Beware: Computer Talk ie. Win8

[TopCatGr58]

**After writing the below Novella, I realized that I have just missed the Download Upgrade offer...it expired yesterday 1-31-13 ! Sheesh! SO...I'll change my question! I WAS going to ask about whether anyone knew if I could have used one of my later computers/OS's that would have allowed me to make an install DVD from the download to use to Clean install 8 vs. having to use the MS Upgrade Asst. prog to perform a simple "upgrade" install onto a Win XP SP3 system...their stated ONLY upgrade option??

But now I'll just ask if anyone is using Win8 yet, or if they are planning to upgrade to it and WHY? From what I've read/seen Win8 is primarily for use with a TOUCHSCREEN type monitor and that you're wasting $$ vs. just using/keeping Win7 for mouse/keyboard type input access!?

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Okay, I'm still using XP SP3 for my main home desktop primarily because of the video capture and editting programs, as well as DVD ripping/copying. These older programs work well and aren't bothered by the MS DRM crap that they incorporated into their later Windows versions and hardware specs. I was able to upgrade to a version that takes advantage of my newer dual core Intel processor to cut down the heavy video conversion processing time....some!

But as we know XP is long in the tooth and it's supposed to be eventually phased out EOL stuff, no more support etc.. I have VISTA on my Laptop, Win7 on Wife's Laptop. I tolerate Win7 better than Vista.

I have received the email adverts about being able to "UPGRADE" even an XP SP3 system to Win8 for a phenomenally low ONLINE/Download price of $39.00 or such, compared to the regular retail prices for Windows OS's in the $100-200+ range!

I've done a little research and learned that with XP, you can ONLY use their(MS) download/upgrade assistant to perform an ON THE COMPUTER Upgrade. With either Vista or 7 you are given the option within the Upgrade Asst. prg to DOWNLOAD an ISO that you can then burn to a disc for performing a full clean install vs. an upgrade type install. I know that the Upgrade features for XP are limited to just preserving the personal files, and that I would be required to re-install essentially ALL of my programs that I want to keep/use. Their upgrade asst. program evaluated the programs on my desktop and informed me of which ones were KNOWN to be compatible with Win8/ 7. NOT surprisingly my MS Office 2k ISN'T ! Also, my video editting programs are NOT compatible...however they provided a link to the parent company COREL for a compatible "Paid" upgrade prg.! I'm using Uleads VIDEOSTUDIO 10 , started with 5....as stated this latest version utilizes the dual core CPU, so later versions will, too. I don't have/use Blue Ray, but I do DVD authoring. The next ULEAD "old" version is 11 and 11.5 plus....reviews of later COREL versions ie. X2 and beyond...are now on X5 were more UNSTABLE and prone to crashes. My 10 does eventually crash after a few hours of use.....probably just buggy virtual mem code or such....but it's acceptable/tolerable.

Wow...sorry for the NOVEL. Anyways....the UPgrade offer is about to EXPIRE...well ****....it HAS Expired!


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Anybody do Video Editting/DVD authoring and what prg(Besides Windows Movie Maker)?

Also, If I decided to just get Win7, how hard would it be to setup a DUAL BOOT to be able to keep my XP and also utilize the Win7 upgrade benefits?

Thanks in Advance you Techys.

T.C.

[DiverRay]

Stay with XP!!!! 8 is a JOKE, and it has a LOT of people trying to go back.

[Jerry]

Have been playing with a Win 8 Home version. Does not do me much good since it won't allow me to join a domain...need Pro or Enterprise editions to do that. Offer I used didn't give the level, now I know why.

I will not be upgrading any of my work PCs to any version of Win 8. Would require massive retraining just to use the OS, and my users still complaining about the switch to Win 7. Plus, my major software vendor will not support it. In fact, most of my software will not run on it.

For a mouse-driven interface the OS is a real pain. The logoff command is on a right-side screen pop-out under the Settings icon. For a touch screen device it would be better, but it is not very intuitive.

Can't say i have spend a lot of time with it, but am unimpressed so far. To be fair I have not tried and photo or video editing software. I use Dreamweaver, Photoshop Elements, and play with Sony's Vegas Pro. I plan to load copies of these and see if my opinion improves.

[TopCatGr58]

The writing is on the wall!

Hey there Ray,

Yep, that's what I'm going to be doing for at least another year. Here's what I've found out about the final life expectancy of WinXP SP3.

On April 8, 2014, all support for Windows XP, including security updates and hotfixes, will be terminated.

So...I've got another YEAR to enjoy my old friendly OS, and then I can decide if I'm going to upgrade to Win7 or just risk it and keep running XP despite that there won't be any more SECURITY UPDATES. I'm sure there are HACKERS out there still trying to find "holes" in WinXP so that they can attack our computers! Hopefully MS will have found and patched them all up!

T.C.

[DiverRay]

T.C., The holes will ALWAYS be replaced with more as the hackers (Chinese now) keep looking for a new way to take over your machine. I use 7 at work, and I like it. Penny has 7 on her "new" laptop, and it integrated with my home network without a problem. My server will need to be replaced in the next two years, so it will go from XP to 7 when I do.

[Jerry]

Biggest issue is not the OS, it is Microsoft Office 2007 and newer. My users do not care for MS's "Ribbon" arrangement, and I had several people ask if they could keep Office 2003. My boss said no, so everyone was forced to get used to the new arrangement. The OS itself has a couple of issues for compatibility with some software but we worked through that.

Win 8 is so different in appearance that I do not even know where I would start if I had to adopt this as a corporate standard. I would have a mutiny on my hands if I tried.

[TopCatGr58]

Hey Jerry,

I feel for your other workers because I ALSO hate Office 2007 or later. I like my MENU bars right where they are. I hate a lot of what MS does in thinking that Different is Better when it's quite often NOT! The layout is NOT intuitive, not to mention the Incompatibility of the files with the earlier versions, and folks don't think or know how to SAVE AS to make them backwards compatible!

I started with DOS 5 and Win3.0, and proceeded to learn along the way thru Win95 and 98, and XP wasn't much different...I like the nuts and bolts approach being able to see and find my files and folders and such. Vista screwed the pooch overinsulating the USER trying to dumb it down I guess, but it's more annoying. Win7 uses the same file "explorer". With the previous upgrades, any of the programs that I used were making newer compatible versions, and going from 16 bit to 32 bit and more stability so it was worth it. The changes were necessary as computer technology was increasing in quantum leaps...hardware was becoming obsolete a few years after. But with XP....we finally had fairly strong stability. SO I'm rebelling about the PLANNED Obsolescence that MS has in their policy...they actually state that their OS's will only be supported for 5 years after their release date, but with the Service Packs...that support gets extended, and has been since MS put out 3 SP's for XP.

So...Win7 came out a few years ago, and I can only HOPE that MS will make a few SP's every few years so that it'll be around a while longer. I've never setup or installed a dual boot system, but I'm sure I can learn and do it, I build my own systems.

Thanks folks for your comments publicly and in the PM's.

T.C.

[LoHo]

What, you guys aren't using ME anymore?

[Jerry]

What, you guys aren't using ME anymore?

We skipped ME and Vista. I had one system that ran on ME and replaced it as quickly as I could. Of course I run Mac OSX at home on my old quad-core Mac Pro so only have to deal with MS issues at work. I like to go home and fire up an OS that just works.

If you watch the Win 8 advertisements you will note NONE of the ads feature a mouse-driven interface. They are all tablet or SmartPhone devices. Unless MS comes out with a better way to run Win 8 on a standard desktop PC using a mouse and menus I doubt it will gain much traction in the corporate environment. Or we wil have to convert to to touch-screen monitors. Imagine...we could all get to be like CNN's John King running his election maps.

[Hmar]

I have a Surface RT coming, I played with win 8 in beta and was less than impressed. For me, I like 7, which I use at work, but I do want to see what 8 looks like on the tablet. Surface is either going to flop harder than Vista or completely change the way we work, because it is awful on existing desktops.