Upgrade to Windows 8?

[James Silverton]

Bad solution, far inferior to a touchscreen since you still have to
drive a pointer.
Any mous is more comfortable.

Interesting! I've more or less gotten the multifinger gestures learned
for the iPad but I think I might get my hands tied in knots while trying
to remember to use three or four fingers.

 

[Paul]

In message <[email protected]>, Wolf K

Be aware that W8 enforces NX: if your CPU can't do it, W8 will stop
the install and revert to whatever you have. Other than that, if your
hardware runs W7, it will run W8. There may be odd-ball exceptions to
this, but I've not heard of any.

(I doubt I'd install it; it'd be a new machine. As it would for the vast
majority of users; tech-savvy [or at least OS-etc.-savvy] people like
the users of this newsgroup are the exception, I think.)

The NX/XD limitation, results in a fairly small window of opportunity for
older computers. My current desktop is the only one completely compatible.
My second best machine has NX/XD, but there's no video driver for it in
Win8. The second machine stays at 1024x768 as a result, while in Win8.
Good thing I tested that using the preview versions of Windows 8.

*******

None of my machines have SLAT, and as a result, I can't use the
free Hyper-V microsoft offers in Win8. I can't even find SLAT on the
ark.intel.com site, to figure out what I'd need to buy to get there...
(SLAT is Second Level Address Translation, whatever that means.)

Ah, I see here, there are actually two other acronyms I should
have been using. SLAT = EPT or RVI. Or even NP (Nested Page Tables) ?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Level_Address_Translation

This is why it helps to evaluate this stuff using Preview versions first.
Occasionally you catch an issue, before wasting $39.95.

Paul

 

[J. P. Gilliver (John)]

(I'm watching this long-running debate with interest, from my XP machine
[which is configured to look a lot like '9x - square corners to windows
and no big red X - though I like XP {except NTFS} and wouldn't go back
to '9x].)

NTFS might have been the thing I liked BEST about later Win OS's. Finally, I
could deal with large files without breaking them into smaller chunks, as I
had to do under FAT32.

Ah, that's where we differ - I never had a file that large, and missed
the ability to use a DOS floppy. Academic now - NTFS (or its successor?)
is here to stay; I don't know if 7 or 8 can even be installed on a
FATxx-based system.

 

[Gene E. Bloch]

(I can't see _ever_ buying a new system _just_ to play with a new OS -
though I'm sure some people might. My usual reason for buying a new
system would be because of something I want to do that my current one
can't [regardless of OS].)

Well, a decade or so ago I had a computer on which I installed 5 OSes
just to play with them. Windows, a couple of Linices, BeOS, and some
other lost in the mists of time.

It didn't take me long to get bored, and I never tried that again.
Proving that I can learn, at least a little

 

[J. P. Gilliver (John)]

(I can't see _ever_ buying a new system _just_ to play with a new OS -
though I'm sure some people might. My usual reason for buying a new
system would be because of something I want to do that my current one
can't [regardless of OS].)

Well, a decade or so ago I had a computer on which I installed 5 OSes
just to play with them. Windows, a couple of Linices, BeOS, and some
other lost in the mists of time.

Yes, but had you actually bought it for that purpose, or was it just one
you happened to have (perhaps made redundant by the purchase of
another)?

It didn't take me long to get bored, and I never tried that again.
Proving that I can learn, at least a little

(-:

 

[Laszlo Lebrun]

Interesting! I've more or less gotten the multifinger gestures learned
for the iPad but I think I might get my hands tied in knots while trying
to remember to use three or four fingers.

The problem is less the number of fingers and the gestures, the problem
is that the basic way of working is very different:
-on a touchscreen you touch the wanted location and you are done.
-with a trackpad you must search for the cursor, place the cusor where
you want (which is far less convenient than with a mouse), only then you
can apply your action. That sucks.

 

[Krypto]

The problem is less the number of fingers and the gestures, the problem
is that the basic way of working is very different:
-on a touchscreen you touch the wanted location and you are done.
-with a trackpad you must search for the cursor, place the cusor where
you want (which is far less convenient than with a mouse), only then you
can apply your action. That sucks.

I installed Windows 8 on my spare SSD. IMHO, Windows 8 is OK after
declining all the new MS security options, turning UAC off, and
installing Start 8. it is about the same as Windows 7, maybe a bit
faster. I never see the 'ugly' metro start screen as Start 8 boots
right to the desktop very fast with the SSD. A couple of keyboard
shortcuts gets you past all that bumping your mouse in the corner to
get at settings, control panel etc. Win 8 seems very stable and has a
few more useful tools for fixing the OS. All in all I don't mind Win
8.

But:
The downside is that some programs won't work with Win 8, ie: Norton
Ghost 15, Newsleecher, Erunt and a few more of my favorites. This
happens with all new OS's though as it takes the software companies
some time to release Win 8 compatible versions.

F8 does not get you into safe mode with Win 8. There are two
approaches to getting Safe Mode in Windows 8. Either you will have a
machine that can boot up normally, where it’s much easier to get into
Safe Mode, or you will have a computer that is failing to reboot in
normal mode, where you will have to rely on Windows 8’s Recovery
Console (boot from DVD) to get the safe mode. This sucks!

Windows 8 has more steps and clicks than Win 7 to accomplish exactly
the same thing and some things are not intuitive. Win 7 works
perfectly for me, so I don't feel there is any reason to go to Win 8
at this time. Maybe after SP1 I will take another look.

 

[Paul]

But:
The downside is that some programs won't work with Win 8, ie: Norton
Ghost 15, Newsleecher, Erunt and a few more of my favorites. This
happens with all new OS's though as it takes the software companies
some time to release Win 8 compatible versions.

If that's the case, maybe installing the 32 bit version of Win 8 would help.
In case the common element of the failing apps, is 16 bit code.

The x64 OS supports 64 bit and 32 bit.

The x32 OS supports 32 bit and 16 bit. And some program installers
still have 16 bit code.

I tried to run my copy of MD5sum on my Win8 x64 install, and it wouldn't
run. So I suspect that's got some 16 bit code in it as well.

Paul

 

[Dave-UK]

But:
The downside is that some programs won't work with Win 8, ie: Norton
Ghost 15, Newsleecher, Erunt and a few more of my favorites. This
happens with all new OS's though as it takes the software companies
some time to release Win 8 compatible versions.

If you've turned UAC off then Erunt should work . Alternatively, you can set up
a schedule to run it at start up.

 

[charlie]

I did the upgrade from Win7 and frankly it's not worth the trouble.
Yes, there are some slight improvements in some areas, for example,
the windows that track progress when you copy files are nicer and have
more info to look at but the functionality is no different that I can
tell. Some of the menus work more cleverly. But the overall look
from an esthetic standpoint stinks. I was given a computer that was
better than the one I was using so I put my Win7 onto that one and I'm
sticking with Win7. Also, win8 doesn't come with Media center,
although I was able to get it for free from MS after waiting a week
for the license code. Not sure if they still give it away for free or
whether my free copy will work sometime in the future should I ever
decide to use my Win8 that's sitting on the shelf. All that said, had
I stuck with my old computer that I'd put Win8 on I would not have
degraded it back to Win7, wouldn't have been worth the trouble.

It's "worth the trouble" to me!
If customers don't want win 8, my MS stock doesn't increase in price,
and the dividends will likely drop. Since I'm (sort of) retired, this
can be a big deal!

Having said that,The last three systems I setup started out with win 8,
and were downgraded at customer's requests and expense to win 7 SP1,
including the ~160 Win 7 updates. (I stopped counting!)

Microsoft really really needs to offer an install option to install a
version of the "classic" GUI. I'm not a fan of "AERO",due to the extra
burden and resulting loss of performance on the older systems. It seems
to do OK with higher clock rate CPUs and newer graphics cards.

I believe MS may be betting a good part of the farm on tablets and
cellphones. In the long run, this may work out. I'm more concerned about
the next couple of years. The Apple successes in this area are likely
acting as an irritating "goad".

 

[Ashton Crusher]

It's "worth the trouble" to me!
If customers don't want win 8, my MS stock doesn't increase in price,
and the dividends will likely drop. Since I'm (sort of) retired, this
can be a big deal!

Having said that,The last three systems I setup started out with win 8,
and were downgraded at customer's requests and expense to win 7 SP1,
including the ~160 Win 7 updates. (I stopped counting!)

Microsoft really really needs to offer an install option to install a
version of the "classic" GUI. I'm not a fan of "AERO",due to the extra
burden and resulting loss of performance on the older systems. It seems
to do OK with higher clock rate CPUs and newer graphics cards.

If my memory is correct, AERO can be pretty much turned off thru the
control panel.

I believe MS may be betting a good part of the farm on tablets and
cellphones. In the long run, this may work out. I'm more concerned about
the next couple of years. The Apple successes in this area are likely
acting as an irritating "goad".

You may be correct.

 

[Dave \Crash\ Dummy]

If my memory is correct, AERO can be pretty much turned off thru the
control panel.

Yes. There are 6 non Aero themes available, including Windows Classic,
which I use. It has square corners and selectable fonts, colors, etc.