Last week saw the release of Windows 8 the biggest change to to the Windows operating system since Windows 95. If you listen to all the marketing blurb it is faster, leaner and full of new features but after all the dust has settled one question still remains. Should you upgrade to Windows 8? Lets take a look.
Advantages
1. New touch screen enabled interface looks bang up to date. If you do a lot of work using a tablet or smartphone then you are going to love the new interface.
2. New features like Windows To Go and Boot speed are nice inclusions.
3. You now have the same interface across multiple platforms (smartphone, tablet and PC). If you use Microsoft technologies a lot for your daily tasks this could be a huge bonus as the interface will look the same no matter what device you are using.
4. Sync all your data with the cloud. Windows 8 has been designed with the cloud in mind and Windows 8 makes it very easy to store all your data online. No more data loss when your hard drive dies (if you use it of course).
5. You can upgrade directly from Windows XP.
Disadvantages
1. There is a steep learning curve. The interface is completely different so you will have to re-learn how to use the system. For a lot of users this will prove to much of an inconvenience.
2. Without touch screen the new interface doesn’t really work. Should work well on a tablet though.
3. Windows 8 will require new hardware to really shine.
The new interface has completely split opinion. Personally I don’t think it will work very well on a traditional laptop or PC as using a mouse seams ‘wrong’. Windows 8 has been designed for touch screens and on a system with touch screen technology it should work fine. Saying that you would have to forget most of what you already know about Windows and learn the new interface. On your Windows XP system with 1 Gb of RAM and a mouse? Um…………………………..
As for business adoption I think Microsoft is going to have problems convincing companies to upgrade to Windows 8. Companies would have to retrain users and this takes time and money which could be spent elsewhere.
So to conclude if you ‘need’ the latest Windows operating system I would go out and buy a touchscreen enabled laptop or tablet as this will bring out the best of Windows 8. If you already have a Windows 7 system which is fully functional with no issues I wouldn’t bother upgrading and if you have XP go for Windows 7 instead.
About the Author
Hi I am Chris Wakefield the owner of ComTech IT Support. I provide Windows and Linux based IT Support, laptop repairs and computer repairs to both business and personal clients in and around Stirling.
For a list of what I can offer you why not visit my website www.comtech247.net where you will find a list of my services, testimonials, blog and much more.
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I have been using Win8Pro on a laptop for about 1 month now. At first I was not thrilled with the new UI. I agree that there is a steep learning curve with Win8. But after playing with it for about a week and finding where everything is located I love it. Using either a mouse or touchpad is not that much of a hinderance. I can’t see a business jumping on it though. I use the desktop most of the time, but I have also found some of the tiles usefull and not that difficult to navigate to with a mouse. There are a lot of shortcut keys that make life easier once you discover them.
Hi
I have been using Win8 at work for about a month prior to its full release. The interface really does not work on a desktop machine, it would work better on a desktop/laptop with a touch-screen, but who wants to peer through smeary finger prints at their word document or latest gaming title?!
Buying a small touch-screen, and using it alongside a larger monitor would work, with all the Metro (sorry ‘Modern’) UI stuff living on the touchscreen, and desktop apps starting on the main screen(s).
For me, personally, I installed ‘Classic Shell’ which gives you your start button back like WinXP/Win7. You can get windows to boot right into the old skool traditional desktop. The metro stuff is still there if you want to use it.
There are other reasons aside from metro to migrate: Lighting quick boot times, near instant resume from sleep, easier troubleshooting re drivers since each driver has its own local ‘events’ log. I use it for software development where there are a number of positives such as these.
The metro UI is new, there are very very few applications for it, and many of the apps that do exist are not finished (cant ‘sell’ in the ebay app for instance). Microsoft should have spent some time getting all the popular apps from the iPad etc over to windows 8. Many of the apps are not really apps at all, but simply load content into a web browser window within something that appears to be an app. Its no iPad killer (yet).
Upgrades wise: If your machine has a processor older than a ‘core-2-duo’ with less than 4GB of memory then steer clear. If you are using it with a laptop, then it really does need a touch screen, so most laptop users should avoid. The best user experience will result from the purchase of a new machine that’s designed for Win8. Your old machine will still have some residual value if sold on eBay.
Nigel