Buy 7 or wait for 8?

[ARosch]

Okay so I am stuck trying to decide what to do for an operating system. I just built a brand new desktop that I will be using for gaming. Some of the specs are 1.5tb hard drive, Nvidia 460, 16gb of RAM, and i5-3570k. As it stands, I do not own an operating system to install on it. So I have two options:

#1 - Buy a full version of windows 7 and install it and one day upgrade to windows 8 if it works well and people like it. I have 7 on my laptop now and I like it.

#2 - Install my current hard drive that has windows vista on it and run it as my main drive on my new computer. I don't mind using vista while I wait for 8 to be release. I personally like Vista, I have been using it since 2007 without any problems.

So what do you all think? All comments and suggestions welcome.

 

[Hugh Jass]

Go ahead and buy 7...you'll be much happier as 8 looks as if it is going to suck donkey balls.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

Buy the OEM version of 7, unless you intend selling your system.

 

[PhoenixEnigma]

I'd suggest 7 as well, but if you're really torn, why not install the consumer preview of 8 for a week or however long it takes to decide? If you like it, you should be able to run it until you can buy Win8. If you don't, grab an OEM copy of Win7 while you still can.

 

[lxskllr]

Stay with Vista. It's the same as 7 for all meaningful purposes, and you can get 8 at a later date if you desire. Whether people like 8 or not is meaningless. If you intend on staying with Windows you need to keep up to date, or get left behind. There's no point in starting off with an old O/S for no good reason.

 

[Jeff7181]

Windows 7 absolutely. From what I've seen of Windows 8 it will be the first version of Windows I've skipped since Windows ME.

 

[gevorg]

Buy Windows 7. I'm afraid the 8 will be another flop like ME/Vista.

Windows 7 has mainstream support by Microsoft for at least another 3 years. Extended until 2020.

 

[ARosch]

Is there any particular reason why everyone is so unhappy with windows 8?

 

[dagamer34]

Is there any particular reason why everyone is so unhappy with windows 8?

They don't like Metro for one reason or another. It's really up to you whether you like it or not. I wouldn't factor in other people's opinions.

Financially, I'd say go ahead download and install the Windows 8 Community Preview (for free). It runs fine and should work great with all of your hardware. Keep in mind that the Release Preview is upon us (rumored to be released on June 1st), so I wouldn't get too attached to that install. It should be incredibly stable. Plenty of people already use the Community Preview on a day to day basis and I haven't heard any major problems. Just keep all critical data backed up on a separate hard drive and you should be ok.

I'd avoid Vista simply because you're already used to the useful features in Windows 7. Windows 8 isn't that much different from the desktop point of view.

 

[nemesismk2]

Go ahead and buy 7...you'll be much happier as 8 looks as if it is going to suck donkey balls.

I agree 🙂

 

[yinan]

Windows 8 isn't that much different from the desktop point of view.

Windows 8 is dramatically different from a desktop perspective. You essentially have to go through metro for EVERYTHING. Your start menu now takes up the whole screen. And MS now seems to think having multiple apps visible at the same time is a bad thing on a desktop/laptop computer.

 

[Genx87]

Windows 8 looks like a mess right now. I have played around with it and cant find what benefit it provide overs 7. Maybe that will change. But that will take a lot of change.

 

[Jeff7181]

Is there any particular reason why everyone is so unhappy with windows 8?

It's Metro as everyone else has been saying. What's really shocking is that it exists in Windows 8 Server as well. To me that's the biggest mistake in Microsoft history. No admin wants to deal with that tile bullshit and a full screen start menu. It's ridiculous and gimmicky. The saving grace is that, I believe, Windows 8 will be more friendly toward custom GUI's. We may see things like Norton Desktop reappear in the market.

 

[BrightCandle]

Widows 8 is a productivity killer. The issues with multi monitors and multiple apps is just crazy. The subtle tweaks of making buttons hard to spot and use equally don't make much sense, but its metro and its gesture interface that makes no sense for the desktop. I have no doubt its better for tablets, but its not an appropriate interface for a keyboard and mouse driven computer. You wouldn't catch Apple being stupid enough to take their iPad interface and stick it onto their Macs, but that is what Microsoft is currently doing despite all the complaining from their customers.

Tablets and desktop PCs are different markets, with wholy different needs. For one a lot of desktop users are creators not consumers of information. Its that majority which are getting the finger from Microsoft, so that they can attempt to go after the market they already gave to Apple and Google years ago.

Its going to be a lemon on both fronts by what I have seen, a bigger flop than Vista ever was. Microsoft will end up returning to Windows 7 as their interface basis for Windows 9 if they want to stay in business, so its simply a matter of avoiding 8 until they come to their senses or die pursuing the wrong things.

 

[lxskllr]

Windows 8 is dramatically different from a desktop perspective. You essentially have to go through metro for EVERYTHING. Your start menu now takes up the whole screen. And MS now seems to think having multiple apps visible at the same time is a bad thing on a desktop/laptop computer.

Why does it matter if the start menu takes the whole screen? You're not doing anything else. Same as clicking the start button in Win7. Seeing the desktop behind the menu is irrelevant.

Metro apps are concerning, but aren't essential to the Win8 experience. Win8 can be used the same way as Win7 with only trivial graphical differences.

 

[yinan]

Why does it matter if the start menu takes the whole screen? You're not doing anything else. Same as clicking the start button in Win7. Seeing the desktop behind the menu is irrelevant.

Metro apps are concerning, but aren't essential to the Win8 experience. Win8 can be used the same way as Win7 with only trivial graphical differences.

Seeing the desktop behind the menu is important to me. Why would a want a start menu environment that is 2500x1660? It is a waste of desktop real estate. I am typically multi tasking and watching several events happen at once. In a metro world you can't do that anymore. Also, there is no more Aero so the desktop is going to look very bland. I use Stardock Deskscapes to get the desktop environment looking really nice.

 

[Jeff7181]

Why does it matter if the start menu takes the whole screen? You're not doing anything else. Same as clicking the start button in Win7. Seeing the desktop behind the menu is irrelevant.

Metro apps are concerning, but aren't essential to the Win8 experience. Win8 can be used the same way as Win7 with only trivial graphical differences.

Because it's ridiculous. Since when do I need a full screen view of SOME of the applications I have installed? In addition, there are times I'm searching for a file and typing into the Start Menu's search bar while I'm reading a file name or server name from a log file or email or status screen as I type it.

This sort of thing can be relearned for the average user. For system admins it's in the way, especially ON A SERVER OS.

 

[GrumpyMan]

I love Aero and also love to see my collection of wallpapers along with the gadgets I like. If I can't do that anymore, it's a deal breaker. And I don't want to have to install 3rd party apps to be able to pull that off either.

 

[dagamer34]

Windows 8 is dramatically different from a desktop perspective. You essentially have to go through metro for EVERYTHING. Your start menu now takes up the whole screen. And MS now seems to think having multiple apps visible at the same time is a bad thing on a desktop/laptop computer.

I am confused. How much time does one actually use the Start Menu? What features do people primarily use it for? How is your workflow slowed because you can fit more search results on the same screen? As for having multiple apps on the same screen, why would you think that? What indication has Microsoft given that the desktop is "dead" and they will be killing it?

I just find some of these arguments rather silly. If you spend 99% of your time working in Photoshop, the new start screen shouldn't bother you because you're spending 99% of your time in Photoshop!

It should be clear by now that Metro is not the be-all, end-all of future Windows apps. However, some tasks are clearly more suited for the Metro environment than say, a web browser, or a tiny applet constantly running in the background. And speaking as a person that fixes friend's computers, Metro is a godsend since it's a safe, controlled way to get new apps onto a computer without worrying if they contain spyware or will muck up the registry.

 

[DaveSimmons]

> I am confused. How much time does one actually use the Start

I'm a software developer and use it often during the day at work. I use a lot more than Visual Studio, VMWare, Outlook and Firefox during the day, including CMD shell, regedit, Notepad, Wordpad, zip, Word, Access, Excel, paint, icon editor, irfranview, IE, CoreFTP, InstallShield ..........

I suppose the grandmas of the world won't mind 8 since they just need to run a browser and email program.

 

[dagamer34]

> I am confused. How much time does one actually use the Start

I'm a software developer and use it often during the day at work. I use a lot more than Visual Studio, VMWare, Outlook and Firefox during the day, including CMD shell, regedit, Notepad, Wordpad, zip, Word, Access, Excel, paint, icon editor, irfranview, IE, CoreFTP, InstallShield ..........

I suppose the grandmas of the world won't mind 8 since they just need to run a browser and email program.

Windows 7:
1) Tap Start Button on keyboard
2) Type in name of app
3) Press enter

Done.

Windows 8:
1) Tap Start Button on keyboard
2) Type in name of app
3) Press enter

Done.

Am I missing something? You could do it blindfolded and it still works the same.

 

[Jeff7181]

I am confused. How much time does one actually use the Start Menu? What features do people primarily use it for? How is your workflow slowed because you can fit more search results on the same screen? As for having multiple apps on the same screen, why would you think that? What indication has Microsoft given that the desktop is "dead" and they will be killing it?

I just find some of these arguments rather silly. If you spend 99% of your time working in Photoshop, the new start screen shouldn't bother you because you're spending 99% of your time in Photoshop!

It should be clear by now that Metro is not the be-all, end-all of future Windows apps. However, some tasks are clearly more suited for the Metro environment than say, a web browser, or a tiny applet constantly running in the background. And speaking as a person that fixes friend's computers, Metro is a godsend since it's a safe, controlled way to get new apps onto a computer without worrying if they contain spyware or will muck up the registry.

The time I spend using the start menu is very little compared to the entire work day. However, why would anyone think it's acceptable to create a less efficient way to do the same thing? Less efficient may be subjective... but what if the clock took up the entire screen. The amount of time you spend looking at what time it is is probably rather small, but if it interrupted EVERYTHING else you were doing by filling the screen with 95% useless pixels, would that be ok?

In reference to multiple apps... if I have the Metro UI open. That is the ONLY thing visible on my screen. How is that not a step backward?

Also, an "app store" doesn't require a full screen, obtrusive GUI.

As far as I'm concerned, Metro is a decent phone/tablet/touch screen UI and would make a great "accessibility" feature for the vision impaired. But as the primary interface for launching applications (on a SERVER no less)? F that.

 

[Jeff7181]

Windows 7:
1) Tap Start Button on keyboard
2) Type in name of app
3) Press enter

Done.

Windows 8:
1) Tap Start Button on keyboard
2) Type in name of app
3) Press enter

Done.

Am I missing something? You could do it blindfolded and it still works the same.

1) Tap Start Button on keyboard
2) Type in name of file to open (5.0_Mar_2012_ESXi_HD-USB-SDImgeInstlr_Z7550-00334.iso)
3) Press enter

Not a practical example, but if the search bar fills up my entire screen, how the hell am I going to type that file name? If you can memorize that, you're a better man than I.

I'm all for improvements, even if they are drastic changes. But change for the sake of change and change for the worse I am not a fan of.

 

[lxskllr]

1) Tap Start Button on keyboard
2) Type in name of file to open (5.0_Mar_2012_ESXi_HD-USB-SDImgeInstlr_Z7550-00334.iso)
3) Press enter

Not a practical example, but if the search bar fills up my entire screen, how the hell am I going to type that file name? If you can memorize that, you're a better man than I.

I'm all for improvements, even if they are drastic changes. But change for the sake of change and change for the worse I am not a fan of.

copy/paste. If you're hand typing that, you're doing it wrong in the first place.

 

[Jeff7181]

copy/paste. If you're hand typing that, you're doing it wrong in the first place.

Again, not a practical example. I routinely type long paths into the search bar to avoid clicking through folders to get to a log file or a config file because it's faster. And often I'm reading that path from an email alert.

It really just seems like Microsoft completely disregarded the fact that the needs of home users and business users are different. For the home, it will take some adjusting but it will work fine. For business, it's utterly ridiculous. A touch screen friendly GUI for a server... WTF is wrong with people?