Tech and Trends:- Microsoft likes to release a new version of its Windows operating system every few years or so and some releases are better than others. Windows 8 is the most recent release and I have some complaints regarding it. I deal with a few in this article.
I like to keep up on the various releases of Microsoft’s operating systems as they become available. I work in the computer field so it is basically a necessity to do so. Windows 8 is the newest release and, quite frankly, there are some issues and features I could certainly live without.
Remember the Start Button? With Windows 8, it is gone. The good old start button has been around since Windows 95 and Windows NT. Microsoft in its infinite wisdom decided it was no longer necessary. You now have the Start Screen instead. The Start screen is really most beneficial for touch screen monitors and mobile devices, but not so great for a regular desktop system with a standard monitor. I’m assuming that perhaps Microsoft believes that use the standard desktop is in decline and that mobile and smaller devices are the way of the future. There may be some truth to that, if you were to go by the sales of desktop computer systems and the increase in the number of mobile devices in use. Of course, the cost of mobile devices has declined significantly, making them more affordable to most people.
With the release of every new operating system from Microsoft, there are more than its share of bugs. You eventually will get service packs that will help to resolve many of the issues and by the time most of them are fixed and you have an excellent running operating system, they release a new operating system. Windows 8 has its fair share of bugs. I find that a lot of systems with Windows 8 running on it have various issues with websites running various Flash based applications, video players and music players. I also have issues with my Line 6 devices that I use as a sound card that I never had with Windows 7 and earlier.
Windows 8 does not have the ability to play DVD movies. They did away with that because they have to pay a royalty for each copy of windows, so they only offer that ability as an option that you have to pay for. However, you can get free open source DVD players online, to work around that problem. You can also get around the Start Button problem as well by going to classicshell.net, where there is an application that will give you a start button for your Windows 8 PC. It even has some options for customization.
How about hitting the F8 key at bootup in order to go into the boot options menu? You know, just in case you wanted to go into Safe Mode to fix a problem on your PC. Well that’s gone too. That option has been there for ages and they did away with that one too. STUPID!
Overall, I feel that if you really do want to get Windows 8 for your system, then I would suggest that you hold off on it until a service pack or two is released and they have some of the bugs and various issues worked out. There are just too many at this time and, quite frankly, it’s just not worth the upgrade at all. Maybe you should even wait until they come out with Windows 9. I had windows 8 on a few systems and just removed it from two of them. I even went back to Windows Vista on one PC. Tell me that isn’t sad. I did that because Windows Vista had the last decent version of Windows Movie Maker. Windows Movie Maker was GARBAGE from Windows 7 on and the downloadable Windows Live version is GARBAGE too. Sorry Microsoft, but I’m telling it like it is. If you don’t like what I’m saying, then get your act together. What the hell are you people thinking? A new release should have improvements over previous releases. Duh!
In the old days you used to be able to loan someone a Windows CD and they could install it without worrying about having to validate their copy of Windows. So I would understand why Microsoft eventually made it necessary for people to validate their copy of Windows. Hey, they have a right to make money from their products. After all, it costs money to have developers working on your software. However, at the same time, if we are expected to pay more for their operating systems and go through the validation process, then we also have a right to expect more for what we are buying. It cuts both ways. So if I have to fork out more money for the latest release of their operating system, then, dammit, it better be an improvement. As far as I can see, there are no real significant improvements from Windows 7 to Windows 8. Not for a standard desktop PC anyway. It may have been an improvement for mobile devices and touch screen monitors, but that’s it, as far as I’m concerned. So to sum it up: either wait until all of the bugs are worked out before you buy it or just wait and see what they come up with for Windows 9.
