Post: #26

Aside from the ridiculous UI design changes from Windows 7, 8 and 8.1 are rock solid. I mean they moved shit around just because they could and it makes finding things really difficult if you're used to the menus. The find function resolves that issue, but that's never the first thing I go for.

I upgraded my moms laptop, she loves it. I bought my dad a Win8.1 desktop and he's good with it.

I bought the software to upgrade my machine, but I don't want to spend hours putting everything back the way I have it now. I'll do it eventually or run a dualboot until I can get everything square.

Post: #27

It's awful for desktops but on devices with touchscreens it is pretty good. I was a W8-Hater until buying an 8" tablet (that Lenovo quit selling in the US due to low sales, wtf?) where it runs brilliantly. Even when I hit the Desktop button for the classic mode it's very usable.

The only downside is that "classic" programs that aren't touch aware are harder to use, you have to manually open the onscreen keyboard and such... But the dual mode IE is pretty cool, when docked to my big screen I use regular desktop, and for tablet use the touch-enabled one (and they share favorites and history!).

Bluestacks Android emulator works pretty well too and appears to have no problems accessing my hardware (camera and GPS) so that has eliminated my need for an Android tablet.

Oh yes and we should all be very pissed off that someone decided to actually rip the code out for Aero Glass so that it cannot be used with this OS.

Post: #28

The bad:
Piss-poor and clunky UI navigation. Not sure what the fuck the dev team over at MS was thinking with this. Even if Windows 8 was the first OS you ever learned so you aren't "used" to a classic Windows UI, it is still not very intuitive. Obviously designed primarily for touch devices even though most users will want to use a keyboard and mouse on a laptop/desktop device. Obviously trying (too hard) too compete with apple for cross-platform user experience and compatibility as well as trying to "modernize" the interface. Ends up unwieldy and I haven't met a single person who genuinely likes it as opposed to their previous OS's

The good:
Great resources management, diagnostic features, and well-built kernel. Security is also notable.

The meat and potatoes of the OS are there, but the way users interact with it is just awful.

Post: #29

What do I think of Windows 8....

Post: #30

(07-20-2014 11:39 AM)Parlay44 Wrote:  Besides missing the Start Button that everyone is familiar with ...What do you think of the OS in general?

Whether one likes it or not or gets on with it, just beware that it has more than one way to catch you out.

One of the main ways being if you like to back up your system at all (only a fool doesn't), and UEFI.

http://www.backup-utility.com/features/U...store.html


My backup program of choice does this, even though I don't use win8 - it is called TeraByte Image for Windows. It includes Image for Linux too so you can back up any Linux installations you have. Sometimes Windows 8 can be a bit funny about that.

But windows 8 over all is an unmitigated disaster. No one would use it out of choice. Then again, my folks do and think it is great, so take what I say with a big pinch of personal salt.

Post: #31

One really has to wonder what kind of think-tank consumer user groups they failed to connect with when developing it. Talk about not knowing your market, how to market a product, nor WTF people value in an OS.

MS seems to do same shit with every MS Office Upgrade. OK, let's add 5 new features NO ONE ever uses and change around all the menus because it's more "intuitive." You want intuitive? Create an affordable, lightning fast, accurate voice commanded device that rarely if ever fucks up... should have been here a decade ago.. The $$ made by a select few foils human progress once again.

Post: #32

Very few things in the world live up to the hype. Windows 8 is one of them. It sucks just as bad as everyone says it does. This ain't just hipster talk, in genuinely sucks.

Post: #33

I actually really like Windows 8.

I don't understand people's problems with it. Yes there is a little of a learning curve, but if you just take 10 minutes to read a damn article on shortcuts and gestures it makes total sense and is very intuitive.

Also you can switch to desktop mode at any time. So people complaining about the metro interface really shouldn't be, because they don't have to use it.

I'm using a surface and honestly i really like it. When the Surface 3 comes out I'm fairly sure they're addressing all of the issues I have with the machine.

Yes the OS is built for touch. Instead of fighting it like you guys seem to be doing just go with it. It really is much better than traditional mouse and click computing.

Then again I'm not really doing any RAM intensive things like video editing so my view is probably limited by being an 'average user' (like 90% of users out there).

Post: #34

I must be getting old because I'm sick of constant change. I feel like all I will ever need for the rest of my life in a thin unobtrusive bar at the bottom with a start button and tree-out menu for my programs, a few things to pin to the task bar, a clock and that's it. If they never evolved the operating system beyond that I'd be fine. I just don't need all this extra shit they put in there with version 8. If they are going to make improvements then it should be to memory management and more efficiency. I know some desktops now have swipe screens but I really have no desire to touch my computer screen. My mouse with roller ball does the job perfectly fine.

Post: #35

^ I agree 100%

Post: #36

I remember grabbing the Community Preview for Windows 8 when it was announced. It took my usability guy (who specializes in UI analysis and UX engineering) and I a week to figure out how to get to the desktop from the Metro responsive screen. I really don't like the fact they included the Ribbon toolbar style from the last few Microsoft Office editions in Windows Explorer; I feel like it really craps up the interface and doesn't add anything.

Post: #37

Surface 3 is out. The i7 model comes out August 1 though.

Post: #38

I hated it, but I've made it livable by installing a mod that adds a Windows Start menu. Now I don't mind it so terribly much.

To be fair, it has been very stable for me and doesn't seem to run to heavy, which is probably because it's been slimmed down for tablet use.

On my last computer, I downgraded from 7 to XP just because 7 was so clunky.

I don't need a lot of features on my operating system. I haven't seen any need for changes since XP, because it came with trouble free Internet access (Windows 98 often required add-ons and 2000 was a joke from what I hear) and everything else installed really smooth.

Post: #39

(07-22-2014 10:27 PM)Suits Wrote:  I hated it, but I've made it livable by installing a mod that adds a Windows Start menu. Now I don't mind it so terribly much.

To be fair, it has been very stable for me and doesn't seem to run to heavy, which is probably because it's been slimmed down for tablet use.

On my last computer, I downgraded from 7 to XP just because 7 was so clunky.

I don't need a lot of features on my operating system. I haven't seen any need for changes since XP, because it came with trouble free Internet access (Windows 98 often required add-ons and 2000 was a joke from what I hear) and everything else installed really smooth.

You're looking at some real security concerns by doing that, Suits, especially if you like going on the Internet through XP. XP isn't supported anymore and therefore isn't getting any additional security fixes.

Post: #40

I just found that the intel atom based netbooks support SSE3 and are 64bit. I just installed Windows 8.1 x64 on one.

Post: #41

Not to switch the subject but does anyone still prefer netbooks over tablets? I really hate the idea of typing on a screen for anything more than very quick messages. And if you're going to get a plug in keyboard for your tablet why not just get a netbook?

Can anyone tell me the advantage of a tablet? I feel like I'm missing something here.

Post: #42

A tablet like a surface with or wacom screen have touch senstivity whcih is critical for artwork. It allows your pressure to affect the strength of a line which you simply can't due with a mouse. In the past you had to carry around a small Wacom board (wacom bamboo in my case) to draw on which does not have a screen (the screen models are very expensive). With release of touch sensitive tablet screens you now can draw, and sculpt and see instantaneous results from the screen which is much closer to drawing on a paper. However you can do far more than drawing on paper allows with unlimited colors and layers. The weight of my old set up? 10 lbs in a carry case. The new set ups are under 3 lbs!

Post: #43

(07-23-2014 11:18 AM)speakeasy Wrote:  Not to switch the subject but does anyone still prefer netbooks over tablets? I really hate the idea of typing on a screen for anything more than very quick messages. And if you're going to get a plug in keyboard for your tablet why not just get a netbook?

Can anyone tell me the advantage of a tablet? I feel like I'm missing something here.

There's nothing you can get from a tablet that you can't get from a smartphone. I find tablets to be cumbersome to handle. It's just more crap to carry around. It's a trendy novelty.

Post: #44

Speaking of MS and Windows in general, does anyone have a Microsoft Surface Pro tablet?

I have a desktop at work because I need the CPU power and memory for what I do. My laptop needs to be replaced soon and I was thinking about trying out the new Surface Pro 3. It comes with Windows 8 and has pretty impressive specs for a tablet. It can be had with an Intel i7 processor and 16 GB of ram.

At home, I mostly just use my laptop for web browsing, writing emails etc but occasionally I need to do real work from home. Because of this, I've avoided tablets so far. The Surface Pro looks like it's fairly capable though. It's capable of running any Windows program.

Post: #45

Only 8 gigs of Ram.

Surface Pro 3
Technical Specifications
Size
11.5” x 7.93” x 0.36”
(292.1mm x 201.4mm x 9.1mm)
Weight
1.76lbs
(800 grams)
Display
Screen: 12” ClearType Full HD Plus
Resolution: 2160 x 1440
Aspect Ratio: 3:2
Touch: Multi-touch
Battery Life
Up to 9 hours of web browsing4
Storage2/RAM
64GB or 128GB storage with 4GB RAM
256GB or 512GB storage with 8GB RAM
Processor
4th generation Intel® Core™ processor family (i3, i5, i7)
TPM Chip for enterprise security
Network
Wireless: Wi-Fi 802.11ac/802.11 a/b/g/n
Bluetooth® 4.0 Low Energy technology
Location
Digital Compass
Ports
Full-size USB 3.0
microSD™ card reader
Headset jack
Mini DisplayPort
Cover port
Software
Windows 8.1 Pro
Cameras, Video and Audio
5.0 megapixel rear-facing camera
5.0 megapixel front-facing camera
Stereo microphones
Stereo speakers with Dolby® sound
Sensors
Ambient light sensor
Accelerometer
Gyroscope
Magnetometer
Kickstand positions
Multiple
What's in the box
Surface Pro 3
Surface Pen
36W Power supply
Quick Start Guide
Safety and warranty documents

Post: #46

it convinced me to buy a macbook, so yeah its pretty good.

Post: #47

Quote:Size
11.5” x 7.93” x 0.36”

Resolution: 2160 x 1440

Sure the resolution is nice on the tablet but you can't do any real work on an 11.5" screen. It's a fucking toy.

My laptop has a 15.6". I think that's the perfect size.

Post: #48

12" is fine for digital artwork, where you can scroll and zoom to for detailing. If there is a light weight 15" laptop with touch screen and a decent pen pressure sensitivity(wacom or n-trig based) I'm all ears.

Post: #49

I'm not a huge fan of it. Like a few others have posted, it's geared towards the mobile crowd, and I feel like that is a huge mistake on Microsoft's part. In turning their attention towards that group, while ignoring the needs of desktop users they've really screwed themselves over. If I need a mobile OS, I'll go iOS or Android.

Post: #50

i dont hate it, but there was a learning curve. i dont hate the new menu anymore (it takes about 2 minutes to get the hang of it), but a big plus is the security was really stepped up on this one