Anybody try Windows 8?

[khalpin]

After 9 years it's finally time for a new desktop.  The tower that I'm looking at is $120 cheaper with Windows 8, as opposed to Windows 7.  I don't intend on getting a touch screen monitor or anything and just want to make sure I'm not going to be hating life. 

I guess worse case, I can just buy Windows 7 and would still come out ahead money-wise, albeit having to do a little more work.  Just wondering if anyone had any advice (apart from "buy a Mac")

[VDB]

I played with Windows 8 for about five minutes at a Best Buy recently. So consider me an expert.

First of all, this is basically Windows 7 with an extra, Windows-Phone-8-inspired UI grafted on top, right? Because you can still get to the traditional desktop, start menu, file structure, etc. It seems like a rather jarring leap from one to the other. I'm not even sure how (or whether) the two integrate.

The Windows 8 environment itself seems a little over-simplified, as if this were just one big mobile OS where each app is a bit of an isolated experience and the user doesn't have much access to the system itself.

And I'm like you -- I have no use for touch on a desktop/laptop.

[rowjimmy]

As an IT administrator in an office that is 99.9%windows based, we have zero plans to bring Windows8 into our environment.

It's just another Windows ME: a bullshit attempt to sell licenses when they don't really have a full blown new product to sell.

[justjezmund]

Step sons laptop has it, we all hate it.

[khalpin]

Okay....so that's not what I was hoping to hear.  Although it's kind of what I figured.  Thanks for the input guys.

[mopper_smurf]

Brand new laptop in da house runs Windows 8. Not that we use it much - we switch back to the Windows 7 interface. If I want a phone interface, I will use the Samsung or iPhone I've lying around.

Damn thing can't run Office 2003 (yes, it's old but we like it and runs on all the PC's chez mopper), without fucking up the automatic updates of Windows 8. My son will enter a new school after the Summer and they offer Office 2010 and 2013 at a discount to their students. I am looking into Open Offcie right now.

[Hicks]

http://www.zdnet.com/even-windows-8-early-adopters-prefer-windows-7-by-two-to-one-7000004927/

Windows 8 blows monkeys. 

[VA $l!m]

BUT MAN WHEN U GET W8 IT TURNS YOUR BORING OLE OFFICE MEETING INTO A BREAK DANCE SESSION!! :banana: :banana:

[bass-freq]

I know it's an old thread but I thought I'd share my experience with Win8.  Since I'm pretty techie, my experience is probably not typical, but then again we're getting close to the point where it's going to be hard to find Windows 7 machines anymore (unless you are in RJ's situation), so maybe someone will find this helpful.

Anyway, I got a new laptop for work recently and to get the machine I wanted, I had to get it pre-loaded with Windows 8 (ideally I would use a Mac but my company is too cheap for that :-( ).  While I could have put Win7 on it I decided to try 8 out for awhile.  It took me a little bit to get used to but I'm getting along just fine with it now and even like a few things about it ((ducks)).  The big things I like are that it's a faster, more lightweight OS and the gesture support with the trackpad is pretty good (though occasionally flaky).  Since the primary purpose of the machine is for travelling, having fast startup and wake from sleep times are pretty huge and once you get past the start screen, it's basically just a leaner version of 7.

That said, I can understand the hate as I don't find myself using the new start screen hardly at all.  The way that MS has forced that new interface on folks after 20+ years of the same desktop seems like a pretty boneheaded move on their part and the fact that they are turning around with the 8.1 release in the fall (which has boot-to-desktop as an option) shows they know they screwed the pooch on this one.

And yes, those commercials are just terrible 

[Hicks]

I know it's an old thread but I thought I'd share my experience with Win8.  Since I'm pretty techie, my experience is probably not typical, but then again we're getting close to the point where it's going to be hard to find Windows 7 machines anymore (unless you are in RJ's situation).

Anyway, I got a new laptop for work recently and to get the machine I wanted, I had to get it pre-loaded with Windows 8 (ideally I would use a Mac but my company is too cheap for that :-( ).  While I could have put Win7 on it I decided to try 8 out for awhile.  It took me a little bit to get used to but I'm getting along just fine with it now and even like a few things about it ((ducks)).  The big things I like are that it's a faster, more lightweight OS and the gesture support with the trackpad is pretty good (though occasionally flaky).  Since the primary purpose of the machine is for travelling, having fast startup and wake from sleep times are pretty huge and once you get past the start screen, it's basically just a leaner version of 7.

That said, I can understand the hate as I don't find myself using the new start screen hardly at all.  The way that MS has forced that new interface on folks after 20+ years of the same desktop seems like a pretty boneheaded move on their part and the fact that they are turning around with the 8.1 release in the fall (which has boot-to-desktop as an option) shows they know they screwed the pooch on this one.

And yes, those commercials are just terrible 

Have you tried streaming any media to a renderer wirelessly with Win8?

Hint:  Don't try it. 

[bass-freq]

Have you tried streaming any media to a renderer wirelessly with Win8?

Hint:  Don't try it. 

If you are talking about DLNA streaming to an Roku/XBox or something like that, that's something I think *should* work, but my experience with the Windows Media Center stuff has been pretty craptastic in the past (part of the reason I run a mac mini as my HTPC). 

I take it this is something that works fine in 7 but is utterly broken in 8?

[Hicks]

Have you tried streaming any media to a renderer wirelessly with Win8?

Hint:  Don't try it. 

If you are talking about DLNA streaming to an Roku/XBox or something like that, that's something I think *should* work, but my experience with the Windows Media Center stuff has been pretty craptastic in the past (part of the reason I run a mac mini as my HTPC). 

I take it this is something that works fine in 7 but is utterly broken in 8?

Not utterly broken, but it sure was a lot easier and intuitive with 7.

[ytowndan]

I got a new laptop that came with Windows 8.  I made it about 36 hours before I deleted that POS and installed Windows 7.