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How to Survive the Windows 8 transition without experiencing chest pains

Agent Orange

Agent Orange

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Joined
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If you recently upgraded to W8, like I just did, you'll be in for a few surprises. You're going to spend time looking for features that you had grown accustomed to in W7, only to discover that they no longer exist in the new version. Gone are the Start Menu, Gadgets, Games, and Windows Media Center.
Never fear as workarounds abound:
The Start Menu can be replaced with a utility from Star Dock for a small fee.
http://www.stardock.com/products/start8. You will be able to toggle back and forth between the W7 Start Menu and the new so called W8 Metro.
W7Gadgets has been scrapped in favor of the tiles that appear in Metro. There is a free down load that will get most of them back for you. http://8gadgetpack.bplaced.net/
Games that you've been playing since the WIN98 days are also gone, in favor of some new stuff, that must be down loaded from the Microsoft Store. A few are free, but for the majority, you will have to pony up. The following link will reload all of your W7 games, with all their settings and scores, providing that you installed W8 as an upgrade.
https://hotfile.com/dl/156447161/4da4ff2/mgms_x32x64_1.2.rar.html
The Microsoft Media Center is also MIA. Microsoft has special deal for you if you act before January 1, 2013, else it will cost you big bucks. If you are a current W8 licensee with a valid key, you can down load the W8 compatible Microsoft Media Center for free from the following link.
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-8/feature-packs


 
Last edited:
commodorejohn said:
Alternatively, you could just not upgrade.
Click to expand...

That's kind of a negative approach. The way I see it is that most folks who are inclined to upgrade their OS's from time to time, or those with new computers, will probably want to run the latest software.
 
Why would someone make all those changes just to get back to what they already have?
 
I can't see going back to Win 1.0 just to get the "latest and greatest". M$ telegraphed the "dumbing down" of Windows two years ago right after 7. This "cloud" thing is a major usage and security risk. My applications and my data stay under MY CONTROL!
 
paul said:
Why would someone make all those changes just to get back to what they already have?
Click to expand...

Well. that's the point. If you like what you had you won't have it when you upgrade. BTW, the price is right at this time.
 
I was going to ignore this thread since I didn't think I had anything to contribute. However,
Chuck(G) said:
Just do a sideways move to Linux or one of the BSD variants.
Click to expand...
is actually quite relevant. No, we're not trolling. A very important issue here is about personal control, and perhaps even money. A very mature BSD has been around forever. KDE is now really "Windows" like, and Linux is a no-brainer since it's gone really popular and has out-of-the-box hardware support. I understand about comfort levels, but if you're going to make a big change, it would make sense to take the opportunity to leave home and get your own apartment. ;)

My comment about money would be especially relevant to computer hobbyists. From what I gather I'd also have to buy Windows Server just to do something as mundane as running pppd - let alone more serious server tasks that I fool with around here. That would cost more than I plan to spend on vintage computing in the next 10 years! Even if you're only spending a hundred bucks, it just makes sense to save your money for items where you don't have other options. All just my opinion of course, but I'd like to repeat the idea that if you're going to make a big change, why not give it some serious thought rather than just go with the flow. :) :)

PS: I'm not in any way talking about quality of operating systems. I'm talking about a chance to save some money and gain some computing freedom.
 
Agent Orange said:
That's kind of a negative approach. The way I see it is that most folks who are inclined to upgrade their OS's from time to time, or those with new computers, will probably want to run the latest software.
Click to expand...
What latest software? Metro software? That's designed for tablets; why would you want to run it on a computer? And has Windows 8 even introduced any extensions to the Win32 API that "Desktop" (a.k.a. real) programs are going to be using? They've just bet the farm on Windows RT, I find it hard to believe that they're going to spend any time sweetening the deal for people who stay with the classic API. Fact is, there's just no draw to this unless you inexplicably want to run tablet software on a perfectly capable laptop or desktop PC. They haven't even capped DirectX on Windows 7 yet, like they did with XP to get people to move to Vista so Bioshock would be prettier.

Agent Orange said:
Well. that's the point. If you like what you had you won't have it when you upgrade. BTW, the price is right at this time.
Click to expand...
But why would you even upgrade, when you have to put all this effort into making it what it should've been all along, and get basically nothing in return for it? The price is only right if you're getting something significant for your money.

Chuck(G) said:
Just do a sideways move to Linux or one of the BSD variants.
Click to expand...
I'll tell you what, I'm definitely not a Linux fan, but I'd sooner move to that than to this abortion.
 
Interesting thread for those of us who don't keep up with all the changes. When you say the price is right at this time, do you mean Microsoft has managed to cut the price for an upgrade, OEM or even full price license because they are leaving out a lot of extras that not everyone would expect to get anyway? As long as they don't charge for every single system upgrade (like I've got the impression a certain other commercial actor does), I suppose it can be a working business model.

Personally, I still find Windows 7 too modern for my tastes, and try as far as possible to go back to the W2K classic theme and functionality. I suppose eventually I might have to bite the bullet and look for something else, but it'll be a few years from now. Who knows, if the market is great enough, Microsoft might release a Windows 8 Classic Edition with the same underlying system engine but which as far as possible tries to look and behave like the older versions. After all, progress only brings you money as long as there are people willing to pay for it.
 
I am hoping that Windows 8 leads to a reduction in the price of touch input devices. Makes no sense that Wacom's mouse replacements sell for more than similarly sized full computers with built in touch screens.

I don't know if any Metro specific programs will provide a compelling reason to run Windows 8 specifically. The cheap upgrade seems more aimed at XP users who might benefit for moving to later Windows versions.

I like Windows 8 but I prefer dealing with the Metro applications inside a window courtesy of a virtual machine. They scale nicely to different sized windows but the default screen usage requires the app to paint over a lot of unused space. I think embedding the phone emulator for everyone would have been a better desktop option.
 
carlsson said:
Interesting thread for those of us who don't keep up with all the changes. When you say the price is right at this time, do you mean Microsoft has managed to cut the price for an upgrade, OEM or even full price license because they are leaving out a lot of extras that not everyone would expect to get anyway? As long as they don't charge for every single system upgrade (like I've got the impression a certain other commercial actor does), I suppose it can be a working business model.

Personally, I still find Windows 7 too modern for my tastes, and try as far as possible to go back to the W2K classic theme and functionality. I suppose eventually I might have to bite the bullet and look for something else, but it'll be a few years from now. Who knows, if the market is great enough, Microsoft might release a Windows 8 Classic Edition with the same underlying system engine but which as far as possible tries to look and behave like the older versions. After all, progress only brings you money as long as there are people willing to pay for it.
Click to expand...

$38.88 for W8 Pro at this time.
 
commodorejohn said:
What latest software? Metro software? That's designed for tablets; why would you want to run it on a computer? And has Windows 8 even introduced any extensions to the Win32 API that "Desktop" (a.k.a. real) programs are going to be using? They've just bet the farm on Windows RT, I find it hard to believe that they're going to spend any time sweetening the deal for people who stay with the classic API. Fact is, there's just no draw to this unless you inexplicably want to run tablet software on a perfectly capable laptop or desktop PC. They haven't even capped DirectX on Windows 7 yet, like they did with XP to get people to move to Vista so Bioshock would be prettier.


But why would you even upgrade, when you have to put all this effort into making it what it should've been all along, and get basically nothing in return for it? The price is only right if you're getting something significant for your money.


I'll tell you what, I'm definitely not a Linux fan, but I'd sooner move to that than to this abortion.
Click to expand...

John: I only supplied the links as a service for those who intend to move on to W8. No one is twisting your arm to purchase the product. I had my reasons for upgrading which have to do with my gaming rig's hardware requirements (FX-8350). BTW, there are some nice features such as built-in Windows Defender which replaces Microsoft Security Essentials. Also, backups are much easier. You no longer need to make an image (you can if you wish) as all you pertinent is put into files which are easily stored for backup purposes. I'm not a great fan of the new desktop, but it's here and we might as well learn how to deal with it.
 
I actually got Windows 8 and I just pinned anything I use regularly to the task bar. I do have one problem and that is my bluetooth will NOT work at all, installed Broadcom drivers, Dell drivers, etc. Windows 8 just doesn't see it at all while Windows XP and Xubuntu 12.04 see it fine and use it.
 
Weird. What games are you playing? I thought there was a but of an issue for apps that aren't paying MS to sign themselves with 8 or perhaps that was just drivers and the homebrew hardware scene that was going to suffer. Have you done a benchmark on it vs the previous OS? Can you multiboot?

I remember my friend suggesting going ahead to Vista Business edition since it did have native directx11 hardware support and I think XP doesn't. Either way he was extremely surprised (I wasn't so much) when the benchmark did indicate it was slightly worse than XP. It wasn't horrendous and I did keep using it until it corrupted itself then I went back to my previous/dual boot install of XP again. I misplaced the stupid Vista (legit) dvd so I never was able to fix or upgrade it again.

Not surprising like I said, more features and newer software always seem to make a system slower so I was more surprised that it wasn't a HUGE difference but one could certainly say my games would run a hair faster the more I downgrade.
 
It's going to be hard to get used to Windows without a Start Button (again). ;)

I do like that they've kept the classic desktop integrated with Windows 8, but have the Metro feature to adapt for tablet users. Windows 8 also dropped the Aero feature, which I didn't like. Either way, it's just another RAM-hungry version of Windows. I don't see any impending need to upgrade at this time.
 
Ole Juul said:
No, we're not trolling. A very important issue here is about personal control, and perhaps even money. A very mature BSD has been around forever. KDE is now really "Windows" like, and Linux is a no-brainer since it's gone really popular and has out-of-the-box hardware support. I understand about comfort levels, but if you're going to make a big change, it would make sense to take the opportunity to leave home and get your own apartment. ;)
Click to expand...

I don't need to develop for Windows any more; *nix, be it Linux, Android or MacOS has a large (and probably growing) following. There is a wide array of implementations, mostly differing in add-ons and GUI features. The small number of exclusively Windows apps I need to run work fine under WINE, but I could also run Windows XP in a virtual session. And best of all, there are no secrets--it's all out there in source form.

A friend who was exclusively Windows asked the other day about setting up OpenSUSE on a small headless server--he wants to run IFOLDER. So the world is slowly moving in the direction of an open-source OS. All in all, a good thing, I think.

I picked up a bare-bones quad-core AM3+ system for a song over the weekend. It will be interesting to see how well a 64-bit Linux distro operates on that setup.
 
Is that any kind of a surprise? They've been shoving ads into the XBox "Metro"-style interface for a while now. Just another cash-grab, like the Windows Store...were I a Windows 8 user, ads in pay software is where I'd be marching in to demand my money back.
 
barythrin said:
Weird. What games are you playing? I thought there was a but of an issue for apps that aren't paying MS to sign themselves with 8 or perhaps that was just drivers and the homebrew hardware scene that was going to suffer. Have you done a benchmark on it vs the previous OS? Can you multiboot?

I remember my friend suggesting going ahead to Vista Business edition since it did have native directx11 hardware support and I think XP doesn't. Either way he was extremely surprised (I wasn't so much) when the benchmark did indicate it was slightly worse than XP. It wasn't horrendous and I did keep using it until it corrupted itself then I went back to my previous/dual boot install of XP again. I misplaced the stupid Vista (legit) dvd so I never was able to fix or upgrade it again.

Not surprising like I said, more features and newer software always seem to make a system slower so I was more surprised that it wasn't a HUGE difference but one could certainly say my games would run a hair faster the more I downgrade.
Click to expand...

Bary: W7 had an issue with most AMD 6 & 8 core chips. W7 would inadvertently turn off a core and drop what ever thread IT was on (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2645594). I just installed a FX-8350 and ran the initial 3DMark11 this morning and saw @ 6000 in the ADV mode for the 1st run - nothing spectacular (yet) - nothing overclocked yet either. I play games like Hawk, Call of Duty, etc.
 
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