# Windows 8 - what is the verdict?



## Eoghan (May 13, 2013)

As you may have gathered I am looking to replace my laptop and have been looking for Windows 7 (or pondering how to instal Windows XP!).

How bad are your experiences of Windows 8? Is it just the change of desktop or are there real glitches?


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## Bill The Baptist (May 13, 2013)

I have read media accounts where it is being compared to New Coke or Pepsi Blue. For those who aren't familiar, those were both hugely expensive product disasters.


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## A Tulip Not a Daisy (May 13, 2013)

I wouldn't get Windows 8...yet. Too many bugs. Windows 7 is great, though.


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## Jake (May 13, 2013)

Windows 8 really isn't hugely different from what I have used it. I installed it on my machine for a few weeks to try it out, but then back to Linux (Fedora) for me. The main thing that people seem to dislike is that the start button is now the size of the screen, but that whole part of the interface can be easily disabled with 3rd party applications. There are some marginal improvements and you can reverse the new interface additions if you like.


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## Elizabeth (May 13, 2013)

I've been using it for a few months now, on a new laptop. I guess I am a weird gal, because I like it quite a bit. I think it's fun, smooth and quick. I haven't run into any bugs. When I use Windows 7 on my daughter's computer, it seems clunky and slow.

I watched a few you-tubes on it before I got this machine, and they helped know what to expect. This one was esp cute: a 3 year old walks us through Windows 8 - YouTube


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## Eoghan (May 14, 2013)

What about backward compatibility? I would be using Office 2000, Paint Shop Pro, Firefox, E-sword, Homeworld and Command and Conquer 3. My son would be very upset if we could not connect and play C&C against each other. Externally I have an HP950C printer I would want to keep using. Windows 7 can find the drivers to use it could Windows 8?


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## Heath (May 14, 2013)

I use Windows 7 exclusively on my business laptop and Windows 8 exclusively on my home desktop. I would not be able to use W8 for work but it is a joy to use at home. You will still do most of your computing in the "desktop" but their are many useful apps that make some simple task easier and more enjoyable. 

I do computer work so my full answer is much more detailed. I'll stop at the above for brevity but if you have specific questions feel free to ask.


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## Elizabeth (May 14, 2013)

Firefox, E Sword work well. Office was a problem for me, as they don't include the Word starter version with W8. You have to buy the whole program, but all of your things will transfer over if you do that. 

I solved this issue by using free Kingsoft word processing, which works just fine. I am cheap, ha. I was able to put all of my W7 documents in the Kingsoft program, no worries.

Loved the ease of transfer from my W7 computer to W8 computer. Very nifty transfer program, all over wireless. It did take some time, though. Everything from the one was transferred to the other. And looked just the same, aside from the starter Word program previously mentioned.


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## Heath (May 14, 2013)

Libre Office is my choice for a free Office alternative and it works well on W8. It is an offshoot of Open Office which is now controlled by Apache.


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## Heath (May 14, 2013)

Also, maybe not of any concern to you but XBox music service is only available on W8. It is a monthly fee but I have a WP8 device and it works wonderfully between my phone and home PC but not on my work PC. It's less than the cost of an album a month and has a good collection.


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## Bill The Baptist (May 14, 2013)

Elizabeth said:


> Office was a problem for me, as they don't include the Word starter version with W8



Actually this is not a Windows 8 problem. Very few computers come with the full version of Office anymore, regardless of their operating system, because manufacturers do not want to pay the licensing fee.


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## Jake (May 14, 2013)

Eoghan said:


> What about backward compatibility? I would be using Office 2000, Paint Shop Pro, Firefox, E-sword, Homeworld and Command and Conquer 3. My son would be very upset if we could not connect and play C&C against each other. Externally I have an HP950C printer I would want to keep using. Windows 7 can find the drivers to use it could Windows 8?



Like others said, I would recommend using the entirely free LibreOffice instead of Office 2000. It works great with newer versions of Windows, has a similar interface to Office 2000, and probably even has more features. The biggest bonus is that it would work very well with all of your Office 2000 files and it could also have better compatibility with users of newer versions of Office (2007 and beyond) which you do not have with Office 2000.

In general though, you could probably get Office 2000 to work as well as your other programs. If its a program and not a driver, if it works in Windows XP it will work in Windows 8 for the most part. The problem would be with certain Windows 98/ME and earlier programs, but there have been no major changes from XP [to Vista to 7] to 8 that should prevent older programs from running. You can still use compatibility mode (a feature introduced in Windows XP) if you have any problems.

For you printer, it appears since at least Windows 7 the driver is built into Windows. These instructions should be the same for Windows 7 and 8: Installing the Printer Software in Windows 7 for a USB Cable Connection HP Deskjet 950c Printer | HP® Support


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## joejohnston3 (May 14, 2013)

We have been using it for months now and it is working very well for us. I just read many articles before jumping to it and learned how to customize it for our use and it works quite well for us. We have not had any issues that others seem to have had.


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## Elizabeth (May 14, 2013)

"Actually this is not a Windows 8 problem."

Well, what was different for me anyway, and what I meant was that W8 didn't come with the freebie Microsoft Word Starter program, that came with my W7 machine. I've never paid for Microsoft Office, finding the starter version adequate. 

I did try the Apache freeware before the Kingsoft, but for some reason I couldn't import my Word labels in the proper format, which I use in my baking business. Kingsoft imported them properly formatted, so I was ready to go. I am sure there was some little thing I was just 'not getting' with the Apache and label templates.


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## Claudiu (May 14, 2013)

I don't have a Windows 8, but may grandfather does, and I've used his computer here and there. I don't know how glitchy it is, but I don't like the departure from previous Windows set up. It's so different and confusing, it can be rather irritating. So, just a warning, play around with it for a while before you invest in a machine with Windows 8. As of right now I'm not a big fan of it.


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## Eoghan (May 14, 2013)

Jake said:


> Windows 8 really isn't hugely different from what I have used it. I installed it on my machine for a few weeks to try it out, but then back to Linux (Fedora) for me. The main thing that people seem to dislike is that the start button is now the size of the screen, but that whole part of the interface can be easily disabled with 3rd party applications. There are some marginal improvements and you can reverse the new interface additions if you like.



Can I extend a personal invite to you , to give more details on how to make W8 look and behave more like W7?


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