Well, as I say, an Apple computer may not be the best choice for you.

In reply to a post by Pipexer:

Actually, in most cases you probably want to open an application, you do not just stare at the desktop to do your work, therefore the start screen is more appropriate.


Example: you want to browse the web, in Windows 8, you click your web browser on the start screen. In Windows 7, you would have to click on Start then launch internet explorer, unless you had pinned it to the taskbar. Either way, the steps are no longer in Windows 8.

Apart from the fact I never use Internet Exploder.
but yes, the main software I use is pinned onto the taskbar, the other stuff is pinned to the start menu.

The only possible reason you would want to go to the desktop just on it's own is if you had files on the desktop (which is very bad practice anyway), or icons (which is in principle similar to the start screen).

i don't have icons on my desktop, I stopped doing that with windows XP, I hate icons on my desktop. i don't see the point, as if I got a full screen program running , like Vegas and I want to say start photoshop, i would need to shrink vegas to get to the icon for photoshop.

If I am using software, why would I want to go back to the windows 8 start screen to start something else?

And indeed for power users their steps have too been shortened as they only need to login and then type "mmc" or "devmgmt.msc" for example and then they are there, in Windows 7 once again you would have had to press Windows Key + R or click on the start button before you could type that.

What people are doing is making the mistake of treating the start screen as something alien - it is not, it is actually the gateway to launch both Modern UI and desktop apps.

It is alien and to be honest just a way for Ms to make more money by trying to get people to buy useless apps and people will, you only have to look at the amount of money spent on useless apps for mobile phones.

I got no reason to buy windows 8, i certainly am not going to buy a computer with windows 8 on, because if i don't go for a MAC then i will just update this computer and stick my windows 7 on again. My laptop does what it does, i know it is falling apart, but for the amount of time I use it I am not going to replace it.

i am certainly not going to buy a tablet, i don't see the point in them.

So i will either stay as I am for a few more years or go MAC, either way MS is not going to make any more money from me.

In reply to a post by Pipexer:

.... In Windows 7, you would have to click on Start then launch internet explorer, unless you had pinned it to the taskbar.....

In Windows7, I use the Quicklaunch bar from which I can launch any number of programs with a single click whilst leaving other applications still open and accessible with another single click.
What could be simpler?

A 2 finger right slide.

In reply to a post by AEP:

Apple computers come without DVD drives. Coincidentally, they were dropped on iMacs just a few hours ago.

I think that is a mistake, certainly since Apple Macs are used for video editing, how on earth are you suppose to burn a DVd with no optical drive?


So don't hold your breath expecting software vendors to sell Mac software on DVD.

If you need DVD and/or BluRay writers an Apple computer may not be the wisest choice. This will only be more true by the time you have saved the money for one.


i could get a Apple Mac now if I really wanted to, but I thought I would wait until next year and save a bit more. i did not know Apple have got a new Imac, I just had a loo, to be honest I don't like it that much, too thin. All this idea of making thins thinner worry me about heat build up. Where are the heat sinks, where do the heat go?


TBH, i don't really know what to do, if i went for a MAc i would have to get software again and that is not cheap and I would have to learn new software.
i been using Vegas for a couple of years or so now, so I pretty will know my way around the basic part of it.

The other problem with a MAC is expandability or the lack of it and if anything goes wrong then you are stumped, at least with my desktop, if say the CPU went belly up it is a 10 minute job to replace it.


Maybe i just want something different, or maybe I am rebelling against windows
Maybe i should think about a Apple Mini, but then I still got to get a external Blu-ray

All this you can do it on the cloud rubbish is getting too much, you can't do everything on the cloud and what happens when your broadband speed is slow?
i got a 10Mb/s connection and that is only because I pay extra for it, if I did not pay I would have a five megabit. and even so upload is only 1.5, so a HD video would take a long time to upload.


i will wait until next year and decide what to do then, but I know one thing, windows 8 will not be in those plans.

In reply to a post by MHC:

I am about to order a new laptop - I already know which one. The question is:

Shall I order it with Win7 or Win8 ? Has anyone downloaded the Beta versions of Win8 and actually tried it out?

I suspect if it comes with win7 you will get a win8 upgrade deal tagged on, this is what usually happens with OEM right before a new windows launch. So get windows 7, plus I think windows 7 is the better OS anyway, especially for laptops, metro is bad enough with a mouse, its absolutely a disaster with a touchpad.

In reply to a post by Deadbeat:

In reply to a post by Pipexer:

.... In Windows 7, you would have to click on Start then launch internet explorer, unless you had pinned it to the taskbar.....

In Windows7, I use the Quicklaunch bar from which I can launch any number of programs with a single click whilst leaving other applications still open and accessible with another single click.
What could be simpler?

The microsoft gui team has essentially "lost it" after vista.

Every design change post vista seems to be a change for the sake of it and for "the thrill". Quick launch is perfect, its always visible and a one click run for commonly used apps. Luckily on windows 7 it can be restored they didnt completely remove it. Also the basis behind I think of removing the start menu is apparently the modern way to launch apps is to type in the name in a search box and then run it from a list that shows up, not all of us work that way I never search very rarely unless I am looking for specific files and then I do that using the dir command in a command prompt. The reason I dont search is I know where my apps are, and I can launch apps without touching the keyboard.

If windows 8 left the start menu in place as well as other existing desktop features, brought back the feature of remembering windows position (lost in win7) and had metro as optional then I would have upgraded.

Also the problem is as well microsoft are in a panic, they are after mobile market share, if windows 8 fails, expect another new OS in 2 years with another radical GUI change so it could be a constant having to relearn how to work efficiently every couple years because windows may become a unstable platform, and business's dont like that.

I often find myself using two fingers where Win8 is concerned.

In reply to a post by Chrysalis:

Also the basis behind I think of removing the start menu is apparently the modern way to launch apps is to type in the name in a search box and then run it from a list that shows up

ROFL!

It's all going backwards. We went from command lines to graphical UIs and icons to multiple overlapping windows. Now we're losing the overlapping windows and reverting to command lines.

Mind you we've also gone from central computing and dumb terminals to decentralised computing and powerful PCs and are now heading back to centralised computing and dumb terminals.

It's like I've always said: The IT industry goes in circles. Each iteration is better than the previous time around though I suppose.

In reply to a post by Pipexer:

What people are doing is making the mistake of treating the start screen as something alien - it is not, it is actually the gateway to launch both Modern UI and desktop apps.

But it feels like a kludge. Also the new UI doesn't support multiple overlapping windows. It appears to be designed for users who can't multi-task. My job often requires me to have several applications running and visible at the same time. Yes you can do that with the traditional desktop but it feels like an after thought. A bit like the command prompt feels like - you can imagine Windows cringing and sighing every time you turn your back on 'Metro'.