Poll: Windows 8

[RicoADF]

Windows 8 has gotten a fair bit of flak since it's release. I want to know what your opinions on this marmite OS are. Is it a steaming crock of shit that will be the downfall of Pc gaming? Or is it the beginning of something beautiful.

My thoughts
Frankly I don't see what all the fuss is about, so what if it's got a shit start menu(that really isn't that bad) it can do everything Windows 7 can and better. It starts up much quicker than 7 and executes tasks quicker. Task manager is great in 8 no more getting up MSconfig to fanny about with what loads at start up, it's right there in task manager. I've had less problems with 8 in terms of getting games to run than I did with 7. My verdict, it's just as good as 7, probably better. Face it it's not as bad as Vista or ME.


So your opinions on Windows 8, please.

I have Win 7 and Win 8, currently on my Win 8 Samsung Smart PC (Pro). The only difference is a worse interface (fixed by getting Start 8, thank you Stardock for fixing MS's fuckup) and a useless store I don't use. Other than that it's just a less pretty Win 7. It's also had some issues with compatibility with some programs. All in all a downgrade with no upsides (I use it in desktop mode on the tablet, I don't get why they say its 'not touchscreen friendly', I have LESS issues using touchscreen on tablet than the crappy start screen Win 8 has).

My laptop will be going back to Win 7 asap, as for the smart pc it'll just keep being used like it was Windows 7.

It's alienating existing Windows users and the tablet crowd don't care because Android, iOS and whatever bastardisation the Kindle Fire uses have that market firmly cornered. In attempting to create an OS for everybody, they've created an OS for nobody.

The kindle is also Android, they just added their own market (for obvious reasons).

 

[New Troll]

Hate 8!

My biggest problem is working retail and not being able to help customers with peripherals for their new computer since a lot of products still aren't fully 8 compatible. I get chewed out by more customers due to Windows 8 than every other electronics complaint put together.

As for personally, I've bought two Windows 8 computers and both of them I ended up having to return due to Windows 8 being incompatible with internal components. You'd think the manufacturer would do some testing before shipping out... but that's Dell/Alienware for you.

The one thing Windows 8 has going for it is it's touchscreen technology already built in. Course if you don't have a touchscreen monitor...

Love 7!

Sure it had it's hiccups on release... name one operating system since DOS that hasn't. But even with said issues, it was still a noticeable improvement upon Vista (which I don't have any huge issue with either.)

 

[BeerTent]

Really... Some people are going to take offense to this, but...

Neckbeards. That's the vocal minority. That's all that's happening here.

I was iffy on it too, but it takes mere moments to adapt to it. There's a few more keyboard shortcuts, and despite what people are saying, no... Nothing's been removed. It's all there. The only difference is that your start menu takes up the screen, so when you press the Win button, you still don't have to drag your mouse to the corner.

Most people come to me saying "Windows 8 is horrible because of X" and I just say "You can do it THAT way too?! Fuck, man... I've just been using Windows+X. Done!" Problem alleviated, they install it within the week.

Really, the only problem with Win8 is that it's different enough to be different. Some people just can't take change. We saw it with Vista, and wesaw it with 7. We saw it with XP, 2000, and 98. And some people just didn't know windows enough to take advantage of what's presented. Keep in mind though I might be a little biased. When a new OS comes around, it's like Christmas to me. I'm absolutely certain the computer smells different after a format.

[...]I installed Windows 7, it told me to update it. So I did, it BSOD'd me. I repartitioned the drive and then reinstalled it. I've not done the updates in fear of it derping up. That is why I like OSX better.

This indicates to me a possible driver issue. Unfortunately, In order to really figure out where the problem is, I'd need the machine in my hands. An update on any version of Windows should not cause a BSOD unless a problem was already present, or there was a power failure while the update was being applied.

 

[Headdrivehardscrew]

Windows 8 has gotten a fair bit of flak since it's release. I want to know what your opinions on this marmite OS are. Is it a steaming crock of shit that will be the downfall of Pc gaming? Or is it the beginning of something beautiful.

My thoughts
Frankly I don't see what all the fuss is about, so what if it's got a shit start menu(that really isn't that bad) it can do everything Windows 7 can and better. It starts up much quicker than 7 and executes tasks quicker. Task manager is great in 8 no more getting up MSconfig to fanny about with what loads at start up, it's right there in task manager. I've had less problems with 8 in terms of getting games to run than I did with 7. My verdict, it's just as good as 7, probably better. Face it it's not as bad as Vista or ME.


So your opinions on Windows 8, please.

You're right about Windows 8 booting faster. That's a plus, indeed.

You're also right about the revamped Task Manager being quite cool.

You're wrong about the 'shit start menu', as you put it. Vanilla Win 8 has no Start Menu at all. It has Metro. And Metro is a shoe-horned-in touchy-feely alternate GUI. It has nothing, absolutely nothing to do with how I do and like to do things on a non-touchy-feely machine. It also generates plenty of new, totally unnecessary issues for people who just want to do very specific things with their computers. I think it's totally inacceptable that users can now fill up all their available RAM with programs and 'apps' in two rather schizophrenic halves of that fancy new operating system they find themselves running. The corners thing has shown to be working in both OSX and its Linux brethren, but it's completely misused in Windows 8. the 'Charms' thingamabob on the right edge of the screen is annoying at best, infuriatingly inefficient at worst. I don't feel like waiting for basic functionality to pop up after a wait, and I don't care if that wait is below, at or above half a second. It's bad style and it should not be accepted.

No, it is not quite as bad as Vista or ME (or Win 95 or Win 98 when they first started out), both of which were hardly finished or fully functional upon release.

Windows 8 can, thank God, be fixed with third-party hacks and mods. However, in an enterprise setting, that's just not the way to roll. Windows 7 has some (mostly minor) issues. It brought some changes that spelled royal butthurt to many of us. It kept the totally ludicrous eye-sore-candy of Vista (brought upon us by Apple's OS X). Windows 8 fixed some of those issues, which is cool. But it also shows that Microsoft totally ignores its user base in order to force acceptance of its fondleslab GUI, which is completely out of place on, say, a rough 99.9% of all desktop and notebook computers its being shipped with as we speak/write/read.

Some of the under-the-hood issues are a bit more complicated to go into. They're bound to pop up in the weeks and months to come. Enjoy.

 

[The_Echo]

I don't like Windows 8.

The lack of Start menu and that weird... tile... thing are the main reasons why I'm not using it. But beyond that, I think the aesthetic change just looks ugly. It's a bunch of clean squares with plain colors. Does anyone think that actually looks good?

Anyway, I just don't see enough in Windows 8 to warrant making the switch.

 

[Evil Smurf]

This indicates to me a possible driver issue. Unfortunately, In order to really figure out where the problem is, I'd need the machine in my hands. An update on any version of Windows should not cause a BSOD unless a problem was already present, or there was a power failure while the update was being applied.

You're probably right, but I'll stick with OSX as my main OS. I hate it when computers stuff up, but so does everyone.

 

[Ed130 The Vanguard]

As an OS it has failed.

By attempting to gain market share in the IOS and 'casual apple' users Microsoft has ignored the biggest consumer base it has, Businesses.

Hence why the University I work for didn't even bother testing the OS as a potential upgrade and are now seriously considering going over to a Linix distro.

And considering how behind the party MS is with IOS and how the casuals tend to 'buy for the brand-name' anyway this version of Windows isn't going to be what MS needs.

 

[thesilentman]

I live with it. On the whole, it's an okay OS. It's nothing to write home about, and it's nothing I can condemn either. In my eyes, it makes Windows 7 look kinda bad in my eyes to be honest[footnote]Besides Metro, please put aside your complaints. I have a point to make.[/footnote]. I'm not sentencing it to death.

Yet.

Note that.

See, I don't give a single fuck about the direction Microsoft's going to take anymore. Go, fragment your mobile and desktop sector. Go, jump in the "cloud" bandwagon. Go, keep shooting yourselves in the foot.

I don't want my desktop to look like a phone. Especially something that's a waste of screen space. I don't want the shitty excuse it calls an App Store. I don't want it. I don't want the direction that MS is going, trying to be Apple.

I've got other qualms with them, but I'll just stop for now and sleep. I'll come back to the thread if I can get my thoughts straight.

 

[Boris Goodenough]

Win 8 is technically a much better OS than Win 7 but the interface, Metro (yes I am aware they renamed it to Modern UI), is the mind killer, I abhore it because it makes navigation that much more annoying to do.
But that's what you get for using a tablet OS for a desktop.

 

[jpoon]

Same as 7 in my years worth of experience, if you install [http://www.classicshell.net/] it's just like 7 but a bit better.

 

[Techno Squidgy]

Let's see. Got a new laptop, had to INSTALL A START BUTTON just so I could wrap my head around the fucking thing. Current opinion of Windows 8? PoS, do not want, do not recommend.

Who knows, maybe as I get used to it I'll like it more. Or perhaps MS could release an update that makes it, oh, I don't know, SUITABLE FOR USE WITH A MOUSE AND KEYBOARD. LIKE A COMPUTER SHOULD BE. What absolute muppets. Could they not have designed the damn UI with both desktops AND touch screens in mind? Have an option to choose which layout you want to use?

 

[Lucem712]

I'm too busy using a superior OS. /snobby linux user

In all seriousness, I'm sure some people overreact to things that are different, while some wouldn't care if it was command line as long as it worked how they wanted. *shrug* Trust me, I was around for Ubuntu 11.04, first Unity release. She wasn't a pretty beast when she was released either.

Though, I don't like the whole 'secure boot', which can make it difficult for newbies trying to get their new OS on.

 

[jpoon]

Classic Shell [http://www.classicshell.net/] man, all you need. No need to stress over it, these people obviously do microsoft's job a shit-ton better than microsoft can.

 

[Olas]

It's...... awkward. The way you have traditional programs and "apps" operating in completely different manners, it's almost like 2 totally different OSs stapled together.

The charms bar has to be the most pointless feature I've ever seen on a Microsoft product, and that's saying something. From what I can tell all it does is give you yet another way to do things like change the volume, open the start screen, search, etc. All of which we could already do without it.

The problem with Windows 8 to me isn't the start screen, or the new metro look, it's the inconsistency of it's design. In some ways it's like a totally different operating system, yet in others it's basically just a reskinned windows 7.

 

[Imperioratorex Caprae]

Seems to me that every other Windows release since 98 has been crap.
98 - Awesome
Me - SHIT
2000 - Awesome (Though it was before Me)
XP initial release - SHIT
XP SP2 - Worked great
XP SP3 - Broke a lot of shit
Vista - Made people go back to XP SP3
Win7 - Best of the bunch
Win8 - SHIT
I realize I left NT, SP1(XP) and the various Server series out, but NT was pre 98.

Here's another thing for you, If you put Windows CE, ME, NT together you get a BRICK of CEMENT!


Also the different sub-versions of Windows... ugh.
XP had Starter, Home, PRO, PRO64, Tablet and MCE and out of all of those only PRO was worth a damn.
Vista and Win7 also had their subsets of which only Ultimate was worth getting.
For years I used Win2k until SP2 of XP was released (and games stopped working on 2k)
Still for me 98SE was cream of the crop until Win7.
I feel that whatever windows comes out next will be a version of Win8 thats worth buying. Win7 was just Vista fixed up, or if you look at it my way, Vista was the Beta for Win7.

 

[octafish]

If I didn't have to start with the tiles every time and if the start menu was there, I'd be happy with it. Thankfully until microsoft updates it to give it the real start menu there's always third parties.

I think an upcoming service pack is adding a boot to desktop option.

Well that would be a big help for commercial users. I wouldn't mind the option either.

I don't mind it but I just use it for my lounge room PC.I wish there was a Steam tile but I can setup individual game tiles so that is no biggie. It could do with some better driver support but that will come in time. What it really is.crying.out for is XBOX controller support for the Metro UI. If Steam can do it MS should be able to.

 

[Souplex]

I haven't liked a Microsoft OS since Bill stopped running the place. (Screw you 7!)
I hate Apple, and I'm afraid to use Linux for fear of messing something up irreparably, so I guess I'm stuck waiting for the Google OS to come out and reach mainstream saturation.

 

[Charli]

I had only just upgraded to 7 from XP when it came out to be honest. This kind of shit gets expensive and I don't have the capacity to update every generation and readjust. That's it really. I'm happy with how 7 performs and I'd like some status quo for a little while.

 

[TakeyB0y2]

Welp, considering I'm working on a web series that's a machinima made with The Sims 2, and nobody can seem to get The Sims 2 to work at all on Windows 8, I think it's safe to say I'm staying away from that.

My parents recently got a new computer with Windows 8 installed on it. Took me half an hour to find Control Panel. I guess it's something you could just get used to but frankly I'm not impressed.