new computer

[xlogger]

My old computer has run its coarse, 10 years old. We got a new one and I'm having a hard time with windows 8. Really not that good with 7 :-[. b They tell me that a 8.1 will be coming out this month and it will look like windows 7. Anyone know about this?  Ricky

[Ianab]

Main problem with Win8 is that by default it boots to the universally detested "Metro" tile based interface. Maybe it would work OK for a cellphone, but on a PC it sucks.

Solution is to load a program call "Classic Shell", which bypasses the Win8 interface, and takes you to a normal looking desktop, with a menu, start button, desktop icons etc. You can set it up to look however you like, and it's just a shell working over top of the base windows system.

I believe Win 8.1 is a free update to Win8, and Microsoft are trying to undo some of the damage by bringing back the Windows features that people actually liked, and making it easier to run a standard desktop.

Win 8 itself seems good, fast stable, good hardware support etc. Then if you are just running your normal programs on top of that (Chrome, Libre Office, etc) they all work exactly the same under Win8, and with Classic Shell loaded, you get to them in exactly the same way.

http://www.classicshell.net/

Ian

[Al_Smith]

 :D Since you mentioned it about 2-3 months ago I bought a pair of souped up computors with Windows 8 .Mrs. Smiths' is hooked up and running well .Mine is still in the box it came in .

My now old machine with Windows XP pro is doing just fine and I hate change .

[xlogger]

Thanks Ian I've heard of Classic shell yesterday. Might try downloading it tonight. Ricky

[Ianab]

Load it up, reboot the PC and first time you click on it you will be asked what settings you want. If your old PC  was 10 years old, click the "XP" look, and you will be in familiar territory. But it's just a "shell" and Win8 and all the new features are still in there under the hood.

If Microsoft had just bought out the Classic Shell guys for a couple of $million, and added it to Win8 as a standard option, the whole debacle could have been avoided.

But no, they decided the interface they had developed, refined and gotten us used to for the last 20 years was suddenly horribly broken and needed to be taken out and shot.  Al's not the only one that likes the old ways  :D

Ian

[xlogger]

Ian, I started to down load classic shell. A window came up saying it was coming from a untrusted location, so I stop it. Was this wrong? Ricky

[Ianab]

The "untrusted" just means that Windows can't verify the download source, so it's up to you to verify that it's safe.

I've used the software on many machines with no issues, and can't find any reports of spyware etc associated with it.

As long as you happy click the "I understand - carry on" button. It's just part of the better security in the new Windows. Older versions just blindly downloaded installed anything, good or bad.

Ian