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Need new Laptop should I stay with with Windows 7? (avoid Win 8)
9/10/13 | Me

Posted on 09/10/2013 7:24:03 AM PDT by Don@VB

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To: Don@VB
My new laptop has Win 8.

I like it. Just took some getting used to and I'm a person who hates change. As another said. "It's good, just different".

41 posted on 09/10/2013 7:56:51 AM PDT by Texan
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To: quimby
Change brings fear. But don't fear.

"We have nothing to fear, but fear itself."

And the fact that the next upgrade can create more problems than it fixes. That happens with Firefox, Adobe Flash, Java, Windows, etc.

I still cringe ever time I see 'upgrade' or 'update', as I wonder what that one is going to break. [And I have been doing updates and upgrades since the mid 1980s.]
42 posted on 09/10/2013 7:58:39 AM PDT by TomGuy (.)
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To: Don@VB

The trick to making windows 8 usefull is installing “Classic Shell” it is available for free at sourceforge. This is a very important install. You will hate windows 8 without it.


43 posted on 09/10/2013 7:59:38 AM PDT by D Rider
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To: TomGuy

I like the Intel I5 processor, but so many laptops have AMD. Does AMD have a processor that is on par with the I5??


44 posted on 09/10/2013 8:02:25 AM PDT by Don@VB (Power Corrupts)
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To: Don@VB

We’ve been using Win 8 at work for about a year. It works great. There is a desktop which is almost exactly like Win 7. Win 8.1 will give you back the Start menu so you never have to use the Metro interface if you don’t want to. I think all the nay-sayers here are Apple fan-boys just trying to bad mouth Microsoft. Take some time... learn the product. There are lots of Metro apps that give you tips and shortcuts for using Win 8.


45 posted on 09/10/2013 8:05:20 AM PDT by BruCru (I think, therefore I am conservative!)
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To: TomGuy

Can’t wait to hear the screams and howls when apple releases IOS7 for ipad/iphone next month.


46 posted on 09/10/2013 8:05:22 AM PDT by quimby
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To: Don@VB

Comparisons for Intel and AMD

https://kb.wisc.edu/showroom/page.php?id=4927


47 posted on 09/10/2013 8:07:57 AM PDT by TomGuy (.)
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To: Don@VB

see if Dell has a system with windows 7 pro. bought an all in one with eight, had someone remove 8 and reinstall 7 pro. system in now perfect


48 posted on 09/10/2013 8:10:47 AM PDT by akinbaja
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To: Don@VB

If Win 8 is installed then yeah buy that computer. imo many problems in the past are with those computers that get upgraded to a new OS.

...btw the best computer we’ve ever owned came with Vista and I go back to the days of DOS.

We have always used firefox for going on line.


49 posted on 09/10/2013 8:11:12 AM PDT by exPBRrat
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To: Don@VB

Win 8 doesn’t make any sense without touchscreen. Consider that when buying a new laptop with Win 8. Even though you can run it in classic mode, and get programs to make it like Win 7, you would probably never be as happy with it as you are with Win 7 or XP.


50 posted on 09/10/2013 8:11:13 AM PDT by pallis
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To: Don@VB

Got 7 and a couple of 8’s here. If I could wave a wand and turn the 8’s into 7’s, I would.
Now I see the new 8’s in stores are touch screen models, and that’s probably even MORE annoying than my 8’s.
I did what I could to make them look more like 7, and they are fast, except...well for instance:
If I want to go to “Paint,” in the old laptop, I’d hit Start, a menu would pop up and there’s paint and it opens with one click.
In Win 8, I have to put the cursor down in the lower left, click, arrive at the new start screen, right click, see the apps icon, click that, scroll across many many programs and find Paint, then click.
Ok, if I used Paint frequently I could put an icon up and get there quicker, but I don’t. Point is, you have to do some extra things to get results you got faster in 7.

It all takes getting used to.

Still, there’s a bigger selection. My HP laptops cost under $300 each and they don’t have issues with other hardware like printers and mice, they get along with them all. They run ancient programs with no problems.

If you can find a decent priced Windows 7, get it.

If not, be prepared to spend a lot of time breaking in the new model with 8. Lots of garbage to uninstall, lots of things to configure — power settings, task scheduler — and in the end it’s ALMOST as good as your 7.

Try to avoid the touch screen models.

Save your nickels for Windows 9. You know it’s coming.


51 posted on 09/10/2013 8:12:50 AM PDT by HomeAtLast
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To: Don@VB

Haters gonna hate.
There’s nothing wrong with Windows 8, it just takes a little getting used to, but once you figure the interface out (and set the start page up the way you like it) it’s actually easier to use than 7. I’ve loaded all the AD and server admin tools and organized them on the start page and it’s great having them all right there and not having to either clutter up a desktop with shortcuts or mouse through a bunch of sub menus off the old start menu.


52 posted on 09/10/2013 8:13:54 AM PDT by Edward Teach
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To: TomGuy

Oh yeah. Updates from MS. Disable!!!!


53 posted on 09/10/2013 8:14:17 AM PDT by HomeAtLast
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To: TomGuy
I don't want to buy the latest 'Office' because I don't use it enough to justify the cost.

You can use online office free at live.com-

A friend of mine has an older copy of ms office. He was having difficulty openning .docx files (req newer msoffice) Installed libre office (free) and now he opens docx and excel xlsx files. You can also open these files in online office (free).

54 posted on 09/10/2013 8:14:37 AM PDT by quimby
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To: Don@VB

Anyone using PCs for MIDI had better plan their exit strategy as while Win8 handles it, support for it has all but been dropped.

Seems MS wants to push those people to Apple. If I did not have a huge VB/Access application with my MIDI PC I would have switched after Win 7.

Even Win 7 has been slowing down with every subsequent Windows “Update” which I am firmly convinced MS deliberately adds performance slowing bloat so as to make the next OS attractive.

Well if they totally drop MIDI they made my choice. I’ll just have to rewrite about 10 years worth of development in VB/Access for my interface.


55 posted on 09/10/2013 8:19:13 AM PDT by Wurlitzer (Nothing says "ignorance" like Islam! 969)
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To: Don@VB

Windows 8 is a complete POS. Stay away if you can and stay with 7.


56 posted on 09/10/2013 8:29:44 AM PDT by ohioman
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To: Don@VB

Eight is a PITA to learn and to get comfortable using.


57 posted on 09/10/2013 8:29:49 AM PDT by JimRed (Excise the cancer before it kills us; feed &water the Tree of Liberty! TERM LIMITS, NOW & FOREVER!)
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To: Don@VB

M4L


58 posted on 09/10/2013 8:31:59 AM PDT by Scrambler Bob ( Concerning bo -- that refers to the president. If I capitalize it, I mean the dog.)
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To: dangus

“Recommending a Linux box to a Windows user without a CS degree is ridiculous.”


Boy you’ve got that right.

I program in a bunch of different Assembly languages for Micro-controllers and use VB for the interface stuff. Best of both worlds, blazing speed in assembly and super quick to build an application in VB. (too bad MS went off the deep end on VB like they are so inclined to do)

Seems the Linux folks went out of their way to make the terms and functionality as confusing as possible and if you need to use any hardware which may not have Linux drivers you are screwed. Linux reminds me of MS Help only encrypted and you don’t have the decoder ring.

I have however, used Puppy Linux to fix and or save files on a dying system a couple of times and a Live CD is easy to create and use without having to know a ton of Linux stuff.


59 posted on 09/10/2013 8:32:05 AM PDT by Wurlitzer (Nothing says "ignorance" like Islam! 969)
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To: muir_redwoods

I would get a Mac for final cut. My tower is getting older and showing it. I’ve toyed with the idea of getting a windows based laptop that can stand up to video editing with Avid.


60 posted on 09/10/2013 8:43:39 AM PDT by wally_bert (There are no winners in a game of losers. I'm Tommy Joyce, welcome to the Oriental Lounge.)
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