Windows 8 - Classic Shell (Windows 7 Style)

It's just like the shouts about how carp windows XP was when it was released with its bloat and "fisher price" UI. Some people just don't like change. Sadly the number of comments in some of the metro bashing threads around here that are misinformed, highlights quite how many jump on a bandwagon based on screen shots and a vocal few rather than actually spending time trying something new and customising it to how they like it. A good example of this is "Win8 with metro = all apps are full screen". Still, to each their own I guess.

It does remind me somewhat of the amd/NVidia nonsense in the graphics forum though.
 
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A far better example of "jumping on the bandwagon and bashing for the hell of it" can be found with Windows Vista.
We all remember:

Vista sucks
Vista is just the worst thing ever

Then, MIcrosoft start setting up stands all over the place. The exact same Vista however with the Vista name removed from everywhere, it looks like a generic no-name version of Windows. Public told this is something new, take a look

WOW, this OS is great
I like it, so fast and so smooth.

So, the exact same OS is rubbish when it has the name Vista on it, but amazing when it doesn't. Nah, no bandwagon jumping goin on there then!!
 
Well I installed Classic Shell. Seems to work well enough (does what it says on the tin).

After a couple of hours though, I decided to uninstall it. Over the last couple of days I've got used to working just that little bit differently and found I didn't miss the start menu at all. As with others, jump lists and pinned icons work just as well for me for 99% of what I do.
 
A far better example of "jumping on the bandwagon and bashing for the hell of it" can be found with Windows Vista.
We all remember:

Vista sucks
Vista is just the worst thing ever

Then, MIcrosoft start setting up stands all over the place. The exact same Vista however with the Vista name removed from everywhere, it looks like a generic no-name version of Windows. Public told this is something new, take a look

WOW, this OS is great
I like it, so fast and so smooth.

So, the exact same OS is rubbish when it has the name Vista on it, but amazing when it doesn't. Nah, no bandwagon jumping goin on there then!!

It kinda depends at what point in Vista's life cycle you're referring to, until they addressed many of the problems in patches/service packs it was a piece of junk and despite it being very comparable to Windows 7 in the end the damage had been done.

In the long run it was probably a good thing for Microsoft, a wake up call they've needed for years and I can think of many other companies which could use a similar kick up the arse too.
 
It kinda depends at what point in Vista's life cycle you're referring to, until they addressed many of the problems in patches/service packs it was a piece of junk and despite it being very comparable to Windows 7 in the end the damage had been done.

In the long run it was probably a good thing for Microsoft, a wake up call they've needed for years and I can think of many other companies which could use a similar kick up the arse too.


I never had any issues with VISTA apart from crappy driver support by third party companies in the very early days,problem with Win8 is its a major change in layout compared to 98,,XP,ME,Vista,Win7 etc.... and probably has the highest learning curve for a new Microsoft OS(knowing all the shortcuts etc..),its also more designed for a tablet user however which way you cut it,having good drivers,stability is one thing but if the average user does not like the layout etc or don't think its desktop user friendly then you will have serious issues whichever you cut it.

I have one PC in dual boot (Win8 and Ubuntu) and keep going back to Ubuntu on that PC,for Windows gaming I keep using Win7.
I'm not ready to write Win8 off yet but don't like the way Microsoft are going with its layout design etc..

I keep telling myself you will get use to it ,but I just don't know if I will.

End of the day its a radical change from their previous last 3 operating systems.
 
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Back in the day, some people hated the Start menu/task bar enough to adjust the vertical screen height on their monitors to hide it. Seriously.
 
I never had any issues with VISTA apart from crappy driver support by third party companies in the very early days,problem with Win8 is its a major change in layout compared to 98,,XP,ME,Vista,Win7 etc.... and probably has the highest learning curve for a new Microsoft OS(knowing all the shortcuts etc..),its also more designed for a tablet user however which way you cut it,having good drivers,stability is one thing but if the average user does not like the layout etc or don't think its desktop user friendly then you will have serious issues whichever you cut it.

Yes, if Microsoft has any sense they'll expand the introduction which shows you the Windows charms thing when you finish installing to include app switching, having more than 1 metro window and being able to bring up the Start screen by tapping the bottom left corner (pretty sure I didn't see any of that suggested). It would also help if they helped explained things like the charms are context sensitive, the new unified right click/selecting multiple objects menu etc.

While it's hard to do that gracefully it would help some people get over the initial shock of the new interface because even if it is a good idea it doesn't matter if people decide to dislike it.

I have one PC in dual boot (Win8 and Ubuntu) and keep going back to Ubuntu on that PC,for Windows gaming I keep using Win7.
I'm not ready to write Win8 off yet but don't like the way Microsoft are going with its layout design etc..

I'm a little confused by this because as far as I can see you lose absolutely nothing when it comes to Windows 7 or 8 for gaming purposes (there's been some mention that some Steam games aren't working but that's not a long term concern for any new OS).

End of the day its a radical change from their previous last 3 operating systems.

Good, Microsoft had been stagnating for way too long. I'm glad they're trying new approaches even if it ends badly because that means they just need to come up with better solutions.
 
I'm a little confused by this because as far as I can see you lose absolutely nothing when it comes to Windows 7 or 8 for gaming purposes (there's been some mention that some Steam games aren't working but that's not a long term concern for any new OS).



Good, Microsoft had been stagnating for way too long. I'm glad they're trying new approaches even if it ends badly because that means they just need to come up with better solutions.


I only use Windows mainly for gaming and beta games testing,I would be a Linux user if it was not for Windows gaming.

I'm all for new ideas etc from Microsoft but feel its more a tablet OS then desktop OS,why could they not of made it with new ideas,better layout for desktop user as well rather then tablet OS with some desktop features or even better have one version for desktop and one for tablet users.


End of the day there are a lot of desktop users out there.

For the record I've no issues with drivers/stability in Win8 ,just the layout and way its going tablet form etc...

Having said all that I'll install Win8 Pro on my laptop for £15 and give it a chance.
It's going to be a long time before I use touch screen on my desktop PC ,also God help anybody that dare puts a finger print on my monitor screen.
 
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Laptops sales overtook desktops a long time ago, and tablets are eating laptops.

We're relics. The sooner we accept it the more Windows 8 and Windows RT make sense.

So it was too hard or lazy for Microsoft to have two versions,one for desktop/laptop users and one for tablet users,they would still get our money eitherway so had nothing to lose.

I have no intention of getting a tablet,my desktop,laptop and android smartphone is more then enough.
 
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Thats not my memory of it. I was worked on testing in Microsoft at that time (Windows 95 was something like 40+ floppy disks at the time). I can't remember anyone complaining about changing from Windows for Workgroups 3.11 to Win95. Other than most people needed to upgrade their hardware to run it. But most couldn't install it quick enough.

Other than the Apple crowd, system 7 had been out for a few years before Win95 (Chicago), they kinda weren't impressed by it. Apple stuff was a lot slicker though.



Thats what I remember too.

I remember the upgrade from Win 3.1 to win 95, it cost me £80 in a phone bill, as Microsoft opened up 3 centers around the country to deal with problems, and also in the Republic of Ireland. As for those floppy disc's, I was glad to see the back of them.
 
I remember the upgrade from Win 3.1 to win 95, it cost me £80 in a phone bill, as Microsoft opened up 3 centers around the country to deal with problems, and also in the Republic of Ireland. As for those floppy disc's, I was glad to see the back of them.

I still have my Win95 CD somewhere,I hated 3.11 and thought 95 was great back then(showing my age now ;) ).
 
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I still don't get why supposed techy people fear change so much. The start menu is unnecessary clutter anyway, getting rid of it was way overdue.

There would be no uproar if metro was an actual improvement, the start bar wasn't clutter it neatly had everything you needed to administer your computer easily and that metro needs 5 or so different screens you have to cycle through to achieve the same thing.

The start bar was seamlessly integrated into the OS, metro just feels like a separate tablet orientated OS bolted onto the side of it.
 
I would argue that having two versions is the lazy option.

Look how many versions of Vista,Win7,8 there are ie more then two,even Win8 Enterprise is more desktop user friendly then the other Win8 versions,so having one more new Win8 for desktop home users would not be that hard for Microsoft.
 
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