Windows 8: Do you need it?

I'm certain that the people asking this question expect a simple answer. They're looking for a straightforward yes or a no.

I wish it were that easy.

The problem is that I cannot possibly see into your home or office and know what your particular circumstances are. The best I can do is to offer a big picture based on certain scenarios, and then hand the decision over to you.

Let's take a look at a few scenarios.

Read more at source:
Windows 8: Do you need it? | ZDNet

 

[pparks1]

I don't get why everyone hates Win8. I think it's neat.

But other people don't find it as neat.

The metro UI only makes it faster to get to an app or program. It's cool how they are live and update throughout the day.

Unsure how metro makes it faster to get to an app. When I am on the desktop, the fastest way for me launch my apps is to click on the taskbar pins that I have made. Clicking the lower left corner to get the start hotspot up, or clicking the windows key, and then finding and clicking the tile and being zipped back into the destkop is slower for me than clicking my pinned taskbar icon and just staying on the desktop.

 

[Coke Robot]

I need it. I like the consolidation of capabilities into one UI, the slickness, speed, and efficiency of the hardware is a HUGE plus for me. I'm sorry, but I don't into, literally, of having multiple devices that one can achieve perfectly well. I don't have be weird and use my four inch phone to browse different apps that I can do just as well and better with a PC and a large screen. Some don't like that, that's OK, because Windows 8 can still do everything Windows 7 can do just fine.

I for one, will be making a huge effort to update people's laptops to Windows 8 mostly due to improved battery life and speed. The Start Screen can be learned and navigation can be learned. I'll be installing HP's Learn Windows 8 app on said installs as well...

 

[whs]

LOL.

Let's hope not many actually buy this awful thing.

Maybe then MS will stop trying to control everything and give the customers what they want.

Here's something by some of your fellow countrymen. The idea of the song came to them while on tour through the U.S.

[video=youtube;OagFIQMs1tw]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OagFIQMs1tw

Too bad I could not enjoy your video. This is what I get: (GEMA is the organisation that collects license fees for any music)

 

[pparks1]

I for one, will be making a huge effort to update people's laptops to Windows 8 mostly due to improved battery life and speed. The Start Screen can be learned and navigation can be learned. I'll be installing HP's Learn Windows 8 app on said installs as well...

I'm trying to come up with a good mechanism for myself to judge the real world different in battery life. Aside from boot improvements, I haven't really seem much to support claims that Windows 8 is really noticeably faster.

I don't do much side computer work for people. After using them all day, I want to get away from them at home...so people in my circles have to upgrade if they wish on their own.

 

[HippsieGypsie]

[/QUOTE]Too bad I could not enjoy your video. This is what I get: (GEMA is the organisation that collects license fees for any music)[/QUOTE]

That's weird. I copied the URL from YouTube and pasted it using the forum "insert video" option. We do this all the time in the "What are you listening to" thread.

Anyway, it's "You can't always get what you want" by The Rolling Stones from the Sticky Fingers album.

 

[Colonel Travis]

GEMA outlawed (in Germany) a 70-year-old song video I uploaded a long time ago. They can be strict about this stuff.

 

[R0bR]

Aside from boot improvements, I haven't really seem much to support claims that Windows 8 is really noticeably faster.

It all depends on the hardware you install it on, if it's fairly new hardware you probably won't notice it. On my work Ultrabook I can notice a bit of performance increase, it's a couple of years old, and on my Latitude D620 laptop it is night and day. Microsoft put a lot of work on having W8 perform on lower spec'd hardware and for that they've succeeded.

This is why I say that W8 won't be the savior to PC sales that OEMs have hoped for, if anything it will extend the life of current PCs. New PC sales will be mostly on the tablet or hybrids or those that want touch screens for their desktops.

 

[CalBear]

I don't "need it" but I like it. I'm looking forward to discovering some interesting/useful "Metro" apps. Meanwhile the Desktop covers everything I need to be productive. There are several good ways to reconstitute the Start button but I'm not sure that is really necessary. However, I am going to hedge my bet and install Windows 8 in a dual boot configuration with all my data/files/email/etc available from either operating system.

 

[HippsieGypsie]

GEMA outlawed (in Germany) a 70-year-old song video I uploaded a long time ago. They can be strict about this stuff.

Thanks, Colonel. I never new this organization existed. I read up on it. YouTube is banned in Germany. Google took them to court over extravagant fees and lost. Now it seems it's to be heard in a California court.

Copyright infringement is a touchy subject no doubt, but I should think the Stones don't care. They're rolling in dough. Anyway, thanks again. I learned something today.

 

[Dave76]

7 works for me. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Hi Terry,

Are all the previous OSs broken?


If it works for you, then use it. I have the same philosophy.

 

[Coke Robot]

I for one, will be making a huge effort to update people's laptops to Windows 8 mostly due to improved battery life and speed. The Start Screen can be learned and navigation can be learned. I'll be installing HP's Learn Windows 8 app on said installs as well...

I'm trying to come up with a good mechanism for myself to judge the real world different in battery life. Aside from boot improvements, I haven't really seem much to support claims that Windows 8 is really noticeably faster.

I don't do much side computer work for people. After using them all day, I want to get away from them at home...so people in my circles have to upgrade if they wish on their own.

I've read that on average battery life, on a new laptop with Windows 7 and 8, Windows 8 will add about 30-45 minutes to. But in real world comparison, 8 just feels faster and snappier. Yeah, 7 is fast, but 8 is faster.

 

[pparks1]

I've read that on average battery life, on a new laptop with Windows 7 and 8, Windows 8 will add about 30-45 minutes to.

I have read this too, but until I can see it for myself and quantify the difference, I will remain skeptical.

But in real world comparison, 8 just feels faster and snappier.

I think a lot of claims of speed are based on the gut feeling of "it just feels snappier". I am often scoffed at for my claims of not noticing speed improvements outside of bootups, but when I ask others if they did time test with stopwatches or other devices (like i have) they always say no. Then you find they compare an older load of Windows 7 with tons of cruft, to a new machine with new hardware and a fresh load and say, "Wow, look at how much faster it is". Really, it's faster!...this surprises them? It's faster hardware and a fresh load.

I on the other hand, take 2 identical machines from work inventory, fresh load Windows 7 on one and Windows 8 on the other and test and I see very little difference. No doubt bootups and shutdowns are faster. But for most other things, I challenge others to prove to me it's faster....i've got my conclusive proof saying time difference is negligible.

 

[tcman50]

i just dont see many advantages of 8 over 7 expect if you are going to put 8 on a mobile device. Windows 7 does everything perfect for me on my desktop pc's, why would I go to windows 8, its not going to happen.

 

[whs]

GEMA outlawed (in Germany) a 70-year-old song video I uploaded a long time ago. They can be strict about this stuff.

Thanks, Colonel. I never new this organization existed. I read up on it. YouTube is banned in Germany. Google took them to court over extravagant fees and lost. Now it seems it's to be heard in a California court.

Copyright infringement is a touchy subject no doubt, but I should think the Stones don't care. They're rolling in dough. Anyway, thanks again. I learned something today.

In principle, the GEMA is a good organization. They are e.g. providing funds for older artists once they retire. Whether that works well, I don't know.

 

[HippsieGypsie]

I agree. I wouldn't want people stealing things I've created either. Mine just happens to be fixed real estate. Difficult to take.

 

[Dogmatix]

I'm sticking with XP. I don't really like 7 that much, let alone 8. My kids have 7 on their PCs and laptops, and I just don't like it. I don't have a laptop or a tablet, have no need for one and no intention of getting one.

I suppose that makes me a dinosaur. But then so is the organisation I work for: some 8,000 workstations, all with XP.

PS. You Tube works fine here in Germany.

 

[Mustang]

Ironically I was at docs getting a prescription and his surgery is ultra modern and in an ultra modern complex, yet I noticed he was running XP as he printed out the prescription. I couldn't resist asking him why he still used XP. And he replied: Because it does everything I want! End of story.

I stopped short of telling him support would be withdrawn in a few years.

 

[Lee]

Please do not take this wrong if you are not going to upgrade to 8 or for that matter 7. With the strokes that have caused a decrease in my ability to comprehend even the smallest of things at times I still cannot understand why if someone is not going to use 8 (or whatever) they find the need to join a forum that is designed around a specific OS.

This has been one of the things that really gives my broken down old brain fits. . .

 

[R0bR]

I on the other hand, take 2 identical machines from work inventory, fresh load Windows 7 on one and Windows 8 on the other and test and I see very little difference. No doubt bootups and shutdowns are faster. But for most other things, I challenge others to prove to me it's faster....i've got my conclusive proof saying time difference is negligible.

Time is not the only determination. My Latitude D620 with XP on it sat on the shelf for a number of years because it took to long to boot and even longer to login to. I figured it's obviously bloated from many years of use so I formatted and installed 7 and it was better but still sluggish with only 2GB of ram. I couldn't stream 720P movie over wireless without it stuttering or video pausing while audio kept playing. And forget trying to run anything else while trying to play that video. When W8 dev came out I installed it on the 620 and it was night and day difference, boot up was quick, login was quick and resource utilization by the OS dropped quite a bit in comparison to 7. I can stream 720P movies from my network drive without issue, I can let that play and also launch the browser with no stutter or anything and ram use is just over 1GB. Windows 8 has put new life into this 620 that I'm using right now after sitting on a shelf for years.

So yes, W8 is faster but as the hardware it runs on gets faster it's just not as noticeable because there are more resources available. I think a good test for newer hardware is to start launching many programs, does the performance start to drop sooner on 7 or 8 as more programs are running? That would be a true test for newer hardware.

 

[Coke Robot]

Please do not take this wrong if you are not going to upgrade to 8 or for that matter 7. With the strokes that have caused a decrease in my ability to comprehend even the smallest of things at times I still cannot understand why if someone is not going to use 8 (or whatever) they find the need to join a forum that is designed around a specific OS.

This has been one of the things that really gives my broken down old brain fits. . .

My thoughts exactly.