Author Topic: Widows 8.1 available for free. Should I or shouldn't I?  (Read 7187 times)

Offline tweeter55

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Widows 8.1 available for free. Should I or shouldn't I?
« on: October 29, 2013, 04:44:18 AM »
'Spose it can't be worse, can it?  :feedback:
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Offline VirginiaJim

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Re: Widows 8.1 available for free. Should I or shouldn't I?
« Reply #1 on: October 29, 2013, 04:49:18 AM »
It's supposed to be better...
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Offline timsatx

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Re: Widows 8.1 available for free. Should I or shouldn't I?
« Reply #2 on: October 29, 2013, 06:00:49 AM »
The key word is "supposed". Although I must admit that I have no experience with 8 at all.

Offline twowheeladdict

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Re: Widows 8.1 available for free. Should I or shouldn't I?
« Reply #3 on: October 29, 2013, 06:10:15 AM »
What do you currently have? 

If you have a touch screen then by all means give it a try.  I personally don't like windows 8 on a no-touch screen computer.
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Offline tweeter55

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Re: Widows 8.1 available for free. Should I or shouldn't I?
« Reply #4 on: October 29, 2013, 06:45:52 AM »
I do not have a touch screen and I am far from being a computer geek.
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Re: Widows 8.1 available for free. Should I or shouldn't I?
« Reply #5 on: October 29, 2013, 06:56:56 AM »
New Spouse can't be worse, can it?  :feedback:

Most Widows have money from insurance so I reckon they are free!!  But I am having a hard time seeing 2, much less 8.1 :o

Offline sherob

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Re: Widows 8.1 available for free. Should I or shouldn't I?
« Reply #6 on: October 29, 2013, 07:13:27 AM »
I have Win Hate on a non touch screen laptop... I put a hack on it so it emulated Win Heaven.  I will be installing Hate.1 just to check it out... can always reinstall the hack.
Rob
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Offline Rhino

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Re: Widows 8.1 available for free. Should I or shouldn't I?
« Reply #7 on: October 29, 2013, 07:41:01 AM »
I have Win Hate on a non touch screen laptop... I put a hack on it so it emulated Win Heaven.  I will be installing Hate.1 just to check it out... can always reinstall the hack.

+1 I use start8  http://news.softpedia.com/news/Start8-1-30-Brings-Full-Windows-8-1-RTM-Support-391852.shtml
Made my new machine with win 8 actually usable.

Offline 2fast

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Re: Widows 8.1 available for free. Should I or shouldn't I?
« Reply #8 on: October 29, 2013, 08:07:14 AM »
I use WinH8 on a touchscreen. Kind of a blonde OS, cute but stupid. For all you blondes, sorry about the blonde joke.........

Updating to the new .1 will require reinstalling any programs, so it will be a long time before I touch the updates. It usually whacks all your settings too.
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Offline Conrad

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Re: Widows 8.1 available for free. Should I or shouldn't I?
« Reply #9 on: October 29, 2013, 08:47:21 AM »
'Spose it can't be worse, can it?  :feedback:

+1 It can't be worse is right!  :o

I avoid using 8 like the plague. Unfortunately I can't avoid it here at work completely and my wife has 8 on her touchscreen tablet.

She likes it and said that she tried to upgrade with the free 8.1 update but it didn't work. So guess who gets to look at it and see why?
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Offline Awaz

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Re: Widows 8.1 available for free. Should I or shouldn't I?
« Reply #10 on: October 29, 2013, 10:12:17 AM »
My opinion is different! I do like win 8 - especially the internal tweaks they have put in place over other versions of windows. I understand it is a learning curve to get familiar with the new interface, but I am looking forward to installing windows 8 by end of Nov and go to town.

I realize it may seem to be challenge to get used to a completely new interface after we are so intuned/institutionalized to pretty much the same interface since win 3.1 or something. But I think there is lot of good benefit with windows 8 as long as you are up to re-learning an interface.
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Offline Rhino

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Re: Widows 8.1 available for free. Should I or shouldn't I?
« Reply #11 on: October 29, 2013, 10:19:51 AM »
My opinion is different! I do like win 8 - especially the internal tweaks they have put in place over other versions of windows. I understand it is a learning curve to get familiar with the new interface, but I am looking forward to installing windows 8 by end of Nov and go to town.

I realize it may seem to be challenge to get used to a completely new interface after we are so intuned/institutionalized to pretty much the same interface since win 3.1 or something. But I think there is lot of good benefit with windows 8 as long as you are up to re-learning an interface.

Glad somebody likes it. I like it fine now with the start8 mod. I'm sure my problem was mostly due to not wanting to go through the learning curve but I found it difficult to multi task. Also for non-touch screens, I don't get tiles. They are just ridiculously large icons IMO. Ok for touch screens I would imagine but for keyboard mouse machines, they just get in the way.

Offline sherob

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Re: Widows 8.1 available for free. Should I or shouldn't I?
« Reply #12 on: October 29, 2013, 10:23:55 AM »
Relearning an interface if given a choice is one thing... especially when I paid for a device with it installed.  I didn't want to learn a new interface at the time since I didn't have the time.

Enjoy it.

Rob
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Offline Conrad

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Re: Widows 8.1 available for free. Should I or shouldn't I?
« Reply #13 on: October 29, 2013, 10:35:34 AM »
My opinion is different! I do like win 8 - especially the internal tweaks they have put in place over other versions of windows. I understand it is a learning curve to get familiar with the new interface, but I am looking forward to installing windows 8 by end of Nov and go to town.

I realize it may seem to be challenge to get used to a completely new interface after we are so intuned/institutionalized to pretty much the same interface since win 3.1 or something. But I think there is lot of good benefit with windows 8 as long as you are up to re-learning an interface.

The biggest issue that I have with 8 is that it's SO non-intuitive. I've been using computers since the days of punch cards and I've been through all of the Windows iterations. With knowledge of the pervious version of Windows you could get through well enough with the new version. Not so for me with 8. I spend more time looking for how to do something than anything else. The learning curve shouldn't be so steep. 
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Offline sherob

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Re: Widows 8.1 available for free. Should I or shouldn't I?
« Reply #14 on: October 29, 2013, 10:45:05 AM »
The biggest issue that I have with 8 is that it's SO non-intuitive. I've been using computers since the days of punch cards and I've been through all of the Windows iterations. With knowledge of the pervious version of Windows you could get through well enough with the new version. Not so for me with 8. I spend more time looking for how to do something than anything else. The learning curve should be so steep.

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Offline Classvino

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Re: Widows 8.1 available for free. Should I or shouldn't I?
« Reply #15 on: October 29, 2013, 10:52:18 AM »
I realize it may seem to be challenge to get used to a completely new interface after we are so intuned/institutionalized to pretty much the same interface since win 3.1 or something. But I think there is lot of good benefit with windows 8 as long as you are up to re-learning an interface.

I think you've hit on the biggest problem with W8 - In our company there are two groups of people (of course - one group likes it, one doesn't) and we (in IT) have noticed that most of the people that do like it are mobile phone "Power-Users" and are already used to the touch- or tile- based operations.    We haven't completely adopted 8 yet, over half of our userbase is still on 7, with a few diehard managers still on XP...    Personally, I don't like updates too much - As you say, the job's difficult enough most days without the extra aggravation of learning a new interface, but to me a PC is mostly just a tool to sign onto a real computer (a mainframe  ;D  )

(The Android people seem to love it, while the Blackberry people don't share the love...  The iPeople are evenly split)

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Offline sherob

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Re: Widows 8.1 available for free. Should I or shouldn't I?
« Reply #16 on: October 29, 2013, 10:57:48 AM »
but to me a PC is mostly just a tool to sign onto a real computer (a mainframe  ;D  )


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Offline VirginiaJim

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Re: Widows 8.1 available for free. Should I or shouldn't I?
« Reply #17 on: October 29, 2013, 01:31:45 PM »
The biggest issue that I have with 8 is that it's SO non-intuitive. I've been using computers since the days of punch cards....

And that right there is the crux of most of our problems....we're old and we don't like change.  Windows 8 and beyond is for the young whipper snappers who eat up social networks for breakfast.

And BTW, I used to repair said key punch machines aeons ago...
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Offline MrPepsi

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Re: Widows 8.1 available for free. Should I or shouldn't I?
« Reply #18 on: October 29, 2013, 01:47:32 PM »
Put 8.1 on my Surface RT and it is an improvement.
However I bought a new gaming rig recently. First thing I did was put Windows 7 on it.
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Offline Conrad

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Re: Widows 8.1 available for free. Should I or shouldn't I?
« Reply #19 on: October 29, 2013, 01:49:00 PM »
And that right there is the crux of most of our problems....we're old and we don't like change.  Windows 8 and beyond is for the young whipper snappers who eat up social networks for breakfast.

And BTW, I used to repair said key punch machines aeons ago...

I think that Classvino hit the nail on the head with this.

Snip...

In our company there are two groups of people (of course - one group likes it, one doesn't) and we (in IT) have noticed that most of the people that do like it are mobile phone "Power-Users" and are already used to the touch- or tile- based operations.     

Jamie

I'm still using a dumb phone so I'm way behind the curve (and I don't care).
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