The legacy of Windows 7 - last of a breed?

[dperecky]

Is Windows 7 the last version of a standard Windows GUI/system? This basic configuration has been with us since Win3.1. Even OS/2 copied the look and feel of the Windows operating system.

I mean, the Start button and the Start menu were standard for years: You can click on Start, w/One Click, and see an overview of your computer. In Win7, the desktop IS Windows. There ain't no other.

It may be that we will look back on Windows 7 in the future with nostalgia and fondness. As it may be the very last version of a very familiar user interface- that might forever be changed with the onset of Windows 8.

Share your thoughts.

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

If Win 7 is the end of its line and Win 8 is to be M$'s future, I foresee the end of M$. If M$ keeps going the direction it took, starting with Win 8 and Office 365, then I will be looking for alternative programs, hardware, and OS to replace Win 7 when it reaches EOL.

 

[josearedux]

I truly believe Win 8 to be a revolutionary OS. I really liked the RC running in a VM and with the help of forums like this was able to boot to directly to a desktop with mininal time and effort expended. Just look at Ubuntu 13.10 - A unified experience from phone to PC. I am really anxious to buy a new system with 8 and do a clean install, but my aging Dell D610 will not die.

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

Win 8 is a great OS for internet surfers, tablet users, and phones. It is highly dependent on touch screens making it impractical for serious content creation on PCs. Some of the features that enhanced content creation in Win 7 are now missing form Win 8. Win 8 simply cannot meet my needs as well as Win 7 does.

What really disturbs me, however, is the direction M$ is taking toward a closed system similar to Apple's, software subscription instead of owning a license, and cloud computing. The cloud can be very useful but it isn't going to be anywhere close to being a replacement for desktop computing for a long time, accessibility and cost being the biggest stumbling blocks right now. Not everyone has affordable, unlimited access to the cloud right now.

 

[dperecky]

What really disturbs me, however, is the direction M$ is taking toward a closed system similar to Apple's, software subscription instead of owning a license, and cloud computing.

Yes... The cloud... Obviously something made up by elitists. Put the power (of everybody's computing) into fewer and fewer hands.... That is always a recipe for success....

 

[aritra2116]

I believe that Windows 8 is a NICE little OS around here. Although it is quite exaggerated to be used on touch screen interfaces and learning it without the use of touch screen can be very hard, it is not so bad at all. And IMO, if you use a mouse, it can be quite easy to multitask and simply, you can work faster. From only one place you can get to many places in a time without losing any track. I feel that it is a bit sad that Windows 7 is going to be the last of its kind, but I feel that MS could do something to make it more easy for Windows 8, right?

 

[alphanumeric]

Windows 7 will likely be the last Microsoft OS to go on my two desktop PC's. Unless things change that is. Metro's dual monitor unfriendliness is a show stopper for me on my main Desktop. It's a PITA more times than its not. I have 8 on my new laptop, for now. I've been tempted to put Windows 7 on it too but I'll wait and see what 8.1 brings.

 

[dperecky]

I believe that Windows 8 is a NICE little OS around here. Although it is quite exaggerated to be used on touch screen interfaces and learning it without the use of touch screen can be very hard, it is not so bad at all. And IMO, if you use a mouse, it can be quite easy to multitask and simply, you can work faster. From only one place you can get to many places in a time without losing any track. I feel that it is a bit sad that Windows 7 is going to be the last of its kind, but I feel that MS could do something to make it more easy for Windows 8, right?

Win8 is not that bad, as you say. I purchased a laptop w/Win8. It's OK. I use it on occasion. It is a bit faster than Win7, IMO.

But when I switch back to Win7 on my dual-boot pc, it's like going back to a legacy.... in more ways than one. Windows 7 is like 'real Windows', the Windows we've known and loved for about 15 years or more. The 'look and feel' of Win8, while it's an OK OS, is very different than Win7. Like I said, Win7 seems to be the last version of a breed of days gone by...

 

[gregrocker]

Not if the market has a say.

 

[dperecky]

Not if the market has a say.

Maybe you heard different. The rumor I heard is that MS will pop a Start button in the bottom left corner in the next iteration of Win8, that will navigate the user to the existing Win8 Start menu. Maybe you heard something more Win7-like?

 

[gregrocker]

I think they'll continue to resist this since they revamped their marketing model to sell apps on the Metro screen. This is counter to the desktop which they can't monetize similarly since no one doing productive work realy wants their crApps.

The irony of 8 is that it is poised to ruin the desktop experience which is what MS OS's are most prized for: productive, intuitive desktop work such as what drives the world economy. This has overshadowed its performance on the platform where it belongs, touchscreens, where it actually has competitive advantages with the live tiles that beat Ipad's dead icons.

 

[alphanumeric]

Everything I've read indicates that the rumored "Start Button" is just going to do what the Windows key on your keyboard does now. I haven't seen anything from Microsoft that even hints at resurrecting the classic start menu.

 

[lhorwinkle]

At a local computer shop, the owner runs his invoicing and sales on Win 8 computers. But he has them looking like Win 7. No tiles. No crap. And a Start button.

I didn't stop to ask him how. but if he can do it, so can anyone else.

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

At a local computer shop, the owner runs his invoicing and sales on Win 8 computers. But he has them looking like Win 7. No tiles. No crap. And a Start button.

I didn't stop to ask him how. but if he can do it, so can anyone else.

But why bother?

 

[theveterans]

At a local computer shop, the owner runs his invoicing and sales on Win 8 computers. But he has them looking like Win 7. No tiles. No crap. And a Start button.

I didn't stop to ask him how. but if he can do it, so can anyone else.

But why bother?

IMO, it maybe probably due to arguably noticable performance improvements like better RAM management, less GPU strain due to removal of Aero theme or even the "ribbon" Windows explorer interface.

IMO, Windows 8 forcing desktop composition to be always enabled always breaks old program compatibility. That's why I still choose Windows 7 despite 8's arguably better performance. If Windows 8 has a feature to turn off metro, charms bar and hot corner menus, and the most important for me "disable desktop composition" to enable playing old games, I will definitely consider upgrading.

 

[McRuff]

But why bother?

There is only one for me anyway, which is the changes to the Licensing Conditions introduced with the System Builder License. Being able to reinstall it on other hardware unlike the OEM License of Windows 7 and being much cheaper then the W7 retail version.

However that only brings it to my consideration as long as I can completely hide the Unnecessary, Ugly Metro interface. I have no interest in walled garden apps or the push to Cloud computing on a Desktop PC.

 

[Golden]

Everything I've read indicates that the rumored "Start Button" is just going to do what the Windows key on your keyboard does now. I haven't seen anything from Microsoft that even hints at resurrecting the classic start menu.

I thought that was supposed to be the function of the the start button on the new Windows 8 mouse?

 

[DavidE]

:roflmao:

 

[mitchell65]

At a local computer shop, the owner runs his invoicing and sales on Win 8 computers. But he has them looking like Win 7. No tiles. No crap. And a Start button.

I didn't stop to ask him how. but if he can do it, so can anyone else.

Very easy to do see here:
Windows 8 Start Button - Start Menu for Windows 8
I have my Win8 on a VM but it opens to a desktop with all the old Win 7 functions, I like it but then being so young I find change very easy to accommodate

 

[alphanumeric]

Everything I've read indicates that the rumored "Start Button" is just going to do what the Windows key on your keyboard does now. I haven't seen anything from Microsoft that even hints at resurrecting the classic start menu.

I thought that was supposed to be the function of the the start button on the new Windows 8 mouse?

View attachment 270051

Same thing, just another Windows key/button.