win8? yes or no.

[gerrman97]

didnt really know where to post this thread, so feel free to move it, our Kind Moderators. anyway, i simply want to know wether or not you would use windows 8, windows 7, or xp(not including vista, stupid to ask) on your pc, while dual booting ubuntu, or just by itself. i have installed Win8, and i dont really mind it, its smooth enough, and not as faulty as win7. though, if i were able to, id move back to xp. i love the old-style feel of it. i remember windows 98, and its slow, slothy feel. its ok. i miss the old days.

[pqwoerituytrueiwoq]

community cafe -> recurring discussion

assuming i am dual booting, a second linux install :)
if i never need windows i would just put XP or 7 in a virtualbox

[kurt18947]

I'd probably go with Windows 7. I think that's going to be the new XP and it's supported 'til 2019 or 2020. Windows 8 with one of the add-ons like classic desktop may be fine, I've never used it. I'm glad to not be planning any new PC purchases in the next year. Let UEFI and Secure Boot mature.

[3rdalbum]

I have Windows 8 preview on my system as a dual-boot, but you know what? I think it expired in February. I haven't booted Windows for months.

I only had it to give it a try. If I wanted to have a functional dual-boot, I'd install Vista or 7. I use Windows 7 at work (I don't have a choice of OS there) and it's... usable.

[stinkeye]

Still have XP on it's own HDD just to play my favourite FPS game, SOF2.
Can't stand using it for anything else though...play a couple of maps then I'm outa there.
Don't see any need to update to Win 7 or 8...9 etc etc.Still have 2 XP install disks and XP suits my purpose.

[Linuxratty]

I've not used Windows in years,so the answer is no.

[evilsoup]

Windows 8 is actually pretty great; the start interface is very similar to Unity - though I do think that Unity has done the basic concept better (because the home lens searches files AND programs at the same time, without me having to click on anything). However, there are still some niche programs that don't work well on Windows 8 vs Windows 7 (Lightworks, in my case) - that's one of the reasons why the conventional Windows-world wisdom is 'don't use the latest version of Windows until Service Pack 1'.

So, I think that Win8 is a step up from Win7, but for now I would recommend Win7.

[perrya]

I have Windows 8 preview on my system as a dual-boot, but you know what? I think it expired in February. I haven't booted Windows for months.

I only had it to give it a try. If I wanted to have a functional dual-boot, I'd install Vista or 7. I use Windows 7 at work (I don't have a choice of OS there) and it's... usable.

Has anyone tried their luck with VirtualBox, I did and I must say it's pretty amazing. Then again using it on a late 2012 iMac anything is going to be amazing.

;)

[Erik1984]

Windows 8 is not bad, I'm using it myself right now. But when it comes down to dual booting I wish I still had Windows 7. Windows 8 has this annoying feature of semi-hibernating in stead of shutting down. I know it can be turned off but even when I disable "fast startup" (or something like that, I don't have the English version of 8) Ubuntu always mounts the NTFS partition for C:\ as read only.

Related: UEFI can be a PITA too as I've learned from some recent support threads. Luckily on my system it seems to be pretty friendly and it was easy to get Ubuntu 12.10 booted and installed. All in all I prefer the old situation of a classic 'dumb' BIOS and a Windows that acutually shuts down when telling it to ;)

[iamkuriouspurpleoranj]

Funnily enough, though I'm a Linux mono-booter I was favorably disposed towards Windows 8. Until I used it.

Metro looks great. Really great, in my opinion. Hats off to the graphical designers. However, I did not enjoy the experience after the initial thrill. Web apps always feel cheap and tacky and not like proper computing.

[fyfe54]

No.

I had Win7 on this laptop before I installed Ubuntu. Have since hosed Win7. Played with Win8 on a laptop my daughter bought recentpy. Our reactions were the same, "What the expletive deleted is this?" Short term, she has disabled those silly tile things and is back to an almost bearable desktop that is something like Win7. Long term? We shall see.

[y6FgBn)~v]

I've not used Windows in years,so the answer is no.

+1

[Primefalcon]

havn't used windows since about 2006 so..... not really all that familiar with windows anymore

[Bathroth]

If you really want a Windows on your Computer as second install - you should choose to 7!

XP - outdated (arround 350 days and the support + updates will be = 0)
Vista - Like you said - no need to talk about
7 - stable release of Microsoft. Many viruses, worms + hackers enter easily. Easy to handle. Network features low + errors (domain erros - registry fails).
8 - no experience!

So 7 still isnt a good choice - but its the choice you should take if you really want to have windows (not sure about 8)

Regards

[monkeybrain2012]

No Windows on my machine except XP on virtual box for one app. Can't stand Windows and MicroSoft.

[JayKay3OOO]

Windows 7 - for desktop / laptop use without a touch screen and for everything, work and play.

Windows 8 - If you have a touch screen computer or a Windows 8 tablet then get Windows 8 on it right now.

If you stay with Windows 7 you're only really missing the touch screen tiles with the new look, but note that not all applications run under the tiled interface (it has a name.... unity? no...) and a software centre or app store (depending on your lingo). And new more polished looking applications designed to make use of all that screen real estate and run in a more full screen style. Windows 8 also comes with virus protection built in unlike all the rest that require a download of some sort. I.e Windows security essentials. IMHO W8 is more Windows 7.1 I.e Windows 7 with a few tweaks and Metro dumped in as an option. Rather than what most people wanted Windows 8 - Metro only.

However if you use Kubuntu then you can get the task bar application button look and Linux will rip DVDs and music, enable to do your school work, tune your guitar let you browse the net, watch films and pretty much everything else windows does except play the latest PC game. Only thing I've found Linux can't do. Everything else. Sorted.

[forrestcupp]

If you have a 3rd party Start menu installed that bypasses ModernUI (Metro), Windows 8 is pretty awesome, and it's better than Windows 7. Windows 8 is faster and more stable than Win7, and the minor desktop enhancements are pretty nice. Someone mentioned sticking with Win7 until Win8 has a service pack, but that's not good advice in my opinion. Windows 8 is already more stable than Windows 7, even before getting any service packs.


Windows 8 is not bad, I'm using it myself right now. But when it comes down to dual booting I wish I still had Windows 7. Windows 8 has this annoying feature of semi-hibernating in stead of shutting down. I know it can be turned off but even when I disable "fast startup" (or something like that, I don't have the English version of 8)Yeah, that one thing is kind of a pain. If you don't have that turned off, it makes it annoying if you need to dual boot or go to the boot menu to boot to a different device. But if you're not dual booting, it's kind of nice because it makes it seem like your computer boots very fast.

[mastablasta]

7 - stable release of Microsoft. Many viruses, worms + hackers enter easily. Easy to handle. Network features low + errors (domain erros - registry fails).


Really? we have thousands of them in the company and so far no viruses have entered them. it's all in the setup and additioanl tools.

anyway they say 8 with classic menu option/addon is faster, and more stabel than 7.

[BrokenKingpin]

If you need Windows, go with Win7 if you do not have a touchscreen, and Win8 if you do. Or use Win8 and use some of the patches out there to turn of the Metro stuff and make it work like Win7. Win8 is actually pretty damn good with a touchscreen.

XP is out of the question, it is old and it sucks. I am not sure why people hate on Vista so much, it was a bit buggy when it fist shipped, but there was a lot of new technology in that release, so it is understandable. It is not like we have never got a buggy Ubuntu release when new stuff goes in. Vista had a lot of good stuff, like the new start menu, Aero, and the fact it could actually find drivers. And of course it was heaver than XP, new features have a cost in performance... good thing computers advanced in performance between XP and Vista being released.

[Algus]

The only thing I need Windows for is playing computer games and I don't play much new stuff anymore.

[Jonathan Andrew Upton]

I reject all forms of closed source software, so Windows 8 is a definite NO on my verdict.

[AllRadioisDead]

This thread can pretty much be surmised by people coming in here and saying 'I don't use/like windows, so I wouldn't know'.

It's pretty sad that such a thing has become a bragging right around here.

Windows 8 is a great release. Personally I enjoy it a lot more on a laptop because of gestures on the trackpad, but I also run it on my desktop and it's extremely fluid.

[forrestcupp]

Really? we have thousands of them in the company and so far no viruses have entered them. it's all in the setup and additioanl tools.

anyway they say 8 with classic menu option/addon is faster, and more stabel than 7.It's also a lot about your use habits. I don't have an anti-virus installed at all, and I never have any problems. If you mess with untrusted sites and emails, you're asking for trouble. And you're right about Win8


If you need Windows, go with Win7 if you do not have a touchscreen, and Win8 if you do. Or use Win8 and use some of the patches out there to turn of the Metro stuff and make it work like Win7. Win8 is actually pretty damn good with a touchscreen.My opinion from experience is that if you're going to use Windows, use whatever comes on the computer. Windows 8 with a 3rd party Start menu is significantly better than Windows 7, but not enough better to spend the money on an upgrade. If I had my choice of both, I definitely wouldn't go with Windows 7. Windows 8 is faster and more stable, and if you can bypass Metro, it's pretty much a better version of Win7. It's a good choice, even if you don't have a touch screen. I'll bet Microsoft isn't happy that a lot of people are bypassing their new innovation, though. :)


This thread can pretty much be surmised by people coming in here and saying 'I don't use/like windows, so I wouldn't know'.

It's pretty sad that such a thing has become a bragging right around here.That's not really true. If you read through this thread, there are people on here talking positively about Win8.

[tartalo]

If you mess with untrusted sites and emails, you're asking for trouble.
This shouldn't be understood as "don't go to porn sites" as many people think, but as "don't allow advertisement servers run random code in your browser"

[monkeybrain2012]

This thread can pretty much be surmised by people coming in here and saying 'I don't use/like windows, so I wouldn't know'.

It's pretty sad that such a thing has become a bragging right around here.

Windows 8 is a great release. Personally I enjoy it a lot more on a laptop because of gestures on the trackpad, but I also run it on my desktop and it's extremely fluid.

Why is that 'sad'? I find it pretty sad that some people are hanging out at UF apparently for ths sole purpose of advertising for MS. I am not saying most people who also use Win do that, but there are one or two people whose posting history is mostly bragging about alleged Windows superiority.

[Sef]

I find it pretty sad that some people are hanging out at UF apparently for ths sole purpose of advertising for MS. I am not saying most people who also use Win do that, but there are one or two people whose posting history is mostly bragging about alleged Windows superiority.

If you think that someone is trolling please click the Report Post button on the bottom left.

[andrew.46]

Windows 8 can be tamed, There is Classic Shell:

http://classicshell.sourceforge.net/

and Console2:

http://sourceforge.net/projects/console-devel/

I use both of these with Windows 8 in VM and it is a bearable experience :)

[mips]

If you have a 3rd party Start menu installed that bypasses ModernUI (Metro), Windows 8 is pretty awesome, and it's better than Windows 7. Windows 8 is faster and more stable than Win7, and the minor desktop enhancements are pretty nice.

This ^^

You can get a start menu and disable the metro stuff & fullscreen apps.
If you like the WinXP look then then you can go into system settings somewhere and set it for 'best performance' which will disable all the flashy windows stuff.

http://reviews.cnet.co.uk/software-and-web-apps/how-to-make-windows-8-look-like-windows-7-50009546/
That big tiled start screen you can disable via a registry hack.

Modernmix (http://www.stardock.com/products/modernmix/index.asp) from the makers of Startdock will allow you to disable the fullscreen apps and run them in windowed mode.

[forrestcupp]

This shouldn't be understood as "don't go to porn sites" as many people think, but as "don't allow advertisement servers run random code in your browser"It helps if you have adblock plus and maybe noscript installed. I think noscript is a pain in the backside, but I can't live without adblock.


Why is that 'sad'? I find it pretty sad that some people are hanging out at UF apparently for ths sole purpose of advertising for MS. I am not saying most people who also use Win do that, but there are one or two people whose posting history is mostly bragging about alleged Windows superiority.
I'll openly talk about liking Windows 8, but you'll never see me bragging about its superiority. The only area it is superior is in running software that is created for it, which unfortunately is necessary for some people sometimes. Other than that, it's hard to deny that Linux is superior in a lot of ways.

[cortman]

If I absolutely had to, I guess I would [run Win8]. I prefer to use as much free (speech) software as possible, so I would do my best to avoid it. So far I use only Debian and Debian based GNU/Linux on my computers.

[The Squig]

I dual boot with win8 on my laptop and win7 on my main rig. I could go either way with those two. The only thing i really hate about win8 is the metro applications. i see no reason for them on a desktop (mine at least) so i ignore them. If i had both discs in front of me i would go with windows8.

[forrestcupp]

I dual boot with win8 on my laptop and win7 on my main rig. I could go either way with those two. The only thing i really hate about win8 is the metro applications. i see no reason for them on a desktop (mine at least) so i ignore them. If i had both discs in front of me i would go with windows8.
As soon as I got my laptop, I installed Classic Start Menu, and I haven't even seen Metro once since day one. I like it that I could get to Metro if I wanted to, but I don't have to even know it's there.

[lykwydchykyn]

This thread can pretty much be surmised by people coming in here and saying 'I don't use/like windows, so I wouldn't know'.

It's pretty sad that such a thing has become a bragging right around here.

You say this as if it were a new phenomenon. This has been a part of Linux culture for as long as I can remember.

Personally, I can't bring myself to get excited or interested in Windows anymore. Whatever great and wonderful new things they did in Windows 8 are, in the final analysis, just annoyances to me; since it means I have to spend time re-learning an OS in which I have no interest so that I can continue to do the handful of things the rest of the world requires me to do in Windows.

[andrew.46]

The only area it is superior is in running software that is created for it, which unfortunately is necessary for some people sometimes. Other than that, it's hard to deny that Linux is superior in a lot of ways.

I have spent a reasonable chunk of my computer time getting the great Usenet client slrn running on Win8:

Compiling the git slrn under Windows 8
http://www.andrews-corner.org/slrn-windows.html

which is where my idea comes from that Windows can be tamed and put to some use. I would not say that the Linus version of slrn is superior to the Windows version, they both run fast and clean, Windows 8 is just a different way of looking at the world :).

[evilsoup]

At this point, I mostly prefer Linux because I'm used to the way it works.

[forrestcupp]

I have spent a reasonable chunk of my computer time getting the great Usenet client slrn running on Win8:

Compiling the git slrn under Windows 8
http://www.andrews-corner.org/slrn-windows.html

which is where my idea comes from that Windows can be tamed and put to some use. I would not say that the Linus version of slrn is superior to the Windows version, they both run fast and clean, Windows 8 is just a different way of looking at the world :).

Lol. Right, but I was just talking about the general experience. Windows is better at running Windows software, but other than that, there are a lot of areas that Linux is superior.

I have a laptop that came with Windows 7 on it. For some reason, it must have some kind of hardware problem so that I cannot get Windows to run no matter what I do. I've installed and reinstalled Windows 8 and a couple of different versions of Windows 7, and it will not work at all. So I always end up putting some variant of Ubuntu on it, and it works quickly and immediately out of the box. It's really weird.

[gerrman97]

I stayed with ubuntu 12.04.2 until i downloaded a "free" version (lol) of win8, installed really fast(wonder why, maybe new code?or less?) and then after a while of using, said, ehh i think ill stick with it, because, im a "windows" guy at heart. I love linux, but im unable to control my computer completely from UI, because Linux has not been advanced enough, so its alot of command line. just not used to so much of it. will post more later

[Primefalcon]

This thread can pretty much be surmised by people coming in here and saying 'I don't use/like windows, so I wouldn't know'.

It's pretty sad that such a thing has become a bragging right around here.

Windows 8 is a great release. Personally I enjoy it a lot more on a laptop because of gestures on the trackpad, but I also run it on my desktop and it's extremely fluid.
TBH I have nothing against windows or closed software, I use skype on a daily basis..... and would prob install windows if needed to use that.... I just prefer Linux and Ubuntu in particular

[mJayk]

No its bad

[MadmanRB]

No on windows 8.
I dont have a touchscreen

[mr john]

I've found Windows 8 to be much faster than Windows 7. I don't like the Metro launcher much, but that's easily disabled. I have a touch screen PC in work, but I'm long sighted and don't like to lean forward to touch it.

[Rukiri]

Windows 8 is faster than 7, has better memory management (I'm using an entire GB less of ram in 8!) CPU temps seem to be lower to.
Only thing I've noticed is with DVDs/Blurays, they take freaking forever to load in apps like VLC, it's instant on linux well maybe 1 second delay not 5 minutes! But doesn't the windows version of VLC use or is 'using' the windows sdk? I've noticed this issue in every media player for windows, and again the linux version runs almost instantly, can't play blurays(without ripping it) but it may just be an issue with the windows sdk. Now Windows media player loads the dvd just as fast as vlc on linux, but vlc on windows for dvds is slow... what gives microsoft!

I like windows 8, great OS, I have a surface pro specifically for the adobe suite! I may get another surface pro to throw linux on to(forget gentoo unless I actually sit down and know what the hardware is) may just throw ubuntu or arch on it.

I really hope Microsoft leaves the Modern UI simply as the start menu(that's basically what it is a full screen start menu) and improves the desktop with Windows 9.

[forrestcupp]

I've found Windows 8 to be much faster than Windows 7. I don't like the Metro launcher much, but that's easily disabled. I have a touch screen PC in work, but I'm long sighted and don't like to lean forward to touch it.

Yeah, the idea of touch screens on laptops and desktops is ridiculous. I don't see the point in it. It's not very ergonomic at all. But the good thing is that Win8 works well with a mouse/keyboard setup, too, which a lot of people don't realize.

[MadmanRB]

Yeah, the idea of touch screens on laptops and desktops is ridiculous. I don't see the point in it. It's not very ergonomic at all. But the good thing is that Win8 works well with a mouse/keyboard setup, too, which a lot of people don't realize.

No too much side scrolling and plenty of mouse gestures dont translate

[gerrman97]

i said id post more later, so i am. it is a fluent, elegant movement into the future of operating systems, though we are left with little to work with, right of the bat, I honestly prefer Windows 8 to Windows 7, and XP. Though Windows 8 is just a small upgrade from Windows 7, I believe that Microsoft will increase it's stability, and handling, the same as they did with all previous OS's they have distributed. I will be using Windows 8 until 9 comes out. I am a longtime software writer and editor, and I love the way that it is able to handle programs like Python, MSB, MVB, etc. I don't mind the Start Menu, though if they put in a disable option, it'd be better.

[forrestcupp]

No too much side scrolling and plenty of mouse gestures dont translate

I only use desktop mode. So for me, it's no different than Win7 in that aspect.