Windows 8 Review – My Personal Experience
Back in the late 90’s and early 00’s it was very common to purchase a new computer about every 18 months. This was due to technology upgrades to both the software and hardware of the systems. This schedule was broken in about 2002 when Windows came out with their XP platform, and similarly, Apple’s Mac product did not change that much over the same period.
Over the past two years, I have been limping along with my old desktop and laptop (which I sync to travel). Even though I did a factory reinstall last spring, and have many programs to keep my computers free of malware, etc. they were showing their age. On my last trip out of town, the shift key on the laptop would not work, and I met the end of my rope.
Which brought me to my 1st dilemma – Since I would need to learn Windows 8 as a new operating system, was it time to switch to a Mac and learn that operating system? I read many reviews and spoke to many users. In the end, I came to the conclusion that since I spend the majority of my time using my computers for business work with Microsoft Office, Windows 8 was a better choice for me than a Mac. (While there is now an Microsoft Office Suite for Mac it is not as robust as Office on a PC.) I also considered getting a chrome book and work Office in the cloud. However, as an attorney my client files are extremely confidential. I have a lot of anti-hacking software on my computer, and I just did not trust the cloud to handle the confidences of my clients. Therefore, I decided to stay with PC and skip the Mac.
That Sunday I went to my favorite computer store (Staples, believe it or not) and bought a new desktop tower (HP with Intel chips) and a new laptop (Toshiba with Intel chips.); but no touch screens. I worked on uninstalling my paid for programs from the old computers, reinstalling them on the new computers, and moving all my old data over to the new machines. I was greatly surprised to find that I had both machines up and running and that I was able to do what I used to do on my XP machines in just 6 hours.
I have had these two new computers for about 2 weeks now. I am now as proficient in my business uses with Windows 8 as I was with XP. It was a far easier conversion than I was lead to believe. What I have not had a chance to do is realize the power of the new operating system. Basically, I am using the computer like an XP machine and have not touched the 100’s of app’s that come with the machine, or are available to me as downloads. I am sure I will start to use these apps over the coming weeks, and I will then put up part two of this review.
In conclusion: I was very surprised and happy to find I could take 2 cold machines out of the box and be back in business in just 6 hours. Using Windows 8 to do my old XP tasks was easy to initiate, and not the problem everyone says it would be. I have found the software to be fast and robust – instead of restarting my computer a few times a day, I now go days without a restart.
All in All I give a two thumbs up rating to Windows 8 and recommend it to those of you out there who are considering an upgrade to their computer systems.