Since the previous iteration of VFTP Command Central finally lunched its hard drive, I've been using my laptop as my primary computer.
Sure, a 17" laptop is in the class that brochures refer to as a "desktop replacement", but it's more like driving on a space-saver spare, at least if you're using the on-board display for desktop publishing type stuff. Trying to put links on a magazine page in Acrobat was like trying to read the Times through a mail slot. (That, and I question the ability of the components used in a <$400 commodity laptop to stand up to the heat and rigors of daily use for very long.)
So I finally sucked it up and bought a new tower; a name-brand highish-end game-y box on the lagging edge of the spec curve, on sale, and an open-box special to boot; and a monitor to go with it.
Upside: This thing is blazing fast compared to what I'm used to. I can hardly wait to start up a game on this thing and crank all the graphics sliders all the way to the right. It's been literally a decade since I could walk into a store and grab a game off the shelf without having to look at the requirements like some kind of peasant, and I plan on enjoying this sensation for the month or two it will last...
Downside: Windows bleepin' 8. Playing with it on tablets or touchscreen netbooks in stores, I've found it more intuitive and less onerous than all the whining would suggest. On a desktop with a mouse instead of a touchscreen? Meh. I'm underwhelmed.
Also, I had forgotten just how chintzy the keyboards they pack with these things are. I need to go dig out my old Logitech...
clicky
ReplyDeletePut the Start back, get your menus and desktop. Make the Metro interface go away.
ReplyDeleteThe product is called Start8 from a company called Stardock. They sell it for $5.00 on their website.
http://www.stardock.com/products/
+1 on Stardock's Start8. You get the fast startup of Win8 and the usability of Win7.
ReplyDeleteI was going to chime in with a Start8 recommendation too, but I see that EVERY COMMENT in this thread already mentions it.
ReplyDeleteCheer up, the Navy is leaving XP behind and movin on up to 7.
ReplyDeleteDoes Start8 preserve that wonderful Win8 feature where it randomly pops up a menu or another app while you're in the middle of typing? Seems the faster I type, the more frequently it happens, and I'd so hate to lose it.
ReplyDeletejf
A Logitech? A LOGITECH?!?!?!
ReplyDeleteI was sure you were an IBM Model M kind of gal.
Model Ms are the best ever; I just haven't used one for years and years.
ReplyDeleteWhile I understand the utility, I despise having fingerprints on my screen. Consider a Win8 touchpad, which lets you do all the motions you want, and move stuff around, but doesnt' require you spend half your day wiping the mittprints off your monitor. The Logitech T650 is inexpensive and works wonderfully for this purpose. yes, it's another device taking up real estate on your desk, but with some practice it can replace a mouse.
ReplyDeleteI used to love my Model M. Then, about a decade ago, it died.
ReplyDeleteAbout a year ago I bought one of these. I love it. Unfortunately, though, I have to mute my mike when I'm on a conference call :)
Ohhh, Das Keyboard.
ReplyDeleteOnce again proving that if a Giant Company wants to "move on" from a beloved product, someone else will tend to the money tree.
http://pckeyboard.com/page/UKBD/UB4044A
ReplyDeleteBest $80 you can spend on computing.
And if you're down on Windows 8, you can always go for Kubuntu. I've been running it on a couple of laptops and desktops and I'm pretty happy with it. The only thing I can't really do on it is Netflix. Steam is moving to Linux, so there's even good gaming available. With a hot desktop, you can put Windows in a VirtualBox VM and still get good performance from it.
"I'm sorry, I can't hear anything over the trainwreck sound of you typing..."
ReplyDeleteI mandated that my coworker get the "quiet" variant of the mechanical-spring keyboard, on the grounds that it was otherwise literally impossible for me to do productive work when he was typing.
Anything.
Sigivald:
ReplyDeleteHere: http://www.amazon.com/s?ie=UTF8&page=1&rh=n%3A172541%2Cp_n_feature_browse-bin%3A2266982011
Use Tam's affiliate link. You'll never be bugged by annoying coworker noises again.
The main thing is this: Will it open the Pod-Bay Doors when you tell it to do so?
ReplyDeleteIf not, RUN!
I'm still using XP. It's like an old pair of jeans; well worn and comfortable; ripped and with a dangerously thin crotch.
ReplyDeleteI'm waiting for the day when I'll have to move on to a newer version. Maybe I'll be lucky and Microsoft will have removed their figurative head from their figurative anus and developed something better than "pretty good"...as long as you have a touch screen.
7 is better than XP.
ReplyDelete(When people use the internet to talk about how old school they roll, it's kinda funny. Think about it. ;) )
Back when I was was addicted to the Warcrack, I would've traded several IBM Model M keyboards for another first gen Logitech G15.
ReplyDelete"7 is better than XP."
ReplyDeleteAye, except where it's not. I keep an XP box handy simply because some things run poorly if at all on 64 bit Win7. Maybe they would run just fine on a 32 bit install, but I couldn't see wasting a Win7 license to find out.
Butch S.,
ReplyDeleteI was on a gaming hiatus for years, so all my old stuff needs the 98SE box in the attic more than the dormant P4 XP box.
Work software runs fine in the new environment. Hell, half of it's in the cloud now anyway...
You ought to upgrade to a RAID system sometime, check to see if your motherboard supports it. It's a cheap enhancement and good insurance against a crash.
ReplyDeleteIs Start8 that much better than Classic Shell (free)?
ReplyDeleteI rue the day (coming within a year I understand) that WindowsXP will no longer be supported.
ReplyDeleteI've tried Windows 7 and for what I do XP is better and my experience with Windows 8 was limited for a specific reason.....it won't support a POP3 email address.
Sometimes try as I may I always wind up being an old grouch...opposed to all that modern shit...
All The Best,
Frank W. James
Last month Work gave me a brand-new badass Lenovo laptop. A true server-replacer. Couldn't wait to put it to the test. Fired it up and yeah, XP Pro 32bit. 8 gigs of memory for nothing.
ReplyDelete"7 is better than XP."
ReplyDeleteAye, except where it's not. The Windows Explorer program is one of those places. The version in XP was *much* more "user friendly."