Depending on who you are and your point of view, Windows 8 is good and bad. First I will try to explain it from a technical level without getting too technical and then from a user’s prospective.
VERY BASIC TECH EXPLANATION OF WHY WINDOWS 8 IS THE BEST WINDOWS SO FAR….
Improvements over the old Windows 7. As with all things in this world, as you make a product, the next product you make to replace it should be improved over the first one. Windows 8 has many technical changes that make it run faster, start up quicker, is less prone to viruses, less crashes and so on. I have been fixing computers since the early 90’s so I saw every version of Windows from 3.0 to today. In my repair room I always fix more older versions of Windows than the newer ones. As the times change so do we with how we use our computers. Newer versions of Windows keep up with these changes, the older ones do not.
VERY BASIC GENERAL USERS PROSPECTIVE OF WINDOWS 8…
THE GOOD… Fast – fast – fast, from start up to searches, to whatever, it’s very fast. The first screen comes up looking like a cell phone touch screen. These programs that run only in this mode are called apps just like cell phones. This is one of the big changes to Windows 8. You can customize this screen and make a lot of changes to it to suit your needs. Great for touch screens. There are constant changes to each icon so you are notified of things that are happening with it. For example an icon for currency is showing you the changing rate of the dollar without clicking on it, these are like the push notifications you get on your cell phone with text message alerts and so on. Once you get past this first cell phone like screen it looks almost like Windows 7 did, this is the computer part of Windows 8, business as usual.
THE BAD
If you used Windows from Windows 95 and all the other versions over the years up to now you will be in for a shock. Turn on Windows 8 and you will notice the start button and task bar that sit at the bottom of the screen are gone. There is a substantial learning curve and for those who are set in their ways and don’t like change, you will not like this at all. Once you figure out how to get around you will notice that to do a search, or go to control panel, or type in a command, you also must do something different than before and it’s not obvious what you need to do, you must figure it out. This is why some users hate computers.
MY OPINION….
Technically Windows 8 is the most advanced Windows we have. Some say they will wait until all the bugs are out. The truth is that over 4,000,000 users downloaded trial versions of Windows 8 for over a year that Microsoft monitored. After the bugs were worked out they released it to the public so you are getting a good copy right away, no need to wait. Microsoft made some great changes Windows 8 over Windows 7. Some changes are a little too much for some people; like losing the start button. This button was brought out over 17 years ago with Windows 95 and the habit is stuck for many. Now to use the start button like feature, you must put your mouse in the bottom left or right hand corners of the screen than diagonally drag the mouse out a few millimetres and your options will appear. The nice thing about that is once you show someone just once how to do it, they won’t forget. I showed thousands over the years the start button, I will be happy to show everyone this new technique. Changes like this and some technical changes that some tech savvy users won’t be aware of will upset some, and because of this it will get a bad name. I’m sure the creators of Windows 8 had a vision of how users will work with this new version of Windows. I’m sure they wanted to change our traditional interaction with Windows, that’s why they did give options of making Windows 8 to look and work like the old versions of Windows.
My recommendation to all… With PC’s, MAC, cell phones, and all electronics, change is always happening and will always come, it’s easier to learn it than fight it. That’s why I recommend a little help, a few minutes of advice and you will be fine for years to come.
THE VERDICT… You can have the best of both worlds when it comes to Windows 8. The changes on the surface are small, regardless of how many times you read about how it is so different. Under the hood of Windows 8, the part you don’t see, it’s really different and is a great upgrade over Windows 7. To get over these changes quickly I would recommend to give us a call and set up a time that we can show you the difference between the new Windows 8. You will only need fifteen minutes and you will be on your way for years to come.
