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#61
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New computer but win 7 or 8
On Fri, 12 Apr 2013 20:11:29 +0100, Mike Barnes
wrote: What third-party product are you using, and what customization is it providing for you? "True Launch Bar". Using that, my taskbar has ten folders of shortcuts (arranged functionally) and two shortcuts. No need for any Start menu. True Launch Bar works fine with Windows 8 and with Start8. I run it here too. Additionally I make great use of pinned apps and documents. Me too. Perhaps Start8 can do something similar. Perhaps. "Not much" isn't very reassuring.) I was going to say "no," but since I wasn't 100% sure, I changed it to "not much." g Very wise. There are probably a few minor differences, but to be frank, I can't remember any. Would you like me to e-mail you a screen shot of my desktop? Tell you what, here's one of mine. This is one of two monitors: https://www.dropbox.com/s/vj9u0kkv4l82prg/Desktop.gif Except for the desktop picture being different, and my having a gadget sidebar, yours looks *very* much like mine. I too have the Task Bar on the left side of the screen. But unlike you, I have the True Launch Bar on the left side of my second monitor, rather than on the Task Bar. |
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#62
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New computer but win 7 or 8
On Thu, 11 Apr 2013 22:01:19 -0600, Ken Springer wrote:
OS X is based on, I think, Steve Jobs NeXT OS, which was based on something like BeOS or similar. As a user, I don't know what NeXT is like, and I no longer remember anything about BeOS, but in terms of the technology in both and how OS X incorporated that, I'm even more ignorant :-) However, I sure went into Unix shells a lot when I was running OS X, so I know Unix is there. Looks like what I don't know is the extent to which Unix underlies the other two. But as I was getting ready to click on Send, I just realized that maybe you mean that it's the more surface layers, the user interface and the architecture one usually sees when just using OS X normally, that derived from those two systems. OK, now I'll send this. -- Gene E. Bloch (Stumbling Bloch) |
#63
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New computer but win 7 or 8
On 12/04/2013 20:27, Ken Springer wrote:
On 4/12/13 12:07 PM, Ann Watson wrote: On 11/04/2013 9:38 PM, Ken Springer wrote: Just to be a muckraker, ditch Windows in favor of OS X or some flavor of Linux. LOL Not so great if you can't run your favorite software on a new o/s! How does this differ from not being able to use your favorite Windows software in the Windows OS? Besides, IMO, you can get open source software that does everything the average user needs. grin Not to mention WINE, which runs more and more "Windows only" software as time passes. -- Tciao for Now! John. |
#64
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New computer but win 7 or 8
On Fri, 12 Apr 2013 20:44:59 +0100, John Williamson
wrote: On 12/04/2013 20:27, Ken Springer wrote: Not so great if you can't run your favorite software on a new o/s! How does this differ from not being able to use your favorite Windows software in the Windows OS? It doesn't differ at all, except perhaps in degree. And I can't speak for everyone's experience, but *I* can continue to run all my favorite software in Windows 8, and I also did in Windows 7, Windows Vista,Windows 2000, Windows XP, WFWG 3.11, Windows 3.1, and Windows 3.0 (I skipped Windows Me, so I can't speak for that). |
#65
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New computer but win 7 or 8
On 4/12/2013 2:58 PM, Ken Blake wrote:
On Fri, 12 Apr 2013 20:44:59 +0100, John Williamson wrote: On 12/04/2013 20:27, Ken Springer wrote: Not so great if you can't run your favorite software on a new o/s! How does this differ from not being able to use your favorite Windows software in the Windows OS? It doesn't differ at all, except perhaps in degree. And I can't speak for everyone's experience, but *I* can continue to run all my favorite software in Windows 8, and I also did in Windows 7, Windows Vista,Windows 2000, Windows XP, WFWG 3.11, Windows 3.1, and Windows 3.0 (I skipped Windows Me, so I can't speak for that). As long as you stay with the 32-bit versions, you maximize your chances. Sometimes (as with Outlook Express) it depends if the programs that Microsoft intentionally restricts to certain OS versions are in your list of favorites. |
#66
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New computer but win 7 or 8
On Fri, 12 Apr 2013 13:29:45 -0400, "...winston"
wrote: I like the Windows Media Center in Windows 7. I read somewhere that the WMC doesn't come with Windows 8 but must be bought separately. Is that true? Yes, it is true. OUCH! -- -gufus Thou Shalt NOT excessively annoy others or allow Thyself to become excessively annoyed |
#67
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New computer but win 7 or 8
On Fri, 12 Apr 2013 14:19:15 -0500, Larry__Weiss
wrote: On 4/11/2013 6:02 PM, mick wrote: I have a friend who is asking me to help him choose a new desktop computer. He has an very old machine running win xp, he does not do much other than email, internet, a bit of video editing and photograph editing. He is also not that computer literate, I have to walk him through most basic things much of the time. Choosing a computer to suit his needs is not much trouble but I am stuck on whether to advise win7 or win8. I know a lot about win7 and can help him to easily get to grips with understanding it, but if I go for win8 I know it will be more difficult, as I do not have that here at home to play with when he asks the inevitable help questions over the phone. The new computer will be between 4 and 8gb, no gaming, no touch screen. I don't want to appear selfish from my point of view and help him spend his money by buying an already oldish win7 when the newer win8 is widely advertised as the next best thing since sliced bread if you see what I mean. As to myself, I have three machines here with win7 and cannot ever see me upgrading to win8 as all the reports I have read so far just don't convince me it is better. I had vista on a couple of machines awhile back and although it worked well(for me), win 7 just blew it out of the water and that is what I will be sticking with for quite a long time. Oh, what to do :-? I think you need to first determine whether it will a 32-bit or a 64-bit version of Windows that he will acquire. I'm not the person you are addressing, but almost all new machines are 64-bit these days, so it's highly likely that he will acquire a 64-bit version of Windows. Almost everyone does. And, if he is using Outlook Express on his XP machine, he is in for some discomfort in adapting to a new email client. Three points regarding that: 1. That's to some extent true, but it's irrelevant to the question of whether he should get Windows 7 or Windows 8. Outlook Express will run on neither of them. 2. If he chooses a Microsoft e-mail client--Outlook, Windows Live Mail, or Windows Mail (which isn't supposed to run on Windows 7, but it can be made to do so)--there will be a lot of similarity between it and Outlook Express, so there should be very little discomfort. Windows Mail and Windows Live Mail are essentially just newer versions of Outlook Express with different names. And I remember back when I made the transition from Outlook Express to Outlook several years ago, and I found it very easy. 3. Even if he chooses a third-party e-mail client, most of them have a fair amount of similarity with Outlook Express, so there should be only little discomfort, |
#68
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New computer but win 7 or 8
On Fri, 12 Apr 2013 00:41:11 -0400, "...winston"
wrote: Microsoft is perfectly comfortable with users upgrading from XP to either o/s though the EOL for Support of Win7 (April 2020) will occur about 7 yrs from now and at the current time estimated to be about 2-4 yrs before Win8's EOL Support. I bet M$ will extend W7 support past April 2020. IMHO -- -gufus Thou Shalt NOT excessively annoy others or allow Thyself to become excessively annoyed |
#69
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New computer but win 7 or 8
On 4/12/13 1:44 PM, Gene E. Bloch wrote:
On Thu, 11 Apr 2013 22:01:19 -0600, Ken Springer wrote: OS X is based on, I think, Steve Jobs NeXT OS, which was based on something like BeOS or similar. As a user, I don't know what NeXT is like, and I no longer remember anything about BeOS, but in terms of the technology in both and how OS X incorporated that, I'm even more ignorant :-) As I understand it, and therefore could be wrong, both BeOS and Next were based on Unix. I don't know any of the details, and I suspect Unix is still proprietary. And, maybe some of both has some Linux, in it. I do remember reading somewhere, and again, this might be wrong, that Apple was having a horrible time in its effort to replace OS 9. They couldn't get the in house OS X to work. Steve Jobs came back, and they shifted to updating the NeXT OS to be Apples OS X. I do know, I'd like to have a NeXT machine. I had some friends that were managing a business that was running on NeXT, and except that the system they had for this was just grayscale, they loved it. Their personal computer(s) were Windows. However, I sure went into Unix shells a lot when I was running OS X, so I know Unix is there. Looks like what I don't know is the extent to which Unix underlies the other two. But as I was getting ready to click on Send, I just realized that maybe you mean that it's the more surface layers, the user interface and the architecture one usually sees when just using OS X normally, that derived from those two systems. No, nothing that technical at my end. grin -- Ken Mac OS X 10.8.3 Firefox 20.0 Thunderbird 17.0.5 LibreOffice 4.0.1.2 |
#70
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New computer but win 7 or 8
On Thu, 11 Apr 2013 18:22:12 -0700, Ken Blake
wrote: a. Windows 8 will be supported longer than Windows 7 Maybe? -- -gufus Thou Shalt NOT excessively annoy others or allow Thyself to become excessively annoyed |
#71
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New computer but win 7 or 8
On Fri, 12 Apr 2013 14:27:52 -0600, Ken Springer wrote:
On 4/12/13 1:44 PM, Gene E. Bloch wrote: On Thu, 11 Apr 2013 22:01:19 -0600, Ken Springer wrote: OS X is based on, I think, Steve Jobs NeXT OS, which was based on something like BeOS or similar. As a user, I don't know what NeXT is like, and I no longer remember anything about BeOS, but in terms of the technology in both and how OS X incorporated that, I'm even more ignorant :-) As I understand it, and therefore could be wrong, both BeOS and Next were based on Unix. I don't know any of the details, and I suspect Unix is still proprietary. And, maybe some of both has some Linux, in it. I do remember reading somewhere, and again, this might be wrong, that Apple was having a horrible time in its effort to replace OS 9. They couldn't get the in house OS X to work. Steve Jobs came back, and they shifted to updating the NeXT OS to be Apples OS X. I do know, I'd like to have a NeXT machine. I had some friends that were managing a business that was running on NeXT, and except that the system they had for this was just grayscale, they loved it. Their personal computer(s) were Windows. However, I sure went into Unix shells a lot when I was running OS X, so I know Unix is there. Looks like what I don't know is the extent to which Unix underlies the other two. But as I was getting ready to click on Send, I just realized that maybe you mean that it's the more surface layers, the user interface and the architecture one usually sees when just using OS X normally, that derived from those two systems. No, nothing that technical at my end. grin OK, thanks for the above. You have added to my ignorance. Just kidding - I meant that you have improved my ignorance, but I had fun saying it that way :-) Obviously I didn't know about the underlying OS in NeXT and BeOS, so I appreciate the info. And now I don't have to Google...Because what you said is all I need at the moment. -- Gene E. Bloch (Stumbling Bloch) |
#72
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New computer but win 7 or 8
On Fri, 12 Apr 2013 12:58:12 -0700, Ken Blake wrote:
On Fri, 12 Apr 2013 20:44:59 +0100, John Williamson wrote: On 12/04/2013 20:27, Ken Springer wrote: Not so great if you can't run your favorite software on a new o/s! How does this differ from not being able to use your favorite Windows software in the Windows OS? It doesn't differ at all, except perhaps in degree. And I can't speak for everyone's experience, but *I* can continue to run all my favorite software in Windows 8, and I also did in Windows 7, Windows Vista,Windows 2000, Windows XP, WFWG 3.11, Windows 3.1, and Windows 3.0 (I skipped Windows Me, so I can't speak for that). One reason I switched back to Windows from the Mac a few years ago was that some of the Windows software I had been using was not available in OS X, so I ran XP in a VM on the Mac. SO I got a PC with Vista and discovered that some of the Windows software I had been using was not compatible with Vista, so I ran XP in a VM on the PC. Good thing I can laugh at myself... -- Gene E. Bloch (Stumbling Bloch) |
#73
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New computer but win 7 or 8
On Fri, 12 Apr 2013 11:58:53 +0100, mick wrote:
On 4/11/2013 4:02 PM, mick wrote: I have a friend who is asking me to help him choose a new desktop computer. He has an very old machine running win xp, he does not do much other than email, internet, a bit of video editing and photograph editing. He is also not that computer literate, I have to walk him through most basic things much of the time. Choosing a computer to suit his needs is not much trouble but I am stuck on whether to advise win7 or win8. I know a lot about win7 and can help him to easily get to grips with understanding it, but if I go for win8 I know it will be more difficult, as I do not have that here at home to play with when he asks the inevitable help questions over the phone. The new computer will be between 4 and 8gb, no gaming, no touch screen. I don't want to appear selfish from my point of view and help him spend his money by buying an already oldish win7 when the newer win8 is widely advertised as the next best thing since sliced bread if you see what I mean. As to myself, I have three machines here with win7 and cannot ever see me upgrading to win8 as all the reports I have read so far just don't convince me it is better. I had vista on a couple of machines awhile back and although it worked well(for me), win 7 just blew it out of the water and that is what I will be sticking with for quite a long time. Oh, what to do :-? Well you have had some very nice and well thought out responses. I was too lazy. What are you going to recommend?? Decisions, decisions, god knows LOL What is apparent from much of the good advice posted here is for me to stand back a little and let my friend decide what he thinks he will like and then for me to help after he has made his choice. Maybe I will have to learn win8 pretty damn quick. LOL What makes things a little harder with my friend is that he is French, talks English OK but doesn't always understand it :-) OK, you have to learn French. It'll even be OK if you talk French OK but don't always understand it... -- Gene E. Bloch (Stumbling Bloch) |
#74
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New computer but win 7 or 8
On Fri, 12 Apr 2013 11:00:07 -0400, Wolf K wrote:
On 4/12/2013 10:49 AM, NY wrote: [...] By all means provide a new tablet-oriented shell as an *option* but don't make it compulsory and throw away the old shell. [...] Classic Shell (free) and other 3rd party add-ons (some free, some not) give you the option. With the traditional GUI, W8 is IMO actually better than W7 in few (minor) ways, eg, the fly-out window thumbnails on taskbar icons when apps are running. YMMV But I think this copy of Windows 7 has fly-out thumbnails on its taskbar icons for running apps. When I rest the cursor on a taskbar icon, I get a small pop-up which shows a miniature version of the task's open windows. Is that what you mean? I also checked the other computer, since this one is W7 Pro. The other one is Home Premium, and it also shows the pictures. -- Gene E. Bloch (Stumbling Bloch) |
#75
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New computer but win 7 or 8
On Fri, 12 Apr 2013 08:19:25 -0700, Ken Blake wrote:
On Fri, 12 Apr 2013 07:42:50 -0700, Tecknomage wrote: The thing to remember about Win8 is that it is primarily optimized for *touch-screen* hardware. Desktop PC with touch-screen monitor or tablet PC. It has a smart-phone like GUI. As far as I'm concerned, the most important thing to remember is that it has *two* interfaces. The one you are talking about (the "smart-phone like GUI") is only the default one, and one that doesn't have to ever be used. As I've said elsewhere in this thread, I hardly ever use it; the other interface, the one I use and recommend for those without touch screens, is almost exactly like Windows 7's , especially if you add a third-party program. For my part, I don't use W8 much, but it's a non-touch screen setup, and I have no trouble using the mouse in the Modern interface. I think a touch interface would be easier, but it's set up as a media computer[1], and the TV is across the room, so even if were a touch screen, I'd have to be Plastic Man to use it. Of course, that's just my situation, not the general case. [1] It was not a very successful project, IMO. One of my failures :-) -- Gene E. Bloch (Stumbling Bloch) |
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