livingenzyme

Are you sure?.x.(.x.) Yes (.x.) No ... at least since 7 SP1, it's very doubtful whether MS has made anything better at all, but it sure made Windows look a whole lot worse! Why not move over to macOS?

On another forum, someone asked me this exact question. I answered, and before I know it I was banned for spamming. I do dispute this. I've been using 8 since the beginning and have had absolutely no problem. Then 8.1 came out and still I have had no problem at all. The desktop to me has not become less functional at all. As I said before, I consider myself a resourceful person no matter what tools I am given. The lack of a start menu does not impede my resourcefulness. Years ago, as a joke I wrote a small app that hid the start button/menu. I then sent it to a friend in the company. He panicked and ran to my office demanding that I bring back the start menu. So, I emailed him another app that reversed this. Well, he sent the app to a whole bunch of people, and before I know it everyone was mad at me. Just down memory lane... Anyway, what I'm trying to say is I have not modified my desktop at all. I have noticed that I can run apps/programs a lot faster than before. I'm sorry, I just don't see how the changes have made things harder to work with. At worst, it's the same as before. At best, it's made things more efficient.

Ok jorgeJ, I concede to your points. Having said that, if the desktop dies, as long as there is adequate software support, I'm fine with it. Unlike some people, I can be productive regardless of tools I am given. Adapt and survive. Or stick with hammer and chisel. If they do indeed want to kill the desktop, I still don't see what the big fuss is all about?

I work with the department of transportation. I make sure things are done correctly and according to specs by our contractors. It's painful sometimes to see people who wouldn't let go of the "good ole days". For example, a few years back one of our contractors wanted to use lasers and gps instead of string lines. They even proved to us that setup time was cut down from a whole crew of 2 dozen and a whole work day to a crew of half a dozen and 5 hours. To me, it was a simple and logical transition. What I didn't account for were the "good ole days" folks. Who knew something so simple would cause a shitstorm? One older guy very angrily asked what if the laser beam was crooked? Forget frontiers of technology. I think the construction industry is in the back end somewhere, and we continue to struggle as the "good ole days" folks fight any and every change imaginable. The days of desktop computers strictly for office use only is long past. People need to get over it. They need to learn to share the ecosystem with those of us who work on our feet half the time... or all the time.

I think it's pretty arrogant of you to call people who aren't satisfied with the status quo and want to improve it "haters". That's traditionally a way people who are overly self-satisfied with themselves justify their positions. -Noel I apologize for having used that term. Having said that, the rest of my points stand. All my previous desktop apps work just fine in 8, 8.1, and now 10. Everything is still there. 8.1 was the fastest bootup OS I've ever seen. I tried to boot it up in an old 90's machine, and it worked fine. And out in the field, the metro UI is a godsend. My profession requires me to work in both the office and field environments. And I utilize both UI's with absolutely no problem. I know you 100% office people hate metro. But try to think of it from some other people's perspective here. Go ahead and try to work on your feet with the desktop. The desktop isn't going anywhere. None of the changes they've made look to me like it's fazing out. And no, the sky isn't falling either. I've been reading a lot of your posts. You have made it abundantly clear that you hate the metro UI. Kudos to you. Just don't try to pretend the will of the majority is to kill off the metro UI. What I want is for you to have the option to strictly use the desktop. What you want seems to be for me to have no option but the desktop.

No, I don't think it's mass delusion. But having been the owner of a business in the past, I can tell you that unsatisfied customers, no matter how few they are compared to the rest, are always the loudest among the reviewers. And most people who are satisfied with the experience never say anything at all. Any business can tell you this. The dissatisfaction with 8/8.1, and now 10, were brought on by a few loud tech literates and that scared away the tech illiterates, which make up most computer users. No, I have not had problems finding things in 8 or 8.1. Everything is still there. In fact, the lack of the start menu has forced me to use the search function, which has been a godsend. After having used the search function in the charms bar to find apps since I first installed 8, I've found that the visual tree functionality of the start menu is unnecessary. And in regard to your 40 years of tech experience, people used a hammer and chisel for centuries, if not millennia. It doesn't mean a hammer and chisel is more efficient at keeping records than a computer. Like I said, I have seen no indication that the desktop is going away anytime soon. All MS has done is given us a new UI that actually makes sense for a touch screen device. If you don't like touchscreen, god bless you. God bless all of you. Don't ever get a touchscreen device. Just don't try to dictate what you do or don't like to the rest of us. Regarding the usefulness of metro apps, you're trying to compare a 2 year old ecosystem to one that's been around since 1990. That's hardly fair. But it is on the rise, and people know it. Case in point. I have a paid (kinda pricey) productivity app published in the windows store. I just bought a house using the revenue it's generated so far. So, clearly, most people don't hate metro like you guys think. And that's the problem with this forum. Got 1 hater. Got 2 haters. Now, there's a hand full of haters patting each others on the back pretending to represent the world at large.

Well, these old engineers at some point lost sight of the fact that the point of the calculations, reports, etc. is to make accurate assessments. They'd been doing it by hand for decades, and they've come to believe the point is to write everything by hand. Like I said, I've been fighting tooth and nail with some of them. We went all the way to the top, and I showed them samples prepared by MS Word and MS Excel versus samples prepared completely by hand. The auditors always found mistakes here and there with hand written reports. Not so with excel spreadsheets. And it's not like I'm trying to force them to actually use modern technology for once. They can continue writing down everything by hand until they retire. I just don't want to waste my time writing down pages of calculations by hand. It makes no sense. I say this here because I see the same attitude. It's not like people are forced to use the new metro UI. If you think the desktop is good for everything that you do, please, by all means never use metro UI. But some of us actually make good use of the touch-based UI. In my past life, I've worked as a developer. I've been working on several projects that makes my life a lot easier. I've tried to develop them in wpf and have come to the conclusion (after having field tested them) that they make no sense for working while in the field. Metro makes more sense.

Well, from my reading around so far, it sounds like a lot of people treat windows 8.1 as if it has no desktop at all. It also sounds like someone is holding their family hostage and make them use the metro UI. I have been using both the desktop (while in my office) and the metro UI (when I'm out in the field). Working with the desktop makes no sense when I'm out and about in the field at my construction sites. I've seen some oldies trying to fumble around with their windows xp/7 laptops out in the field, and they look like clowns. On the other hand, when I'm sitting in my office working on the plans or budgeting, I use the desktop. And I assure people, it's still there. It has always been there. It will always be there. Many people here seems to hate the fact that MS has given those of us who sometimes work on our feet an optional UI that actually makes sense. I've been saying this for years with another completely different topic, and I'm going to use that same saying here. If you don't like gay marriage, don't marry a person of the same sex. If you don't like metro UI, don't use metro UI. Don't try to dictate for the rest of us what you like or don't like. ALL my desktop oriented programs/apps still work just fine on 8/8.1. I've been trying out 10 on a test machine, and all my desktop programs/apps work on there as well. So, I don't know what this doom and gloom talk of killing the desktop is all about.

I'm always amused by doomsday whacko prophets. People who don't ever want to see progress and change come in all shapes and sizes. Some don't ever want to move on from xp. Some don't ever want to move on from pen and paper. I'm a structural engineer working in the Chicago area. A number of years back, I ran into an old senior engineer who was determined to not ever use a computer. All reports that were computer printouts that made it to his desk were kicked back. Yes, he made his subordinates hand-write out everything, including calculations made out by excel spreadsheets. No one under him was allowed to submit a report that was put together by a computer like the rest of the world. Everything had to be made with pen and paper. If it were up to these conservatives, we'd still be keeping records with hammer and chisel. I've fought tooth and nail with some people higher up regarding how I do my work. Mainly, they don't want to see any change. We fought all the way to the department of transportation regarding how certain things can be done legitimately. It's amusing to see very angry old engineers asking angrily "what if the laser isn't going in a straight line?". They didn't want the workers to use lasers. They wanted to see good old fashion string lines that takes a whole day to set up as oppose to having a laser and gps that takes an hour to set up. Apparently, these old fashion tech haters have somehow also taken over forums like this one. Sad...