Windows 8 (or 8.1) vs. Windows 7
Upcoming Windows 10

Tell me about Windows 8 and 8.1! Windows 8 is the latest version of Windows and is a major departure from previous versions.  It is the biggest redesign since Windows 95 and represents a major shift in Microsoft philosophy.  I think it SUCKS!!  Windows 8.1 is supposed to be an improvement, by returning the Start Button, and a few other improvements, but in my opinion, it is not enough.

Why did Microsoft change the user interface?  Microsoft has recognized the reality of the major encroachment of the tablet and phone in the world of computing.  Microsoft decided that users would want consistency across all of their platforms; that the look and feel of the desktop (or laptop) computer should be the same as the phone or the tablet.  In this way, being familiar with one platform would mean little or no learning curve for the others, and therefore make users more likely to stay within the Windows family rather than look elsewhere (like Apple or Android devices).  I cannot disagree more with this approach, but more about that later.

Improvements to Windows 8? Microsoft has slowly recognizing that Windows 8 has been a commercial disaster and has made "improvements" to try to gain back supporters.  In truth, the improvements are real but I do not feel they go far enough.

1st was Windows 8.1 which returned a Start button, but not a Start menu behind it; it took you back to the Metro screen.  Right clicking on the Start button opened a menu of some useful system utilities.  There were some other tweaks to make things more logical, but basically, the improvement was small.  Windows 8.1 was a completely new installation, not just an update

In April 2014 came the Windows 8.1 update.  While a large download, this update made more significant improvements, particularly for mouse/keyboard users.  Metro Apps would have a minimize and close button on the top (if you hovered your mouse at the top of the screen) and a taskbar would appear if you hovered at the bottom. You could boot to the desktop and Metro Apps would appear on the desktop taskbar. If you have a desktop PC (as compared to a tablet or phone), the desktop versions of picture viewer, music played, etc. would be the defaults instead of the Metro versions.  Several other tweaks also improve the desktop users experience.  Not quite what I would look for, but better.  I still install Classic Shell (www.classicshell.net) to return my Start Menu.

Windows 10?  As I said, Microsoft has recognized the failure of Windows 8 (and the "improvements").  This was most evident when the team that developed Windows 8 was fired or reassigned.  That's right, I said fired.  Then came the improvements mentioned above.

The next "great" thing will be Windows 10 (yes, they skipped over 9 altogether just to get as far from 8 as they could).  This will be released sometime in 2015 (I have seen dates ranging from mid-spring to mid-fall).  This next version has me very hopeful.  I have seen some of the preview features and they are very interesting.

First among them is the return of the Start Menu, and a real one, this time, and even improved.  It seems to be a composite of the Start Menu and Metro screen, whereas apps can be pinned and moved and resized.  Windows may automatically determine the device you are on and display the best screen.  So if you are on a traditional PC or laptop, you be have the Desktop/Start Menu, and if you are on a phone or tablet (touch), you will have the Metro Screen which is better for these devices.  And if you are on a convertible (such as Microsoft Surface and the like) where the keyboard detaches, the screen will switch automatically from the desktop to the Metro.  Really cool!!

Next comes the ability to run Metro apps in windows on the desktop.  This removes the jarring switch between modes and makes Windows plural again (Metro Apps ran ONLY in full screen mode and therefore were not really a window).  Thus, in Desktop mode, Metro apps behave just like any other program. 

A completely new feature to Windows is the ability to have multiple desktops (this feature already exists in Apple's OS-X).  For those of us who have many windows open at the same time, finding the one you want can be inconvenient.  Now, you would be able to have Word open on one desktop (by itself) and Excel open on another desktop (by itself).  This may not seem like much, but if you think about it for a bit and you will be able to envision many circumstances where this would be useful.

Microsoft is also considering removing the Charms Bar (that thing that appears from the right) and replacing it with something else.

Pricing has not been announced.  I would expect it to be similar to earlier versions. The best part is that the news indicates that Windows 10 will be a FREE (yes, free) upgrade for users of Windows 8 and 8.1 and even for users of Windows 7.  This upgrade offer may only be for a year, but still better than anything offered before.

All in all, Windows 10 looks, so far, like something very good.  This has happened before.  A disaster OS is followed by a great success.  Think Windows ME followed by Windows XP (although XP was really an extension of the NT/2000 line, not 95/98/ME line). or Vista/Windows 7 (this was really more of hardware improvements and minor OS tweaks making the whole thing work).  Windows 8 exceeds them all in badness, so lets hope that Windows 10 exceeds them all in greatness.

And Windows 7?  In the meantime, I still recommend Windows 7.  The biggest downside, is that Windows 7 is scheduled for end-of-support (think what is happening to XP) in 2020.  This still gives you 5 years, but certainly not the 10 years we would expect.  Now Microsoft extended Windows XP's life because of the issues people had with Windows Vista, and perhaps something like that will happen to Windows 7.  We can only hope.

You can still find Windows 7 systems to buy, although you usually need to search online (the stores have almost exclusively Windows 8.x).  If you do end up with a Windows 8.x system, don't panic.  The world will not end, and, with some "improvement," you can make it behave more like Windows 7.  Contact us for help in this.