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I'm an Apple-user with a few Windows-PC machines sitting around the house for the kids to use on occasion, as we slowly make the transition to all-Apple products...and I don't have the new Windows 8 on any of my machines. Instead, we have the wildly successful and beloved Windows Vista to contend with.
But from what I've read from a computer-savy friend of mine using Windows 8 and a new laptop, he's had significant problems with the email services he had used prior to the upgrade to 8. I think he's almost got it figured out...but not without considerable effort and frustration. (Something about Pop3 operability from third-party email providers on the Windows 8 platform.) I also think like so many others, he sees Windows 8 as a lot of eye-candy but not much more.
Although I plan on having one Windows-pc computer here at home to use (in case the kids need a school program that's only Windows-friendly to run)...I'm not going to replace our XP and Vista running machines until two or three software updates for Windows 8 are released. Maybe by then the tech guys will have the bugs worked out and place some good fixes to help 8 run with other programs.
Mark
Citation Latitude Captain
--and--
Lt Colonel, USAF (Retired)
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Yeah , Mark , I didn't even mention email . My old Win XP used Outlook for email and it was very easy to navigate ....think I would have to buy Windows Office 2010 to get that on this machine . The email offerings that come with this , Horde , Squirrel etc I knew nothing about so one of my co-workers set it up . More navigation issues ...can't believe how difficult they make it trying to open an attachment and trying to get back to square one after viewing the attachment . It makes no sense to me . Fortunately I
I don't have many emails to read each day here , otherwise I'd go crazy .
T
To err is human, to blame it on somebody else shows management potential.
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I never have used any Windows e-mail clients. I use Thunderbird. Having just set up a version on my daughter's Win 7 machine, it was a 5 minute setup. I rarely use the UI. Basically, I do all my work(?) from the desktop. What I really have is a Win 7 machine with a touch screen.
Tom
Life is simple - Eat, Drink, Play with trains
Occupation: Professional Old Guy (The government pays me to be old.)
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Well , I'm about to replace my good old XP home computer that " blowed up " some weeks ago . Of course , only Win 8 is available ...gonna get a tutorial from computer nerd guy at the store . He admitted his early dislike for Win 8 but learned it over time . Since there is no manual or detailed instructions , he had to learn by using it . I think I'll look for " Windows 8 for Idiots " or some such book to help my feeble brain . Unless I opt for the more expensive Mac , I don't really have a choice .  So now I'll have Win 8 at work and at home ....I figure to be a candidate for the " funny farm " in due time  .
T
To err is human, to blame it on somebody else shows management potential.
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Don't give up hope yet. Microsoft has just announced an update to Windows 8 will be coming out in October. They are being very quiet about it at this point but it sounds like they are planning to bring back the start button and possibly allow the option to boot directly to the desktop rather than go through the cell phone inspired "user interface."
The only time I ever see the user interface is when I start the machine in the morning. From there I go directly to the desktop and never look at it again.
Tom
Life is simple - Eat, Drink, Play with trains
Occupation: Professional Old Guy (The government pays me to be old.)
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Does it have an MS-DOS window?  
David
Moderato ma non troppo
Perth & Exeter Railway Company
Esquesing & Chinguacousy Radial Railway
In model railroading, there are between six and two hundred ways of performing a given task.
Most modellers can get two of them to work.
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I remember DOS 6.0, then a hurried up update to 6.1
I remember Window 3.0, then a hurried up update to 3.1
And yes, Sometime in October you can probably say that you remember Windows 8.0, then a hurried up update to 8.1
I think I'll wait for that. 
Don (ezdays) Day
Board administrator and
founder of the CANYON STATE RAILROAD
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I have a request for all software makers be it games, work programs, OS's, Mac or PC. Quit bringing out new versions with a whole bunch of promised bells and whistles when you haven't yet got all the bugs out of the old version. And don't give us crap we don't want and didn't ask for like the stupid start-up screen with Windows 8. Because of the internet I will keep a laptop with fairly recent upgrades but the desktop will stay Win 2000 forever. O.K. that may not be possible down the road but it will stay Win 2000 as long as possible.
Mike
Sent from my pocket calculator using two tin cans and a string
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Tyson Rayles Wrote:I have a request for all software makers be it games, work programs, OS's, Mac or PC. Quit bringing out new versions with a whole bunch of promised bells and whistles when you haven't yet got all the bugs out of the old version. And don't give us crap we don't want and didn't ask for like the stupid start-up screen with Windows 8. Because of the internet I will keep a laptop with fairly recent upgrades but the desktop will stay Win 2000 forever. O.K. that may not be possible down the road but it will stay Win 2000 as long as possible.
Probably what galls me the most is every version calls the same function by a different name, puts it in a different place, and there's always a different way to access or run it. Why is that necessary other than to show that this is a newer version and that they have control over how you do things. Could not someone come out with a competing operating system that would run Windows programs more efficiently and without all the confusion?
You are right, there are probably a few hundred functions that I don't know exist, most of which I wouldn't use even if I knew they were there. They take up disk space and slow everything down. I remember when you could get Windows and all your programs on a 40mb disk. Windows alone now takes up about 1000 times that amount of space. I remember a machine that booted up in about 30 seconds, not the three minutes it takes now days 
Don (ezdays) Day
Board administrator and
founder of the CANYON STATE RAILROAD
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Remember when the operating system came on a 360K floppy diskette ... or two?
But you needed another one for WordPerfect.
David
Moderato ma non troppo
Perth & Exeter Railway Company
Esquesing & Chinguacousy Radial Railway
In model railroading, there are between six and two hundred ways of performing a given task.
Most modellers can get two of them to work.
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Windows 7 is still available from Microsoft. The hospital bought a new laptop for my wife. It came with windows 8, and Windows 8 would not run their key software that they do all of the charting on now. My wife had to deal with windows 8 for less than an hour before the problem was discovered. I don't know if they had a Windows 7 program to install at the hospital in the I.T.'s office, or if the I.T. ran out and bought Windows 7 to upgrade the computer, but it was useless without Windows 7.
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So I pick up my new Acer with Win 8 ...nice big screen . I bought " Windows 8 for Dummies " which seemed appropriate .
BUT THEN , I bought a router so my wife could use it upstairs in the living room ( she has trouble wirh stairs ) ...and computer nerd geek says " It's easy to install , just connect a couple of wires " .....uh , huh . Note to self , when computer geek says it's easy , watch out !
Now , boys and girls , the YELLOW wire connects my modem to my computer ....probably universal . In the router kit is a blue ether net wire ........on the BACK of the router is a YELLOW slot and a BLUE slot .....are you with me so far ?? Now in the destructions , you plug the YELLOW wire into the BLUE slot  and the BLUE wire into the YELLOW slot .....I'M NOT MAKING THIS UP !!!! No wonder the world is going to Hell in a Hand Basket .....that's computer geek logic I guess .
...and after hooking up all the other stuff ACCORDING TO THE INSTRUCTIONS ...you guessed it , the router doesn't work
....and yes I tried the yellow to yellow , blue to blue already ....still no dice .
T
To err is human, to blame it on somebody else shows management potential.
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Understandable instructions are hard to come by nowadays... They're written by technicians with a thorough understanding of how their "things" work, and unconsciously (I think...) assume everyone has that understanding.....NOT...!!
One of my sons brings his router here when he comes to visit so he can use his laptop...Takes him about a minute to set it up...
Of course...He's an IT engineer.... 
Gus (LC&P).
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