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Windows 7 still OS choice of more than a quarter of Windows users
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Microsoft sees this is an 'opportunity' but blames Covid-19 and Intel for stalling upgrade rate.
Read more.
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Re: Windows 7 still OS choice of more than a quarter of Windows users
still my first choice! Just reinstalled it at the weekend. Also running win10 on another drive so I can remote work and do unavoidable stuff that needs 10. But for a lot of things the software on win7 is far more reliable.
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Re: Windows 7 still OS choice of more than a quarter of Windows users
Have to say, I've had fewer problems (ie, none that I am aware of) using Win10 than Win7.
Only difficulty really is in finding where stuff is in the new layout, and the hassle of re-customising layouts and removing bits you don't want.
Was debating trying 32-bit 7 on my Netbook, or something.
Not sure about the security, though.
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Re: Windows 7 still OS choice of more than a quarter of Windows users
So, basically, this is a rerun of the issue Microsoft had, when Windows 7 came out, where users were steadfastly sticking with XP.
If Microsoft didn't dramatically change things, in each OS release, maybe people wouldn't so reluctant to upgrade. But, of course, a OS being pretty much the same as the last isn't going to be easy to sell, either. MacOS and Linux don't have this problem as they can evolve, since they are free (asterisk next to MacOS as you have to buy the hardware).
MS is a prisoner of its own business model.
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Re: Windows 7 still OS choice of more than a quarter of Windows users
Linux has a billion-and-one different releases though and you have to have some idea of what you're doing with them.
MacOS is not (intended) for PCs, but for Mac people with Macs, who run MacOS on their Mac, because they're Mac people who have Macs.....
Windows is intended for PCs in general, capable of being installed by almost anyone. In some regard, that holds it back because they must cater to a wide variety of people with varying degrees of handholding required... even if it's just laziness.
But following in MS's footsteps, I wonder if I can similarly blame my lack of work progress on Covid-19.....? :D
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Re: Windows 7 still OS choice of more than a quarter of Windows users
So Windows 10 adoption started how many years ago and it's clearly a bug that has been going around for the past couple of months that is the problem. CLEARLY.
The simple fact is that if a business runs just fine with a product, they won't upgrade as there is absolutely no benefit and a huge outlay and potential disruption. Why would they upgrade? The only way to get them to do it is to make the old product not work properly anymore by stopping updates, etc. But they'll still be reluctant as there is no real payback from upgrading. It's an OS. It allow their other software to work. If this is happening, there is no need to upgrade.
I've had endless problem with Windows 10 - the lastest being that it outright refused to install, claiming my drive wasn't GPT (it was, I checked before hand). It forced me to find all the stuff that Windows setup is supposed to do to the drive pre-install (partitions, etc) and do it myself from the command prompt. There was no problem executing any of the commands and once it was done, Windows installed just fine.... all I did was do what Windows setup is supposed to do. I gave the same commands in the same order and it just worked.
Maybe it's a sign. I'm seriously debating dual booting with Linux and gradually switching over.
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Re: Windows 7 still OS choice of more than a quarter of Windows users
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Originally Posted by
philehidiot
The only way to get them to do it is to make the old product not work properly anymore by stopping updates, etc.
Nope.
Ours sat firmly on XP until long after 10 had come out, before switching to 7 because the CEO wanted to use some comms software that wouldn't work on XP.... and we only just got 10 because no IT support contractor would touch us without it.
If stuff doesn't work, it doesn't work and we certainly can't afford to fix it. As is, our version of 10 is so janky and laggy from being admin locked down, it's really not worth it... and it's still not compatible with our really old '90s databases and apps!!
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Re: Windows 7 still OS choice of more than a quarter of Windows users
10 was boosted when it was a free upgrade from Win7, now it's not people don't want to go and drop £80 or whatever the going rate is for an OS..
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Re: Windows 7 still OS choice of more than a quarter of Windows users
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Originally Posted by
Ttaskmaster
Windows is intended for PCs in general, capable of being installed by almost anyone
People say that and yet...
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Originally Posted by
philehidiot
I've had endless problem with Windows 10 - the latest being that it outright refused to install, claiming my drive wasn't GPT (it was, I checked before hand).
It fails repeatedly, and that isn't a Windows 10 thing I've been swearing at Windows installs since 3.1 running over DOS.
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Originally Posted by
philehidiot
Maybe it's a sign. I'm seriously debating dual booting with Linux and gradually switching over.
I would recommend getting a second SSD for that. I'm typing this on a Fedora machine. It also has Windows 10 Pro on it, used for playing some games and the one program I can't run under Linux which is Fusion 360 (though that does run happily on a Windows VM so I don't really need to reboot). But be pragmatic, you won't ever lose Windows entirely, there is just too much stuff that is Windows only or optimised to escape.
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Re: Windows 7 still OS choice of more than a quarter of Windows users
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Originally Posted by
[GSV]Trig
10 was boosted when it was a free upgrade from Win7, now it's not people don't want to go and drop £80 or whatever the going rate is for an OS..
I suspect the people who are left wouldn't swap to Windows 10 if MS paid *them* £80 to swap. Even if it isn't official or advertised you can still do the free upgrade, but it isn't about cost at this point.
The change from XP to 7 was I think largely forced by the upgrade to 64 bits and the need for more than 4GB of ram. Looking up the limits on 7, it looks like even 7 Home can use 16GB of ram which is still enough for most people. 7 Pro allows 192GB which is good for a few years yet.
For me, I historically found it isn't worth the aggro of trying to get drivers etc working on out of date Windows versions. Stick with the crowd where things are tested heavily, so I switched to 10 at the end of the official free update period (I know... which he says from the comfort of Linux.)
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Re: Windows 7 still OS choice of more than a quarter of Windows users
I've got win10 but i keep an active copy of win7 on another drive for gaming...
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Re: Windows 7 still OS choice of more than a quarter of Windows users
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Originally Posted by
philehidiot
So Windows 10 adoption started how many years ago and it's clearly a bug that has been going around for the past couple of months that is the problem. CLEARLY.
The simple fact is that if a business runs just fine with a product, they won't upgrade as there is absolutely no benefit and a huge outlay and potential disruption. Why would they upgrade? The only way to get them to do it is to make the old product not work properly anymore by stopping updates, etc. But they'll still be reluctant as there is no real payback from upgrading. It's an OS. It allow their other software to work. If this is happening, there is no need to upgrade.
I've had endless problem with Windows 10 - the lastest being that it outright refused to install, claiming my drive wasn't GPT (it was, I checked before hand). It forced me to find all the stuff that Windows setup is supposed to do to the drive pre-install (partitions, etc) and do it myself from the command prompt. There was no problem executing any of the commands and once it was done, Windows installed just fine.... all I did was do what Windows setup is supposed to do. I gave the same commands in the same order and it just worked.
Maybe it's a sign. I'm seriously debating dual booting with Linux and gradually switching over.
I did lol. Microsoft says that you should delete all active partitions using the Win 10 installer and then recreate them using the installer for maximum reliability...
I know that's alien to power users but the documentation does say it if you can be arsed to read it.... Also it's there to stop people having bootloaders to bypass Win 10 activation
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Re: Windows 7 still OS choice of more than a quarter of Windows users
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Originally Posted by [GSV
Trig;304]10 was boosted when it was a free upgrade from Win7, now it's not people don't want to go and drop £80 or whatever the going rate is for an OS..
It still is....
Try it and it works fine. In fact did a "free" upgrade for someone last week
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Re: Windows 7 still OS choice of more than a quarter of Windows users
Free for the sale of only your privacy
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Re: Windows 7 still OS choice of more than a quarter of Windows users
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Originally Posted by
ik9000
Free for the sale of only your privacy
Meh privacy is a myth, vs convenience, convenience wins...
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Re: Windows 7 still OS choice of more than a quarter of Windows users
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Originally Posted by
philehidiot
Maybe it's a sign. I'm seriously debating dual booting with Linux and gradually switching over.
I did this with Kubuntu, last year. For the most part I can do everything I need in it. But there's still some applications I need to keep Windows round for. That and gaming. But, for me, the whole Linux experience is a lot better than Windows. Reminds me of when I had an Amiga and the machine felt like it worked with you, rather than against you.
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Re: Windows 7 still OS choice of more than a quarter of Windows users
AmigaOS still my favourite...
Got a Pi 3B here and retropie and it can be booted in Amiberry. Excellent fun all around ;)
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Re: Windows 7 still OS choice of more than a quarter of Windows users
stupid. I have a mac, and windows 10 pro workstation on a very old dell machine that originally came with win 7 pro, ill never switch back. Win 10 is fantastic, the best os Microsoft has produced.
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Re: Windows 7 still OS choice of more than a quarter of Windows users
The main reason Win 10 had a big uptake and surge in the first place is that you couldn't buy a new preloaded PC without Win10 loaded. Many like Win10 and many don't and personally I prefer Win7 Pro for control of what is my PC , not forced by Microsoft to do what they want with it. I'm fortunate to own a few PC's and have the choice and after loading " OpenShell" and a lot of tinkering Win 10 and my new Ryzen system seems to be acceptable for my everyday use. My main bugbear is my screen ( a 37" Samsung 1080p TV screen where nomatter what is not as clear and sharp as it is on my aging Phenom Win7 system with a Radeon 6770 ). New Ryzen system has an RX 570 and the problem is Win 10 , M.S. know about this issue and released a semi-fix called " Windows 10 DPI Dot Fix " which improves it a bit but still not as defined as Win 7. Problem is caused by cross platform compatability apparently and to get my screen the best I can have had to set size at 225% , 2560 x1440 and scaling on the RX570 at 4%. Other issue I've had is my Cannon inkjet printer doe's not function properly under Win 10 yet my ancient HP lazerjet works fine. Peek and poke folks. lol.
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Re: Windows 7 still OS choice of more than a quarter of Windows users
Personally I've been running 10 since the day it came out, same with 8.1, 8.0, 7 and Vista. Before that I didn't have MSDN access so had to wait until I could afford a license but I'd still upgrade ASAP. Never had a big issue...
At work its the other way round. Had to 'borrow' a contractors PC when they left so I could get Win 10 (so I could look into per monitor DPI support)! It crazy when you work in the IT industry and still can't upgrade. Most of my colleagues are still on Win7 even though we officially no longer support it! I suspect a lot of these Win7 machines are similar business machines where IT won't upgrade although I'm sure there are a few die hards sticking with 7.
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Re: Windows 7 still OS choice of more than a quarter of Windows users
I’ve been personally using Windows 10 since it came out, to be honest I only did it at the time due to the free to upgrade within the first year, thought what the hell and if I don’t like it can always go back to W7 but never did.
I also, unfortunately, work in IT and many large corporates have either upgraded or have plans in place to upgrade to W10. With the bi-annual updates, most corporates don’t like it as it’s akin to painting the Fourth Road Bridge, you start over when you’ve finished but I think they’ve now accepted that it might be simpler to try and keep up rather then try to update a few versions later on.
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Re: Windows 7 still OS choice of more than a quarter of Windows users
I like Windows 10, it'd be nice if it synced my "Start" and if the store could be disabled so it didn't install crap, or at least so it appears in the Control Panels Add/Remove Programs so you could get rid of them easier, other than that, I'm happy with Win10.
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Re: Windows 7 still OS choice of more than a quarter of Windows users
If MS think those not upgrading are about Covid19, or Intel, I'd say they have a few dozen squadrons of bats in their collective belfry.
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Originally Posted by
DanceswithUnix
I suspect the people who are left wouldn't swap to Windows 10 if MS paid *them* £80 to swap. Even if it isn't official or advertised you can still do the free upgrade, but it isn't about cost at this point.
For me, I historically found it isn't worth the aggro of trying to get drivers etc working on out of date Windows versions.
MS would have to pay me a poopload more that £80. If they care to buy me a state of the art new gaming PC, ....... okay, I'll run W10 on it. Notbing else, mind, except games. My actual day to day stuff is stayingcright where it is.
In my case, it wasn't worth the hassly of getting old software and hardware working on a new OS. Of course, that was far from the only reason.
For me, the issues were several-fold. Firstly, and importantly, W10 didn't (and still doesn't) have anything I need and don't already have. Secondly, most of my objections were about MS and their roadmap than W10 itself .... like forced updates. As tne saying goes "up with that I will not put."
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Re: Windows 7 still OS choice of more than a quarter of Windows users
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Originally Posted by
Saracen999
If MS think those not upgrading are about Covid19, or Intel, I'd say they have a few dozen squadrons of bats in their collective belfry. MS would have to pay me a poopload more that £80. If they care to buy me a state of the art new gaming PC, ....... okay, I'll run W10 on it. Notbing else, mind, except games. My actual day to day stuff is stayingcright where it is.
In my case, it wasn't worth the hassly of getting old software and hardware working on a new OS. Of course, that was far from the only reason.
For me, the issues were several-fold. Firstly, and importantly, W10 didn't (and still doesn't) have anything I need and don't already have. Secondly, most of my objections were about MS and their roadmap than W10 itself .... like forced updates. As tne saying goes "up with that I will not put."
Gotta say the new hardware that I have not working properly with Win 7 kinda forced me but it's still a decent upgrade. Things are changing and not even Microsoft can help that. All pc's here are now Win 10 x64 except one which some old music hardware forces Win x86
If you think this is bad don't even think about the Mac with the latest round of breakdates I mean updates which broke pretty much everything that people I know were using... music software and plugins mainly
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Re: Windows 7 still OS choice of more than a quarter of Windows users
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Originally Posted by
3dcandy
Gotta say the new hardware that I have not working properly with Win 7 kinda forced me but it's still a decent upgrade. Things are changing and not even Microsoft can help that. All pc's here are now Win 10 x64 except one which some old music hardware forces Win x86
If you think this is bad don't even think about the Mac with the latest round of breakdates I mean updates which broke pretty much everything that people I know were using... music software and plugins mainly
I have win7 working on x570 (almost) too by just using official drivers from AMD and MSi. I have an extra set of custom drivers from a guy in Asia somewhere that will get the USB3.1 and wifi working which should solve the remaining issues but I will be doing some serious checking of them to make sure they're not doing anything else behind the scenes before using them in the wild. What's not working for you?
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Re: Windows 7 still OS choice of more than a quarter of Windows users
IF netmarketshare (Microsoft owned, LOL) would report ENT Lics, these scores would probably be 65/35 for win7/win10. The exact reverse they claim, which is why they do not report enterprise lics. They are win7 mostly. Unfortunately BillG and company just can't explain to enterprise why 10 is better than 7. Pretty, glitzy etc means nothing to them. Change causes the whole workforce to need re-training. They wanted win7+, or win7R2 or something. Not win8, win8.1, win8.1+lipstick (win10...LOL), win8+lipstick+cakemakeup (all other win10 versions).
Give us Windows 7 or XP with win10 features. So nobody has to re-learn stuff that simply slows them down all day. Win10 sucks. Pretty, works on multiple device types, but SUCKS as a WINDOWS OS for desktops. It is built for idiots (probably why I can't seem to function in it), and make tech workers day a nightmare. You can't even get mad when people keep calling asking where's this, or that, how to I do this dumb action I used to do in seconds, that now takes minutes to figure out, etc etc. Where have they buried X options? It never ends, and people seem to just feel no need to learn it, but rather just ring the phone for the next 5yrs.
Someone dig a grave and throw win10 in it (all versions). Make me FASTER and more EFFICIENT at work, or PISS OFF. Stop making new OS versions of 10, and FIX ONE keep it for 3-5yrs instead of this 18mo crap. It is not working. YOu fail over and over with each release. Operating systems for desktops are not made to be launched yearly. It is a 3yrs cycle at worst, and should probably be much longer with SP's. We used to get SP3, now 18mo new OS again. UGH. No point in buying an OS every 18mo. That is retarded for business (or home IMHO).
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Re: Windows 7 still OS choice of more than a quarter of Windows users
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Originally Posted by
ik9000
I have win7 working on x570 (almost) too by just using official drivers from AMD and MSi. I have an extra set of custom drivers from a guy in Asia somewhere that will get the USB3.1 and wifi working which should solve the remaining issues but I will be doing some serious checking of them to make sure they're not doing anything else behind the scenes before using them in the wild. What's not working for you?
USB3.1 and crashes the nvme driver. Also the sound is awful under Win 7 with driver errors and it keeps failing. It's an Asus board b450 and it's just not pleasant under Win 7 at all. Much easier to use and faster under Win 10
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Re: Windows 7 still OS choice of more than a quarter of Windows users
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Originally Posted by
nobodyspecial
IF netmarketshare (Microsoft owned, LOL) would report ENT Lics, these scores would probably be 65/35 for win7/win10. The exact reverse they claim, which is why they do not report enterprise lics. They are win7 mostly. Unfortunately BillG and company just can't explain to enterprise why 10 is better than 7. Pretty, glitzy etc means nothing to them. Change causes the whole workforce to need re-training. They wanted win7+, or win7R2 or something. Not win8, win8.1, win8.1+lipstick (win10...LOL), win8+lipstick+cakemakeup (all other win10 versions).
Give us Windows 7 or XP with win10 features. So nobody has to re-learn stuff that simply slows them down all day. Win10 sucks. Pretty, works on multiple device types, but SUCKS as a WINDOWS OS for desktops. It is built for idiots (probably why I can't seem to function in it), and make tech workers day a nightmare. You can't even get mad when people keep calling asking where's this, or that, how to I do this dumb action I used to do in seconds, that now takes minutes to figure out, etc etc. Where have they buried X options? It never ends, and people seem to just feel no need to learn it, but rather just ring the phone for the next 5yrs.
Someone dig a grave and throw win10 in it (all versions). Make me FASTER and more EFFICIENT at work, or PISS OFF. Stop making new OS versions of 10, and FIX ONE keep it for 3-5yrs instead of this 18mo crap. It is not working. YOu fail over and over with each release. Operating systems for desktops are not made to be launched yearly. It is a 3yrs cycle at worst, and should probably be much longer with SP's. We used to get SP3, now 18mo new OS again. UGH. No point in buying an OS every 18mo. That is retarded for business (or home IMHO).
Wouldn't go back, now I know where everything is it's much faster than Win 7. There's a nice search bar for idiots like
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Re: Windows 7 still OS choice of more than a quarter of Windows users
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Originally Posted by
nobodyspecial
IF netmarketshare (Microsoft owned, LOL)....
Really? I know Microsoft are one of its clients but owned by them, not so sure on that.
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Re: Windows 7 still OS choice of more than a quarter of Windows users
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Originally Posted by
nobodyspecial
Change causes the whole workforce to need re-training.
IME most people are now on Windows 10 at home, so having to use 7 at work they find jarring and complain. Or they would complain, except I haven't seen a Windows 7 machine in a company for over a year.
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Re: Windows 7 still OS choice of more than a quarter of Windows users
I don’t think I’ve ever heard of an organisation re-training end users to use Windows 10, that is an absurd statement. Techies may well be sent in a quick refresher course if they really are dumb but most pick it up as they go along.
Most end users only want their most used apps to work so provided they can locate their everyday shortcuts and click on them that’s the real level of interaction with the actual OS.
I worked on a major customer account where 30,000+ users were migrated to Windows 10 and not one user was sent on any type of course.
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Re: Windows 7 still OS choice of more than a quarter of Windows users
My org has just migrated all 5000 users from Win7 to Win10, no end users needed any kind of training. Sure the start menu and shortcuts look a bit different but they're still recognising a start menu and shortcuts.
I'm sure the techies have had training on the differences at the back end but for the user base it's very straightforward. Most of your complaints are around things like settings, which most corporate users are blocked from accessing anyway.
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Re: Windows 7 still OS choice of more than a quarter of Windows users
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Originally Posted by
spacein_vader
...d but for the user base it's very straightforward.
Let's face it, for most corporate end users the machine is so locked down there isn't anything they are allowed to do anyway. But if you can run Outlook, Chrome and Word, that's 90% of users sorted right?
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Re: Windows 7 still OS choice of more than a quarter of Windows users
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Originally Posted by
DanceswithUnix
Let's face it, for most corporate end users the machine is so locked down there isn't anything they are allowed to do anyway. But if you can run Outlook, Chrome and Word, that's 90% of users sorted right?
You missed Excel.
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Re: Windows 7 still OS choice of more than a quarter of Windows users
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Originally Posted by
IAmATeaf
....so provided they can locate their everyday shortcuts and click on them....
You're lucky to have such computer literate users. ;)
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Re: Windows 7 still OS choice of more than a quarter of Windows users
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Originally Posted by
Corky34
You're lucky to have such computer literate users. ;)
If you have such users then I question what they are doing out?
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Re: Windows 7 still OS choice of more than a quarter of Windows users
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Originally Posted by
IAmATeaf
If you have such users then I question what they are doing out?
You're not alone.
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Re: Windows 7 still OS choice of more than a quarter of Windows users
Quote:
Originally Posted by
3dcandy
Gotta say the new hardware that I have not working properly with Win 7 kinda forced me but it's still a decent upgrade. Things are changing and not even Microsoft can help that. All pc's here are now Win 10 x64 except one which some old music hardware forces Win x86
If you think this is bad don't even think about the Mac with the latest round of breakdates I mean updates which broke pretty much everything that people I know were using... music software and plugins mainly
I hear what you're saying, but we're coming from a different place. A different start point.
First, for me, all my machines are tools to do a job. My existing hardware does the job I need doing. Nothing I see in new hardware offers me much I want, and nothing that I need to get the job done. So why spend a shedload of cash upgrading? Faster? No doubt .... on benchmarks. But not comparing to my productivity gains. Cost/benefit fail. My current hardware is fast enough for me.
Second, new software might require new hardware, for sure. Thing is ..... I don't need (or want) any new software. I'm winding down what I need, not ramping up.
Third, and it's the killer blow. For a couple of my systems, the launch of W10 (years ago) presented me with a choice - either commit to W10 and everything it was (back then) and their roadmap said/hinted it would be, or get off the MS train and find an alternative. A number of W10's 'features) crossed red lines for me, ruling out the W10 route. So, I spent months checking out alternatives, which led me to Linux for some things, and sticking with Win7, and even XP, for others. And I ended up with a mongrel mix that worked for me. And still does.
I took the non-MS fork, and it was irreversible. It matters not to me what MS does now. That boat has sailed ... with my train on it. Sorry about the mixed metaphors.
If MS released a Win10 version that met all my issues (which I really don't see them doing) I'm still not switching to it. Why not? First, my tools ain't broke, so why fix 'em? Second, W10 utterly broke my trust in MS. Once bitten, twice shy. And third, switching back offers me nothing I need, and precious little I want.
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Re: Windows 7 still OS choice of more than a quarter of Windows users
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Saracen999
I hear what you're saying, but we're coming from a different place. A different start point.
First, for me, all my machines are tools to do a job. My existing hardware does the job I need doing. Nothing I see in new hardware offers me much I want, and nothing that I need to get the job done. So why spend a shedload of cash upgrading? Faster? No doubt .... on benchmarks. But not comparing to my productivity gains. Cost/benefit fail. My current hardware is fast enough for me.
Second, new software might require new hardware, for sure. Thing is ..... I don't need (or want) any new software. I'm winding down what I need, not ramping up.
Third, and it's the killer blow. For a couple of my systems, the launch of W10 (years ago) presented me with a choice - either commit to W10 and everything it was (back then) and their roadmap said/hinted it would be, or get off the MS train and find an alternative. A number of W10's 'features) crossed red lines for me, ruling out the W10 route. So, I spent months checking out alternatives, which led me to Linux for some things, and sticking with Win7, and even XP, for others. And I ended up with a mongrel mix that worked for me. And still does.
I took the non-MS fork, and it was irreversible. It matters not to me what MS does now. That boat has sailed ... with my train on it. Sorry about the mixed metaphors.
If MS released a Win10 version that met all my issues (which I really don't see them doing) I'm still not switching to it. Why not? First, my tools ain't broke, so why fix 'em? Second, W10 utterly broke my trust in MS. Once bitten, twice shy. And third, switching back offers me nothing I need, and precious little I want.
Yup - totally get that. But then I understand your situation. I do have software that I use that just works better with Win 10 - and also again, my hardware choices work better with Win 10. There are people who visit us and have no idea why I have 3 pc's sitting in my studio. Then I boot up my "work" machine and they are like wow it works so well... my laptop takes 10 minutes to boot up, and we talk idly and I find out it's 5 years old and was £200.
PC's are tools at the end of the day - my tools just happen to work better (most of the time) on Win 10
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Re: Windows 7 still OS choice of more than a quarter of Windows users
It this the right room for an argument?
Have Win7 installed across my systems, and even hunted down laptops (end of linke stock) with it because...
(1) when I test-upgraded to Win10 (during the FREE offer they launched originally) on one PC it wiped my profiles. Now imagine performing a lot of upgrades and seeing your account profiles disappear and having to spend a lot of time and trouble reinsalling everything. Similarly, W10 has reported many issues over the years since launch, each deterring me from a serious assessment of any kind of upgrade.
(2) Win 7 is far easier on the eye than Win 10 when you're using a desktop workstation for long hours every day.
(3) Apart from the usual little bugs and irritations, customary with all versions of Windows, it's performed very well for a decade now.
(4) Windows 10 appears to have been created for and promoted to the touch-laptop lightweight generation with the typically unnecessary remake/makeover for this new generation of users and lacks the sense of style and eye-candy comfort of W7.
(5) Microsoft, in typical tradition, have failed to understand elements of these issues for many, many years. For example, before W7 my previous installation across my machines was Windows 2000, for exactly that same reasons - stability, robustness, style. I skipped everything in between.
In all likelihood I will upgrade to W10 for a few high performance stations in the future because some of my critical new applications only run on it, but the older machines will remain in use for as long as possible (and I will likely duel boot the new machines to keep Win7 running alongside W10 where practical). And THEN I'll start looking at the alternative options or developing my own system.
Oh yes, and I still have the Win2000 setup on a virtual box running inside Win7.