I was expecting to buy a new computer in the next few months. I really liked my XP and Vista Ultimate with the start menu and desktop. I can't use the Touch Screen version on a desktop model, since I have shoulder problems. I'm somewhat confused now with what is being written about the NEW 10 OS. I am wondering about Win7 or is there a WIN8/8.1 that has the start and desktop similar to 7? Thanks you Ed
New computer to buy?
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There is a program for Windows 8/8.1 called Classic Shell that I use. It brings back the traditional start menu.
Windows 8 doesn't require you to have or use a touch screen. Still supports normal keyboard/mouse. I think most of the complaints about Windows 8 have been about the replacement of the start menu.
If Vista is working for you on your Dimension why not just keep using it until the end of next year when Windows 10 ships?
Windows 10, as it stands now, will be much more Windows 7 like, if you believe Microsoft, and you won't be stuck with Windows 8.1 and workarounds.
Announcing Windows 10 Here's the announcement with some pics and a short video if you're interested.
I rarely recommend that people wait for the "Next great thing", but in this case it might work out better.
For anyone who's interested, here's the link to download the Windows 10 beta ISO. Windows 10 Technical Preview , you can download the Beta of Windows 10 and install it on a virtual machine or a spare machine you don't mind having problems with. All you need is a Microsoft email account.
Anyway, just my thoughts.
Windows 10, as it stands now, will be much more Windows 7 like, if you believe Microsoft, and you won't be stuck with Windows 8.1 and workarounds.
Announcing Windows 10 Here's the announcement with some pics and a short video if you're interested.
I rarely recommend that people wait for the "Next great thing", but in this case it might work out better.
For anyone who's interested, here's the link to download the Windows 10 beta ISO. Windows 10 Technical Preview , you can download the Beta of Windows 10 and install it on a virtual machine or a spare machine you don't mind having problems with. All you need is a Microsoft email account.
Anyway, just my thoughts.
Wow a computer post~! I HAVE to chime in on this one. First off, not sure why Anyone is using vista, especially still, with how many security vulnerabilities it has and problems with, well, virtually everything. Xp was great and I was a die hard fan of that until windows 7 was out for a couple years or more.
Windows 8, metro tiles and all that junk, complete garbage, terrible user-interfaces but they do have many versions that if you guys just new the double escape trick etc. you can always get windows 8 to the "classic" view with start menu etc. Stardock is pretty neat though.
Windows 10? for real? and right after they launched such garbage as windows 8? You would believe Anything microsoft says? oh it's like this, or that, and it's better. NO.
If a brand new motor oil came out promising the moon would you buy it? Or a new engine using "advanced" technologies blah blah. No, you wouldn't. You would wait for a few years to let them work out the bugs and kinks and hot-fixes etc.
I do find it funny that bornconfuzd did recommend installing the beta on a computer that you wouldn't mind having problems with but I probably wouldn't wish windows 10 OR 8 on my worst enemy. Especially if you need a microsoft e-mail account.
Well that's my rant for right now I spose.
Windows 8, metro tiles and all that junk, complete garbage, terrible user-interfaces but they do have many versions that if you guys just new the double escape trick etc. you can always get windows 8 to the "classic" view with start menu etc. Stardock is pretty neat though.
Windows 10? for real? and right after they launched such garbage as windows 8? You would believe Anything microsoft says? oh it's like this, or that, and it's better. NO.
If a brand new motor oil came out promising the moon would you buy it? Or a new engine using "advanced" technologies blah blah. No, you wouldn't. You would wait for a few years to let them work out the bugs and kinks and hot-fixes etc.
I do find it funny that bornconfuzd did recommend installing the beta on a computer that you wouldn't mind having problems with but I probably wouldn't wish windows 10 OR 8 on my worst enemy. Especially if you need a microsoft e-mail account.
Well that's my rant for right now I spose.
Originally Posted By: Constantly
If a brand new motor oil came out promising the moon would you buy it?
Of course we would. This is BITOG. People are just dying to buy and try the latest and greatest oils out there.
If a brand new motor oil came out promising the moon would you buy it?
Of course we would. This is BITOG. People are just dying to buy and try the latest and greatest oils out there.
Originally Posted By: Constantly
Well that's my rant for right now I spose.
Yes, it certainly was that.
Well that's my rant for right now I spose.
Yes, it certainly was that.
Windows 8 runs pretty good, boots fast. It's just a pain to use the UI. That is something they could easily fix with a new version.
I read they will update windows 8 for free so if you need a machine now I would go ahead and buy it.
You might end up waiting quite a while for Windows 10, and then what if it is buggy?
I read they will update windows 8 for free so if you need a machine now I would go ahead and buy it.
You might end up waiting quite a while for Windows 10, and then what if it is buggy?
I really liked Vista for the time I used it. XP just seemed, well sort of dated after using Vista. Yes, Vista was a little bloated, and needed more memory etc, but it was a good upgrade.
Windows 7 was, as far as I'm concerned, the gold standard for Windows and still is, at least as far as user interface is concerned.
I still don't like the Windows 8/8.1 interface.....ok, what I don't like are the darned tiles and the loss of the Start Menu. But, I've turned off almost all the "Live Tiles" and have put my most used programs either on the Task Bar or the Quick Start Menu. Since 8.1 I've set Windows to start directly to the desktop and rarely use the Tile Start Screen. Otherwise, I think Windows 8 is a VERY good OS. Maybe the best Microsoft has ever done.
I'll have no problem upgrading to Windows 10 and am actually looking forward to it.
I'm becoming much more a Linux user though and half my computer time is spent on Linux. There are programs though that I don't want to live without that will run only on Windows so I switch back and forth and enjoy the best of both worlds.
Each to their own I guess.
I still think Eddie should consider waiting for Windows 10 if he can, and if he can't he should go with 8.1 without concern. If he really must have a Start Menu, like others have said, there are workarounds.
Windows 7 was, as far as I'm concerned, the gold standard for Windows and still is, at least as far as user interface is concerned.
I still don't like the Windows 8/8.1 interface.....ok, what I don't like are the darned tiles and the loss of the Start Menu. But, I've turned off almost all the "Live Tiles" and have put my most used programs either on the Task Bar or the Quick Start Menu. Since 8.1 I've set Windows to start directly to the desktop and rarely use the Tile Start Screen. Otherwise, I think Windows 8 is a VERY good OS. Maybe the best Microsoft has ever done.
I'll have no problem upgrading to Windows 10 and am actually looking forward to it.
I'm becoming much more a Linux user though and half my computer time is spent on Linux. There are programs though that I don't want to live without that will run only on Windows so I switch back and forth and enjoy the best of both worlds.
Each to their own I guess.
I still think Eddie should consider waiting for Windows 10 if he can, and if he can't he should go with 8.1 without concern. If he really must have a Start Menu, like others have said, there are workarounds.
Ok, ok. I guess the oil analogy was straight retarded for me to use and I lost sight of where I was for a second, hah. What I get for posting so haphazardly.
I agree that yes the whole tiles thing is a "different strokes for different folks" concept.
I am just honestly sick of fixing friends or family members computer problems I suppose, and that may be in large part due to not wanting a re-install or upgrade version or downloading service packs that bring with them even more and different vulnerabilities or problems, but that is expected I suppose with any technology, if its not broken someone will find a way to break it just to show they can or to cause grief among end-users.
You have to take into account people that don't care so much about their computers as we might, and are using under 2 gigs of RAM or for some dumb reason are still running 32-bit systems even though they don't have to.
For the x64 of vista I would say the biggest problems I ran into was kernel integrity> code integrity, patchguard and driver signing, driver signing being the biggest
their UAC or user account control along with user interface privilege isolation, system process separation (session 0) Socket ACL's, DEFINITELY windows defender, update, windows firewall and Bitlocker, even though most of the Bitlocker and firewall was moved to a passive setting rather than an on/off toggle set-up on windows 8 or 8.1. (sorry, bitlocker was never able to turn off/on in any ease)
Then you have the Address space layout randomization, pointer obfuscation, SafeSEH, secure heap manager on and on and on. I could do this for hours not sure what point I am actually making anymore......Except I guess the workarounds are obviously more plentiful the older a version is, but then when Micrsoft announces no longer supporting version updates that it just brings long-held exploits out of the woodworks.
on a side note, I use dual-booting windows7/ubuntu personalized versions to the point I couldnt put a number on it and booting into my windows 7 running both processors from boot I can start my computer into the login screen and all applications running in 7 seconds. I jus cant seem to get these clunkier versions of windows with high GUI's to do the same. I dont know I think I even just lost myself.
Edit: Oh ok, maybe I am just trying to say over all that I wish to God that microsoft would just take more time on a product before releasing it and having to constantly patch even though I swear it is in their business model to do patch updates even if the service packs contain 50% of usefull items, maybe they should make much lighter SP's so I won't have to also fix added problems they put in with a lot of fluff on some of the packs.
I agree that yes the whole tiles thing is a "different strokes for different folks" concept.
I am just honestly sick of fixing friends or family members computer problems I suppose, and that may be in large part due to not wanting a re-install or upgrade version or downloading service packs that bring with them even more and different vulnerabilities or problems, but that is expected I suppose with any technology, if its not broken someone will find a way to break it just to show they can or to cause grief among end-users.
You have to take into account people that don't care so much about their computers as we might, and are using under 2 gigs of RAM or for some dumb reason are still running 32-bit systems even though they don't have to.
For the x64 of vista I would say the biggest problems I ran into was kernel integrity> code integrity, patchguard and driver signing, driver signing being the biggest
their UAC or user account control along with user interface privilege isolation, system process separation (session 0) Socket ACL's, DEFINITELY windows defender, update, windows firewall and Bitlocker, even though most of the Bitlocker and firewall was moved to a passive setting rather than an on/off toggle set-up on windows 8 or 8.1. (sorry, bitlocker was never able to turn off/on in any ease)
Then you have the Address space layout randomization, pointer obfuscation, SafeSEH, secure heap manager on and on and on. I could do this for hours not sure what point I am actually making anymore......Except I guess the workarounds are obviously more plentiful the older a version is, but then when Micrsoft announces no longer supporting version updates that it just brings long-held exploits out of the woodworks.
on a side note, I use dual-booting windows7/ubuntu personalized versions to the point I couldnt put a number on it and booting into my windows 7 running both processors from boot I can start my computer into the login screen and all applications running in 7 seconds. I jus cant seem to get these clunkier versions of windows with high GUI's to do the same. I dont know I think I even just lost myself.
Edit: Oh ok, maybe I am just trying to say over all that I wish to God that microsoft would just take more time on a product before releasing it and having to constantly patch even though I swear it is in their business model to do patch updates even if the service packs contain 50% of usefull items, maybe they should make much lighter SP's so I won't have to also fix added problems they put in with a lot of fluff on some of the packs.
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I'm about 3 weeks into my experience with a new Dell XPS 8700 desktop running Win 8.1...no problems for me. Was spending all of my time with either XP or Vista (never saw 7). This one boots straight into the Metro UI which I don't like but don't hate either...it's mostly just wasted effort with it's garbage ads, suggestions and prompts. But one click on one tile takes me right to the desktop without installing anything extra. From there, it's much like before...I configure the icons that I want on the desktop, pin what I want to the task bar and just go on my merry way. The whole thing looks nice on a 27 inch Samsung monitor. Got my HP printer installed and I'm mostly a happy camper.
I just seen the press release for Windows 10 floating around today on Facebook. If you read it you will find at the beginning of the article that it says it is an April Fool's spoof.
Besides, it is widely thought that the next version will have a name instead of a number, to distance consumer perception from 8/8.1, just like they went from a name to a number between Vista and 7.
Cardenio, if you follow the first links he gave above you would see its not a spoof, its not even close to april 1st, and why would you believe facebook in the first place let alone a random post? He is right you just have to download their technical preview version (MAKE A RECOVERY PARTITION OR BURN A RECOVERY FILE TO CD/DVD) because it straight up tells you if you install it on the same pc and create a recovery partition that after installation you still wont be able to use the recovery partition... for obvious reasons....
It gives you the diff bit versions of ISO downloads a product key and an SHA-1 Hash value.
It gives you the diff bit versions of ISO downloads a product key and an SHA-1 Hash value.
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Get a MAC. It just works the way you'd expect. Once you learn the interface - and most of it is like windows-, with numerous how-tos and tutorials online- you will never look back.
I went through the same dilemma last Dec and January, and even ordered new.machines from Dell and HP. They were frustratingly erratic or unreliable....
I went through the same dilemma last Dec and January, and even ordered new.machines from Dell and HP. They were frustratingly erratic or unreliable....
Originally Posted By: Constantly
Cardenio, if you follow the first links he gave above you would see its not a spoof, its not even close to april 1st, and why would you believe facebook in the first place let alone a random post? He is right you just have to download their technical preview version (MAKE A RECOVERY PARTITION OR BURN A RECOVERY FILE TO CD/DVD) because it straight up tells you if you install it on the same pc and create a recovery partition that after installation you still wont be able to use the recovery partition... for obvious reasons....
It gives you the diff bit versions of ISO downloads a product key and an SHA-1 Hash value.
I suppose the person that wrote this article had a pretty clear view into the future then. It dates from April 1st, 2013.
April fool's Windows 10
My fault for not realizing that the person who posted it on Facebook was pointing out how the truth mimics fiction.
Cardenio, if you follow the first links he gave above you would see its not a spoof, its not even close to april 1st, and why would you believe facebook in the first place let alone a random post? He is right you just have to download their technical preview version (MAKE A RECOVERY PARTITION OR BURN A RECOVERY FILE TO CD/DVD) because it straight up tells you if you install it on the same pc and create a recovery partition that after installation you still wont be able to use the recovery partition... for obvious reasons....
It gives you the diff bit versions of ISO downloads a product key and an SHA-1 Hash value.
I suppose the person that wrote this article had a pretty clear view into the future then. It dates from April 1st, 2013.
April fool's Windows 10
My fault for not realizing that the person who posted it on Facebook was pointing out how the truth mimics fiction.
Hmm, well, I just finished downloading this "spoof".
Thought the body of the email I just received might interest some;
________________________________________
Windows Insider Program | Before you install | How-to | Windows Feedback app | Forum
________________________________________
Welcome to the Windows Insider Program,
Now that you're a Windows Insider, you'll be among the first to discover the new features and capabilities of Windows Technical Preview. We’re thankful for your willingness to give feedback on these early builds of Windows. Together, we’re building the future of Windows. Let’s get started.
Be sure to set up your PC
If you haven’t already, make sure you install Tech Preview. (If you're an IT pro testing Windows for your organization, download Windows Technical Preview for Enterprise.) This is an early preview. See Before you install to ensure downloading it is right for you and your PC.
Once you're set up
Here’s how to share your feedback and stay up-to-date as an Insider:
Use your registered PC to experience Tech Preview.
Send us feedback and report problems through the Windows Feedback app.
Visit the Windows Technical Preview forum to ask questions, get answers, and talk with other Insiders. (IT pros: Visit the TechNet forums.)
Get the latest preview builds by keeping your PC plugged in and turned on.
From time to time as new features are released, we will contact you via email to keep you in the loop on the latest. Be sure the Windows Insider Program is on your trusted sender list. You can also read the announcements in the forums.
Thanks again. Together we will make this Windows the best Windows ever!
The Windows Team
________________________________________
This email is sent from an unmonitored address, please do not reply. Please use links inline above to get additional information or help.
Microsoft respects your privacy. To learn more please read our online Privacy Statement.
This is a mandatory service communication. If you wish to stop receiving emails about the Windows Insider Program, you will need to leave the program.
To set your contact preferences for other Microsoft communications click here.
Microsoft Corporation
One Microsoft Way
Redmond, WA 98052 USA
Thought the body of the email I just received might interest some;
________________________________________
Windows Insider Program | Before you install | How-to | Windows Feedback app | Forum
________________________________________
Welcome to the Windows Insider Program,
Now that you're a Windows Insider, you'll be among the first to discover the new features and capabilities of Windows Technical Preview. We’re thankful for your willingness to give feedback on these early builds of Windows. Together, we’re building the future of Windows. Let’s get started.
Be sure to set up your PC
If you haven’t already, make sure you install Tech Preview. (If you're an IT pro testing Windows for your organization, download Windows Technical Preview for Enterprise.) This is an early preview. See Before you install to ensure downloading it is right for you and your PC.
Once you're set up
Here’s how to share your feedback and stay up-to-date as an Insider:
Use your registered PC to experience Tech Preview.
Send us feedback and report problems through the Windows Feedback app.
Visit the Windows Technical Preview forum to ask questions, get answers, and talk with other Insiders. (IT pros: Visit the TechNet forums.)
Get the latest preview builds by keeping your PC plugged in and turned on.
From time to time as new features are released, we will contact you via email to keep you in the loop on the latest. Be sure the Windows Insider Program is on your trusted sender list. You can also read the announcements in the forums.
Thanks again. Together we will make this Windows the best Windows ever!
The Windows Team
________________________________________
This email is sent from an unmonitored address, please do not reply. Please use links inline above to get additional information or help.
Microsoft respects your privacy. To learn more please read our online Privacy Statement.
This is a mandatory service communication. If you wish to stop receiving emails about the Windows Insider Program, you will need to leave the program.
To set your contact preferences for other Microsoft communications click here.
Microsoft Corporation
One Microsoft Way
Redmond, WA 98052 USA
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