Have you used Windows 8 before?
Very nice! I have the XPS 8700 Dell that came with Windows 8(I now have Windows 8.1) if your not a fan of the stupid tiles you can install Startisback and it brings a start button to the desktop mode and you can program it so that it will always boot up to desktop, that way it will feel the same as windows 7, you wont notice the difference at all.
Price is pretty steep so I would check out sites to see if there are any good coupons available to save a little dough
Not to take away form the original reason for the thread, however:
I’m thinking of updating from windows 7 to windows 8 ... what surprises should I expect? And how much will it cost me? Is it worth it?
FWIW get the speed and memory you need for the price.
Any computer you buy now is automatically feeding data to YOUR government.
Or some other government.
Like there is a difference.
Every time you go online.
Your current PC is a laptop? (Implied in your comment..)
Couple of thoughts for you. Depending on the hardware of your XP machine, you might want to investigate loading Win7 on it as a way to extend its useful life. If the manufacturer lists drivers for Vista for your present machine, odds are really good that you can get Win7 to install and run properly. You can also run Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor and it will pretty much let you know whether that is a route you can take. My last remaining XP laptop will be getting a Win7 install (when I get to it..;-) and Vista drivers are available for it, but the upgrade advisor indicates that Win7 has suitable Win7 drivers available from Win Update.
As you indicated later re:WinAte, I plan to wipe and fresh install Win7 (actually, I'm putting in a new hard drive and putting the old drive in an external USB case so I keep my files. After I transfer my files off the old drive - again when I get around to it - I will wipe the old drive and have it as an external backup drive.)
Concerning your later comment about buying a WinAte machine and wiping it for a Win7 install, keep in mind that if you have a concern about warranty, you might be forced to hold off on that until the warranty expires. Having said that, that is exactly what I would do with any WinAte machine that crossed the threshold here.. ;-)
Another route with your older XP machine to extend its usefullness would be to go the Linux route. Most current distros are easy on the eye but there is a learning curve. Again, most distros have a forum with loads of info and help. If your present machine is a single core processor, that might be your best bet. My oldest former XP laptop is now a Linux box for that reason. I was fairly certain that I could get Win7 to run on it but due to the vintage of the hardware, the usability would be impaired (translate: SLOOOW) with Windows 7, but seems fine under Linux (I used the Mint distro - your mileage may vary.. ;-)
And finally, if your present machine is a desktop, consider it an opportunity to do 'I'll build me a brand new box' thing.. You can get barebones collections of stuff from places like Tiger Direct and since you seem to be comfortable with op-sys installs, you can build it any way you like. Put your present drive in as a secondary drive and your files are right there. Again, my process is to copy off the files then wipe the old drive, reformat it and use is as storage. Keep in mind if you do that that many manufacturers have their restore stuff stuck in a second partition on the main drive. If so you will need to delete all the partitions on the old drive and then create one primary partition and format it..
Hope some of this was helpful to your decision process.
I tried looking for complaints on this model but there does not seem to be any. 5 stars and positive comments from those that own it. It also has a touchscreen and up to 1920 resolution. Be careful eating peanut butter & jelly sandwiches....
http://www.gadgetreview.com/2013/10/dells-new-2013-inspirion-7000-series-14-15-and-17.html
I’ve had Dells, HPs, put-togethers, even that Gateway company.
I finally broke down and bought a 15” MacBook Pro about 18 months ago for portable use. With the MS Office pack, it’s pretty much seamless if you can get over the slight differences between the way the graphics interface works (icons, symbology, terminology).
Newest Update Windows 8.1 Update for x64-based Systems (KB2919355) Download size: 887.6 MB
Now The Stupid Goobers at MICROCRAP not only developed an OS where you can't shut down Cloud if you are on limited or measured bandwidth but they come up with this crap? I just bought this machine last month brand new because MICROCRAP stopped support on XP which worked fine on my only available way to go on line which is Dial Up.
The Browser on WINDERS 8 is a buggy as a $10 Motel. Issues that had been resolved in earlier IE editions are back such as the infamous disappearing text when you try to correct a sentence. You start typing and if you look down you'll notice you are also erasing your work. I've lost count of the "Can't Display This Page" screens per day.
The more I use the machine the more problems caused by MICROCRAP poor design of their TABLET type OS WINDERS 8 pops up. An 888MB Download would also hit Hughesnet customers real hard. MICROCRAP needs to dump this Piece Of Crap OS and go back to what was basic and reliable for all. I wouldn't have WINDERS 8 if it were free. I'd pay $100 to have the support back for XP though.
I've bought four previous machines with Microsoft OS from 98/2 to this. I was a happy customer with 98/2 I had on my first machine and XP I've had on three machines. This is my last MICROSOFT OS. This OS does not belong on a desktop. I don't care how many work arounds there are it stinks and the layout still sucks. The ones who approved it for desktop to be put on the market should have been fired.
I just bought a new Acer Inspire laptop. I got it online through Walmart and I’m thrilled. I paid $699 with free shipping. Check out the specs for the price. I did my homework and read countless customer reviews on just about every brand. Need to mention that it is windows 7. I stayed away from 8. I love it. Long battery life, etc. Great machine for the money.
When I finally decided to upgrade from XP to Win7, I bought a Samsung junk 17” laptop. It lived one month after the warranty and the motherboard died. Samsung did not have replacement motherboard, thus I have an $800 doorstop.
I next bought a Dell 17” Win7 i7 processor. It was okay, but loading was slow. Eventually, the hard drive seemingly got messed up, files got corrupted, etc. I bought a new hard drive locally and used the Dell image disks to recreate my installation. The new drive loads Windows much faster.
Except for the need for the new hard drive, I am content with the Dell. It is much heavier than an older ACER XP 17” laptop I used to have and heavier than the Samsung-junker.
FYI