A Semi-Professional Review On Windows 8

[Kass]

So after nearly 3 months of having Windows 8 force upon me by my employers, I have finally decided I've had enough of the instabilities, self-corruption and inability to do even some basic tasks without experiencing issues. I am going to roll back to Windows 7, where at least I know it won't crap out on me every 5 minutes (these issues are reminiscent of Windows 95).

 

Aside from the rant, Windows 8 has pros and cons.

 

Let's start with the pros first: Slightly more organized than prior OS builds, the search function has been greatly improved as well as Start menu organizing (for those CDO freaks out there {There's a pun in that if you catch my drift})

 

Boot up/Shut down times are half of what they were in prior builds, Windows 8 basically hibernates itself then shuts the hardware down versus collapsing all the background programs, taking a long time to do so.

 

Program launch response times are improved slightly, background fragmentation is better managed.

 

That's honestly about it for the pros, onto the cons:

 

Windows easily self corrupts. 3 times in less than 1 month, the same updates corrupted windows each time and Microsoft has yet to truly acknowledged the issue. In the past 2 months since the launch of Windows 8, I've had over 6 dozen users of new windows 8 PCs come in with the same issues I have had. Windows updates, restarts and will not allow you to log back into your profile. (Windows Live accounts now must be attached to windows 8 in order to use the full functionality of the OS). The issue that occurs is the update doesn't completely put all the pieces back together again and when you go to log back in with your live account, it says your password is wrong. However, you go to your hotmail account on another machine and log in with the same credentials, it magically works! I sat with M$ tech support for hours trying to convince them that this is an issue with the OS and not live accounts to finally have the senior techs I was on the line with admit that it IS a fault of Windows 8!

 

Your legacy software may not work! Even though they tout it will even better with this OS, in fact it makes the process even more difficult and unstable! At work, we've tried to install several pieces of software on client machines that were built for windows XP and worked fine on Windows 7, but met with tough resistance with Windows 8. Microsoft had no solution to the issue and stated that the productivity software we were trying to install would indeed work with easy to follow steps.....wrong again M$.

 

If you don't make a live account or unite your live account with Windows 8, some functions may not work. Tweaks and settings that you make to the OS will not be saved, so if you restore (or what they now call refresh or reset), you have to go back through and reset EVERYTHING. If you want to download new apps, guess what, you have to have a Windows Live account. (Not a big issue really, but annoying none the less). If you want to use some of the modern style metro apps built into the OS such as Mail, People, Messaging, Calendar, etc. Again, have to have an M$ account.

 

If the OS gets corrupted and you're locked out of your account, pray that you made a local (and administrator account) to fix the issues that the OS causes to itself.

 

Windows update now FORCES restarts after 72 hours of downloading and performing pre-installs of the updates behind your back. There's no delaying any longer, it will just hit reset for you! It won't even tell you it HAS to restart because it downloaded updates that need it unlike in the past where you got a little notifier in the taskbar saying, "Hey! I need to restart!".

 

When I installed windows 8 through the upgrade from windows 7, it broke quite a few of my programs and broke several of its own. This issue has been common sadly with people that got the $15 upgrade when they bought a Windows 7 machine during the offer period. Elder Scrolls III doesn't work half the time (one of the legacy programs I had) and I even had it installed inside Steam.

 

The built in Skype app....jeebus does it suck. You can't send or receive files through it, video calls are buggy (worse than the desktop version), even if you tell it to log you out, you still get messages anyway constantly bugging you from people that still see you as online.

 

So overall, avoid this OS at all costs. Don't buy a prebuil PC with Windows 8 on it. (You can't rollback to a prior OS without major driver issues). And don't pay for an upgrade. Give Windows 8 at least a year or until the first major service pack comes out for it to fix alot of the huge issues this OS has.

 

Stick with Windows 7 or XP if you have it. As they've said before, each odd build of Windows is a failure. Well alot of tech article writers have already said this and I agree with them, this OS isn't worth the headache.

[^TheRumor^]

Good write up, it'll definitely give the end user some insight before purchasing.

[Tommo]

It honestly seems like you have had some pretty bad experiences.

 

Every tech sassy person I know uses Window 8 flawlessly.

I have been using Windows 8 for at least six months, and purchased it on its release day.

IMO on my desktop and on my dell laptop Windows 8 runs so much better than 7, it's stability is incredible. The Windows 7 chipset and network drivers which are released for my 3 year old Dell laptop which i use for school works without any issues on Windows 8.

 

The only things i can relate to from your post is the shitty apps. Why use them though? Apps are for the tablets not for the desktops.

 

I don't really have that much experience with the legacy software though. All the software i used on 7 works on 8, except for one piece, and that's only because the siemens licence manager works like shit in general and won't activate the software, other than that the trial version of the software actually works.

 

Also, define "semi-professional", just because i'm curious what that involves.

Edited December 16, 2012 by Tommo

[Kass]

Well I am a computer repair tech and diagnostician. My employer forced Windows 8 on all of us so I had to install it on at least one system, so my desktop was the one I had to sacrifice. From what I've seen come to my workplace, I've seen more frustration with Windows 8 than I did with Windows Vista. Even the IT department at school is loathing it because the sites the school maintains and supports or classwork sites that students have to use do not and will not support Windows 8 until it becomes stable, but are sadly forced into trying to find fixes for compatibility issues that have been arising from this. The consensus I've heard, read and seen so far deems this new OS is just a bit ahead of its time and lacks alot of the hype that Microsoft tried to build with it. I'm glad you know people that have had success with it, they are just one of the small few that haven't experience any issues.

[youthedog]

You said you upgrading from windows 7 and not a clear and install? Problems ahoy.

[MetalLobster]

The problems you seem to have remind me of when I went from XP to 7. 7 was still young and I remember every update fixed some issues but new ones appeared.

 

I think it should be expected to have some compatibility issues, just as going from XP to Vista to 7, but the live account issue and frustrations due to not having a start menu gets really annoying to the point of me just going back to 7. It's quite a shame because I really like how much more smooth it is and file searches are done more properly. Thank goodness for the 90-day preview.

[enigma#]

So after nearly 3 months of having Windows 8 force upon me by my employers, I have finally decided I've had enough of the instabilities, self-corruption and inability to do even some basic tasks without experiencing issues. I am going to roll back to Windows 7, where at least I know it won't crap out on me every 5 minutes (these issues are reminiscent of Windows 95).

 

Aside from the rant, Windows 8 has pros and cons.

 

Let's start with the pros first: Slightly more organized than prior OS builds, the search function has been greatly improved as well as Start menu organizing (for those CDO freaks out there {There's a pun in that if you catch my drift})

 

Boot up/Shut down times are half of what they were in prior builds, Windows 8 basically hibernates itself then shuts the hardware down versus collapsing all the background programs, taking a long time to do so.

 

Program launch response times are improved slightly, background fragmentation is better managed.

 

That's honestly about it for the pros, onto the cons:

 

 

Windows easily self corrupts. 3 times in less than 1 month, the same updates corrupted windows each time and Microsoft has yet to truly acknowledged the issue.

 

Never had that issue in Win7 or in Server 2012, let alone server 2008.

In the past 2 months since the launch of Windows 8, I've had over 6 dozen users of new windows 8 PCs come in with the same issues I have had.

Never had that complaint where I'm from. Sounds more like a localised user issue.

Windows updates, restarts and will not allow you to log back into your profile. (Windows Live accounts now must be attached to windows 8 in order to use the full functionality of the OS). The issue that occurs is the update doesn't completely put all the pieces back together again and when you go to log back in with your live account, it says your password is wrong. However, you go to your hotmail account on another machine and log in with the same credentials, it magically works! I sat with M$ tech support for hours trying to convince them that this is an issue with the OS and not live accounts to finally have the senior techs I was on the line with admit that it IS a fault of Windows 8!

 

Haven't heard of this either on my side.

Your legacy software may not work!

 

So was every other prior iteration, that's what the compatibility shim was built for. It isn't perfect at all but that's kind of a given that Microsoft divorced backwards compatibility with this.

 

Even though they tout it will even better with this OS,

agreed, it isn't.

[enigma#]

in fact it makes the process even more difficult and unstable!

Which process?

 

At work, we've tried to install several pieces of software on client machines that were built for windows XP and worked fine on Windows 7, but met with tough resistance with Windows 8. Microsoft had no solution to the issue and stated that the productivity software we were trying to install would indeed work with easy to follow steps.....wrong again M$.

What productivity software are you trying to run? We have Office 2010 working just fine here

 

If you don't make a live account or unite your live account with Windows 8, some functions may not work.

Tweaks and settings that you make to the OS will not be saved, so if you restore (or what they now call refresh or reset), you have to go back through and reset EVERYTHING.

Never had to, all my settings persist without issues lol

 

If you want to download new apps, guess what, you have to have a Windows Live account. (Not a big issue really, but annoying none the less).

That's only from the apps store lmao

 

If you want to use some of the modern style metro apps built into the OS such as Mail, People, Messaging, Calendar, etc. Again, have to have an M$ account.

Never have to use Mail, People, Messenger etc...

 

If the OS gets corrupted and you're locked out of your account, pray that you made a local (and administrator account) to fix the issues that the OS causes to itself.

Extremely circumstantial. Even then, the average user would go to a tech shop.

Windows update now FORCES restarts after 72 hours of downloading and performing pre-installs of the updates behind your back. There's no delaying any longer, it will just hit reset for you! It won't even tell you it HAS to restart because it downloaded updates that need it unlike in the past where you got a little notifier in the taskbar saying, "Hey! I need to restart!".

 

That can be disabled, pretty easily too.

 

When I installed windows 8 through the upgrade from windows 7, it broke quite a few of my programs and broke several of its own. This issue has been common sadly with people that got the $15 upgrade when they bought a Windows 7 machine during the offer period. Elder Scrolls III doesn't work half the time (one of the legacy programs I had) and I even had it installed inside Steam.

Games? I thought this was a professional review lol

 

The built in Skype app....jeebus does it suck. You can't send or receive files through it, video calls are buggy (worse than the desktop version), even if you tell it to log you out, you still get messages anyway constantly bugging you from people that still see you as online.

 

THanks for your personal opinion

 

So overall, avoid this OS at all costs. Don't buy a prebuil PC with Windows 8 on it. (You can't rollback to a prior OS without major driver issues). And don't pay for an upgrade. Give Windows 8 at least a year or until the first major service pack comes out for it to fix alot of the huge issues this OS has.

 

Stick with Windows 7 or XP if you have it. As they've said before, each odd build of Windows is a failure. Well alot of tech article writers have already said this and I agree with them, this OS isn't worth the headache.

Another typical response but inaccurate, it isn't all the headache this "semi-professional" review makes it to be.

[MetalLobster]

^Whoa enigma, props to you. What's your opinion on Windows 8?

[enigma#]

I don't think its a revolutionary or AWESOME operating system as a whole but there is a lot of FUD and misunderstanding about Windows 8 that even some IT Professionals have issues about that aren't really issues at the end of the day.

 

This operating system is geared towards the home user, the consumer.. unlike the old paradigm of 'operator'. It's unfortunate people hate on windows 8 so blindly (now not all of it is wrong, it's just there is so much of it so misjudged)

 

I personally won't get it for my ops or home computer not because it's a bad operating system or it will give me headaches but rather it is not within the same usage style or paradigm if you will

[MetalLobster]

Yeah, the hate was really quick and undue.

 

As a web browser, text editor and photo viewer, It's really smooth after some getting used too. The app store is still in its infancy, kind of like how Android was before it's explosion in popularity, so I can only imagine with more apps that Windows 8 will get better. Getting around the missing start menu is a bit of a learning curve however, but there is a program that puts it back on (yay!). I haven't tried to use it for gaming though because I'm running it in Virtual Box and I don't have much disk space.