Windows 8

[dbhost]

Use "Classic Shell" on Windows 8. It lets you skip to the desktop on startup and lest you pick which version of the start button you want from past windows versions. Been using it since last spring on several machines.

I upgraded my parents' PC from a painfully dated Win XP to a desktop with Windows 8 (fixed with Classic Shell) and they never knew it was different. They would have no idea there is any difference from XP to 8 other than small details (basic users for the most part).

Hopefully this saves a couple Win 8 machines from the dumpster, though MSFT screwed the pouch for sure on this one.

The problem with Win8 is one of focus. Specifically Microsoft chose to focus the design on mobile / touch devices, and pretty much relegated normal desktop / laptop hardware to a more or less legacy support status. That is a terrible move. When you consider that mobile devices for the most part excel at content consumption, but are rather poor content creation devices, okay aside from photo and video, they do make smart phones with really nice cameras built in these days... but I digress... If you are working serious documents, photo processing, video processing and the like, a mobile device and touch input are not going to be your methods of choice...

FWIW, I feel your pain. I have been having trouble with my router WiFi over the last couple of weeks. Keeps dropping for no reason. I actually had to power cycle it. I guess 6 months uptime is good enough, and I know there is a new firmware release out that I need to upgrade to...

[Stytooner]

Perhaps they should have made a version 8M and a version 8DT.

I can't fault 7 though. It works great for my needs and have no reason to upgrade until they either drop support for 7 or Somthing spectacular in version 9.

[vaking]

Mobile devices use touchscreen. Personal computers use keyboard and mouse. Windows 8 is Microsoft's attempt to make a single system capable of using either as input device. The problem is - people use different input devices differently and for different purpose. Trying to make one OS use keyboard or touchscreen interchangeably is like trying to use interchangeably sledge hammer and Warrington hammer - both are hammers after all.

[durango dude]

After a thorough tutorial from an attractive and intelligent expert, I decided Win 8 is not the ultimate evil ----- but I still don't like it, that much.

Am thinking I need 3-4 more lessons.