Windows 8

[X]

I personally love my windows 8. My wife has finally made her adjustments to it and is actually enjoying it better than 7. My only problem is that I bought it for all of my machines and Microsoft just gave me another copy and are probably going to give me one more before it's all said and done. Hell, I still have a pair of 7 ultimate editions they gave me somewhere, but I think 8 works fine and if you aren't into the changes, it's pretty easy to ignore them.

[Ktrek]

I personally love my windows 8. My wife has finally made her adjustments to it and is actually enjoying it better than 7. My only problem is that I bought it for all of my machines and Microsoft just gave me another copy and are probably going to give me one more before it's all said and done. Hell, I still have a pair of 7 ultimate editions they gave me somewhere, but I think 8 works fine and if you aren't into the changes, it's pretty easy to ignore them.

Then please tell me how! Is there a way to set it up for the "classic" look or anything where I don't have to see those stupid windowpanes? If I can work around that I would maybe then consider upgrading but I find the whole thing clumsy and awkward and obviously I am not alone because we have people calling every day asking if we have any windows 7 PCs left in stock. hello! Is anybody at Microsoft listening?  :unsure

Kevin

[X]

It's simple enough. After booting, click desktop and just have icons on your desktop for your favorite programs. Rather than worry about the missing start button, just put your cursor to the bottom corner of where the button used to be to access the start screen. IN all truth, you don't need to use the start screen at all if you're not using apps.

As for the start screen itself, it's customizable. you can take of pretty much everything you don't need and if you really want a program list, just right click on the screen and click the bottom right icon that pops up that says all apps.

Once you spend a few minutes exploring the features, it's not hard to replicate 7 with a few mouse clicks.

[Ktrek]

Thanks for the tips! I'll try it at the store and see how it goes and if I can get a similar feel to Windows 7 then I'll spring the $39.99 and download it. I'm just afraid that I won't like it much and then won't be able to go back to Windows 7 once it's on my PC if I really hate it.

Kevin

[billybob476]

My dad bought a new Dell machine which he had shipped to my house so I could set it up for him. After using it for a bit...I like it!

[Rico]

My dad bought a new Dell machine which he had shipped to my house so I could set it up for him. After using it for a bit...I like it!

Does his Dell have any type of touch monitor or touch pad?

[billybob476]

They may, though this was just a straight up desktop machine.

I guess the thing I needed to get my head around is the new "start" screen is almost the opposite of the current start menu. The start menu held all of your programs, the win8 start screen is more like your current desktop, it holds links to your most often used programs.

[WillEagle]

I have been training folks at work on the Win 8 and I hope most of them feel more confortable with it when I'm done. They seem to really like it when I pin some of their favorite websites to the start screen and they can just click the "tile" and get right to the site.

[Dangelus]

Windows 8 is useful after all! ;)



http://m.newyorker.com/online/blogs/borowitzreport/2013/04/north-korean-missile-test-delayed-by-windows-8.html

[Rico]

Windows 8 is useful after all! ;)



http://m.newyorker.com/online/blogs/borowitzreport/2013/04/north-korean-missile-test-delayed-by-windows-8.html

Love it!  Thanks for Microsoft for keeping the world safe!  :)

[Bryancd]

Windows 8 only meaningful contribution to western society!

[davekill]

Everyone knows you never upgrade your OS in the middle of an important project ;)

- Tech support sez "Turn it off, wait 30 seconds, turn it on".

[writerinthewild]

A lot of people hate on Windows 8, but I just recently purchased a new laptop with Windows 8 on it, and my thoughts are that it's much easier to use then people give it credit for. Granted, it took me a solid day to work everything out, but once I did I found it almost as easy as Windows 7. I guess what a lot of people don't realize is that in "Desktop View" Windows 8 is almost identical to Windows 7, minus the start screen. Familiar features like the Control Panel and various settings menus look and function just like Windows 7.

What really sets Windows 8 apart is the home screen, which If you don't have a Windows Phone, and/or an Xbox Live account, or a Skydrive account, you definitely won't get all the benefits of. What I love about the home screen is that I can download music from Xbox Music, which automatically uploads to the Skydrive, which automatically syncs to my Windows phone. I have something like 30 gig of music and podcast's all stored on The Skydrive and accessible easily through all my Windows devices. It works the other way as well. Every photo or video I take on my phone automatically uploads to Skydrive and syncs to my laptop. It works with XBox Live as well. All my Xbox game data automatically syncs to the home page, so I can see my history and progress from every game I've ever played on Xbox, and can also chat with my Xbox friends through the home screen. Another really cool thing is that from the home screen I can access my Windows Phone history and view every app/game I have ever downloaded on my phone, and re-download those apps through the homepage, which will automatically sync to my phone... Anyway, I guess my point is that Windows 8 is awesome if you are using other Microsoft devices and accounts. If you aren't using a Windows Phone, or an Xbox, or Skydrive, or Xbox Music, then you aren't using Windows 8 for what its designed for, and your experience won't be as good.