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iPhone 5 launch

Find out more about the new iPhone 5 and how it compares to the older product here.

Windows 8 - coming this October

So what's it like?  Should I upgrade?  Do I need to upgrade my computer hardware to run it?  I've been running a 90 day trial of Windows 8 for about 2 weeks now in order to answer all of these questions and to decide if sticking with Windows 7 is a better idea than upgrading to Windows 8.

After a Win8 installation, I was greeted by an unfamiliar screen.  It wasn't a desktop with a start button rather a tablet looking collection of big titles.  While strange I clicked on a few in order to check it out.  Weather, stocks, music, etc all had to be configured.  Ok, so where's the start button and desktop?  Well, there is no start button and the desktop requires a click from the tablet style start screen.  (bottom left tile)  As a Windows 7 user, it became annoying to get into the system properties, open up applications, and in general navigate Windows 8.  Everything is different.  Almost like a long time Windows user jumping on to the MAC OS.  It is uncomfortable, new, but graphical and different but maybe in a good way?

After a week of using Windows 8 I am much more comfortable with it.  There's a learning curve that has not taken me long to develop upon usage.  If you are a real novice and do basic things within Windows such as browse the internet, check email, stocks, just basic stuff, I think the learning curve might be less than an advanced user.  This is because getting into the more advanced layers of Windows 8 are more difficult than Windows 7.  It is as if these layers are more embedded into the OS and intentionally more difficult to launch.  However, once configured, it behaves much like Windows 7 and is more simplistic on the surface.  There are new keystrokes that can be learned and the mouse can do more tricks within Windows 8 that make the experience better.

Here is a video that shows you Windows 8 in motion:

So what does it take to run Windows 8:

• Processor: 1 gigahertz (GHz) or faster
• RAM: 1 gigabyte (GB) (32-bit) or 2 GB (64-bit)
• Hard disk space: 16 GB (32-bit) or 20 GB (64-bit)
• Graphics card: Microsoft DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM driver
  
  

These are minimum requirements.  I suggest a 4 core CPU, 4gb ram, 128bit graphics card, and fast 7200 RPM SATA hard drive or better yet a SSD drive. Windows 8 is also designed to work on tablets.  So, if you want your PC, laptop, and tablet to all work the in the same way, perhaps learning Windows 8 is a worth while venture rather than getting familiar with an apple based, android based, and Windows based OS on different platforms.

As of now, I don't plan on going back to Windows 7 but do not plan on upgrading my wife's or parents computer to Windows 8 at this time.  My hope is there's a service patch that comes out that makes adoption more easy for Windows 7 users.  Microsoft are you reading this?  How about an optional "start" button on the PC platform?

The general consensus on the Internet is that Windows 8....well...sucks.  I'm more optimistic about the potential of Windows 8 and am starting to like it more the more I use it.  If I used it for an hour and uninstalled it, I would say it "sucks" too.  In sum, if you are open to change and willing to learn a new OS, go for it.  If not, stick with Windows 7 and wait for Windows 8 SP1 or SP2 to come out before adopting Win8.  If you are buying a new computer in the next few months and it is PC based, you'll have no choice but to learn Win8 as Win7 will no longer come pre-installed on new machines.