Newfound hatred for windows 8

[Th3_uN1Qu3]

Re: Newfound hatred for windows 8

I dislike:
The charms bar - what purpose does it serve? Why are the shutdown options hidden and under settings??
Windows 8 interface & full screen applications and no way to disable them

You can use Start8 to get your Windows 7 start menu back, including having the shutdown option where it's supposed to be. The Charms bar (well, at least the mouse hotspots - the keyboard shortcuts will still work if for whatever reason you want to use it) can be disabled from the registry without the aid of 3rd party tools.

With those two tweaks done, Win8 is a better, faster Win7.

[seanc]

Re: Newfound hatred for windows 8

I dislike the new Windows 8 interface, but I try not to use it much. I don't use any of the metro apps.
Everything that was there in 7 still exists in 8. The Disk Management MMC snap-in hasn't changed a bit since 2000.

I just use the new interface to launch apps that behave like they do in 7, if they're already not pinned to my taskbar. If these apps switch to using the full screen Windows 8 mode, then we have problems.

I like Windows 8 for the following reasons:
The 6.2 kernel is noticeably faster than 6.1
UAC prompts no longer delay you for 1-2 seconds and make the entire screen go black
Multiple taskbars are standard if you are running more than one screen, no more 3rd party hacks

I dislike:
The charms bar - what purpose does it serve? Why are the shutdown options hidden and under settings??
Windows 8 interface & full screen applications and no way to disable them

[tom66]

Re: Newfound hatred for windows 8

Until we get 27" tablets.

I think PCs are stuck for a long time... no tablet will ever replace them.

[TELVM]

Re: Newfound hatred for windows 8

... Even if desktops die out ...

The Myth of the ‘Post-PC Era': Why tablets and smartphones will never replace the PC

"... So, my friends, feel free to continue sniggering when those around you sneerily deride your PC's ample future, numbering its days like the pile of pundits of old. While tablets come and go as the new “alternative” for a 27′ screen backed Xeon box, we'll still be enjoying the best gaming experiences, the most flexible operating environments and the last bastion of free choice and open variety in the computing arena. Long live the PC."

[Per Hansson]

Re: Newfound hatred for windows 8

No, you don't need the mouse at all. Start menu then start typing. This is an improvement from the search in the windows 7 start menu.
Let's say I wan't putty.
I hit the windows key type "Pu" hit enter and I've got putty!
go back, type op get opera
alt-tab, don't need them mouse

This stuff was all in Windows 7 and previous versions, but win 8 made it better

Better how?
In Win7 the search was not split up into categories, but in Win8 it is.
So if you just copied your putty.exe somewhere it would be listed under "Files"
But if you made a shortcut for it in Metro it would be listed under "Apps"
Read the section on Windows 8 and explain to me how this is an improvement?
http://www.techspot.com/article/596-...retrogression/

[Shocker]

Re: Newfound hatred for windows 8

They may be getting powerful enough, but exactly how easy is it to type with a touchscreen???

Even if desktops die out, I don't think laptops will.

EDIT: While we're at it, if the application is used by MOST people, then it shouldn't be a bare minimum. It's not environmentally friendly to have to download a separate application.

For little-used applications, I understand where they're coming from.

[mariushm]

Re: Newfound hatred for windows 8

If I'm going to spend $100 to upgrade to a newer OS, it has to offer a lot more than just a few new flashy effects or revised features.

Funny thinking.

The operating system's job is actually to make the system work and provide applications with a stable environment.
imho an operating system is better if it adds support for new types of hardware, if old hardware is working smoother compared to they way it works on older hardware...

The search, the start menu, Windows explorer, paint.. are all applications, not the operating system.
They're supposed to be minimal, basic applications, a fallback in case you don't use 3rd party applications.

In Windows 3.1 and Windows 95 times it wasn't uncommon to *gasp* pay for a search application or for simple games like Solitaire.

The visual effects, the menu rollovers etc ... are merely providing a foundation for applications, they're like default "templates" which help developers make applications in shorter term. There's no rule saying a developer has to use them, an application could very well implement its own menus or run in full screen 3d mode.

For example, I hardly use Windows Explorer, I'm using Total Commander. I'm hardly using Paint but I'm using Irfanview (image viewer) and select "show paint tools" and draw on pictures directly from Irfanview.

Anyway... Microsoft is actually smart here.

They realize ARM is going to be more and more succesful in replacing desktop. They see Apple developing Ipad, Ipad 2, Ipad mini, and they hear rumors that Macbooks are all going to eventually be Arm based. Some of them macbooks already are.
AMD has also announced they're going to make processors with both x86 and ARM cores.

People are slowly migrating to these types of devices as they become powerful enough to replace laptops, so Microsoft has to port Windows for ARMs to survive.

So they have to make Windows 8 RT which runs on ARM, but while they're doing it they can take advantage of the fact that Apple is basically a monopoly and therefore they have no problems locking this platform and making that App Store for Windows RT and so on.
They can't do the same for PC version of the OS, as they're still a monopoly there.

I probably won't ever use Windows 8, for me Windows 7 is pretty much perfect. I skipped Windows XP, probably used XP less than a whole day in my life (on my own computers) so I won't have problems skipping Windows 8.
I just hope by the time Windows 8 becomes EOL, Linux would mature enough.

[momaka]

Re: Newfound hatred for windows 8

No, you don't need the mouse at all. Start menu then start typing. This is an improvement from the search in the windows 7 start menu.
Let's say I wan't putty.
I hit the windows key type "Pu" hit enter and I've got putty!
go back, type op get opera
alt-tab, don't need them mouse

This stuff was all in Windows 7 and previous versions, but win 8 made it better

Funny, I'm doing almost the same in XP to start my most used programs. I hardly use the mouse too. I do like the Vista/7 search in the start menu, but not enough to make me dump my trusty ol' XP. So that "better" simply isn't going to cut it. If I'm going to spend $100 to upgrade to a newer OS, it has to offer a lot more than just a few new flashy effects or revised features.

[Topcat]

Re: Newfound hatred for windows 8

No, you don't need the mouse at all. Start menu then start typing. This is an improvement from the search in the windows 7 start menu.
Let's say I wan't putty.
I hit the windows key type "Pu" hit enter and I've got putty!
go back, type op get opera
alt-tab, don't need them mouse

This stuff was all in Windows 7 and previous versions, but win 8 made it better

This post 100% illustrates my point. MS has adopted the US Govt's philosophy.....and that is: "If it aint broke, fix it till it is".....and MS did a great job this time around making a very useless product!

[shovenose]

Re: Newfound hatred for windows 8

No, you don't need the mouse at all. Start menu then start typing. This is an improvement from the search in the windows 7 start menu.
Let's say I wan't putty.
I hit the windows key type "Pu" hit enter and I've got putty!
go back, type op get opera
alt-tab, don't need them mouse

This stuff was all in Windows 7 and previous versions, but win 8 made it better

[momaka]

Re: Newfound hatred for windows 8

I use Open/LibreOffice on Windows as well, and find it just as good as Office 2003.

Well, for a while I lost my MS Office 2003 disc so I tried to use OpenOffice for a bit. But there were little things that took much more effort to do than it took in 2003. I can't remember exactly what it was, but I think it was some specific stuff with graphs. And we often had to do graphs and whatnot when we collected data for physics/EE labs. So eventually I got fed up with it and put 2003 as soon as I found my disc.
The new look in Office 2007 used to bother me a bit at first, but after I learned where most of the things are, I don't mind it that much. Now I can use both 2003 and 2007/2010 without problems.

There's always SkyDrive. It has Office Web Apps for free, from your browser, including free cloud file storage. No reason whatsoever to buy Office.

Except when you have to work from somewhere where internet is not available and cell phone reception is not too great for an air-card.

Anyway, I can work more efficiently because I have to switch between the keyboard and mouse less.

??
And how does the metro interface achieve that?
On XP, I rarely have to use the mouse, unless I am browsing.

Also, fancy graphical effects make me happy and when I'm happy I work more!

Alright, if you say so...
I'm not entirely convinced that can be true, though.
When I have 10 different data files and I have to switch between them to copy/paste stuff (happens a lot), those sliding/fading/etc. effects start to become a sore in the eye and a waste of time. I know it's only milliseconds difference, but it's enough to distract me from whatever I'm doing.

either way hopefully windows 9 will return to its roots

No no no, that's exactly the wrong way to think about it and exactly the way Microsoft wants you to think.

I'm surprised people don't see this. MS made Vista and shoved it down our throats hoping that some of us will get used to it (and some people really did). Then MS released 7, and it seemed like a godsend compared to Vista, so people went out bought it instantly because it was so much better than anything else released so far.

It's nothing more than a cheap sales tactic IMO.

I don't mind trying out new products, but if the newer one doesn't really offer much more than the old one, then why change?

[Topcat]

Re: Newfound hatred for windows 8

^
thats one thing I love about my Dell Precision notebooks....vid card is replaceable.

[BigTroll]

Re: Newfound hatred for windows 8

Yeah its on a nice inspiron 1720 with a 2.4ghz core 2 duo 4gb ram and a wd black hard drive, however it already ate one 8600gt, luckily its a replaceable card.

[Topcat]

Re: Newfound hatred for windows 8

^
Vista is bearable if its on a machine with a couple cores or more and a buttload of RAM.

[BigTroll]

Re: Newfound hatred for windows 8

ive used it and while it might be faster i don't find it at all attractive, I have one machine with windows vista i would rather use, and despite all the crap people give vista it did have windows mail which was much nicer then live mail imho, if you run vista on a fast machine its not too bad. either way hopefully windows 9 will return to its roots, if its not broke dont fix it. the automobile has basically for the most part had a steering wheel 4 tires and a seat, why change a great formula

[Topcat]

Re: Newfound hatred for windows 8

...It lasted ~10 minutes before I got fed up with the Sesame Street tiles...

Like I said, looks like it was made for 3yr olds by 3yr olds.... I did LOL @ the sesame street comparison though....good one!

[TELVM]

Re: Newfound hatred for windows 8

... Microsoft said no more DirectX updates for Win7 ...

Not entirely true.

And I bet in due time they'll release full 11.1 for Se7en (like they did with 11.0 for Vista). Would be plainly suicidal not to do:

http://netmarketshare.com/operating-...10&qpcustomd=0

I remenber I had a try at W8 months ago. It lasted ~10 minutes before I got fed up with the Sesame Street tiles and kicked the crap off my system. What a monumental upgrade it was to go back to Se7en .

[Time2Retire]

Re: Newfound hatred for windows 8

The only thing Libre Office/Open Office can't do that MS office can do, is open or create MS Access database files. I never heard of anyone using Access at home.

You can add (Visual) Basic coding to Libre Office Calc files (spreadsheets). It works identically to MS Office. You can then save the files to a variety of different file types, including the different MS Office versions of Excel.

With Libre Office you can also open files created from every version of MS Office. Try opening a file created on the the newest version of MS Office with an older version of MS Office, it 'aint gonna happen. MS Office isn't even compatible with different versions of itself!

Also, Libre Office is free (as in beer). Our government should be required to use it instead of the proprietary MS Office. Think of the savings in taxes that would mean.

[Mad_Professor]

Re: Newfound hatred for windows 8

Anyway, Microsoft said no more DirectX updates for Win7, so gamers will have to move on. But with Steam coming to Linux, things are likely to get interesting.

THE FUCK!? Again? Really? FUCK YOU MICROSOFT!

I'm pretty much done with gaming anyways, since pile of regurgitated buggy shit with no patches or support is the new standard for 50-60$ of hard earn money.

I love Windows 7. I wasn't a fan of XP even though I used it for 6 years, and vista was utter garbage, now windows 8. I've beta tested the RC and hated it. I had no control over what was running and it ate ram like a motherfucker because I couldn't exit out of stupid shit. I felt crippled when trying to work on windows 8.
Why would I want a tablet interface on my PC?

Anyways, I hope Valve and their steam platform gains alot of support on Linux and makes it a viable platform, even nvidia has jump on board with optimized driver support.

[shovenose]

Re: Newfound hatred for windows 8

^Meh
If it ain't Office...
.
.
.
It ain't Office. That's all I have to say.

I briefly tried several different linux distros for desktop use, but I wasn't happy with any of them. So my Windows XP systems are to remain running. I think it's going to be another decade before I upgrade.

BTW, I'm still waiting for an answer from your shovey... how exactly does Windows 8 make you work more efficiently?

There's always SkyDrive. It has Office Web Apps for free, from your browser, including free cloud file storage. No reason whatsoever to buy Office.

Anyway, I can work more efficiently because I have to switch between the keyboard and mouse less.
Also, fancy graphical effects make me happy and when I'm happy I work more!