Back to Seven ...

[Junner2003]

I never thought that I ever would do that but, as of today, I am back to Windows 7. It's not that I have turned into a Windows 8 hater but, honestly, I haven't fallen in love with it either.

 

When Windows 8 came out as Consumer Preview, I was already not really convinced about the new direction such as "always online" (Windows Live as login) and cloud integration. And before you say anything, I am well aware of the fact that you can switch to an offline account but then all of the Modern UI apps aren't working. What would be the point of running Windows 8 without that? Some may say that a faster boot and an improved Task Manager would be well worth the switch, yet, I can't see their point. After all, I am not rebooting my computer multiple times a day; having to wait 10 seconds longer on the initial startup won't really spoil the day. And the few improvements in the Task Manager are of cosmetic dimensions only. In no way does it make my life easier.

 

Initially, I tried to get used to things. Since I have Windows Phone as well, it was nice that I could easily access my contacts, calendar and email via the desktop's Modern UI app counterparts. It didn't take long until those started to annoy me either because of missing features or unnecessary limitations. For example, up to this day you can't display your contacts by LAST NAME, FIRST NAME on the computer. The app has gotten multiple updates since its first incarnation. In later versions, Microsoft added at least a sorting option by LAST NAME. Does that really help? Not if you have 20 people with all the same first name! Limitations in the Mail and Calendar apps did their own part to make me use the Outlook.com's website instead.

 

I tried to remind myself to use some of the other Modern UI apps. The Weather and News app were ok even though it always bothered me that it takes very long to open them. But just recently, Microsoft decided to put all of it on their website and they even encouraged me with feeds in the app, saying: "Did you know that you can access the news on our new MSN website now? Why don't you head other and give it a try?". So I did. Not only was it faster to simply go to the MSN website but I also didn't have to run multiple apps full screen in order to access the same content. NEWS, MONEY, SPORTS, WEATHER, HEALTH and more, everything is right there just a mouse click away ...

 

And to scratch on the Live Tile problem for a sec: Did it ever happen to you that you saw an interesting headline on the NEWS tile and you then spent several minutes trying to hunt down the article in the app? Or you just wanted to look up the current temperature outside but the moment you arrived at the start screen it just did the flip-over thing and you had to sit there for 5 seconds or more until it decided to flip back? Sadly, the app needs as long for the startup as it needs to flip the tile, so, launching the app didn't really speed up the process. Some may argue that I could just launch the app and keep it open but then, I also could just keep a weather page in a tab in my web browser (which I am doing now anyway) and receive far more information than the app ever provided.

 

Up to here, I haven't even really talked about real problems. Above, I merely wanted to illustrate why using those Modern UI apps can be annoying to some people. If you want to really feel like you're in a constant argument with your operating system, try working in Windows 8 in multiple languages. For instance, I speak a number of languages and have friends and clients around the globe. No matter if you work within the Modern UI apps, Office 365 or even Visual Studio - auto correct will become your worst enemy and turning it off is not as simple as going to the settings and click the switch. For some reason, the switch didn't have any effect on some of my computers and I had to do it globally via the group policy editor. (This didn't help in Office though since it comes with its own spell checker.) Again, this was a major annoyance. Whenever I wrote something in German, French or Spanish, the system tried to auto correct things to English. You ended up correcting the correction. And here I won't even bother getting into region formats and so on. The system will work fine if you do nothing but Face-booking and surfing the web but it will go haywire once you need it to be a bit more flexible and international. This never had been an issue in Windows 7.

 

In between, I had one computer set up in US English and another in German. It worked but ... seriously? I had to run different computers in different languages just so that I could use it without hassle? For a while, I also switched my desktop language to the language that I needed for a certain task to avoid any complications. I guess you can see how this could be a bother if you have to sign in and out all the time in order to switch the language and region formats? Still, your Office (and other) software was still in the originally installed language, so, in some cases, it didn't help much.

 

The settings synchronization is another thing that hasn't been thought through entirely. For instance, try not to get all your desktop bookmarks on your Windows 8 device! Good luck with that if you would like to have them synched to all of your Windows 8 computers but not to the cell phone. Before you even get a chance to turn it off in the phone's settings on first setup, they already synched down. The same holds true for other settings synchronizations between your computers. Some people suggested to me to have different Live IDs for different computers. If I think about it, I already can foresee a whole lot of problems on the horizon.

 

The final straw for me was work related. As a web developer, I run a local web server on my production computer and often, I am working on client projects there from other computers (local or over the internet). It has happened over and over that the server is, all of a sudden, not accessible even though it is up and running just fine. I believe that this might have to do with some buggy behavior in the Windows Firewall or UAC but even turning it off won't grant me access anymore. On the production computer, I can do everything just fine (including FTP and other stuff). Other computers in the intranet can't even access a website there anymore. Regardless what I try, it will just stay that way and, all of a sudden a few days later, everything can be accessed from other computers again. In Windows 7, this problem never occurred.

 

In a whole, Windows 8.x feels unfinished and buggy to me. It doesn't feel "thought out" and "thought through" with the way things are implemented or with even missing functionality. The one thing so many users complained about, the missing start menu, was never an issue for me since there were plenty 3rd party solutions available. I, however, struggle with the new flat look of desktop apps. Especially if you get older, you have visual problems and having overlapping windows with no color / shadow effect (unless they're focused) makes working in it very difficult. The bright colors of Office 365 even on dark grey aren't designed with people in mind that work more than a few minutes in Outlook or Word. The ribbon bar at the top looks awful in this flat white. Take a moment and google a picture of Office 2007 or 2010 and compare those 2 to the latest Office. If you tell me that those don't look cleaner and more eye pleasing then I simply have to admit that it is just me.

 

I could go on and write a whole lot more but I think that I already wrote way too much. And even though I would have liked to list some more examples or elaborate on the ones above, I'll just stop here.

 

So, yeah, as I mentioned in the beginning, I am back to 7. It works and does what it is supposed to do without compromises. I am not hating Windows 8.x but, after all this years, I've learned that W8 isn't for me. And from what I can see with Windows 10, it doesn't seem to be much different to 8 either, so, I probably will be stuck with 7 for a long time.

 

Currently, I am also evaluating my Windows Phone situation. I am not sure if I should hold on to it or simply go with Android these days? After all, Microsoft has released most of their apps and services on Android anyway, so, this wouldn't really hold me back. What do you guys think?

[+Warwagon MVC]

Oddly enough I'm use to Windows 8 but only with a start menu, someone just needs to kill that screen with fire. Not going to go on a long rant about it only because Windows 10 is looking to correct most of that abomination.

[trag3dy]

I never stopped using windows 7. I look at 8 and I don't see any reason I'd need to upgrade switch.

 

I might try 10 or whatever the next version ends up being called though.

[strollin]

I confess I only read the first 2 paragraphs of your rant.  In the 2nd paragraph I became convinced that you must have used some other OS other than Win 8 when you stated that using a MS account means you are always "on line".  Where did you get that incorrect tidbit of information?  Then, you stated that Win 8 MUI apps won't work unless you use a MS account.  Shhh!  Please don't tell my Win 8 computers that as they seem to work fine using a local account and every MUI app I have tried has worked fine.  The only thing that I have encountered that insists you use a MS account is OneDrive but there are ways around that.

 

I don't care if you prefer Win 7 or Win 8, everyone is entitled to their own preference.  However, when ranting, at least be right about the stuff you're ranting about.

[T3X4S]

I agree.  My desktop is running Win7 - always has.  But in VMWare Im running mint & Win10

My laptops are both running win7 & win10 in a dual boot.

[DKAngel]

i cant go back to 7, it feels backwards and ive gotten used to how well 8.1 runs. very much looking forward to 10

[br0adband]

(sorry, waste of time post, my mistake)

[Junner2003]

I confess I only read the first 2 paragraphs of your rant.  In the 2nd paragraph I became convinced that you must have used some other OS other than Win 8 when you stated that using a MS account means you are always "on line".  Where did you get that incorrect tidbit of information?  Then, you stated that Win 8 MUI apps won't work unless you use a MS account.  Shhh!  Please don't tell my Win 8 computers that as they seem to work fine using a local account and every MUI app I have tried has worked fine.  The only thing that I have encountered that insists you use a MS account is OneDrive but there are ways around that.

 

I don't care if you prefer Win 7 or Win 8, everyone is entitled to their own preference.  However, when ranting, at least be right about the stuff you're ranting about.

I confess I only read the first 12 words of your post and I became convinced that your reply wasn't worth my time reading it. See, 2 can play that game.

 

I wasn't ranting at all. Instead, I wrote down my experience with Windows 8 and the reasons why I am back at 7. You don't have to share my point of view but that still doesn't make it a rant. I am willing to learn about things I may have overlooked or misunderstood. That you can install MUI apps without being signed into Live is new to me. When I tried it back in time, it forced me to sign onto Live the moment I opened up the store.

i cant go back to 7, it feels backwards and ive gotten used to how well 8.1 runs. very much looking forward to 10

In some aspects, I agree with you. The rounded corners and Aero feel a little bit weird after being on 8 for so long. Still, the difference isn't that much if you ignore the Modern UI. I still have 8 on my Surface Pro 3 and there it truly shines as a tablet OS. Still, on my desktop I prefer 7. It just keeps me more focussed on the task without unnecessary distructions.

[Shiranui]

I paid a dollar for Startisback! on day one and never looked back.

[+Zagadka Subscriber²]

I'm not a huge fan of 8, but after using Start8 (or equiv), I really don't have a reason to want to go to the trouble of rolling back to 7. I just don't see the advantage.

 

I could argue about the MS account linkage and stuff, but there isn't much compelling to go either way. To each his own.

[BajiRav]

should have just waited few more weeks and tried Windows 10 preview?

[Junner2003]

should have just waited few more weeks and tried Windows 10 preview?

Running W10 DP on a test machine. So far, I can't see much difference to W8 other than the nice addition of window drop shadow and the fact that you now can run MUI apps directly on the desktop. And, honestly, to me it just feels like those apps don't belong there.

 

The new start menu isn't important to me; I already own Start8 anyway.

 

And as I said in my initial post: I don't hate Windows 8. It is just a collection of tiny annoyances that bother me. That's why I believe W8 isn't for me.

[Raa]

I'm the same. Windows 8 does absolutely nothing for me at all. Sure, I can get back the start menu, I can change the sounds, themes, and even bring back aero...

But at the end of the day I just don't like it.

 

I am excited for Windows 10 though, and I'm fairly certain I will be upgrading to it when it goes gold.

[adrynalyne]

Running W10 DP on a test machine. So far, I can't see much difference to W8 other than the nice addition of window drop shadow and the fact that you now can run MUI apps directly on the desktop. And, honestly, to me it just feels like those apps don't belong there.

 

The new start menu isn't important to me; I already own Start8 anyway.

 

And as I said in my initial post: I don't hate Windows 8. It is just a collection of tiny annoyances that bother me. That's why I believe W8 isn't for me.

Fair enough, but your first paragraph points are incorrect.

[BajiRav]

Running W10 DP on a test machine. So far, I can't see much difference to W8 other than the nice addition of window drop shadow and the fact that you now can run MUI apps directly on the desktop. And, honestly, to me it just feels like those apps don't belong there.

 

The new start menu isn't important to me; I already own Start8 anyway.

 

And as I said in my initial post: I don't hate Windows 8. It is just a collection of tiny annoyances that bother me. That's why I believe W8 isn't for me.

Are you saying that you will be sticking with Windows 7 (unless you jump over to Linux/OSX) forever? I think most of your Metro complaints can be taken care by avoiding metro. The firewall thing is the most peculiar and something I haven't had any problem on my work systems(multiple Windows 8.x and 2012s).

I personally can't imagine going back to Windows 7 due to numerous smaller improvements in Windows 8.x which should get even better in 10.

[strollin]

I personally never left Seven.  My computers that were running 7 before Win 8 came out still run Win 7.  I only run Win 8 on machines that came with it.  To me, there isn't a significant difference between Win 7, Win 8 or Win 10.  None of them are clearly that much different or better/worse to warrant switching a running machine to a different OS.  When Win 10 ships later this year, I won't switch any of my current machines to it but most likely any new machines I buy or build will run Win 10.

 

To me, it's not worth the hassle of switching to a different OS when there is no clear benefit for doing so.  Obviously, there are many that don't share my viewpoint.  I think it's great that we have a choice.

 

The last machine I upgraded was an old Acer Aspire One netbook I had that originally came with XP.  When support for XP ended, I went ahead and upgraded that machine to Win 8.1.  It ran Win 8 better than it ran XP.

[python134r]

I have machines with Win 10 Enterprise preview , Win 8.1 pro and Win 7 Pro, 10 in VM and the others the conventional install.  8,8.1 and 10 are minor improvements over each other, they are serviceable, however for production  machine I am keeping Win 7 Pro until I feel comfortable with it,    

 

 

HAPPY NEW Year All........

[+Warwagon MVC]

I have machines with Win 10 Enterprise preview , Win 8.1 pro and Win 7 Pro, 10 in VM and the others the conventional install.  8,8.1 and 10 are minor improvements over each other, they are serviceable, however for production  machine I am keeping Win 7 Pro until I feel comfortable with it,    

 

 

HAPPY NEW Year All........

 

Happy Birthday!

[DKAngel]

I confess I only read the first 12 words of your post and I became convinced that your reply wasn't worth my time reading it. See, 2 can play that game.

 

I wasn't ranting at all. Instead, I wrote down my experience with Windows 8 and the reasons why I am back at 7. You don't have to share my point of view but that still doesn't make it a rant. I am willing to learn about things I may have overlooked or misunderstood. That you can install MUI apps without being signed into Live is new to me. When I tried it back in time, it forced me to sign onto Live the moment I opened up the store.

In some aspects, I agree with you. The rounded corners and Aero feel a little bit weird after being on 8 for so long. Still, the difference isn't that much if you ignore the Modern UI. I still have 8 on my Surface Pro 3 and there it truly shines as a tablet OS. Still, on my desktop I prefer 7. It just keeps me more focussed on the task without unnecessary distructions.

 

 

 i find every time i go back to using 7 im trying to pull the app down to close it lol. ###### me

[fusi0n]

There are a few huge annoyances with Windows 8, but with the huge speed improvement.. Going back to Windows 7 would be a huge drop in speed.. My PC comes on almost instant..  

[sinetheo]

If it ain't broke don't fix it! Windows 7 is the best OS ever and there no features or reasons to upgrade. Take a look at the new dark theme for the preview?http://www.theverge.com/2015/1/9/7520989/windows-10-screenshots-dark-theme-spartan-browser

You can't tell what each icon is from far away?

Anyway 7 is still very modern as its only 5 years old. 10 years is the norm to upgrade a platform these days. Every benchmark shows 7 beating 8 or no difference at all. My system boots faster than 8.1 too as I have a raid 0 ssd wit an is 4770k. True 8.1 offers a benefit in booting in a core 2 duo on a mechanical disk but that is it.

[Anibal P]

I'm the same. Windows 8 does absolutely nothing for me at all. Sure, I can get back the start menu, I can change the sounds, themes, and even bring back aero...

But at the end of the day I just don't like it.

 

I am excited for Windows 10 though, and I'm fairly certain I will be upgrading to it when it goes gold.

 

Nice contradiction here, 10 is a slightly retooled 8 in the looks department, functionally are the same. don't see how you can't like on and liker the other, makes no sense, unless you only dislike 8 because that's the trendy thing to do 

[sinetheo]

Nice contradiction here, 10 is a slightly retooled 8 in the looks department, functionally are the same. don't see how you can't like on and liker the other, makes no sense, unless you only dislike 8 because that's the trendy thing to do

There are many things wron with 8. Start menu is just one tiny example.

[+Zagadka Subscriber²]

And the rest are...?

[farmeunit]

And the rest are...?

Not all the settings are in Metro.  You have to go back and forth, or just use desktop and Control Panel, etc..

Windows Repair is HORRIBLE.  I have yet to have it repair anything.  Not that 10 will fix that, but Win7, much more reliable.

Driver issues still more prevalent than Win7.  It does work with wider range of hardware, though.

Not all items show in the Search.  I like that Win8.1 consolidated the searches, but had better results in 7&8.

I actually see more BSoDs with Win8/8.1 than 7.  Mostly due to AV and drivers.

It's next to impossible to get into Safe Mode unless you boot off media or it fails to boot and you can get the advanced settings.  Even then, Restore has seldom worked correctly complared to Windows 7.

I can keep going...