Wait for two weeks or so for the W8.1 preview -- it might not yet be exactly what the users want but it's decidedly better than the current W8.
From all I have seen of 8.1 it is not good enough for the traditional desktop user. The 'Start button' is a joke and all the other functions are still geared to tablet users.
I don't want tiles nor a cloud nor any of those new apps on my desktop. And for my tablet I am well served with Android.......
My sentiments exactly whs! My computer has W7 and my tablet is an IPad. I did the same thing to W8
that M$ did to the desktop.....threw it under the bus.
Hi there
Wait and see until 8.1 is actually OUT-- the Boot directly to desktop seems like a good feature for starters and is OFICIALLY BACK in 8.1.
In any case even on the current W8 there's no need whatsoever to have ANY of those "New fangled apps" on your desktop either. They can stay on the Start screen (which in W8.1 you never have to even SEE) and in any case they can all be uninstalled / removed.
I've no problems with people riling about W8 but at least please make SALIENT points -- if you don't like Metro (And currently I HATE it too) there's no reason to even SEE it any more with Windows 8.1 -- BUT actually they've changed the interface so these apps can run in multi- window - multi-monitor mode so they can operate rather like the old gadgets did but better. I could get interested for example having a small re-sizeable window (Not full screen) showing real time Market data for example while I'm working.
I really wonder also how many current W7 users actually use the start button or even the menu once they've organised their systems - most people I know either run stuff from the Desktop or from the quick launch bar and only use the menu if they want to find something -- and even the current W8's search IMO is superior once you get used to it.
I in common with a lot of people don't like the current W8's start screen with endless tiles etc -- but 8.1 is looking good - even installing desktop applications won't spread loads of tiles randomly all over the place either too. -- I'd at least have a look at 8.1 when it comes out --you might be pleasantly surprised.
(Even with the current W8 I can run an almost identical desktop as I can with W7 -- Desktop icons still work and you've got the taskbar (aka Quick launch bar) which works exactly like W7. And for those that really can't live without a menu you can create a custom tool bar which works almost as good as the Menu anyway).
Desktop W8 screenshot enc - Desktop icons, Taskbar, and custom toolbar for pgms -- no need for any 3rd party stuff -- all basic Windows features.
Computer Type: PC/Desktop System Manufacturer/Model Number: Custom built, several laptops HP/ASUS OS: Linux CENTOS 7 / various Windows OS'es and servers CPU: Intel i7 Intel i5 Memory: 8GB, 16GB Graphics Card: On Motherboard Sound Card: Realtek HD audio Monitor(s) Displays: Apple Cinema display, Samsung LCD Screen Resolution: 1920 X 1080 Mouse: Toshiba wireless laser Hard Drives: 4 X 1TB SATA Internet Speed: > 20MB up
It was a bit more then just Metro or "Modern" and the Start screen for me but how they divided everything up placing some things in a hidden right click menu whereas the older Start menu saw "Settings>Control Panel", Administrative Tools, and other things leading off of one central point. With 8 the Crawler tool bar popup annoyance on the right side is another jab for the centralized being divided up in another hidden location "comfy for tablet" but not making any sense for the desktop platform which MS wasn't even interested in for W8 to start with! 8.1 or second edition is to end up more or less a hybrid OS to satisfy to some limited extent the frustrations of actual desktop users as well as the bad rep from bloggers 8 has been getting.
Computer Type: PC/Desktop System Manufacturer/Model Number: Custom builds = 2 OS: W7 Ultimate x64/W10 Pro x64/W11 Pro Triple Boot - Main PC W7 Remote PC Micro ATX W7 Pro x64/W11 Pro CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 975 Deneb 3.6ghz - 965 2nd remote pc Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-790XTA-UD4-Gigabyte GA-880GM-D2H remote pc Memory: Kingston Hyper X DDR3 1600 1.5v 16gb - Hyper X Fury 8gb 2nd Graphics Card: MSI HD Radeon 5750 1gb - MSI HD Radeon 6450 on mini tower Sound Card: Creative Labs X-Fi Xtreme Audio P - Realtek onooard 2nd case Monitor(s) Displays: ASUS VW199T-P 19" HP 2082a Main-HP 2082a 20" remote pc Screen Resolution: Asus 1440x900 - HP 1600x900 Keyboard: AZIO L70 Backlit Letters Gaming - ONN Cordless/USB Mouse: MSI DS200 Programmable, Logitech Cordless PSU: Corsair 750TX - primary / Corsair CX600 - second Case: Antec 900-2 - SSD compatible / NZXT Vulcan mini tower Cooling: Zalman CNPS9900A Hard Drives: WD Black 1TB HD per OS W7, W10, and pending W11 presently on 500gb OS Drive - Pending Triple 1TB HDs for Spanned Storage/backup volume
Single 2TB external USB enclosure, single 1TB System 7 Host/Boot drive, Pending 8TB external HD for system image b Internet Speed: 30mbps upgrade - primary hard wired - mini tower usb WiFi Browser: Cyberfox, WaterFox 64bit FF variants, FireFox x64, Pale Moon Antivirus: GFI VIPRE Internet Security 2014 on W7 2016 beta on W10, Other Info: Accomdata fan cooled usb 2.0 PIDE/Sata II, III external enclosure.
Sambient usb/eSata PATA/Sata II, III external enclosure.
Computer Type: PC/Desktop System Manufacturer/Model Number: CUSTOM ASSEMBLY OS: W7 Pro x64/W11 Pro CPU: AMD Deneb 3.6ghz - 965 Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-880GM-D2H remote pc Memory: Kingston Hyper X Fury 8gb Graphics Card: MSI HD Radeon 6450 DVI Output Sound Card: Realtek onooard Creative or Other separate PENDING Monitor(s) Displays: VIZIO 32" LCD TV Separate LCD Pending Screen Resolution: 1600x1080 Keyboard: ONN Cordless/USB Logitech Cordless Mouse: ONN USB/Cordless - Logitech Cordless PSU: Corsair 600W - THERMALTAKE 600W spare case Case: NZXT Vulcan mini tower Cooling: Twin 120mm Top Fans - 240mm Side Cover Hard Drives: WD 500GB OS Host/Boot WD Green 1TB Storage/Backup Internet Speed: DSL 5G Browser: MS Edge, FireFox, WaterFox x64, FireFox Nightly Other Info: OS Testing-Remote Access to Main TeamViewer
I really wonder also how many current Windows 7 users actually use the start button or even the menu once they've organised their systems - most people I know either run stuff from the Desktop or from the quick launch bar and only use the menu if they want to find something
I use it all the time and I've got my desktop set up as I want it, so I would miss it if I was using Windows 8, I suppose a-lot of people must use it or miss it if it's been offered back ( of sorts ) to users in the new Windows 8.1 update , it's good that MS seemed to have listened to their customers on this .
System Manufacturer/Model Number: HP G62 Notebook PC OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit SP1 CPU: AMD Phenom II N830 / AMD Phenom II N830 Triple-Core Proces Motherboard: Hewlett-Packard 143B (Socket S1G4) Memory: 2x 2GB DIMM Samsung 1334MHz ( total 4GB system memory ) Graphics Card: AMD M880G with ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4250 (HP) Sound Card: Realtek High Definition/ ATI High Definition Audio Device Monitor(s) Displays: 39.6cm(15.6")diagonal HD LED HP BrightView Widescreen Screen Resolution: (1366x768@60Hz) Hard Drives: TOSHIBA MK5056GSY SATA Disk Device 450.07 GB (300.79 GB free), File System NTFS Internet Speed: 1.98MB/s<<download) 0.12MB/s <<upload) 63ms<<ping) 23/12/12 Browser: Chrome Version 25.0.1364.152 / Firefox 19.0.2 Other Info: Xbox 360 / 250GB HDD model
I really wonder also how many current W7 users actually use the start button or even the menu once they've organised their systems - most people I know either run stuff from the Desktop or from the quick launch bar and only use the menu if they want to find something -- and even the current W8's search IMO is superior once you get used to it.
I hate having icons on my desktop.
I only drop things there temporarily (I move them to the appropriate folders later).
My friend drops everything on his desktop and he can never find anything without a lengthy search.
His full HD screen is 50% covered with program icons (he also has a couple of gadgets and a bunch of Sticky Notes on it).
I use the Start Menu regularly (especially if I've had to reboot).
On my PC:
My "Primary" programs are on the Taskbar (+ Customised Computer Management and Control Panel).
My "Secondary" programs are in the pinned area.
I use a combination of the Search box and "All Programs" (depending on my mood).
This is my Start Menu from last year (it is still basically the same).
I have my "All Programs" section categorised to eliminate sprawl.
Click picture for animation
jimbo45 said:
-- and even the current W8's search IMO is superior once you get used to it.
That's debatable.
The W7 search leaves you on the Desktop (where your work is) and doesn't require the entire screen.
I don't even have the Indexing service running and yet it always finds the programs I search for (I don't use it to search for files).
Maybe they've fixed search in the W8 release version, but when I was using the previews (DP, CP, RP and Ent) it wouldn't show any results (for the searches I tried) unless I clicked on one of the categories (at the top right).
Bah, I'm still in the bunker waiting that this tablet craze passes and MS returns to desktops and laptops in shame. It always sucked at touchscreen portable devices since CE and that portable XP or whatever it was called.
Anyway in this case MS got shafted big way because Intel is not anywhere up to the task of providing chips that manage to be better than ARM ones for tablet-grade devices. Does not matter that they make win8 for tablets (good or bad that it might be) if x86 tablets are far far worse than even basic android tablets (battery-wise they are laptops, if not worse, while an android device can pull on nearly all day long and do the same things albeit with different programs and OS). AMD isn't in a better position either.
There is at least another generation of x86 chips to make before they start to look viable in a tablet, and let's speak frankly, it's too late now to get in the tablet market, go figure next year with still immature technology.
Before they realize this detail, the better. x86 lost the current battle on tablets, better do their best to keep alive the other market (laptops and desktops) so that it may live to fight another battle on tablets at a later time.
Computer Type: PC/Desktop System Manufacturer/Model Number: custom built OS: Win 7 Pro 64-bit 7601 CPU: AMD Phenom 9650 QuadCore, revision DR-B3 Motherboard: ASUS M4A78 Memory: 5 GB yes I run 2x 2GB and 1x 1GB, different brand, spank me. Graphics Card: NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GT 512 Mb, unknown manufacturer. Sound Card: Crappy Realtek Integrated Audio Monitor(s) Displays: Fujitsu Siemens P19-3P Screen Resolution: 1280 x 1024 x 32 bits @ 60 Hz Oh yeah, 4:3 rocks! Keyboard: Microsoft, PS/2, white. Mouse: Optical, logitec. PSU: whatever, around 450w Case: Scavenged from old company PC, 10+ years old Cooling: CPU fan, GPU fan, case fan, nothing fancy Hard Drives: (1) MAXTOR S TM3320613AS SATA Disk Device (2) STM35004 18AS SATA Disk Device (3) TOSHIBA USB 2.5"-HDD Internet Speed: effective max speeds: 70-ish kB/s down 30-ish kB/s up Browser: Firefox with FXChrome to make it look like Google Chrome :P Antivirus: Avira, free edition. Other Info: Was discarded by previous owner due to "horrible performance".
Was running Win Xp from a IDE drive. Yeah. Was a pain.
SATA II drive and Win7 and it zips away! Yay!
...I really wonder also how many current W7 users actually use the start button or even the menu once they've organised their systems - most people I know either run stuff from the Desktop or from the quick launch bar and only use the menu if they want to find something -- and even the current W8's search IMO is superior once you get used to it...jimbo
That could make an interesting poll. I, for one, do use the start button; frequently. While I launch my most frequently used programs from the task bar and notification area, I have so many programs I only use occasionally (if I never use a program, I get rid of it), there is no way for me to keep track of them all or even remember what they are or that I have them (having ADHD doesn't help any). Win 8's search function alone wouldn't help me at all. I also use the start button to get to my data folders, My Computer, etc. I could put shortcuts on the task bar but there just isn't room. I don't like to keep my programs on the desktop; a list is much easier for me to read (I detest icons anyway—they eat up too much space and I can never remember what they represent—so imagine how I feel about Win 8's tiles). Hidden buttons are also problematic for me.
From the preview video I saw of Win 8.1, if M$ had offered that in then beginning, I might have considered trying it (sorry M$, too little too late). But, what was offered in the beginning was such a mess, when I built my present desktop, I decided to commit to Win 7 and bought three OSes; two retail versions of Win 7 Ultimate and one of Win 7 Home Premium. I'm still wondering why on earth I bought the last one since I'm not likely to have more than two running machines at any given time (currently, I'm running two and one has an OEM copy on it). Win 7 currently meets my needs and I'm committed to using it until it dies.
It's a pity M$ removed desirable features that were in Win 7 when it designed Win 8 and saddled it with the mobile machine UI because Win 8 did have some desirable improvements.
I hate having icons on my desktop.
I only drop things there temporarily (I move them to the appropriate folders later)...
I also detest icons on my desktop. I used to use the desktop as a place to temporarily drop things but, now that I'm using an SSD, to minimize writes to it, I keep shortcuts on the desktop to folders on my E:/ drive I use for temporary folders to drop things into. I also keep temporary shortcuts on the desktop to files on the E:/ drive that are works in progress.
I have two icons on my desktop: Computer and Recycle Bin. I have a few programs pinned to the Taskbar, and the rest of my programs I access from the Start Menu.
I have zero icons on my desktop.
Try this:
Right click on taskbar and select toolbars and check desktop.
Right click on desktop select view and uncheck show desktop icons.
All icons disappear from desktop and the taskbar has a place to click to view them.
I use the desktop as I always did with XP (and Win 98 before it), has icons of favorite programs and stuff I'm working at the moment. Every week I engage in a trash collection mood and tidy up stuff.
Whenever I get a SSD I'm going to do the same, either re-locating desktop to another disk with a hack or screw the SSD and that stuff stays on it anyway.
Start menu is less-used but still I would not go without. Could seriously use a bit of redesign though.
Computer Type: PC/Desktop System Manufacturer/Model Number: custom built OS: Win 7 Pro 64-bit 7601 CPU: AMD Phenom 9650 QuadCore, revision DR-B3 Motherboard: ASUS M4A78 Memory: 5 GB yes I run 2x 2GB and 1x 1GB, different brand, spank me. Graphics Card: NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GT 512 Mb, unknown manufacturer. Sound Card: Crappy Realtek Integrated Audio Monitor(s) Displays: Fujitsu Siemens P19-3P Screen Resolution: 1280 x 1024 x 32 bits @ 60 Hz Oh yeah, 4:3 rocks! Keyboard: Microsoft, PS/2, white. Mouse: Optical, logitec. PSU: whatever, around 450w Case: Scavenged from old company PC, 10+ years old Cooling: CPU fan, GPU fan, case fan, nothing fancy Hard Drives: (1) MAXTOR S TM3320613AS SATA Disk Device (2) STM35004 18AS SATA Disk Device (3) TOSHIBA USB 2.5"-HDD Internet Speed: effective max speeds: 70-ish kB/s down 30-ish kB/s up Browser: Firefox with FXChrome to make it look like Google Chrome :P Antivirus: Avira, free edition. Other Info: Was discarded by previous owner due to "horrible performance".
Was running Win Xp from a IDE drive. Yeah. Was a pain.
SATA II drive and Win7 and it zips away! Yay!
I found an excellent pre-built PC deal. The system uses quality parts and is cheaper than the cost of the separate parts + shipping by $125.00. Plus, I would have to spend time building the PC. The only problem are is it ships with Windows 8 only.
Is Windows 8 a deal killer ?
Hello, all.
I have a quick question. :)
Right, my little brother has a laptop running Windows 7 Ultimate (x32). He also has a PS3 webcam (I forget the actual name of it). He is allowed to use this webcam on his PS3, but not on his computer. The problem is that he keeps defying the rule in...
