You can say "I like Windows 8.1" or you can say "I hate Windows 8.1". Same amount of syllables. It is your choice. The only real reason I can think of to dislike 8.1 is that people are resistant to change.
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You can say "I like Windows 8.1" or you can say "I hate Windows 8.1". Same amount of syllables. It is your choice. The only real reason I can think of to dislike 8.1 is that people are resistant to change.
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC] "You don't have to give birth to someone to have a family." (Sandra Bullock)
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It has nothing to do with "resistant to change". It has to to do with usability, logic and functionality.
I work on Windows 7 systems at home and work. Each has two screens. At any time I have 8-10 separate windows active. You functionally cannot do that in Windows 8. At a moments notice, I can call up a file from earlier today from my "recent files" list.... can't on win8. I can find an open another application from the start menu without disrupting what is on my screens now... can't do that with 8.
Windows 8 was designed for tablets. NOT real workstations. Windows 8 is for cruising the internet, not doing real work from multiple sources or using multiple applications. Using it for an eight hour day is a exercise in frustration.
It is not a problem with different, I use Linix too, it is strictly a case of a stupid interface designed to look cute with no regard for functionality.
Why be different if it works? People have tried 3 wheel cars, and 2 wheels and 6 wheels. Just to try to be different and to "change". All attempts functioned minimally, but in the end we go back to what years of functional testing proved that worked. If it provides no value other than being a "Change", it has no value in a functional tool.
Last edited by Mike Circo; 09-17-2014 at 10:00 PM.
“Never attribute to malice that which can be explained by stupidity”
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Win 8.1 is for touch screens.
If you have to install a shell to make it work "kinda" like Win 7, why have it in the first place?
Look for something with Win 7 installed, and has the Win 8.1 DVD in case you really must have that.
That's what I did, and haven't used the Win 8 disc.
Never, under any circumstances, consume a laxative and sleeping pill, on the same night
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Although it is true most people resist change, its also true that Microsoft hid a lot of the functionality in Win 8/Metro and there is no clue how to find it! The Metro or modern interface also is a giant step backwards in many ways... one of the most frustrating to me is that everything, no matter how trivial runs full screen. That is supposed to be addressed in Windows 9( If they call it that).Originally Posted by Moses Yoder
Cramming a phone user interface down desktop users(who don't have the proper hardware for it) throats is the big issue with win 8. Touch just isn't a good thing on a desktop... try swiping and tapping on a 24" monitor all day. Think you will have very tired and sore arms. Even Apple uses different OS's on their desktops and ipad/iphones. There is a reason for that.
Also till there are Metro style apps that will do everything the older desktop style apps do, kind of stupid to hide the desktop, isn't it? I agree with Myk, if you gotta add an app to make it work like Win 7, why not just use Win 7.
I am looking forward to the tech preview of Threshold/Win 9, and if the rumors are correct, may well upgrade to that. However, for now.. sticking with Win 7 and Fedora Linux dual boot!
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There are some released Windows 9 screenshot. It's yet another pile of dog poo. Microsoft is hell bent on shoving Metro down our throats, this time incorporating Metro with the Windows interface too. Microsoft's market share across all computing devices, not just windows, is about 15%, and it's not due to lack of coolness factor, or even performance. It's mostly because their interfaces are garbage and no one wants to use them. Hey, here's an idea...let's take our lousy UI concepts that have failed miserably in the tablet/phone market, and let's shove them down the throats of the desktop market. It's baffling.
I only really use my computer for work, so I don't really much car. I think the Windows 9 previews look just absolutely awful. This notion of a "flat" interface is completely wrong anyway you look at it, and I can't figure out why Apple started doing that in iOS. Now Microsoft will bring that look to the Windows interface...what's left of it. Oh goody! I always wanted to stare at a screen and wonder which parts do something when you click on them and which don't. It's like a point and click adventure! Whoopee!
There are strange things going on in the tech world, and all I can figure is that there's some UI consultant, somewhere, that's played a big practical joke on the entire industry.
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I suspect a lot of it has to do with the apparent obsession with touch interfaces. For traditional machines, be they desktop or conventional laptop look up the term "Gorilla arm". Wait, I'll save you the trouble. From Wikipedia:
Not to mention trying to force a UI that works pretty well on small screens onto large/multiple monitors."Gorilla arm"
Extended use of gestural interfaces without the ability of the user to rest their arm is referred to as "gorilla arm." [43] It can result in fatigue, and even repetitive stress injury when routinely used in a work setting. Certain early pen-based interfaces required the operator to work in this position for much of the work day. [44] Allowing the user to rest their hand or arm on the input device or a frame around it is a solution for this in many contexts. This phenomenon is often cited as a prima facie example of what not to do in ergonomics.
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UI designers are the only winners. The MS OS has failed to innovate, so the only thing they can do is change the way users interact with the device. Who cares if that interaction is efficient or logical. It's different.
Measure twice, cut three times, start over. Repeat as necessary.
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The problem I had was that everything comes with windows 8.1 pre-installed - and no Windows 7 disk. So I had to take Windows 8.1 and make it work. And once you bypass the Metro interface, it's a whole lot like Windows 7 so it's easy to work with.
What Windows 8 looks like is that Microsoft just took Windows 7 (with a few improvements) and put a front end on it - the front end being the touch (Metro) interface. I'm sure that if you have a tablet, the Metro interface makes sense. But why Microsoft would try to force people with desktop computers and laptops to work with the Metro interface is beyond me. It just makes no sense at all - you wonder what they were thinking.
Mike
Go into the world and do well. But more importantly, go into the world and do good.
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And I bet that MS, in hindsight, wondered the same thing. Often these big companies are out of touch with the customer and their needs. They try to fix what is not broken and the result is usually worse. Still MS is the largest OS supplier in the world with over 90% usage on computers world wide. That said i wonder why MS will still require the end user to go thru contortions and have to purchase extra software just to have a usable product? MS should listen and provide an option for consumers.
Last edited by Chuck Wintle; 09-19-2014 at 6:54 AM.
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Here's a preview:
I guess there's a general announcement on Sept. 30. I really hope there's a way to change the theme back to something that makes sense. Everytime I see something like this, I just can't figure out just what on Earth they're trying to do. The flat looking interfaces go against everything we've learned and known about GUI design for the past 30 years. You NEVER want the user to wonder which part of the screen they can interact with. It's incredibly, insanely bad. I would say it's a step backwards, but honestly I'm not sure we were ever this stupid . Perhaps if we look back to the earliest interfaces with light pens we might find something this awkward.
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Just bought a new desktop for DW and I hate the look of 8.1, may have to try 'Classic Shell' to give the desktop start up the look of the older versions. I know DW is going to be hollering for help a lot now.
I'm guessing that some time ago, someone produced a study that showed folks prefer the touchy interface, so everyone hangs their hat on it and runs. And the study probably targeted young folks as that is where the "future" is at. Forgetting about the rest of us. I liken it to the "research" that shows folks are tricked into believing they will buy something priced at $9.99 but not $10.
That being said, I do plan on using 8.1 on a church computer being used for video switching, "cut to camera 3", so a touch screen can be used. As I understand it, you still have a choice of using a mouse for the same command if someone prefers it.
Last edited by Ole Anderson; 09-19-2014 at 9:18 AM.
NOW you tell me...
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Who is DW? "Da Wife"? Also, maybe you should let DW decide for themselves if they like it or not. My wife kinda likes the new interface. For whatever reason, which is beyond me, it makes more since to her. I think the more familiar we are with how somethings works, the harder it is to change to something different.
Last edited by Larry Browning; 09-19-2014 at 11:28 AM.
Larry J Browning
There are 10 kinds of people in this world; Those who understand binary and those who don't.
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Darrel Waltrip?
I wonder what Win 10 will be like?
Never, under any circumstances, consume a laxative and sleeping pill, on the same night
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I think DW means dear wife.
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