Contact usThinking of upgrading to Windows 8
Windows 8 has been officially slated by Microsoft for release in the first week of August this year. Never the less, we at Newton’s Nerds have installed the Windows 8 preview and been messing around with Windows 8 since late September last year. Given many of our customers will be installing Windows 8 soon it seems appropriate to use our blog to introduce you to some of the major changes.
Perhaps the most immediate change that people will notice is the introduction of the Metro interface. I have included below a screen shot from Wikipedia. The Metro interface completely changes the way users interact with their computer. It appears Microsoft has stylised their design on the elements that were highly successful for Apple in the iPhone and later with their iPads. This is not Microsoft’s first attempt at the Metro interface so it is likely they have got it right. The Metro interface was first seen on the Windows Phone operating system.
Perhaps the most immediate change that people will notice is the introduction of the Metro interface. I have included below a screen shot from Wikipedia. The Metro interface completely changes the way users interact with their computer. It appears Microsoft has stylised their design on the elements that were highly successful for Apple in the iPhone and later with their iPads. This is not Microsoft’s first attempt at the Metro interface so it is likely they have got it right. The Metro interface was first seen on the Windows Phone operating system.
Should I install Windows 8? One computer Nerd's opinion.
Specifically changes in the Windows 8 Metro interface include, icons are now tiles and the incorporation of sliding screens. That is where the user can swipe their hand over a screen to move on to the next screen. Another major change that Window s traditionalist will miss is the removal of the start menu. The start menu has been a core to Windows since the release of Windows 95. Back in 1995 this was the centre of a major marketing effort.
Another change is introduction the Windows Store. Again this is highly reminiscent of the App Store found in Apple iPhones. Software installation in Windows 8 can be as simple as opening the Windows Store and selecting the appropriate program. Of course not all programs will install this simply and legacy programs will still need to be installed the traditional way. Worthy of mentioning is the fact that in Windows RT the Windows Store is the method to acquire software.
Behind the scenes there have also been many changes. One that I expect will help many of our computer repair clients is the replacement of Microsoft Security Essentials with Windows Defender. Windows Defender is an alright virus scanner. Personally I prefer Kaspersky but the important thing to keep in mind is that no virus scanner is perfect. Kaspersky does actually cost money but I find it to be money well spent. Perhaps it is because we run into so many viruses doing virus removal services but I find a virus scanner to be worth its weight in gold.
Equally cool is the introduction of the much awaited Internet Explorer 10. I have high hopes that by the time of final release it will be a highly secure program. Of note is that ActiveX components are no longer supported and nor are plugins. This is suggestive of a highly secure browser. Whether or not this eventuates is up to the Microsoft Development Team but if it does this would be reason enough to upgrade to Windows 8. In an age of increasing ecommerce transaction security in the web browser is becoming a priority. There are a few other cool features I have not had space to mention in today’s post but I might do so in future posts.
So do I recommend upgrading to Windows 8? Well I would not rush out and queue up on the 1st of August but yes, it is sounding like a good operating system. Let the first batch of users install Windows 8 and iron out the bugs. Then once they have done the testing for you upgrade to Windows 8. This the safe approach. I think Microsoft learnt a lot from their flop with Windows Vista but never the less it really pays to be careful when upgrading Windows as it is the core piece of software that drives your computer. Nerd out!
Another change is introduction the Windows Store. Again this is highly reminiscent of the App Store found in Apple iPhones. Software installation in Windows 8 can be as simple as opening the Windows Store and selecting the appropriate program. Of course not all programs will install this simply and legacy programs will still need to be installed the traditional way. Worthy of mentioning is the fact that in Windows RT the Windows Store is the method to acquire software.
Behind the scenes there have also been many changes. One that I expect will help many of our computer repair clients is the replacement of Microsoft Security Essentials with Windows Defender. Windows Defender is an alright virus scanner. Personally I prefer Kaspersky but the important thing to keep in mind is that no virus scanner is perfect. Kaspersky does actually cost money but I find it to be money well spent. Perhaps it is because we run into so many viruses doing virus removal services but I find a virus scanner to be worth its weight in gold.
Equally cool is the introduction of the much awaited Internet Explorer 10. I have high hopes that by the time of final release it will be a highly secure program. Of note is that ActiveX components are no longer supported and nor are plugins. This is suggestive of a highly secure browser. Whether or not this eventuates is up to the Microsoft Development Team but if it does this would be reason enough to upgrade to Windows 8. In an age of increasing ecommerce transaction security in the web browser is becoming a priority. There are a few other cool features I have not had space to mention in today’s post but I might do so in future posts.
So do I recommend upgrading to Windows 8? Well I would not rush out and queue up on the 1st of August but yes, it is sounding like a good operating system. Let the first batch of users install Windows 8 and iron out the bugs. Then once they have done the testing for you upgrade to Windows 8. This the safe approach. I think Microsoft learnt a lot from their flop with Windows Vista but never the less it really pays to be careful when upgrading Windows as it is the core piece of software that drives your computer. Nerd out!
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