Help me pick - WIN 7 or 8

[iPwn]

Yup - and there are current versions out there

That is amazing. I haven't seen or heard a reference to word perfect since I used it on... Windows 3.1?

It's more flexible that Word, doesn't make grammar assumptions based on a 6th grade comprehension level and has an awesome equation editor. Oh and.... the most commonly used menu items aren't hidden under a cartoon-y circle on the menu bar.

Oh there are many things I detest about word... just kind of stuck with it atm.

I'll definitely try out WordPerfect though... might need some popcorn to boot.

Silly people paying for office software...

$99/yr for five Computers really isn't that bad IMHO

Google drive is where it's at

Yuck.

I have a Business class Google Apps account (Admin account for a client I support). I started making the transition, but just hated everything about it. The way they store temporary and configuration files is the EXACT same way AND location... The integration with Office software is ... sketchy. Not a fan.

I imagine if I had nothing 'tying' me to M$ Office [Products] I would have a different opinion, but atm I'm kind of forced into their suite by many a force.

and it's free.

You're paying... they're just accepting all of your data as payment. No different than any "Free" service (and paid for that matter!).

 

[BK_123]

I used Win8 here at work for a good 2 months. I just set it up so that I never had to leave desktop mode. Doing that, I got all the benefits, with none of the tabli-fied-ness (I love making new words).

Yep that's how I've got it too, Can't stand the PDF reader or photo viewer for all different types.

 

[Randy11]

If you want a really great office suite for free why not try LibreOffice. I really like it and it can save documents as Microsoft Word Documents and open about any file. You can download LibreOffice here https://www.libreoffice.org/ .

 

[BikerEcho]

You're paying... they're just accepting all of your data as payment. No different than any "Free" service (and paid for that matter!).

I don't agree in that point of view.
When i say it's free then obviously i mean you don't have to pay money like you have to pay money for MS Office.
Sure they can see your data, But what are they gonna do with my computer setup documents and a picture of my grandmother?

 

[BikerEcho]

Originally Posted by celegorm
Silly people paying for office software...

$99/yr for five Computers really isn't that bad IMHO

It is when where is multiple Free alternatives that are just as good (if not better)

Originally Posted by celegorm
Google drive is where it's at

Yuck.

I have a Business class Google Apps account (Admin account for a client I support). I started making the transition, but just hated everything about it. The way they store temporary and configuration files is the EXACT same way AND location... The integration with Office software is ... sketchy. Not a fan.

I imagine if I had nothing 'tying' me to M$ Office [Products] I would have a different opinion, but atm I'm kind of forced into their suite by many a force.

You should really try it out again.
It's fantastic. I'll never go back to M$ Office.

 

[iPwn]

When i say it's free then obviously i mean you don't have to pay money like you have to pay money for MS Office.

How many companies have you worked for that gave out "Free" stuff from the bottom of their hearts? None. It's a poor business model. Take CreditKarma.com for example. Do you think they're spending thousands of marketing dollars and maintaining a website just to be nice and give people their credit scores? Hell no they're not! They're taking that data and selling it.

Sure they can see your data, But what are they gonna do with my computer setup documents and a picture of my grandmother?

Your stuff? I don't know. "They" are actually just crawl bots that dig through documents and build profiles of users. They sell that data to other companies who put it all together and resell it other companies. I know this because I work on a Database Admin team. We sell customer info monthly, and we buy 'enhanced' data back that contains all sorts of information about our customers, right down to a pair of 6 digit Longitude/Latitude coordinates of where they live. The other data we get is equally 'scary', things you wouldn't think they could know... but they do. I know all this because I'm the one who uploads/downloads the data to and from these other companies.

Trust me... Your data is being sold. Just because there's not much in your Google documents doesn't mean they aren't using/selling it.

You should really try it out again. It's fantastic. I'll never go back to M$ Office.

I imagine that I'll eventually give it another shot. I guess what would be more appealing to me (and they may already have this) is a local install to run all the different programs. Last time I used Google Docs, it was all web based. Then again, I used it pretty early on so I'm sure that major improvements have been made.

I graduate in November so I'll probably let my M$ Office renew next month for one more year and then evaluate where to go from there.

 

[BikerEcho]

selling my data? no they are not.
Google has to big of an image to do something this stupid.
Google earn most their money via ads. there is no ads in google drive, but you can pay for extra storage.

Free stuff IS FREE. Here is how they earn money.

• Donations from people that appreciate their work.
• Advertisement
• Selling unlocks for certain features in the free version that has been locked. (some people don't need the extra features and can therefor enjoy a free software and maybe spreed the word about it)
• Offer other paid application. Like Stardock. They started by making a free dock that got popular. now they have a well known business with different products.
• Make business license for a free software. So if you are a private user you can enjoy it for free, and then if you get hired by a company you could suggest buying the business license.

 

[jmacavali]

Alright guys, I haven't been keeping up very much but we are clearly way off-topic here...

 

[tmc8295]

Windows 8 in and of itself is a great operating system... so is windows 7. For those that complain about the Metro UI.... youdo realize you can completly avoid it? For those recomending dock apps... be careful of which ones you use, they edit the registry and some cannot be undone, atleast not by the casual users knowledge. This can lead to problems down the line.
For those saying it is "tabli-fied" wellll no, I see where you are coming from but no. The idea behind it is based upon accounts and having multiple Windows 8 (either RT or full 8 ) devices, allowing for your devices to look the same with the live tiles and everything being in the same places with minimal effort by you. That being said having only one device does not take away from it, it doesnt make a negative difference if you have only one device.
As far as touch goes you also dont need it, it is cool but certainly unneccsary, every touch compenent and action has a mouse equivalent.

If you have any other questions feel free to let me know!


-Thomas
-Certified Computer Technician