So I'm planning to upgrade my computer soon (mac), and for games I'm planning to buy and emulate windows 8. But since there's been such an uproar over Windows 8 and games, I want to know if current and older games will actually run on windows 8. I don't have much experience with windows, so I need some help. Thanks!
Why 8? Seven x64 works much better in most regards at current, and by the time they get 8 to a point where it is better in any appreciable way, Seven will be the newer XP.
Because I'm too cheap to pay $120 for an operating system that's not my primary one and 8 is supposed to start out selling at $70.
I will believe $70 when I see it. They said the same garbage years ago about Seven. Yet it has been $120 this whole time.
Let's assume for right now that it will be $70, but I would like to know the answer to my question, and if it turns out to be $120 I can adjust my plans.
I have not used Windows 8, but I presume most recent software will work fine on it. If not, there will be hell to pay for MS. (Not that they seem to mind such things. I remember Windows ME...)
I think the catch with Windows 8 is that Microsoft is trying to control what software is installed on your computer, but since you are a Mac user you evidently like being in jail. Microsoft is also trying its hardest to imitate Apple in terms of OS (bright colours, blinky buttons and all artsy stuff) but again, that shouldn't piss you off too much. It's also a ressource hog, which would be a turnoff concerning gaming for me. What else? Oh yeah, it's optimized for touch, Microsoft decided that Mouse and Keyboard are dead. It's the same OS that will run on Windows phones.
I never understood why people loved Macs, but live and let live is a good policy. MS is not really wanting Windows 8 on PCs at all. They are like Createx said, targeting phones. And since Windows 7 will run everything currently existing for PCs, it is the best choice if you want to be certain things will run. MS has the awful habit of releasing a decent OS, follow a year or two later by one that is crap. I think that is Windows 8. The new Windows ME. But do as you like and I (And likely others here.) will try to help you out if you run into any trouble. But remember that cheaper and newer do not often mean better. How to configure Windows 7 x64 is easy and has been well documented for years. How to configure Windows 8 is still up in the air with flying cars we were supposed to have "in a few years" back in the fifties. (Then later the sixties, seventies, then the eighties... It never gets old to optimists to think that some magic will fix everything.)
When I had to help my mom get her first computer, I got her a PC, because my early experiences with the Mac were predominantly negative. However, a friend of hers, also elderly, had a Mac and she apparently loved it. So for her second PC, my mom asked me to help her buy one as well. Even she hates the mac (and she's their supposed target demographic -- people who are not PC-literate).
Mac vs."PC" (Macs are PCs, but I'll leave that argument for later) is really just a matter of personal taste, preference, and/or just what you're used to. I find. Personally, I like that there's an easy way to do things while it's also possible to do more complicated things. While macs have a reputation for being more closed, they really aren't very closed software-wise, and not comparable to being in jail. I don't really care how windows 8 looks, or what the UI is like, but if it's a resource hog, I'll have to think about that.
I definitely agree that it's personal preference. That said, there's been some dishonesty on both sides of the fence that I know from having to work with both machines. Then again, the Macs that I worked on in the bad old days really were not the same as today's macs (although you wouldn't have known it judging by what the mac fanatics were saying even back then -- essentially, they were overhyped by the Mac/anti-IBM fanatics to a totally irrational extent with a self-blindness that was dazzling.
Yeah. Macs these days *ARE* PCs. They just have some additional limitations that only a few dishonest PC manufacturers still use these days. (Dell makes PCs that sometimes require DELL ONLY parts that are otherwise identical to the same parts but with a few wires switched so if you plug what looks like the correct part in it will destroy the whole system. The price of the Dell parts is usually several times the price of the same part without the wires switched.) Macs have distanced themselves from this sort on nonsense, but if you look hard enough you can still find examples of it. I do not care if it is a Mac or a PC. Switching wires to maximize profits and risk not only the destruction of the hardware if the user tries to replace it is hazardous and should be blatantly criminal as it breaks fire code in all parts of the civilized world to intentionally manufacture a PSU with wires incorrectly identified to cause it to burst into flames or fry the rest of the hardware when you plug it in. I refuse to do any business with Dell due to this. But I hear many PC makers have tried this in the past decade. HP, Compaq, and most everyone remembers e-Machines and their woefully underpowered PSUs that they did this shit with. That actually did burn down homes. But credit where credit is due, Macs are not doing this nearly as much anymore. They are using different means to keep you from replacing parts. (Usually BIOS and firmware versions that will not work with any non-Mac devices. It will not burn your home down. It will just refuse to work.) I could go on for pages, but I know this is largely off-topic, so I will abort this here and now. If you decide upon Windows 7 when you get around to it, I will gladly help you get it working however you want. I will even go so far as to give you login details to my Mumble server so we can chat about it in real time if that helps. (It is a pay server, so I cannot give the details to everyone on the forums.)
Back on topic, I'm perfectly happy with Windows 7, and so long as that is true, and my current PC (which is relatively new) survives, I am not likely to upgrade. I'll need a really good reason to upgrade. BTW, the biggest selling point for Windows 7 was that it was not Vista, which had lots of problems. The problem with Windows 8 is that Windows 7 does NOT have a lot of problems. It's as simple as that. People do not want to spend money unless it's going to fix a perceived problem or will make their life easier or significantly more convenient, or even add enjoyment. That's not going to happen unless the software exists to make Windows 7 relatively obsolete. You buy a new OS if and only if there's programs out there that you desperately want to run that won't run (or at least, won't run well) on your current OS. Or you buy it if you want to develop for that OS. Or your current OS is a piece of crap. Otherwise it's a waste of money.
Windows is, without a doubt, the most user-friendly of the OS'. Why? Because most of what's readily available on the market (games, software, etc) is Windows-only. A lot of computer classes are based on Windows, a lot of basic information out there is for Windows and so on. It's not necessarily the best OS (as a gamer, however, it is the best for me) but it's the one with the most use, support and easily-available assistance. I think Haldurson has the right of it, though. Win 7 is fine. I got it last year, and I've never looked back. It's smooth, it's pretty and it works. I've had a few issues here and there, sure, but the same was true for XP (and look how popular that still is). Jumping on an OS within the first year or so is a Bad Idea(tm) anyway. It'll be riddled with performance issues, security holes and a massive lack of support from hardware manufacturers.
If not for DirectX 10 and 11 requiring Windows Vista and Seven, I would still be using Windows XP. No doubt about it. I never touched Vista, and while discussing with my brother about how to trick DX and Windows into thinking you have DX 10/11 and how ridiculous it is to have to buy an OS for something that a simple Dynamic Link Library of one file fixes, well he convinced me to give it a try. I have not looked back since. And I have to say that Althea is absolutely right about avoiding Windows 8 for at least the first year. You will wish you had if you are an early adopter. Windows sells OSes as if they were extended betas. Until they have at least the first service pack released to everyone, Windows 8 is not to be trusted at all. Period.
