Rating for Windows OS

[NGen]

What's stopping me from moving to any Linux distro is the fact that you always end up having to use the terminal to do some necessary operation.

I was pretty sure that we covered the whole "Windows 8 is terrible because of Metro" thing in a previous thread, but I'll state this again:

The Metro UI CAN be completely disregarded. They updated the Start button, big whoop. Windows 8 comes with a revamped Task Manager, boot times cut in half (more than that, actually), driver fixes, and much better multi-monitor support. I never use Metro apps, so as far as I'm concerned I'm just using a revamped Windows 7. That's why I gave Windows 8 a better score than Win7, but only slightly.

Metro isn't just meant for content consumption, there are system preferences that from what I can tell can't be accessed without it so you are forced to use it whether you like it or not.

There aren't many settings that you'd want to change that require the use of a Metro app, the only useful settings that use a Metro UI are Windows Update (somewhat) and changing your profile information.

rly? you think windows vista is better than xp, i would say windows vista is the worst because it is really slow

Get it on a computer that's fast enough to handle it (3GB of RAM or more, dual-core processor) and Vista SP2 will easily provide a better user experience than XP SP2.

[devonrevenge]

I recently got rid of windows 7 for xp, it kept blue screen crashing and doing weird shit when i got it, I wondered if whoever sold it to me had put some backdoor on it so i reset windows and wiped the hardrive completley, it went crazy weird and so i just used XP witch is adequate i guess.

I put linux on a partition and i intend to use it, I was hoping to get good at it so i could ride the tall noble white horse that is linux and scoff at windows users and prettend to retch wheh i hear windows os names, theres still time.

but i keep sticking with windows cos i know how to use it and I know where everything is.

Bash was really fun tho

[LB]

I'm seeing a lot of high ratings for Windows 8. How much experience do you actually have with Windows 8, those who rated it higher than Windows 7?

[Dy7SLyTq]

<cough>ubuntu server<cough> i tried windows 8 once... i to this day have not figured out how i opened up that picture and how i was supposed to take it down. windows 7 is nice if you have python, ruby, perl, wamp, code::blocks, cygwin, etc installed

[Oria]

             (at their respective year)   (Now)
Windows 3.1:		    9            :   2
Windows 95:		    8	         :   2
Windows 98:	            9	         :   4
Windows Me:		    4	         :   0
Windows XP:                10	         :   8
Windows Vista:              3	         :   0
Windows 7:		    9	         :   8 		
Windows 8:		    9	         :   9

There are some features I prefer with Windows 8… Small features, but regardless, features I have gotten myself accustom too and wouldn’t want to go back to Win 7.

However, I think windows XP was the one which gave me the least frustration. Especially when it came to network connections.

Windows ME and Vista were extreme failures.

Going from DOS to Win 3.1 was an amazing step forward

[Cubbi]

Going from OS/2 to Win 95 was a surprising step backward...

[NGen]

I'm seeing a lot of high ratings for Windows 8. How much experience do you actually have with Windows 8, those who rated it higher than Windows 7?

I've been using it on both my desktop and my laptop for the past year or so.

[3qX21hU5]

I've been using it on both my desktop and my laptop for the past year or so.

The operating system was released to manufacturing on August 1, 2012, and was released for general availability on October 26, 2012...

:P only giving you crap

[1yR4jE8b]

Windows 8 was available in Developper/Consumer/Release preview builds for a long time before August.

[3qX21hU5]

I know I was just giving him crap but ya it was available as early as sept 2011 I believe if my memory serves me right (Which is probably doesn't).

[Cheraphy]

I'd honestly rate it a step up from 7. Honestly.

People are always giving it shit for metro, but I almost never have to deal with metro apps and outside of them there have been plenty of improvements over Windows 7. Small things like being able to pause moving a file or the redesigned task manager, or the massive improvements they've made to how it shuts down and boots up. With win8 installed on a sata 3 hard drive and using mid tier components from 2 and a half years ago I see boot times of under 25 seconds. That's from a cold state to seeing both the hard drive and processor idle after logging in.

[NGen]

^ That. Pretty much what I've been saying, it's nice to finally see someone else acknowledge that Metro != Windows 8.

[S6k9GNh0]

NGen, it's the opposite here... I miss the console when I'm on Windows, especially when I'm developing. Console makes me feel like I'm in complete control.

[LB]

I'm not against Windows 8 because of Metro. I'm against Windows 8 because it was poorly implemented. It is a step in the right direction, but like Vista it is horribly untested.

Watch this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ohg_oBFKliI

There was obviously some confusion on the design team. I hear from people all the time that if they want to get anything done they have to constantly switch back and forth between the Windows 8 mode and the Windows 7 mode - this is NOT okay.

It is definitely a step in the right direction, but it's not properly implemented and seems rushed.

@computerquip2000: Is the Windows command prompt 'just not the same' or something?

[S6k9GNh0]

It's just not built very well (or rather, its archaic). You don't have the several tools you're used to using on a *nix server, you don't have the freedom of even customizing the console. It's definitely not bash but it doesn't even attempt to be powerful. I've tried bootstrapping projects on Windows, it's just not fun and most people aren't used to it. People tend to instead write batch scripts and then execute those instead of using the console (seriously).

That's not my only problem. Windows has no standard location to place things (like user made libraries, inclusion files, etc. You must find and specify where to find locations, generally hard-pathing to it making things like portability and searching for libraries irritating).

Windows also does dumb shit like put ERROR and INFO into the global namespace (in the default header file provided by VC++) and has non-standardized changes between every single version of itself.

I also don't like the care-free style of permissions everyone on Windows uses. It's very dangerous and simply lazy. "Program doesn't work? RUN WITH ADMIN POWERS!"

[chrisname]

It's not quite the same as using bash with gnome-terminal (best terminal emulator ever) but you can install Cygwin and Console2 on Windows. It's a huge improvement.

[NGen]

NGen, it's the opposite here... I miss the console when I'm on Windows, especially when I'm developing. Console makes me feel like I'm in complete control.

Unless I'm using a program I wrote for the console, it tends to make me always have a Firefox window up as I search how to do various commands to do anything. After 3 days of this I just end up moving back to Windows.

I hear from people all the time that if they want to get anything done they have to constantly switch back and forth between the Windows 8 mode and the Windows 7 mode - this is NOT okay.

I'd like to know what they're actually doing with their computer that "forces" them to do this.

The complaints regarding accessibility for various pieces of administrative functionality is simply because they're uneducated, you can right-click on the Start button on the bottom left (yes, the start button exists, it just doesn't appear until you move your mouse down there) and get a ton of utilities:
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/20152131/win8.png

Most of the functionality in Windows 8 is still desktop-based. Never am I forced to use a Metro app to do anything that I need to do.

[LB]

NGen wrote:

The complaints regarding accessibility for various pieces of administrative functionality is simply because they're uneducated, you can right-click on the Start button on the bottom left (yes, the start button exists, it just doesn't appear until you move your mouse down there) and get a ton of utilities:
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/20152131/win8.png

I don't see quick access to programs from there, and it certainly seems like an unintuitive hidden feature.

[NGen]

The complaints regarding accessibility for various pieces of administrative functionality

I'm not talking about all programs on the computer. But even if what you need isn't on there, the use of the easy-access search bar will satisfy your needs.

and it certainly seems like an unintuitive hidden feature.

Definitely easier than navigating the control panel or typing out the name of the tool. I don't see how it's unintuitive. Also, there are plenty of useful features in Windows that aren't pronounced unless you go looking for them, like the use of the Windows+Left/Right buttons to snap to the edge of an arbitrary monitor. That doesn't diminish their value.

[ResidentBiscuit]

Wow I had no idea about the Window + arrow key. That's kinda nifty. Quick maximize