Best Buy takes axe to touchy Windows 8 PCs - lops $100 off price
Best Buy will slash $100 off the price of touchscreen Windows 8 PCs. From Monday the US retail chain will cut the cost of Sony, Acer, Toshiba, Dell and HP touch-driven laptops plus two models of Samsung's all-in-ones to shift stock. You can see the full range of discounted gear here. Best Buy’s discount will not apply to …
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You sure? It's the same length.....
/why yes my mum was prescribed thalydomide when she was pregnant, why do you ask?
That thing next to your arse is not an arm...
My I redirect you to many, many websites that would argue otherwise
Windows 8 seems to be selling quite well versus where Windows 7 was at this point. However the Windows "Blue" update is due in August.
Simple steps to fixing your new Windows 8 computer.
1 - return Win8 PC, demand a Win7 model. (if allowed)
2 - if cannot do above, check to see if Win7 drivers are available and spend $100~130USD for Win7.
or
1 - Order online or locate a store that sells Win7 PCs... let salesman/management know Win8 is crap.
or
1 - Learn Linux... because Windows OS is going to be replaced by Metro with version 9 or 10... then there is no "windows" OS. Metro doesn't have Windows... at best, just shades.
I've talked with salesmen... PC Builders are going with Win7... mostly. About 1/4 of their PCs on the floor are Win7... still. Compared to the launch of Win7 3 years ago... vista disappeared overnight. *NOBODY* bought Vista OEM/retail... Here we are 4~5 months after Windows H8TE... and its still garbage.
or finally ...
Buy a Mac. I have on the basis that i wanted a fast, reliable and easy to use OS, none of which can be said for W8!
Fujisu: Three penables with Win8 out (T732, T902, Q702)
Lenovo: One penable with Win8 out (TPT2), one to come (Helix)
Samsung: Two penable with Win8 out (Ativ 500, 700)
Asus: One penable with Win8 out (TF810), one to come (Taichi)
Sony: One penable with Win8 out (Duo11)
Dell: One penable with Win8 (Latitude 10)
Most of the above also have touch only devices with Win8 out.
Granted, these are minor companies that know little to nothing about selling PCs, notebooks etc. So they should ask the wise old man of the Linux community for advice.
Re: or finally ...
Complete with integrated Java vulnerabilities and over 1700 known OS-X security vulnerabilities too. You can't say that for Windows 8 either....
"1 - Learn Linux... because Windows OS is going to be replaced by Metro with version 9 or 10... then there is no "windows" OS. Metro doesn't have Windows... at best, just shades."
Indeed. I would not be surprised if the desktop is slowly removed from Windows as newer iterations come out. The fact that Metro is on Windows 2012 server suggests to me that this is definitely the path Microsoft wish to go down (yes I am well aware it can be installed without any GUI, but why put a consumer smartphone/tablet interface on a server in the first place, it serves no logic whatsoever), as did removing the registry hacks that enabled the Start Menu in the previews.
Disabling the hacks makes a lot of sense of the desktops. MS knows that there will be three sets of "Windows" tablets
Win/RT - touch only
Cheap Win/8 - touch only (i.e Acer W510)
Win/8 penables
The first two need Modern style apps to be useable to "Joe Average". Looking at the inertia even in this forum that sometimes reminds me of the "Suppenkasper" from german fairy tales) if there is a simple switch Modern would not be used. And that is counter-productive for MS plans.
The Desktop subsystem will remain for the next 3+ years at least. MS just released a new desktop office and they keep long maintenance windows.
Modern UI on the server is part of the MS philosophy. They have always stressed "one look/feel" for server and client
Re: or finally ...
"You can't say that for Windows 8 either...."
True - after all people keep saying it's not worth writing malware for an OS with ~1% of the market
> They have always stressed "one look/feel" for server and client
Except that it is now "two look/feel" for server and client.
Not a big enough discount . .
I spend a fair amount of time keeping my screen free of dust and other detritus. The idea that I would deliberately smear finger grease all over my window on the world is as daft thinking of doing the same thing to my car windscreen. Absurd idea that fully deserves its place in the dustbin of history.
Re: Not a big enough discount . .
Thinking of car windscreens, they could add heating elements to the touch screen, and rebrand the BSOD as a catalytic cleaner like you get in an oven...
Re: Not a big enough discount . .
Tablets still seem to be selling well though, so it's just you that think's it's an absurd idea....
Re: Not a big enough discount . .
I have spent the last 30 odd years in IT training idiots not to touch my screens.
"Don't touch my screen"
"Why not? What happens if I do?"
"Your nose will suddenly start to bleed"
Windows 8?
I might be tempted if instead of a $100 discount they bundled them with a Windows 7 license.. or if Microsoft re-wrote Windows 8 so it wasn't a glorified colouring book.
I don't like new things...
I still hate switching to Win 7 because the OS "forgets" where each program closed the last window. Now, different programs open windows on top of each other, forcing me to move them around, over and over, EVERY (expletive deleted) TIME I start the (expletive deleted) thing. WIN XP was the last decent OS that Microsoft produced, and the rest is crap. Yes, even Win 8.
I'll buy a touch screen when they come out with the Holomaster 3D dolodeck touch interface for porn apps. Until then, Gates can take his beloved Win 8 and bugger off. Fool me once, shame on Bill Gates - fool me twice... fat chance.
Re: I don't like new things...
I think that interface is called "Kinect 2"....
Best Buy lowers prices because touchscreen are selling?...
'Best Buy lowered its prices after a survey revealed that shoppers who bought touchscreen Windows 8 devices were “significantly happier” than those who bought PCs with a bog-standard display`
Isn't it usually the case that the price goes down only when a product isn't selling?
--
On the main page, 4 mentions of Windows and 9 mentions of Microsoft, lets make that a grand total of 13 free advertorials ...
Touch on a Laptop??
You've got to be kidding. This is a step backward. Most laptops I've seen recently have a nice place for the palms of your hands to rest, with a nice touchpad where your thumbs might rest, or quickly reach for "mouse movement". They even include a nice little eraser (UK: rubber) thingy between the G and H keys so you don't need to reach with your hands.
Now Microsoft with its wonderful? new? Windows 8 interface wants you to reach out and touch the screen. I'm sorry, my hands really don't want to reach that far, and when they do actually "reach for the sky (aka screen)" often enough they will quickly discover that their carpal tunnel syndrome was not the only thing they have to worry about.
Sure, touch is nice at times, but it only makes sense if you don't have a keyboard to work with. Fondleslabs (I've used an iPad a bit) are ONLY touch, and you hold the thing in your hands so you really don't move your hands from another interface (keyboard/trackpad/nib) to/from the screen.
Of course, there is the problem of the goo your fingers leave behind. I turn off my fondleslab and the smudges are VERY evident. I suppose that one could have a ready supply of clean wipes around, but that is just another thing to worry about.
So, it seems that a touch interface is just another way of adding "tick boxes" to the specification sheet so a contracting agency can satisfy the request, even if nobody uses it. It is much like tail fins of cars in the 1950's. They got bigger and bigger, but they were simply decoration and served no real purpose, but there was a "feature fight" among car vendors to have bigger and bigger ones.
What a waste!
Re: the thing next to my arse?
Errr isn't that an elbow?
Personally if I have my laptop keyboard in a comfortable position to type on then I can't reach the top half of my screen. Most of the time my laptop is on a docking station and there's then a little 24" 2nd screen just next to it. None of which within reach. As soon as I can afford one, the 24" screen will get dumped in favour of a 30" one which will then be even further away, where hopefully my ageing eyes can focus on the damn thing without needing to wear glasses.
Windows 8 is not cheaper. Windows 7 is more expensive.
Inspiron 14z infected with Windows 8 - $ 2008,00
Inspiron 14z with Windows 7 - $ 2200,00
Both machines have same config, same warranties, same Dell crapware bundled within, same HDD, same everything, but the OS. Windows 7 was "made" $200,00 more expensive, out of the blue.
In local currency, official Dell Store. Enough said.
In another news:
- Years of "don't smudge my screen" culture blur away in a grease stain with the next generation of touchscreens;
- Microsoft gets rid of Ctrl-Alt-Del by removing the keyboard, not by removing the BSODs;
and up next:
- MS Fanbois that keep screaming "Apple is a walled garden" suddenly shut up when they learn about secure boot and Windows 8;
I could go for the Troll or Tux icon, but no.
Re: In another news:
"- MS Fanbois that keep screaming "Apple is a walled garden" suddenly shut up when they learn about secure boot and Windows 8;"
M$ Fanbois... WhatchaGonnaDo?
M$'s dream of world domination fades, even faster that would be expected with Ballmer at the helm...
Re: In another news:
Secure boot on Windows 8 is nothing like Apple's 'Walled Garden'. All it does is ensure that the OS is not compromised during the boot process. You can still install whatever you like afterwards - unlike in the Apple world. Also you can choose to turn off Secure Boot in Windows 8 - unlike in the Apple world.
Re: In another news:
Last time I checked, I can too on OS X. Seeing as this story is about laptops.
Try that on a Windows RT unit
If you are going to compare Apples, at least pick oranges instead of monkeys.
Re: In another news:
Ctrl+Alt+Del is still available on tablet pc. Hardware keys are a requirment
BSODs have been gone from Windows somewhere between XP and Win7.
If you do not want fingerprints do not use a touchscreen. Win8 works fine without and unlike Android I can permanently switch of touch on a Windows penable(1)
(1) A 2x4 or 9x19 and a towel for the blood splatters are handy against M.Oron that does NOT get "no touch, pen only" on the third try.
Windows 8 is an abomination for the most part, so I am not surprised. The people who seem to be Windows 8 advocates either appear to support banishing Metro altogether and installing third party tools to bring back Windows 7 functionality or mention stacks of keystrokes and combinations as the best way to navigate the system. Assuming the purpose of Metro and Windows 8 is to make things simpler for novice users in the way the ipad does, then if either of these approaches are taken, then the product is a complete failure. Expecting new users to mess around with third party shells, or remembering hotkeys, harks back to DOS days.
I have actually used Windows 8, and yes it can be made perfectly usable on a desktop by disabling all Metro associations and installing Classic Shell or something similar, or indeed registry hacks. The question is, why bother? Just install Windows 7 and be done without all this messing around. In fact even Linux Mint 14 behaves more like Windows than Windows 8 does these days!
Most Windows users I know who have any opinion on the topic at all plan to keep with Windows 7. Linux Mint and CentOs have also attracted interest with a few dual booting it already or installing it exclusively on laptops. A couple of other people I know have bought Macs.
The ones who have no interest in computers whatsoever either just get on and use their aging XP machines or are seduced by Ipads and other tablets. I see no interest or demand amongst regular consumers for Windows 8. My friend's girlfriend is the only 'non geek' I know who has actually tried it (on her bosses laptop), and she said it was 'confusing', and he had no clue how to use the thing. I realise this is ancedotal evidence and thus arguably not-representitive, but I know of no one who has expressed any positive interest in Windows 8, let alone regularly uses it.
Incidentally where are the killer applications in Metro? What does it give the consumer that Windows 7 cannot? I can see why people are attracted to the Apple ecosystem, I can see why Windows 7 was a roaring success, and why Linux (particularly Mint) is gaining serious interest, if not yet serious traction (Steam may be the catalyst for change with this one). So far all people seem to recommend about Windows 8 is a few minor enhancements such as a better task manager (which Linux has had for years), better integration with Anti-virus / spyware software (and it doesn't take an expert to set up Microsoft Security Essentials), and a few kernel enhancements which won't make a lot of difference to the average Windows 7 user.
> What does it give the consumer that Windows 7 cannot?
A headache.
@AC 20:17
:applause:
I, also, read the pro-Win8 camp "Just hit CTRL / ALT / F9 / HOME / J / Q / E and R, all simultaneously, to get this quick shortcut!" solutions that they post to user UI difficulties.
And simply scratch my head at their mindless apologies of an apparent failure.
A visual UI that demands a number of keystrokes as a way to better open up a program...is simply not well designed. A UI where a valid productivity option is to install a third-party tool to *substitute* the UI for a prior version...is simply not well designed.
But I guess corporate apologists exists in all levels in today's world.
Modern setup on a dual monitor developer maschine:
All developer tools (IDE(s), UML-Tool, LaTeX editor) and Office tools (MS-Office, GIMP, Notes) are set up as shingles on the Start screen (About 20 in total)
If I need one I either point and click or tab there with the cursor and hit return depending on where my hands are. The program starts and I am in Desktop-Mode
Win key => Modern
Win+D => Desktop
Win+C => "Menu" aka Charm bar, fully cursor useable
Win+E => File explorers (As in Win7)
Win+F => Find (As in Win7)
Win+Tab=> Running Modern Apps
That is all you need. Switching off/standby is with the power key. There are more advanced combinations but those are rarely used and even less by Joe Average.
===============
Modern Apps offer benefits mostly on a tablet but work nicely as a replacement for stuff like Windows LiveMail on the desktop. They can also be useful for small tools that do not clutter the desktop and taskbar
===============
Win8 has quite a few nice features for the home user. Like a changed/faster network startup useful in a WLAN only environment (Win7 could not re-connect NAS drives on boot, W8 can), the new hibernate modes (useful for desktop and notebook), the MS supplied and updated anti virus software etc. It is also a bit smaller, has better power management etc.
===============
Been using Win8 since the day it came out (and testing it since MS shipped the first previews) and I won't go
back. Never used "grandpa Xerox" crutches or registry hacks. Modern IS a compromise but for me it works for tablet pc and workstation. It would also work for my Phone IF someone builds a penable WP8 unit. Since there currently is none I am stuck with a Samsung Note there.
And none of what you have written has any appeal to consumers whatsoever. If home users have the ability to set up and use NAS drives, remember keystrokes, and know what all their programs are called, so they can easily pin them or search for them, then they will have the ability to install Microsoft Security Essentials, as the better integration with anti virus appears to be the only really newbie friendly feature you have mentioned.
Some of the stuff you mention is the sort of thing you would use Linux for. Everything listed will all run fine on Windows 7 with no messing about. You have not mentioned any compelling Metro programs. You may have personally found some use for Windows 8, but there is nothing here whatsoever that will excite the ipad generation, or novice to averagely skilled Windows 7 users. And most power users / developers are quite happy with Windows 7, Linux or Macs.
Quite oviously you have NOT used Win8 or a modern NAS. Even my father could do the stuff and he is older than the first computer
Win7 works and I am still forced to use it in certain situations. Win8 works better, faster, more efficient
Ahh, the "Ballmer Affect" ...
I see Slim Pickens in "Dr. Strangelove" when I read about this man...
Hmmm
And yet all of these touch screen Windows 8 models were available at Best Buy but did not shift during the holiday sales period AT THEIR PREVIOUS PRICES? That speaks more to consumers not being interested in touch screen PC's at higher prices than OEM's not following Microsoft's recommendations to design and sell kit that OEM's didn't believe would sell well. The OEM's were apparently right. Let's see if the sale prices will actually work.
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