11 replies to this topic

[M.E.G.]

I have been running (happily) XP for years.  There are some upgrades going on with systems that I need to use for business.  The upgrades run on Windows 7 or 8.  I want real easy.  I don't have time to learn new operating system and reinstall everything.  So wondering what thoughts are on upgrading just to 7, or bite the bullet and go with 8.   And would it just be easier to get a new computer with 8 on it and save time and headache?

 

Any thoughts?

[granto]

From XP, I would go to Windows 7, it is more of a natural evolution.  8 was really designed around tablets/touchscreens and is causing a lot of pain for tried and true windows users.

[Carl G]

I use Windows 7 at work and Windows 8 at home.  I may be in the minority, but I like Win8.  The biggest problem I see with Win8 is it is not really "discoverable" like Win7, or even WinXP.  I tend to be a heavy keyboard user and because of that there is not much of a difference between 7 and 8 for my usage pattern.  For example, I normally press the Windows Key, start typing the program I want (e.g., word) and press Enter.  That starts the program in either 7 or 8.

 

If you are not familiar with Win7 you will be frustrated with how MS moved stuff around.  This applies to the control panel, printers, my computer, etc.  MS moved things around in Win8 too.

 

Win8 is better than Win7 if you use multiple monitors.  Win8 is better if you have a touch screen.  With a mouse, it takes a little getting used to.

 

Win8 doesn't have a start button.  The edges and corners are very important in Win8.  If you move to Win8, I strongly suggesting finding and watching a training video.  It will save you a lot of frustration.

 

Win8 has two modes, desktop and "metro."  Desktop mode is much like WinXP and Win7.  Metro, or Windows 8 as Microsoft calls it, is a tiled, full screen interface.  The tiles represent the apps.  Clicking a tile starts the app.  It is full screened and it doesn't have the traditional buttons in the upper right corner.  If you want to close an app you click on the top of the screen and drag down.

 

If you are considering Win8 I'd suggest going to a Best Buy, Sam's, Costco, etc. and play with one of the computers, but be sure to only use the keyboard and mouse since that is probably the configuration you have at home.

[sbidondo]

Been using Win8 at home for about 6 months; some general impressions:

 

* Not using a touch screen; still getting used to the controls and shortcut keys.

* The power management functions work great with my laptop; battery life seems longer than Win7

* Reinstalled the Start button for convenience (look for StartIsBack)

* The multimonitor support is very impressive and have never experienced a glitch like Win7.

* Most all Win7 32/64 bit drivers seem to work for Win8; especially those vendors that have not caught up yet.

* Hyper-V is included in the pro version and simple to use; if you require virtualization or even care about that stuff.

* The windows app store is knida cool and I use about 10 different apps (Skype, eBay, iHeartRadio, etc)

* Boot time is incredibly fast from a cold start.

[Darth Lefty]

Does it boot a web browser?  In that case does it matter?

[M.E.G.]

What do you mean boot a web browser?  Do you mean the 7 or 8 automatically boot a browser?

[nomad]

What do you mean boot a web browser?  Do you mean the 7 or 8 automatically boot a browser?

 

He's saying the OS is irrelevant because the machine isn't used for anything other than Facebook so all these neat features and such mean nothing since all we do is surf the web.

[M.E.G.]

Oh, I do use MS office, not just the cloud. 

[Carl G]

I run Win8 and have both Office 2010 and 2013 installed.

[nomad]

I run Win8 and have both Office 2010 and 2013 installed.

 

Why?

[Carl G]

 

Why?

Because when I installed Office 2013 it didn't uninstall 2010.  I was expecting to override it.  I just haven't taken the time to uninstall 2010 yet.

[TruthSeeker]

Both are good but Win 7 is more intuitive.