People get comfortable with stuff. If the software does what they need it to do and works, why change? If it doesn't work, then that's another story.
the $700USD computer required about $1500USD of MS products....
Wow, that is crazy.
I buy Windows because I like it and it does what I need it to do with very few problems or mental hassles. I have never given Microsoft a single penny other than the cost of the Windows license. No one needs Microsoft Office. No one needs to pay for anti-virus stuff.
The longer I live abroad, the more a fear that Americans are living in a media cocoon that has created an alternate reality. Using MS Windows in the USA can be quite a bit different than the Asian experience. And I am sure some Europeans would have similar opinions.
On the other hand, Linux is pretty much the same world-wide - except some verison only provide English (Linux Mint is a one language version) and Red Hat bows to MS legal threats as it is an American company.
Why stick with WinDoze? Well, working for a corporation which is Microsoft-happy, we employees get free Office software for our home computers from Microsoft's Home User Program. Nice perk, and it makes working from home occasionally an easy option.
I suppose they gouge the corporation enough for thousands of volume licenses that they can afford to give away a few.
If the Win8 upgrade is just $40 and really works, that's a bargain IMO.
Perhaps but starting from nothing I don't seem to be able to buy a ready to rock Win 8 directly, only an upgrade. From Win 7 I guess. I can buy a Win 7 and upgrade to 8 but that starts to run into hundreds of Euros around here. More than I have ever spent on a PC (They normally come with the job and have Linux on board).
Besides, what is the compelling feature people need of Win 8 to justify that 40 dollars? When I dink around on friends XP systems it seems to work just fine already.
Besides, what is the compelling feature people need of Win 8 to justify that 40 dollars?
The touchscreen that no one needs on a desktop!
I like DrAc's report that he got a Start menu going so it feel like regular Windows. The 5 o'clock surprise will be when you find out what software and peripherals don't work under Win8.
@erco, man, you guys get Office for Home use free? We're a bigger company than you and I needed to pay $10 to the M$S program. We must have put them in the wrong condo during contract "negotiations" last year!!!
I think people are going win-Ate for the picture passwords and staying for the touchscreen desktop!! (my old arms and eyes are a big fan of that ergonomics bit of genius ) :0)
If the Win8 upgrade is just $40 and really works, that's a bargain IMO. The Win7 upgrade is still $200+.
I don't consider it a bargain at all - a BRIBE, yes!! I have been trying to get used to Win8 through the last 2 "Consumer" and Preview" releases and it has invariably tested my patience to the point of just shutting it down and going to Win 7. I will stay with that! I never asked M$ to turn my computer into a "Smart Phone" - I have one of those!
I will put Win8 in the same bucket as "Vista" - I HATE it - and leave it for the people who think they need to "touch" everything....
You can get a full, stand alone, version of Windows 7 or 8 for $139 as long as you opt for the "OEM" version, which has some minor, mostly irrelevant, limitations. The $39 upgrade (not stand alone) version of Windows 8 is a digital download from Microsoft - if you want an actual disc, it's $69.
Never mind the hate. It's three hours since I asked about "what is the compelling feature people need of Win 8 ?" and nothing has come forward. All I hear is that it is cheap and an a bargain. But why?
OK. On to the hate part.
<rant>
I have said it here a hundred times before so please forgive me for being boring. I hate the idea that the worlds computing infrastructure is dependent on a single corporation, which for most people is in a foriegn country and basically out of control. It is insane to trust your miltary, government, ecconomic systems to a single entity in that way. And now we are supposed to accept that for our phones and tablet computers? No way.
So yes, you can say my beef is not with MS or it's products but the fact that the world has fallen into such a state of helplessness.
</rant>
RDL2004,
You can get a full, stand alone, version of Windows 7 or 8 for $139
Give me a compelling reason why I would not just spend that $139 on beer?
The upgrade is $69, I think.
You can actually get a full version, not an upgrade, of Windows (but not 8) for under $50, if you can live without a few bells and whistles.
Maybe I got a real bargain with a fairly new box plus mouse plus keyboard plus win8 for $199 including shipping
Open Office is free. In fact, all the software I installed on that box has been free. The Proptool works just fine, and it compiles much faster. I didn't need to worry about USB drivers - that seemed to come with the OS. It turns on in 1/10th of the time of my XP machine. Networking worked straight away (and that has never worked with any previous windows version). The touchscreen feel can be disabled. And I've got Ubuntu running from Virtualbox on the same machine.
I'm happy.
As for the .net micro framework and Gadgeteer, don't get me started. I'm fuming about this. Great hardware let down by rubbish software that is supposed to be easy to use and takes a day to install and still doesn't work. I've said jokingly and now I'm going to say it for real - it is going to be easier to reverse engineer the whole gadgeteer system onto the propeller than it is going to be to install the microsoft software. I've sent off 7 boards to BatchPCB over the weekend. The gadgeteer hardware taps into a whole pile of add-on boards so all you really need is a Propeller motherboard and some adapter boards (the gadgeteer uses half size 10 way headers with 1.27mm spacing for instance). Heck, I even designed a Z80 motherboard for the gadgeteer system, and that will be programmed via a Propeller.
So hopefully that gives me some street cred and shows I am not a microsoft fanboi *grin*.
Those processor features have been around since about 2004. Here is a command line utility you can run to see if your processor meets those requirements. It's called Coreinfo.
Those processor features have been around since about 2004. Here is a command line utility you can run to see if your processor meets those requirements. It's called Coreinfo.
I decided to upgrade one of my Windows 7 computers to Windows 8, I am not sure what all the negative feedback is all about. There was absolutely no problem, in fact the INSTALL, not upgrade, process was way shorter than any Linux installs. The install found just about everything, I had to install a driver for the eSATA port, other than that, the process was very short and painless. I purchased the Windows 8 Pro upgrade from Micro Center, so far I am pleased.
Why upgrade to Win8 if your current system works. XP works fine for me, Office 2000, Quartus, Aldec, Rowley Crossworks, Lattice Diamond and I'm happy. I don't care if M$ discontinues support.
The whole upgrade issue is advertising driven, not need driven. In the corporate world it goes like this: Boss man sits in toilet stall for dump of the day, finds IT magazine where a M$ shill exalts in the latest version of Windoze. Boss man is sold on lies and orders IT to do mass roll out of latest and greatest. After much $$$$ expenditure, nothing has changed productivity wise, except the IT dept has a mass backlog of new issues with Windoze to resolve. Boss man confused why things stay the same.
Look most people aren't that demanding. They need a browser, acrobat, a word processor and spreadsheet and maybe a drawing program. That takes care of their reqs. OS2/2.0 could handle all that.
As for .Net, it's installation on XP was painless.
I do know several companies that have .Net apps having problems with Win8 though.
I decided to upgrade one of my Windows 7 computers to Windows 8, I am not sure what all the negative feedback is all about. There was absolutely no problem, in fact the INSTALL, not upgrade, process was way shorter than any Linux installs. The install found just about everything, I had to install a driver for the eSATA port, other than that, the process was very short and painless. I purchased the Windows 8 Pro upgrade from Micro Center, so far I am pleased.
Ray
Well, I will mention a couple of more aspects of the Windows experience aside from the potential for a negative cash flow.
I don't have Windows8, but I do have Windows7 in a dual boot on my Toshiba NB250. This past week, I decided to do an ATmega project in AVRstudio6 - which just doesn't support Linux.
So I download the AVRstudio6 and requested that it be installed. It took forever. I actually gave up and took the dog for a walk rather than wait around staring at the screen. The OS may load rather quickly, but everytime you add an application, there is another rather time consuming ritual.
There were a few other observations. When I entered my dual boot menu, I have multiple partitions - a Linux root partition, a Linux /home, a Linux /swap, a Windows7 partition, a Window7 boot partion and a rather large Windows7 backup partition. MS dominates the Master boot record as Windows will only behave if it thinks it has complete control of all the partitions. Linux has to frequently adapt its boot loader to new ways in which MS tries to force non-MS OSes out of the users hard disk. These days it is a software called Grub2 and it lets Windows and MS think it is alone when it isn't. The tacit message here is that if Windows is on your computer, nothing other than Windows should be allowed. (Of course, they would argue this is for security reasons.)
And then there is the slowness of Windows compared to Linux on the same machine. I wait and wonder when I can do something, while the same hardware just moves along nicely in LInux. It seems Microsoft is always encouraging big and faster hardware, but it is really not necessary if the OS is right. And it seems that Windows has never been quite right in this aspect.
And then there are the pop-ups. Pop-up this and pop-up that. I tend to feel I am having more of an arcade game experience than a mature adult just trying to use an office machine. The pop-up message are rather edgy as well and make one feel as if dire events are about it unfold if I don't comply. For instance, the one that keeps trying to bring me back to Internet Explore from Google Chrome is rather presumptive.
SO, for me Windows7 is slower, rather annoying to maintain, and asserts a need to to things the MS way or be left with an impending disaster.
For people that haven't learned to use Linux, they really believe the MS party line. But if one takes the leap of faith and does a dual boot, one might be shocked to learn that they really didn't need to buy that faster machine with more DRAM and a huge hard disk.
My Toshiba NB250 about 225Gbytes of storage - Toshiba and MS decided that 10 or so Gbytes would be set aside for a hidden partition to recover Windows7. When I repartitioned for a dual boot in Linux, those Windows7 files that could not be move meant that 100Gbytes was claimed for Windows7 in spite of a much smaller storage need, and only 115Gbytes for Linux.
So I have 225Gbytes of hard disk with 110Gbytes that I rarely use and much of which remains vacant.
In sum, MS has bullied and manipulated the average user into fearing to use another OS and is a rather inferior computing experience. Why would I upgrade? I keep the Windows7 for those rather rare occasions that I need to use something only available in Windows. But I am quickly reminded of why I generally avoid it, even though the OS is a bit prettier.
Of course, if I want the Windows7 to run faster there are people that will clean my registry and do a few tweaks for a few more dollars. But I've been down that road once too often. Linux just seems to allow me to get more done, with less fear of failure, and less out of pocket expense.
This thread is six days old and 51 posts long. So far no one has stepped up and suggested a compelling reason to purchase this new version of Windows. Is there even one new feature that we have been missing and really looking forward to?
In the past, upgrades to MS software were driven by the hardware developments. Something like this:
1) Graphics hardware changed from green text screens to high res graphics, time to upgrade from DOS to Windows 3.
2) Want networking, upgrade to Windows for Work Groups.
3) Computers went from 16 to 32 bits, time to upgrade from Win 3.1 to Windows 95.
4) USB hardware arrives in mass, time to upgrade to Windows 98.
5) Storage and memory get huge, you need Windows NT/2009 whatever.
What is it this time? As far as I can tell the killer hardware feature today is:
1) The touch screen, hence the new interface.
2) The desire to go mobile, hence "apps" and the ARM version of Windows.
Both of those are covered by Android, Apple and other products and neither of them are much use on my main work station in my day to day work.
Rsadeika,
...I am not sure what all the negative feedback is all about. There was absolutely no problem, in fact the INSTALL, not upgrade, process was way shorter than any Linux installs. The install found just about everything, I had to install a driver for the eSATA port, other than that, the process was very short and painless. I purchased the Windows 8 Pro upgrade from Micro Center, so far I am pleased.
Me neither, but then I don't use it. I would be worried to be in your situation though. One day you may need to reinstall ans/or reactivate your XP and you won't be able to. Dead in the water. At which point you might give in and get Win 8, 9, 10 whatever. But hey, none of your favourite old apps run there any more.
In your situation I would look at making sure I can run you XP in a virtual machine. Have a virtual box image that you can run on WindowsXX, or Linux or whatever. Keep backups of that image around.
I am not sure if this is truth or an 'urban legend'.
In Taiwan and throughout Asia, XP was badly pirated. Repeatedly, people I talk to claim that the Pirated version of XP in Chinese lives on in an underground economy and that it is quite easy to get full tech support from local computer service people.
I do know that there was a specific problem with 'group licenses' for OEM in Asia and that Microsoft only found a way to put a stop to it by coming out with Vista and essentially creating an installation that was more akin to what Linux does with a LiveCD - they install a basis system, take a look at what you have, and then if you register properly, they provide the complete system over the internet via updates.
My perception of Windows8 has been that it was intended for touch pads and other small computer systems. That was the hardward driving the new release.
I guess I made a big mistake by using "negative feedback", here I thought it was people that had installed Windows 8 and they had a bad experience. Since the main point of using Linux is, it is FREE, than how can anyone complain about that. As for the speed of Linux, yes it is true when you use it without the GUI stuff, at the command prompt level, I am sure that is what all the Linux users are doing, especially the new converts. To be fair, yes, I do have Ubuntu 12.10 set up on one of my computers, which I also use, so I can make some comparisons, and not keep repeating the same old line, but it is FREE. Now, I am starting to feel guilty, maybe I should dig out my old versions of Caldera, and start using that, Hmm, if I recall correctly, I had to purchase that, or maybe I should dig out my old copies of SUSE, Hmm, I think I paid for that also. But I guess you are not a real Linux user until you start using the FREE stuff. If you took away the GUI part from Linux, which is a boat anchor for Linux, how many of the new users would still be using Linux? Otherwise Linux is just as bloated as any other GUI OS.
I'm not sure I understood any of that post. Probably because despite the use of upper case I'm not sure what you meant by "FREE", “zero price” (gratis) or “with few or no restrictions” (libre).
Also, I'm curious, why is the GUI on a Linux based OS a "boat anchor"?
N.B. Linux is a kernel on which an OS can be built, Debian is one example Android is another. Linux has no GUI.
After the Windows Vista debacle I made a serious attempt at switching to Linux. From a programmer's perspective it is a dream OS as the package manager allows no hassle download and install of all manner of development tools, and Bash is a great shell too. But as a use the OS is a bit twitchy and more than once adding some piece of new hardware drove me to distraction. Eventually you'll have some Windows app you want to run that won't work under Wine and be frustrated as well.
MS ships Window 7 ships and it turned out to be really good, so I bought a license and have been happy. However, I never switched back to the MS Office apps. Frankly the ribbon bar is unusable and the Linux Office apps have the class WIMP interface.
So now MS ship Windows 8 and the Modern UI really annoys me. It seems like that awful ribbon bar, and I'm not impressed.
There is no "compelling reason" to switch to Windows 8.
If you look past the noise and confusion, Windows 8 is nothing more than a slightly improved version of Windows 7. There are good improvements, but they come at the expense of a horrible user interface (yes, you do like the "ribbon", don't you?). It is an example of Marketing people deciding they run the show, and that they know better than you do what is best for you. This is an attitude which has become pervasive in business (Ebay anyone?).
Whatever happened to "the customer is always right" ?
I guess I made a big mistake by using "negative feedback", here I thought it was people that had installed Windows 8 and they had a bad experience. Since the main point of using Linux is, it is FREE, than how can anyone complain about that. As for the speed of Linux, yes it is true when you use it without the GUI stuff, at the command prompt level, I am sure that is what all the Linux users are doing, especially the new converts. To be fair, yes, I do have Ubuntu 12.10 set up on one of my computers, which I also use, so I can make some comparisons, and not keep repeating the same old line, but it is FREE. Now, I am starting to feel guilty, maybe I should dig out my old versions of Caldera, and start using that, Hmm, if I recall correctly, I had to purchase that, or maybe I should dig out my old copies of SUSE, Hmm, I think I paid for that also. But I guess you are not a real Linux user until you start using the FREE stuff. If you took away the GUI part from Linux, which is a boat anchor for Linux, how many of the new users would still be using Linux? Otherwise Linux is just as bloated as any other GUI OS.
Ray
It isn't so much that Linux is free as the simple fact is that I have not felt that I ever got my money's worth out of a MS product beyond DOS3.xxx.
Ubuntu Linux with GUI is faster than Windows7 Starter on the same machine - a lot faster. I'd dare say enough faster that I'd even pay something for it, if I had to.
As far as all those old versions of Caldera and SUSE, go to Distrowatch.com and get yourself something that is currently up-to-date, easy to install, and very popular. The larger the user base, the better the support.
"The customer is always right." went out the window when MS became the dominate player in OSes.
@Martin H
I have not liked Wine or other Virtual OSes since I made the change over. I have serious doubts that any of these can really keep up with what MS is doing as MS just won't help them. I just use a Dual Boot scheme as it is next to impossible to buy a computer in Taiwan without Windows. I suppose I could build one from scratch, but it would actually cost more to do so.
If something must use Windows hardware, the system is there. But I really make an effort to buy Linux compatible hardware for important things.
Whenever I am in Linux, I still can read into NTFS file systems and read files or copy them over to the Linux side. If I must use Windows, I just reboot.
There are no figures to back it up and there are many other distributions that might suit your particular purpose better, but as a general rule, all of these are popular and have very active forums or mailing lists where you can ask questions if you get stuck. Ubuntu, Linux Mint and PCLinuxOS are considered the easiest for new users who want to get productive in Linux as soon as possible without having to master all its complexities. On the other end of the spectrum, Slackware Linux, Arch Linux and FreeBSD are more advanced distributions that require plenty of learning before they can be used effectively. openSUSE, Fedora, Debian GNU/Linux and Mageia can be classified as good "middle-road" distributions. CentOS is an enterprise distribution, suitable for those who prefer stability, reliability and long-term support over cutting-edge features and software.
the more popular Distros are bleeding edge , Great ! . but with that means that If you install a chunk of SW on day 2 . very few people will have used it to weed out the bugs..
the middle distros have links to the new stuff as added repos but they are super stable !
Pick your Poison.
I for one will never understand a Touch desktop PC.... the sheer fact is that its not gonna fry with the way people have there screens these day /.. Touch sholder is gonna be a common injury ..
Metro needs to be OFF by default and only ON if you are on a touch laptop...
So, As an IT guy I always try to stay up with the latest trends. However, I am reluctant to jump to Windows 8 and am just wondering if anyone has upgraded yet and what your thoughts are. I read a lot of good things about it months ago, but lately have heard more horror stories. I and most of my clients are happy with Windows 7 and some are still on XP. I just want to know others thoughts on the product,
So, I am using Windows 8 for the third day now, and have not run into any problems after the successful upgrade to Windows 8 . Yes, I have upgraded to Windows 8, maybe you should start another thread, and call it, Why Windows 8 and not Linux, that would give the Linux people at a chance to state their opinion.
I actually do not want to get into which is better, I am just trying to answer, or at least give my experience with the upgrade to Windows 8. I know other people that have upgraded to Windows 8, and their are no horror stories, in fact, everybody is pretty much pleased with the upgrade to Windows 8 process. Now, if you are asking should you do it, that is a different question. I have heard about people still using Windows 3.1, and they are happy. Now I suppose their will be another tirade of Linux opinions when in fact the OP did not ask anything about Linux, that is why I have the OP's original question quoted above just to make sure that the OP's question gets answered, by people that have upgraded to Windows 8, of course.
Comments
Wow, that is crazy.
I buy Windows because I like it and it does what I need it to do with very few problems or mental hassles. I have never given Microsoft a single penny other than the cost of the Windows license. No one needs Microsoft Office. No one needs to pay for anti-virus stuff.
On the other hand, Linux is pretty much the same world-wide - except some verison only provide English (Linux Mint is a one language version) and Red Hat bows to MS legal threats as it is an American company.
I suppose they gouge the corporation enough for thousands of volume licenses that they can afford to give away a few.
http://www.microsofthup.com/hupus/home.aspx?culture=en-US
If the Win8 upgrade is just $40 and really works, that's a bargain IMO. The Win7 upgrade is still $200+.
Perhaps but starting from nothing I don't seem to be able to buy a ready to rock Win 8 directly, only an upgrade. From Win 7 I guess. I can buy a Win 7 and upgrade to 8 but that starts to run into hundreds of Euros around here. More than I have ever spent on a PC (They normally come with the job and have Linux on board).
Besides, what is the compelling feature people need of Win 8 to justify that 40 dollars? When I dink around on friends XP systems it seems to work just fine already.
I like DrAc's report that he got a Start menu going so it feel like regular Windows. The 5 o'clock surprise will be when you find out what software and peripherals don't work under Win8.
I think people are going win-Ate for the picture passwords and staying for the touchscreen desktop!! (my old arms and eyes are a big fan of that ergonomics bit of genius ) :0)
I don't consider it a bargain at all - a BRIBE, yes!! I have been trying to get used to Win8 through the last 2 "Consumer" and Preview" releases and it has invariably tested my patience to the point of just shutting it down and going to Win 7. I will stay with that! I never asked M$ to turn my computer into a "Smart Phone" - I have one of those!
I will put Win8 in the same bucket as "Vista" - I HATE it - and leave it for the people who think they need to "touch" everything....
You could always mention Forth...that seems to be on the political/religious doorstep lately. :0)
OK. On to the hate part.
<rant>
I have said it here a hundred times before so please forgive me for being boring. I hate the idea that the worlds computing infrastructure is dependent on a single corporation, which for most people is in a foriegn country and basically out of control. It is insane to trust your miltary, government, ecconomic systems to a single entity in that way. And now we are supposed to accept that for our phones and tablet computers? No way.
So yes, you can say my beef is not with MS or it's products but the fact that the world has fallen into such a state of helplessness.
</rant>
RDL2004, Give me a compelling reason why I would not just spend that $139 on beer?
The upgrade is $69, I think.
You can actually get a full version, not an upgrade, of Windows (but not 8) for under $50, if you can live without a few bells and whistles.
Maybe I got a real bargain with a fairly new box plus mouse plus keyboard plus win8 for $199 including shipping
Open Office is free. In fact, all the software I installed on that box has been free. The Proptool works just fine, and it compiles much faster. I didn't need to worry about USB drivers - that seemed to come with the OS. It turns on in 1/10th of the time of my XP machine. Networking worked straight away (and that has never worked with any previous windows version). The touchscreen feel can be disabled. And I've got Ubuntu running from Virtualbox on the same machine.
I'm happy.
As for the .net micro framework and Gadgeteer, don't get me started. I'm fuming about this. Great hardware let down by rubbish software that is supposed to be easy to use and takes a day to install and still doesn't work. I've said jokingly and now I'm going to say it for real - it is going to be easier to reverse engineer the whole gadgeteer system onto the propeller than it is going to be to install the microsoft software. I've sent off 7 boards to BatchPCB over the weekend. The gadgeteer hardware taps into a whole pile of add-on boards so all you really need is a Propeller motherboard and some adapter boards (the gadgeteer uses half size 10 way headers with 1.27mm spacing for instance). Heck, I even designed a Z80 motherboard for the gadgeteer system, and that will be programmed via a Propeller.
So hopefully that gives me some street cred and shows I am not a microsoft fanboi *grin*.
I do like Win8 though.
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-8/what-is-pae-nx-sse2
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/cc835722
Ray
The whole upgrade issue is advertising driven, not need driven. In the corporate world it goes like this: Boss man sits in toilet stall for dump of the day, finds IT magazine where a M$ shill exalts in the latest version of Windoze. Boss man is sold on lies and orders IT to do mass roll out of latest and greatest. After much $$$$ expenditure, nothing has changed productivity wise, except the IT dept has a mass backlog of new issues with Windoze to resolve. Boss man confused why things stay the same.
Look most people aren't that demanding. They need a browser, acrobat, a word processor and spreadsheet and maybe a drawing program. That takes care of their reqs. OS2/2.0 could handle all that.
As for .Net, it's installation on XP was painless.
I do know several companies that have .Net apps having problems with Win8 though.
Well, I will mention a couple of more aspects of the Windows experience aside from the potential for a negative cash flow.
I don't have Windows8, but I do have Windows7 in a dual boot on my Toshiba NB250. This past week, I decided to do an ATmega project in AVRstudio6 - which just doesn't support Linux.
So I download the AVRstudio6 and requested that it be installed. It took forever. I actually gave up and took the dog for a walk rather than wait around staring at the screen. The OS may load rather quickly, but everytime you add an application, there is another rather time consuming ritual.
There were a few other observations. When I entered my dual boot menu, I have multiple partitions - a Linux root partition, a Linux /home, a Linux /swap, a Windows7 partition, a Window7 boot partion and a rather large Windows7 backup partition. MS dominates the Master boot record as Windows will only behave if it thinks it has complete control of all the partitions. Linux has to frequently adapt its boot loader to new ways in which MS tries to force non-MS OSes out of the users hard disk. These days it is a software called Grub2 and it lets Windows and MS think it is alone when it isn't. The tacit message here is that if Windows is on your computer, nothing other than Windows should be allowed. (Of course, they would argue this is for security reasons.)
And then there is the slowness of Windows compared to Linux on the same machine. I wait and wonder when I can do something, while the same hardware just moves along nicely in LInux. It seems Microsoft is always encouraging big and faster hardware, but it is really not necessary if the OS is right. And it seems that Windows has never been quite right in this aspect.
And then there are the pop-ups. Pop-up this and pop-up that. I tend to feel I am having more of an arcade game experience than a mature adult just trying to use an office machine. The pop-up message are rather edgy as well and make one feel as if dire events are about it unfold if I don't comply. For instance, the one that keeps trying to bring me back to Internet Explore from Google Chrome is rather presumptive.
SO, for me Windows7 is slower, rather annoying to maintain, and asserts a need to to things the MS way or be left with an impending disaster.
For people that haven't learned to use Linux, they really believe the MS party line. But if one takes the leap of faith and does a dual boot, one might be shocked to learn that they really didn't need to buy that faster machine with more DRAM and a huge hard disk.
My Toshiba NB250 about 225Gbytes of storage - Toshiba and MS decided that 10 or so Gbytes would be set aside for a hidden partition to recover Windows7. When I repartitioned for a dual boot in Linux, those Windows7 files that could not be move meant that 100Gbytes was claimed for Windows7 in spite of a much smaller storage need, and only 115Gbytes for Linux.
So I have 225Gbytes of hard disk with 110Gbytes that I rarely use and much of which remains vacant.
In sum, MS has bullied and manipulated the average user into fearing to use another OS and is a rather inferior computing experience. Why would I upgrade? I keep the Windows7 for those rather rare occasions that I need to use something only available in Windows. But I am quickly reminded of why I generally avoid it, even though the OS is a bit prettier.
Of course, if I want the Windows7 to run faster there are people that will clean my registry and do a few tweaks for a few more dollars. But I've been down that road once too often. Linux just seems to allow me to get more done, with less fear of failure, and less out of pocket expense.
In the past, upgrades to MS software were driven by the hardware developments. Something like this:
1) Graphics hardware changed from green text screens to high res graphics, time to upgrade from DOS to Windows 3.
2) Want networking, upgrade to Windows for Work Groups.
3) Computers went from 16 to 32 bits, time to upgrade from Win 3.1 to Windows 95.
4) USB hardware arrives in mass, time to upgrade to Windows 98.
5) Storage and memory get huge, you need Windows NT/2009 whatever.
What is it this time? As far as I can tell the killer hardware feature today is:
1) The touch screen, hence the new interface.
2) The desire to go mobile, hence "apps" and the ARM version of Windows.
Both of those are covered by Android, Apple and other products and neither of them are much use on my main work station in my day to day work.
Rsadeika, Very good, but what does it do?
Me neither, but then I don't use it. I would be worried to be in your situation though. One day you may need to reinstall ans/or reactivate your XP and you won't be able to. Dead in the water. At which point you might give in and get Win 8, 9, 10 whatever. But hey, none of your favourite old apps run there any more.
In your situation I would look at making sure I can run you XP in a virtual machine. Have a virtual box image that you can run on WindowsXX, or Linux or whatever. Keep backups of that image around.
In Taiwan and throughout Asia, XP was badly pirated. Repeatedly, people I talk to claim that the Pirated version of XP in Chinese lives on in an underground economy and that it is quite easy to get full tech support from local computer service people.
I do know that there was a specific problem with 'group licenses' for OEM in Asia and that Microsoft only found a way to put a stop to it by coming out with Vista and essentially creating an installation that was more akin to what Linux does with a LiveCD - they install a basis system, take a look at what you have, and then if you register properly, they provide the complete system over the internet via updates.
My perception of Windows8 has been that it was intended for touch pads and other small computer systems. That was the hardward driving the new release.
Ray
I'm not sure I understood any of that post. Probably because despite the use of upper case I'm not sure what you meant by "FREE", “zero price” (gratis) or “with few or no restrictions” (libre).
Also, I'm curious, why is the GUI on a Linux based OS a "boat anchor"?
N.B. Linux is a kernel on which an OS can be built, Debian is one example Android is another. Linux has no GUI.
MS ships Window 7 ships and it turned out to be really good, so I bought a license and have been happy. However, I never switched back to the MS Office apps. Frankly the ribbon bar is unusable and the Linux Office apps have the class WIMP interface.
So now MS ship Windows 8 and the Modern UI really annoys me. It seems like that awful ribbon bar, and I'm not impressed.
If you look past the noise and confusion, Windows 8 is nothing more than a slightly improved version of Windows 7. There are good improvements, but they come at the expense of a horrible user interface (yes, you do like the "ribbon", don't you?). It is an example of Marketing people deciding they run the show, and that they know better than you do what is best for you. This is an attitude which has become pervasive in business (Ebay anyone?).
Whatever happened to "the customer is always right" ?
It isn't so much that Linux is free as the simple fact is that I have not felt that I ever got my money's worth out of a MS product beyond DOS3.xxx.
Ubuntu Linux with GUI is faster than Windows7 Starter on the same machine - a lot faster. I'd dare say enough faster that I'd even pay something for it, if I had to.
As far as all those old versions of Caldera and SUSE, go to Distrowatch.com and get yourself something that is currently up-to-date, easy to install, and very popular. The larger the user base, the better the support.
"The customer is always right." went out the window when MS became the dominate player in OSes.
@Martin H
I have not liked Wine or other Virtual OSes since I made the change over. I have serious doubts that any of these can really keep up with what MS is doing as MS just won't help them. I just use a Dual Boot scheme as it is next to impossible to buy a computer in Taiwan without Windows. I suppose I could build one from scratch, but it would actually cost more to do so.
If something must use Windows hardware, the system is there. But I really make an effort to buy Linux compatible hardware for important things.
Whenever I am in Linux, I still can read into NTFS file systems and read files or copy them over to the Linux side. If I must use Windows, I just reboot.
I dont get how you can generalize and say that the GUI on Linux is bloated ....\
the sys requirements alone do not support that on bit.
Debain can run happy with a GUI on 256-512 MB on aP4 @2.4 GHz
Would you care to expand on this ?
I have yet to see a bootable Win 7 install with less then 3-4 GB .
Loopy:
The larger the user base, the better the support.
not entirely true ... It depends on the users ..\
http://distrowatch.com/dwres.php?resource=major
the more popular Distros are bleeding edge , Great ! . but with that means that If you install a chunk of SW on day 2 . very few people will have used it to weed out the bugs..
the middle distros have links to the new stuff as added repos but they are super stable !
Pick your Poison.
I for one will never understand a Touch desktop PC.... the sheer fact is that its not gonna fry with the way people have there screens these day /.. Touch sholder is gonna be a common injury ..
Metro needs to be OFF by default and only ON if you are on a touch laptop...
I actually do not want to get into which is better, I am just trying to answer, or at least give my experience with the upgrade to Windows 8. I know other people that have upgraded to Windows 8, and their are no horror stories, in fact, everybody is pretty much pleased with the upgrade to Windows 8 process. Now, if you are asking should you do it, that is a different question. I have heard about people still using Windows 3.1, and they are happy. Now I suppose their will be another tirade of Linux opinions when in fact the OP did not ask anything about Linux, that is why I have the OP's original question quoted above just to make sure that the OP's question gets answered, by people that have upgraded to Windows 8, of course.
Ray