Lost in Windows 8

[MrsWargamer]

Well I'm running a Win 8 Pro release in 64 bit. There are days I wish I still had access to FAT 32, but my last vestige of nuisance was killed off when my buddy helped me do a desktop shortcut thingy that launches my Steel Panthers 3 Brigade Combat inside a DOSbox program thingy and now I can finally play it and it doesn't seem to possess any of the problems that plague my SPWaW program (although the arty hassle might be the last problem with it, and no the fix didn't fix it).

I think the most valuable program on the system though has to be Team Viewer 8. When I have a problem, I just call my buddy, act hysterical and helpless (which isn't too hard sadly) and he just takes control of the system and fixes it remotely. I am not sure how easy that might have been in the past with earlier OSs. And no, I don't have any problems with trusting him, he's like a adopted son to me.

[charlie0311]

wish I knew such a person. boy, oh boy, do I!!! and !!! some more...

[zakblood]

i also still use dos, and use a program called DOSBox GL v0.74 which is dosbox game launcher for those who don't know it, it's free and work great for older games, but using the compatibility mode with 8.1 pro 64bit is a dream to get others to work, eg no dos games etc, not had one that wouldn't as yet, but my database isn't that big for older games, only have a few TB of backups, but then again i still use emulation software for C64, amiga, atari ST, BBC and a few others as well...

dos was good, win 3.1 was better, with every version since growing on a basically sound and good platform, the progression was small at first but as soon as win 98se came out, it really shined as a gaming platform, with all versions after it just getting better for me, i even liked ME and NT4 and win2k...

XP was the easiest, win 7 the most stable, but now i love win 8.1 as much as any and can't wait for win9, as the beta looks good[X(]

ps, and yes Team Viewer works as well on all versions of windows, and it's easier than remote view thats comes with windows, have used it in the past, but not needed now as i use remote view as all my pc's are networked and cabled.

9 is the latest version

[Anguille]

Youtube can very helpful...there's a lot of help videos.

[Zap]

Why focus on Windows 8? Next month Windows 9 will be touted by Microsoft.

[zakblood]

so true,

Windows 9 release date. As of right now, we expect to see Windows 9 in a preview build as early as September 30

beta works well btw[8|]

[Kuokkanen]

ORIGINAL: eyegore

We tolerate the GUI on our smartphones because it's about all you can do on that tiny screen. But to put that GUI on a desktop seems like a special kind of stupid to me.

Is there some requirement to use the damn thing?

Whole issue about the Win8 GUIs reminds me about WinXP Service Pack 3: that adds Windows Firewall, caused some problems with the programs, lots of bitching about it in Internet, and instead turning off the damn thing some people uninstalled SP3! THAT I call stupid

[Zap]

ORIGINAL: zakblood

so true,

Windows 9 release date. As of right now, we expect to see Windows 9 in a preview build as early as September 30

beta works well btw[8|]

Seriously, Microsoft is churning these out faster (recently) then I can keep up. I guess this is one of their main money makers.

[Yogi the Great]

I've avoided Windows 8. Hopefully windows 9 will be worth the change from 7, although because of past experience I will wait until at least the first patch for windows 9. I do the same for apple phones as the first release usually has problems.

[Lützow]

Reason for the entire Windows disaster was, that Microsoft missed mobile development during the past decade. When Win Phones finally hit the market, nobody was interested, as they didn't add anything special in regard to Android and iOS. So some marketeers got the glorious idea of implementing the tile UI into Windows, hoping that people get used on the look and purchase MS devices instead of Apple and Samsung ones in the future. I grew up with Windows and loved it from v2 (1989) until v7, but with Win8 they finally lost me and I won't come back anymore. Unless MS switches the underlying crappy NT for a non-propietary (UNIX-based) OS, maybe. That's not likely to happen, though.

Two weeks ago I had to work for the very first (and hopefully last) time on a Win8 laptop and was happy to drop it again. Yes, after while one probably get used on the UI, but why should I? Aside of games there is nothing exclusive to Windows anymore and I need my machine primarily for working.

[MrsWargamer]

Stop talking about 9 damn it

I'm not ready for 9

[zakblood]

if you can use 8, which was harder than 7, 9 won't be any different for you, there only numbers tbh GUI is the same with nearly all windows versions, just a few tweaks, but basically the same

ORIGINAL: MrsWargamer

Stop talking about 9 damn it

I'm not ready for 9

[Qwixt]

I don't upgrade the OS on PCs I own. I keep the same one that I installed when I built it. I see no reason to upgrade. There is never feature/upgrade in the new OS that is must have for me.

I recently bought a laptop with 8.1 on it for my kid going to college. I have to say that I liked the changes, and it was easy to switch to a normal desktop.

[charlie0311]

easy for a guy who builds computers, there has to be a just right word that applies here, what would it be?

[Lützow]

Where is the point of installing a new OS version just to make it look like it's predecessor? [;)]

[aaatoysandmore]

ORIGINAL: Zap

ORIGINAL: zakblood

so true,

Windows 9 release date. As of right now, we expect to see Windows 9 in a preview build as early as September 30

beta works well btw[8|]

Seriously, Microsoft is churning these out faster (recently) then I can keep up. I guess this is one of their main money makers.

This is why I never jump on new band wagon OS's or video cards and such that is the latest suppose to be greatest (unless it's free of course)

I ran XP until they no longer supported it and then only upgraded to Vista 64 after that. Then there was a need to have Win7 so I bought a cheapo dual core 8500e or something like that for like $150 and I'm satisfied until there is a need or Vista is no longer supported.

I hardly touch Win7 because I've read so many horror stories about older games that don't work on it. Like Medieval Total War I and others.

Right now everything is working so I'm not going to upgrade until I have to again. They say if it's not broken don't fix it but Microsoft is just money grubbing now. Reminds me of OotpBB a new version every year with little tweaks and a new roster for the same full price of $39.99. I fell off that bandwagon a long time ago and I'm still happy playing the older versions I have.

[zakblood]

tbh im speed freak, don't care about cars or stuff etc or have any nasty habits etc, so spend what money i do have on stuff i like and need, been a pc engineer all my working life so like to keep in touch.

have used all version in the past, most if not all processors and video cards over the years and now like the newest techknowledge in SSD's and the improvements in memory etc.

so each year or so i get a new board and cpu, newer memory and video card, see what's hot in the SDD market and either upgrade to a fully new pc or upgrade what i have, always sell on what i get rid of, as most stuff nowadays comes with 1 to 3 years warranty etc, so pass that on when i build for others, the loss you get is small if you buy right at the right time and don't get stuff when at a premium when just first out.

most of my friends get newer and faster pc's and i get each year a faster one to keep up, with this it's nice to have the latest O/S on it as each time a newer one comes out, most of the time it's faster, with more bells and whistles etc.

but yes agree it's not everyones cup of tea, i still spend a lot of time repairing other pc's / and O/S's for friends and ex colleges etc so again it's nice to keep upto date on the tech thats out, so i keep the knowledge also... as it's true what they say "if you don't use it, you lose it" with brain knowledge i mean

as each version of windows comes out, the speed to backup and reinstall has gone down a lot, i used to make incremental backups, but now i just drop all my backups onto a server and reinstall off a image i make when i first install the windows version i use atm.

at any one time i can have 5 to 6 pc's in the home, with up to 3 or more different O/S on them, all networked doing different stuff and used for different reasons, GF stuck with win 7 as she likes it, and tbh has far too much stuff on it for me to move her yet onto win 8.1.

why i keep and use images for all O/S is for testing stuff, it only takes 30 mins max to install almost any O/S onto a modern pc nowadays, if the image is kept up to date with patches also, this can be lower and very easy to do.

windows 8.1 for me over any other is the easiest & fastest O/S to image and reinstall, on a i7 with SDD installed it can be done in less than 30mins for both actions, to install an image only i have timed it at 13 minutes from start to fully working with all drivers and updates and all programs installed.

if i was still working and time equals money, the time spent doing it versus cost alone would make it worthwhile for me.

not everyone wants to upgrade, backup and a clean install for me is the best way as you don't take over older junk and then also you get a better newer cleaner system / O/S...

the time taken to get used to a newer O/S is no longer than a newer phone or car for most, for techies it's called fun and a hobby for myself, so either hate it or love it, we all embrace it or move onto something else.

for me linux / unix is far too hard for general use, with the cost of apple too high, android being easier than linux & unix but still not a mainstream with enough use for most users, gaming for one for me etc...

so until something totally different comes along, i'll stick with pc's and windows, which ever version it will be...

[eyegore]

Actually what I think was behind the move was a fast penny pench buck. The "One size fits all" approach that would save them doing a version for Desktop, smartphone and tablet. Just have the same GUI across the board--and save all that development cost. A generalization of an OS that would work across everything.

Except most people did not like it--but they went ahead and ignored beta feedback and stuck to their guns, convincing themselves they could sell everyone one it--and then reaping the rewards when their stock increased.

Problem was the "general base" was a mobile device...and the rude truth...like so many others I could go into-- the mobile market is solely and completely dependant on a tech that has been at a dead end and stagnant for nearly 100 years. A battery.

As my education is in Electronic engineering, and i did work for MS from the early days of Windows 95...through it's 3 releases of Win95a, Win95b and Win95c, Win98, Wind98SE, Win Mil and left in 2000 during the development of XP--, I understand both their approach and the realistic fact all tech will hit a wall---Even way back then my professors predicted, and rather 100 percent point on--computers would HAVE to go to something other than the slow electron to maintain the adage of all things electronic get cheaper and more powerful....except when they hit that wall. We have seen it in CPU speed--and they went multicore to continue--and when that wall was hit then it was chip size...shorting the distance the electron had to travel-- and today they admit about .15 micron is about the limit--and the next step-light---which BTW is about 5 years off as IBM researchers already have protypes---they are just now looking for a decent semi-conductor replacment now for the base.

But the battery--for all intent and purposes hit that wall long before most of us were born. They have repackaged it, relabled it and re-advertised it to appear there has been progress--but the truth is the tech that powered a 1936 Uboat hasn't changed at all, nor the average car battery from the very first car we all drove. Except of course to get more expensive. And this is the future? Mobile devices? the be all base for an OS across all devises? Heck everyone I know that carry around a smartphone can't be found too far from the neareast electrical outlet for a recharge. And the truth is---that is not changing...ever. Until of course something else replaces a "battery". And there is nothing in sight. So i find this whole move in that direction rather silly as how far it can go is already determined---and until somebody solves that crushing "power" problem it's not going too far. They can go a small ways toward chips that use less power, but any decent engineer will point out the average ARM chip is already intentally crippled to conserve power.

It becomes doubly scary this limited tech is now the "base' a good majority of games is developed towards as well--to get a bit off topic...because that means things like smarter A.I. just took a giant leap backwards because if your going cross platform the lowest common demoninator determines what exactly can be realistically done...and if that is a smartphone or tablet with a crippled ARM chip--then what appears on your average PC will be just as limiting.

First it was a 10 year old console holding the industry back--and now something even worse has raised it's ugly head---but the lure of the dollar has the whole industry doing just that sadly. Regardless of how obvious the truth.

Same goes for solar or windmills in regards to solving the World's Energy problem BTW--as they are as soly dependant on that dead tech that only grows more expensive as time goes on.Then a double wammy as that DC has to be converted to AC--another expensive and dead tech with no replacment in sight.

For ALL the above to be practical and work something that stores energy...lots of energy, has to be not only cheaper and far more efficient but it needs to be on that road that says "cheaper and more powerful" with every new version. But a battery is not digital tech. For that we use capacitors or electrolitic copacitors---as is found in the average Power supply--something that can store and release energy without failing in 2 years--( if it's china made an electorlectic capacitor can fail that quick BTW---so look for full solid state design and manufacturers in Japan.)but again, those are analog too and not digital. they never got better or cheaper either. And they do have a shelf life.

[Rising-Sun]

I just upgrade my pc to Win8.1 after formatting my Vista64. It is nice, but going to take time for me to navigate around this weird App Windows.

[Jeffrey H.]

ORIGINAL: eyegore

Actually...

Very interesting. I've been toying with the idea of a solar power system for my house. I don't like what is currently being offered.

One of the hangups I have is frankly DC backup, no one will even touch the idea.