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General discussion

Poll: Will you be upgrading to Windows 8: Why or why not?

Oct 30, 2012 9:24AM PDT
Will you be upgrading to Windows 8: Why or why not?

-- Yes. (New PC or upgrade from current OS?)
-- Undecided. (Why the hesitation?)
-- No. (Why not?)
-- Not relevant. I don't use Windows.
-- Other (What is it?)

Discussion is locked

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No
Oct 30, 2012 11:27AM PDT

No added value over 7 and could be much worse.

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Why Not?
Oct 30, 2012 11:32AM PDT

<span id="INSERTION_MARKER">Mainly the Price.

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Actually it doesn't cost that much
Nov 11, 2012 9:13AM PST

About $40 upgrade download windows 8 pro

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Tiresome
Oct 30, 2012 11:37AM PDT

I have bought a new notebook in april with Windows 64 installed and at the moment it works for me. Also I am tired of new version windows not being compatible with older software (especially games) and hardware.

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Need a new PC
Oct 30, 2012 11:47AM PDT

I need a new PC anyway and have been using an older laptopt with an older version of Windows. So, for me, both the new PC and Windows 8 should go together.

At the same time, I am unsure about what should be my next purchase. Now, I use a Macbook and an iPhone 3GS. I really wood like to keep up my skills on Windows and its applications, but definitely will use Apple products more. Then, there is the tablet. What to do there? Maybe it will be possible to buy an iPad and cut down on using iPhone for the Internet?

Whoever thought our life would be so full of upgrades to new technology.

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My opinion; For most over 60s, this is TOO MUCH
Oct 30, 2012 12:09PM PDT

.....I'm quite happy currently using Windows 7 Home Premium (64 bit) which is plenty fast for me, a 66 year old. Whether we like it or not, there's no doubt that with age comes a general slowdown in digital (that's fingers!) dexterity and peripheral vision - key elements in the hand and eye co-ordination which appears to be a major requirement for this new operating system.
For a younger generation with experience gained through years of video gaming, this will be a breeze as the necessary skills are already honed to perfect the moves in navigating around Windows 8. But for us lesser and closer-to-be mortals, who have laboriously crafted their two-finger typing abilities on an Imperial Typewriter, this is too much activity going on simultaneously in one relatively small space.
It does look great, but not for me.

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Similar thoughts
Oct 30, 2012 12:29PM PDT

I'm in the same age group. Although I use my laptop a lot, I'm quite happy with Windows7. Whenever I need to get a new laptop it will come with Windows 8 installed....that's soon enough for me.

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And for my generation way To Much
Nov 11, 2012 7:20AM PST

I'm with you except that I am a generation older than you and just the thought of learning a new system is almost more than I can stand. It has taken me 10 years to learn Windows XP to the point where I feel very comfortable with it. Every time my wife runs into trouble with her computer which has Win 7, I tell her that I can't help her because I don't know the system. I will be staying with XP until April of 2014 and then my plan is to use a very cheap e-machine that I have for internet but keep my old machine for everything else. Hopefully Microsoft will keep Win 7 active for as long as they have XP. If not, then my online days will be over.

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Already upgraded
Oct 30, 2012 12:13PM PDT

I took the leap Monday and installed Windows 8 Pro. I didn't do a clean install due the complex system I have and the number of programs and hardware that would have to be re-installed. I chose the upgrade from Windows 7, keeping existing settings and files. This process took longer almost 55 minutes. The install asked one question, uninstall MS Security Essentials? The anti-virus is now part of the OS. I did the whole install within Windows 7. Upon completion Metro appeared, when I flipped to my desktop it was as the same original 7. Wallpaper, folders and programs were all there. MS Office, Chrome and Firefox. IE10 is remarkably fast. So far I'm extremely pleased, almost high.

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No way.
Oct 30, 2012 12:38PM PDT

Should I need a new machine I would " downgrade" to Window 7. This is a worse travesty than Vista. Gimmicky, not intuitive, unnecessary learning curve( I love learning where it makes sense, here it does not),absolutely not intuitive, ugly- unaesthetic. I wish I could get away from Microsoft.

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I will NOT be upgrading until I buy a new computer
Oct 30, 2012 12:55PM PDT

I was going to upgrade but a few articles came out the last couple of days that made me change my mind. I could not find out if my Pentium Dual-core Vista Busines/XP Pro machine was compatible until Oct 26th when Microsoft released the compatiblility tests. My disk drives were not compatible and I do not know how to search for other drivers. I wanted to upgrade so I could add this machine to a Workgroup that my 2 WIN 7 machines are on. Reading the blogs - it does not appear that WIN 8 works on Workgroups. Maybe I am wrong but I'll wait and see what shakes out.

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Yes
Oct 30, 2012 1:10PM PDT

I bought the $40 upgrade and I plan to convert my other two pc's. I like having the latest and greatest. I love being the geek in my crowd.

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No
Oct 30, 2012 1:13PM PDT

I'm running Windows 7 64 bit to unlock my multiple processors and massive amount of ram. I am happy with what I have since all my software and hardware work with my current version. Upgrading would mean at least a few items would no longer be compatible, at least until drivers are updated, and I do not need to spend money for compatible hardware yet again.

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No, I will not
Oct 30, 2012 1:14PM PDT

I still have a desktop and never want a touch screen. It seems that Microsoft is trying to force people to change whether they want to or not. Oh yes, you can get apps to have the desktop and oh yes, you can get an app instead of getting a media player... I have always kept up with Windows and Office but am getting quite tired of the continual new versions.

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I Don't Plan to Change
Oct 30, 2012 1:23PM PDT

I've been through 98, 2000, Millenium, XP, Vista and now 7. I'm happy with/used to 7 so have no desire to change to 8 until I'm forced to, and have no desire whatsoever to switch to anything fruity-named and much more expensive.
Haven't heard much good about 8 so far, really, at least nothing that makes me say "Yeah - give me 8".

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....another Vista 'test dummy'?
Oct 30, 2012 3:40PM PDT

I'd never, ever touched a computer until at 60, I got my first laptop - Vista Home Premium, (32 bit)...In retrospect, I'm grateful for the very steep learning curves, and at times outright overhangs that that experience gave me, because I'm of the absolute belief that Vista Users were all used by MS as crash (and didn't it?...often!!) test dummies for Windows 7 testing. But now with W7...it's heaven.

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If it ain't broke don't fix it.
Oct 30, 2012 1:41PM PDT

Why should we give Bill Gates more money to wallpaper his mansion with 100 dollars bills?

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No. Not Upgrading
Oct 30, 2012 1:44PM PDT

I was until I tried it. I currently have Windows 7 on my laptop and I like it. I downloaded and installed Windows 8 CE on my desktop as a dual boot with Vista. I was constantly switching to the desktop from Metro. If you don't have a touch screen, Metro is a lot of trouble and I could not get use to the fact that everything is different. Not that it was terribly hard to get use to but I like my old Windows.

If Microsoft wants to improve Windows they could fix it so it isn't so vulnerable to viruses and malware.

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I was but now I won't be
Oct 30, 2012 2:35PM PDT

Originally I decided to upgrade my new laptop to 8 asap. Since I have had my old favorite XP for so many years I decided to make the jump to 8, basically bypassing 7.

Then I started hearing mumblings about things like Windows Genuine Advantage which 'inspects' the hard drive & files & transmits it all back to some base. In Australia we already have a gov't setting laws& regs in place forcing ISP's to save every internet keystroke & all browsing for 7yrs incase the person is linked with crime. This Advantage thing aids in that process even more apparently.

Also all my recently purchased hardware & software purchased for this new laptop won't run on 8 apparently. The camera, printer, router, games, external hard drives. It's a lot to have to upgrade. I'll make do with 7 for few yrs I think.

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No not for this
Oct 30, 2012 2:47PM PDT

having been through every windows since 95 even me and vista i have to say that ms made a mistake that could have been avoided,all you had to do to unify windows was give me the ability to never have to boot into metro on a desk top and this would have been a huge success,one windows to rule them all desktop os,tablet os,and phone os but dont force me to use a portable os half the time on a keyboard and mouse desktop system
all i ask is the ability to choose what os i run where and on what

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I just do not like it!
Oct 30, 2012 4:22PM PDT

Without a touch screen, there is not much difference other than the lay-out in my humble opinion. I have Microsoft Windows Vista and it has worked since 2007. That is at least 5+ years of reliable operations. The only time I had to install was usually because I navigated to an unknown site. Hopefully, I through the grace of Jesus Christ........ I am able to keep it stable, up, and running for the remainder of my lifetime. Another 40 years is not too much to ask I hope.hehe

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Windows 8? No way!
Oct 30, 2012 4:39PM PDT

Smart people know to skip unnecessary "upgrades" and keep using what they have, if it works for them. I skipped Windows ME (kept using 98SE), skipped Vista (kept using XP), and just recently migrated all of our PC's from XP to 7. I do not see any benefit to using Windows 8 with a standard (non-touchscreen) desktop or laptop, and I don't care for the new UI. If any of our PC's fail, and I am forced to buy a Windows 8 machine, you can be sure I'll wipe the hard drive and load Windows 7, just as I replaced Vista with XP back when Vista was out.

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Not at present...
Oct 30, 2012 5:35PM PDT

I have a number of computers in this house all running different OS's.

The two main ones I have is my laptop which runs Puppy Linux and does just what I want, plus as it runs from CD anything goes wrong such as a virus, or bad software I can just reset it and get the CD to wipe out all the bad files.

and my desktop which runs Windows Vista 64-bit which isn't too bad. I've seen the 32-bit version of Vista and was really glad I chose the 64-bit version as the 32-bit version is appalling but the 64-bit version with decent hardware is actually really good.

I also seem to notice a pattern in Microsoft Windows - you get a bad version then you get a good version...


Windows 3.1 (bad version no network support) - Windows 3.11 (major improvement)
Windows 95 (bad version, lacking in a lot) - Windows 98 (Win95 fixed!)
Windows ME (rushed XP for the millennium) - Windows XP (What ME should have been)
Windows Vista (32-bit appalling, 64-bit not bad with good hardware) - Windows 7 (Vista fixed)
Windows 8 ...we'll have to see if it follows the pattern.

Normally with any Windows OS you should give it at least a couple of months before attempting to upgrade that way they should have ironed some of the bugs out and at least produced 1 or 2 service packs.

So with Windows 8 I'm going to give it a couple of months and see how it goes first, at the end of the day it's a lot of money to spend on an OS when it first comes out if it's going to quickly end up a redundant OS with MS expecting you to fork out again for the fixed OS, just glad their hardware is a lot more reliable, I've had my X-Box 360 for years, Sidewinder joystick, Microsoft Trackball and even an MSX computer.

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Windows 8
Oct 30, 2012 5:54PM PDT

I upgraded old XP to Winows 8, but kept my Windows 7 as a dual boot. As because I am a teacher in computer skills I do have to keep on top of things. One thing I am sure about is that most of the companies won't upgrade to Windows 8. Simply because it differs too much from the older versions. People will need to be trained using Windows 8 and that is nowadays too expensive in the economic times of today.

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Windows XP
Oct 30, 2012 11:33PM PDT

I think that you'd be appalled by the number of Businesses and Companies who are STILL clunking around using XP Professional as their mainstream operating system, and who still hail XP as the be all and end all!! Beggars belief...

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No
Oct 30, 2012 9:15PM PDT

I am a Linux man for over 4 years now and while I still have a WinXP I am pretty sure about 80% of my installed installed software won't work with Win8. So, no thank you.

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Will you be upgrading to Windows 8
Oct 30, 2012 9:30PM PDT

No
Windows 7 is All most of us need
the new `Metro' interface is meant for Tablets and Touch screen devices
the lack of the familiar `start' button is frustrating for most (try using it with a Mouse)
Microsoft should keep supplying Windows 7 for a lot longer than it plans
as it has Proven to be a Better stable ,easy to manage platform than anything else
it has released or face the Prospect of Losing the `Market' to Apple ,LInux [eg Google Chrome OS]

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No...
Oct 30, 2012 9:56PM PDT

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I can't afford a PC capable of running 7 or 8, and XP does everything I want.
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No
Oct 30, 2012 10:11PM PDT

I see no reason to do so. Vista (64-bit) is doing the job fine right now, and the changes in WIn8 seem to be primarily for the touch-screen device market. If one day I upgrade my hardware, I will probably reconsider or be forced to.

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See the heading... this is the Windows XP forum... and NO
Oct 30, 2012 10:21PM PDT

... I won't be "upgrading" to Windows 8, let alone not biting for Windows Vista or Windows 7.

Why?

Because my current Core-2-Duo 8400 3GHz machine, with 3GB RAM and Windows XP SP3 does everything I want to do, does it well, and so far without fail in nearly FOUR YEARS. I use Lightroom, Photoshop, WordPerfect suite, and a hundred other programs with 3 TB of hard drives holding tens of thousands of files.

When and if something blows up and I need a new machine, then MAYBE Windows 8... but not until.

I also drive a 20-year-old Mazda pickup.

Why?

Because it runs like a clock, has NEVER failed me, and costs next to nothing to keep on the road. Besides, I haven't made a car payment in nearly two decades.

Again, when and if this vehicle's parts fall out on the highway and leaves it beyond repair, THEN and only then will I be looking for newer wheels... but not until.

All you characters who jump on the hyped-up "latest and greatest" products (which are RARELY genuine improvements) simply have more money to burn (and time to waste fooling with them) than I do. I cannot believe you actually NEED any of this stuff... you just WANT it so you can "keep up with the Joneses."