As you are all aware (or should be), Microsoft released their next version in the Windows Operating System Windows 8 last Friday. Some things have been good and some things have been bad!
I can’t fully comment on how Windows 8 is good, since A) I haven’t properly tried out Windows 8 and B) I am still on Windows 7 like most gamers.
But, Why are gamers still on Windows 7? Why have they not upgraded to Windows 8? Properly for some obvious and not so obvious reasons.
1) Compatibility
Gamers could be using mods or tools that require certain things that are in Windows 7 and that are not available in Windows 8. Which is understandable. People had the same problem when Windows went from XP to Vista and then nothing worked at all. But after a few updates and service packs, it is for the most part sorted.
2) Notch and Valve
Back in September, Notch said that he is to not certify Minecraft for Windows 8 because of the direction Windows 8 was going with the “closed source” idea. Valve took a similar approach saying that “Windows 8 is a catastrophe”. So, you have 2 of the biggest game “Studios” in the world slamming Windows 8 for not being a open platform like Vista or 7.
So, what have Valve CEO Gabe Newell done about this? Bring the top-tier gaming social networking center, Steam for Linux.
3) Stick to what they know.
I know this may seem stupid, but if you know how to use a Operating System, why would you change. I have been using Windows 7 since it came out in 2009 and have never looked back! When I tried the Windows 8 release preview, I thought it was OK. It had the same functionality as what I used in Windows 7, but some things just weren’t where they were suppose to be. Such as the infamous Start Menu.
The start menu was one of the biggest things about Windows since 9x. It was the gateway to get everywhere on the computer, but now, they are making that experience harder for people who have been using Windows since 9x. Where do people go?! They have to use the Metro Start Screen?! That is no good to anyone. Thanks to Stardock, they released Start8 and they brought back the start menu to Windows 8. Does this make a difference? Yes, to me it does.
I would prefer to go to a menu, rather than a application that sits on top of the desktop and search for a program that way. I don’t want to leave the desktop just to open something that is on another screen. That should only be done on a mobile. I want to Press the Start button on my keyboard and type something into the search and open it in a menu. Or even if I want to do to my Documents folder, how do I do that in Windows 8? I have to go to the Start Screen just to open it. I don’t want to do that. That is not how I was taught.
(You may be saying this at this point. “If Padraig is complaining about not having a Start Menu in Windows, how is he going to cope if he goes to Linux or even Mac?”)
I would rather use Linux or Mac that Windows 8 if Stardock hadn’t made Start8. It’s crazy to think that a 3rd party developer HAD to make a Start Menu that is staple in other versions of Windows and not Windows 8.
Anyway, I am just rambling on. Again.
What do you think about Windows 8?! Have you upgraded and what is your stance on it? Let me know.
Back in August of 2009, I made a post about some of the changes that were in Windows 7 from Vista. It’s a old post, so please do check it out! – http://padraigfahy.wordpress.com/2009/08/05/windows-7/
Notch on Windows 8 – http://www.joystiq.com/2012/09/27/notch-refuses-to-certify-minecraft-for-closed-windows-8-platfo/
Gabe Newell on Windows 8 – http://www.zdnet.com/valve-windows-8-is-a-catastrophe-for-pcs-7000001634/
Start8 – https://store.stardock.com/product/ESD-SDS-W1211
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