Windows 8.1 $95

[RandyR]

http://www.frys.com/ads/page14#AdNavi

 

For those who want or need to upgrade their Windows operating system, this is the best price I've seen since the early win8 upgrade packages 1-1/2 years ago.

[SilvrT]

So, they are going to pay ME to use it?

 

I want a lot more than $95

[aharbi]

They are to release an update to make Windoze 8 work more like Windoze 7. Easier using the mouse since their tablet was such a big hit

[Guest bodasefus]

They can keep win 8... I will stick with Win 7 Ult... I think Win 8 is the start of pay as you go Windows... 7 Rocks.

[First_N_Last]

They can keep win 8... I will stick with Win 7 Ult... I think Win 8 is the start of pay as you go Windows... 7 Rocks.

 

-------------------------------------

I agree, unless you have a Touch Screen, don't aggravate yourself with Windows 8.1.

 

Stick or replace with Windows 7.

 

JB

[Cougar]

The reason it is so cheap is that Microsoft is dumping W8 and working on W9

Even Dell stopped loading it into there new systems 8 is worse then vista..

[First_N_Last]

The reason it is so cheap is that Microsoft is dumping W8 and working on W9

Even Dell stopped loading it into there new systems 8 is worse then vista..

 

Naaa - Vista is still the worst of them.

You can do a clean build of Vista & still get a BSOD by the 3rd boot.

Windows 8.1 takeas at least 10 boots - yes 8.1 will BSOD

 

That is my opinion only which may not be based on scientific data. After all, I'm an old biker.

 

jb

[RandyR]

windows 8.1 is fine.

 

I had problems getting used to the early win8.0, but since 8.1 its ok, and I like it as well or better than win7. I don't like MS pushing people to buy stuff thru their store (like Apple).

 

I've been using 8.1 since it was offered and never had a bsod, although I have a friend who has had a couple bsods while playing some games that are in the alpha testing stage. I've even run some Win xp programs under win8.1 without problem.

[SilvrT]

Speaking of BSOD, I don't think I've seen one since Windows 2000.

 

Been running Win7 pro at work since it came out. I do a lot of different things on my work computer and not once have I had a problem. Even run a "WinXP mode" because a couple of internet based phone system reporting apps will only run in WinXP (out-dated stuff that they refuse to upgrade).

 

We're doing a complete server and desktop refresh by June and all the new desktops will be coming with Win 7 pro. No chance in h3LL will we move to Win 8 or 8.1

[yamagrl]

Win8 ROCKS!

It is designed to work with touch screen. It blends the best of the "Tablet" concept and Apps with the power of a full blown computer. The biggest issue it has is that many/most folks do not have touch screen. Therefore, working some of the functions with a mouse/touchpad requires a bit of patience as well as a bit of trial and error. And still a few things I have yet to find a way around.

 

Microsoft is planning on officially announcing the "development" of Windows 9 (this month, I think). I don't think they announced a release date, yet. I believe the problem is user understanding.

 

Once I figured it out, Win8 is the most powerful and functionally the easiest version of Windows yet. I have used most all of them. My first PC ran MSDOS version 2.3 (early eighties, 5 1/4 flops and had to learn how to code just to make it do anything).

 

Certainly Win8 needs improvement, which I'm sure Windows 9 will probably bring. It will not be called Win8 and it'll have a different look. But, I think it will simply be an improved version of Windows8.

 

We have been through it all before; 95 Crashed on Bill Gates, 98 had problems leading to the release of 98 SE (2nd edition), ME was OK but it wasn't out long before Win2000. XP was great, Vista had issues that were improved in Win7....Nothing new... even Apple has issues. Windows is simply the evolution of MS DOS. To this day, DOS functions are still integrated into all versions of Windows.

 

The program that enables the user to use Win8 like Win7 is called Classic Start 8. You can find it here http://www.classicstart8.com/. You can also find it and several others like it on Windows Store.

 

And YES it is helpful! I use it.

 

Most Apps are free... just like on Google Play. Some apps you have to buy and some have a paid version. The big benefit to going through Microsoft Store, Google Play or the Apple Store is that if an App has security issues it will be banned by MS, Goo, Apple. So there is a big PLUS here.

 

Win8.1 upgrade is free to Win8 users. It is a great improvement. Your Win8 has to be up to date with all Win8 updates before Windows STORE will allow you to upgrade.

 

$95.00 is a good price for 8 but my best advice is to stay with Win7 and apply the $95 toward a new computer with touch screen. Touchscreen laptops start around $300 (not sure about desktops). If you are still running XP make certain that you have all of the security issues under control as MS is discontinuing support.

 

By no stretch of the imagination am I an expert, but I welcome any questions... post or PM.

 

Once you figure it out... You'll Rock, Too!

Edited April 5, 2014 by yamagrl

[RandyR]

btw, win 8 does not require or need a touch screen. It works just fine with a mouse and keyboard for me. I have no desire to have a touchscreen.

 

I will admit that the origonal win 8.0 seemed to lean towards the touchscreen, but was quickly 'fixed' so that is no longer an issue.

[yamagrl]

I did not not mean to imply that a touchscreen is required. RandyR if you have experienced no challenges with the mouse then I commend your fortune. Keep digging...

 

I'm a huge fan of 8.1. Thanks for the reinforcement!

 

 

Sent from my moto X

[alwrmcusn]

I really don't see what all the Win 8.1 fuss is about. All you have to do is click on the desktop icon and voila, it looks and works just like XP/ME/Versa/Win 7.

[First_N_Last]

Gee - I guess I know nothing about Win8...

A+, CCNA ,CISA tested, CNE-5, FCC Broadcast, MCSE-NT4-2000-2003

haha

 

I'll change my career to Walmart Greeter handing out smiles.

[greg_in_london]

Sorry - we bought a machine and have found Windows 8 to be really really irritating and so the machine has stuck in the corner while we've used laptops, except for the missus playing Kandy Krush saga. From what was said on the other thread I was going to try out Robo-linux, but are you saying that with 8.1 you can boot without the childish iphone apps startup and have access to all your programmes from the start button again ? I didn't want to start downloading more gumf to make a bad job worse ?

 

Or does classicstart8 do that ? Or do I need both ?

 

I've just been bidding on a machine for someone else and was wondering whether we needed to factor in installing another OS or not (as the PO had installed W8).

[First_N_Last]

Sorry - we bought a machine and have found Windows 8 to be really really irritating and so the machine has stuck in the corner while we've used laptops, except for the missus playing Kandy Krush saga. From what was said on the other thread I was going to try out Robo-linux, but are you saying that with 8.1 you can boot without the childish iphone apps startup and have access to all your programmes from the start button again ? I didn't want to start downloading more gumf to make a bad job worse ?

 

Or does classicstart8 do that ? Or do I need both ?

 

I've just been bidding on a machine for someone else and was wondering whether we needed to factor in installing another OS or not (as the PO had installed W8).

 

-----------------

Classic start will work & make it sort of work like Win7 - but just not quite. The core of the OS (code dealing with hardware) is very different from Win7. Meanwhile the Win8 apps (created primarily for tablets) will pop their heads up & frustrate the heck out of you. I've registry hacked & uninstalled all the Win8 tablet apps I can.

The biggest problem is for drivers or programs which generate virtual devices needing to work with the new OS core. BSODs are easy to get then. As a VMware engineer, I run 16gb of ram & 2 SSD for my virtual lab. I took the path of least resistance & passed that laptop base & Win8.1 to my wife who just uses web mail & Facebook - then i moved my drives & memory to my old I7 where everything works like magic. I've supported Win8 since it was in beta for a large company. Four dozen Win8 systems were setup, by me to support customers trying to use their Win8 laptops to do on-line banking. Even the developers/testers hate it! Classic Start was setup as soon as it was out. I left there & now support about 2000 VM servers & workstations so...

 

There seem to be others here who have much more knowledge of Windows 8.1 on this board so you might want to listen to their statements. Good luck in yor decision

 

JB

[yamagrl]

Yes. You will need to check for windows updates first 8.1 will not even be available until 8.0 is up to date. Then you can do the full 8.1 upgrade and then install Classic Start 8 and you will be able to function primarily as win7 with the apps still avail.

 

Sent from my moto X

[First_N_Last]

Sorry - we bought a machine and have found Windows 8 to be really really irritating and so the machine has stuck in the corner while we've used laptops, except for the missus playing Kandy Krush saga. From what was said on the other thread I was going to try out Robo-linux, but are you saying that with 8.1 you can boot without the childish iphone apps startup and have access to all your programmes from the start button again ? I didn't want to start downloading more gumf to make a bad job worse ?

 

Or does classicstart8 do that ? Or do I need both ?

 

I've just been bidding on a machine for someone else and was wondering whether we needed to factor in installing another OS or not (as the PO had installed W8).

 

Hi Greg;

 

I looked up my stuff from the Win8 support...

 

If you don't want to upgrade to Win8.1 you need to run:

- SkipMetroSuite (skips silly app menu on boot)

- ClassicShell (gives you classic start menu

- then google "uninstall metro apps" & uninstall all those app menu programs you can.

 

It won't be perfect, but it will be better.

 

BTW - ClassicShell is even good on Win7, Server 2008 & 2012.

It has lots & lots of advance options - even will allow setting up RDP rebooting on Win7 & Win8 workstations.

 

JB

[greg_in_london]

Thanks - that's useful. We'll mainly use it as an office machine and for browsing. If we need anything that will run better on a tablet we'll probably get a cheap tablet - not use a full desktop machine for it. Just being able to get to a list of the programmes installed without searching removes one major source of frustration.

The download and install was quick and easy (the g/f did it and is still happily browsing FaceBook, so hasn't disturbed too much.)

 

Anyone using 8.1 - is there any reason to download it ?

[First_N_Last]

Here is info on

Classic Shell

 

Version 4.0.2 – general release

 

What is Classic Shell?

 

Classic Shell™ is a collection of usability enhancement for Windows. It has a customizable Start menu and Start button, it adds a toolbar for Windows Explorer and supports a variety of smaller features.

 

 

System Requirements

 

Classic Shell works on Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2012 and Windows Server 2012 R2. Both 32 and 64-bit versions are supported (the same installer works for both). Some skins for the start menu require Aero theme to be enabled. Others require at least Basic theme.Components

Classic Shell has three major components:

• Classic Start Menu
  
• Classic Explorer
  
• Classic IE
  

[greg_in_london]

I've just realised there were a couple of posts in the time I was posting that I missed. We installed the classicstart8 and I'll check if we can boot through without the apps scteen when I get Jackie finished with Bejewelled Blitz - which might not be any time soon. I'll try out the other ideas and hopefully will be less frustrated than before.

 

[@First & Last - Those links are tagged to your hard drive, though I should be able to do a search for them. http://www.classicshell.net/]

[First_N_Last]

I've just realised there were a couple of posts in the time I was posting that I missed. We installed the classicstart8 and I'll check if we can boot through without the apps scteen when I get Jackie finished with Bejewelled Blitz - which might not be any time soon. I'll try out the other ideas and hopefully will be less frustrated than before.

 

[@First & Last - Those links are tagged to your hard drive, though I should be able to do a search for them. http://www.classicshell.net/]

 

Yea-I didn't intend to paste links

[yamagrl]

Thanks - that's useful. We'll mainly use it as an office machine and for browsing. If we need anything that will run better on a tablet we'll probably get a cheap tablet - not use a full desktop machine for it. Just being able to get to a list of the programmes installed without searching removes one major source of frustration.

The download and install was quick and easy (the g/f did it and is still happily browsing FaceBook, so hasn't disturbed too much.)

 

Anyone using 8.1 - is there any reason to download it ?

 

Of course there is good reason to keep your OS up to date. I would be wary of any other advice. That being said, First_N_Last offered some easier alternatives that may very well suite your needs.

 

However, the sooner you do the proper updates and upgrades the easier it will be. The longer you wait, the more updates to install.

 

An up-to-date OS often renders the alternatives unnecessary.

[RandyR]

Sorry - we bought a machine and have found Windows 8 to be really really irritating and so the machine has stuck in the corner while we've used laptops, except for the missus playing Kandy Krush saga. From what was said on the other thread I was going to try out Robo-linux, but are you saying that with 8.1 you can boot without the childish iphone apps startup and have access to all your programmes from the start button again ? I didn't want to start downloading more gumf to make a bad job worse ?

 

Or does classicstart8 do that ? Or do I need both ?

 

I've just been bidding on a machine for someone else and was wondering whether we needed to factor in installing another OS or not (as the PO had installed W8).

 

Do the free upgrade to Win 8.1

 

There is a start button app to make it look more like win 7. but the standard Win 8.1 menu system gives me more apps in a quick to use format. There is a Start screen with icons for common apps. then lower left corner (have to mouse there to see it) is a down-arrow. click that and the rest of the start menu stuff is there iconized. click the icons, and get the apps that look like traditional Win 7 and earlier.

 

Hit the [Windows] key to get the normal desktop or [windows] key again to get the 2 start screens.

 

You do have to be careful when configuring and downloading not to let MS and 3rd parties install stuff you don't want. But that's true of Win 7 too.

 

So, the [windows] key and the down-arrow to switch between the 2 start screens gives everything I need in an easy to find format. Once you get used to it its actually faster than navigating the old style start menu.

[aharbi]

The learning curve to Windoze 8 is steep. Not easy nor intuitive, but give yourself a little time and it's usable. As stated it was primarily designed for a touch screen. Hence the soon to be released update. As an operating system I have had NO problems with it, no BSOD, no hangs, no reboots. I did however loose 20 or so of my old favorite programs which weren't compatible. I have since found replacements for them. I do not have a touch screen so I will be installing the "mouse user" fix. Funny - I'm sitting here typing this and realize I'm running Linux. Which by the way my macine boots into by default.