Why you should avoid buying Windows 8

[jaclaz]

Well the good news:

http://www.zdnet.com/microsoft-admits-surface-keyboard-splitting-problem-7000007189/

are that they are aknowledging the:

Microsoft acknowledged the issue in a statement sent to ZDNet on Friday.

"Microsoft makes every effort to ensure our customers receive a high quality product. We are in active contact with our Customer Support operations and are aware of a small number of instances of material separation," the spokeswoman said.

the road to actually admit the "mental separation" from user base and reality is still long though...

jaclaz

[JorgeA]

Meanwhile, WinRT is getting some pretty mixed reviews (how surprising!), its main advantage (MS Office) can't actually be used in businesses and doesn't include Outlook (not that most people care for an office suite on a tablet), half the space so far is taken by the OS (13GB used on a 32GB tablet) and updates will only make that worse, and since we're talking about updates, WinRT isn't exactly the impenetrable fort knox of security (oh, did you think you were buying a secure and hassle-free device?), and two weeks after Surface is out MS is already acknowledging hardware problems (I totally didn't expect that in a first generation MS device! RROD, anyone?) People also recently discovered that the sucktastic built-in Metro apps have ads (in a product you paid for!), but that shouldn't be surprising since they've done the same to the Xbox dashboard recently (who cares if you bought the console, the games, and are paying for Live! too? You're *still* getting ads!)

I noticed in ZDNet's Win8 security flaws post, that

Among the flaws, a few patches will be delivered for Internet Explorer that will fix a flaw that allows drive-by attacks on vulnerable systems, such as if the user visits a malicious Web page through the browser. Older versions of Internet Explorer, versions IE6, IE7 and IE8, which run on Windows XP, will not be patched.

Of course this continues the campaign to get people off XP, but the way the post is written, it's not entirely clear whether the lack of a fix for IE8 will also apply to non-XP users. For example, me on Vista and IE8.

Digging further, a check of the security bulletin indicates that the fix will not be offered for IE8.

This s*cks. IE8 was the last browser version with a fully functional (informative) status bar, which sadly not even the Classic Shell folks have been able to restore completely. Not that Firefox is any better in that regard -- I kept version 3.6 until Norton stopped supporting it. The mind-boggling trend is toward giving the user LESS information.

--JorgeA

[Aaaaa]

Reason not to buy Windows 8: because paying money for it or even using it (increase market share) rewards Microsoft's stupid decisions

I'll even go out of my way to not only make sure people I know don't buy windows 8, and if they get a laptop that comes with it, get a refund from Microsoft.

Sure, there are some nice things about Windows 8. But Microsoft needs to stop this nonsense. And it seems money is the only thing that will convince them at this point.

[JorgeA]

Reason not to buy Windows 8: because paying money for it or even using it (increase market share) rewards Microsoft's stupid decisions

I'll even go out of my way to not only make sure people I know don't buy windows 8, and if they get a laptop that comes with it, get a refund from Microsoft.

Sure, there are some nice things about Windows 8. But Microsoft needs to stop this nonsense. And it seems money is the only thing that will convince them at this point.

I'm with you on every count. Sales (or the lack thereof) are the ultimate judge and determinant.

I am tempted to walk into a computer store, stand in front of the Windows 8 screens, and get big eyes of (mock) wonder and really loudly say something like, "Wow, I feel like I'm in kindergarten again!!"

--JorgeA

[Phenomic]

Try Linux Mint 13 MATE, has classic start button & customizable taskbar. My current uptime is 26 days and no more Windows BSODs.

[Laurence]

I thought the author in the following article provided an interesting perspective:

Windows 8 — Disappointing Usability for Both Novice and Power Users

regards,

Laurence

[jaclaz]

I thought the author in the following article provided an interesting perspective:

Windows 8 — Disappointing Usability for Both Novice and Power Users

regards,

Laurence

Yep

Also commented starting here:

jaclaz

[Laurence]

Yep

Also commented starting here:

http://www.msfn.org/...ost__p__1019066

jaclaz

Indeed; and I find it interesting there as well.

regards,

Laurence

[Tripredacus]

Try Linux Mint 13 MATE, has classic start button & customizable taskbar. My current uptime is 26 days and no more Windows BSODs.

Just so you know, using uptime as some sort of feature of Linux is an invalid argument.

[jaclaz]

Try Linux Mint 13 MATE, has classic start button & customizable taskbar. My current uptime is 26 days and no more Windows BSODs.

Just so you know, using uptime as some sort of feature of Linux is an invalid argument.

NOT really .

The point is the actual AMOUNT of uptime.

I have some NT 4.00 and 2K running 24/7 since 2002 or 2003 only switched off/rebooted a few times to replace disks and/or PSU's, that is some "uptime", not 26 days, uptime starts to be of *some* relevance when you start counting it in years.... and of course a lot of things depend on the actual usage the machine has.

jaclaz

[JorgeA]

The point is the actual AMOUNT of uptime.

I have some NT 4.00 and 2K running 24/7 since 2002 or 2003 only switched off/rebooted a few times to replace disks and/or PSU's, that is some "uptime", not 26 days, uptime starts to be of *some* relevance when you start counting it in years.... and of course a lot of things depend on the actual usage the machine has.

I think that Phenomic was making the point that his Linux system is less crash-prone than Windows is perceived to be. Why, I have a brand-new Windows 7 machine, and got my first BSOD one day into owning it when I tried to install the graphics card driver offered by Windows Update.

--JorgeA

Edited November 20, 2012 by JorgeA

[JorgeA]

I thought the author in the following article provided an interesting perspective:

Windows 8 — Disappointing Usability for Both Novice and Power Users

I went on their website and that article is only the latest in a whole slew of fascinating stuff!

--JorgeA

[JorgeA]

Try Linux Mint 13 MATE, has classic start button & customizable taskbar. My current uptime is 26 days and no more Windows BSODs.

I've said that if Microsoft doesn't make it so that I can avoid their Metro thing altogether, then when Windows 7 support runs out my screen will start looking like this.

--JorgeA

[jaclaz]

Why, I have a brand-new Windows 7 machine, and got my first BSOD one day into owning it when I tried to install the graphics card driver offered by Windows Update.

And I have seen Linux distro's that won't even boot the first time, what gives?

Of course having Windows Update running automatically is a threat to a system's stability, you are allowing a third party (qualified as it might be ) to install *something* (normally completely UNlike *needed*) to your otherwise nicely running system, in most cases this works, sometimes it doesn't, this is "normal" and "expected" (and I suspect - though most probably "innocent" in this particular case - that you are also running some Symantec app on that system ).

Since you weren't around at the time, check what happened with XP SP3 :

jaclaz

[JorgeA]

And I have seen Linux distro's that won't even boot the first time, what gives?

That's why I also wrote (but it wasn't in the excerpt that you cited),

I think that Phenomic was making the point that his Linux system is less crash-prone than Windows is perceived to be.

[emphasis added]

Actually, the more I work with Linux the less "better" it looks to me. I reinstalled Zorin OS 5.2 from the DVD the other day and went to update it, and there was very little to update. Apparently because it's Narwhal, it's no longer supported and the update site doesn't work anymore. This means that I would have to move over to Zorin 6. And then when support for that edition of Ubuntu (on which Zorin is based) runs out, I'll have to nuke everything and install a whole new edition of the OS because improvements and patches cease and the site closes within a couple of years?? Sheez, talk about the Microsoft "upgrade treadmill." Eleven years later and you can still install XP from scratch and make it current. So, unless Windows 8.1 or 9 allows me to disable Metro, when Win7 reaches end-of-life then I'll have a difficult choice to make. Which may still be Linux.

BTW, I didn't set those Windows updates (including the graphics card driver) to install automatically, only to notify me so that then I could pick and choose. So in that sense I am even more guilty, but at least I can't be accused of "automatically" accepting whatever they send downstream.

--JorgeA