Friend wants to know if he should move to Win 8

[Fogel]

Well there is a poll right next to your topic where you can see what everyone on the forums think.

 

To answer the question directly I say he should try it out before he buys.   Win8 is not the typical O/S upgrade.   Opinions of it aside, its a lateral move.  It's neither an upgrade nor a downgrade but people have extreme opinions of it.  Very few people have a middle of the road view on it.  I would say AZNguyen is probably the closest to that.

 

From a pure logical perspective the industry views it as an epic fail so Microsoft is already saying, "don't forget about Windows 9 coming down the pike".   That's not to say it will lose support (because it won't), its just that W9 may be pushed a bit faster than originally planned.  Though one thing in favor of Win8 is that I know they are tossing around the idea of making the Upgrade version only available to Win8 users to further entice people to try Win8 now.   I personally prefer full versions that way if I have to reformat I don't have to worry about installing two O/S on top of each other or using funky stop mid-install and resume tricks.

 

 

But really have him try it out first.  He might love it, but there is an equal chance he might flat out hate it as all get out. 

[d6bmg]

Simply ask your friend whether (s)he likes the new interface of Windows 8 or not. This will solve your question regarding upgradation.

[DrDigitized2]

Thanks everyone. I have read your comments and let him read CE's email about Win8. He was using Win XP and he is getting a new computer and he just didn't know if he should get Win 7 or 8 as they were the same price for him. I have never touched Win 8 so I could only tell him what I have read in the past. I thought by now there would be a lot more people who have used it and would give a good opinion on it vs when it first came out. I am still now sure what he is getting but at least he has more views on it. Thanks.

[Fogel]

Again, I say have him try it first.

 

ComputerEd thinks its an upgrade from XP.

I'm still running XP on my C2D machine and I wouldn't put Win8 on any of my machines despite being tired of XP.

 

Its better if he can get a more personal interaction with Win8 where functionality isn't locked but at the very least have him go to Best Buy or something and have him play around with it.   The difference between Win7 and Win8 is pretty much purely about the interface and none of us here can tell you what your friend will like.

[Bosco]

Thanks everyone. I have read your comments and let him read CE's email about Win8. He was using Win XP and he is getting a new computer and he just didn't know if he should get Win 7 or 8 as they were the same price for him. I have never touched Win 8 so I could only tell him what I have read in the past. I thought by now there would be a lot more people who have used it and would give a good opinion on it vs when it first came out. I am still now sure what he is getting but at least he has more views on it. Thanks.

 

My suggestion is see if you can find someone that has Win 8 and let him try it out if possible.

[encl0sed]

I personally use Windows 8 64bit Entreprise Evaluation which is available for free to developers. It does not take long to complete the process and have a 90day trial of Windows 8 in 32bit or 64bit versions. Why not download it and let your friend try it out for himself? I found the process to format very simple as a fairly advanced user since Win 95 over the years.

[d6bmg]

^^ If you are dev, then you should also have access to Windows 8 Professional edition. (OT)

[Andrewr05]

Wait for Windows 8.1

[Black64]

no, stay with or get 7

[TCcomputers29]

Hey, I have been using windows 8 for a while now on my laptop and here are a few things I like about it. Firstly I love how fast it is to boot and log in, I like the new task manager (very detailed) and the new multiple file transfer, I like how the theme colour adjusts to your wallpaper, I like the new 'boxy' theme (like windows phone). I like the start menu but dislike it at the same, why do I hate the new start menu? well it's more focused on mobile and tablets with the 'apps' like angry birds, fruit ninja...stuff like that. I hate how internet focused it is...(i dont have the best internet). What I like about the start menu is that it looks nice with it's transition and customizable theme. Windows 8 is gesture based, you can move your cursor to the upper left conner of the screen to see the opened apps and you can move your cursor to the upper right corner and move down to open a 'charm bar', you get used to these mouse gesture. Anyway Windows 8 is a more optimized version of windows 7 and is more inclined towards the mobile market. Every company is basically going mobile since it is a rapidly growing market. Personally I like windows 8, but I'm going to stick to windows 7 on my gaming desktop. Microsoft is shifting its focus towards the mobile market and they made a risky bet with windows 8.

Hope my post wasn't crap :/ just trying to help.

EDIT: Windows 8's benchmarking software actually goes up to 10 now instead of 7.9 . Windows 8 is more personal.

Edited May 4, 2013 by TCcomputers29