Should i get windows 7 or 8?

It's approximately the same as Windows 7 (or even slightly less?). I'm running it on a 64GB SSD with user files and some programs and have 21.5GB free, so you should be fine (as long as you don't have multiple 10GB+ games).

Focusing only on your critique of the W8 Start Screen versus the W7 Start Menu, I'm just a bit puzzled as to what you and other users feel is missing. After the W8.1 update, the search function performs exactly the same as in W7 in terms of finding files/programs and launching, and the new feature that allows you to default to the All Apps view replicates the Start Menu.

The only difference I can really think of is that the Start Screen is fullscreen rather than on part of the screen. Does that make a large difference? A workflow that would require an open Start Menu with other desktop content visible seems exceedingly rare.

Not sure what you're trying to say, but streaming Netflix videos on a computer is quite the common usage case, so Zymphad's point is definitely valid. If you're bottlenecked by your internet, that would happen regardless of whether you're on W7 or W8.

 

Quoted for truth, plain and simple.

While it may seem that everyone and their seventh-cousin-twice-removed are rolling out fiber, it's getting done only in the areas that ISPs/LECs/whoever deems to be profitable. A huge chunk of the U.S. simply does not fall into that category...

Apologies for an OT statement.

 

Well, if you're interested in advanced Search features, then there's the capabilities of the Search Connectors that were introduced with Windows 7, I believe, that would allow you to create customized Search groups. I'll admit that just about nobody ever realized those were there, so not much loss on that front, for the majority of users, I guess.

More importantly, there's no Jump Lists on the Start Screen, no consolidated space with one-click access to things like the Control Panel, Network Places, etc., etc.

The by far largest deficit of that primitive Start Screen, of course, is the lack of a real hierarchical tree structure that would be easy to navigate. I guess that's fine if all you ever use is a few programs, but if you have a large number of them, and you don't want to use Search all the time, then that's a huge pain. Frankly, having containers on the Start Screen is such an obvious requirement that it really requires the "function follows form" mindset that gave us this unproductive mess that is Windows 8 to not include this.

Heck, even Apple learnt this quite quickly with their early versions of iOS. I would bet Dollars for pennies that Microsoft will include such containers no later than with the next version of Windows. Then everybody will go "ooh" and "aah" about a feature that should have been there on day one...

P.S.: Did I mention that it would be nice if that piece of garbage of IE10 would not break half the websites on the planet? Sheesh, don't complain to me about this terrible run-on paragraph: Nothing I can do about it, since IE10 doesn't allow me to enter newlines in there. Sorry. Oh, and I cannot reverse those accidental italics either...

P.P.S.: I went to Google Chrome to fix this. Great browser, that IE10...

 

My charms are disabled on mine No more annoying corners!

To shutdown my laptop i just press the power button, and to sleep i just press Fn+F1.

 

Put this way my Windows 7x64 Ult Sp1 by itself with updates nothing else takes 20-30 gigs. And for SSD single drive you want as large a drive because with files/data will eat up space faster then you think especially video/music or downloaded movies will take more then their fair share of space.

Really a real start menu in Windows 8 man you must really like your start menu.......This critique was done without bias but a real usage of it and trying to figure it's outs and ins. Also I hearing 8.1 is causing more driver breaks then it was to help that to me doesn't sound like a very good update in my playbook start out with.

Really I am guessing you never grew up and used Win3.1 up to Windows7 then you will fully appreciate the Desktop and start menu. I came from using BasicA to Dos and then to Windows if you don't think I have a long enough experiences with M$ products...as well as Unix before all these Linux iterations. Oh yeah forgot to mention try this Apple IIe/Macintosh...if that isn't past enough then some on here will know what I am talking about as well as IBM PS/2 machines(which became cloned as PC compatible machines) this is just the computing side not the console side that start all this electronics boom that we now benefit from. There were others in this field but these were the two that came out on top of their respective fields.

You made my point W8 benefits nothing.....from Windows 7. Streaming isn't common when you don't have broad band - you might want to try that on dail-up or DSL where line conditions can have unintended consequences and come back and tell me how great streaming is.

And the benefits? I get that same option on my Windows 7x64 Ult Sp1 Desktop and laptop options with different keystrokes but the same otherwise plus I don't have Charms bar to deal with.

 

I can't really understand what you're saying, but yes, I do like the Start Menu. And I don't mind the Start Screen either, particularly in W8.1 form.

Sure, I did not use Windows 3.1; my experiences started with Windows 95. I assure you that I nevertheless have had quite a bit of experience with Start Menus, so I think my original point about there being relatively few functional differences between W7 and W8.1's implementations.

The OP is not upgrading to W8 as far as I can tell; it's a choice between two OSes. And if the OP does indeed stream videos--regardless of whether or not you're able to--improved Netflix support is certainly worth noting.

 

Actually Hawx79 is the OP, and the last question Hawx79 asked was how big Windows 8 was, since s/he had a concern with a 128gb ssd.

 

I can not help what bugs my eyes. I have better than 180 degree peripheral vision and when I look at any portion of a windowed app the borders are within my attention zone of vision. With the hard bland single color borders they distract heavily on my eye, with Aero Glass they are blurred and blend to the next window creating less of a distraction. This is about the best way I can explain this. Now if I am constantly distracted, yes it does effect productivity and has a huge aggravation factor..................

 

Didn't see this mentioned anywhere in the thread yet, but you still do NOT get windows media player included with win 8. So no dvd playback, which means you either need to pay for it (i think it's $10) or find some other option.

Media player is still incuded for win 7.

 

Windows Media Player is included in Windows 8. The default is Windows Video App. You need to either change the default to WMP or uninstall the Windows Video app. Windows Photo App is the default for Paint Brush. Windows Reader takes the place of Adobe Reader. :hi2:

 

You're getting it mixed up with Windows Media Center, which is not included with Windows 8 (and was given away as a free download by MS, for a time). Windows Media Player is well and alive in W8, however.

 

Yup, that's what I meant

 

Windows 8 or 8.1 isn't a true start menu let's not forget Windows 8 had no true start menu to being with. Start Menu and Start Screen are two different animals so not exactly sure what your referring to start screen means in this context? I like a uncluttered Desktop with my Shortcuts and Icons the installed software creates and I can for sure my screen is clutter free with only those icons I want and choose not a Metro block style. That is what differentiates a User Friendly UI from a steep learning curve UI like Metro that doesn't lend itself to common sense usage that connects what one learns from a previous UI to the next that is what is broken with Metro the evolution of the UI.

Really little functional differences between the two-I don't know what screens your looking at but put defaults screen side by side (not a customized Windows 8 setup but OEM defaults or standalone installation as one calls it) and try to do the same function from Windows 7 to Windows 8 and you will see a big difference between the two and how it interacts with the user and how they navigates in doing simple everyday functions without a touch screens option. And you will begin to see the UI plays a big role in how one interacts and learn to use it from the start. And you can go back to Windows 3.1 and 95 or XP and be able to use it without much effort since what one knows from the other can translates to the other. That is what makes a O/S user Friendly not one that makes such a drastic break without any kinda evolution to get the user ready to learn the new O/S.

And how does that improve user friendly O/S? Provides of little value to user Friendly UI that is what is needed. Yes choice between the two but Netflix does nothing to show any real end benefits to the OP choices they will make as well. As this is depend on your ISP or Internet connections no broad band you can guarantee your viewing experiences will hit the free fall pretty quick with either O/S. Also I want more stable platform software and hardware support Netflix does nothing to support either of those two requirements.

 

Eh, agree to disagree.

And for OP, you'll discover if you read more on the net, StormJumper is in the minority. Most people find the new start to be just another start menu and majority prefer it. It's as Midnight has said, it's just a start menu in displayed differently, not as StormJumper is making it out to be.

I don't really see any reason why anyone would want to debate so much over a start menu when you can easily install Classic Shell. Unlike StormJumper, most people either learn to use the new start menu or they just install Classic Shell. Either way, it's a null issue. I find it amusing that anyone would find this feature or lack of to be an issue after W8 has been released for over a year now.

Overall, just choose Windows 8.1. It's got DX 11.2 and with new console games using DX 11.2 features, you'll want Windows 8.1. With netflix streaming on HTML5, you'll want Windows 8.1. With improved driver support from all your devices, you'll want Windows 8.1. I can say with certainty that my Intel and Nvidia drivers are better on Windows 8.1.

I can't think of any good reasons to choose W7 over W8.1.

 

How many people remember the orginal Windows 95 start menu? http://www.speakeasy.org/~lennyb/images/byte3.gif Now compare that to Windows 8.1 start screen http://eebrinker.files.wordpress.com/2013/06/windows-8-1-start-screen.jpg

 

Windows 8.1's Start is as cluttered or as sensible as you choose to make it. That "eebrinker" example had no attempt at structure or categories, which you can do if you choose to. And, of course, in 8.1, you don't need to use the live tile setup for Start at all if you don't want to.

Left-click on the start button and you can get this:



Right-click on the start button and you can get this:



To me, that seems more efficient than diving through three tiers of folders to get to my most commonly-used programs and features.

 

haha, can we please talk about FRCP 26 instead or something?

 

I love that the paragraph that happened to be displaying at the time I took the screenshot was this grandiose exhortation about the law instead of the nit-picking minutiae that I generally spend my days worrying about. That actually wasn't deliberate at all.

 

Wow, that's a bit extreme comparison. Start menu in Windows 7 is way more organized than in 95. Plus there are no "jump lists" on the Start screen.

 

My point was simply I think the Windows 8.1 start system is better than the Windows 95 start menu. Give it a chance to grow, just like the "start menu" had to grow.

BTW, rumor is that Windows 9 will bring back aero.

 

Ajnindlo made the comparison between Windows 8.1 and Windows 95 (post 66), and that's the image he linked to of Windows 95 in support of his position that WIndows 95 was better than Windows 8.1. I was just responding to his comparison.

EDIT: Reading his follow-up post, I misunderstood his point. Regardless, that's where the 8.1-and-95 comparison came from.

And there are jump lists on the Windows 8.1 taskbar.

 

But no on the Start screen. I like to split my frequently used programs between Start menu, taskbar, and desktop. Yeah, I'm very OCD about that.

 

You're not the only one, there are some programs that I just don't want pinned to the taskbar and the loss of jump list is disappointing. I've learned to live with it though and it really hasn't affected my workflow. Just a small annoying thing. I ahve those for both 7 and 8.1 though.

 

That all nice and dandy, and it would be great if this was the year 1996. However, we're in 2013 now, and today that pathetic Start Screen simply doesn't cut the mustard. Neither does the 1980s user interface paradigm known as "Metro", by the way.

Well, yeah, my guess is that Windows 9 will bring us all sorts of amazing "innovations", which those of us with a memory reaching back more than a few months will find quite familiar... I will venture the additional guess that the question of why this stuff was ripped out of the final release of Windows 8 will remain unanswered.

 

We are in the early time of seeing OS's that are designed to work with mouse and touch screen.

As for how I stay productive, I always put my program links inside various folders. So my office folder would have all my business type apps, my video folder has video players and editors, etc. Some programs may appear in multiple folders.

 

Using W8.1, but waiting for Linux to go big, i can see Microsoft going out of business in 10 years.

 

Once you open a program, that program is going to appear on the Win8.1 taskbar whether it's pinned or not. So once the program is open, you can access its jump list via the taskbar whether the program is one of your pinned programs or not. So it's not that there are no jump lists in Win 8.1 (as some have said), or that you can only use jump lists for programs you've pinned. Instead, it's merely that you need to either pin a program to the taskbar or open the program before you can access its jump list.

And that doesn't seem like a fatal flaw to me. It seems like a very minor detail.

When is the last time that people didn't promise we were on the verge of Linux taking over the desktop OS market?

The Year of Linux on the Desktop

 

Man, it's like you don't even read my posts.
Or most probably I didn't make it clear enough. There are "jump lists" (or just a list of recently opened files) in Start menu in Windows 7.
Figure 1:

So that's what I was talking about. I have a small number of icons pinned throughout my OS, so that it doesn't look too "crowded" on either taskbar, desktop, or Start menu.
I know you can pin individual files on Windows' 8 Start screen, but for my OCD self it looks too chaotic to have random files floating around the Start screen. I like to have a little bit of structure. I must find my .pdf's under Adobe Reader icon, .docx's under MS Word, and so on. Yes, I'm that obsessed with neatness.

But yeah, it's nitpicking and not a really big issue for most. But then again, you have a few of these "small issues" and then they build up into something big.
I've used Windows 8/8.1 and for the most part of it, it was OK. Would I switch back to Windows 7 if say my laptop came with preinstalled Windows 8? If I hadn't an extra copy of Windows 7 lying around (keeping aside any compatibility issues) - no, I wouldn't. But would I switch now from 7 to 8. Nah, don't see the point really.
I'll wait to see what rumored Win 9 has to offer.

Wait, what was this topic about again? Oh right.
It's really hard to recommend one or the other if you haven't tried it yourself. My best bet would be do a trial run or go to the shop and try it out there, or watch some comparison videos on the Internet. Otherwise it's hard to recommend something.

 

I read your posts. I understand that there are jumplists for programs on the taskbar AND jumplists for programs pinned in the start menu in Win 7, whereas the jumplists are only accessible via the taskbar in Win 8.x. But the jumplist in Win 7 is the same jumplist whether you access it via taskbar or via start menu. So I was saying that it's not that you've lost jumplists, it's that there's now one way of getting to that jumplist instead of two.

 

Well, MaximumPC wrote a small bit on future Windows, from a source with a good track record for leaks. They say Win 9 will return to the Aero interface for desktop mode. Win 10 will be cloud oriented for apps and data, a la Google Docs. They also mention a subscription based OS, to support the cloud. They then say that it looks like Microsoft is betting that the bulk of it's "desktop" platform will become a mobile, always connected future.

 

O.k., let's summarize: The subject of the particular subthread you have been addressing was a question regarding the functionality of Win8's Start Screen. The proposition had been brought forward that the Start Screen has the same functionality as Win7's Start Menu. That proposition has been demonstrated as patently false. The Start Screen implements only a small fraction of the functionality of the former Start Menu. Hope this clears things up.

 

Wow. Just wow. Enough said.

 

I know proponents of Windows 8 want to see Windows 8.1 be a success. I am not sure if it is enough to bring it from the brink of death in the consumers eyes. I do know it appears M$ is trying to separate this from the original release. Look at all the commercials, there are the surface 2 ones with no statement of Windows 8 and for the OS they are now just referring to it as "The New Windows"...............

Again this is to be to the point for the OP, do not just discount the new windows as it may be enough. For DX 11.2, maybe in a year or two or three it will make a difference, especially with future more powerful graphics hardware that can take advantage of the new features. For now it is a null issue.

Turn off the eye candy in Windows 7 and you get the same performance basically as that of Windows 8 in games. Here or there you can get small advantages with either Win 8 or Win7 but nothing to speak of. Someone here stated better driver support in windows 8, that is a laugh. There were issues with Windows 8 at release that finally got resolved now there are new issues with Windows 8.1. One day though Windows 8.x will be as rock solid as Windows 7 though.

 

So in other words, Windows 9 will be a success and Windows 10 will make me wanna pull my eyes out?

Typical Microsoft. Remember kids, only buy the odd versioned Windows

 

After reading some of the posts, it seems that it is possible to set up Windows 8 so that it doesn't get in the user's way.

However, these posts seem to miss the point that the OS should never be in the user's way to begin with. The UI design should be as unobtrusive and self-explanatory as possible. It should require minimal or no work on the user's part in order to get down to the business of productivity. Windows 8 users who say "oh its not so bad once you adjust this and that" don't seem to understand this at all. I use computers for geospatial analysis, geoprocessing, scripting, and writing scientific documents. Why would I want to waste my valuable time coaxing an OS to let me do my work instead of using an OS that stays out of my way? While my personal usage scenario is admittedly rare, I think users universally dislike software that gets in their way. Windows 8 does this from the moment you start wondering how to use it!

 

Agree 100%. It's unreasonable to expect everyone to have to mess around with system or Registry settings and install third-party UI replacements such as StartIsBack to get Windows 8 to work the way we want. The OS should just work intuitively right out of the box.

 

I don't know about you, but 8.1 works the way i want to. Just installed it on my desktop yesterday, and i can finally say i prefer it over Win7.

I disabled the charms and made a desktop-friendly start screen. Not to mention i can do Win-X again.

 

^^^^^ This. Squared.

 

Smells like a Mac user. "ooh i like everything set up out of the box".

 

if you're too lazy to invest the time into learning something new, don't expect to understand how to use it. simple. and if you are that lazy, your and my definition of 'productivity' are probably radically different. nobody 'productive' is too busy to learn how to use their own tools.

 

The thing is that in Windows 8 didn't do a good job of showing how to use the new UI and that was definitely a flaw. Something that 8.1 does a lot better.

 

i somewhat agree and think it's mildly entertaining that these 8.1 "instructional boxes" were apparently an afterthought. and i recognize that W8 probably offers one of the most drastic UI changes from it's predecessor than we've seen before (as far as the start menu/screen is concerned anyway)--but what other version of windows has showed you how to use it? i'm sure there's been "instructional literature" abound since the consumer preview launch, just a google search away if needed.

 

Actually, when the start menu was introduced, there was something similar to the 8.1 tutorials if I recall correctly since it was a major UI redesign. When you've been having a similar UI experience for years, it's only natural to include tutorials when you do a radical change. Something that MS said they would for 8, but they screwed it up miserably. I took the time to learn how to use 8 and I use ti as often as I use 7, but the lack of discoverability was certainly annoying.

 

hey, i know where you stand on this "debate."

i agree that they could've done more to introduce some of the bigger changes, including having the tutorials continue to appear until the user opts-out (i.e. 'don't show this message again').

 

What is funny is these clowns (not you, tijo) showing up here, and in other forums, responding to those imaginary complaints from users who "are too lazy to learn", and consequently, or perhaps, are not capable of figuring out how to use Windows 8.x. This is in stark contrast to the number of users asking, on this forum or anywhere, how to use the Windows 8.x GUI. That number appears to be quite low in fact. Not surprisingly so, I might add, as a monkey can use Windows 8.x, which is exactly who it appears to be designed for.

Some of us, however, have higher standards than that.

 

The thing is... who get's to decide what is obtrusive? We've been using the start menu for so long that anything that isn't the start menu will be deemed obtrusive, but say a mac user were to move over to a windows environment they might find the way that the windows 7 handles the start menu obtrusive because they're use to having a launcher on their screen. Me, I rarely touch the start menu anymore since the introduction of pinned programs in Windows 7.

I understand the hatred towards it and, as I mentioned in the other thread, I'm not going to try and change anyones opinon. My biggest grip are the people--who are non-tech oriented--saying they will just switch to Linux. Here's the thing... if you cannot get use to the way Windows 8 works then you'll be hard pressed with--the most obvious choice for most people--Ubuntu's Unity. Whose's going to be left cleaning up the mess when these people cannot install one of their games or favorite programs... people like us.

 

I didn't like how Windows 7 was set up out of the box (taskbar on the bottom taking up precious vertical space, tabs grouping, etc) and many of the best features were not inherently discoverable. You had to be told how to do Win7 snap, for example; the UI doesn't teach you this fantastic functionality on its own. Same with taskbar jump lists; I used the OS for a year or so before learning how to use them. Once I learned Win7 and got it set up right for me, it works very well, but not until then.

So when people object to changing the settings in Windows 8.1, or discovering helpful shortcuts online instead of through the UI itself...I don't see that as a big change. How many users here use Windows 7 with everything in its default configuration, how it came straight-out-of-the-box? I'm sure not many. How many people here have never learned something new about Windows 7 from a "tips and tricks" thread? I'm sure not many.

 

No. Reading comprehension, my friend. Remember? Reading comprehension...

 

The problem is for the common user when tech heads switch over to Linux or OSX etc.. The issue is all that free support their friends have relied on for years disappears. Where will they go to then, where all that free support is at that time in the future. Not everyone has $100-$200 and the time to drive over to the geek squad every time they blow a driver out or their system gets a virus etc. Where the tech heads and/or IT goes the consumers will eventually follow. This is what put M$ where it is today and what could take it down somewhere down the road....................

Edit; for further proof look at android. All those tech heads jail breaking devices, rooted roms and the like. There are tech heads there galore....................

 

When your Linux box goes wrong, you go on online forums/IRC and you hope someone can be nice enough to invest their time to help you.

I do like Linux, i've been using it for 6-7 years. However, there are many things that prevent me from doing a full switch:
- I run Legacy Windows Software and games
- I have some Windows-Only hardware
- Finding a distro (trust me, i have tried EVERY single distro out there), and making sure it has a good community and a vision that i'm OK with