Windows 8 (plan B) Return of the Desktop & StartBar

Shelley said:
I think MS are trying to become the EA of the OS world.
Click to expand...
As I don't play any subscription based games (because I refuse to pay a subscription for software).... And most people I know don't either.... You'd think that would give Microsoft a clue as to how bad of an idea it would be.
 
Mac OS X isn't going to be much better in the long run, either. It's extremely evident Apple is eventually going to lock out all non-App Store software on OS X. They may claim otherwise, but each new release moves us closer and closer to that reality. Both Microsoft and Apple are increasingly making their operating systems more locked down and harder to modify and customize to your desire.

And on a somewhat related note, does anyone here remember the earliest days of Windows 95? Very similar complaints about how Microsoft was forcing the then-new Start menu upon people, about how Windows Explorer was different and worse than Program and File Manager, how the UI was different and worse than before, etc. Many of the complaints regarding Windows 8 are simply repackaged complaints people had about Win95, WinXP and Vista. Nothing new, really. I'm not saying they are or aren't valid, it's just that people are always going to dislike change, no matter how minor or major it may be.
 
Quillz said:
Mac OS X isn't going to be much better in the long run, either. It's extremely evident Apple is eventually going to lock out all non-App Store software on OS X. They may claim otherwise, but each new release moves us closer and closer to that reality. Both Microsoft and Apple are increasingly making their operating systems more locked down and harder to modify and customize to your desire.
Click to expand...

And when it reaches that point I'll just convert over to Ubuntu or one of the other Linux derivatives - since for what I do on mine I have access to all the software I would need.

Quillz said:
Nothing new, really. I'm not saying they are or aren't valid, it's just that people are always going to dislike change, no matter how minor or major it may be.
Click to expand...
If you are a business then you will dislike the change as it requires retraining of your personnel - and retraining is a cost that impacts their bottom line. The last place I worked at before I retired was still on XP when I left 2 years ago and had absolutely NO plans on upgrading their call centers to a newer version of the OS until it was totally borked.
 
I know some private offices like dentists that have been around for 20-30 years still use DOS to catalog their clients, because there is not way of converting their database into a modern database or they simply do not want to manually/pay re-cataloging every client.
 
Quillz said:
Mac OS X isn't going to be much better in the long run, either. It's extremely evident Apple is eventually going to lock out all non-App Store software on OS X. They may claim otherwise, but each new release moves us closer and closer to that reality. Both Microsoft and Apple are increasingly making their operating systems more locked down and harder to modify and customize to your desire.
Click to expand...
Yes, and *could* actually be a big chance for MS - if they decide to keep Windows the open platform it always was (open in the sense that I can more or less install and run anything I want and have full control over the operating system and all installed applications).

Apple shows a strong control freak mentality - that's well known and one of the reasons why I'll never switch even though I must admit that, from a technical point of view, OS X is the better platform.

Sadly, MS thinks to follow them in that regard instead of doing the opposite which would be smarter.
 
I see Ubuntu making leaps and bound if this happens.

I don't know anyone who would want to have to pay a subscription to use Windows. And while I love Apple and want Apple, the price is what keeps everyone (majority) away. Now if they were to roll back that price, they're golden, but until then they'll never be a major player in computer market share... No matter how much better an Apple maybe.

The majority of the consumer market for computers want affordable and you can't talk them out of paying less.

This leaves Ubuntu making up ground. Between Steam and Wine, along side with all those open developments.... With the majority of it all being free .... And finally being "noob friendly" (you don't really need to know Linux to use Ubuntu as a desktop) ...... I see this as a possible tipping point.
 
Adam Howard said:
I see Ubuntu making leaps and bound if this happens.

I don't know anyone who would want to have to pay a subscription to use Windows. And while I love Apple and want Apple, the price is what keeps everyone (majority) away. Now if they were to roll back that price, they're golden, but until then they'll never be a major player in computer market share... No matter how much better an Apple maybe.

The majority of the consumer market for computers want affordable and you can't talk them out of paying less.

This leaves Ubuntu making up ground. Between Steam and Wine, along side with all those open developments.... With the majority of it all being free .... And finally being "noob friendly" (you don't really need to know Linux to use Ubuntu as a desktop) ...... I see this as a possible tipping point.
Click to expand...

I'm still been meaning to try linux. Never have ever experimented with it.

Ubuntu? would that be a recommendation for someone that has never installed a linux os
 
Shelley said:
I'm still been meaning to try linux. Never have ever experimented with it.

Ubuntu? would that be a recommendation for someone that has never installed a linux os
Click to expand...
YES.

From a noob point of view, without getting into the technical details....

Ubuntu which is based off of Debian... Is very user friendly. It's one of the most complete Linux builds (distros) which will come with drivers for old and new hardware, just like windows. So out of the box, it's likely already working for you.

The user interface is very user friendly. And installing applications (the process) has become as easy as installing a program in Windows or Apple. But they're making it even easier by offering an app store, so its as easy as picking an app and just installing it (much like how you would in a smart phone).

You can try it using a Live CD without installing Ubuntu. The CD boosts and load it into memory (RAM). You'll basically be using a "temporary" "virtual machine". It maybe a little limited and slower on a Live CD without installing it, but you should get the basics.

Ubuntu can also dual boot along side Windows (and I think Mac OS as well, but don't quite me on that). The install is almost completely automated. As automated as it is to install Windows 7 or Windows 8.
 
Shelley said:
Ubuntu? would that be a recommendation for someone that has never installed a linux os
Click to expand...
I've got an OLD P4 Shuttle box in the back room... and Ubuntu and Mandriva are the two that run best on it.
Ubuntu is also great on a netbook (I'm running it on my Acer EEE PC that my Dr.'s office gave me for all the tech help I've provided them). Put an SSD in that netbook and you got something that will booted up to the sign-in screen in about 23 seconds.
 
Ubuntu comes with Unity as the default user interface (think of it like how Explorer is the default shell in Windows).

However they'll also be release a GNOME version in 13.04 (which should be out soon).
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UbuntuGNOME

I personally prefer GNOME over Unity. But to each their own. It's still Ubuntu.
 
Adam Howard said:
Ubuntu comes with Unity as the default user interface (think of it like how Explorer is the default shell in Windows).

However they'll also be release a GNOME version in 13.04 (which should be out soon).
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UbuntuGNOME

I personally prefer GNOME over Unity. But to each their own. It's still Ubuntu.
Click to expand...
I HATE Gnome 3.0. Unity (which I'm not crazy about) does work well on a small screen like a netbook.
 
Adam Howard said:
YES.

From a noob point of view, without getting into the technical details....

Ubuntu which is based off of Debian... Is very user friendly. It's one of the most complete Linux builds (distros) which will come with drivers for old and new hardware, just like windows. So out of the box, it's likely already working for you.

The user interface is very user friendly. And installing applications (the process) has become as easy as installing a program in Windows or Apple. But they're making it even easier by offering an app store, so its as easy as picking an app and just installing it (much like how you would in a smart phone).

You can try it using a Live CD without installing Ubuntu. The CD boosts and load it into memory (RAM). You'll basically be using a "temporary" "virtual machine". It maybe a little limited and slower on a Live CD without installing it, but you should get the basics.

Ubuntu can also dual boot along side Windows (and I think Mac OS as well, but don't quite me on that). The install is almost completely automated. As automated as it is to install Windows 7 or Windows 8.
Click to expand...
Tracy Perry said:
I've got an OLD P4 Shuttle box in the back room... and Ubuntu and Mandriva are the two that run best on it.
Ubuntu is also great on a netbook (I'm running it on my Acer EEE PC that my Dr.'s office gave me for all the tech help I've provided them). Put an SSD in that netbook and you got something that will booted up to the sign-in screen in about 23 seconds.
Click to expand...

I'll need to quiz you both later (if you have time and don't mind) because I know zilch with regards to setting up/running or dealing in general with linux.

I do have a question though. I'm already running Win7 64bit on a SSD. Is it possible to install a linux OS on the SSD without it causing me to lose any of my windows data or causing any problems to that part of the system so I'm able to dual boot.
 
Shelley said:
I'll need to quiz you both later (if you have time and don't mind) because I know zilch with regards to setting up/running or dealing in general with linux.

I do have a question though. I'm already running Win7 64bit on a SSD. Is it possible to install a linux OS on the SSD without it causing me to lose any of my windows data or causing any problems to that part of the system so I'm able to dual boot.
Click to expand...
Resize your partition and it will be REAL easy and your Linux install will have it's natural environment. It's a simple dual boot situation. Adam (BTW - for Adam... see, I didn't put Howard here ;)) is probably a LOT more versed in dual booting than I am since my solution is to build a machine specific for that OS (or use VirtualBox).
 
Shelley said:
I'll need to quiz you both later (if you have time and don't mind) because I know zilch with regards to setting up/running or dealing in general with linux.

I do have a question though. I'm already running Win7 64bit on a SSD. Is it possible to install a linux OS on the SSD without it causing me to lose any of my windows data or causing any problems to that part of the system so I'm able to dual boot.
Click to expand...
You'll love how easy Ubuntu makes dual booting....

During the install it will automatically detect Windows installed and ask you if you want to replace Windows or dual boot. Select of course the dual boot option and it will move things around for you. At some point it will ask you if you want to use GRUB for the boot loader, simply say yes.

That's it. No voodoo magic, just simple and easy.

(They ask about GRUB because you could technically install and manage your own boot loading, but why make it hard on yourself? Just accept the default that Ubuntu offers you).
 
Top Bottom