I apologize if this has been beaten to death previously.

I feel like Windows 8 has gotten a bad wrap, generally.

Aside from the touch-centric "metro" stuff, I feel like Windows 8 is a pretty solid upgrade on Windows 7. Using the desktop mode, it seems to be much snappier that previous versions, and a bunch of utilities, like taskmanager, seem to be much improved.

NOTE: I use Classic Shell to disable most of the Metro bullshit http://www.classicshell.net/...

Actually I find Windows 8 to be very neat now after the upgrade to Windows 8.1.

The boot up time is still extremely fast and the search thing with window start button -> write what you are looking for is very neat indeed(and utterly fast as hell). Actually I feel the experience is like using something like Ubuntu now. Win 8.1 rocks

Oh and the the start button in the lower left corner is back again

I have win 7 Ultimate on one machine and Win 8 Pro on another and I like them both. Win 8 is a whole new way of using windows with all the metro design, which I did not like in the beginning. Then my son(almost 4 years old) got a Ipad and he used it very often and soon he taut me how to use the Ipad and then I started to use the metro design more on my Win 8 machine and realized the amazing idea behind it.

I find it great that I always can hit the win start button and just type away for the things I need(kind of the same with win 7 but now just much faster than before).

I even prefer the Visual Studio 2012 pro metro design(black theme as with win 8) over the Visual Studio 2010 pro design now. In some sense the look are really pleasing and comfortable.

Edit: wrote 8.2 instead of 8.1

The only thing in Win7 that is implemented in a truly bad manner is search (as compared to WinXP). Other than that, Win7 is pretty much perfect as a desktop operating system. It may not be that suitable for a touch device, but then again Win8 isn't either.

Windows 8 has many regressions in desktop mode, too many to even account for all of them, and none are really necessary. Metro in Win8.1 is slightly less stupid than in Win8 when it comes to placing the tiles, but not much.

I have two groups of tiles on my start page and I can't see the rightmost column of the second group. Why? Because my screen is too small? No... just because Windows is fucking stupid. It just has to add an oversized margin to the left so you can't see the rightmost column. You can drag the screen to the left manually, and everything will fit just fine, even without adjusting anything in the layout. But it just wouldn't for f...'s sake remeber it.

Of course you're just a stupid user, Windows is so much more intelligent than you are, so Windows should decide what you want to see, not you.

You can resize a window so its lower margin will land under the task bar. So, to resize it again, you first have to drag it. WTF really, Win7 did this just fine, and it's not like that's rocket science. The controls are way too small for a high-res touch device, why did they have to be changed?

Display driver crash? On Win7, seriously? Never seen. On Win8, every time I press the "save energy" button and press it again. One could admittedly blame Intel just as much for that as Microsoft, but really... the driver for the single most common component in your tablet not working properly? Are you kidding me?

Changing preview sizes, as for previewing photos from your camera. Win7 let you do this with one intuitive click. Win8 admittedly has one extra huge size that Win7 doesn't have, but you now have to jump trough an extra hoop to do something really trivial and formerly intuitive. Double-click on a photo, Windows changes into fucking Metro-mode, loading that stupid app. Why do you think I'm using desktop mode? Does it look like I want my photos displayed in an app?

Indexing service taking 100% on one CPU. Great.

You need Classic Start Menu to have a start menu. Yes there is a stupid no-function button in Win8.1 but that one is more a mockery of customer complaints than a fix. Would it really be asked too much to keep something that is already working fine for those people who want it? Same goes for Aero. Like it or hate it, but Aero is already there and is working fine -- only in Win8 you're not getting it (you do get the Aero effects though, and enabled by default, which totally sucks with touch, makes placing a window even more of a nuisance than it is already).

Apps that I've never used are running. Games? Sport? Voyages? I've never touched any of these, and they are not on my start page, yet they're shown in task manager as running, wtf?

The only thing in Win7 that is implemented in a truly bad manner is search (as compared to WinXP). Other than that, Win7 is pretty much perfect as a desktop operating system.

*cough* file sharing *cough*

What's wrong with Windows filesharing other than being closed source and without a functional non-Windows implementation?

As much as SMB works (if you can call it that), it works with Win7, too.

Now of course, if you were complaining about Samba, I would wholeheartedly agree. It's the only software that I know which will cause a Linux server to go into a state where you have to pull the plug to restart it -- solely because someone unpacks a zip file on a network share and copies 3-4 files concurrently. But what else can you use ... :(

What's wrong with Windows filesharing other than being closed source and without a functional non-Windows implementation?

Other than the lol, I'd say the fact that it never works when you need it to and when it does, it only works one way. And don't tell me that's the user's fault. It's not.

I apologize if this has been beaten to death previously.

I feel like Windows 8 has gotten a bad wrap, generally.

Aside from the touch-centric "metro" stuff, I feel like Windows 8 is a pretty solid upgrade on Windows 7. Using the desktop mode, it seems to be much snappier that previous versions, and a bunch of utilities, like taskmanager, seem to be much improved.

NOTE: I use Classic Shell to disable most of the Metro bullshit http://www.classicshell.net/...

The problem is that you shouldn't need stuff like classic shell to make the OS usable, the touch interface is still very flawed. (The overall idea is good, the execution leaves alot to be desired) I have pretty high hopes for the next major upgrade though since they are definitely on the right track.

So, I'm just getting a macbook (never used one before so Im starting from the beginning) and already I see how much more stable and usable it is than my PC. I have also used Ubuntu Linux (version 10.10 was the best but they have progressively gotten worse).

Linux has its strengths, Windows has its strengths, OsX has its strengths, but as far as windows 8 goes, it feels really plastic. Osx feels like solid silver.

What I means is that Windows 8 feels really breakable while Osx is solid and hard to break. Now, Windows 7 feels a lot more solid. I decided to give Microsoft a chance because I figured they were forced to do well by the bad media they have been getting. And one of my issues was the Windows 8 store, but using the App Store on the Mac, I see it isn't much better. Not as many fake copy apps, but not many I find useful. And boy are the Mac App Store apps expensive!

However, the mac apps are actual desktop software. The windows store apps are plastic sheets like sticky notes that overlay your screen.

I like the start screen. It is much more useful than the start menu (don't know why people hate it so much) and with version 8.1 I'm sure it feels even better now (still running version 8 myself because of issues I have with 8.1)

For now I still have to use windows because of compatibility issues (software I use that can't be ported) but I think the mac will replace my pc soon as the main computer I use.

So, I'm just getting a macbook (never used one before so Im starting from the beginning) and already I see how much more stable and usable it is than my PC. I have also used Ubuntu Linux (version 10.10 was the best but they have progressively gotten worse).

Linux has its strengths, Windows has its strengths, OsX has its strengths, but as far as windows 8 goes, it feels really plastic. Osx feels like solid silver.

What I means is that Windows 8 feels really breakable while Osx is solid and hard to break. Now, Windows 7 feels a lot more solid. I decided to give Microsoft a chance because I figured they were forced to do well by the bad media they have been getting. And one of my issues was the Windows 8 store, but using the App Store on the Mac, I see it isn't much better. Not as many fake copy apps, but not many I find useful. And boy are the Mac App Store apps expensive!

However, the mac apps are actual desktop software. The windows store apps are plastic sheets like sticky notes that overlay your screen.

I like the start screen. It is much more useful than the start menu (don't know why people hate it so much) and with version 8.1 I'm sure it feels even better now (still running version 8 myself because of issues I have with 8.1)

For now I still have to use windows because of compatibility issues (software I use that can't be ported) but I think the mac will replace my pc soon as the main computer I use.

I've broken OS X many times, and it's not uncommon to get the pinwheel of death. It's still my primary machine however. The OS is good enough, and the hardware (shell, screen, trackpad, battery life, weight) is still far superior to what I'm seeing Windows OEMs do. That being said, I find Windows 8 to be a much better touch experience than either Android or iOS. With the fast app switching, the live tiles, the snap view, etc.... I feel so much more restricted when I'm using an iPad.

I feel so much more restricted when I'm using an iPad.

Yeah. I am getting tired of the restrictions of IOS myself. But windows 8 feels like it is going towards restriction model also. I think all these companies are going that way to have more control. Linux is looking better all the time (although they aren't supported much) I need to find out a way to transition to Linux if I have to.