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Thread: Making Windows 8 less crappy

  1. #71
    Quote Originally Posted by Seanz0rz View Post
    I have been waiting for a linux revolution since I was 15. I am not holding my breath on this one. Linux suffers from the same problems that plague android: Fragmentation. So many different manufacturers do so many different things to their version of Android, you end up with experiences that spoil the core software. I really enjoy android on my Nexus 5 and 7, but can't stand the very popular Samsung version. Not to mention getting updates months later, etc.

    The same thing that makes linux distros so wonderful, distros tailor made to a specific purpose like MINT or edubuntu, keep people from being able to pick something. The necessary command line operations also keeps the public away.

    Linux is great if you are into computers as a hobby. If you need it to work for work, and don't have time to mess with it, stick with Windows or OSX. For my line of work, CAD programs are heavily windows biased. Excel and our management program are windows native as well (they can be successfully run in a VM, but CAD programs are often too resource intensive to be successful in a VM).
    I can agree with that. If you wanted Linux in the workplace it would have to be tailor made to suit the needs of that particular company and that sounds like it would be expensive.

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  2. #72
    I took another step away from Microsoft products the other day and bought one of these:


    It's an ASUS Chromebox. Intel Haswell processor, solid state drive, dual-band wifi, bluetooth, 4 USB 3.0 ports, SD card slot and easy to open and hack. Nothing inside is soldered to the main board. Google Chrome OS.

    I've had the chance to play with it for a couple of days now and it's fantastic. It's everything my Windows PC wasn't...it's fast, with a boot up time of about 4-5 seconds and roughly 1 second to shut down, no virus scanners, no annoying Windows updates. It has display port and hdmi ports so you can pretty much use anything as a monitor. Speaking of which, my wife and I either gave away or tossed all of our PC crap last month, so I came to the realization I had no monitors, keyboards or mice to hook this thing to. Long story short, my Zagg bluetooth keyboard (intended for use with my tablet) and our Apple iMac bluetooth mouse sync'd without any drama whatsoever. It also hooked to my LG tv via hdmi and the hdmi cable is also transferring the sound to my sound bar. Loving it.

    Here's a shot all setup in front of the tv, with the zagg keyboard and apple mouse.


    It is basically a glorified web browser, but it makes an excellent web machine or multimedia pc. It comes with a bunch of free storage with google picasa, 100GB on google drive/google docs for Word and Excel, etc, and we have hit up the app store for free apps like Pandora, hulu, and various tv programs since our cable package is lacking. For $156 with no tax and free shipping, it's hard to beat.

  3. #73
    My only thing about the online storage is that I'm not quite comfy with the idea of it being my primary storage.

    However I have toyed with the idea of mixing the computer with the TV several times. There is much developing with computers and it's going to turn what we thought was a computer on its head.

    Plus I just can't afford to keep so many computers. I think we will go to a compact tower on the TV and keep a laptop for travel/school. Use a small form Nas to centralize storage and there you have it. Tablets will take the rest of the duties.

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  4. #74
    After six weeks with the Google Chromebox, I am completely sold on Chrome devices. As you may recall, my wife and I got sick of what I call the "Windows bullsh*t," meaning the litany of constant Windows updates, virus scanner updates, poor laptop battery run-time (due to the hard drive running all of the time for said Windows and virus updates), and most importantly, the need to reinstall Windows every year and half because they get so slow they become unusable. (As my laptop sits now, boot time is up to 10 minutes + 20 minutes of updates, so it will require yet another Windows wipe & re-install.) We dumped Hanna's desktop in favor of a Mac, which works great, and now it's time to replace my Windows laptop. Based on my experience with the Chromebox (and the expense of buying a Mac laptop), I am ordering a Toshiba Chromebook 2 laptop. Chromebooks start at $199, this one is $299 due mostly to the IPS 1080p screen and 9.5 hour battery.

    I have found that I have full functionality over my Word and Excel documents on Google Drive. I wasn't expecting Drive to be as full featured as it is, with my Excel formulas, cell comments, various tab links, etc. of my existing spreadsheets working just as well as if I were in the $230 copy of Microsoft Office. And now the icing on the cake, Photoshop is available as an extension in Google Chrome and with only one exception (hooking up the 4Runner's URD fuel computer to the serial port of the laptop) is the only thing these Chrome devices won't do. It also saves me from purchasing both Office and a very expensive copy of Photoshop. (That might explain why I'm still using Photoshop 7.0 from like 8 years ago.) I also get 100GB of free storage with Google for every device I purchase, so I'll be at 330GB of online storage after this purchase. (My current laptop only has a 160GB harddrive, so my needs are met there too.)

    The Toshiba chromebook has an SD card slot that allows the card to fully engage in the slot and not protude out the side, so people wanting local storage for photos usually buy a $60 128GB SD card and leave it in the computer. That's a nice feature as well.

    For $199-$299 for a no-bullsh*t computer that starts up in 3 seconds, has nearly a 10 hour battery, weighs under 3 lbs, has a 1080p screen, fanless, no need for virus scanning, plus the fact that you don't have to buy $500 worth of Office and photo editing software to get the latest and greatest, it was a no-brainer for me. Better yet, I got my parents to buy them too, so our weekly phone conversations no longer involve Windows pop-ups, viruses and performance problems.
    Last edited by paddlenbike; 10-15-2014 at 10:06 AM.

  5. #75
    Ken I didn't know there was an extension already available in Google Chrome from Adobe Photoshop. I gotta look into that!

    As for the whole Chromebook deal I don't have any personal experience but based on what I've read here and on other forums it's a great alternative to owning a PC that actually works for general use. For the price point you just can't beat it and it clearly shows. Only wished Apple had a really low end price point like this.
    Lance
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  6. #76
    Lance, it's still in Beta, but on its way.
    http://gizmodo.com/adobe-photoshop-i...ook-1640360852

    I was seriously considering a Macbook, but the price of the chromebook was extremely compelling. Having the android/chrome store available for free apps and widgets is really nice. An example: I love the website houzz.com (home remodel stuff), but their site won't let you save images. So on my PC I would take a screenshot, open photoshop, create a new image file, paste in the clipboard, crop out everything but the picture I wanted, then save to my local drive, set the image type, resolution, etc., then exit photoshop. Meanwhile in the Chrome OS, I added an extension that shows up in my browser task bar. When I click it I can capture the whole screen, just the active window, the entire page (even if it's 25 screens deep) and my favorite, I can highlight just the photo and it saves it. Two clicks. You are a Mac guy, so you are used to these well thought-out features, but as a Windows guy, I am blown away how much more productive and efficient it is than Windows. The chrome app store is full of cool free stuff. In my short time with Windows 8, I found the Microsoft "app store" severely lacking.
    Last edited by paddlenbike; 10-15-2014 at 02:06 PM.

  7. #77
    Quote Originally Posted by paddlenbike View Post
    Lance, it's still in Beta, but on its way.
    http://gizmodo.com/adobe-photoshop-i...ook-1640360852

    I was seriously considering a Macbook, but the price of the chromebook was extremely compelling. Having the android/chrome store available for free apps and widgets is really nice. An example: I love the website houzz.com (home remodel stuff), but their site won't let you save images. So on my PC I would take a screenshot, open photoshop, create a new image file, paste in the clipboard, crop out everything but the picture I wanted, then save to my local drive, set the image type, resolution, etc., then exit photoshop. Meanwhile in the Chrome OS, I added an extension that shows up in my browser task bar. When I click it I can capture the whole screen, just the active window, the entire page (even if it's 25 screens deep) and my favorite, I can highlight just the photo and it saves it. Two clicks. You are a Mac guy, so you are used to these well thought-out features, but as a Windows guy, I am blown away how much more productive and efficient it is than Windows. The chrome app store is full of cool free stuff. In my short time with Windows 8, I found the Microsoft "app store" severely lacking.
    Ok you have me sold on the chrome part lol. Now can you turn a laptop into a chromebook?? I have found a nice cheap laptop that would be great if you tossed an ssd in for even more battery life (amd apu based) but I really hate win8. I messed with it and it's simply that....a mess
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  8. #78
    Based on a quick internet search it does appear to be possible. Google also created a developer option so you can experience the Chrome OS in Windows 8, but it won't be as snappy since your pc will still be bogged down by Windoze processes. http://www.pcworld.com/article/20878...windows-8.html

    If you install Chrome browser in the Windoze environment you will have access to some of the apps, add-ons and extensions I described earlier, but again, your PC will still be running slow Windoze.

    Read about "Chromium," it might be what you want. I know nothing about it.

    My Chromebox (the 'desktop' version--the laptops are called 'chromebooks') is only 1.4 GHz, far slower and less capable than my Windows laptop, but the OS is so much more efficient that it's probably 80 times faster than my Windoze PC. And I'm not kidding, we are talking about a 3 second boot time on the chromebox versus close to 10 minutes right now on my Windoze PC--it definitely needs yet another OS wipe and reinstall. What that means is if you go through the steps to remove Windoze from your old laptop and make it a chromebook, it will run fast even on old hardware.

  9. #79
    Skip ahead to the 2 minute and 10 second mark of this video. It shows the 3 second boot time of the chromebox.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dHNMFx306HA

  10. #80
    Since my Windows laptop needs a fresh re-install and Windows XP is no longer supported, I re-started my search for a boxed or OEM copy of Windows 7. That's when I learned that Microsoft ceased the sale of Windows 7 on October 31, 2013. In today's news, Microsoft announced "Mainstream (free, Microsoft-provided) support for Windows 7 with Service Pack 1 installed is expiring January 13, 2015."

    So even if I could find a copy of Win7, it won't be supported much longer. Microsoft, you suck.

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