Windows 8 is the first OS that made me downgrade


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I believe that the dramatically lowered price of Windows 8 compared to previous Windows releases is in part because of the tablet market, but also due to the huge backlash of current Windows users as a incentive to upgrade no matter what.

This gamble is a double edged sword, imho. If I recall correctly XP pro was ~300$ and OEM was ~100, With Vista and Windows 7 due to multitude of SKU's consumer versions were anywhere between 100$ and 400$. That is a huge price difference and Windows 8 will need to sell 3-5(not counting the upgrade price) copies for 1 copy of older versions of Windows. From what I was able to see, businesses will completely ignore Windows 8 and that is where Microsoft will be hurt the most. Consumers that already own a copy of Windows (XP, Vista or 7) will in large number(from the people I know and have tried 8 in betas and pre-releases, not a single one will make a transition to windows 8) avoid upgrading. That leaves only future tablet owners to make up for losses made on other fronts, but by looking at how well Windows phone is doing it is hard to expect anything better for Windows RT.

Considering how consumers including businesses and OEM partners feel about Windows 8 in it's current state, Microsoft's earnings from Windows 8 will be disappointing at the very best. Hopefully this will be a much needed cold shower or a slap in the face Microsoft needs after the arrogance of previous bad releases (ME and Vista) did not hurt their earnings.

I'm not trying to convince anyone to do anything. Someone made a comment that using a touchscreen would cause problems; I just told him my experience.

And I can definitely see what he means as far as vertical touch screens go. The OS you're using doesn't change that (I see you edited your post).

After reading this topic, I guess I need to stick with win 7.

@KoolGuy: Nope. What you should be doing is trying out Windows 8 for yourself and come to your OWN conclusion about it and decide from there whether your are going to upgrade or not.

There is a lot of FUD flying round from both sides of the argument on here and it's getting as that valid points / discussions are just been ignored and the threads are just becoming battlegrounds for those who hate each others opinions on the OS.

  • Like 3

And I can definitely see what he means as far as vertical touch screens go. The OS you're using doesn't change that (I see you edited your post).

Yeah, I edited the post because I agree that OS doesn't change that.

@KoolGuy: Nope. What you should be doing is trying out Windows 8 for yourself and come to your OWN conclusion about it and decide from there whether your are going to upgrade or not.

There is a lot of FUD flying round from both sides of the argument on here and it's getting as that valid points / discussions are just been ignored and the threads are just becoming battlegrounds for those who hate each others opinions on the OS.

Exactly!!

I had read alot of positive and negative comments about W8 before I tried it but for me it was a case of putting all of that out of my head and just testing it with a completely open mind. I didnt even think about comparisons to w7 or anything else for that matter.

I just don't see the point of people going into testing with a predecided negative thought on w8 because obviously that will play on your mind when testing it. "Oh this person said that, i see where they are coming from 5 seconds after use without trying it properly." NO, spend time, do it for yourself, **** the haters, if you dont like it fair enough but dont judge people on liking it and vice versa.

A few of my previous comments might come across as me judging those who dont like it becuase I keep mentioned about desktop mode and people saying its too complicated but that is me explaining a FACT about the minimal difference between w7 desktop and w8 desktop.

w8 ftw....... :D

@KoolGuy: Nope. What you should be doing is trying out Windows 8 for yourself and come to your OWN conclusion about it and decide from there whether your are going to upgrade or not.

There is a lot of FUD flying round from both sides of the argument on here and it's getting as that valid points / discussions are just been ignored and the threads are just becoming battlegrounds for those who hate each others opinions on the OS.

This is the only comment that should be in this thread.

  • Like 2

This is the only comment that should be in this thread.

If someone wanted to come to his own conclusions regarding Windows 8 and wasn't interested in listening to other opinions nor stating his own, that someone wouldn't (or shouldn't) be looking at this thread in the first place.

Why this is "metro UI" which is optimized for touch interface being forced onto desktop users? There really should a choice during the installation whether you are using it for desktop or tablet.

It's absurd and extremely annoying going back and forth between metro UI and the desktop when using regular programs and "apps".

If someone wanted to come to his own conclusions regarding Windows 8 and wasn't interested in listening to other opinions nor stating his own, that someone wouldn't (or shouldn't) be looking at this thread in the first place.

This is the only comment that should be in this thread.

For me, I had Windows 8 CP installed on my sisters laptop for about a fortnight, and it was sluggish, there were no graphic drivers for it (being about a 6 year old laptop) and it was a mess to navigate with keyboard and mouse.

So my final thoughts - on a tablet its unbeatable, it looks good, and feels good (I used it on a friends touch laptop)

But on a desktop PC and a non-touch laptop, its simply unbearable to use.

For me, I had Windows 8 CP installed on my sisters laptop for about a fortnight, and it was sluggish, there were no graphic drivers for it (being about a 6 year old laptop) and it was a mess to navigate with keyboard and mouse.

So my final thoughts - on a tablet its unbeatable, it looks good, and feels good (I used it on a friends touch laptop)

But on a desktop PC and a non-touch laptop, its simply unbearable to use.

You already know why it's sluggish :/

If someone wanted to come to his own conclusions regarding Windows 8 and wasn't interested in listening to other opinions nor stating his own, that someone wouldn't (or shouldn't) be looking at this thread in the first place.

No one should be reading thread full stop. It has no value to anyone wanting to read up about Windows 8. This thread has just become yet another playground for the usual gang to try to get the better of each other again!

EVERY Windows 8 thread turns the same. It's beyond a joke!

I remember when the apple fans made fun of the start menu:

"Windows is stupid! You must press start to shut down the system" - followed by the troll face

Now the same kind of people complain it's gone.

And if MS had done nothing with it, there would be a bunch of people dissatisfied for any other reason.

  • Like 3

By the way, I should mention (as the thread title has been bugging me since it was created), Windows 8 didn't make you downgrade. Windows 8 doesn't force people to downgrade. You chose to downgrade because you dislike Windows 8 :)

I remember when the apple fans made fun of the start menu:

"Windows is stupid! You must press start to shut down the system" - followed by the troll face

Now the same kind of people complain it's gone.

Are you sure it's the Apple fans that are complaining about the removal of the Start menu?

Anyway, now you have to go into "Settings" to shut down the system. I'll leave it up to you whether that's an improvement or not. Personally, I couldn't care less, since I never shut down my system anyway.

[. . .]

Anyway, now you have to go into "Settings" to shut down the system. I'll leave it up to you whether that's an improvement or not. Personally, I couldn't care less, since I never shut down my system anyway.

Settings seems a much logical place for it, to me. After all, you're setting the system to shut down.

Are you sure it's the Apple fans that are complaining about the removal of the Start menu?

Anyway, now you have to go into "Settings" to shut down the system. I'll leave it up to you whether that's an improvement or not. Personally, I couldn't care less, since I never shut down my system anyway.

Clicking settings makes no more less sense than clicking a black Apple. It should be ok I guess. (same here, only sleeps during night).

I still don't get the whole shut down argument.

For power users there is still Alt-F4

The average user might not know this, but then again, once you show him where he can shut down his computer he will just do it that way without moaning like all the power users here and get on with his live

Settings seems a much logical place for it, to me. After all, you're setting the system to shut down.

No you're not setting the computer to shutdown, you're telling the computer to shutdown. Setting it to shutdown sounds more like you're setting a schedule of when the computer should shutdown after a time period has passed. You're not changing a setting (which is what settings menus are for).

I don't get why shutdown is nested inside the Settings thing at all. It should be really easy and fast to access a shutdown, sleep, logoff button. First time I used Windows 8 it took me almost 10 minutes just to find a shutdown button and Microsoft haven't even moved it since the first time I tried it.

Also here is another thing why is the control panel inside Metro so devoid of options? It doesn't cover even 1/10th the stuff that the Desktop control panel does and yet the desktop control panel is so hidden it's almost impossible to find without reading an online guide. Confusing how unfinished this OS is really.

You mention iOS and Android and mobile and every other possible example that is a non desktop platform. I dont think youre getting the point. Most people will use Windows 8 on a DESKTOP.

I bolded it for you so you finally get it

MS thought process: I know, lets developp a gaudy desktop that will alienate our long term users, and will actually make it harder and more confusing to use....

Way to fight back!

Damn, youre right, i havent seen a new model laptop brought out in oh, about 3 weeks

iPads and actually tablets are toys for hipster douches and will die out long before laptops do.

Im always finding myself thinking "I need to work, i know, ill buy something thats half a computer, yet still needs a computer to connect to to function as its essentially a slave device. But it WILL look cool when im on the train" Thats is until you notice every other douche on the train has one too. I have never seen a more clearer sign (other than facebook) that humanity is doomed, as we are producing a generation of social cripples, than when i walked into Apple night at our local computer club and saw 24 people sitting at a table plonking away on their iPad's for 4 hours, and not speaking to each other the ENTIRE time.

Im tired of poking holes in your story and thin veneer that your lust for Windows 8 has placed over your perception of reality.

Im heading off to bed.

I mentioned Android on the Eee Transformer Prime with the keyboard dock - the notebook/netbook mode. (It's one used by quite a few Ultrabook-derived slates and tablets - not the least of which includes the Microsoft Surface and Surface Pro, and Lenovo's ThinkPad xt220). Other than the fact that the keyboard is detachable, it is utterly indistinguishable from a netbook, or notebook, at first glance. I've seen - and had some hands-on time with - the Transformer Prime in this mode. It is selling because it costs less than a notebook - in fact, it costs less than quite a few netbooks, and has FAR better battery life than either. Regardless of WHY it's selling like gangbusters, the fact remains that it IS selling like gangbusters; therefore, it's not something that Microsoft can dismiss. It's also a problem in that the same hardware is, in fact, perfectly capable of running WindowsRT - it's running Android because that is *all* that is available for it. Intel is *also* justifiably worried about these hybrids, as they have pretty much trainwrecked netbooks. I didn't even bring up iOS - as Apple is busily trying to stay under Microsoft's radar - not to mention Intel's radar - by flatly denying that iOS is a threat to either. However, Android is right in our faces - worse, Google is denying nothing. Why are you insisting that the poor economy (which, according to you, is why tablets and slates are selling like pancakes and waffles) is going to get better overnight?

No. In a couple of months, MS will have sold millions of copies and no one will give a **** about a bunch of whiners on an internet forum. Win8 isn't going anywhere so deal with it.

Windows 8 won't sell much, no one in the corporate world is going to use this on workstations, except Microsoft.

No you're not setting the computer to shutdown, you're telling the computer to shutdown. Setting it to shutdown sounds more like you're setting a schedule of when the computer should shutdown after a time period has passed. You're not changing a setting (which is what settings menus are for).

I don't get why shutdown is nested inside the Settings thing at all. It should be really easy and fast to access a shutdown, sleep, logoff button. First time I used Windows 8 it took me almost 10 minutes just to find a shutdown button and Microsoft haven't even moved it since the first time I tried it.

[. . .]

Perhaps it depends how one defines 'setting'. I don't believe 'setting' always has to cover setting something up for a schedule. When I turn my PC on, I'm setting it to turn on, and when I shut my PC down, I'm setting it to turn off; just like when I change my lock screen background, I'm setting the computer to change the background. I wouldn't usually refer to it as that, but it is technically what I'm doing, and thus, Microsoft placing Shut Down in Settings could be justified :p

[. . .]

Also here is another thing why is the control panel inside Metro so devoid of options? It doesn't cover even 1/10th the stuff that the Desktop control panel does and yet the desktop control panel is so hidden it's almost impossible to find without reading an online guide. Confusing how unfinished this OS is really.

Adding all of the current Control Panel items (or even most of them) to PC Settings would have taken a lot of time and thought, considering how much of a mess Control Panel is, and Windows 8 had to be ready by a certain quarter (it's already late in competing with the iPad and Android tablets). It seems as if Microsoft went with the most important options, for the new experience. Do you not agree that the Control Panel is too busy with options as it currently stands? Half of the stuff in there probably isn't even needed in the new experience (at least, at present), and considering how many options currently reside in Control Panel, I'm glad Microsoft started with a more simple, tidy PC Settings.

I think the PC Settings should mainly control the new experience and Control Panel should mainly control the old experience. That way, if it is ever possible for a decent version of Windows to exist that just contains the new experience, PC Settings wouldn't be polluted with options that only cater to the old experience.

As it stands right now, I can't think of any options, off the top of my head, that cater to the new experience but are missing from PC Settings yet evident in Control Panel. Even if there may be some, that shows that Microsoft have catered to my desires quite well, with PC Settings. Can you think of anything important that is missing from PC Settings that caters to the new experience?

As it stands right now, I can't think of any options, off the top of my head, that cater to the new experience but are missing from PC Settings yet evident in Control Panel. Even if there may be some, that shows that Microsoft have catered to my desires quite well, with PC Settings. Can you think of anything important that is missing from PC Settings that caters to the new experience?

How about Keyboard and Mouse Settings, Power settings etc - Being able to specify how fast the display goes to sleep or your mouse response speed. These things aren't in the Metro control panel, but they are in the classic control panel. This is basic stuff in my opinion.

@KoolGuy: Nope. What you should be doing is trying out Windows 8 for yourself and come to your OWN conclusion about it and decide from there whether your are going to upgrade or not.

There is a lot of FUD flying round from both sides of the argument on here and it's getting as that valid points / discussions are just been ignored and the threads are just becoming battlegrounds for those who hate each others opinions on the OS.

Well said, fair point. But reading on threads like these makes me more curious about win 8.

I'll just wait for public release to try it out.

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