I just discovered Window 8 and now I need to know the name of the enemy of humanity who came up with this torture device. This is the most obnoxious operational system I have ever encountered. Can anybody explain what the point of making PC function like a tablet device is? People who want tablets can just get tablets.
At the same time, I have to recognize that Windows 8’s idiocy did serve a purpose. I was having a bad day until I had to work on a Windows 8 computer. Trying to get it to function was so engrossing (and mostly futile) that I got really distracted from everything else.
Maybe Windows 8 should be used for grief therapy. It’s quite useless for everything else.
I really REALLY hope that no perky administrator decides to install it on all our campus computers.
Clarissa's Blog 
I had the misfortune to stumble upon Windows 8 at an airport (was waiting for a 2-hour delayed flight, and they had a demo station) about 9 months ago, and had exactly the same thought. I had to replace my laptop, and was so enraged that windows 8 was so tablet-y and not useful for desktop use, that I purposefully got myself a windows 7 machine. Seriously, desktops are desktops. There’s a reason people use them… you know… work…
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It makes my brain boil. I have no idea how to turn this thing off.
Anybody? Help?
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You can probably find someone at a Radio Shack or Best Buy store who can install a different operating system for you. In my experience, they do good work, but not quickly. For myself, I prefer Ubuntu.
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Alt-f4
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@ David Bellamy
The problem with different operating systems is that not all programs are compatible. I have a friend who’s having a lot of trouble with his operating system (I think Ubuntu, but it might be something else), because Windows programs aren’t compatible and file conversions don’t always work correctly.
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You get used to it after a while, although it does take a few weeks
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The worst aspect I have found so far is that it doesn’t allow you to have more than one Skype account and you have to log into google to access Skype. Also Skype is less intuitively easy to use — you can’t really see another person’s profile details.
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Yeah, Windows 8 is horrible…
You can alleviate a lot of the pain by installing Classic Shell. It’ will give you a proper start menu and lets you boot directly unto the desktop. It is far from being perfect, but definitely better than the stupid menu.
And if you think Win8 is already horrible, I hope you never have to deal with Windows Server 2012 😦
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Windows versions work on a horrible/tolerable cycle. One OS is tolerable, the one after is horrible and so on. If you have/want to use Windows, updating every 2 releases is a good plan.
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I like Windows 7 because the snipping tool is very useful.
The problem is that you don’t always choose the software on a computer you have to work with. At work, this decision is made for us and we have to adapt.
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Hopefully you won’t be blessed with perky administrators.
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“Anyone can get used to anything if given the enough time.” Yes the UI is funny but the ribbon felt funny back in the transition to 2007 now it feels quite well. But I agree that there’s no reason to upgrade if you own a desktop/laptop and it’s good that it cracked a smile on you.
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“but the ribbon felt funny back in the transition to 2007 now it feels quite well”
Not for me. The ribbon still slows me down all. the. freaking. time.
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OK, what ribbon are we talking about? Is this yet another issue I have to anticipate with this OS?
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No this is the way the editing and formatting toolbars are set up in Word 2007 (a big step back for someone who does a lot of weird formatting in different languages).
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Yes, Word 2007 was very obnoxious. The first time somebody installed it on my computer I freaked out completely.
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I feel your pain. Maybe this software will help *a bit*. Its called Pokki (pronounced Poh-Key) – it brings back the old Start menu to Windows 8 and also lets you stay in the desktop interface (go into the settings). Hope this helps! http://www.pokki.com
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I know what you mean. I am actually putting off buying a new laptop and hoping against hope that Windows 9 will have a normal interface. I actually love my tablet and think it’s serves many function but I use my computer and my table for separate functions. And if I had to get rid of one thing, I would get rid of my tablet way before my computer. I loathe Windows 8.
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After about a week of confusion I decided I actually really like the Windows 8 operating system. I set it up so the desktop mode comes up while I’m at work, with all my work stuff organized properly and easily accessible on it. Then when I’m at home and just doing stuff like playing games and listening to music on it, I have it in the tablet view, which is optimized for non-work use. All that said, this is my first PC in 8 years, so I wasn’t as familiar with previous Windows operating systems (my last PC ran Windows 98SE), which may have made the transition easier.
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Bad news: Windows 8.1 is even worse.
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Good news: the bug problems for Windows 8.1 are resolved. This is better than Windows 8.
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The start menu is back.
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I’m glad they saw reason and brought back the start menu.
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