ID:1029925
 Oct 27 2012, 2:16 am
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I was wondering is it worth is upgrading to windows 8? I am thinking of getting windows 8 pro version and would like to know the advantages and disadvantages of the new operating system. From what I hear there's performance increase and security increase too. Anything else ?
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I was very skeptical of 8 at first. After using the Windows 8 RTM trial version on a virtual drive for a good month or so, I actually love it! In the end I've come to the conclusion that all the worry and the complaining that's been going around is really to blame for making so many people hate the new OS without even giving it a solid chance. Yes, it takes some time to get used to; but that's okay considering it is in fact a new UI. That aside though, the desktop UI is more or less the same (with the obvious lack of a start button.) I've actually found the new UI to increase my speed and productivity because I rely more on the mouse gestures (I also got the Microsoft Touch Mouse. Highly recommended; look into it) and keyboard shortcuts especially to do many tasks which actually used to take more time having to roll my mouse to a specific spot on-screen.
I also love the "metro" look as well (or modern UI, whatever). It's clean, stylish, and I see it lasting. Not to mention I see the whole internet trending towards this view of simplistic design. The start menu's UI does not annoy me, I actually like it. It's not difficult at all to find desktop programs and open them, it's just as fast as the start button was. At the same time, you get a lot of other programs you can use if you're in a hurry and just want to check your mail, messages, twitter, whatever. All of these tiles show live updates on your start screen, which I have actually found very useful. When something new happens, such as receiving new mail, it can even show a small notification on the upper right-hand corner of your screen while you're doing other things. In the end, I'm very fond of the new OS. You do need to get used to it, but I've found there's an advantage to getting used to it. Windows 8 does boot a lot faster and has felt a lot faster overall for me, though that's debatable I guess. You also mentioned the security increase, and yes there's a new virus protection program for Windows 8. From what I hear, it's pretty good. It's not as good as a lot of the other more well known programs (not to mention the paid ones) when it comes to virus detection, but supposedly it's actually pretty good. There are a lot of other little things Microsoft did as well to try to buff up security too. Overall, I don't recommend upgrading if you have any reservations about it and have yet to try it personally. I suggest either trying to try it out yourself, or just watching a lot of videos of it in use and see what you think. There's a lot of crap out there just bashing the OS's new UI and not quite as much praising it. People are reluctant to change, and that's fine. You won't lose or gain anything from switching to Windows 8 aside from the new UI. If you want to stick with 7, and a lot of people will, you won't be missing any great desktop features that 8 has because 8's desktop is basically Windows 7. I recommend upgrading, but in the end it'll be personal preference. Just give it a chance and don't be immediately hateful towards it like a lot of people are. It's just a new start UI, it seriously doesn't change a thing. | |
I've been using Windows 8 for several and new start button is alright. I think it's somewhat easier to use than old one, mainly because there's no useless icons.
I've noticed it takes much longer to boot on my laptop than Windows 7 does. No idea why, but I booted it only twice in the past week, guess gotta give it more time, maybe updates or something. It might be taking a bit less battery power, noticed it saying 5 hours while idle. | |
Really? Mine has been booting light years faster than 7 ever did. I'm actually okay with rebooting 8, unlike I was with 7, because it doesn't take so long.
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I've just upgraded both my laptops to Windows 8 Pro a few weeks ago (Technet Subscription) and I think its well worth it. However, before you upgrade I suggest you search if there are any incompatibilities with your type of PC with regards to upgrading to Windows 8. I ran into a problem that was specific to my type of laptop that after I installed Windows 8, I would receive a black screen. Now, the problem was resolved (BIOS related) but, it certainly wouldn't have killed me if I had decided to look first to see if anyone had run into issues installing Windows 8.
Fugsnarf also pretty much nailed it. You do have to get use to it and the learning curve isn't as steep as most people have been saying it is. | |
It doesn't have a goddam start menu. :\
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Well I am going to upgrade to it tomarrow. I like what I see in the videos and this post so why not. Also fugsnarf what computer specs do you have? The windows 8 is supposed to boot and work faster only on computers with a good processor(not something amazing just something that not bad).
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Fugsnarf wrote:
Really? Mine has been booting light years faster than 7 ever did. Well last time I booted it, it had that loading screen for several seconds, then it disappeared and it had black screen for like a minute before changing. No idea what's the problem, but boot time isn't really an issue for me. | |
I'm sticking with Windows 7 for the foreseeable future. After watching a few videos of how Windows 8 works I have zero interest in it.
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Well I got windows 8 an hour or 2 ago and I would like to report that I love it so far. Great OS.
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Again, if you can spare the 33 bucks, I highly suggest buying the Microsoft Touch mouse. It really enhances the experience. I never used the charms bar before, but now it's so easy to bring it up that I can't help myself. There are many useful functions on it -- even for the desktop.
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Ill look into it thanks for the tip. Whats the charms bar anyways ? Also I would like to mention that a small amount of software doesnt work on windows 8 yet(game guard for example so games that use it should crash).
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The charms bar is the bar on the right side. It's what the little intro "tutorial" showed you.
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ok. Thanks for the info.
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I ended up installing it and love metro everything is in one spot and if I need too I can just go to the desktop..
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yup thats the beauty of it
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I've been using it a while myself. If you guys want, get yourself "Classic Shell". It gives you a fully customization start menu and has tons of skins.
Only issue I'm seeing is that there is some slowdown when playing games, so I'm thinking I just need to update graphics drivers. Other than that though, I'm very impressed with it. | |
Actually I noticed one more issue on Windows 8. When you download the Android SDK from google it doesnt display any of the platforms to download. I was able to fix this by doing a windows 8 factory reset(its different than the normal factory reset. Basically deletes all files and reinstalls windows). Although the problem is fixed now it took hours for the reset to happen so it still was a problem and a waste of time. Anyways overall I am kind of happy with the system so far. Gameguard games still arent supported(I think) so thats the only problem thats not fixed that I know off anymore.
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The new layout could be an advantage or disadvantage but that's personal preference .. you can still access the desktop like any OS.
It's pretty cheap to update so why not just give it a go ... if you don't like it, jump back to your previous OS.