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Yes, I used 98, ME, XP, Vista, 7, and now 8 (and obviously 8.1). After taking 15 minutes worth of time (5 of which was finding where they moved shutdown), I was using 8 just like 7.
There is always the need for an exception to confirm a rule.

I can't get used to the constant switching between Metro interface and half-Windows interface, never know what will be where, what interface will pop up, where networks certificates management went, etc.
 
He sorta does have a point. One of the things I've never liked about Windows compared to other OSes is how convoluted the Control Panel is. It's all settings within settings within settings, and finding things can be a chore unless you know exactly what you're looking for.

Like setting up your own DNS server address. Do that in OSX, or any modern Linux distro using a decent shell, then compare it to what you have to do to find that field in Windows.

Network and Sharing Center>Change Adapter Settings>Doubleclick your listed network>click properties button>Scroll down to Internet Protocol Version 4 and doubleclick>...and there you go.

MS could really, really do with some streamlining here.

Agreed that control panel is a mess, but Microsoft has created a method for you to never have to go through the 17 steps for a random thing again. Also, are you sure you can't do it with powershell (since you said something about a Linux distro with a "decent shell")
 
Windows 7 can still be used in a VMWare or Parallels VM, so it should not be so terrible. It is nice to have the native Bootcamp performance, but VMs have gotten a lot better recently.

for any kind of native gpu performance you want a bootcamp install.
 
as of this month, windows 8 and 8.1 only represented 10.68 percent of total worldwide os market share, while windows 7 represented 47.31 percent. Combined, windows is installed on 90.84 percent of the world's computers.

If you combined 10.68 and 47.31 you don't get 90.84. You get 57.99:D. Article is probably taking about all versions of windows together but it's worded like it was only windows 7 and 8 getting 90.84
 
There is always the need for an exception to confirm a rule.

I can't get used to the constant switching between Metro interface and half-Windows interface, never know what will be where, what interface will pop up, where networks certificates management went, etc.

My mom, who used to refer to Internet Explorer as "the internet" and couldn't figure out why here printer wasn't working (didn't choose it on the list) is able to use Windows 8 just like she used Windows 7.

It took me about 10 minutes to get her used to it.
 
The problem I've had with Windows 8 has been more on a deployment point of view, deploying Windows 8 is a nightmare because it asks users to sign in with personal accounts, I have imported ADM's to our Windows 2008 R2 GPO Server but they don't kick in early enough.

You get the problem of Metro being very pointed to home users, pointless in orb's. Plus the re-training of users is a nightmare, not everyone is a techie and the familiarity of the start button causes headaches.

Aside from that, Metro is geared to touch, it's tacky on a pro desktop. Classic shells are ok, but who knows what nasties they hide as well as stability issues.


Windows 7: No driver class support for USB 3.0 & other bleeding edge hardware Mac Pro is using probably don't have driver support or the cost of backwards developing for a OS being phased out isn't probably commercially viable.
 
Both Whogie and Blackburn gave the most plausible reason back on page 2 yet no one seems to grasp it. Apple more than likely removed CSM and are using secure boot on new hardware. This will mean that new Macs will also have the Windows 8+ bootcamp requirement, not because Apple is mean, or is too lazy, or any of the other dreamed up reasons in this thread. Windows 7 does not support secure boot, and while Windows 7 technically supports UEFI it would require Apple to both disable secure boot and develop a backwards compatible video firmware.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unified_Extensible_Firmware_Interface

-PopinFRESH
 
The problem I've had with Windows 8 has been more on a deployment point of view, deploying Windows 8 is a nightmare because it asks users to sign in with personal accounts, I have imported ADM's to our Windows 2008 R2 GPO Server but they don't kick in early enough.

You get the problem of Metro being very pointed to home users, pointless in orb's. Plus the re-training of users is a nightmare, not everyone is a techie and the familiarity of the start button causes headaches.

Aside from that, Metro is geared to touch, it's tacky on a pro desktop. Classic shells are ok, but who knows what nasties they hide as well as stability issues.


Windows 7: No driver class support for USB 3.0 & other bleeding edge hardware Mac Pro is using probably don't have driver support or the cost of backwards developing for a OS being phased out isn't probably commercially viable.

>Boot to desktop
>Signing in with a local account
 
Not really surprised.

Personally, I wish Apple would update their support docs to make the Boot Camp process more specific to their various computer models. I had a heck of a time getting Windows 8.1 installed on my nMP.

Basically, for whatever reason on the nMP, I couldn't get Windows to install using a third party optical drive (with a full Windows 8.1 install disc inside). Here's the process that worked for me:

1. In OSX, insert your Windows 8.1 install DVD into an external optical drive.
2. Open Disk Utility and create a new disc image from the Windows 8.1 DVD (a DVD/CD Master with no encryption). This will create a disc image on your computer with the file extension .cdr
3. Rename the .cdr extension to a .iso
4. Insert a flash drive (make it a pretty big one) into a USB port on your nMP. Format it as a FAT-32 in Disk Utility
5. Open Boot Camp and follow the steps to create a Windows install on the flash drive from the .iso that you've created

From then on, just follow the Boot Camp steps and you'll be fine. The actual Windows installation (once it starts) takes about 30-45 minutes.

Also, another note about a bug I discovered... On my nMP within Windows 8.1 in Boot Camp, I initially couldn't enable AMD Crossfire to utilize both graphics cards for gaming. And Windows started massively crashing on me... Turns out it was the Belkin Thunderbolt Express Dock I had attached to the nMP. Disconnecting it stopped Windows from crashing and allowed me to enable Crossfire. Weird... I know that other folks have had success with the Belkin dock on other Macs within Windows Boot Camp. Seems like (in my mind) it's isolated to the nMP in Windows with the Belkin dock.

All that said, Windows 8.1 does kind of suck. But hey, at least I can play Skyrim at Max resolution, ultra settings, and with a bunch of mods. It's worth the crappiness of Windows.
 
Advanced age?

Don't really care, because I only boot Windows when absolutely necessary. It's a terrible experience wether it's 8 or 7, and it's just a distraction to get to a particular piece of software that I have to use natively.

Most of the time, virtualization is the answer anyway. You can boot Windows 7, XP, or a poached egg if you feel like it.

Windows 7 is at End of Life (EOL) and you all know it! 5 years is an eternity in the World of cutting edge Computer Science. I bet Apple had to resort to writing new Windows drivers to get Windows 7 to work on the 2013 Mac Pro!

As for Windows 8 or 8.1, well that is why Microsoft fired their previous CEO Ballmer. And to bolster my argument Bill Gates is now having to return to Microsoft.

Apple doesn't have time to spoon feed Microsoft because of their past Mistakes! :)
 
No. No, no, no, no, NO!

Apple, Bootcamp with Windows 7 is the ONLY way I can play 90% of the computer games I own on a Mac.

I tried Windows 8. It crashed and rebooted every time I woke it from sleep mode. Seriously, stop this stupidness!
 
A new MP can be a good workstation for architects and designers.
On my early 2013 rMBP15 I have installed Office 2011 and AutoCAD 2014 on Mavericks, but Access 2014, Acrobat 11, Photoshop & Dreamveawer CS, Autodesk Building Suite Premium on Win 8.1.
Screen is excellent even in Windows. There are minor problems however, icons in Photoshop are microscope size, where in Dreamveawer are normal (scalable). Crosshair in AutoCAD is thin and sharp.
Because of power (number of cores and available RAM) I do not run through virtualization. Let's say that transition from Mac to Win is about a minute long. Of course you can open files from one side with the app from the other. However it seems that this doesn't run on iTunes although I have authorized both halves (of course as separate machines:D).
I don't have much problems with Win 8.1 and its curious modes. You simple get used to it. However, it is curious that AutoCAD 2014 works smoother in Win than in Mac :mad: although, thermal dissipation of the laptop is quite opposite...
 
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Windows 7 is 4 years old. Supporting Windows 7 is like supporting OS X Snow Leopard, also 4 years old. Apple recently cut support for OS X Snow Leopard. This is only a problem because Windows 8 is a problem, but Apple can of course not just stay with an OS because Microsoft are confused. Windows 8.1 Update 1 will alleviate many major complaints about Windows 8, such as booting directly into the desktop, and that will be supported by this new version of Boot Camp where a Windows license will cost around 4% of a Mac Pro.
 
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Windows 7 is at End of Life (EOL) and you all know it! 5 years is an eternity in the World of cutting edge Computer Science. I bet Apple had to resort to writing new Windows drivers to get Windows 7 to work on the 2013 Mac Pro!

As for Windows 8 or 8.1, well that is why Microsoft fired their previous CEO Ballmer. And to bolster my argument Bill Gates is now having to return to Microsoft.

Apple doesn't have time to spoon feed Microsoft because of their past Mistakes! :)

Why do people keep spreading this myth about 8 or 8.1 being why Ballmer RETIRED EARLY. As in ... he stepped down about 3.5 or 4 years before he was going to step down anyway. :|
 
Oh. I bought my first Apple product in 15 years, a 2011 MBA because I could dual boot OS X and Win7. I have been waiting to relocate it with a new rMBA just to have a nicer screen and have been planning to buy for years the moment it is announced. Oh well now I'll just stick with what I have. I've played around with 8.0 and 8.1 since they were in beta. Win 8 is not for me.
 
Windows PowerShell is just for that purpose.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_PowerShell

but outside of the sysadmin world, most people never seem to touch it.

I know about the Powershell, but considering I was weened on computers with GUIs, I tend not to use command lines as much as I should. About the only time I do use it is when I'm needing to fire off ipconfig or disable hibernation on older computers.
 
Good - people should use the latest OS on new hardware.
Windows 8 has a bad reputation, but it's actually better than 7 in every way.

Some people are apparently stuck in 1995 and can't handle the start screen (launchpad) replacing the start menu.

Oh, and the option of running tablet apps on the desktop is the worst thing to ever happen to an operating system. (no, it isn't)
Either you will ignore them, or you will appreciate not having to own a tablet to have access to them. I'd love to be able to run a few select iPad apps on my MacBook Pro.
 

When people have to install third-party tweaks to regain core OS functionality, that means there's a problem with the OS that the developer needs to fix.

I have little doubt that Microsoft will eventually bring back a Start menu of sorts -- even if it works and acts a little differently than it did in XP and 7. Microsoft tried to cram a tablet-esque UI/UX down Windows users' throats in Windows 8. They attempted to shift the users' primary focus to Metro by taking core things out of the "classic" Desktop experience like the Start menu. I think the last year or two have shown us that the big push for Metro on desktop PCs was a big miscalculation on Microsoft's part.
 
Arguing over which OS is better, Windows 7 or 8, is a bit like arguing over whether you would rather be mauled by a lion or a bear.
 
Bad news, lets hope they don't discontinue Windows 7 across other new devices.
 
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