Why I've all but given up on Windows

[GURPS]

Why I've all but given up on Windows

Support fatigue
I've spent almost my entire adult working life involved with PCs, and the more PCs you are around, the more sick and dying PCs you encounter. And I've encountered a lot.

I've also cajoled and coaxed countless ailing systems back to life, but during that time I've come to realize how fragile the Windows operating system is, and how something small and insignificant as a bad driver, incorrect settings, or the stars being in the wrong position can bring a system to its knees, and result in hours of work searching for a solution. That's great if you're being paid by the hour to solve PC problems, but if you're dealing with your own systems, and you have better things to be doing with your time, then you want to get them up and running as fast as possible so you can get back to real work.

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Change for the sake of change
One of the biggest problems I have with Windows is the way that it inflicts change on the user for no logical reason.

For me, Windows 8 was the peak of "change for the sake of change," removing the Start Menu and pushing the Desktop into the background. Yes, I understand why Microsoft needed the Start Screen (because the Start Menu would be too cumbersome for tablet users), and yes, I understand that Microsoft wanted to give apps center stage, but for hundreds of millions of users running Windows on a desktop or notebook PCs, these changes did nothing but hurt productivity.

Compare this to OS X or even Linux distros. Here you feel a progression from one version to the next. Yes, sometimes there are changes that are disliked, but overall there's a smooth progression from one version to the next. Jarring changes are best kept to a minimum because they have an adverse effect on productivity, adding unnecessarily to the learning curve.

Microsoft backpedaled on some of these changes with Windows 8.1 (which must have been a pain for users who had gone to the effort of learning how to use Windows 8), but for me the damage was done. It's clear that Microsoft is going in a direction that's incompatible with the one I want my operating system to go in.


No appreciation of power users
Microsoft's decision to end the TechNet program, a service which gave power users, enthusiasts, and those whose job it is to test and support Microsoft products cheap and easy access to products, is a strong indicator that the company no longer values what people like this bring to the platform.

I have always despised Microsoft Changing Windows, just because they can
I still game on a PC ....

 

[czygvtwkr]

It was nothing more than an attempt to get people use to the start screen to get people to eventually buy windows phones.

I recently got a windows phone ($60 off contract) just to play with and I have to say metro makes alot more sense on a phone than a desktop. WP8 is actually quite nice and runs very fast even on low end devices.

 

[LibertyBeacon]

I have always despised Microsoft Changing Windows, just because they can
I still game on a PC ....

One thing I always appreciated about the Steve Jobs philosophy - Apple had no problem cutting off support for old hardware. You want to run this new shiny OS on a old piece of junk? NOPE. Whereas the Microsoft strategy was to support *everything*, which is what I think lead to this monolithic OS I grew to hate.

 

[GURPS]

One thing I always appreciated about the Steve Jobs philosophy - Apple had no problem cutting off support for old hardware. You want to run this new shiny OS on a old piece of junk? NOPE. Whereas the Microsoft strategy was to support *everything*, which is what I think lead to this monolithic OS I grew to hate.

after Supporting 'Classic' or OS 9 for HOW Long .....

then PPC for How Long - 2 maybe 3 verisons before cutting off PPC Support

the thing is, just because Leopard is no longer patched, it still 'usable' if you have the Computer it came on



Computers

 

[preselector]

It was nothing more than an attempt to get people use to the start screen to get people to eventually buy windows phones.

Yep, and they executed the attempt badly. I recently bought a new desktop with Win8 on it. Here comes the Metro tiles and not a bit of easily findable instructions for the new interface. I played with Metro awhile and then dl'd classic shell. I liked some Metro features but found it generally unsuitable for the desktop. A written Metro guide and an easy way to switch between interfaces could have made this a success story. Microsoft arrogance in action.

 

[GWguy]

Yep, and they executed the attempt badly. I recently bought a new desktop with Win8 on it. Here comes the Metro tiles and not a bit of easily findable instructions for the new interface. I played with Metro awhile and then dl'd classic shell. I liked some Metro features but found it generally unsuitable for the desktop. A written Metro guide and an easy way to switch between interfaces could have made this a success story. Microsoft arrogance in action.

One of the tiles brings up a very helpful guide with instructions and videos.

 

[Dye Tied]

I recently bought a touch screen notebook with Windows 8 and it love it. Learning how it worked took very little time and I still have the keyboard to fall back on, if I want to type faster.