PC Manufacturers Say Windows 8 Has Driven Millions To Become Apple Users.
I've been a Microsoft apologist for a long time. I had a Zune, and still argue it was a better music player than the iPod. Well, I don't argue - it simply was better, despite how much people liked to mock it. Besides my commodore 64, all I've known is Windows. Up until recently I had nothing but disdain for the Cult of Apple. This all changed with Windows 8.
Windows 7 is about the perfect operating system. Stable, fast, intuitive. So W8 would be even better right? I jumped at the chance to upgrade. Big mistake. Loved the fonts and styling. The whole tile thing, though? Cute, but provided nothing of value. I stayed in "classic mode" all the time. "But it works great for touchscreens," my fellow Windows apologists would say, completely ignoring that MY COMPUTER WAS NOT A TOUCHSCREEN. Then my network adapter would become unrecognizable to the OS. I had to re-install drivers every few weeks - since I didn't couldn't get on the internet I had to dig out an old laptop in order to download them. Then the memory leaks started. I thought I left these behind with Windows 98. But no, soon my computer was running at 100% capacity for no good reason. One day the computer restarted and would not load. It was toast. Had to re-installwi the operating system and jumped at the chance to revert to W7. No problems since. The only thing I miss is the design scheme.
While my computer was toast, the thought punishing Microsoft by jumping into the overpriced, trendy arms of MacBook, my sworn enemy, entered my head. So I can see why people would jump ship. I didn't. Going back to W7 did the trick for me. But what about my next computer? Well, I'm already eyeing an ASUS Ultrabook at Costco. My thinking is that my current computer came with W7 and just couldn't handle W8 (which, if the case, someone should have told me), and the ASUS was built as a touchscreen for W8.
Bottom line, I've been abused, but I'm going to stick with Windows for now. But those who jumped ship? I can't blame them.
I've been on 8 since beta. I'm running several hundred 2012 servers (same interface as 8) , and I have to say that I love it. I bought a Surface Pro as quickly as I could. Best computer I've ever owned. Absolutely love the touch interface with 8.
ReplyDeleteThat said, my servers and work computers are NOT touch enabled. It's still not a bad experience. The hard part is the same as every new OS...figuring out where they moved stuff that I've been conditioned for years to find in the same old spot...but you get that with apple too.
I recently had to give up my computer at work to help upgrade an old Lab with newer computers (mine matched what the lab was getting and we were short one computer). I also have an iMac on my desk for testing, so I just gave up the PC, switched to the iMac running windows 8 on it in a VM, and honestly making that switch is painful. Mostly because I'm not super familiar with the Mac OS, but I find myself using the Win8 Virtual machine way more than the native Mac OS.
Short version. I love windows 8. No issues at all. Runs faster on my old netbook than Win 7 did. Surface Pro is downright fucking awesome. It does take some getting used to, and I wouldn't recommend my parents to make the upgrade just yet, but for me....windows 8 is the best OS yet from M$.
I'm not giving up. I just understand why others are. I think it looks fantastic, but if you don't have a touch screen, the live tiles just don't make sense. I would have liked to see two versions - a touch screen one and a non-touch screen one. BUT my biggest issue was the memory leak. I use an HP computer, and I'm starting to wonder if HP might be to blame. I'm saving up for the ASUS touchscreen Ultrabook, we'll see how that goes.
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