Windows 8

[RedRover]

Anyone tried it yet,if so could you give us a rundown on if it is any better than 7 ??

[mbird]

Hi Barry

I upgraded the laptop from Vista to Win 8 a couple of weeks ago, as Win 8 is on offer for £25 until the end of January. It has been designed really for touch-screen laptops and tablets, so using it on a mouse only system takes a little getting used to.

I like the front interface that does away with the Start menu, and instead gives you "app" buttons to launch programs from. There is still a desktop interface as well, but this seems to be secondary to the main screen.

I struggled a bit with email etc until I realised I needed to reinstall a lot of programs like Outlook, Office etc. Now I'm more used to it I quite like it, but I do get concerned when computers get "dumbed down" and functionality gets hidden away from users.

I haven't upgraded the desktop PC that I use for my business, as the specialised software I use is an older version that I am not convinced will run on Win8 until I have done some more testing on the laptop. Having said that, I have purchased a copy of Win8 for the desktop PC incase I do upgrade it, as from 1st Feb it goes up to £190!!!!

[RedRover]

Thanks,for the detailed info Mark.so not worth upgrading my Win 7..blerdy ell,where did you get Win 8 for £25 from?

[Brian]

I upgraded when it was released, on my home PC, What a awful opperating system.

Its certainly made for touch screens.

Unless you have a touchscreen PC, dont bother with it.

As Mark says you have to re install most of your programs for them to even work at all !

terrible operating system, you have to go into Settings just to turn the PC off !!!

[pks1702]

Corporates will avoid Win8, most of them are going through the WinXP -> Win7 upgrade cycle and won't do another rollout for 4-5 years. For that reason, Win7 will be supported for a long time yet (14th January 2020, currently)

Fully agree Jonzo and what our IT gang advised us when I asked about the impending W8 launch.

I would have though business was quite a big user and they seem to have cut themselves out of this market. I guess a lot is driven by traditional hardware manufacturers looking at how they compete with Ipad and other tablets (although these have less functionality than PC's) but they must be pinching some of the lap top market. I guess theses new flip top touch screen laptops are their answer and I guess this might have a place on these but for business forget it.

[ZimbiIV]

Using it now and the best description is parc! about as good as vista.

I keep going back to my old laptop using 7 even if the battery life is about 1 hour.

paul

[mbird]

Thanks,for the detailed info Mark.so not worth upgrading my Win 7..blerdy ell,where did you get Win 8 for £25 from?

From Microsoft Barry! http://www.microsoftstore.com/store/msuk/en_GB/pdp/productID.257641900?tid=s1pwUiIUf&cid=5366&pcrid=20050928205&pkw=windows%208&pmt=e&WT.srch=1&WT.mc_id=pointitsem_Microsoft+UK_google_Windows+8+-+UK&WT.term=windows%208&WT.campaign=Windows+8+-+UK&WT.content=1pwUiIUf&WT.source=google&WT.medium=cpc

Jonzo, I didn't know about the XP support ending in 2014 . I guess that means I will have to upgrade to either 7 or 8 at some point in the near future then... The problem with the software I use is that it is very specialised and uses a sophisticated security system to prevent unlicensed copies working. It cost me £15k when I set up the business 4 years ago. I use an older version as I do not pay the £2k per year support fee, but I'm not sure if it'll run on Win 7. It does run on Vista but has a few issues, hence why I stuck to XP......

[Brian]

The only reason i up/down graded to Windows 8 was the bargain cost of £25.00 I do feel i was robbed though.

[JimC]

I've just changed laptops at the weekend and am getting used to it slowly but today pulling my hair out trying to get my old Epson R200 to print. My wife's payslip is sent as a PDF but once its opened it appears on a separate page but there's nowhere that says print.

Jim

[mbird]

I've just changed laptops at the weekend and am getting used to it slowly but today pulling my hair out trying to get my old Epson R200 to print. My wife's payslip is sent as a PDF but once its opened it appears on a separate page but there's nowhere that says print.

Jim

Jim, if you move your cursor to the top right to bring up the "charms" bar, then select devices, one of them should be your printer. Select it and then a "print" button will be available.

[mbird]

I guess there will be a big overlap between us old fashioned mouse pushers until touch screen becomes the norm. I think Win8 makes a lot of sense on tablets etc, but 99% of programs rely on our sqeaky friends so for using a PC for anything remotely business orientated is probably going to feel a bit odd for years.

I notice Microsoft are trying to bridge the gap with their new touch mouse, which seeks to replicate touchscreen gestures on the mouse itself. This seems a copycat of what Apple have done with their touch pad interfact for Macs. Always seem to be playing catch-up don't they?

[donnygeoff]

Jim, if you move your cursor to the top right to bring up the "charms" bar, then select devices, one of them should be your printer. Select it and then a "print" button will be available.

yup thats the way to do it....

My old work lappy was slowing down bad, so I got a new one...WINDOWS 8...

I could not print..... no little easy button to press.....

Literaly threw the mouse across my office.... as it went across the desk, the right side of comp screen put up something......

I picked the mouse up, put it to the top right corner, and it appeared again....

After clicking on the different icon things, one said DEVICES....

I clicked that and my printer was shown at the top of the menu thing, I clicked it and selected print....

Job done....

I HATE WINDOWS 8

[mbird]

It is certainly worth reading some of the stuff online about Win8.

I found these quite useful

http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/reviews/windows/3284198/microsoft-windows-8-review/

http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2013/01/help-ive-got-windows-8-and-i-miss-my-start-menu/

http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2012/12/flushing-the-crapware-a-guide-to-reinstalling-windows-8-on-a-new-pc/

http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2012/11/windows-8-basics-tips-tricks-and-cures/

[Guest]

Microsoft has a history of sometimes releasing really cr**py operating systems.

Back in the pre-windows days, they gave us MsDos 4, which was a disaster, compared with the previous 3 and subsequent 5.

With Windows, we've already had ME "Millennium Edition", which was universally acknowledged as their worst, and vastly inferior to it's predecessor, 2000, which many corporates refused to upgrade from.

Then Vista was a damp squib.

I was therefore very slow to take up Windows 7, which I do now feel is their best yet, appearance and performance-wise.

Windows 8 ? Let everyone else do the Beta testing, then I'll maybe try it in a year or so !!

[woodwose]

I have been using windows 8 since Christmas. I also teach computers at the Ludham Computer Club and I have been teaching a lot of people with new Christmas laptops with Windows 8.

Speaking personally, I really like the changes that have been made. It took a few hours to get used to but now I much prefer it. I find it easier and quicker with the new Start Screen rather than the old start button. The new Apps add a new dimension to windows but at the same time you can still use it in the same way you always did.

When Windows XP came out it was a big change for those of us used to using Windows 3.1.1 but we soon got used to it. It's the same when you go from Windows 7 to 8. Its a bit different but you soon get used to it.

Can I suggest downloading Windows Essentials 2012. This adds several programs including Windows Live Mail and Photo Gallery. I don't know why these were not bundled with Windows 8 in the first place.

Nigel

[littlesprite]

The view of a technophobe!

I have been using windows 8 for about a month and just started to find it getting easier, learning how to navigate, set up quick launch apps, has taken a while but the more I learn the better it gets.

I only paid £8.99 for the upgrade (special deal when I brought the computer back in June last year) so I didn't pay to much.

[Soundings]

Had a Mac which died and I went back to Windows due to the cost of Apple kit. Windows 8 is ok but not so much so for productivity on a desktop. I still prefer the Mac and will probably switch back (via a Mac Mini) when I next replace my PC (Mac Minis make the cost more acceptable). I also do not like the way MS have gone re the push to make the user to rent rather than buy their MS Office suite.