wtf were Microsoft thinking with Win8?
Jul. 22nd, 2014 07:08 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
julesjonesWell, yes, I know what they were thinking. They were thinking One OS To Rule Them All, across phone, tablets and desktops. Unfortunately I don't like the Tinkertoy style of interface even on phones and tablets, where it belongs and is being useful. On a serious work machine -- eeeuw.
A lot of my reaction so far is that It's Very Different, and it took me some time to even find the button to Run All The Updates. Which has to happen before the Big Update to Win 8.1, which is apparently somewhat more suited to people who would like to continue doing serious work with their work machine. I left it downloading and installing its 101 updates last night. (The 101 is absolutely literal, not hyperbole.) But I'm not going to like it even when I get used to it.
I haven't yet created the restore drive. This is because I'm a dinosaur, and the last time I had to create restore discs, they were discs. On CD, because DVD writers were an expensive optional extra on laptops, and even in desktops. It hadn't occurred to me that in the last eight years assumptions on what gets used for small writeable media have... changed. I need to go and buy a 16 GB memory stick tonight.
Part of the eeuw is that I do not want flickering, moving, dancing things on my home screen. I don't even want static things cluttering up my home screen trying to get my attention. I do not want a ticker tape of the news, I do not want an instant update of the weather. I do not want live update of the world at large. I have not wanted these things for a long, long time -- I took one look at Google's attempt at this lo these many years ago, and went "What? Why?" My colleagues do not understand how I can possibly have a smartphone without a dataplan, because it means that I can't have live updates of the weather and the news and god knows what else on my phone at every second of the day. They do not understand that as far as I'm concerned this lack is a feature and not a bug.
More of the eeuw is that it assumes a touchscreen. I'm disabled. I use Dragon much of the time, with reason. There's a decent trackpad on the Asus, but with my particular set of musculoskeletal problems I am generally much more comfortable with a mouse and appropriate mouse rest.
Now starting to wish that I'd spent the time and money to get a decent Win7 machine, even if it's on its way out. Unfortunately staying on the XP box wasn't really a practical option, because it really is creaking at the seams now.
A lot of my reaction so far is that It's Very Different, and it took me some time to even find the button to Run All The Updates. Which has to happen before the Big Update to Win 8.1, which is apparently somewhat more suited to people who would like to continue doing serious work with their work machine. I left it downloading and installing its 101 updates last night. (The 101 is absolutely literal, not hyperbole.) But I'm not going to like it even when I get used to it.
I haven't yet created the restore drive. This is because I'm a dinosaur, and the last time I had to create restore discs, they were discs. On CD, because DVD writers were an expensive optional extra on laptops, and even in desktops. It hadn't occurred to me that in the last eight years assumptions on what gets used for small writeable media have... changed. I need to go and buy a 16 GB memory stick tonight.
Part of the eeuw is that I do not want flickering, moving, dancing things on my home screen. I don't even want static things cluttering up my home screen trying to get my attention. I do not want a ticker tape of the news, I do not want an instant update of the weather. I do not want live update of the world at large. I have not wanted these things for a long, long time -- I took one look at Google's attempt at this lo these many years ago, and went "What? Why?" My colleagues do not understand how I can possibly have a smartphone without a dataplan, because it means that I can't have live updates of the weather and the news and god knows what else on my phone at every second of the day. They do not understand that as far as I'm concerned this lack is a feature and not a bug.
More of the eeuw is that it assumes a touchscreen. I'm disabled. I use Dragon much of the time, with reason. There's a decent trackpad on the Asus, but with my particular set of musculoskeletal problems I am generally much more comfortable with a mouse and appropriate mouse rest.
Now starting to wish that I'd spent the time and money to get a decent Win7 machine, even if it's on its way out. Unfortunately staying on the XP box wasn't really a practical option, because it really is creaking at the seams now.