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Author Topic: Upgrade to Windows 8 Pro for only $39.99!  (Read 83192 times)

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Offline TheBilgeRat

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Re: Upgrade to Windows 8 Pro for only $39.99!
« on: October 24, 2012, 05:13:17 AM »
Quote from: takemehomegrandma;712391
:lol:

Well, since the thread is here anyway, I have a quad core I7 with fast (and enough) ram, a fast gfx card, etc system running Win7 today. For me, Win7 is working truly great. It's fast, and it's stable, and it runs everything I need in a very good way. Once I got settled with Win7, I have never looked back at XP. I also fail to see the need for "Metro" on my desktop. I really can't see the Unique Selling Point for Win8 to a happy Win7 user as myself?!

So, could anyone a little more educated than myself about the issue please tell me your top 5 reasons (in descending order) to why I should pick up on this offer of $39.99 Win8 upgrade?

Please fill in your arguments here:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

;)


So far, the reasons to upgrade are:

Supposedly faster/more stable
Metro, if you like it
No Metro, if you don't
eight is bigger than seven
 

Offline TheBilgeRat

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Re: Upgrade to Windows 8 Pro for only $39.99!
« Reply #1 on: October 24, 2012, 04:40:47 PM »
Quote from: takemehomegrandma;712449
You who have tested it - is it really faster than Windows 7? Mor stable? I myself perceive Win 7 to be quite fast already and certainly very stable.

I love the last one there, "eight is bigger than seven" :lol:. I'm sure I saw that in some movie...?

:)


To Be honest, when I tested it it seemed just like windows 7 to me except with this really colorful first login screen (Metro).  I ran it in a VM which made it a bit buggy as I'm pretty sure Metro likes real Video card performance.  I would have probably upgraded my main win7 to it but I don't dink around with upgrades in the middle of the school year just in case I let the smoke out.  I can't speak to all the developer whining (looking at you, Steam!).  It really does seem like a decent MS product to me.

Having said that, since XP I always wait for SP1 before I upgrade.
 

Offline TheBilgeRat

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Re: Upgrade to Windows 8 Pro for only $39.99!
« Reply #2 on: October 24, 2012, 11:40:29 PM »
I heart linux AND windows

How ya like them apples?
 

Offline TheBilgeRat

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Re: Upgrade to Windows 8 Pro for only $39.99!
« Reply #3 on: October 24, 2012, 11:56:49 PM »
Quote from: runequester;712519
Depends. Do YOU like them Apples?


I like them all...

I am a hardware/software slut.
 

Offline TheBilgeRat

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Re: Upgrade to Windows 8 Pro for only $39.99!
« Reply #4 on: October 26, 2012, 05:14:12 PM »
Quote from: psxphill;712701
Having multiple GUI's is one of the reasons that Linux will never win any desktop share. If they could actually come up with one good one, then it might stand a chance.
 
You might think it's really neat that you can do that, but the fact that you even have that choice is an extra burned on the majority who would live with what they are given.


Err... That is what Unity is.  Ask most muppets what linux is and they will tell you its Ubuntu.  The Steam Client for Linux is being specifically optimized and released for Ubuntu to start.  People in the know will still use distro x, y or z with desktop environment x, y or z, but Ubuntu (whether you like it or not) is becoming the de-facto standard for third party targets.  Which, in turn, means that Unity is becoming the standard desktop environment.

In Arch land where I reside, there are already murmurings with the newbs why Unity isn't in the main repos.
 

Offline TheBilgeRat

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Re: Upgrade to Windows 8 Pro for only $39.99!
« Reply #5 on: October 26, 2012, 08:47:53 PM »
Quote from: psxphill;712722
Unity is only the shell, it uses gnome underneath as the desktop environment. It's also the name of a Linux distribution that uses openbox to cause ultimate confusion.

No.  Unity has nothing to do with Gnome or the Gnome project.  It owes its existence because of Shuttleworth and Gnome being at odds.  You could call it a "plugin" to Compiz, which would be technically accurate, but you are completely missing the point.  Unity is a complete DE, not a window manager.  In fact, the roadmap is to drop Unity 2D entirely (which is written in QT, not GTK) and optimize a low end hardware solution from unity 3d.  Not only that, they are optimizing Unity to run on weyland.  You can't just slap Unity on top of GTK (or QT) and X and run it.

You want to act like the desktop linux world is some wild west morass of window managers, X windowing systems, file managers etc that have no cohesiveness except what is brought by some bright linux hacker, which simply isn't true.  Installing all of the mainstream distros is brainless at best, and they work 99% out of the box.  The ONLY thing they struggle with are apps which are so completely sandboxed (DirectX, Silverlight, .Net...notice a pattern here?) that there is no real solution for.  People don't use linux because of games or because some craptastic shovelware program doesn't run natively on it that they just CAN'T live without.  And because most people can't follow simple instructions on web forums.  For those people seriously TDO, there is always OSX and MS.  That bar is getting way down there now.

Unity is also a 3d game engine, recently ported to OpenGL and linux.  It really isn't causing any confusion.

Quote
Ubuntu has been touted as the next big thing for years, if steam goes well then it could become a viable desktop operating system that is free as in beer, if not free as in spirit. It will only succeed if people spend money on games though.

You are missing the issue here as well.  Its not as much that Steam now runs on linux natively, its that Source runs on linux natively .  Its that Unity runs on linux natively.  Which means that these engines run on OpenGL.  Which means they do not run on DirectX.  Which means that MS is well and truly screwed in the game arena.   EDIT: That's probably poetic license.  What it really means is that games will be optimized for both, which is a very good thing.  A boy can dream, right? :)

Go to the Humble Indie Bundle site and see how much money linux gamers spend on old has-been PC games.  The market is there.

Quote
Ubuntu make their money by also providing Amazon search results when you're searching for local content. Amazon is very toxic in the UK, because like Starbucks they avoid paying any corporation tax at all. Not exactly the kind of company you really want to be involved with. http://www.theweek.co.uk/uk-business/46200/how-does-amazon-minimise-its-tax-payments
 
I think I'd rather use Microsoft products :-)

Nope: http://www.zdnet.com/canonical-performs-u-turn-over-amazon-search-results-in-ubuntu-12-10-7000004950/

Even if your argument made sense, there are hundreds of other distributions with equally well integrated DEs.  Fedora, Debian, CentOS, Mandriva, Suse come to mind.  I even left Mint off since its close to Ubuntu.

The instant I don't have to program in C# and .net or the day I can play Fallout 4 in my linux steam client at 80+fps at 1920x1080 is the day I never have another MS partition on my home computer.  Its that simple.

Disclaimer: I do run Arch and I do like mucking about with all of those underpinings, but even with Arch it could be just a matter of installing Gnome, KDE, cinnamon, mate, following a couple of clearly defined instructions on the Arch wiki for those DEs and I would have a turnkey solution that would (after that) not need to go near a terminal for anything.  And thats with a distro that eats noobs for breakfast (supposedly).
« Last Edit: October 26, 2012, 08:55:01 PM by TheBilgeRat »
 

Offline TheBilgeRat

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Re: Upgrade to Windows 8 Pro for only $39.99!
« Reply #6 on: October 27, 2012, 12:56:49 AM »
Quote from: psxphill;712741
You can't even read English, so we may as well end the conversation here.
 
I didn't say they were TV evangelists, I said that I put them alongside.
 
They are saying the things that you eat up, but they are just trying to find a way to screw money out of you. Google have nailed it.


So, Google invented Linux and is the be all/end all?  Runey called you on not making sense - this post does not help your case.
 

Offline TheBilgeRat

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Re: Upgrade to Windows 8 Pro for only $39.99!
« Reply #7 on: October 27, 2012, 01:11:44 AM »
Quote from: psxphill;712744
A lot of people don't use Linux because of the lack of hardware and software support. I've only used laptops for the last 12 years and Linux driver support has always been poor when I've tried it.


citation needed.  I have found linux support stellar for most all hardware these days except for some wifi chips.  It must have been a while since your last attempt.

Lack of software support?  Really?  Shenanigans.

Quote
I was surprised when a real hardcore Linux geek I know bought a sony vaio & he's now happily running Windows on it as it actually has drivers for all the built in hardware.


No hardcore linux geek would ever buy a Sony product.  I had a Sony laptop once.  It barely ran on Windows, and was impossible to divest of shovelware as the proprietary drivers were embedded in a reinstall routine that would just reinstall the shovelware.  It was an absolute piece of crap.  If he was a real linux guy, there are many many companies which manufacture and sell laptops with excellent linux support.  Lets see, there's Asus, and Dell, and Lenovo...

Quote


They don't want to learn anything new, if you can't get them to upgrade from XP to 7 because it's different, then switching to Linux is never going to happen.


Who cares?  I don't care if there are people out there who run windows.  You are comparing Ubuntu to Microsoft and calling linux users ignorant televangelist followers and alluding that there is some linux "conspiracy" to divest you of money, all of which are patently untrue.  I use windows, and like it for what it is.

Quote

You'll never be able to convince your broadband supplier that the reason the internet is not working right has nothing to do with you running Linux.


Sure I can.

Quote

Commercial software that people rely on hasn't been ported.


citation needed.
Quote

Hardly anybody knows how to use it. Not helped by the differences between distros.
 


what you mean to say is that YOU do not know how to use it.  fair enough.

Quote

Steam are the first business to have any real faith that Linux on the desktop can succeed. Maybe it will pay off for you eventually, maybe it won't.


Wow.  There are a few more than just Steam.

I am not sure why you staunchly refuse to adjust your view of linux to its current state.  I get you think it sucks, but don't spread FUD because you couldn't get it to work.
 

Offline TheBilgeRat

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Re: Upgrade to Windows 8 Pro for only $39.99!
« Reply #8 on: October 27, 2012, 05:03:08 AM »
Quote from: psxphill;712748
Is wifi not important? I've been using wifi almost exclusively for networking for 12 years.


That's nice.

Quote

 
Tell me a distro that you think every single piece of hardware in my laptop will have drivers for and I'll install it on a spare drive & let you know how I get on.
 


Latest Linux Mint, latest Ubuntu, latest Fedora.  take your pick.

 
Quote

Well he is a real Linux geek and it's a really nice bit of hardware with no shovelware at all. The speed was amazing. I am not impressed with asus or Lenovo hardware. The new xps 13z from Dell looks nice, but that's no good for you as it comes bundled with Windows 8. I tend to buy Dell stuff as their support has consistently been good for me, I'd always get on site support with accidental damage though.
 

DId you miss the point that I use windows as well?  Or that I have Win 8 and Win 7?  I code in c# and .net for real projects, which require it.  I use linux for my python, ruby, java, c, and every other language development platform.  I do work with my computers.  I have a macbook laying around for xcode, except that now its out of date cos i don't have liger or whatever crap they are on, so I can't hit the latest Ios release without upgrading everything.

What I get tired of is the FUD.  If you haven't tried linux in the last three years then you aren't current.  If you tried it once and got pissed off because you don't know unix, you never gave it a chance.

Mark Shuttleworth is not trying to steal your money.  Android isn't either.  Linux won't save your marriage.  It is, however, a damn sight better than microsoft for 80% of the population who does nothing but surf the web and check email with the occasional solitaire game.  The driver support these days is superb.  These aren't opinions, they are fact.  You don't like it?  Don't use it, but don't speak to it when the reality is you don't know anything about it.
 

Offline TheBilgeRat

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Re: Upgrade to Windows 8 Pro for only $39.99!
« Reply #9 on: October 27, 2012, 05:03:39 AM »
Quote from: commodorejohn;712753
This. As they say, "Linux is free, as long as your time has no value..."


Nobody but you says this.
 

Offline TheBilgeRat

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Re: Upgrade to Windows 8 Pro for only $39.99!
« Reply #10 on: October 27, 2012, 03:19:04 PM »
Quote from: commodorejohn;712761
http://www.google.com/search?q=linux+is+free+as+long+as+your+time+has+no+value

ermagerd.

Quote from: psxphill;712762
Which one is best?

None of them are "best".  An operating system is "best" when it does exactly what you want.  If you like customizing to your hearts content and like that if you are curious what is in your code, then linux or BSD may be a good fit.  universal pendrive linux + 4G thumbdrive or a blank CD/DVD and you can test run any to your hearts content without nuking your drive for it.  Throw one in a VM.  If windows 7 or 8 or XP or hell even 3.11 works for you, then stick with it.  I have a strong opinion about free software and linux/BSD specifically, but there is a difference between correcting misinformation and prosletyzing.

And yes, Steam will be on all linuxes, they just chose Ubuntu as it is the flavor most people use.
« Last Edit: October 27, 2012, 03:23:49 PM by TheBilgeRat »
 

Offline TheBilgeRat

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Re: Upgrade to Windows 8 Pro for only $39.99!
« Reply #11 on: October 27, 2012, 06:30:50 PM »
Quote from: PanterHZ;712793
To me it seems like Windows 8 will turn out to be the new Windows ME, and because of this upgrade offer, I belive Microsoft have their doubts as well.

The Win9x start menu was one of the things Microsoft really did a good job with, but of course they had to mess it up with the later versions of Windows. Launching applications from a small menu by using only two mouse-clicks was of course way too easy, so they had to find ways to make this more ackward for the user.

Guess I will be sticking with Vista for as long as I can, since it's the last Windows version where it's still possible to get the classic start menu, and I will not upgrade to Win8 even if I got payed to do so.

Mark my words, Windows 8 will fail considerably on the desktop market, so Microsoft will be forced to either make an update which brings back the start menu, or they will rush out the next Windows version where it will be re-implemented there instead.
Everybody I have talked to are sceptical to Windows 8, and even my father have heard rumors about 8 being no good.

PS! Sorry about being on-topic folks :-)


I predict Surface and Win 8 along with whatever new Xbox they deploy will be the nail in Sony and Apples coffin.  Mark my words.
 

Offline TheBilgeRat

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Re: Upgrade to Windows 8 Pro for only $39.99!
« Reply #12 on: October 28, 2012, 04:46:13 PM »
Quote from: persia;712880
The market has consistently rejected open operating systems.  Linux, BSD, etc have failed to gather more than a small fraction of desktops.  People like closed systems, end of story.  Even Android, which is a Unix distro and open source has locked down the OS.


It is hardly summed up so succinctly.  People "like" closed source systems because that is what they know.  That is what is provided to them by hardware vendors.  Running windows means I can run office or my video games.  It means that even if it doesn't run seamlessly I may have purchased idiot protection and I can call up some geekline and they will fix my stupid.  They like them because they have no real choice in the matter.  A linux or a BSD or even OS/2 or the others don't penetrate market these days because there is a behemoth spending lots of money on lawyers and leverage to make sure they do not.  Even if you look at Android (which apparently is the devil himself listening to some of these posts), there is a company doing everything they can to destroy it.  The market cannot decide what it wants if large monpolies are supressing innovation or even simple alternatives.  Why do you think Android has Apple so scared?  The same reason why the PC won in the eighties.

Seriously, folks.  This isn't rocket science.
 

Offline TheBilgeRat

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Re: Upgrade to Windows 8 Pro for only $39.99!
« Reply #13 on: October 28, 2012, 05:02:07 PM »
Quote from: psxphill;712886
It's not all open, google play for instance isn't.
 
http://source.android.com/compatibility/index.html
 
They also keep the source secret until their device is ready & only include drivers for the hardware their new device uses. They are talking about improving the situation moving forward, but it's all a little underhanded.

You know what?  You're right.  Better to spend 40 bucks on a product that you will never get a look at the source code for without an NDA.  Better to support a company who threatens hardware vendors who install anything but OEM windows on it.  Better to support a company who has proven itself for more than twenty years to be a vicious monopoly who will buy, litigate or outright steal its way to market saturation.
 

Offline TheBilgeRat

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Re: Upgrade to Windows 8 Pro for only $39.99!
« Reply #14 on: October 28, 2012, 05:35:29 PM »
Quote from: psxphill;712900
The irony is that you are saying those things on a message board dedicated to a machine made by commodore, who were way worse than Microsoft when it came to dodgy business practises.
 
I'm not that bothered about seeing the source code.


The irony is not lost.