Which would you buy? Win 7 or Win 8.1?

[ControlD]

The question is, Win 7 or Win 8.1 Why so much BS about 8.0? I have both - Win 7 and Win 8.1. With Start8 1.31, Win 8.1 is Win 7 on steroids. For me it's a no brainer. 8.1 Pro all the way.

Sorry, I guess I tend to lump Windows 8.0 / Windows 8.1 all as Windows 8. I would certainly not suggest purchasing an actual copy of 8.0 at this point.

 

[pmv]

What an impossible decision!

So, a point in Win8's favour is the fact that home premium win7 is limited to 16gb...compared to 128gb for win8...and I can imagine that becoming a problem within a few years...and win7 pro is quite a lot more money...

But against that is the mouse lag bug in 8.1 that will likely mean lots of tiresome messing about with the registry to get old/obscure games working properly...

(Now I don't necessarily blame MS for that one - so it seems they changed something as, yet again, part of their pandering to tablet users, so as to save battery power - but its not clear to me whether the resultant problem is entirely down to MS or if its that those game designers took an undocumented short-cut somewhere, meaning its partly their fault)

Also - just what is the situation, as of 8.1, with having to have an MS 'account' to install the thing? You could decline with 8, but is that still the case?

 

[pmv]

If people don't like Windows 8 that's fine. I can understand why. But where did they tell you to like it or leave it? Did MS suddenly stop providing security updates for Windows 7? Did they activate a kill switch that makes anything older than Windows 8 stop working? I don't see the arrogance. I see a poorly thought out attempt to integrate a common interface across multiple platforms but I'm not sure I would call it arrogant.

I _do_ think the key word is 'arrogant'. I think that's precisely the issue with win8 (in a way that it wasn't really with Vista - that was just a number of unfortunate cock-ups that came together to give it an unshakable bad rep early on).

Win8 could have been a perfectly decent OS with several undramatic but useful improvements over 7, except for the very conscious decision they took that users should be forced to deal with Metro, not for users' own benefit but purely to try and make everyone more familiar with it and hence predisposed to pick MS when choosing an OS for their tablets.

I suspect they'd have thought of it as a 'brave' or 'bold' decision, but I'd rather go with 'arrogant'

 

[Mem]

What an impossible decision!

So, a point in Win8's favour is the fact that home premium win7 is limited to 16gb...compared to 128gb for win8...and I can imagine that becoming a problem within a few years...and win7 pro is quite a lot more money...

But against that is the mouse lag bug in 8.1 that will likely mean lots of tiresome messing about with the registry to get old/obscure games working properly...

(Now I don't necessarily blame MS for that one - so it seems they changed something as, yet again, part of their pandering to tablet users, so as to save battery power - but its not clear to me whether the resultant problem is entirely down to MS or if its that those game designers took an undocumented short-cut somewhere, meaning its partly their fault)

Also - just what is the situation, as of 8.1, with having to have an MS 'account' to install the thing? You could decline with 8, but is that still the case?

I think mouse lag issue is not that big of deal,I've a lot of games installed from Baldur's gate,Icewind Dale to modern games and not once had to use any mouse patch,its nice to know there is a mouse patch available if you do need it.


The way I see it's quite simple Win7 is already 4+ years old and not getting any younger each day,Win8.1 is at least the latest with improved security and features over Win7, Win9 will probably follow same way as Win8 ie hybrid OS.


I remember when Win95 first came out and lot of debate over the big change from Win3.11 etc so nothing new really changed there debate wise ,end of the day you will always get pros and cons on every OS that comes out regardless.


Anyway roll on Win9 since I look forward to the new threads on that from both sides of the camp.

I suspect they'd have thought of it as a 'brave' or 'bold' decision, but I'd rather go with 'arrogant'

I feel that way with some users to be honest,they expect things NOT to change,that in itself is kind of arrogant,Microsoft will do what they think is best since its their OS,end of the day changes will always come and go,nobody is saying you have to like Win8 or any OS you can name,but don't expect things to stay the same forever.

 

[ControlD]

I _do_ think the key word is 'arrogant'. I think that's precisely the issue with win8 (in a way that it wasn't really with Vista - that was just a number of unfortunate cock-ups that came together to give it an unshakable bad rep early on).

Win8 could have been a perfectly decent OS with several undramatic but useful improvements over 7, except for the very conscious decision they took that users should be forced to deal with Metro, not for users' own benefit but purely to try and make everyone more familiar with it and hence predisposed to pick MS when choosing an OS for their tablets.

I suspect they'd have thought of it as a 'brave' or 'bold' decision, but I'd rather go with 'arrogant'

Actually the word I would use is "desperate", as in they were desperate to try to latch onto a piece of the tablet market before it was too late, but I understand what you are saying. From a business perspective I can understand it somewhat. It's just too bad it wasn't implemented better.

In regards to your question about the 8.1 update I do believe you need a MS account because the update is downloaded from the MS store. That does not mean that you need your login tied to a MS account however. I have my login as a local account with no problems and I have my MS account tied to the store (which I have been to once, to download the 8.1 update!).

 

[Chiefcrowe]

AFAIK, you can still install win8.1 using a local account and skip the ms acct.

What an impossible decision!

So, a point in Win8's favour is the fact that home premium win7 is limited to 16gb...compared to 128gb for win8...and I can imagine that becoming a problem within a few years...and win7 pro is quite a lot more money...

But against that is the mouse lag bug in 8.1 that will likely mean lots of tiresome messing about with the registry to get old/obscure games working properly...

(Now I don't necessarily blame MS for that one - so it seems they changed something as, yet again, part of their pandering to tablet users, so as to save battery power - but its not clear to me whether the resultant problem is entirely down to MS or if its that those game designers took an undocumented short-cut somewhere, meaning its partly their fault)

Also - just what is the situation, as of 8.1, with having to have an MS 'account' to install the thing? You could decline with 8, but is that still the case?

 

[smakme7757]

AFAIK, you can still install win8.1 using a local account and skip the ms acct.

Can't use Skydrive if you don't use an MS account. I don't use an MS account with Windows 8.1, so half the reason i got a sub to MS Office 2013 is out the window.

 

[Maximilian]

AFAIK, you can still install win8.1 using a local account and skip the ms acct.

Yeah its not as obvious as it was with 8 though. With 8.1 you're confronted with two options, "login to existing account" or "create new account". The "ignore this crap" button is now hidden behind the "create new account" option.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Windows 7.

Well what would *I* buy? Nether. Download and install Linux instead. But as far as windows goes, 7 for sure. From the little bit of 8 that I saw, I can't imagine I would like it. It's not just metro, but it's all the cloud/online account crap. I hate how everything is turning into that now. Bad enough that gaming consoles are like that, the last thing I want is my computer to be that way too.

 

[Imaginer]

Can't use Skydrive if you don't use an MS account. I don't use an MS account with Windows 8.1, so half the reason i got a sub to MS Office 2013 is out the window.

No difference than using an account for Dropbox or other online storage to have a registered account. There is no drawback in having a Microsoft account (and most likely, some people already do have one with Xbox, past Hotmail accounts [not sure if you want to reactivate that - switch to the outlook.com domain for no spam - initially if you don't mindlessly subscribe]).

Also, just because your PC uses a Microsoft account to sign in, that does not mean in anyway that you need to be internet connected to sign in period. It is just that your Microsoft account credentials is used alongside your Windows credentials. If you really do not need it often, you can still switch from a local account to a Microsoft account and back again. (through PC Settings).

 

[WilliamM2]

I remember when Win95 first came out and lot of debate over the big change from Win3.11 etc so nothing new really changed there debate wise ,end of the day you will always get pros and cons on every OS that comes out regardless.

Nothing new except Win 95 immediately started to gain market share, as did 98, and XP. Not so much for 8.

 

[Imaginer]

Windows 7.

Well what would *I* buy? Nether. Download and install Linux instead. But as far as windows goes, 7 for sure. From the little bit of 8 that I saw, I can't imagine I would like it. It's not just metro, but it's all the cloud/online account crap. I hate how everything is turning into that now. Bad enough that gaming consoles are like that, the last thing I want is my computer to be that way too.

And any Windows machine (8, 7, etc) does not need the cloud to operate. They can still operate just fine like any stand alone Windows machines. If you want to limit any online presence, you can do so and still operate any programs offline (even some Metro/Modern apps that do not require connectivity or constant connectivity, i.e. Location services)

 

[Red Squirrel]

And any Windows machine (8, 7, etc) does not need the cloud to operate. They can still operate just fine like any stand alone Windows machines. If you want to limit any online presence, you can do so and still operate any programs offline (even some Metro/Modern apps that do not require connectivity or constant connectivity, i.e. Location services)

Can you? I saw someone installing it, and before even moving further you had to create an account and all that jazz. Or is there a way to bypass that crap?

 

[Mem]

Nothing new except Win 95 immediately started to gain market share, as did 98, and XP. Not so much for 8.

Also back then Microsoft and especially desktop PCs had no real competition like we have now,it's not only operating systems that change over time,not forgetting new hardware(ie tablets,phones etc) in modern times.

 

[Cerb]

What an impossible decision!

Spend a little extra to pay for 8.1 Pro OEM, and if you don't like it, even with the start replacements, wipe it and load 7. You'll have to activate by phone, but it's kosher to do with a Pro version of the OS. 8.1 will still remain an option. On a bad day, with no deals to be found, it'll be $140 v. $100.

 

[ControlD]

Can you? I saw someone installing it, and before even moving further you had to create an account and all that jazz. Or is there a way to bypass that crap?

You need to create a user account just like with previous versions of Windows (or like typical Linux installs) but it doesn't need to be tied to anything like a MS account. You are not forced to make an online account to install Windows 8 / 8.1.

 

[Berryracer]

And whats so bad about creating an MS account? it syncs all ur PC settings

 

[Cerb]

And whats so bad about creating an MS account? [It] syncs all [of your] PC settings

Without copying the entirety of installed programs and your profile, in which case it would be a backup, what useful syncing is there to do? IoW, what good is it? I see a way for MS to mine data, and having to deal with yet another online account, but not anything useful in return.

Media settings: filter specific, and it's mostly 3rd-party FOSS, anyway, so I doubt it.
Contacts: not locally stored on the PC, and not MS related at all.

Everything else is specific to local programs, and often specific to the form factor and hardware (I don't use large fonts on my notebook, as an example, but do keep acceleration enabled, since it's actually nice with the trackpoint), so syncing it to a phone, tablet, notebook, etc., would not be useful.

 

[Red Squirrel]

And whats so bad about creating an MS account? it syncs all ur PC settings

I rather sync stuff myself, to my own local server, that I control.

Actually I wonder if roaming profiles are better in newer versions of Windows. The concept is great, but the execution has always been very poor.

 

[PliotronX]

Can you? I saw someone installing it, and before even moving further you had to create an account and all that jazz. Or is there a way to bypass that crap?

You have to either disconnect from the internet before hitting this step or enter an invalid account email (I usually put in 8@sucks.org) before you are offered the option of creating a local account.

 

[ControlD]

You have to either disconnect from the internet before hitting this step or enter an invalid account email (I usually put in 8@sucks.org) before you are offered the option of creating a local account.

I didn't have to do that either time I installed Windows 8.0. Is that something new with a fresh 8.1 install? I didn't have to take such steps when upgrading from 8.0 to 8.1 either.

In regards to syncing / backing up, Windows 8 has a feature very similar to Apple's Time Machine but unlike the latter it works very well with networked attached storage. I'm not sure why MS doesn't advertise these features more. I only found out about that feature by accident.

 

[saratoga172]

Get 8.1 for sure. Lots of blackens tweaks that are really nice and I miss when using a win 7 machine. And if you absolutely can't stand not using a start bar replacement like start8 is a good alternative.

 

[pmv]

Yeah its not as obvious as it was with 8 though. With 8.1 you're confronted with two options, "login to existing account" or "create new account". The "ignore this crap" button is now hidden behind the "create new account" option.

Useful to know. Probably saved me a few seconds of raised blood pressure and MS-cursing if/when get to that point!

 

[PliotronX]

I didn't have to do that either time I installed Windows 8.0. Is that something new with a fresh 8.1 install? I didn't have to take such steps when upgrading from 8.0 to 8.1 either.

In regards to syncing / backing up, Windows 8 has a feature very similar to Apple's Time Machine but unlike the latter it works very well with networked attached storage. I'm not sure why MS doesn't advertise these features more. I only found out about that feature by accident.

Not 8.0, that was easy peasy. My first attempt at deploying 8.1 Enterprise revealed this roadblock. After a short minipanick and a google session I found it was still possible to create local accounts. IDK if the workaround is required for other 8.1 versions.

 

[Cerb]

Actually I wonder if roaming profiles are better in newer versions of Windows. The concept is great, but the execution has always been very poor.

It's still poor. The generally recommended thing to do w/ AD has been user folder redirection.