Windows 8 vs Windows 7

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What's the best Wondows OS

95
0
No votes
98
1
3%
ME
1
3%
2000
1
3%
XP
12
39%
Vista
0
No votes
7
16
52%
8
0
No votes
 
Total votes: 31
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Danzama
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Windows 8 vs Windows 7

Postby Danzama » 21 Dec 2012, 10:48

So, I've found out that my parents are getting me a new laptop for Christmas. My mum reckons it has Windows 8 on it. So I have a few questions:

1. What's Windows 8 like? Good? Bad? Ugly?
2. How's it compare to Windows 7?
3. If Windows 8 is bad, how much does it cost to legally downgrade?

I'm curious to know what Windows 8 is like, but I loved Windows 7. Thanks for any and all help. Oh, can any tech talk be dumbed down please?
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Re: Windows 8 vs Windows 7

Postby Keab42 » 21 Dec 2012, 11:01

1. Bad
2. Bad
3. A cheap OEM CD of Win 7 is about £50-£70 if you hunt around
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Re: Windows 8 vs Windows 7

Postby Drdiggit42 » 21 Dec 2012, 11:24

I don't get why Microsoft is trying to copy apple. They still have the majority of the market. All they're doing is pissing off their loyal customers.
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Re: Windows 8 vs Windows 7

Postby Metcarfre » 21 Dec 2012, 11:28

Isn't that what they've always done?

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Re: Windows 8 vs Windows 7

Postby Valkyrie-Lemons » 21 Dec 2012, 11:31

There is a reason that my Uni still uses XP on it's computers.

It's their last OS that worked well without all this fancy crap they have for the newer ones.
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Re: Windows 8 vs Windows 7

Postby Drdiggit42 » 21 Dec 2012, 14:03

Windows 7 works well and if I remember correctly it uses less RAM than XP, but I still like XP better because it was the OS I've grown most accustomed to. I also think it's some kind of rule that Microsoft has to make one or two terrible OS before they make a new good one.
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Re: Windows 8 vs Windows 7

Postby Digital Dolphin » 21 Dec 2012, 14:30

Windows 8 can be made bearable if you work hard enough and don't have any other options. Or at least that's what my mother told me, after 3 weeks of fighting with it to do even the most basic things.

Windows 7 is by FAR the best OS I've experienced from MS. I'd say it's probably the best OS I've used even. Until Windows 7, I would have said Windows XP was the only "ok" OS that MS had made.

So don't take my love of Windows 7 as a love for MS ;-)
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Re: Windows 8 vs Windows 7

Postby Henrietta » 21 Dec 2012, 14:32

Terrible interface and navigation. TERRIBLE. Universally hated by everyone I've talked to. It was designed for tablets, and it really isn't appropriate for regular computers. There's no Start menu; you have to scroll sideways through the colored rectangles until you find the program you want to open. There are very few buttons; you have to hover your mouse around in the corners until you finally hit the pixel that brings up a menu thing.

The good news is there's some sort of patch/add-on something-or-other that makes 8 look like 7. The bad news is I can't remember what it's called, and I won't see the person who told me about it until school starts, but if you can put up with the frustration for a couple of weeks I can find out for you.
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Re: Windows 8 vs Windows 7

Postby Danzama » 21 Dec 2012, 14:37

Thanks. :)

Does 8 take up less RAM than 7? I mean if I can get 8 to behave like 7, should I stick to 8?
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Re: Windows 8 vs Windows 7

Postby Henrietta » 21 Dec 2012, 14:44

No idea, sorry.
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Re: Windows 8 vs Windows 7

Postby Master Gunner » 21 Dec 2012, 15:12

Windows 2000 was the best Windows will ever get. Then they had to go and release ME.

The one good thing I've seen about Windows 8 is that even on a fairly old computer, it boots significantly faster than past versions of Windows.
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Re: Windows 8 vs Windows 7

Postby Danzama » 21 Dec 2012, 15:24

I read the Gizmodo review and from what I understand: if you don't like the new tiles, you can change it to look like 7.
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Re: Windows 8 vs Windows 7

Postby empath » 21 Dec 2012, 15:30

Your poll cannot be answered correctly; Win 3.11 is not present.


But 2000, XP and 7 are pretty good ones, 95 was okay.

It's almost like "the Star Trek Movie Pattern" - M$ will alternate between decent O/S builds and horrible O/S builds.

...thanks, but I'll wait for Win 9 or "Windows Freedom" or "...Ambrosia" or whatever name they come up with.
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Re: Windows 8 vs Windows 7

Postby Drdiggit42 » 21 Dec 2012, 15:51

I think there gonna call it "Windows we're sorry about 8"
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Re: Windows 8 vs Windows 7

Postby TheGhostOfZero » 21 Dec 2012, 16:29

Windows Honestly We're So FUCKING Sorry
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Re: Windows 8 vs Windows 7

Postby ecocd » 21 Dec 2012, 16:53

In terms of the biggest jump from OS iteration to OS iteration, that's a toughie. Has to be between DOS -> Windows or Windows 3.11 -> Windows 95, right? Thoughts?
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Re: Windows 8 vs Windows 7

Postby Drdiggit42 » 21 Dec 2012, 17:43

One of my favorite games was for DOS and didn't run on our Windows 95 pc. Luckily, we had a dual operating system set up. I remember bugging my parents to switch it for me 'cause i didn't know how.
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Re: Windows 8 vs Windows 7

Postby Lorithad » 21 Dec 2012, 23:03

Windows 7 is the best, because you can still fuck with it to make it look and work like windows 2000, while still having all the modern hardware support and security fixes.
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Re: Windows 8 vs Windows 7

Postby AdmiralMemo » 21 Dec 2012, 23:47

I didn't like the transparency of windows when it was in XP, but it's started to grow on me in Win7. If you can make Win8 look like Win7, go for it. If you can get it looking like Win 95/98/2000, all the power to you. :D
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Re: Windows 8 vs Windows 7

Postby Mara Kalat » 21 Dec 2012, 23:48

8 requires white-listing for applications, meaning you can't install anything that Microsoft hasn't manually approved.
This means, for example, no Minecraft.

7 and below: crappy but has Minecraft
8: Worse and no Minecraft

...yeah

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Re: Windows 8 vs Windows 7

Postby empath » 22 Dec 2012, 04:52

ecocd wrote:In terms of the biggest jump from OS iteration to OS iteration, that's a toughie. Has to be between DOS -> Windows or Windows 3.11 -> Windows 95, right? Thoughts?


I'd say the former; there HAD been ASCII GUIs put out by M$ prior to Windoz, but they were pretty much equivalent to a BIOS interface.

That and that implementing that mechanical pointing device really changed the 'game'. Thanks, Xerox!
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Re: Windows 8 vs Windows 7

Postby taza » 22 Dec 2012, 13:52

Mara Kalat wrote:8 requires white-listing for applications, meaning you can't install anything that Microsoft hasn't manually approved.
This means, for example, no Minecraft.

7 and below: crappy but has Minecraft
8: Worse and no Minecraft

...yeah

Mara.


That is entirely untrue. Microsoft requires whitelisting only for Metro apps. And you can still make regular apps, and they work the same as old apps did.

To answer the original post: Stick with 8. The only significant downgrade in Windows 8 is the new Start Menu. Where the start menu is one of the worst designed interface elements to ever exist, it's not that much a hassle.

EDIT: And clarifying: Everything else than the Start Menu you can make work the same as Windows 7 with inbuilt tools and a little poking around the settings. The Start Menu can still be changed with external software.
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Re: Windows 8 vs Windows 7

Postby Dutch guy » 23 Dec 2012, 12:22

I've had little experience with windows 8 but I will say this: The start menu was a pretty customizable centralised collection of all you programs. Whereas the "Interface Formerly Known As Metro" is a complete mess that never works the way you want it, and requires a lot of scrolling around to find the app you want. Especially with the search system like in Windows 7 the Start menu was actually a very good system.

I'd say get windows 7 if you can.
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Re: Windows 8 vs Windows 7

Postby Keab42 » 23 Dec 2012, 12:29

Pro Tip for Win 8 Sufferers.

Start Typing on TIFKAM (The Interface Formerly Known As Metro), and it should act like the old start menu search.

Y'known things like this would be obvious if Microsoft has just included a tutorial...
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Re: Windows 8 vs Windows 7

Postby taza » 23 Dec 2012, 16:28

Dutch guy wrote:I've had little experience with windows 8 but I will say this: The start menu was a pretty customizable centralised collection of all you programs. Whereas the "Interface Formerly Known As Metro" is a complete mess that never works the way you want it, and requires a lot of scrolling around to find the app you want. Especially with the search system like in Windows 7 the Start menu was actually a very good system.

I'd say get windows 7 if you can.


You can turn off everything else Metro-wise except the Start Menu and the Startup screen.

... everyone hates Metro. But, with some of the under-the-hood stuff Windows 8 is slightly better than Windows 7 and it certainly isn't worth it to pay to downgrade... or pay to upgrade, given just how slightly better it is.

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