Windows 8 Pro Upgrade no £44.99

[hssutton]

Just in case anyone is interested.

At £44.99 I just could not refuse to buy a copy. Will probably dual boot as I'm really quite harry with W7 64bit.

Harry

[Mick]

Just in case anyone is interested.

I'm really quite harry with W7 64bit.

Was that a typo harry?   

Must admit, I'm holding back on Windows 8, not for any particular reasons, but I'm really happy with Win 7 64bit.  To be honest I've not even tried a PC running 8 yet. Maybe I should. 

[Reinardina]

I still don't like it! (But very very slowly getting used to it.)

All the computer experts seem to love it though, so I think you'd be okay with it Mick!

[Oldboy]

Ignore Windows 8 and wait for 9. 

[Reinardina]

Ignore Windows 8 and wait for 9. 

Wished I'd done that, or gone for a Windows 7 laptop!

I have now 'lost' the calendar; when I click it, the calendar 'start' screen appears, and disappears again immediately Grrr...
This problem started last month, things returned to normal for a period, but it's now firmly back. Think I have to take it back to John Lewis and see if they can do something on the spot, as I'd hate to have to leave it there.

[michaelb104]

Ignore Windows 8 and wait for 9. 

Got to agree with OB, I naively thought that W8 would be W7 but better – I couldn't have been so wrong.

Microsoft have taken a well worked concept and broken it, imagine Windows is a car with a driver's side and a passenger side (W7 and before) well with W8 they have left the peddles on the driver's side and moved the steering wheel to the passenger side.  It feels really awkward to use, but on the plus side it is faster on start-up –woo hoo  .

I'm guessing an urban myth but I heard Currys Helpdesk are getting complaints that peoples laptops have not become touch screen models after installing W8..............................

[hssutton]

I tried W8 before it's release and decided it wasn't for me. I didn't like the lack of a start menu and I certainly don't like touch screens ( I have enough trouble keeping my non touch clean), But at £45 I've decided to buy and dual boot, but will almost certainly download and install  "Classic Shell" or similar to give me the traditional start menu.

http://www.infoworld.com/d/microsoft-windows/9-windows-start-menus-windows-8-208963?page=0,1#ClassicShell

Mick. Took me a while to see the typo 

Harry

[hssutton]

Apparently the offer of W8 pro at £44.99 was a mistake.

Microsoft said: "Due to an error in our system, Windows 8 Pro was available on the Microsoft Online Store in the UK at a price that was advertised lower than our regular Microsoft Store price."
If anyone managed to purchase the cut price Windows 8 Pro operating system while it was cheap, Microsoft will honor the purchase. Well, it was Microsoft's fault after all.

On checking the Microsoft Store UK I see it's now priced at  £189.99

Harry

[Karen]

I dont really fancy it either, why fix whats not broken, I like windows 7

[Hinfrance]

I've got the bits to build a new PC - but I paid a little bit more to get W7 instead of W8. Everyone I know in tech world says that W8 is too schizophrenic for a desktop machine. Boot time is not an issue for me; I turn the PC on as I pass the study in the morning on my way to get a cup of tea, and by the time I get back it's up and running.

[Markulous]

Have to say I really like 8 - does all 7 does but faster and some nice utils - plus it only cost me £15 (M$ were doing a Pro upgrade at a special price at launch)

Can't get on with the interface (but I like the potential and idea - need to spend time setting it to what I want) so a couple of mins to get the 7 script and it's now 7'd!

[Hinfrance]

I think the interface is the killer. PC makers are complaining that W8 has killed their sales - first impressions count.

Enterprise users are avoiding it like the plague. The advice I received from my good friend* who is a senior software engineer was to avoid W8, despite it being a little quicker and a little more sorted under the bonnet, and wait for the inevitable upgrade that removes the touch screen interface for non touch screen devices by default. It seems I am not alone in finding the interface ghastly; looks to me like something a talentless child would have designed, all bright colours and straight lines. 

*He has W8 on one of his machines, and like Markulous has spent time setting it up so that it has a 'normal' windows interface. But why should a desktop user have to put themselves out to get to first base?

See HERE. The comment by Steve Roper (near the top as I write) seems to sum the position up neatly.

[Alfonso_Frisk]

Im still getting used to W8 since i bought the new lappy December 2012.
Here we have machines running XP, Vista, W7 and this one on W8
My preference ? XP. Hate Vista and have never mastered it in the 3 yrs + Ive had the machine. Its also the one I have had more issues with such as crashes and failures.

[Hinfrance]

That's really interesting Alf - my experience is precisely the opposite. I loathed XP (I had XP Pro), horrifically unstable and I lost count of the number of clean installs I had to do. Vista, solid as a rock, never crashed, never had to resintall. Coincidentally one of my neighbours has exactly the same opinion for the exactly the same reasons. I guess it must depend on the machine - it's certainly true that early laptop installations of Vista are reported to have had no end of problems. Have you tried installing and running Glary Utilities on the vista machine? There is a free version and the 'one click maintenance' might just solve the Vista issues on it. I have the paid for version of Glary for the memory manager (my machine only has 3GB) and the other utilities.

Mrs H has a W7 laptop, and that is fine too.

[Alfonso_Frisk]

I am a big fan of Glary (free) and have it on all machines.
The vista machine is on its way out soon. (its an Asus ) I have to "bang" the side of it to open the DVD drive, and now the front plastic cover has broken after I removed it because it was also catching on the power button. I will enjoy introducing it to Mr Lump Hammer when it finally pops its clogs.
My XP machine is a refurb jobby from Misco and cost me 125 quid with a years warranty. That runs 24/7 and has never given an issue. Its also the quietest PC I have ever come across.