Buy windows 7 now or wait for windows 8 (for parents PC)

OverDrive said:
Windows 8 represents the third significant design change to the Windows GUI, this has happened before when we moved from Windows 3.x to 95. I remember the resistance to Windows 95 and people insisting that they still had Windows 3.11 on new PCs after Windows 95 was released. I recall the same thing happening when we moved from XP to Vista, granted that was a slightly different situation.

However, Windows 8 is more than that, it represents a significant shift in Microsoft's strategy and the unification of the PC the tablet and the phone. This combined with the revamped 'cloud' services such as SkyDrive, Office web and Outlook.com make Windows 8 an incredibly powerful platform. I think we will see an explosion of Metro apps and the fact that a metro app will work on any Windows 8 platform: x86, x64, ARM (Win8 RT) and with some modification Windows Phone 8 is I think incredible. Microsoft is drawing on it's proven strengths in Windows and Office and pushing these products into a new era.

Yes, we are enthusiasts and for the most part don't subscribe to what most in the wider population do when it comes to IT (i.e. I don't care how it does it, I just want to send an e-mail and I want it to be easy etc) However, the desktop is alive and well and as powerful as it ever was (even more so now) it has seen some fantastic improvements. I still use and enjoy my PC, even more so now. Yes, it took a little getting used to, but give it a chance and keep an open mind and you'll wonder what all the fuss is about, you may even like it. There are some things which I am not completely happy with e.g. The new SkyDrive desktop sync app vs the previous LiveMesh app, but that is life.

I think Microsoft have done a fantastic thing here and I look forward to seeing how this new unified PC, tablet, phone and cloud strategy plays out. I hope they succeed. Windows 8 is much more than just a new OS.
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do work for mircosoft? :P hehe
 
roger that said:
It is good looking until you install non metro designed apps, then have to spend wasted minutes removing start items that would once have been hidden away in a folder in the old menu.
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It's not Windows fault a program installs too many short cuts regardless of the version and this draws onto a bigger point, if those short cuts were being hidden away so most people ignore them doesn't that highlight a bigger problem with the old design?

roger that said:
If you use the PC as a work tool you may well find that those little extra clicks and keystrokes now needed get annoying over time, like an un-scratchable itch.
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I don't know anyone who on a daily basis installs programs or are you referring to something else?
 
Just get Windows 7 they can always upgrade to 8 later, Metro is a terrible UI they'll probably ask you put Vista back on after 10mins of using it. I'm not trolling old people tend to be set in their ways and Windows 8 is a mess of unnecessary changes.
 
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mmj_uk said:
Just get Windows 7 they can always upgrade to 8 later, Metro is a terrible UI they'll probably ask you put Vista back on after 10mins of using it. I'm not trolling old people tend to be set in their ways and Windows 8 is a mess of unnecessary changes.
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It really isn't terrible. Seriously.
 
theheyes said:
It really isn't terrible. Seriously.
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Quite! It is to great when first loaded but 10 mins is all it takes to sort it out by dumping apps not likely to be used and arranging desktop applications in groups.

Come on, 10 mins and then everything is faster. Is it that much to ask?
 
It's even more basic than that. Metro raises the cognitive demand to perform simple tasks, insults the intelligence, and then the "badly designed" conclusion is drawn.

Metro is rough, has a lot of scope for improvement and takes time to adapt to - but this isn't the same as bad design. People simply need to be more objective about it.
 
BluSky said:
Windows 8 upgrade edition will apparently be really cheap, and windows 7 won't be going anywhere any time soon. I am going to stick with 7 and if I like the look of 8 and it is a cheap upgrade then I will move to that later
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As I understand it the cheap upgrade of £25 to Windows 8 will only be available until January 2013, not sure if still the case so don't quote me but if so I'll try to pick up a code online or in store while at the cheap rate just in case I do want to upgrade and if not am sure I'll be able to flog it on later.
 
ChileanLlama said:
Chaparral, runs out mid Jan 2013.

It's generally stable, some problems with Ivy Bridge, but there's a hotfix for that.
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Thanks..I Installed it on the parents/family PC lastnight.

Mother going have a big shock when she turns the PC on.....:D


And a even bigger shock when she goes to shut it down.:p...(Took me long enough to find the w8 hidden shut down icon)
 
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I still haven't installed win8, so I'm just reacting to what I read.

Would someone like to comment on the criticism that win8 metro apps are a lot more "basic" (read: crap) than their non-metro counterparts? IE, metro Paint seemed awful from what I was reading. Yes, some of us still find MSPaint useful :p
 
Good luck to you and your Mum :)

It's really frustrating at first but give it some time before you decide. It takes a while to get used to the changes when you've had 15+years doing things another way.

A few tips:
- Reorganise your Start Screen (I only put my Metro Apps on there)
- Pin stuff to taskbar for desktop apps
- Learn the shortcuts (Like Win+X, Win+C, Win+I, Win+D)
- Get your head round the universal search (instead of by app)
- Recognise that some of the apps are still poor - I don't use many or are just fluff so far - and can't replace all your desktop apps yet
- Use the Power button :)
- Fondle the corners of your screen :)
 
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FoxEye said:
I still haven't installed win8, so I'm just reacting to what I read.

Would someone like to comment on the criticism that win8 metro apps are a lot more "basic" (read: crap) than their non-metro counterparts? IE, metro Paint seemed awful from what I was reading. Yes, some of us still find MSPaint useful :p
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Agreed - a lot of them are, but these are just apps. It's the underlying OS that's important.

Many would say IE, Outlook Express, Movie Maker, Media Player - even Paint (the desktop app is still in Windows 8 BTW) - are arguably not the best applications and they've all been bundled with versions of Windows prior to Windows 8.

But the important point is that most of the Windows 8 Metro apps are intended to be around consuming information/data, rather than creating - desktop applications are going to win that battle for the foreseeable future.

Good thing is you're not constrained to one or another :)
 
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Yep can understand that - it's a tough transition, if you can give it a few days of use - it starts coming together then, but it's whether she's prepared to or not.
 
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