Has anyone upgraded to Windows 8

ftime's Avatar
  • ftime
  • 12-21-2012, 12:00 PM
The lady I live with (no longer a SO) had her motherboard die on her computer and bought a new one with Win 8 on it. She is still using a non touch screen 24" Dell monitor - $700.

I have been messing around with the UI and have to admit, I'm lost. I was considering upgrading my excellent Dell 9500 to 8 from 7 and getting a touch screen, but now I'm not sure. Pain in the ass - I was perfectly OK with DOS from the 90s and have more or less moved painlessly through the different Windows configurations to my current Win 7.

Has anyone else had experience with upgrades or new computers with Win 8. I see some things I like, but don't know if I'm ready to jump.

Opinions?
Gotyour6's Avatar
Every other O/S is shit.
Stay with 7
ftime's Avatar
  • ftime
  • 12-21-2012, 01:03 PM
That's my knee-jerk position. I was hoping someone would point out what I'm not seeing.
Torito's Avatar
You could always go back to the wonderful Vista. LOL

Torito
ftime's Avatar
  • ftime
  • 12-21-2012, 03:43 PM
NOT! I never had it, but I have done stuff for people that did. Sucks bad. I never would diss a mod.......but.....you're not an AFB (Apple Fan Boy)? My neighbors who know nada about technology asked me to set up an Apple for them - they like to pay retail - what a bitch - my way or hi-way. Unless you're in an industry that requires it - never!
Torito's Avatar
NOT! I never had it, but I have done stuff for people that did. Sucks bad. I never would diss a mod.......but.....you're not an AFB (Apple Fan Boy)? My neighbors who know nada about technology asked me to set up an Apple for them - they like to pay retail - what a bitch - my way or hi-way. Unless you're in an industry that requires it - never! Originally Posted by ftime
I had hoped that my "LOL" would show my true feelings about Vista. Had one. Gave it away. Terrible thing to do to a friend. She gave it away. To her enemy. LOL

Never tried Apple. I am not in that price range. Rather spend my money on something worthwhile.....like pussy.

Torito

BTW my computer knowlege could easily be written on a postage stamp.
Mokoa's Avatar
  • Mokoa
  • 12-21-2012, 05:48 PM
I make it a policy to never go to a new OS until it has stabilized for a while.
Precious_b's Avatar
So, how's that Windows XP working out for you Mokoa?
YoHou's Avatar
  • YoHou
  • 12-21-2012, 06:22 PM
Windows ME > Win 8

that's right, I said it.
Windows 8, if you are stuck with it, can be made useable with a $5 utility called Start8 from StarDock at www.stardock.com Note that this is stardock.com and not startdock).com). It essentially transforms the Windows 8 user interface back to Windows 7 style. I've used this configuration for several weeks now and find it to be quite stable.
If you are just looking to get back the Aero interface, all you have to do is change 1 registry key.

go to...
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Mic rosoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\ Explorer

In the right pane, double-click on RPEnabled key and change its value from 1 to 0.

(from http://www.dedoimedo.com/computers/windows-8-metro.html )

As that site notes, it was done on the developer preview version, but i talked to a buddy last week who mentioned doing this tweak, so it should still work.

Pros: Free, improves speed a bit.
Cons: Lose a few of the new Win8 functionality.

I don't have Win8, so I haven't used Start8, but it looks nice, for only 5 bucks. Gives you the start menu option, and can switch to the win8 metro interface on the fly.
Mokoa's Avatar
  • Mokoa
  • 12-22-2012, 11:01 PM
So, how's that Windows XP working out for you Mokoa? Originally Posted by Precious_b
Wonderfully for 8 years!
matchingmole's Avatar
I like Windows 8...boots up in a few seconds. A lot faster than Windows 7. It plays nice with solid state drives...trims the solid state drives and defrags mechanical drives. Had to disable defrag in Windows 7. Cons...the desktop takes a while to learn and you have to log in to Hotmail to get on the internet. Installs are as easy as Windows 7 (finds all your drivers)...Windows XP and earlier were a pain to find drivers at times.
ZedX79's Avatar
Windows 8 works great for me. I've been using it for over a year. Boots quickly, start screen is customized well for me. I'm happy with it.
get Ubuntu linux and install it.. you can customize its looks, has less virus issues, and its faster