It seems like just yesterday I was hating you for the first time! Has
it really been fifteen years since you introduced your awful interface
to us? How time flies.
Windows 8 was the one Microsoft OS I entirely skipped (well, I think I
missed NT4 too... or maybe it was 3.5? I forget; somewhere in there.
But that was more due to circumstance than choice. We just didn't get
a chance to upgrade before Win2K came out). After testing the beta, I
did my best to avoid Windows 8 entirely. I think I eventually ended up
with a single laptop with Windows 8.1, but otherwise? We just didn't
support it or recommend it or use it.
Not that it really was that terrible an OS. I mean, I hated the
interface but that was because it was completely unsuited to my use,
and not really well-designed for desktop-centric work. It was messy
and cluttered and took too much room and seemed more focused on
appearance than utility. But that was, I think, the goal; it was an OS >designed to look nice. And a lot of the under-the-hood stuff
introduced were good improvements... enough so that when Win10
revamped the shell the OS was praised for its performance. (It was a
lot like Win7 did for Vista).
But it was really hard to get past that interface.
There were other reasons to dislike it too, of course. Microsoft
locked DX10 to Windows8 and above. Microsoft used Windows 8 push their
awful App store. It was also when they started using their OS to >heavy-handedly push their other online services. A lot of features in
the OS seemed designed to benefit Microsoft rather than make the lives
of their customers better. Its competitors -- Linux and MacOS and
ChromeOS-- started looking much more viable because of that.
Steam started pushing its hardware offerings as a direct response to
Windows 8 and the potential threat its app-store represented. This led
to further development in SteamOS and later the Proton compatibility
layer that made the underlying OS even more commoditized. So too with
Google and its Chromebooks; a response to Microsoft trying to
lock-down app distribution. Windows still has a lot of inertia to it,
but more and more --thanks to attitudes and tactics by Microsoft
started with the release of Windows 8-- people are considering
alternatives. I think if ever Microsoft Windows, is dethroned, we'll
look back at Windows 8 as the spark that lit the fire.
So I guess it's not all that bad ;-)
How did you feel about Windows 8.0?
It seems like just yesterday I was hating you for the first time! Has
it really been fifteen years since you introduced your awful interface
to us? How time flies.
How did you feel about Windows 8.0?
How did you feel about Windows 8.0?
Upgraded immediately because the new task manager was *much* better than
the NT4 pos 7 shipped with. I also enjoyed some of the Store apps. It got
me started with Pinball FX 2, which was a lot of fun.
So I got Start8 from Stardock and never looked back. Windows 8 was
awesome once you house broke it (and figured out how to actually close a >Store app).
It seems like just yesterday I was hating you for the first time! Has--
it really been fifteen years since you introduced your awful interface
to us? How time flies.
Windows 8 was the one Microsoft OS I entirely skipped (well, I think I
missed NT4 too... or maybe it was 3.5? I forget; somewhere in there.
But that was more due to circumstance than choice. We just didn't get
a chance to upgrade before Win2K came out). After testing the beta, I
did my best to avoid Windows 8 entirely. I think I eventually ended up
with a single laptop with Windows 8.1, but otherwise? We just didn't
support it or recommend it or use it.
Not that it really was that terrible an OS. I mean, I hated the
interface but that was because it was completely unsuited to my use,
and not really well-designed for desktop-centric work. It was messy
and cluttered and took too much room and seemed more focused on
appearance than utility. But that was, I think, the goal; it was an OS designed to look nice. And a lot of the under-the-hood stuff
introduced were good improvements... enough so that when Win10
revamped the shell the OS was praised for its performance. (It was a
lot like Win7 did for Vista).
But it was really hard to get past that interface.
There were other reasons to dislike it too, of course. Microsoft
locked DX10 to Windows8 and above. Microsoft used Windows 8 push their
awful App store. It was also when they started using their OS to heavy-handedly push their other online services. A lot of features in
the OS seemed designed to benefit Microsoft rather than make the lives
of their customers better. Its competitors -- Linux and MacOS and
ChromeOS-- started looking much more viable because of that.
Steam started pushing its hardware offerings as a direct response to
Windows 8 and the potential threat its app-store represented. This led
to further development in SteamOS and later the Proton compatibility
layer that made the underlying OS even more commoditized. So too with
Google and its Chromebooks; a response to Microsoft trying to
lock-down app distribution. Windows still has a lot of inertia to it,
but more and more --thanks to attitudes and tactics by Microsoft
started with the release of Windows 8-- people are considering
alternatives. I think if ever Microsoft Windows, is dethroned, we'll
look back at Windows 8 as the spark that lit the fire.
So I guess it's not all that bad ;-)
How did you feel about Windows 8.0?
On Tue, 02 Jun 2026 20:23:47 -0400, Spalls Hurgenson <[email protected]> wrote:
It seems like just yesterday I was hating you for the first time! Has
it really been fifteen years since you introduced your awful interface
to us? How time flies.
I tried hard not to intensely dislike Windows 8. I realised after a
while that I was downloading apps to make it look and act more like
Windows 7, so I just went back to Windows 7.
Win8 was the only Windows that I did not like. I started on 2.0 and
used every version thereafter. I wasn't overly endeared with Vista,
but I didn't dislike it in the way that I disliked 8.
My fondest Windows memory is moving to Windows 7 but I also missed XP
for quite a long time.
I still have 98, XP and Win7 on systems that I rarely ever use. I
think I kid myself that I will play all of my XP era games again in particular one day.
Win8 was the only Windows that I did not like. I started on 2.0 and
used every version thereafter. I wasn't overly endeared with Vista,
but I didn't dislike it in the way that I disliked 8.
It seems like just yesterday I was hating you for the first time! Has
it really been fifteen years since you introduced your awful interface
to us? How time flies.
Windows 8 was the one Microsoft OS I entirely skipped (well, I think I
missed NT4 too... or maybe it was 3.5? I forget; somewhere in there.
But that was more due to circumstance than choice. We just didn't get
a chance to upgrade before Win2K came out). After testing the beta, I
did my best to avoid Windows 8 entirely. I think I eventually ended up
with a single laptop with Windows 8.1, but otherwise? We just didn't
support it or recommend it or use it.
Not that it really was that terrible an OS. I mean, I hated the
interface but that was because it was completely unsuited to my use,
and not really well-designed for desktop-centric work. It was messy
and cluttered and took too much room and seemed more focused on
appearance than utility. But that was, I think, the goal; it was an OS designed to look nice. And a lot of the under-the-hood stuff
introduced were good improvements... enough so that when Win10
revamped the shell the OS was praised for its performance. (It was a
lot like Win7 did for Vista).
But it was really hard to get past that interface.
There were other reasons to dislike it too, of course. Microsoft
locked DX10 to Windows8 and above. Microsoft used Windows 8 push their
awful App store. It was also when they started using their OS to heavy-handedly push their other online services. A lot of features in
the OS seemed designed to benefit Microsoft rather than make the lives
of their customers better. Its competitors -- Linux and MacOS and
ChromeOS-- started looking much more viable because of that.
Steam started pushing its hardware offerings as a direct response to
Windows 8 and the potential threat its app-store represented. This led
to further development in SteamOS and later the Proton compatibility
layer that made the underlying OS even more commoditized. So too with
Google and its Chromebooks; a response to Microsoft trying to
lock-down app distribution. Windows still has a lot of inertia to it,
but more and more --thanks to attitudes and tactics by Microsoft
started with the release of Windows 8-- people are considering
alternatives. I think if ever Microsoft Windows, is dethroned, we'll
look back at Windows 8 as the spark that lit the fire.
So I guess it's not all that bad ;-)
How did you feel about Windows 8.0?
8.1 was one of the first OS's I had on a home computer, and for some
reason I actually really liked it back then. I can still see the flaws
now, but nostalgia is quite strong...
On Mon, 8 Jun 2026 15:20:08 -0000 (UTC), candycanearter07
<[email protected]> said this thing:
8.1 was one of the first OS's I had on a home computer, and for some
reason I actually really liked it back then. I can still see the flaws
now, but nostalgia is quite strong...
And with just two sentences you've made 90% of Usenet feel absolutely
ancient ;-)
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