Windows 8 forum: Poll: Windows 8 users: What do you think of it so far?

Just a quick intro on my computer savvy. Programming and building computers for 35 years, started on PC's with Windows 3. I run a lot of high-end software for work as well as system demanding games. I installed and ran Windows 8 Enterprise along with Windows 7 in a dual boot environment on my production desktop. It worked very well with 99% of my software and only failed with older, unsupported software that has been in decline for the past several years. I bought and installed Windows 8 Pro on October 26th (at 12:10 AM) and never looked back. I still run a dual boot system with Windows 7 but haven't used it since the day I installed Windows 8.

I LOVE Windows 8. It is faster than 7 and many of the programs, like Office 2010, work better in 8 than in 7. I have fewer crashes in games and have no trouble running in the command console with the old DOS kernel. Switching between my desktop and start screen is a breeze and it's quick and intuitive. Once I rebuilt my mouse muscle memory (in maybe 30 minutes at most) I can jump between programs in the metro interface or the desktop easier and faster than what I did in Windows 7 because the memory usage in Windows 8 is so much more efficient. The

I set my wife's computer up in Windows 8 using the Windows 7 migration with all settings and apps (programs) to be transferred across during install. She was out of town at the time and I didn't tell her what I had done. She is not computer literate to any degree and represents the average PC user as well as anyone. All her settings, her desktop, and applications came across. When she sat down at her computer after getting back home I watched out of the corner of my eye to see what would happen. I left the computer on her desktop so it looked exactly like her Windows 7 screen. She accessed her Gmail, worked in Excel and Word, looked at a PDF in Acrobat 10, and played music while she worked. I had to tell her to drop her mouse in the lower left corner of her screen and click. Up pops the Metro interface! She looks at it and says "oh, you installed Windows 8. How do I get back to my desktop?" I told her to run her mouse to the upper right corner and click and her desktop was back instantly, untouched and unchanged. That was October 28th and she has had no trouble with it at all.

So. before you judge, use the software and take the time to do the video assistance if you need to. Check it on someone else's PC if necessary and approach it with an open mind. And there are a lot of decent apps for it already like the Netflix app that is superior to the IE or Firefox plugin by magnitudes. Gmaps is great if you appreciate clear, up-to-date imagery. A large percentage of the decent apps are also free, just as they are on your smart phone or tablet.

Long story short, IMO Windows 8 is a significant improvement over 7 in so many ways I don't have the time (or typing skills) to enumerate them all. If Windows 7 is your thing, go for it. Keep using XP if you like and it works for you. If Windows 8 is too difficult you may want to brush up on your computer skills before passing judgment on someone else who likes it.

It looks like a google chrome knock off. It offers less choices than google chrome.
It makes it harder to work my camera and my All in One Printer.
It was cheap.
My hope for it is that it will update security for my computer.
But then it voided that hope by making too many decisions for me:
By assuming that we all want our Home Computers to have instant and Easy Access to the Internet with All files on our computer.
The one thing that really wont work for me is the email link that use to be my default email. And it was the one thing I did like being able to make "one click" and my email was sent.
So until they figure out how to make the ease of windows 98 with the security of today I guess this roller coaster of Almost a good windows will have to do.
It was cheap.

reloaded xp and SP3 couldn't get the work around to 64 bit to work so went with 32. everything SEEMED to be ok until I started to load programs. Auto run wont work and opening (no run option available with left mouse click) wont run the install either. it is a piece of feces. almost as bad as ME with the bonus difficulty of touch idiocy.

I installed it on an Intel dual-core desktop and tried it for 8 days and offered others to sit down and try it. 100% of the eleven people said it was useless to a novice. I had watched a few tutorials, so it wasn't so rough for me to use it. I got to try it on a touch screen laptop, also. My final judgement: Total waste of time and poorly thought out. When a novice sits down and can do nothing with it, that just chases away potential customers. The polls on the net show that it is destined to be a bigger flop than Vista.

I tried Windows 8 beta and was not impressed and now after purchasing Windows 8, I still find it to be the worst Windows version yet. It takes multiple mouse movements just to accomplish the same operations in Windows 7.

Maybe as a toy OS on a touch screen tablet playing Angry Birds it will accomplish what an Android does but anyone needing real business apps should stick with Windows 7 for now.

Also who does Microsoft think they're fooling by calling this Windows 8 Pro, where is the regular Windows 8?
Also Microsoft is selling the box without saying on the box it's an upgrade version. If you install it on a clean drive like I did, it will install but you can't register it. Error: You must install as an upgrade to register this software. I didn't know that since it doesn't say Upgrade on the box

I put W8 on a spare notebook and I won't be using it very much.

I have upgraded two computers in the house to Windows 8, one with Vista and the other with XP. I highly recommend upgrading these systems for the price of $39.99 at the Microsoft Store or cheaper at some retail stores with disk (heck of a lot cheaper than a Windows 7 upgrade). These two computers were on there last legs and with the upgrade these computers have come to life. No more ridiculous start up times. The UI is easy to navigate and not to much of a problem. Yes you do have to use shortcut keys for an easy functional interface, but I am old school and I already did that with all of the windows OS's. I was actually thinking of buying new computers until I upgraded to Windows 8. It looks like I will be able to squeeze another few years out of them.

1. Windows Vista upgrade was flawless, transferred all files and compatible drivers, no programs, with no issues and was very pleased, the system has been working excellent as to date, down loaded Windows 8 update on the first day available from the Microsoft Store.

2. Windows XP upgrade was not so flawless, could not upgrade from the desktop, had to down load the setup file to a blank USB flash drive (and or DVD) and boot from there. I had to perform a clean install (files are saved on a file named Old Computer, if you choose). Yes you will need to install compatible drivers. Still no issue. This computer was bought in 2003 and is working well. I am very pleased.

3. I still have one more computer with Windows 7, It is my son's computer and is working great, If it's not broke don't fix it. I am hesitant to fix anything that I do not have problems with.

In overview if your looking to give your old system a bit of life, I highly recommend the Windows 8 OS.

No one with a non touch computer should even consider it. I shouldn't have. I personally would not even buy it buy it again even if I had a touch screen computer.

It's good for tablets maybe, but that's as far as it goes. Trying to use it on a desktop or traditional laptop is an exercise in masochism. MS is going to have to learn from those of us who vote with our pocket books to give us the old desktop and start button back. Until then, I think they've lost their collective minds. I was one of their biggest fans from the late 80s until this year, but they've lost me when it comes to understanding them. Maybe the full featured Surface tablet will be more successful, but it's priced too high to be a serious competitor to the iPad. For me I say Windows 7 is the answer for me. Maybe MS will learn by the time the come out with Windows 9, but they sure don't seem to understand the importance of upward compatibility. I.e. If it ain't broke, don't fix it!
I have a Kindle Fire I like for portability and battery life, but it makes no sense to me to try to replace it with a Surface RT tablet or any other tablet for that matter.
For me it's thumbs down for Windows 8.