Laptop computer

[Rubber_Ducky1]

I'm thinking about getting a laptop computer. I'm on my 2nd desk top computer. It has Windows XP operating system. The new laptops have Windows 8 operating system. How difficult to learn is Windows 8. I basicly use my computer for web surfing and e-mail. I don't download music or movies. Thanks for any info.

[ventrman]

:B

cleo43 wrote:
You can use VirtualBox, VM to run Windows.
Or you dual boot.
I run XP inside VirtualBox to handle iTunes, Office (LibreOffice or OpenOffice are not always smooth). That's all I need.
I took shelter under Linux against malwares - don't want that Wine stuff.

That Wine Stuff will make you tipsy if you imbibe too much. :B

[cleo43]

You can use VirtualBox, VM to run Windows.
Or you dual boot.
I run XP inside VirtualBox to handle iTunes, Office (LibreOffice or OpenOffice are not always smooth). That's all I need.
I took shelter under Linux against malwares - don't want that Wine stuff.

[ventrman]

Clay L wrote:
Will all of my current Windows programs run in Linux?

I believe most of them will. In Zorin, The is a Program called Wine that runs Windows Programs. I am not sure about Ubuntu.

[Clay_L]

Will all of my current Windows programs run in Linux?

[cleo43]

It's Linux Mint Maya for me.

[ventrman]

I got tired of windows. I did not like having to deal with Malware, etc. I dowloaded Linux. I Love It! If you get Zorin, It look and acts like either XP or Windows7. It is what I use.

[Clay_L]

I buy a lot of stuff on-line but I can get Best Buy gift cards with my Visa Premier points so I got my laptops there. Also they have some pretty knowledgeable sales folks at our local store.

[docj]

Bill.Winegard wrote:

bcsdguy wrote:
So, you buy an item with software you don't like or want and then you start looking for ways to defeat it. Just sayin'

Yep! I am a slow learner so it was substantially easier to install Classic Shell and have a platform I was familiar with immediately and I could then learn the new OS at my own pace.
I don't see anything wrong with that idea.

I did basically the same thing. I bought my Dell Inspiron i7 laptop from Costco.com at such a low price that it was worth taking it with Win 8. At the price I bought it I would have gone through the trouble of reloading Win 7 if I had gotten that desperate.

BTW, I don't know why anyone would have a hesitation about buying a laptop online. Most of the stores you can buy from locally don't have any staff who can do much to help you, anyway. All it takes is the patience to download all the updates for the operating system and the drivers and most of that is pretty automatic.

[Bill_Satellite]

bcsdguy wrote:
So, you buy an item with software you don't like or want and then you start looking for ways to defeat it. Just sayin'

Yep! I am a slow learner so it was substantially easier to install Classic Shell and have a platform I was familiar with immediately and I could then learn the new OS at my own pace.
I don't see anything wrong with that idea.

[Clay_L]

bcsdguy wrote:
So, you buy an item with software you don't like or want and then you start looking for ways to defeat it. Just sayin'

We needed two new laptops and unless I wanted to buy them on-line which I didn't want to do, I had to buy them with Win 8 already installed.

[bcsdguy]

So, you buy an item with software you don't like or want and then you start looking for ways to defeat it. Just sayin'

[Bill_Satellite]

Good point about the live tiles. I use a cellular (limited) connection almost exclusively and those live tiles such as the new feeds use up bandwidth unnecessarily. I went through every tile and ensured the live tile option was off.

[docj]

Clay L wrote:
Regarding Win 8:
You can configure the desktop to look and behave pretty much like Win 7 in the "Classic Mode' which is much like Win XP. The only inconvenience is having the start up going to the Metro screen instead of the desktop and once in the desktop having to hit the Windows key to get into the metro screen and then activate "All Apps" to run a program.

A key reason for using Classic Shell is that you don't have to start up with the Metro screen. I don't encounter Metro unless I choose to which is never. I agree with you that cluttering your screen with tiles makes for a messy screen; a list is neat and simple.

BTW one thing that hasn't been mentioned in this thread are the useless Live Tiles that come with Win 8. Why do I want a news tile for which I can't tailor the news feed? Why do I want a "pictures" tile that randomly displays any of the thousands of pictures I have on my HDD? Those I "hid" almost immediately.

[rvjames]

Clay L wrote:
Regarding Win 8:
You can configure the desktop to look and behave pretty much like Win 7 in the "Classic Mode' which is much like Win XP. The only inconvenience is having the start up going to the Metro screen instead of the desktop and once in the desktop having to hit the Windows key to get into the metro screen and then activate "All Apps" to run a program.
You can run many programs from a tile on the metro screen but the screen gets very cluttered if you have all your programs set as tiles. A list is much easier for me to use.

I have a folder on my desktop called Applications with shortcuts to the programs I use that are not used often enough to be on my taskbar.

Win 8.1 that is due out soon is rumored to be able to start up in the desktop mode and to have a start button that has the old style start menu.

It may also restore the ability to close or restart the computer from the start button instead of the silly business of having to move the cursor way over to the right and up on the screen to activate the stupidly named "charm menu", then click on settings and then finally "power" and then select Shut down, Restart, or Sleep.

Fingers crossed! When you have people avoiding a purchase because your software is not what they wanted its time to add some of those features back in. At least offer the option.