New Build - Win8 - Yes or no?

[cowpatz]

I'd suggest going into somewhere like Noel Leeming's and have a play with a computer that has W8 installed. The kids have W8 on their laptops and don't really like it except for the one that has a touch screen (which is what it is really optimised for).
Personally I find it a poor format, confusing and it is universally panned by tech critics. Just my .02c worth.
I will wait until W9 comes out before I move and even then there would have to be compelling reasons to do so.

[Ian Warren]

QUOTE (cowpatz @ May 29 2014,11:14 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I'd suggest going into somewhere like Noel Leeming's and have a play with a computer that has W8 installed.

Cripes , I hate going malling full stop ... rather shoot in shoot out for what ya need ... people .. whoops sorry 'sheep' just mull around like they have nothing else to do - the hmm and harrr ... Now that/they requires Technical Support ! .. I call it a pre-emt strike , watch out for tech dossie's playing the Tech guy at Noels place

[toprob]

QUOTE (cowpatz @ May 29 2014,10:14 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I'd suggest going into somewhere like Noel Leeming's and have a play with a computer that has W8 installed. The kids have W8 on their laptops and don't really like it except for the one that has a touch screen (which is what it is really optimised for).
Personally I find it a poor format, confusing and it is universally panned by tech critics. Just my .02c worth.
I will wait until W9 comes out before I move and even then there would have to be compelling reasons to do so.

Whether or not you like the new 8 interface, it isn't an either/or decision. The only time I see the Start screen is first thing in the morning, or when I need to start something... The rest of the time I'm working from what is really just the same desktop as I used with Win7.

I quite like the new Start screen, it gives me info at a glance at the beginning of the day -- weather, how many emails, news etc -- before I actually go to the Desktop and start work.

But judging 8 by the Start screen isn't really useful in normal circumstances.

[omitchell]

QUOTE (toprob @ May 29 2014,11:05 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Whether or not you like the new 8 interface, it isn't an either/or decision. The only time I see the Start screen is first thing in the morning, or when I need to start something... The rest of the time I'm working from what is really just the same desktop as I used with Win7.

I quite like the new Start screen, it gives me info at a glance at the beginning of the day -- weather, how many emails, news etc -- before I actually go to the Desktop and start work.

But judging 8 by the Start screen isn't really useful in normal circumstances.

I still say it's horrible and you don't need anything more than Win7 64bit. I have 7 on this machine, the kid has 8 on hers and it really is a pain in the preverbials... (This isn't to say some people have a good time with it, just my experience in dealing with it and troubleshooting it)

[gdavies]

Windows 8 came in for some flak, but that's history. Windows 8.1 update 1 is great. It has all of the goodness of Win7 and some more (even if you don't have a touch screen).

I haven't personally tried FSX on Win8.1, but there are plenty that have and they seem to have no trouble.

I'm not sure what someone meant when they said that MS has shut down the FSX activation servers. I did a new FSX install only a week ago and it activated without a problem. There may have been a glitch with the activation process, it doesn't make sense for MS to shut it down when they have much older products that can still be activated.

[s0cks]

QUOTE (gdavies @ May 29 2014,7:42 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Windows 8 came in for some flak, but that's history. Windows 8.1 update 1 is great. It has all of the goodness of Win7 and some more (even if you don't have a touch screen).

I haven't personally tried FSX on Win8.1, but there are plenty that have and they seem to have no trouble.

I'm not sure what someone meant when they said that MS has shut down the FSX activation servers. I did a new FSX install only a week ago and it activated without a problem. There may have been a glitch with the activation process, it doesn't make sense for MS to shut it down when they have much older products that can still be activated.

Could have been a glitch. I have read in multiple places that they are going to shut them down though in the near future.

[s0cks]

QUOTE (omitchell @ May 29 2014,11:19 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I still say it's horrible and you don't need anything more than Win7 64bit. I have 7 on this machine, the kid has 8 on hers and it really is a pain in the preverbials... (This isn't to say some people have a good time with it, just my experience in dealing with it and troubleshooting it)

You do need Win8 if you want to take advantage of DX11.2. Probably not a concern for those who don't game (for example Battlefield 4 gets a decent performance boost in Windows 8), however there may come the day where P3Dv2 utilizes these improvements in DX11.2 to give better performance.

Secondly they are rumoured to be bringing back the traditional start menu in Windows 8.2, however I really don't think it's necessary. I don't see the need for a Start Menu in the traditional sense these days. Even in Windows 7 (which I use here at work) I just hit the windows key on the keyboard, and type what I'm after - I can do exactly the same on Windows 8. You can also set Windows 8 to boot to desktop, and if you pin all the programs you use to the taskbar then you virtually never have to even use the Start button, and right clicking the start button gives you a quick menu to all the most useful places anyway.

Other advantages are that the boot time for Win8 is phenomenal, it has a much better task manager, better security against malware, faster file copy, etc... It's certainly not what it used to be when it was originally released (back then I would have agreed with you). They have made many enhancements to make it more desktop friendly.

[omitchell]

Again Win7 64 bit is all you need, anything over that is just flashy little touch screen addons that actually do nothing to serve the core needs of a computer... (Plus it is still the worst this to try and problem solve)

Did you know the lead designer and developer of Windows 8 was FIRED just ONE WEEK after it launched because of how messed up it was? They had to scramble to launch a patch and we got 8.1, and 8.1 hasn't exactly fixed all of that mess up There's your clue...

[s0cks]

QUOTE (omitchell @ May 30 2014,10:20 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Again Win7 64 bit is all you need, anything over that is just flashy little touch screen addons that actually do nothing to serve the core needs of a computer... (Plus it is still the worst this to try and problem solve)

Did you know the lead designer and developer of Windows 8 was FIRED just ONE WEEK after it launched because of how messed up it was? They had to scramble to launch a patch and we got 8.1, and 8.1 hasn't exactly fixed all of that mess up There's your clue...

You're right, absolutely nothing else apart from everything I listed, but you know, just ignore me. All good.

Also the project leader was fired, not the designer, and it's all just rumour as to the reason. Some think it was more to do with the abysmal Surface RT. And again, most complaints pertain to the original release, much has changed since then. I don't have a single problem with 8.1. Considering I use 8.1 every day at home, and 7 every week day at work I think I can qualify to make comparisons.

At the end of the day though, either is suitable for this hobby

[goingboeing]

QUOTE (s0cks @ May 30 2014,3:37 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

You're right, absolutely nothing else apart from everything I listed, but you know, just ignore me. All good.

Also the project leader was fired, not the designer, and it's all just rumour as to the reason. Some think it was more to do with the abysmal Surface RT. And again, most complaints pertain to the original release, much has changed since then. I don't have a single problem with 8.1. Considering I use 8.1 every day at home, and 7 every week day at work I think I can qualify to make comparisons.

At the end of the day though, either is suitable for this hobby

ive got windows 8 and have heaps of problems with it and FSX if I was starting again id maybe look at 7, everything else is ok though

[s0cks]

QUOTE (goingboeing @ May 31 2014,2:51 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

ive got windows 8 and have heaps of problems with it and FSX if I was starting again id maybe look at 7, everything else is ok though

What problems? Maybe I can help.

[goingboeing]

thanks for the offer mate, it had random ctds and really bad graphics/display issues running it in compatibility mode has fixed some of them. and fsx ran sweet on my old laptop which was less grunty and had windows 7. I have since done a complete reinstall and downloaded a fix which seems to have helped too