The Glade 4.0

Other than A few added features http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/enterprise/products-and-technologies/windows-8/enterprise-edition.aspx it's identical to pro. No additional productivity interface or anything. Still a touch based O.S.

So far that review makes Windows 8 sound like a great tablet OS. (I'm halfway through). I'm not sold on it for a laptop or desktop that runs a mouse.

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Buckle your pants or they might fall down.

This has been my reaction ever since playing with a beta copy back in the Spring.

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"Aaaah! Emotions are weird!" - Amdee
"... Mirrorshades prevent the forces of normalcy from realizing that one is crazed and possibly dangerous. They are the symbol of the sun-staring visionary, the biker, the rocker, the policeman, and similar outlaws." - Bruce Sterling, preface to Mirrorshades

Basically, Windows 8 on a desktop requires more keyboard usage than people expect. It's really the same story that it's always been, though. You can accomplish things with both the mouse and keyboard, but they're always going to be faster with the keyboard.

It's that snap business that's turning me off. What's the point of having the additional screen real estate, and potentially using a dual monitor setup, if the OS is turning any window that doesn't have your full attention into a sidebar? That's what convinces me that this is a tablet OS shoe-horned into a role it is not properly designed for.

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Buckle your pants or they might fall down.

Nothing automatically gets turned into a sidebar. Windows only get docked if you specifically tell them to. Also, that's only the new style of applications. Everything on the desktop works as you'd expect, multi-monitors included.

This is my problem with Windows 8, from the time I was trying it out. I could run desktop mode, and actually required for most of the programs I was running. That's understandable, since most developers haven't written Metro apps yet. But the key word here is 'yet'. In the future, when Metro apps gain more foothold, more and more Windows apps will become Metro apps and, as such, will use the Metro interface instead of the desktop. What happens to my multitasking ability then? How many simultaneous apps can you see under Metro?

Right now, on my Windows 7 desktop at work, I can see on my two screens: Firefox, Putty, VNC window, 2 different email windows, IRC, AIM conversation, and a weather widget. I can't see every part of every window, but I don't need to.

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I don't really think that will be a problem, Mookhow. As long as the ability to make programs remains in Windows people will continue to make stuff that way and not just use the "App Store" and Metro. There will always be a flourishing ScourceForge community and other places as long as there is the ability to make programs.

The only problem will be is if MS ever decides to cut that out and completely lock down the OS like iOS and make it so you can only use "Apps."

I'm personally enjoying Windows 8. It retains all the functionality of Windows 7 + adds some nice stuff and improved things like the File System quite a bit.

Plus it was only $15.

If I'm building a new pc for a fairly computer illiterate person, do you think I should put Windows 7 Home Premium or Windows 8 on it? Her current PC is an old(ish) eMachine running Windows XP and not worth upgrading.

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Windows 8.

Are you the person she's going to call when she can't find something or figure out where to find it now? Make it simple for the user. I would recommend Windows 7.

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"If you haven't got anything nice to say about anybody, come sit next to me." - Alice R. Longworth

"Good? Bad? I'm the guy with the gun." - Ash Williams

Future-proof. 8.

Let's not forget that the Microsoft Store makes things incredibly simple. One click installs and updates for everything, like a smartphone. If that's not user friendly, I don't know what is.

If someone is computer illiterate, not a power user, why make them use an interface that's harder to learn? You guys might not like Windows 8 because you've got ten years of PC usage habits, but IMO it's far simpler for someone to pick up and learn than any previous Windows iteration.

Also, the "reset windows" feature that Windows 8 has could help a lot. That alone would make me want to install it on anyone's computer that might eventually need technical help.

Lenas -- except the power user already knows XP.

XP -> 7 is essentially no learning curve for powerless users. Hit the Start Menu, select your program. Or right click and say "Send to desktop." They already have been doing this on their XP emachine.

Windows 8 is a new interface. That's going to be the one with the learning curve, even if it's shallower than the initial learning curve they already went through with XP was.

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"Aaaah! Emotions are weird!" - Amdee
"... Mirrorshades prevent the forces of normalcy from realizing that one is crazed and possibly dangerous. They are the symbol of the sun-staring visionary, the biker, the rocker, the policeman, and similar outlaws." - Bruce Sterling, preface to Mirrorshades

The person in question will be my fiancee's mother. Her son is tech savvy, as is a number of her "adopted" sons (longtime friends of the family), so I imagine basic usage questions will be covered by them. For more information on her usage, she basically uses Facebook, plays Facebook games (always complaining about how Farmville is slow), email, and Maple Story. Nothing particularly complicated.

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If her usage is that simple/lowkey have you considered a Mac?

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I just don't see how anything about Windows 7 is easier for a computer illiterate person than having a single place to get applications, a single place to update all your applications, and a single button to push and fix anything that's wrong with your computer.

1. I can build a PC cheaper than I can buy a Mac.
2. I don't want to have to deal with possible push back against using a Mac. Windows is what she is used to, and I'd prefer not to deal with a paradigm shift.

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At the risk of giving Lenas an aneurysm. Build her a newer, faster PC and throw XP on it.

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Holy shitsnacks!

If you're gonna play the browser performance card, Müs, you should be recommending IE10: http://www.neowin.net/news/ie10-is-8-fa ... trangeloop

<3

I don't see any information saying Maple Story runs on ChromeOS. Also a possible paradigm shift, depending on what ChromeOS actually looks like.

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Know what Chrome the browser looks like? There you go. You have a pop up window shown below to launch applications, but they ALL run inside of the Chrome browser.

Maple Story's not a browser game? My bad.

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Holy shitsnacks!

Nah, I was going with the cheap, easy pc that only needs a browser

Besides, there's not an IE10book :p

hehe

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Holy shitsnacks!