Windows XP

wintersun wrote:
Forget about Windows 8 which is too young to be stable. .

gee, I haven't had one bit of trouble with my win 8 machines since I installed /bought them.
bumpy

Forget about Windows 8 which is too young to be stable. Even with Windows 7 I get weekly patches. With Microsoft it is always best to wait for Service Pack 1 to be released before going with one of their operating systems.

Windows 7 (and Win8) are resource hogs so it is best to buy a new computer with a more powerful processor and a PC that will accept more RAM (ideally 16GB or more).

With regard to business software all the vendors ported over their code to Windows 7 a couple years ago and it is stable. That includes the problems with IE versions from 8 on that were not compatible with apps like SAP's web interface.

You can order PC's directly from HP or Lenovo with Windows 7 loaded or buy them from places like PCconnection.com that deal with business users.

camperforlife wrote:

mileshuff wrote:

dks wrote:
you may consider a computer with touch capability to fully utilize Windows 8 or 8.1

For me I have no use for touch on a PC. A laptop would be nice. Not going to reach across my desk! A mouse works better for such purpose. Considerable typing cannot be done easily by touch and the Surface keyboard is not suitable for such. I see pads replacing some home PC's where the user only uses it for web, email or games but any actual work requires a conventional PC or laptop and traditional keyboard. To me touchpads won't replace the office PC.

I had the same thoughts & I have put in a lot of time researching my options. You can get a glass touch pad that works like a mouse and you can also use it for all the touch features without reaching over to the monitor. I had a Surface with 8 on it to use for 2 days last week and while it seemed odd compared to XP it wasn't any more awkward compared to other tablets including the iPad that I have used.

Soooo, let me get this straight... You pay EXTRA for a large touch screen then buy a "new" (and expensive) "small" glass touch pad all so you can have the latest fad in computers (IE "gestures") to be cool..

SMALL Touch pads are nothing new, been on Laptops for years, never worked well there, most SANE folks plug in a MOUSE.

I don't need gestures and my $5 optical mouse is a bargain which works consistently and scales up to even 8ft or larger projection screens. Don't try a touchpad for a large screen....

Tom/Barb wrote:
Apple iMac never needs any new versions, the updates are free.

We recently bought a full-featured W8 laptop that is surely to last for a decade of home PC use.

It is a Dell and costs $280

Honest...what is the Apple equivalent???

But, more to the point, what does this have to do w/ OP?

Apple iMac never needs any new versions, the updates are free.

mileshuff wrote:

dks wrote:
you may consider a computer with touch capability to fully utilize Windows 8 or 8.1

For me I have no use for touch on a PC. A laptop would be nice. Not going to reach across my desk! A mouse works better for such purpose. Considerable typing cannot be done easily by touch and the Surface keyboard is not suitable for such. I see pads replacing some home PC's where the user only uses it for web, email or games but any actual work requires a conventional PC or laptop and traditional keyboard. To me touchpads won't replace the office PC.

I had the same thoughts & I have put in a lot of time researching my options. You can get a glass touch pad that works like a mouse and you can also use it for all the touch features without reaching over to the monitor. I had a Surface with 8 on it to use for 2 days last week and while it seemed odd compared to XP it wasn't any more awkward compared to other tablets including the iPad that I have used.

dks wrote:
you may consider a computer with touch capability to fully utilize Windows 8 or 8.1

For me I have no use for touch on a PC. A laptop would be nice. Not going to reach across my desk! A mouse works better for such purpose. Considerable typing cannot be done easily by touch and the Surface keyboard is not suitable for such. I see pads replacing some home PC's where the user only uses it for web, email or games but any actual work requires a conventional PC or laptop and traditional keyboard. To me touchpads won't replace the office PC.

I run a 12 year old Dell with XP, but, it was getting slower and slower. I bought a Microsoft Surface RT and I'm glad I did. With a touch screen it is much better to use. As with everything, once you get used to it the process speeds up. You might as well face it, you'll have to upgrade eventually so you may consider a computer with touch capability to fully utilize Windows 8 or 8.1

I have 7 PCs running XP at work. They will not get upgraded as long as they continue to work properly. At home, I have 1 PC and 1 laptop on XP, along with 1 laptop on Win 7 and 1 phone running Win 7.8. I'd be happy to use the newest OS, but budgetary constraints keep me using older hardware and software.

I'm on a HP with XP Pro now. I did just buy on ebay an HP w 7. It's on the way. I also have a 3 year old laptop w 7. One problem I'll have is that I still run an old Lotus SYmphony spreadsheet that will not run on the 64 bit software. SO I may just keep the XP pc for that & use the newer one for everything else.