Editorial Windows 8.1, and Why You Should Let Go of Windows 7

[ManofGod]

Yeah yeah, M$, keep your toys'r'us SO to yourself, grow a pair and recognize you are not Apple. Nobody wants the full M$ toddler's device experience, and you have no pack of million brainwashed fans (maybe console ones, but that changed a bit lately, right? Who knows why...) Apple can even sell a buttscratcher with their logo on it...
M$ might be going to the gutter and I can't say it's not deserved...

Too bad Linux gaming is still lagging behind, otherwise Windows would be really on free fall (even more than now)... IE effect all over again. Fingers crossed for Valve/Steam... PCGA could also do something about it if they actually did something for a change, but anyway... probably there are other intere$ts involved.

Let's at least hope Ballmer takes some extended vacations soon.

Look, you can have your opinion all you want but, I think this is one of the stupidest arguments I hear on the internet all the time. Right, I am going to run out and rebuy all my games just so I can run them on Linux if I could. wtf: Windows is successful because it works well and has excellent backwards compatibility.

I like Linux and all other Operating systems as well but, Windows is still the most popular and often the best solution, hands down. But, if you want to rebuy all your games, go for it. (I am sure the profit managers will thank you.)

 

[Pjokerxp_]

so which Linux versions is best? I hear Linux mint good?

 

[ManofGod]

That was a waste of reading time.

If you think MS should be Apple, you can agree that 8 and 8.1 are a reasonable step forward. They can introduce a marketplace that they control, force developers to pay for the ability to be featured on their store, then make a GUI homogenization that customers demonstrably don't want. All of this offers "better stability and a more unified experience" from device to device.

In a perfect world, this sounds great. In reality, Windows phone became Windows everything. Homogenization for the sake of homogenization is stupid. Minor performance increases (which the article concedes are chipped away by less than useful widgets), an as yet unused directx variant, and quicker booting are not worth the extra expense. People are telling MS this by not buying it, but they want to find a different answer.

Despite this evidence, you praise MS for an as yet unreleased OS. To judge without any concrete evidence is hubris. The community may be beta testing, but this means nothing about the final OS. Blindly accepting whatever we get, and praising the "gift" we have been given, is stupid.



To the author; wow. You have often dabbled into the area of a corporate sales person. It has been tolerable, but this tears it. You write from a bias that is not informative. The reason I read an editorial is that the author instills value into their opinions. As you don't explicitly offer why I should give a damn about your words in the article, I have to rely on your track record. For every informative point you've made in the past week you've written a corresponding article blatantly praising a company without any thought. Fluff pieces for the sake of pushing an agenda do not warrant my attention to your opinions. Perhaps you can provide something substantive, but your track record indicates otherwise.

To whit, your article is fluff. It deserves the responses it is getting, as the title is troll baiting 101. I'm done reading your work until editorial credibility can be established.

Promise? I see that because he does not write something you can agree with, it is troll bait? LOL. Well, I actually appreciated what he had to say but then again, I do not get all bent out of shape over an OS like I used to 10 years ago.

 

[JDG1980]

For me, the biggest showstopper with Windows 8 isn't the Start Menu (there are, after all, several third-party utilities that bring this back). It's the fact that for some inexplicable reason, they decided to center the title bar text! This sounds like a small thing, but during the few times I tried to use Windows 8, it was the one thing I found most persistently annoying. I've been using Windows since the Win95 era, and my eyes are used to looking for the title bar text on the left. Now, for some reason, they've decided to go back to the 3.1 era and center the text. Centered text may look nicer in screenshots, but it's slower to read since you don't have a fixed position to start!

Also, the new desktop theme is much uglier than Aero. I know they may have designed it to reduce the GPU load on portable devices, but I have a desktop system with a decent video card, so why can't I have an option to turn back on the much nicer-looking Aero effects?

For that matter, since Windows has been capable of theming since the XP era, why does Microsoft insist on locking it down? The engine is fully capable of allowing custom display themes, but only those digitally signed by MS will run, unless you hack a DLL. There's no good reason for this. If the entire UI was customizable (perhaps through XAML), then most of the objections to Windows 8 would melt away, since users could make it look however they wanted and felt most comfortable with.

 

[trickson]

One thing I know I do not like is the pictograph crap. Just what the hell? I mean talk about dumbing down. Really? Plain cheep generic Pictographs? Why is it they just didn't leave every thing alone? Couldn't they just have some how integrated all the touch options needed for any OS as a "Patch" and also put out this POS at the same time? Making it possible for every user to just go out buy up a touch screen and plug it in to your CURRENT desktop (Or other devices) And have fun? NO! They have to make it so much better for every one. I just feel smarter than the rest of the world when I use every thing from Microsoft up to now. It's like the IQ of every one just dropped 150 points. And to top it off people are loving it! It looks like the world is really turning into the Movie Idiocracy.
Plain cheep looking Pictographs. Really?

 

[lemonadesoda]

Slow news day. Raining. Nothing worth playing... EDITORIAL

 

[btarunr]

Slow news day. Raining. Nothing worth playing... EDITORIAL

Add "Saturday" and "weekend in most parts of the world" to that list.

 

[Ravenas]

A decade from now all of the people complaining about the Windows 8 format will have adopted it and will then complain when they change the format again.

 

[RCoon]

A decade from now all of the people complaining about the Windows 8 format will have adopted it and will then complain when they change the format again.

If it aint broke, fix it until it is?

 

[WaroDaBeast]

I like Linux and all other Operating systems as well but, Windows is still the most popular and often the best solution, hands down. But, if you want to rebuy all your games, go for it. (I am sure the profit managers will thank you.)

Next thing you know is you're gonna tell us Linux needs video and sound files to be converted in order for them to play?

Don't laugh just yet, guys — I've actually had someone tell me they were afraid of using Linux because of us supposedly needing to convert files...

You don't need to buy games a second time for them to run under Linux. They only need a Linux installer and your games will work under Linux (that is the case for UT2004 and Prey). Then, there are games on Steam or on gog.com that run natively under Linux.

Now, granted, the list isn't that long, but in no way we are required to buy a game a second time.

Tell you what, I don't think you actually like Linux as much as you say you do.

so which Linux versions is best? I hear Linux mint good?

I once tried Mint, but didn't like the desktop environment. I think it was cinnamon or something. Well, I ended up trying Manjaro, and it's been nothing but great. It's basically Archlinux (a very powerful distro), only for human beings. People who've tried Archlinux before will know what I'm talking about...

Feel free to ask me more on Manjaro. I think it's great that some of us are interested in other operating systems.

 

[xorbe]

The first paragraph sets up a false basis that all of us ran out and bought ipads and tablets, and/or approved that it was a positive change away from computers with keyboards. I know multiple people that have postponed buying a new laptop because they don't want Win8.

 

[ManofGod]

Next thing you know is you're gonna tell us Linux needs video and sound files to be converted in order for them to play?

Don't laugh just yet, guys — I've actually had someone tell me they were afraid of using Linux because of us supposedly needing to convert files...

You don't need to buy games a second time for them to run under Linux. They only need a Linux installer and your games will work under Linux (that is the case for UT2004 and Prey). Then, there are games on Steam or on gog.com that run natively under Linux.

Now, granted, the list isn't that long, but in no way we are required to buy a game a second time.

Tell you what, I don't think you actually like Linux as much as you say you do.




I once tried Mint, but didn't like the desktop environment. I think it was cinnamon or something. Well, I ended up trying Manjaro, and it's been nothing but great. It's basically Archlinux (a very powerful distro), only for human beings. People who've tried Archlinux before will know what I'm talking about...

Feel free to ask me more on Manjaro. I think it's great that some of us are interested in other operating systems.

Oh cool, so ALL my steam games, origin games, boxed games, gamefly games, greenmangaming games, Good old Gaming Games, Gamestop digital games and other digital download games will all play on Linux natively out of the box for free, great! Yes, if you want a Linux version of a game, lets say the original Crysis, you will have to buy it again. (Of course, there will never be a native Crysis for Linux anyways so that point is only hypothetical anyways.)

I like all OSes but I am going to use what is best for the job. For gaming, that is windows. (Windows is best for the job in many other areas as well but, we were speaking of gaming at this point.)

 

[hellrazor]

We need to be able to sage threads.

 

[2wicked]

I'm so pleased with win 8.x That I would like to give every microsoft employee that worked on it a new car. That car would be equipped with a four-way joystick instead of a steering wheel and extralarge dumbed down win3.11 looking icons on the dash.

 

[newtekie1]

I'm so pleased with win 8.x That I would like to give every microsoft employee that worked on it a new car. That car would be equipped with a four-way joystick instead of a steering wheel and extralarge dumbed down win3.11 looking icons on the dash.

And every time you turn on the turn signal a screen pops up and completely blocks the windshield.

 

[2wicked]

And every time you turn on the turn signal a screen pops up and completely blocks the windshield.

Shouldn't be giving them all the extra options next thing you know they will want a push to start button.

 

[TheMailMan78]

First off I want to thank bta for an excellent editorial not filled with random Robin Hood references of greedy corporations taking advantage of people by distributing the corporations product how they see fit.

Also I would like to inform people on here playing the same old song that they hate change that they are a niche market. A niche market that is RAPIDLY shrinking. PC enthusiasts are one step away from HAM radio operators. Your opinion of an OS has ZERO weight on the market trend we are currently in. Tablets, smart phones and smart TV's are the future. The sad little grasping on an era of bygone days is not only sad but embarrassing to me as a member of a tech community that used to pride itself on keeping up with the latest hardware/software.

Windows 8 is different. Its not bad because its different. Its what the future holds and the longer you fight it the more you sound like that grumpy old man who refuses to use his grandsons computer because snail mail is just fine. I've used Windows 8 now in a fast production environment (making money) and once I learned how and where everything was I can tell you its far more intuitive than windows 7 ever was. Never mind vastly more secure. I'm not afraid of change in the tech world. I not only expect it.....I WELCOME IT. That's what REAL enthusiasts do.

On a final note to the people attacking Bta.......You mental giants in all your wisdom should go and start your own website. I'm sure it will steal all the traffic from Techpowerup with your vast tech knowledge and vendor contacts. W1zz will be cleaning your toilets in a week and you will have all the Bettys pulling on your shorts........I'm sure you will be a huge success indeed. Don't let TPU hold you back any longer. Leave! The world is starving for your mental wisdom you juggernauts of knowledge!

 

[eidairaman1]

ive used 8 before and ive seen several customers with it (Uverse Tech Here) and Id rather customers have Windows 7 or XP.

 

[erocker]

I'm not afraid of change in the tech world. I not only expect it.....I WELCOME IT. That's what REAL enthusiasts do.

I lol'd. Enthusiast.

 

[eidairaman1]

why change something that has worked for desktop users for decades?

 

[naoan]

First off I want to thank bta for an excellent editorial not filled with random Robin Hood references of greedy corporations taking advantage of people by distributing the corporations product how they see fit.

Also I would like to inform people on here playing the same old song that they hate change that they are a niche market. A niche market that is RAPIDLY shrinking. PC enthusiasts are one step away from HAM radio operators. Your opinion of an OS has ZERO weight on the market trend we are currently in. Tablets, smart phones and smart TV's are the future. The sad little grasping on an era of bygone days is not only sad but embarrassing to me as a member of a tech community that used to pride itself on keeping up with the latest hardware/software.

Windows 8 is different. Its not bad because its different. Its what the future holds and the longer you fight it the more you sound like that grumpy old man who refuses to use his grandsons computer because snail mail is just fine. I've used Windows 8 now in a fast production environment (making money) and once I learned how and where everything was I can tell you its far more intuitive than windows 7 ever was. Never mind vastly more secure. I'm not afraid of change in the tech world. I not only expect it.....I WELCOME IT. That's what REAL enthusiasts do.

On a final note to the people attacking Bta.......You mental giants in all your wisdom should go and start your own website. I'm sure it will steal all the traffic from Techpowerup with your vast tech knowledge and vendor contacts. W1zz will be cleaning your toilets in a week and you will have all the Bettys pulling on your shorts........I'm sure you will be a huge success indeed. Don't let TPU hold you back any longer. Leave! The world is starving for your mental wisdom you juggernauts of knowledge!

I will patiently await until MS require you to kick yourself in the nut (or something akin to that effect) to log into their newest greatest OS with "change".

 

[MxPhenom 216]

1rule- put back the real start menu that's been used since xp, put back the Aero interfce.

You know, there's an OS for that. Its called Windows 7.

 

[rtwjunkie]

ref Mailman's fiery sermon: Let's see....everyone I personally know, young and up to middle age has a PC, and only uses tablets and smartphones AWAY from the home, but not for their primary or enthusiast tasks when home, and then there's the ever-increasing numbers of pc parts sold. Nope...as an enthusiast I'm definitely not in a rapidly shrinking niche market. What I am in is a market that has room for people to have lots of computer related toys...as do I, so I believe I have indeed embraced change.

And I don't believe very many on here have personally attacked bta (those few that have are the exception), but I believe we are all voicing our opinion in response to what is obviously an EDITORIAL, which is in itself opinion. For centuries, editorials have invited return opinion both in agreement and against the premise of the editorial. I don't believe any of us should be called out for voicing our own opinion, whether for or against, unless the rules have changed and this is now an autocracy that allows only one viewpoint?

Just my 2 cents and opinion.

 

[FordGT90Concept]

why change something that has worked for desktop users for decades?

Because what happened in computing decades ago is hardly relevant today. The majority of people only use their computer for three or four things. Those tasks are better served by Metro. Micosoft is trying to find a balance between computing a decade ago and computing a decade from now.

 

[xorbe]

why change something that has worked for desktop users for decades?

Change for the sake of change, sigh ...