Want a new laptop but do I want Windows 8?

[pacerron]

paceron Thanks and working on the information. Have you considered writing a book (How a TBN member fixes Win 8) about How to improve your Win 8 and 8.1 So far I'm understanding how to get the fixes. thanks for the posting.
ken

Ken,
Most of what I have said is just from setting up my wife's pc with 8.1 and making it work simply for her. She doesn't like using computers and spends minimum time on them.
Years ago when we got our first home pc ( Windows 98 ) just to use a software program called "Pow-Wow" to verbally communicate with a son who was in Japan; computers or my lack of knowledge of them, drove me nuts for awhile. One night when I was complaining to my son about it via POW-WOW, he said, just try out the buttons and tabs to see what they do and as long as you don't delete any programs or mess in the Registry your not going to change anything that you can't change back. If there are a number of steps in the path, write them down so you can back out to the original if you don't like the results.
That set me free and made me realize I could learn to control the computer rather than it controlling me.
When Windows came up with the "Create Restore Point" that really loosened things up and I always do that before changing anything I am not quite sure of what the results might be.
Then Microsoft came up with the FixWin utility sight that will automatically fix your pc or let you choose various areas to fix or clean up to make the pc run like new.

It is apparent to me now, after making the W.8.1 boot to the Desktop mode for familiarity, that the Microsoft developers really had a good idea in mind, the way they did 8.0 and 8.1 for both small and large devices. The market right now is smart phones, pads, and other devices with dinky screen space. The young folks, that have to be connected from the time they get out of bed till they go back at night, and can't do simple math without an electronic device or think through a problem solution without consulting the net, have no problems seeing and hearing these little devices. For the world that travels a lot storing data in a cloud or in a home/office device makes sense as long as they can get to it from anywhere from their small devices.
Then there is the aging society which is a large percentage of the population that needs devices that are easy to see, hear, and use.
We are the ones who have and control the money and who have had to become more vocal to protect our position in society.
So Windows 8.1 integrates all the needs. Some of the Metro Apps are really quite beneficial to us older folks as they open full page
and are easy to navigate once the hidden control points are figured out and where to put the mouse to make them appear.
Things that are set to open in Metro can be opened in Desktop as well, so there is added flexibility over a straight desktop system.
I like it!

 

[Bird]

Ron, you're obviously way ahead of me. This thing is just one nightmare after another. Every time I get past one, another one pops up. Maybe in time I'll get used to it.

 

[troutsqueezer]

Ken,
Most of what I have said is just from setting up my wife's pc with 8.1 and making it work simply for her. She doesn't like using computers and spends minimum time on them.
Years ago when we got our first home pc ( Windows 98 ) just to use a software program called "Pow-Wow" to verbally communicate with a son who was in Japan; computers or my lack of knowledge of them, drove me nuts for awhile. One night when I was complaining to my son about it via POW-WOW, he said, just try out the buttons and tabs to see what they do and as long as you don't delete any programs or mess in the Registry your not going to change anything that you can't change back. If there are a number of steps in the path, write them down so you can back out to the original if you don't like the results.
That set me free and made me realize I could learn to control the computer rather than it controlling me.
When Windows came up with the "Create Restore Point" that really loosened things up and I always do that before changing anything I am not quite sure of what the results might be.
Then Microsoft came up with the FixWin utility sight that will automatically fix your pc or let you choose various areas to fix or clean up to make the pc run like new.

It is apparent to me now, after making the W.8.1 boot to the Desktop mode for familiarity, that the Microsoft developers really had a good idea in mind, the way they did 8.0 and 8.1 for both small and large devices. The market right now is smart phones, pads, and other devices with dinky screen space. The young folks, that have to be connected from the time they get out of bed till they go back at night, and can't do simple math without an electronic device or think through a problem solution without consulting the net, have no problems seeing and hearing these little devices. For the world that travels a lot storing data in a cloud or in a home/office device makes sense as long as they can get to it from anywhere from their small devices.
Then there is the aging society which is a large percentage of the population that needs devices that are easy to see, hear, and use.
We are the ones who have and control the money and who have had to become more vocal to protect our position in society.
So Windows 8.1 integrates all the needs. Some of the Metro Apps are really quite beneficial to us older folks as they open full page
and are easy to navigate once the hidden control points are figured out and where to put the mouse to make them appear.
Things that are set to open in Metro can be opened in Desktop as well, so there is added flexibility over a straight desktop system.
I like it!

You realize that's heresy for this thread, don't you?

As for Create A Restore Point - I've found that it can be tricky if not careful. First, it doesn't always automatically create restore points where one might like them so it's prudent to create them manually from time to time. Also, much of the time you cannot restore to a point if an anti-virus program is running, like AVG. It has to be stopped temporarily while the computer restores. Lastly, some malware will not allow the computer to restore. In those cases you need to boot into Safe Mode (network mode, usually) and then run the restore utility. Maybe you knew that already, but just in case...

 

[troutsqueezer]

Ron, you're obviously way ahead of me. This thing is just one nightmare after another. Every time I get past one, another one pops up. Maybe in time I'll get used to it.

Bird, this helps to keep the neurons firing, creating new pathways. Another advantage to PC's.

 

[cdaigle430]

I upgraded to Windows 8.1 a few weeks ago and I'm much happier. I still hate the tiles crap though.

 

[pacerron]

You realize that's heresy for this thread, don't you?

As for Create A Restore Point - I've found that it can be tricky if not careful. First, it doesn't always automatically create restore points where one might like them so it's prudent to create them manually from time to time. Also, much of the time you cannot restore to a point if an anti-virus program is running, like AVG. It has to be stopped temporarily while the computer restores. Lastly, some malware will not allow the computer to restore. In those cases you need to boot into Safe Mode (network mode, usually) and then run the restore utility. Maybe you knew that already, but just in case...

Troutsqueezer,
That's what my sentence above said.
"When Windows came up with the "Create Restore Point" that really loosened things up and I always do that before changing anything I am not quite sure of what the results might be."
W-7 is so easy, by just typing "Create" in the search window of the Start menu that takes you right to the Control Panel location to create one. I do know about your other cautions, but my discourse here is only meant to help build confidence in the folks that haven't quite figured out W 8.1 yet. I think that is really your intent as well.
To me the Metro screen is similar to using F11 on previous versions but a lot better since more information and other tools are there just by putting the mouse in a corner. Creating a Restore point in W 8.1 is as simple as typing "Crea" on a blank part of the Metro Screen or putting the pointer at the top right and typing the same "Crea" in the Search box of the Charm screen, whether in Metro or Desktop view.. The options are given and if you are not familiar it even can take you to the source that explains it Step by step including when and why Windows does it automatically. How To Create Restore Point In Windows 8.1
It will be interesting to see how much hard drive space Windows has allocated by default for Restore points. In desktops with terabyte HD's they allocated way too much, but since this system is designed around mobile devices with small storage they may have cut it way back as default. I'm sure it is changeable in either case.

 

[pacerron]

I upgraded to Windows 8.1 a few weeks ago and I'm much happier. I still hate the tiles crap though.

Perhaps you would be happier if you set it to open in the "All Apps" window.
There you have a list with small thumbnail icons similar to the Start Menu in W-7.
You can arrange the icons in groups or by different order just like in a start menu.
You can even make the background the same as that you are using in the desktop view so it looks
the same and is not a shock going from one to another.
In the Metro view you can also delete the shortcuts boxes of any you don't use without deleting the App.

 

[pacerron]

A final point on System Restore..
If you don't wan't to do it by the way explained in Search....

Just right click on the "Start Button"
Click on "System"
Then on the left of the page that comes up click "System Protection" and you will be
where you name and create your restore point.

 

[Ken]

A final point on System Restore..
If you don't wan't to do it by the way explained in Search....

Just right click on the "Start Button"
Click on "System"
Then on the left of the page that comes up click "System Protection" and you will be
where you name and create your restore point.

Sixdogs post #1 Steve post #10 and Bird post #17 #382 I'm thinking the this new Win 8 animal has been tamed .Now to apply the information.

At the least I'm getting better information than could by going to other computer sites.
Like Bird getting old and cannot remember what the right hand is doing from the left.
When a tractor gets restored it looks better even if only some paint reapplied.
and engine rebuild sometimes makes it worse than leaving alone.
Also sometime the question of what is the little lever below the seat ? And gets a wealth on information to its purpose.
Thanks all I've enjoyed the discussion.
ken

 

[troutsqueezer]

I should elaborate on why it's prudent to manually create a restore point even if you don't plan on installing a new program or make changes. The trend with unscrupulous web sites lately seems to be tricking you into clicking on something that is unrelated to what it is you want to download, be it a file or program to be installed later. I"m sure everyone has seen this by now. The actual item that you want to download is relegated to a corner of the page with a small button and the malware they want you to click on and download is front and center on the page and is what you are most likely to click on. Only the small type reveals that it is something different than what you searched for. If you don't stop and think about it for a minute, you're inclined to click on it. There should be a law.