.

- mem express doesent sell any W8 compatible touch screen LCDs

-I can see this being the future of home PCs (all in one) -

QFT. Every point is what I thought about it when I fiddled quickly on it @ MemX.

[revelations]

Originally posted by flipstah


QFT. Every point is what I thought about it when I fiddled quickly on it @ MemX.

Now that I've used it ... I wont hesitate to recommend it to young kids or people who have never used Windows before.

As far as relplacing 7, not for another 5-10 years for me.

[thetransporter]

maybe.. windows 8 is the next windows me?

[CaptainReboot]

I have it running on my Macbook with Parallels.

I don't mind it. I like the live tiles and how things update, but until there is more use of the Metro UI, it's just like Win 7 with a splash screen.

[taemo]

Yesterday I had to install Win 8 on my pc and performance wise, it seems to boots quicker than Win 7.
I also installed Start8 off the bat, sure Metro is very user friendly for new users but it takes too much space, I can't stand how it takes over the whole screen

[Xtrema]

Guy in charge of this turd is fired.

The replacement is a UI designer.

Windows 9 by Christmas 2014 would be my guess, just like how they rush out 7 after Vista. Windows 8 is another Vista IMO.

Yes Windows 7 will be around til 2020. But I hope hardware support will stick around for that long too.

As for Modern UI, I got used to it. But it adds nothing to experience Windows users. It will be a bomb in the corporate space.

[Recca168]

The new interface really needs a touch screen in order to be useful. Otherwise it just seems inconvenient. On the newer notebooks with a touch screen though it would be more user friendly since a touchscreen would be a lot nicer than the touchpad mouse. it would actually be a decent fit for businesses that use POS systems too since they are moving toward touch screen interfaces.

At home on a desktop though I can't see moving to windows 8 in the near future. Even if i had a touchscreen monitor, i can't reach it anyway when i'm sitting back in my chair. I could consider it usable if i had a "tablet-size-monitor" which would replace my keyboard where i could run the just metro interface and a keyboard app. But sadly Microsoft doesn't support this either. Any metro UI apps have to run on the same monitor as the metro interface.

[Khyron]

Originally posted by Xtrema

As for Modern UI, I got used to it. But it adds nothing to experience Windows users. It will be a bomb in the corporate space.

It will be common on the corp slates/tablets for execs/staff that need actual Windows programs to run like office/sql and such. Win7 on a tablet is just painful and ipads/androids are too crippled beyond basic email/web.

I'm eyeing those thin laptops with the rotating screens for dual duty - pretty slick if they could get something that would be 8/metro in tablet mode then 7 desktop when flipped open with the keyboard out.

[iceburns288]

Originally posted by Xtrema
Guy in charge of this turd is fired.

The replacement is a UI designer.

Windows 9 by Christmas 2014 would be my guess, just like how they rush out 7 after Vista. Windows 8 is another Vista IMO.

The replacement, Julie Larson-Green, brought the ribbon into Office 2007 so we'll have to see how her UI experience plays in...

I bet we'll see a big W8.5 release next October, Microsoft can't afford to be on a 2-year release cycle when its competitors are busy driving down yearly releases to a six-month cycle.

Now that my bitterness has subsided somewhat, I'm glad Microsoft went the direction they did and took a big step with Windows 8. It sends a clear message that while Apple and Google are releasing yearly incremental upgrades to iOS/OSX and Android, Microsoft is here to play again and they aren't pulling any punches. It's a shame they didn't get it quite right the first time but I think like Vista->W7 they'll regroup and come out strong for the next round.

It's been a while since you could say Microsoft has been the most revolutionary huge tech company, and I don't think it's a big stretch to say that about MS in the last two years or so. While Apple/Google fight it out over tablets, Xbox is kiiillliiinng the living room and is just printing money, with the nextbox out next year.

Ok, I know this post has gone on a bit, but Xbox reminded me of something. MS will need a major W8 release next year anyway so they can make significant platform changes and bring Windows and Xbox even closer together. Co-release the new Xbox/XBL with the W8.5 update for a huge holiday push next fall and watch the money pour in.

[ZEDGE]

Well its not all gloom and doom.

http://bgr.com/2012/11/27/windows-8-sales-40-million/

$39.99/$14.99 upgrade is probably helping a lot.

[Seth1968]

I had my first experience with W8 on a brand new HP tower.

My first impression is that most (if not all) of the negative comments I've read are erroneous. The most significant being, "I hate Metro, I want my Vista/W7 GUI back!". Well, here's a crazy idea: Just click on the Desktop tile and you've got it. Damn, it took me about 5 seconds to figure that out.

The option to choose between a classic and metro interface is great. It's a personal choice, but I've decided to go with classic.

I downloaded Classic Shell http://classicshell.sourceforge.net/ . It easily gives you the familiar Start Menu, and will also allow the system to boot to the classic GUI. I can see MS adding this feature as an option.

In a nutshell, I'm loving W8, and the boot time is mind blowing. From a cold start, the system fully boots in about 10 seconds.

[Disoblige]

They really stepped up the touchscreen technologies on all-in-one desktops as well as laptops. They aren't terrible like a year or two ago.

I used Windows 8 with a touchscreen ultrabook and it was actually very convenient and fun. I didn't have to tap the screen a few times just to do a basic function.

[adam c]

I haven't tested out Windows 8 but have Server 2012 and if 8 is like 2012 it's not that bad to deal with, I wouldn't mind it at all as soon as companies start making their software compatible

[thetransporter]

Originally posted by WhippWhapp
http://www.windowsupgradeoffer.com/en-US

Even better @ $14.99

tried that - thanks
but kept saying
not eligible

purchased a computer from bestbuy with windows 7 ,,,,,,, a few months ago .

entered everything correctly.

anyone have any suggestions?