What percentage of pc users throughout the world use Windows as their primary operating system? I guess it will be 75-80%. Apple OS is mostly confined in USA and some handful of countries and Linux, though very secure and almost devoid of virus issues(until recently) they did not have a very user friendly UI. And considering apple particularly, not many of us in India are ready to spend nearly 75-80K at least to buy an I-MAC.
Windows has a very old history in OS department and since its start it has gone through various versions. Windows 98, when released, got popular. Windows ME, Vista were some of the disasters of Microsoft, but XP came to rescue and that was the most popular version of Windows until Windows 7 came out. Windows 7 had great functionality and a newer user interface and was very easy to use. But nothing could stop Microsoft to bring a quick iteration in form of Windows 8. And I have been a tremendous admirer of this version and using it for almost 1.5 years, actually without any serious issues.
An OS has lakhs of system files, thousands of functionalities, hundreds of aspects to consider.I am not that fool to discuss it in detail because I am no one to do that. I will just state the+ve and -ve of this OS as a very ordinary end user(not at all a geek). So no further waste of time -
PROS:
1) The main advantage of Windows 8 over 7 is its speed. Its Start Up and Shut Down speed is blazing fast. Shout Down is even more quicker between the two. If u can do a clean shut down(mean to say no background apps still running like browser open window etc.) then it will take just 4-5 seconds, and trust me I am not exaggarrating.
2) Its interface is pretty cool with some nice looking Wallpapers, some Color schemes and Themes. Just right click in a blank space on the conventional desktop(no the start screen) and select’personalize’ and voila.u can see all the options in the screen. U can even set the wallpapers to change randomly.
3) The ’Start’ screen gives a flavor of Windows phones. It actually scrolls horizontally. It has a few’Live Tiles’ like windows mobile OS but most of them require internet connection to function properly. U can minimize the start screen also and also can choose many background colors if u get bored.
4) The start screen has a ’Desktop’ tile which is easily visible. When u click it, u get the conventional desktop(except the Start button) and it just increases your confidence level because from this point, it actually looks very similar to Windows 7. And this is also a very good thing as most of us are very much familier with the 7 interface.
5) Control Panel is neatly organized and is very similar to that of windows 7. Nothing that new is found here except the Action Centre.
6) Action Centre is another good and handy feature as this is a one stop solution for some in built security features. U can manage Driver support, Virus Protection, Spyware Protection, Windows Update etc. from one single window.
7) Windows 8 can run very fast if u use proper hardware to support it. I have AMD Phenom II X4 Quad Core Processor coupled with 6 GB RAM with ASUS motherboard and ATI Raedon 5670 Graphics Card(1GB GDDR5). I never experienced any slow down over the years. I know the configuration I use is somewhat higher end side, but note that all these peripherals I bought approx 4 years ago. My point is, if u use a moderately powerful processor according to today’s standard coupled with 4 GB ram and a somewhat decent motherboard from reputed brand(i think I am not asking for too much), then windows 8 will give u decent performance.
8) I am using 64 bit version and I can safely say that most of the 3rd party software are running pretty well. I did not find any compatibility issue till now.
9) Windows 8 has a large number of Driver Database in its repository. So driver support is much much better than Vista or XP and slightly better than 7 too.
10) A very important novelty is its stability. Trust me when I say that it is a very stable operating system. Unless there is any serious damage caused by some driver conflict or virus attacks, u wont have to format and reinstall it frequently.
11) Windows has an in-built virus protection and firewall which will come handy in the absence of dedicated Anti Virus software/Anti Spyware(it is also present in windows 7 too).
12) It has a handy Windows Experience Index, a kind of Benchmarking tool to measure the performance of your pc’s current hardware(right click on My Computer and select Properties).
13) While installing it, partitioning of hard disk is easy. Forget those days of FDisk command, u can do it in a comprehensive Graphical User Interface.
14) I played at least 19-20 games(like Metro 2033, Just Cause 2, Far Cry 3, 4, Call of Duty MW2, 3 Ghost, Medal of Honor latest one, Tomb Raider latest one, Wolfenstein-New Order to name a few) after installing 8 in my system, not a single game gave any issue involving the OS.
CONS:
1) The main problem is the absence of conventional Start button in the Taskbar. But u can find a few 3rd party apps offering the facility to have it installed.
2) Installing Windows 8 takes time particularly through bootable CDs. Instead, if your BIOS support booting through USB device, then make a bootable Pen Drive and use it. It will be much faster.
3) For those who are directly migrating from Windows XP, the learning curve will be steep. U better navigate for first 5-6 days to get familier with the whole new interface.
4) Some settings are dug deep and some are hard to access with just one click. U have to navigate and click a few times for them(like LAN connection, to access the TCP/IP settings etc).
5) Microsoft’s own browser IE is not comparable to Firefox or Chrome. Though now a days it incorporated Tabbed browsing(at last!), but still it is not that easy to use.
6) As far I know, when installing, by default Windows wont allow to make more than 3 partitions of the hard disk. U can use 3rd party disk partitioning tool to make more partitions later.
Tips for first time users -
i) U may find it difficult to locate the Shut Down button for the very first time. Take the mouse pointer in the upper right of the desktop, u can see the Settings. Click it and u can see the Shut Down button.
ii) After clicking the settings button, u will also see in the bottom right corner -’Change PC Settings’. Click it and U can see many useful settings there. According to your preference, u can set or change many of them(basically ON/OFF buttons are there for most of the options).
U just can not blame an OS just because u are not getting accustomed with it easily. U have to bear in mind that in every iteration Microsoft tries to add some new functions and remove unnecessary one. This obviously brings some new things and make it a bit complex than before. And this is true for every new updated version of any good software whether it is OS or not. Just give it a more honest try, explore it for a few days and u will find everything u need to run this OS as a daily driver. Oh come on, it is not a rocket science that I am telling about. Many of the reviewers have given poor rating and I dont agree with them. I admit that Windows 7 is easy to navigate and use but 8 also has its own strengths. And I sincerely request whoever is using XP till now, better install 7 before using 8.