[JoReneA]

I tried upgrading on a Gateway desktop that had plenty of space, memory and power, and after using the first app (one to open a pdf file) my screen went black and and I couldn't restore it. I tried restarting several times and each time all I got were flickers of light and then the black screen. There was no way to run any fixes from a black screen. I had to revert to Win7 using a disk image I had made (and taking 4 hours of time). I'm just not convinced that it is worth it to upgrade now with so many bugs still to be worked out. (And drivers probably not fine tuned yet.) For those who say just to eliminate the Metro interface (not sure how to do that), then why even upgrade? If you are going to use the Win7 desktop all the time, it makes sense to just stick with Win 7.

I hope those who buy a computer with Windows 8 don't have this kind of problem or Microsoft's stock will be all but worthless in a year.

[spindly1970]

Actually, 2000 was the first one that kind of got it right. The kernel was fairly stable, had excellent plug and play. You could hard kill it and it would just come back up. Wasn't a bloated install at all. I think you are confusing it with VISTA. Many of our customers upgraded to it without letting us know and they were soon rolling it back to XP. In fact, a good way to get fired at our company was to bring a Vista machine up on the network.

[spindly1970]

Agreed. But at one point, support will stop. They will stop making updated anti-virus and the like. At that point, you'll be forced to.

[BulldogXX]

What Windows 8 lacks most is a 'killer feature'...something that makes it a compelling upgrade. If you consider Microsoft's implementation of the touch screen compelling, I guess that's your killer feature. But you'd have to believe that Microsoft's take on touch computing is so much better than what you can get from Android or Apple.

Is faster booting worth the upgrade? If you really want to boot quickly, an SSD is a better upgrade.

The Direct-X based graphics subsystem is technically interesting, but it's no killer app. If being able to easily setup a printer is the death of you, I guess the extensible printer driver is appealing. But you can avoid those problems by getting your printer driver from the printer manufacturer.

File History? System Refresh? You can do better with third party tools, and if you're serious about backing up you already have them.

There's nothing dramatically new and improved about Windows 8 other than touch. If you don't want touch for office work or content creation, or you don't think that Microsoft's implementations of touch are the greatest thing since sliced bread, who cares about Windows 8? It's late to the party, it's behind its competitors, it has few apps in the store, and Microsoft can no longer bully you into using it.

[KLanD]

BulldogXX, on 30 October 2012 - 08:19 AM, said:

What Windows 8 lacks most is a 'killer feature'...something that makes it a compelling upgrade. If you consider Microsoft's implementation of the touch screen compelling, I guess that's your killer feature. But you'd have to believe that Microsoft's take on touch computing is so much better than what you can get from Android or Apple.

Is faster booting worth the upgrade? If you really want to boot quickly, an SSD is a better upgrade.

The Direct-X based graphics subsystem is technically interesting, but it's no killer app. If being able to easily setup a printer is the death of you, I guess the extensible printer driver is appealing. But you can avoid those problems by getting your printer driver from the printer manufacturer.

File History? System Refresh? You can do better with third party tools, and if you're serious about backing up you already have them.

There's nothing dramatically new and improved about Windows 8 other than touch. If you don't want touch for office work or content creation, or you don't think that Microsoft's implementations of touch are the greatest thing since sliced bread, who cares about Windows 8? It's late to the party, it's behind its competitors, it has few apps in the store, and Microsoft can no longer bully you into using it.

Except you can now have 1 OS across all platforms/devices.

[omarsadat]

Thank you, I did learn few tricks.
I have to admit that windows 8 once you understand it, and get settled ...IS FASTER AND EASIER THAN WINDOWS 7, but as of today here is the problems I did encounter with w 8 in my X64 4 G system:


1-Installing Sandboxie 3.74 does work but must use the trial " advise to use Ashampoo to install and uninstall again.

2-Serial for Norton Ghost.V. 15 would not work in 8

3-AVS Audio Recording would not work, get this program" Audio Record Wizard " instead, it records from within the computer.

4-If you have Microsoft mouse make sure you have the original drive.

5-Microsoft Windows live Mesh does not work.

6-SugarSync does not Sync on windows 8.

7-Adobe Acrobat XI does not install on w 8, but Adobe Acrobat X Pro 10.1.4 does work fine.



Om
October 30 2012 at 4-41-24 PM

[edmsing]

I regret I have to continue running good old XP since its the only OS that runs Microsoft Bookshelf that I need because my spelling is so bad...

[mheyman10]

Quote

I regret I have to continue running good old XP since its the only OS that runs Microsoft Bookshelf that I need because my spelling is so bad...

I thought I had the same problem but the pro edition runs XP in the background.

[dg27]

It appears that the major change involves touchscreen capabilities, which are utterly useless for those who actually do work in such programs as Photoshop, Illustrator, Acrobat Pro, Pro Tools, etc.. Using a touchscreen for those types of applications is a truly asinine idea.

[Minion]

Quote

It appears that the major change involves touchscreen capabilities, which are utterly useless for those who actually do work in such programs as Photoshop, Illustrator, Acrobat Pro, Pro Tools, etc.. Using a touchscreen for those types of applications is a truly asinine idea.

Actually, that is just one of the many changes in Windows 8. The whole OS is faster than Windows 7. Once you get used to it (yes there are some big changes) it is actually easier and faster to navigate than Windows 7. Boot time is significantly reduced. More customizations are available. The OS provides better tools to analyze what is running etc. As a matter of fact, pretty much the whole interface is better and more responsive. And the list goes on and on.

Saying that the only significant change is the ability to use it on touchscreen devices would be like saying the only difference between a 2012 (insert your favorite retro vehicle here) and one made in the 80's or early 90's is the fact that you can now have a FOB to unlock, or even start your car, and that it looks different.

[Minion]

Quote

LISTEN FOLKS If your satisfied with the OS your using why would you upgrade and have all the hassles of learning a new OS. And finding out it won't run some of your software. and you have to pay for a new version of that software. I'm still running XP and it's fine for me. if you've already upgraded to 7 that's fine. But why keep having to upgrade if the OS your using is doing everything you need it to do. Windows xp is obsolete so is vista, Windows7 will be in a year or 2 as well. All the new updates, upgrades and new software will be released for windows 8 going forward so will the bug fixes; so using obsolete unpatched o/s is hazardous and security risk prone to malware and viruses.

The only reason I am replying to this one is because I hate when people make information up. Here are the facts pulled straight off of Microsoft's website:

Windows XP:
End of retail sales: June 30th, 2008.
End of sales for PCs with Windows preinstalled: October 22nd, 2010
End of mainstream support: April 14th, 2009.
End of extended support: April 8th, 2014. (Notice it is still in the future.)
AKA it is not entirely end of life'd just yet. It won't be until 2014 until this is laid to rest by Microsoft.

Vista:
End of retail sales: October 22nd, 2010.
End of sales for preinstalled PCs: October 22nd, 2011.
End of mainstream support: April 10th, 2012.
End of extended support: April 11th, 2017. (Still in the future.)
Still supported for a while, although I personally don't recommend this OS.

Windows 7:
End of retail sales: TO BE DETERMINED.
End of sales for preinstalled PCs: TO BE DETERMINED.
End of mainstream support: January 12th, 2015.
End of extended support: January 14th 2020.
No sales end of life info eve available yet straight from Microsoft.

[Minion]

Quote

so using obsolete unpatched o/s is hazardous and security risk prone to malware and viruses. Well, please go and ask top security experts what are they running for their main systems. Quite famous Steve Gibson of Gibson Research (FBI, NSA, Microsoft adviser, just to name a few) I know for a fact just recently upgraded from Win2000 to Win XP. For security reasons. He is running more recent systems as testbeds. Reason is simple. Some older systems are safer. They were tried and tested and attacked and fixed. Newer OS comes with some better fundamental ideas but is untested and every software has bugs. Unknown bugs yet to be patched are the worst kind. You assume you are safe while the threat is there. Very little chance of serious zero day attack on XP. Extreme chance for Win 7,8. Just "old" doesn't mean obsolete or less safe.

As long as Microsoft is putting out software updates (IE patches) yes, the OS is pretty safe. However, no matter how well patched a system is, there are always still vulnerabilities there, they just have not yet been discovered. Hackers are always evolving much like the vehicles we drive, the phones we use, etc. So vulnerabilities will always be discovered with any OS. If it no longer receives updates, then no one is protecting against new threats. Just an FYI.

[BigBrother99]

Having used this system for a few months pre-release, I have only one conclusion: I wouldn't touch it with a barge pole.

W8 was developed for M$'s touch screen devices and summarily messed with to pander to those of us who sometimes use a mouse. Windows 9 is not far away in the great scheme of things and it will be worth waiting for. Guaranteed. M$ always cleans up their messes every other release.

Remember M$'s track record: W98 was good. WME? Hoo boy, not good is an understatement. WXP was (and still is) very good. Vista? Look up "not good" in the dictionary and you'll see Vista's picture. W7 is outstanding. Every other Windows iteration has nothing but problems that get fixed with the next release. M$ has to release a new one every couple of years or risk becoming irrelevant, so I'll wait for the next, hopefully, good one. Like W7 is a fixed version of Vista, W9 will be a fixed version of W8.

[Paximos]

Quote

I've tested Windows 8 from the first Alpha build and it is a DOWNGRADE for a desktop.Buggy,Bloated,crashing almost at will.Windows 8 will prove to be Micro$oft's undoing.Any OS that takes up 24 GB Just for the operating system is too big. It took me 6 months to get Windows 7 to run reliably ,after cutting out the crap that should not have been there to begin with.For a desktop,First thing I have done is removed the "Metro" interface altogether and restored the familiar desktop settings.This,by itself,increased speed by 85%. Most of the people who ask me about installing Win 8,I tell them save your money and don't bother.Windows 8 ain't worth wiping your rear with.

An intelligent person having so many problems would either revert back to the previous OS or moves on to another platform. I think not only you are a liar but you are aweful in bashing Microsoft....