John,
I'm going to top-post this just for ease of reading my response to your
comments but I'll leave the thread in-tact so others can read it and then
understand the rest.
1. Usability. Win8 with only a mouse is an exercise in frustration. It is
difficult to do gestures, say a side swipe with a high precision mouse
because the ergonomics are different. Add the fact that the Win8 interface
(the underbelly) is not really intuitive on how to access Settings or other
Personalization features. The so-called Metro GUI will get better I feel
even if MS doesn't touch it, others most certainly will bend it to their
will and we'll all benefit from their efforts.
2. Security. Now embedded in Win8. I have a number of computers and I've
test driven a Win8 system into some well known sites that like to hijack
your browser and drop Trojan's. When accessed on my other Win7 systems (well
protected), I get all sorts of red-flags by my antivirus software as well as
redirects by DynDNS telling me the site is bad. Win8 never missed a beat
either and stopped the malware action and/or quarantined the download. So
far no malware has penetrated Win8 defenses but surely they will. That
makes the Win8 restoration process a valuable tool. I've only played with it
a couple of times so I don't know all the in's and out's except that it
worked.
3. While it will be a long time before the enterprise installations convert
from their PC's to tabletop / tablet / wallboard screen systems for everyday
use, it will happen. Right now we see more and more uses for tablets being
used in law enforcement as well in military and industrial scenarios where
portability is key and ease of use is paramount. Even the iPad has drawbacks
and it's been around a lot longer... Win8 is not going away but it will get
better simply because users will make their demands known. It may in fact be
called Win9 by then but hey, we've evolved from Win 3.1 - remember those
days....
Now I'm sure the purists will climb all over me for top-posting so I'll get
my fire retardant shorts ready.
Thanks for you kind comment,
Bob S.
"J. P. Gilliver (John)" wrote in message
This IMO is about the most objective post I've seen on the subject (of 7
vs 8) so far.
I have several systems and a laptop all setup for dual booting either Win7
or Win8 so I can learn / play / experiment. Win8 is useful and efficient
(for most functions) on a tablet or touch screen set up. And yes, Win8 does
have some distinct advantages over Win7 in several aspects but what those
are depends on how and what you use it for obviously. Win8 will grow on
you - just as your Android devices have. It does have better security and
more usability (less geeky).[/QUOTE]
(Care to expand on the latter?)
If you don't like the Win8 GUI you can always install a shell interface
that gives you a Win7 GUI experience. That works nicely on a Win8
installation on a PC or laptop that does not have a touchscreen or Touchpad
device and gives you the Win8 advantages with the familiar
Which are (for non-touchscreen users) - the security and usability you
mention above, or others?
Win7 feel. Classic Shell is free
http://www.classicshell.net/ and I've not
had any problems using it. And you can still access the Win8 GUI...
[FWIW the few minutes I had to play with a W8 machine - for an elderly
person who had got used to her 7 - I agree, CS - free - is good; I just
didn't have time to see if 8+CS was actually better than 7. (She'd
bought a new PC because something wrong with the old one: I hadn't been
able to stop her as I didn't know 'till too late {she traded in the old
one}.)]
You do not need the TouchPad or the SSD - I only suggest those so that you
will get the most benefit from Win8. There are things I don't like about
it but they really boil down to "Now where in the hell did they hide it..."
or how can I do such and such. May as well get used to it and get ahead of
the curve a bit so you can use it comfortably and make it work for you -
versus frustration later.
I fear that is the case; new PCs from the usual suspects, i. e. where
most people are going to buy them (in UK anyway), have 8, so we'd better
get used to it.
