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HP brings Windows 7 back 'due to popular demand' as buyers shun Windows 8

theinquirer.net

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Re: HP brings Windows 7 back 'due to popular demand' as buyers shun Windows 8

#31

Post by adamors »

CamperBob2 wrote: post #23
dubfan wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've been using Windows 8 on my desktop PC for some time now (primarily used for gaming and entertainment, not development) and for my purposes it's a clear upgrade over 7. Yes, the Metro apps are terrible but you don't ever need to use them. I spend almost all of my time in the desktop, and the few times I need to use the new Start interface, the workflow is exactly the same as Win7 (press Windows key, start typing…

I spend almost all of my time in the desktop, and the few times I need to use the new Start interface, the workflow is exactly the same as Win7 (press Windows key, start typing program name, hit Enter). I liked this workflow better when it was called DOS.

> I liked this workflow better when it was called DOS.

Knock it all you want, but it's obvious that people like working like this. OS X has Spotligh/Alfred, Linux has Gnome DO etc, it's basically on every OS.

Re: HP brings Windows 7 back 'due to popular demand' as buyers shun Windows 8

#32

Post by adamors »

BlackDeath3 wrote: post #30
adamors wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> if you just ignore all of the crappy new stuff it's not a big deal It really isn't a big deal, because you're not being forced to use the Metro apps. You can populate the start menu with regular application shortcuts and you're on your way.

So why the hell am I upgrading?

Faster, nicer UI, better multi-monitor support, better touch support, improved tools. Basically the same reasons you've upgraded to Windows 7 before that.

Re: HP brings Windows 7 back 'due to popular demand' as buyers shun Windows 8

#33

Post by massysett »

dubfan wrote: post #14
robertfw wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Windows 8 is the most unusable collection of software I have ever had the misfortune of fighting. It is the worst experience I have ever had with an operating system, coming from experience with dos, windows 3.1-95-xp-vista-7, ubuntu, and arch. The built in apps feel like MVPs. The interactions are unintuitive, and many things that should "just work" smack you in the face time and time again. the whole thing feels li…

I've been using Windows 8 on my desktop PC for some time now (primarily used for gaming and entertainment, not development) and for my purposes it's a clear upgrade over 7. Yes, the Metro apps are terrible but you don't ever need to use them. I spend almost all of my time in the desktop, and the few times I need to use the new Start interface, the workflow is exactly the same as Win7 (press Windows key, start typing…

"I spend almost all of my time in the desktop, and the few times I need to use the new Start interface, the workflow is exactly the same as Win7"

OK, then why is it a "clear upgrade"?

Re: HP brings Windows 7 back 'due to popular demand' as buyers shun Windows 8

#34

Post by jongalloway2 »

BlackDeath3 wrote: post #30
adamors wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> if you just ignore all of the crappy new stuff it's not a big deal It really isn't a big deal, because you're not being forced to use the Metro apps. You can populate the start menu with regular application shortcuts and you're on your way.

So why the hell am I upgrading?

I use it on a three monitor desktop. My favorite new features are file explorer and task manager.

Also the skydrive + settings sync is really nice. Whenever I install on a new device, everything's set up on first boot.

Lots of other features that don't make headlines but are genuinely useful: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Features_new_to_Windows_8

Re: HP brings Windows 7 back 'due to popular demand' as buyers shun Windows 8

#35

Post by ChikkaChiChi »

the cognitive disarray caused by the metro menu is the worst UI innovation since mystery meat navigation. that being said, disabling it in favor of a classic start menu makes Windows 8 on par with 7.

This sort of workaround does not make things OK for the average person.

Re: HP brings Windows 7 back 'due to popular demand' as buyers shun Windows 8

#36

Post by WiseWeasel »

theg2 wrote: post #21
Innercode wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They could have a one sized fits all operating system, however they need to tailor the interface to each type of device. Using a mouse on a "touch" interface is a terrible experience, same as using touch in a mouse environment. I have not tried Windows 8 update, however first impressions have done the damage to Windows 8 already.

I use Win8 daily and have no issue using a mouse or my fingers, actually the mouse is far more accurate and faster so I fail to understand your statement.

Swipe gestures are a pain with a mouse, because you need to move the mouse to the right spot, click, drag in the opposite direction and then release, requiring a non-trivial amount of effort; and it just feels wrong when you're expected to do so regularly because you know there has to be a better way (like the way it used to work). Decades of desktop UI design focused on "discoverability" also mean that an unindicated need for a swipe gesture in order to access core functionality is frustratingly non-obvious to people experienced with classic desktop interfaces, and these will tend to be people whose advice is requested in purchasing decisions.

Swiping is awesomely natural on a touchscreen, but obviously sub-optimal otherwise. Reliance on a swipe gesture should be avoided in UI design for a mouse/touchpad and keyboard environment, in favor of buttons and menus, and mouse wheel/two-fingered scroll support.

Re: HP brings Windows 7 back 'due to popular demand' as buyers shun Windows 8

#37

Post by increment_i »

adamors wrote: post #22
increment_i wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>"People are afraid of change, simple as that." I'd counter that with "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." I spent a few days with Win 8 and I've never seen a more unintuitive UI experience in my entire life. The frustration of having to re-learn simple computing tasks far outweighs any aesthetic improvements IMO.

> I'd counter that with "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." But by that logic, every new version of a software is useless because the previous one was good enough to be released, therefore wasn't broken. EDIT: also, the multi-monitor support in Windows 8 runs circles around the crappy implementation that was in Windows 7.

There's nothing wrong with adding features and improving software, but if you're going to obscure computing idioms that are in some cases decades-old (e.g. closing and minimizing windowed content), you had better be sure that is what users want.

Re: HP brings Windows 7 back 'due to popular demand' as buyers shun Windows 8

#38

Post by kvb »

Maakuth wrote: post #10
kvb wrote: post #5

Counterpoint: "HP Bringing Back Windows 7 PCs? Not so fast..."[1]. TL;DR: this is a marketing tactic, and HP is actually offering fewer systems with Windows 7 than it was last year. [1] http://www.zdnet.com/hp-bringing-back-windows-7-pcs-not-so-f...

Isn't it only natural that they sold a lot of Windows 7 PCs last year, as Windows 8 was only recently released?

Sure. The point is, "bringing back" implies that there was a period of time where Windows 7 PCs weren't being offered by HP, which appears not to be the case.

Re: HP brings Windows 7 back 'due to popular demand' as buyers shun Windows 8

#39

Post by michaelwww »

adamors wrote: post #4

Windows 8 is noticeably faster, has nice improvements all around and it's probably the first Windows that looks aesthetic. People are afraid of change, simple as that.

Some people are afraid of change, but those of us who aren't don't like change that take things away. Windows 8.1 did not fix the start button for us desktop users. There's absolutely no reason to take that way except to force change, which is obnoxious.

Re: HP brings Windows 7 back 'due to popular demand' as buyers shun Windows 8

#40

Post by dangrossman »

The changes between Windows 7 and 8 always seemed terribly minor to me -- a few control panels and settings shifted around as they do every OS update, the start menu became larger and looks a bit different but functions essentially the same (right down to preserving your Program Files hierarchy from Win95 if you scroll down from the tiles screen), but nothing major in the big scheme of things.

If Microsoft hadn't made these changes, and in the next few years became completely foreign and irrelevant to the current young generation of consumers who grew up on touch devices that work more like Win8 than Win7, would we be panning them for sticking with "what works" while their consumer base switches to Android/iOS?

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