There's an article here in InformationWeek titled 'Windows 8 RTM: 8 Changes From Release Preview' and I won't bore you with the whole list, because you can use the link above for that, if you wish, but I would like to comment on some of those points....
(1.) Tattoos:
That's an inaccurate description of some new backgrounds available for the Start Screen where all those multi-colored tiles reside, and there's several patterned ones, but only one plain one. You can switch the colors with a slider underneath the row of icons showing your choices.
(2.) New Desktop Backgrounds:
The author says there's now as many as 14. So what? I've never had a problem with the backgrounds, because the same ones that have worked in Windows 7 have also worked equally well in Win-8 RP. He says there's also a new image for the Lock Screen (that first one before you hit "CTRL" to move it out of the way to access your login screen) and that doesn't worry me either, because it's already possible to select different ones, including a nice little button marked 'Browse' with which you can browse to your own image files and pick out one you might prefer to the pre-chosen selections. And that 'new' one from the folks at Microsoft, showing an artsy-fartsy illustration of their nice old Seattle Space Needle should have been an honest-to-God photo instead of that tacky art.
(3.) Apps for sale:
Some are still free, but developers can now charge you anywhere from $1.49 to $999.00 for their digital darlings in the Windows Store. Isn't that just Peachy? Don't you just love it? And you thought those annoying little mucketts were actually a freely included part of the program, to make it work as planned, huh? Well, Pilgrim, you were wrong about that, and so was I. Damn it! One more Thumbs Down for Windows 8!
(4.) A Bing App:
So what took them so long? It's a Microsoft invention, right?
(5.) Enhanced 'People' App:
All I need now are some enhanced people.... the standard models leave a lot to be desired, Kiddies - would I lie to you?
6. Less space waste:
Which takes up more space - a Start Button, or a whole screen full of boxes of bullshit? Don't all yell at once, Kiddies - take turns!
7. Faster, smoother performance:
With every new operating system, they say this, and it's a moveable feast, Folks. It all comes down to what kind of hardware you're using, and also how often you do your housekeeping to clean out the clutter in those Temp folders, and remember, there's now two of those: one under your own user-name and another in the main Windows system folder, and they aren't the same one shown twice, either. It's two separate Temp folders. I recommend you get the latest version of Glary Utilities, that wonderful freebie one-click cleaner-upper of cluttered PCs. It works like a charm and saves you manually surfing your system for Temp folders and other junk collections.
(8.) Aero is gone. Really.
The man said it all right there, almost. What he didn't say was that lately, we have been seeing Microsoft discontinue features or support for features like this or those Sidebar Gadgets formerly considered very advantageous while flogging Windows Vista and its vastly-improved offspring Windows 7 to the reluctant unwashed masses desperately clinging to outmoded Windows XP. So now, those folks ought to be happy, because we're going backward when forward fails.
Isn't progress wonderful? And how do you feel about losing parts of a system you've already paid for, and thought was yours to keep on using? That's my Question Everything for today, Dear Reader.
Hi Ray...
ReplyDeleteRecently we have been getting pop ups from Avast Anti spyware and SuperSpyWare (2 free programs you recommended a year ago) They want us to register for a new update of their programs but they also want M-O-N-E-Y....My question is,"Will their FREE spyware still be available to us after our year of use has expired? Or do we just pay them their dues and quit fretting?
Hi, Uncle Ron -
ReplyDeleteBoth of those programs are freebies and continue to have a free version.
They both also have a "pro" version which you have to pay for, and they naturally want us all to sign up for that paid-for version so they can make some money. But you can still continue using their free version(s) if you wish (and I wish!)so don't worry about that.
Avast asks us to register their free program, and it has to be done once a year, usually on the anniversary of the installation date, but this is entirely free, and they don't misuse your information. They do however include little 'pop-ups' along with their regular daily updates which you get every four hours or so, gently asking you if you'd like to have their 'pro' version or one for your mobile devices, if any. I don't have any mobile devices, nor anything running Android or iOS, so that's of no interest to me, and I just ignore all that.
Avast, as I say, automatically updates its database about every four hours, or however you've chosen in its preferences. The Superantispyware free version may have to be refreshed manually, I don't remember that, because I've got the Lifetime Professional Version of it on both my computers, and that version does do its own automatic updates several times a day.
So even though Avast asks you to register their free program, that's not something you need to be worried about - it's just their way of keeping track of their user base to count how many of us are using it - and we are millions!
It's the best freebie anti-virus program out there right now in my humble opinion, and I'd certainly keep on using it if I were you.
I hope this answers your questions, and if there's anything else you'd like to ask about this, please do.
@ Uncle Ron -
ReplyDeleteI'm not awake yet, I guess - sorry about that - I forgot to say above that those invitations or reminders about "new versions" are letting you know that the program has been updated, and you should then click on the little box or button to agree to let it do that, and then it will download a newer version of its program and you will have to install that just as you would with any other program installation. Lately, there are more frequent new updates to the main programs coming along, and that's because the bad stuff is getting improved faster too, so they have to keep up with that.
After it installs a new version of itself, you should make sure that its database for the bad stuff it looks for has been updated also.
It usually prompts you about that,
because the program as it comes from them usually doesn't include the database of malware because that changes daily or sometimes hourly, so you have to update that separately.
Thanks Ray...I will follow your advice...I'll let you know how it goes...
ReplyDelete