Can windows 8 look like a real OS?

clayender

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Before I consider upgrading to 8 can anyone tell me if I can make it look and work like a real operating system and not a mobile phone?

I use my pc for design work and have no need for touch screen or windows apps.

I run software for writing embedded applications eg Visual Studio, IAR workbench ....

Thanks in advance
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    vista
I don't know if you can completely eliminate encounters with the Charm Bar and the Metro interface, but some programs can make things much better, e.g., Stardock Start8 and Classic Shell. Are you running Win7? Why mess with a good thing? Win8 has some good new features, but that a great many don't care about them if the tradeoff is having to encounter Charm and Metro very frequently.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win7 Ult on DIY; Win8 Pro on MBP/Parallels; Win7 Ult on MBP/Boot Camp; Win7 Ult/Win8 Pro on HP
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    DIY Rig; MacBook Pro (MBP)/Parallels/Boot Camp; HP Pavilion dv6500t Laptop
    CPU
    Intel i7-2600K (sometimes OC'd to 4.8 GHz)
    Motherboard
    ASUS P8P67 Deluxe Rev B3
    Memory
    16 GB Corsair Vengeance
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA 570 SC
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Gateway
    Hard Drives
    Dual Boot:
    Win7 Ult RAID 0 on OCZ Revo x2 and
    Win7 Ult RAID 0 on Caviar Black SATA 3's
    PSU
    Cooler Master Silent Pro 1000W
    Case
    Cooler Master 932 HAF
    Cooling
    Zalman CNPS9900MAX-B CPU Fan
    Keyboard
    Logitech Cordless Desktop MX 5500
    Mouse
    Logitech Cordless Desktop MX 5500
    Internet Speed
    20 Mbps Download/2+ Mbps Upload
    Other Info
    Pioneer Blu-ray Burner/DVD Burner
I hate to break it to you, since I can tell you've already made up your mind, but Windows 8 does act like a "real OS" (whatever that's supposed to mean).
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows Server 2012 Standard w/Hyper-V
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP ProBook 4430s
    CPU
    Intel Core i3-2310M
    Memory
    16GB DDR3
    Hard Drives
    80GB Intel 320 SSD
    500GB Samsung Momentus
Yes it does.

I have no interest in touch screen or Metro apps either and so just use it as a desktop like previous versions of Windows. The only real difference is the Start Menu items are now displayed in a Start Page, instead of a Start Menu (which I prefer after unpinning everything and just pinning the items I want there). Oh and it boots directly to the Start Page, instead of the desktop.

As I put Shutdown and Restart buttons on the Start Screen, I don't use the Charms menu either.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 8 64-bit
Before I consider upgrading to 8 can anyone tell me if I can make it look and work like a real operating system and not a mobile phone?

I use my pc for design work and have no need for touch screen or windows apps.

I run software for writing embedded applications eg Visual Studio, IAR workbench ....

Thanks in advance
You are just two clicks away from real OS, as soon as I hit the Desktop I forget about the new start screen and all those Metro, I have no Touch screen and not expecting as a X'mas gift from anyone.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 8.1
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Aspire E1-571
    CPU
    i5-3230m
    Motherboard
    Acer Type-2
    Memory
    8GB DDR3 1333MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD 4000
    Sound Card
    High Definiton Audio Device
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Generic
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 850 Pro 256GB
    PSU
    Generic
    Keyboard
    QWERTY
    Mouse
    ELANTECH Touchpad
    Internet Speed
    12.68Mbps
    Browser
    IE11
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
I don't know if you can completely eliminate encounters with the Charm Bar and the Metro interface, but some programs can make things much better, e.g., Stardock Start8 and Classic Shell. Are you running Win7? Why mess with a good thing? Win8 has some good new features, but that a great many don't care about them if the tradeoff is having to encounter Charm and Metro very frequently.

Start8 gives you the option to disable the Windows 8 "hot spots" (including Charms) when you are on the desktop so it's quite flexible.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 7 / Win 8
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo T510 / HP ProBook 4540S
    CPU
    Intel i5-510m / Intel i3-3110m
    Memory
    4GB / 8GB
    Monitor(s) Displays
    15.6"
It's a real OS out of the box, and quite fast as well. Just because it's different, doesn't mean it's bad or worse. If you need to restore the start menu, you have a large list of free and paid apps to choose from. I'm using StartIsBack, and it boiled down to $1 per computer.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro x64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    Intel Core i7-3770K
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte GA-Z77-UD3H
    Memory
    16 GB Patriot Viper 3 DDR3-1600
    Graphics Card(s)
    Nvidia 470 GTX
    Sound Card
    Onboard
    Hard Drives
    Crucial M4 256 GB, WD WD20EFRX 2 TB
    PSU
    OCZ 700W
    Case
    Corsair 300R
    Cooling
    Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo
I don't know if you can completely eliminate encounters with the Charm Bar and the Metro interface, but some programs can make things much better, e.g., Stardock Start8 and Classic Shell. Are you running Win7? Why mess with a good thing? Win8 has some good new features, but that a great many don't care about them if the tradeoff is having to encounter Charm and Metro very frequently.

Start8 gives you the option to disable the Windows 8 "hot spots" (including Charms) when you are on the desktop so it's quite flexible.
Thanks mbranch. I know about hot-corner (spot) disabling, but if I am on the Desktop, then move my cursor directly to the right center, does the Charm Bar appear? Regardless, I don't think I can completely avoid Metro when staring up or shutting down.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win7 Ult on DIY; Win8 Pro on MBP/Parallels; Win7 Ult on MBP/Boot Camp; Win7 Ult/Win8 Pro on HP
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    DIY Rig; MacBook Pro (MBP)/Parallels/Boot Camp; HP Pavilion dv6500t Laptop
    CPU
    Intel i7-2600K (sometimes OC'd to 4.8 GHz)
    Motherboard
    ASUS P8P67 Deluxe Rev B3
    Memory
    16 GB Corsair Vengeance
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA 570 SC
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Gateway
    Hard Drives
    Dual Boot:
    Win7 Ult RAID 0 on OCZ Revo x2 and
    Win7 Ult RAID 0 on Caviar Black SATA 3's
    PSU
    Cooler Master Silent Pro 1000W
    Case
    Cooler Master 932 HAF
    Cooling
    Zalman CNPS9900MAX-B CPU Fan
    Keyboard
    Logitech Cordless Desktop MX 5500
    Mouse
    Logitech Cordless Desktop MX 5500
    Internet Speed
    20 Mbps Download/2+ Mbps Upload
    Other Info
    Pioneer Blu-ray Burner/DVD Burner
It's a real OS out of the box, and quite fast as well. Just because it's different, doesn't mean it's bad or worse. If you need to restore the start menu, you have a large list of free and paid apps to choose from. I'm using StartIsBack, and it boiled down to $1 per computer.

I Agree.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro x64
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo Y520
    CPU
    Intel Core i5 7300HQ
    Motherboard
    OEM Lenovo
    Memory
    4GB DDR4-2400
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD
    Monitor(s) Displays
    1 (2)
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Seagate 1TB 5400 RPM
    Keyboard
    OEM Lenovo
    Mouse
    Logitech G502 Proteus Core
    Internet Speed
    100 Mbps
    Browser
    Google Chrome
    Other Info
    PC:

    AMD Athlon X4 760K
    8GB DDR3-1866
    AMD Radeon RX 460
    Seagate 500 GB 7200 RPM
Before I consider upgrading to 8 can anyone tell me if I can make it look and work like a real operating system and not a mobile phone?

I use my pc for design work and have no need for touch screen or windows apps.

I run software for writing embedded applications eg Visual Studio, IAR workbench ....

Thanks in advance
You might investigate some of the other threads in the "General Discussion" forum that deal with issues like you are wondering about. You hit some "hot corners" :D when mentioning "look and work like a real operating system and not a mobile phone."
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win7 Ult on DIY; Win8 Pro on MBP/Parallels; Win7 Ult on MBP/Boot Camp; Win7 Ult/Win8 Pro on HP
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    DIY Rig; MacBook Pro (MBP)/Parallels/Boot Camp; HP Pavilion dv6500t Laptop
    CPU
    Intel i7-2600K (sometimes OC'd to 4.8 GHz)
    Motherboard
    ASUS P8P67 Deluxe Rev B3
    Memory
    16 GB Corsair Vengeance
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA 570 SC
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Gateway
    Hard Drives
    Dual Boot:
    Win7 Ult RAID 0 on OCZ Revo x2 and
    Win7 Ult RAID 0 on Caviar Black SATA 3's
    PSU
    Cooler Master Silent Pro 1000W
    Case
    Cooler Master 932 HAF
    Cooling
    Zalman CNPS9900MAX-B CPU Fan
    Keyboard
    Logitech Cordless Desktop MX 5500
    Mouse
    Logitech Cordless Desktop MX 5500
    Internet Speed
    20 Mbps Download/2+ Mbps Upload
    Other Info
    Pioneer Blu-ray Burner/DVD Burner
It is a real OS, it's just displayed differently and waiting for you to take advantage of it...
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS
    CPU
    AMD FX 8320
    Motherboard
    Crosshair V Formula-Z
    Memory
    16 gig DDR3
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS R9 270
    Screen Resolution
    1440x900
    Hard Drives
    1 TB Seagate Barracuda (starting to hate Seagate)
    x2 3 TB Toshibas
    Windows 8.1 is installed on a SanDisk Ultra Plus 256 GB
    PSU
    OCZ 500 watt
    Case
    A current work in progres as I'll be building the physical case myself. It shall be fantastic.
    Cooling
    Arctic Cooler with 3 heatpipes
    Keyboard
    Logitech K750 wireless solar powered keyboard
    Mouse
    Microsoft Touch Mouse
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender, but I might go back on KIS 2014
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