windwoes 8 interface is as stupid bad as gnome 3 and unity.<br><br>OK. It's actually worse. But the same floating, translucent crap that only makes sense without a mouse or keyboard.<br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Thu, Oct 11, 2012 at 4:57 PM, Ron Frazier (ALE) <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:atllinuxenthinfo@techstarship.com" target="_blank">atllinuxenthinfo@techstarship.com</a>></span> wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">Hi guys,<br>
<br>
Forgive me for mentioning the "W" word. I'm posting this for the<br>
benefit of those of you who must use windows for whatever reason. You<br>
want to think about upgrading to windows 7, not 8, within a year. I use<br>
both windows and linux for different purposes and at different times. I<br>
don't think I've posted this here before.<br>
<br>
According to what I've read,. Microsoft has totally gutted the user<br>
interface of Windows with the introduction of Windows 8 and what used to<br>
be called the metro interface. They're trying to make one interface for<br>
tablets, phones, and pc's with large screens, which has a whole bunch of<br>
large pretty icons designed to be touched with your finger, and which<br>
don't work well with a keyboard and mouse, which seems like an<br>
incredibly stupid idea to me. (What does that remind me of, oh yes,<br>
Unity.) I have read a number of accounts relating to the lack of<br>
usability of the new interface, and many people hate it with a passion,<br>
saying it is essentially unusable on a PC, or it's much harder to be<br>
productive on it. I personally don't intend to even try it. I think<br>
it's a tremendous step backwards. If you have PC's that you personally<br>
own or maintain and are not company maintained, you may wish to consider<br>
upgrading to Windows 7 in the near future.<br>
<br>
Even though Vista will continue to be supported with security patches<br>
for some time, Windows 7 will stop being sold 1 year after Windows 8<br>
goes on sale. Windows 8 is about to be released, so it will probably be<br>
impossible to buy Windows 7 after about October 2013. At that point,<br>
your only alternative to upgrade a Windows Vista or XP machine will be<br>
to install Windows 8, which the users will probably hate, or Windows 9<br>
or whatever they're up to at the time. I believe Windows XP support<br>
ends in 2013. I have a chart somewhere on the lifecycle dates for each<br>
Windows system, but I don't have it handy at the moment.<br>
<br>
As you know, it is critical to have an OS on the PC which is getting<br>
routine security updates. It is preferable to have one that is familiar<br>
and easy to use. Therefore, if you must use Windows, I recommend<br>
acquiring a copy of Windows 7 OEM from NewEgg or Tiger Direct or Frys<br>
within the next year and installing it on any non company PC's. These<br>
run about $ 100 each. I would recommend making a full backup of the<br>
hard drive first. You want the full Windows install disc, not the<br>
upgrade disc. This makes it much easier to reinstall if there is a<br>
system crash.<br>
<br>
I haven't totally decided what to do yet, or when, but will probably<br>
upgrade most or all of my PC's.<br>
<br>
Here are some links to look at regarding the "new" Windows interface.<br>
<br>
<a href="https://www.google.com/search?num=100&hl=en&site=&source=hp&q=hate+windows+8&btnG=Search" target="_blank">https://www.google.com/search?num=100&hl=en&site=&source=hp&q=hate+windows+8&btnG=Search</a><br>
<br>
<br>
<a href="http://www.pcworld.com/article/261567/windows_8_hate_it_already_why_waiting_for_windows_9_wont_help.html" target="_blank">http://www.pcworld.com/article/261567/windows_8_hate_it_already_why_waiting_for_windows_9_wont_help.html</a><br>
<br>
<br>
<a href="http://www.pcworld.com/article/251282/windows_8s_metro_ui_7_things_you_may_just_hate.html" target="_blank">http://www.pcworld.com/article/251282/windows_8s_metro_ui_7_things_you_may_just_hate.html</a><br>
<br>
<br>
etc. etc.<br>
<br>
I hope this info is helpful to you. I haven't totally figured out what<br>
I'll do yet. I may just have to break down and buy several copies of<br>
Windows 7 OEM --- or just switch to Linux.<br>
<br>
Sincerely,<br>
<br>
Ron<br>
<br>
<br>
--<br>
<br>
(To whom it may concern. My email address has changed. Replying to former<br>
messages prior to 03/31/12 with my personal address will go to the wrong<br>
address. Please send all personal correspondence to the new address.)<br>
<br>
(PS - If you email me and don't get a quick response, you might want to<br>
call on the phone. I get about 300 emails per day from alternate energy<br>
mailing lists and such. I don't always see new email messages very quickly.)<br>
<br>
Ron Frazier<br>
<a href="tel:770-205-9422" value="+17702059422">770-205-9422</a> (O) Leave a message.<br>
linuxdude AT <a href="http://techstarship.com" target="_blank">techstarship.com</a><br>
<br>
_______________________________________________<br>
Ale mailing list<br>
<a href="mailto:Ale@ale.org">Ale@ale.org</a><br>
<a href="http://mail.ale.org/mailman/listinfo/ale" target="_blank">http://mail.ale.org/mailman/listinfo/ale</a><br>
See JOBS, ANNOUNCE and SCHOOLS lists at<br>
<a href="http://mail.ale.org/mailman/listinfo" target="_blank">http://mail.ale.org/mailman/listinfo</a><br>
</blockquote></div><br><br clear="all"><br>-- <br>-- <br>James P. Kinney III<br><i><i><i><i><br></i></i></i></i>Every time you stop a school, you will have to build a jail. What you
gain at one end you lose at the other. It's like feeding a dog on his
own tail. It won't fatten the dog.<br>
- Speech 11/23/1900 Mark Twain<br><i><i><i><i><br><a href="http://electjimkinney.org" target="_blank">http://electjimkinney.org</a><br><a href="http://heretothereideas.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">http://heretothereideas.blogspot.com/</a><br>
</i></i></i></i><br>