Windows 8?

[jkim248]

Just bought a Acer S7 with Windows 8 and touchscreen several weeks ago.

Been working in IT field all my life.

 

I would pass on Windows 8 for now.

If you replace your laptop in the future and only option is windows 8, then it would be a GOOD TIME to switch to a Mac.

 

I would wait to buy a laptop at this time. Til the Haswell ultrabooks/Macs become available.

Intel is kinda requiring touch screen and to get full experience with Windows 8/metro UI, you need the touchscreen.
 

The biggest frustration has been in the past, you upgrade windows and you still kinda know what you need to do and where to find it.

Now, it's a whole new way of shutting down, closing programs, etc.

You basically have to learn a whole new OS. Hence a good time to switch to a Mac.

 

Your upgrade to Windows 8 will make your hair fall out. (pulled out) go gray, loose your social life cuz you're busy learning a new OS.

Upgrading a program to Windows 8 version is a pain also.

For example dropbox. It needs several more revisions before it's windows 8 ready. You have no sync folder anymore.

Plus you have to pay upgrade money too!

 

Is it more stable? NO.

You still have program crashes, OS crashes.

 

Also, Windows 8 has a good chance of following the path of Window ME.

 

As for Linux... Yeah you can do a lot of cool things with your computer but sometimes, you just want to get something done and over with.

You don't want to be sitting in your office writing a sed script to rename bunch of files while it's gorgeous outside with the sea sparkling at you.

(Well... some people do like to script rather than get blasted by tropical sun.)

 

The Acer S7 is all SSD.

Can't say enough good things about it.

Have SSD on my Alienware M17X also.

Will never buy another computer without SSD for OS drive.

Unless I need to encrypt the whole drive. Then you still need to go with HD since (as far as I know) none of the major whole HD encryption programs support all of SSD functionality.

And seem to be general belief that whole drive encryption will shorten the life of your SSD.

 

Lastly, I really don't like the big brother thing with Microsoft linking your computer login with your Microsoft or Xbox account with Windows 8.

I'm tracked enough by Google, ISPs, NSA, FBI.

 

Oh no, I used NSA and FBI in the same post.

Now ALL you guys are on a watch list somewhere out there. hehe

[i am bob]

As for Linux... Yeah you can do a lot of cool things with your computer but sometimes, you just want to get something done and over with. You don't want to be sitting in your office writing a sed script to rename bunch of files while it's gorgeous outside with the sea sparkling at you. (Well... some people do like to script rather than get blasted by tropical sun.)

 

I agree with everything you said about Windows 8 - even die hard Windows users are throwing their PCs and Laptops out the "Windows" over it.  Mac is a good system as well but it has some issues - like you have to pay for just about everything you want to use.  And they aren't cheap to start with.  Sure they have good quality hardware but for somebody who did QA in tech support on Macs, I am not blind to their limitations   And, like all OS today, they have a fair number of limitations..

 

Your issue with LInux sounds like you haven't looked at a Linux OS in quite a few years or you are using one of the flavours that are favoured by programmers so that they can specifically use scripts.  These are not too common any more.  I have been using LInux for quite a while and I have only had to script twice in the last few years other than for server use.  Same as you would for a Windows server.  I don't think I've ever seen a Mac server, have anyone? As for LInux on a touch screen?  Ubuntu has been working out of the box for quite a while now.  And it is free.  No cost to obtain or use.  99.9% of all the applications that run on LInux are free.  Many are becoming standards - such as OpenOffice over Windows Office.  Because it is free and works as well as - if not better - than the high cost apps.  

 

The biggest issue I have is that the Ultrabooks that are on the market right now are amazingly overpriced and don't offer any value in return.  If the idea of carrying something that weighs 2 kilos or less in a bag on my shoulder is too much for me, I guess the $1500 (P60,000) or so for a weightsaving Ultrabook is definitely too much for me.  I can't justify that price for what the alternatives are.

 

Sorry if I come across a mean Bob but I really am not...  I'm just another IT professional who is tired of being ripped off by big business while there are more inexpensive or even free alternatives that are usually better out there.

[jkim248]

I agree with you about Ultrabooks being over priced.

I paid $500 for the computer and $1000 for the cool factor. :-)

er... the Raid 0 SSD is expensive.

But it was still cheap compared to the 147,900 peso Macbook Pro Retina that I was looking at.

(Video editing software always seems to have memory release issues that sucks up all the memory. so I figured I needed 16 GB.)

 

Hopefully the Haswell processored Ultrabooks will change things.

Make ultrabooks cheaper + run longer on battery.

But it will probably have Windows 8 on it. *sigh*

 

Windows 8 is still a pain for me.

I can't seem to do everything I need to with all mouse, or all keyboard or all touch.

I seem to keep wasting time reaching for one of the 3 ways to do simple computing.

I don't like fighting my tool.

 

Unix/Linux use to be my favored OS but I'm still linked to the corporate world and I seem to occasionally get a excel spreadsheet with macro on it that I need to run.

Because the freakin VBA is proprietary, I can't run it on OpenOffice so back to Microsoft Office.

 

Plus I still game on PC.

Stay connected to my friends in the states.

 

 

I carry:

Alienware M17X R3

Acer S7

4 WD Passport external HDs. (2 TB each)

ipad 3

Nexus 7

Samsung Galaxy S3

ipod nano

Bose soundlink

Sony HD-PJ760

Sony RX-100

Monster Inspiration

Power bricks and chargers,

Logitech G700

Sunglasses and suntan lotion.

 

In my backpack when I travel. (Which is quite a lot for work.)

I don't want to check any of these when I travel.

 

(The Carry on has the Xbox 360, A fujitsu scanner, about 60 Xbox games, and PC software disks, travel humidor, iomega media center HD, Apple TV, a Buffalo router setup for VPN with a server in US. No room in there for anything else.)

 

I can deadlift about 315 lbs but I still need to count every Kg when I travel.

 

...

 

Yes, I need to pull out EVERYTHING including the Xbox when I go through security check in.

Especially in the U.S. it's the worst.