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So basically what you're saying is that the opinions of those that want everything in Windows to be touch centric matter, and the opinions of those that don't want it don't matter. We're just selfish and mean?

I thought Vista is/was a perfectly reasonable OS - just marred by poor driver support at launch.

I think 7 is a brilliant OS.

I think 8 (Metro) is a total regression designed exclusively for facile users that would be better suited by having the OS replaced by a single "load Facebook" button.

So don't lump everyone into the same boat.

Not at all.

Win8 WILL fail, and I will bet my house on that :) Pricing structure tells you that MS are already worried ;) I mean, come on, so cheap for a Windows OS?? Yes digitally, but lol?. I never paid for Vista, never thought it was worth it, ever. I bought Windows 7 in a shot, as it was what Vista 'could have been'. I will not buy Win8. Hey, I'm one out of many potential customers, no matter, I will NOT buy Win8.

Hang me, do whatever, but I guarantee that Win8 will never make it off the ground, and I still bet my house on that :)

The price makes sense. Lowering the price for Windows 8 gets more people invested in it, which increases app store revenue. Apple make just as much money from their app store as they do the sale of iPhones and iPads so it's an understandable move.

So basically what you're saying is that the opinions of those that want everything in Windows to be touch centric matter, and the opinions of those that don't want it don't matter. We're just selfish and mean?

Nope, I'm just saying that if you don't have a touch enabled device, you can still use Win 8 just fine. I've been running Win 8 on a laptop with no touch options, and it works just fine.

I do accept that people don't like Metro Apps, just don't use them, delete them for all I care. just pin what you would normally pin to your start menu to your start screen and get on with your life. It's not that much of a change. You see a screen with your most used apps, organized in groups like you want it, and that's it. Much easier then scrolling through a little menu.

And you don't have to deal with Live tiles if you don't have any Metro apps pinned to your start menu. You still have a choice. You just have to work a little bit to get it the way you want. But for your average user Win 8 will be much easier to use. just click that big button with the name of the app you want, just like they would do on their phone or tablet.

MS is not catering Win 8 for us, but for the majority, the average computer user

The average user gets on with Windows 7 just fine. The average user can switch from a smartphone to a PC just fine. I've never seen a shred of credible evidence that they need to have a unified UI for them to figure out how to use their products. And the old style start menu isn't exactly rocket science stuff.

Your posts say otherwise. How many times have I read from people like you that Metro has no place on a desktop. Windows 8 isn't touch centric, it's touch enabled. If you don't have a touch enabled device, you can use Win8 just fine using KB + Mouse. MS believes that Touch is the future so they are making sure that their new OS is enabled to use this new way of input, on top of making sure it works fine with KB and mouse. It seems like a lot of you are against the option of using touch enabled apps on a desktop. Why not give people the option?

I have never once said metro has no place on the desktop. I have said that I do not like it because I do not care for full screen applications, jarring animations, bright colors, and touch controls. There for Windows 8 has no place on *my* desktop. I would love to use Windows 8 however, if I simply had the option to not have the metro start screen.

And once again don't say that there are alternatives because that is beside the point. The alternatives won't always be maintained and could possible break from one windows update to the next.

I have never once said metro has no place on the desktop. I have said that I do not like it because I do not care for full screen applications, jarring animations, bright colors, and touch controls. There for Windows 8 has no place on *my* desktop. I would love to use Windows 8 however, if I simply had the option to not have the metro start screen.

And once again don't say that there are alternatives because that is beside the point. The alternatives won't always be maintained and could possible break from one windows update to the next.

The alternatives are also unsupported. Given how hard Microsoft are trying to push the start screen it's not implausible that they could keep trying to alter the API's to make bypassing the start screen impossible.

The average user gets on with Windows 7 just fine. The average user can switch from a smartphone to a PC just fine. I've never seen a shred of credible evidence that they need to have a unified UI for them to figure out how to use their products. And the old style start menu isn't exactly rocket science stuff.

You are right. So many people have made the step from a windows pc to an iPad, without any problem. So why would people have any issue moving from Win 7 to Win 8?

This is just MS's response to a more mobile world. You might not agree with it but a lot of us do like the new direction MS is going.

The way I see it is you can still do everything you did in Win 7, you just have to learn to live with a full screen start menu, other then that you just get an optional new platform for full screen apps that you choose to use or not. Choice is good right?

Rubbish! Sorry.

If the 'average computer user' was taken into consideration, we would have no Win8.

off course we would. the average user uses a mail app, a browser, maybe bit torrent if they are that advanced and that's it.

If you look at Win 8 it makes it easier for those people to use a pc. just click that big button and your full screen app starts.

Sadly that's how a lot of people use their pc.

For those who want more control there is the desktop where we can run heaps of apps at the same time, just like we did in Win 7

You are right. So many people have made the step from a windows pc to an iPad, without any problem. So why would people have any issue moving from Win 7 to Win 8?

This is just MS's response to a more mobile world. You might not agree with it but a lot of us do like the new direction MS is going.

The way I see it is you can still do everything you did in Win 7, you just have to learn to live with a full screen start menu, other then that you just get an optional new platform for full screen apps that you choose to use or not. Choice is good right?

I'm not saying they couldn't switch from 7 to 8, but the change is so big it could potentially confuse a lot of people. And that's just my point, the design of the start screen is counter productive to me. I'm not saying people shouldn't enjoy it I just disagree that this unification is necessary. If the option to use the old start menu were included I could probably learn to live without Aero. As it is it's just a big ugly mess. And that's what I'm advocating. Choice is important to me and that's why I want to be able to choose not to use it. If you enjoy it then you have my blessing, carry on enjoying it and take my blessing that it works well for you :) just don't denigrate me for not wanting to use it.

I'm not saying they couldn't switch from 7 to 8, but the change is so big it could potentially confuse a lot of people. And that's just my point, the design of the start screen is counter productive to me. I'm not saying people shouldn't enjoy it I just disagree that this unification is necessary. If the option to use the old start menu were included I could probably learn to live without Aero. As it is it's just a big ugly mess. And that's what I'm advocating. Choice is important to me and that's why I want to be able to choose not to use it. If you enjoy it then you have my blessing, carry on enjoying it and take my blessing that it works well for you :) just don't denigrate me for not wanting to use it.

See, I just can't comprehend that a full screen start menu can be a deal breaker. The Metro apps I get, you don't like them, uninstall them. But the issue with the full screen start menu I just don't get. You barely even use it if you pin your most used apps to the taskbar. It's there for a split second because more apps are visible at one time.

I just can't wrap my head around this fact.

off course we would. the average user uses a mail app, a browser, maybe bit torrent if they are that advanced and that's it.

If you look at Win 8 it makes it easier for those people to use a pc. just click that big button and your full screen app starts.

Sadly that's how a lot of people use their pc.

For those who want more control there is the desktop where we can run heaps of apps at the same time, just like we did in Win 7

The world is surely coming to an end.....

God, my 50th next year :o , I hope this is not a sign of things to come?

See, I just can't comprehend that a full screen start menu can be a deal breaker. The Metro apps I get, you don't like them, uninstall them. But the issue with the full screen start menu I just don't get. You barely even use it if you pin your most used apps to the taskbar. It's there for a split second because more apps are visible at one time.

I just can't wrap my head around this fact.

You can't comprehend, therefor those who dislikes it are wrong. Basically? Taking the same attitude the OP did.

On the flip side, I perfectly understand why people like it and don't have any problem with that. Use it if you want, be my guest.

Honestly the whole "I don't get why..." thing is getting tiresome. The reasons why people dislike it have been explained quite a few times. If you still can't understand the reasons after all the threads about why that is then you really do have reading comprehension issues or you're just being purposefully dense. I think you're a smart guy so I'm going with you're just being purposefully dense.

See, I just can't comprehend that a full screen start menu can be a deal breaker. The Metro apps I get, you don't like them, uninstall them. But the issue with the full screen start menu I just don't get. You barely even use it if you pin your most used apps to the taskbar. It's there for a split second because more apps are visible at one time.

I just can't wrap my head around this fact.

Install Nero 10 and see what a mess the start screen turns into. Then you'll see one of the reasons that I don't like it.

Install Nero 10 and see what a mess the start screen turns into. Then you'll see one of the reasons that I don't like it.

Install any NERO and see what a mess your system will turn into :D :D :D

You can't comprehend, therefor those who dislikes it are wrong. Basically? Taking the same attitude the OP did.

On the flip side, I perfectly understand why people like it and don't have any problem with that. Use it if you want, be my guest.

Honestly the whole "I don't get why..." thing is getting tiresome. The reasons why people dislike it have been explained quite a few times. If you still can't understand the reasons after all the threads about why that is then you really do have reading comprehension issues or you're just being purposefully dense. I think you're a smart guy so I'm going with you're just being purposefully dense.

I'm not purposefully dense. I can see people have an issue with it, but because of that claiming it's DOA, it's going to be worse then any other windows version ever, is going to far for me. There is some adjusting to do, but claiming it's the end of the world is kinda silly.

I've been playing around with computers since MS DOS 3.0 came out, I think I was about 12 then. I've gone through all other versions of MS OS's except for ME, and I've never been hindered in my productivity. I have to admit that since I gave up IT consultancy in 2004 and moved to a tropical island, I don't use my PC as much for creating as for consuming, but even now I don't feel the changes that Win 8 bring are so bad that we have to proclaim it's going to be the worst MS product ever.

Install Nero 10 and see what a mess the start screen turns into. Then you'll see one of the reasons that I don't like it.

All those icons added to the start screen is f*cking annoying, but those programs are not aware of the new metro start screen. Hopefully new desktop apps will play nicer with the start screen. It does take some effort to keep your new start screen nice and organized but so does the good old start menu

Sure, but it's unlikely the Metro menu is going to go away... in Windows 9, ETC so eventually I'll have to start using it, Windows 7 won't be supported forever.

But it will be for the next 3 years and beyond. For what you do know now, you have choices (whether you acknowledge them or not) - and you've already indicated that you can't (!) use 8 so that leaves you with where you are now. And that's a no cost option.

Nero was so bad we banned it from our systems about 2 years ago or so. It actually broke our software and nobody could justify 100's of Mb of installation just to burn a disc. We switched to ImgBurn after contacting the authors for permission and haven't looked back since. Horrible piece of software, and that's a shame because I remember how good it used to be at one time.

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