Normal service is resumed as Windows 7's growth once again.....

I was a W8 basher after a couple of brief run ins with it trying to help people out, but now I have it installed as a dual boot I've played with it and got it set up so it looks virtually identical to my W7 set up. In that respect I'm warming to it a bit more each week, it's not as bad as I thought it was.

However, it takes work to get there. You have to do a lot of research to get 8 running like 7, and the majority of people who've made the switch are running a third party program to replace the Start button, and that is where I think 8's sales have drastically been hurt. Yes they made the OS to target mobile device users and that UI doesn't translate well to a desktop environment, and while you can poke and prod it to make it like previous versions it's not something MS have blatantly advertised. Many laymen who have used PCs over the years for basic tasks and recreational use aren't going to be digging round looking how to change the OS, they'll simply think that's what they have and they must learn how to use it and that's where they give up.

Of course, word of mouth speaks volumes and that will have hammered sales extremely hard but it's all of MS's own doing. While I don't dislike 8 any more it's still obvious that MS are indeed trying to force the touch screen UI on people through advertising and the lack of information on how to use the OS solely as a desktop environment.

I used to think Windows 8 would not be good because of the changes but now that I got to use it, I'm used to it and I am getting used to the Start Screen.

I wish it worked like XP 7. I liked the way it worked in XP 7 better. You have to go through several steps to make it work like XP 7. Seems I have seen all this years ago.

Using 8 and discovering you do not like it is one thing, but once you get used to it, and make it work for you (as you did with 7), it can apparently be a great OS. Based on opinions from people who I respect, like Kari. Not liking it for valid reasons is also acceptable. And like Si has said, it's still not selling particularly well so far.

A Guy

Pete4 said:

... and then trying to get back to desktop, which never worked on the first try, or going into metro interface any time I accidently put my mouse on the right edge, with no easy way to go back I mean the list goes on and did I mentioned how ugly and space wasting Metro is. But I totally lost it when I wasted almost an hour downloading win 8.1 upgrade, then wasted another 30 min waiting for computer to update files etc and then I got to the screen asking to input my e-mail. Since I don't have one with MS I pressed skip, which promptly, without any warning revert back to Win 8 and deleted whole 8.1 upgrade download without even asking.
...

SIW2 said:

LOL.

Yes Siw, I laughed too when I saw the Pete's post; I couldn't have hoped a better example of purposely misleading and wrong information and sometimes simple lies the anti-Eight troops are spreading to falsify the facts.

Let's see that post. First what I have marked with bold red font: If the user is not experienced enough to switch between Start Screen and Desktop by a simple press of the WIN key, or by clicking Desktop tile on Start Screen, then maybe Windows (any version) is simply too much and user should find a system better suitable to his / her capacities.

About the bold green statement in above quote of Pete's post: Switching between Start Screen and Desktop does not happen when you bring the pointer to right edge. Never. It does not even happen when pointer is brought to left edge. It only happens when user clicks left mouse button when pointer is located at the bottom left corner. Even the Charms Bar does not show when the mouse is brought to top or bottom right without user thereafter clearly moving pointer up or down.

I repeat: Bottom left, not right edge. And no, it does not switch to Start Screen simply by bringing the pointer there. Never.

Then the clear untruth (can't use here the word I would like to), the part I have highlighted yellow. That is so invalid, false disinformation that it together with the strange "bringing mouse to right edge brings Start Screen" (real name for so called Metro UI) makes me wonder if this user has ever even seen Eight in action. There is no Skip button when setting it up, and the upgrade does not revert back to 8 without user actions and notifying the user.

If we users do not read instructions, we cannot blame Microsoft or any other company.

Let's see what happens when a Windows 8 with only Local account (no email based Microsoft account in the whole machine) is upgraded to 8.1. I did this just now to get screenshots to prove my point.

First the start situation, only one local account, no Microsoft accounts:

After 28 minutes, the over 2 GB upgrade was downloaded and installed. Reboot, 16 minutes for upgrade to set itself up, finally there:

Next screen asks if I want to go with defaults or change something small (customer feedback options and such can be disabled / enabled here):

Next screen asks me to sign to my Microsoft account, which I do not want to use in this machine, so naturally I select what Windows documentation asks me to select at this point:

Which brings me to screen where I can tell Windows I want to continue using my existing (local) account:

That's it, Windows 8 upgraded to 8.1 in about 50 minutes (including the download time), absolutely no SKIP buttons there. Only the four screens shown above are shown after first reboot when 8.1 upgrade is applied.

Again, I repeat: Absolutely sure there are no dialogs showing a SKIP button which can cause you to lose the upgrade.

I hope those users still not sure if they want to upgrade to Windows 8 can and will use their own brain and see through this disinformation spread on the Internet.

Kari

Remind me to never get between Kari and a bone

jimbo45 said:

Unless you have zillions of apps not having the START menu isn't really an issue any more --even with W7 I used custom toolbars in preference to the start menu.

That's the one area I'd beg to differ on. OK, if people used custom toolbars on W7 then no problem, carry on as usual. But for people who do use the Start Menu religously then there's a big difference. I was completely lost without it so bought Start8 virtually straight away, it's now how I like it and it cost me $5. While there are alternatives to not having a Start button, you don't have to use them and learn a new way of interacting with your desktop.

lffoar said:

Remind me to never get between Kari and a bone

True, Kari (and myself) get a 'bit' ruffled when opinions are presented as fact. If you have Win 8.x, maybe try a local PC tech for assistance. My neighbor just got a Win 8 lappy and I installed ClassicShell and she loves it, boots right to the desktop. Start8 is a paid-for option that does basically the same thing.

Try either one, it seems you've not really done anything.