Upgrading To Windows 8 - Is It Worth It?

So I got an upgrade to Windows 8 for 14.99 and was wondering is it worth it to go from 7 to 8?

I don't have one of those touch pcs or whatever the hell it is.

Nope

You will get a million and one post saying how much people hate Windows 8 and a million of those people will have never even use it.

It really isn't as bad as everyone makes it out to be. I have it on my work computer before it was released and post.

The gist of it is, its new and takes getting use to. But once you learn the shortcuts, its A LOT faster than Windows 7. I say that but then contradict myself because somethings take a few extra clicks as opposed to what you are use to in Windows 7.

Is it worth the upgrade? Sure if you are willing to learn something new. If you don't want to go through that hassle, Windows 7 is stable enough to stick with for a long time.

Hell no.. Had a very good LS member that was fine with everything on 7.. Soon as he installed 8 took him a week to get 11 running and none of his programs would work. Waste of time.

8 is garbage, don't waste your time.

It's not like Windows 8 is identical to Windows 7 besides the metro screen or anything.

I wonder if I can sell my Windows 8 code for 14.99 then, lol.

Windows 8 is as bad as people say. Even none fanboys of Microsoft will tell you if they had to choose..7 all the way. The problem with windows 8 is that is was designed for what microsoft saw as being the future of PCs, which they were waaaay off. That future is tablet/touchscreen PCs. While they are nifty in design and some have very very useful applications in work places, they don't fit the average at home person. Most tablets are very slow compared to any desktop or laptop that a person can use freely and sit down with at home. That is where they failed, people don't use their tablets at home when they have a much faster or more powerful PC. For what it was designed for it works ok. As for the part of being a lot faster I assume you mean the boot time. Which yes, on average it is like 10-25 seconds faster, but those tests were also done with a HDD, most people are going SSD which there is virtually no difference in boot time. The other "faster" things were like 700mb decompress, compress and duplicating. Which is only by like 5 seconds. Most browsers showed the same times, oh and some cards got a 10 point boost in 3D Mark 11. If what I just stated peaks your interest, then go for it, but expect a bit of a learning curve and many moments of frustration cause a feature isn't there, or is completely different from 7.

TL;DR version: If you don't have an SSD with your OS installed on it, turn your PC on and off all the time and want 10-15 seconds faster boot time, go with 8. If you mess with huge files (700mb+) everyday and want to save precious seconds working on them, go 8. Otherwise don't do it.

Oh and fun little side read..Microsoft blamed computer manufactures for Windows 8 failing.

I just dual booted 7 and 8, so if I run into any problems with 8, I can always boot into windows 7. I did get Windows 8 for free though which may be the only reason I own it. I don't know about other people, but I get a lot free stuff for being a student.

I just don't see the point in wasting space for an operating system that doesn't bring any useful extra features, and limits functionality.

Oh not to mention that you have to use 3rd party software to use a basic Windows feature...

It's not bad once you get use to the interface, seems geared more for touchscreens, but if you hit desktop its not a lot different. The only major difference is how to find things since there's no "start" button. But if you go to the start menu and start typing what you are looking for it brings up a list and you usually find what you are looking for. Ease of use I'd say 7. New and different 8.

Just to comment on this, PC market has been on the decline the past half decade and Windows 8 was suppose to "save" the PC market all the manufactures hoped. Well it wasn't as successful (note: failed) as hoped and both parties pointing fingers at other.

My new laptop had Windows 8 pre-installed. It isn't terrible... I haven't tried FFXI yet, but I hear that it has major compatibility issues.

Biggest complaints:
Lack of traditional start menu
Standard Microsoft games (ie solitaire, minesweeper, etc) aren't included like in old operated systems
Dislike of apps in place of tradition programs

Other than the funky Start screen, it feels very similar to Windows 7 (aside from apps), but I am not fond of the app centric direction that Microsoft is trying to take.

tl;dr

Stick with 7

Is there a real reason to upgrade? I mean, my computer is running so smoothly and flawlessly with 7 that I'd literally hate to change anything lest something become sub-optimal. There seems to be zero real incentive, at least for the time being :/

You're not really missing much if you don't upgrade. I just find the bashwagon funny.

Its not really a bashwagon if its justified...

pretty much this.

Windows 7 desktop is multiple generations of UI tweaks and trial and error, to become a pretty well rounded and efficient operating environment with a mouse and KB.

Windows 8 on the other hand is the first real foray into a primarily touch screen based UI, particularly because it's the first real attempt to completely unify computing platforms. Can you access everything you need on 8? Sure, but unless you're using touch screen, dual monitor, or both, you're going to notice a decrease in efficiency, especially if you have a large number of applications you use consistently.

Part of the problem is that microsoft wants people to get used to the new environment, so they're making it at least somewhat difficult to sidestep the new UI. I personally think that if they developed a windows 7 with a touch screen option, they would have a very solid OS.

As it stands, they're trying to create a new standard, and it's more efficient on some devices than others.

I've tried it on touchscreen hardware, really not what it's cracked up to be.

Well you can debate whether you'd prefer another OS for a touch screen device, but it's certainly more efficient for touch screen than the classic windows desktop.

They tried to handle too many issues in unifying the OS, and it turned out that they were juggling more than they could handle.

I dont even really get the point in even owning a tablet. esp if you have a smart phone

Because they're cheaper and lighter if all you're going to do is surf facebook.

I rarely ever used the start menu to begin with. I pin everything I need, and if something I needed wasn't pinned, I'd just search for it.

for a touch screen only device, perhaps.

yeah

I'd just run Android...

:p

If you just play FFXI and sensitive to change I would wait. You also have to be ready to learn a bit. If you decide to try it out, do a clean install on a freshly formatted hard drive. You are more likely run into problems doing the upgrade, this has always been the case with Windows unfortunately. I suggest on a separate partition or drive.

Some people have problems with FFXI on Win8 or more specifically windower.
http://www.ffxiah.com/forum/searchq=windows+8&view=topics&sort=1&date_range=1

I have it installed on my main PC. I was using new SSD as a coaster for while and decided it was a good time to plug it in. I will list some observations I've noticed.

Goodies
You can use a Microsoft account to log in, which allows windows to sync user settings and wallpaper etc to other Win8 devices. It has better dual monitor support as far as spanning wallpapers and customizing the task bar. The task manager finally does not suck.

Touch Pads
/facepalm, it supports gestures as if the touch pad was a tablet. I don't think this is a good setting by default. You can disable it by finding the settings.

Apps
Win8 has "Apps" and their ecosystem is very young... well let's just say it sucks so far. Common files are sometimes associated with apps, this can be very annoying for a desktop user. You can change it as this occurs if needed. If you accidentally start an "App" and wondering where the close button is, it's Alt+F4.

Stability/Speed
Windows 8 boots faster than its predecessors, I think most agree on this. I never had a blue screen or had to restart besides windows updates. FFXI works fine for me, just have to make sure to run as admin. Games run about the same as 7.

Start Menu
I hardly use the new tile interface. I go straight to the desktop, WinKey+D is your friend. Also WinKey will take you back to the start menu. You can use http://www.classicshell.net/ to get the old start menu back if you desire. I personally have it installed but never really browsed for programs since index searching on Vista (yeah, I used that). I think the new start menu is nice looking but I don't have much use for it. My wife has a windows phone (HTC 8x) and the interface is nice and easy to use(I still prefer Android).

tldr;
It's much like Windows 7, except the start menu is full screen tile interface. It would probably get more use from a touch screen. As a desktop user, you aren't missing much if you have 7. I think they should of set up profiles such as "desktop" or "tablet" and establish some default behaviors. Although it would feel a lot like 7 on desktop mode. Overall I've had a positive experience. Use http://ninite.com/ to get up to speed after a clean install.

My desktop
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/13941904/Screenshot.png

Well, thanks for the input.

I havent played XI in over a year so im not worried about that at all.

I have it on my computer and haven't had one issue... it did take me ~2 weeks of playing around hitting random keys trying to remember what everything did but now that I have the key combo's down its faster in every aspect than 7 to me. I can access anything the start menu use to have a lot quicker on win8, by faster in the previous post they didn't mean just load time. You can find everything on your computer a lot faster once you learn the key commands (lol windows with macros!). I had zero issues w/ ff11, the only thing I have issues with so far is original starcraft/broodwar (/cry I will forever love to play this game randomly..guess its time to upgrade to SC2 lol)

It is a very very different set up from win7 but beyond being different I personally haven't noticed anything that's bad...peeps are scared of change! lol