Windows 8 (Desktop) worth it? Are you using it?

[dataDave]

This is bollocks. I don't qualify for the Win8 offer, either. I bought my laptop within the alloted time frame and everything.

I think they go off of when they distributed the keys to the manufacturer. Ballsack.

[Brad]

Re: Windows 8 (Desktop) worth it? Are you using it?

Lol. I've never even owned a copy of windows 7 and they gave me a discount :-)

[charlesr]

Dave, you are in luck! You don't have to put up with this weirdness.

[charlesr]

Now that everything is set up and I've added everything I need to my start menu and to my task bar, I'm pretty sorted now. It seems to be working very well.

[Lyris]

Same here, I've set it up to avoid most of the kinks.

The only problems I run into are when familiar tasks, like opening JPEGs, load the new "app" in The Interface Formerly Known As Metro. I just tried it there and it seemed to freeze up with a coloured screen and a big icon, but no picture. I managed to ALT+F4 out of that, but then I was stuck on the start screen and couldn't get back to the desktop! I could launch desktop programs but they would open behind The Interface Formerly Known As Metro screen - even the task manager! In the end I had to cut the power...

Still, that'll be a one off because I've changed the file associations so I never have to look at The Interface Formerly Known As Metro.

[dataDave]

I phoned Bill personally. Now I have my update on my desktop and ready to install. I was on Win 7 Home Premium, but this offer gives you Win 8 Pro. Nice.

I'm not installing it until I need to.

Oh, and I now have a ****ing dead insect behind my LCD. Just my luck.

[EvilBoris]

What offer did you use Dave?

[mikewl]

Been trying this for a few weeks, aside from one BSOD its not been too bad, though I do tend to just go straight to desktop and use it like previous Windows.

The Xbox Live integration is handy though it seems limited, when your signed into Xbox Games from the Xbox tile you can see your friends, what they are playing on Xbox but it doesn't show you as being online from the Xbox point of view, even if your actually playing a Windows Live game from the Windows Store, so it seems nice but a bit disconnected that you see them but they don't see you, can't send messages to friends either, I'm not sure but maybe it only shows both users as online if you are both logged in on Windows 8. Kind of makes the Xbox integration a bit pointless I think.

Still thinking about going back to Windows 7 as all the new stuff really serves no purpose for me so far.

[FelixofMars]

Well yesterday my mate who was all hyped for Windows 8 and saying how cool it was said he is starting to hate it and how all the apps are useless. Especially the mail one and the Skype one which is ironic as they intend for this to replace MSN. This seems to be a major issue, the OS has been overhauled but they have no actual idea of writing proper integrated apps.

The fact they can't make them work in a lower resolution seems to speak volumes of how much effort they had in creating them.

[Lyris]

They can't make them work in lower res? They don't work in high res, at least not properly. I ran Skype and it took me to the new full-screen version - why???

I use Skype as a productivity tool, i.e. I'll have it on screen while I'm doing other things. Why would I want it to take up my entire screen?

It's Microsoft's mid-life crisis, that's for sure.

[speedlolita]

Grab the business version of Skype. Same as before. And the default apps are always awful.

Was thinking of maybe going back to 7 soon but for no particular reason..

[charlesr]

The mail program is beyond useless in comparison to... well anything else. Even dog poo.

The whole right click context sensitive hover popup menu amazingness of windows has been dropped in favour of putting as few options as possible as far away from where you clicked as possible.

Do you know what is even more amazing though? Windows 7.5 phones DO NOT sync with Outlook. LIKE OMG WTF. They have assumed you are using hotmail for contacts and that's the end of it all. Way to alienate loads of potential customers. I just assumed they would have done that as standard. Silly me.

[Baseley09]

Can you use the Windows 8 upgrade installer from an asscracked version of Windows 7 still?

[Brad]

Re: Windows 8 (Desktop) worth it? Are you using it?

Plugged android phone into windows 8 pc. "tap here to choose what to do". Tap. Tap a non touch screen. Go on! Tap it! Lol.

[Lyris]

Windows 7.5 phones DO NOT sync with Outlook. LIKE OMG WTF.

Plugged android phone into windows 8 pc. "tap here to choose what to do". Tap. Tap a non touch screen. Go on! Tap it! Lol.

I get that too when I put in blank Blu-ray Discs or SD cards. "Tap here to choose".
Like everything else with Windows 8, it's not a big deal, just shoddy. I mean, it seems to show how little of an {excrement} they give about people using desktop PCs. Which is, what, oh, almost all Windows users?