IT... Computing....

[Master]

Having seen some leaked footage of Win9's start menu, I'm kinda on the fence. I know that the whole Start Screen thing irks plenty, but the live tiles is something that I'd find pretty handy. It seems it's going to be a hybrid of sorts between menu and screen:

[PluMGMK]

i usually use a MacBook, but when i have to use a PC and i have a choice between hundreds of dollars spent on an terrible OS or spending nothing to download Linux Mint, loaded with solid software and infinitely better, it's kind of a no-brainer.

This guy understands!

[Phoenixan]

Windows 8 is only somewhat bearable to me if i install Classic Shell. it still sucks, no doubt, but at least it's not as much of an utter headache as trying to use Metro. Microsoft Bob had a better interface than Metro.

and Macs and Linux are getting a decent amount of software nowadays. not as much as Windows, but even gaming-wise, while there's not a ton of stuff, almost all the bases are covered in some way, and most of the time with Linux, it's free software too. i usually use a MacBook, but when i have to use a PC and i have a choice between hundreds of dollars spent on an terrible OS or spending nothing to download Linux Mint, loaded with solid software and infinitely better, it's kind of a no-brainer.

I tried using Linux (fedora, xubuntu) as my main OS for a while, but one area Linux is really lacking right now is with decent art software. GIMP & Krita are on the right track, but they still don't quite own up to having a real native Photoshop.

[incognito]

FEDORA ? Xubuntu ? They suck.

Use Debian or Mint.
You wont be dissapointed.

[Phoenixan]

I've tried Mint back when they fucked around with the update manager and broke Wine. Admittedly, now they fixed that by allowing installation of level 4 & 5 updates.

But still, no thanks.

[stan423321]

This is an interesting topic in hindsight.

[Cairnie]

I have to agree that although I have never owned it, Windows 8 is indeed pretty poop.

[stan423321]

I switched directly to Windows 10 and some stuff is hilarious.

For example, you need to rename some system file to recolor title bars. Weird, huh?

[Master]

WinX tried so hard, and got so far, but in the end, it didn't even matter.

Lame references aside, I had high hopes for WinX, but I'd tolerate Win8 with Classic Shell than the weird frankenstein hybrid WinX is any day.

[stan423321]

Honestly that's not the feeling I have when I use Win1.0. Win8 as seen on friends' computers felt more like a Frankenstein hybrid.

[Master]

The problem I have is that while the tablet stuff was tacked on with Win8, with classic start, you could effectively ignore the tablet stuff and get an almost Win7 like experience. You don't get that with WinX, which tried to merge the two concepts in an awkward compromise. At least, that's how I've felt when using it.

[stan423321]

That's a very subjective manner. In my opinion "new" apps behave like something written with a weird windowing toolkit now. Previously, they loved to take over the screen out of sudden.

As for the regular programs, they... don't feel too different to use?

[Master]

Programs-wise, I'm ok. It's more to do with functionality, I don't like the new start menu, for instance. The all apps list has way too large icons for my taste, and you can't use jump lists with pinned apps, only recently used.

Windows Update is its own beast, but I don't like how much control has been taken away. I understand the desire to secure less than technologically inclined end users, but I know that the enforced update idea has lead to problems in regards to device drivers.

I'll probably write up a bit more when RD's over, but there's just too many little thing in WinX which don't rub me the right way.

[Haruka]

I like computers.

[incognito]

Okay, I'd like to thank all the members for having at 56% voted that Windows 8 is indeed pure shit.
But now another vote and an even more important one is coming.
Windows 10, I'm curious to know if like me you think that OS is one of the biggest privacy violations in the IT world since Snowden's revelations.

[DandyGuy]

With the exception of DirectX 12 & Vulkan, there really is no point in updating.
If anything, ill probably update to 8.1 while dual booting Mint 18.

[incognito]

What, what you say is that in order to use Vulkan you have to upgrade to WinOsX ?

[DandyGuy]

Sorry, I thought it was Windows exclusive

[incognito]

I was affraid for a moment that in order to play DooM 4 I had to update to Windows 10...

[PluMGMK]

Are you gonna reset the poll? Vulkan is of course cross-platform, it's intended to be the successor to OpenGL. (Of course support in Mesa right now is limited to Intel chips, but I don't mind.)