Alternative to Windows 8

[Bob225]

he's trying to make a sale deffo

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/wind ... and-office

windows update will install any patches required

mcafee is ok but not great - avg free only offers basic protection no firewall or anti rootkit, it will give you antivirus protection only - a retail box of avg will give you better protection, Norton have re designed there products there are only 3 types now and its not as resource hungry as it use to be and the prices have come right down too

[wine~o]

avg free only offers basic protection no firewall or anti rootkit, it will give you antivirus protection only - a retail box of avg will give you better protection, Norton have re designed there products there are only 3 types now and its not as resource hungry as it use to be and the prices have come right down too

Avg free, Windows firewall and Mbam (As a backup) also free...

[Bob225]

agreed, on my usb stick I use for clean-ups I have a few tools - avg free, NPE, CCleaner, HiJackThis that cures most issues I have a few other specialist tools mainly for data recovery

I have a notebook to look at with conduit search protect on it - a nasty browser hijack

[BillyGoat]

Hi all, thanks for all the helpful comments. That looks a good buy Billy. what worries me about refurbed units is if the first user was Garry Glitter and there is a load of deleted stuff still in the memory?

I went into Currys the other day and had a look at what was on offer. The assistant told me that my 2007 MS Office will not work on Windows 8.1 so I will have to buy a new compatible one. Was he lying to get a sale top up? He also said that AVG only offered about 8% protection against McAfee's 100% protection and said I should subscribe to if I bought a new lapppy. Hmmm...is this all b*llocks?

I think I will sit tight for a moment and keep analyzing the offers. The 8.1 and the Shell idea looks good http://www.classicshell.net/features/ (is this okay?) just to help me with transition.

The units will be factory refurbs - they will be cleaned/erased and re-installed. I'd not be concerned with other users data - if you do find that's the case - be interested to hear (I'd also get it sorted for you very quickly too!!! note: I do not work for them..... )

2007 SHOULD work on 8.1 - at most you might have a problem where you need to remove the newer trails that are installed (Office Single Image, for example). This is easy. Granted, it's not the best version of Office, but if it suits your needs........

The AV stuff is out of order. I doubt any A/V is 100% effective as long as there is an idiot sat in front of the computer. Take Mr W~O's friend. Who's to say he updated it or actually had it working properly? I'm not surprised by people who install and then magically think they are protected for life.

It takes an element of thought to use a PC, that people sometimes lack.

Oh - an email with an attachement. I'll open it.
*bing - this contains a virus*

User clicks 'ignore - install anyway'. damage is done.

I use Microsoft Security essentials or Defender (Windows 8.1). Nothing more, nothing less. It's all preference and brand love, I think.

BG

[wine~o]

Take Mr W~O's friend. Who's to say he updated it or actually had it working properly? I'm not surprised by people who install and then magically think they are protected for life.

It takes an element of thought to use a PC, that people sometimes lack.

Oh - an email with an attachement. I'll open it.
*bing - this contains a virus

BG

Pretty certain you are spot on there Mr. B-G, He'll happily click on any link sent (Apparently) from one of his friends....and forwards E-mails willy-nilly without deleting the 17+ e-mail addresses in the header....

No wonder his browser got Hi-jacked.........

[camallison]

You can still buy new laptops with Windows 7 and the option of 8.1, which you don't take unless you want to.

I buy all my laptops for family and friends from Laptops Direct and they have one that is Win 7 here

http://www.laptopsdirect.co.uk/Asus_PU5 ... ersion.asp

I bought a couple for my aunt and sister only 4 weeks back and they are excellent buys. Asus is a good quality/performer brand.

Colin

[BillyGoat]

You can still buy new laptops with Windows 7 and the option of 8.1, which you don't take unless you want to.

I buy all my laptops for family and friends from Laptops Direct and they have one that is Win 7 here

http://www.laptopsdirect.co.uk/Asus_PU5 ... ersion.asp

I bought a couple for my aunt and sister only 4 weeks back and they are excellent buys. Asus is a good quality/performer brand.

Colin

Windows 7 is EOL for OEMs on new machines.

You'll mostly find Windows 7 on returned/old/refurbished kit (where it's not EOL). You can also buy it from numerous auction sites and other places.

Windows 7 should only be available on NEW machines if it comes with Windows 8.1 PRO, like I said earlier. The end user can exercise their downgrade rights and have Windows 7. They can either do it themselves or as part of a service, like Laptops direct.

I'd not expect to (legally) find this option on non-pro based machines.

BG

[camallison]

You can still buy new laptops with Windows 7 and the option of 8.1, which you don't take unless you want to.

I buy all my laptops for family and friends from Laptops Direct and they have one that is Win 7 here

http://www.laptopsdirect.co.uk/Asus_PU5 ... ersion.asp

I bought a couple for my aunt and sister only 4 weeks back and they are excellent buys. Asus is a good quality/performer brand.

Colin

Windows 7 is EOL for OEMs on new machines.

You'll mostly find Windows 7 on returned/old/refurbished kit (where it's not EOL). You can also buy it from numerous auction sites and other places.

Windows 7 should only be available on NEW machines if it comes with Windows 8.1 PRO, like I said earlier. The end user can exercise their downgrade rights and have Windows 7. They can either do it themselves or as part of a service, like Laptops direct.

I'd not expect to (legally) find this option on non-pro based machines.

BG

Yep, you're right - just as offered by Laptops Direct. They have several laptops with such downgrade rights on offer. I have always had good service from them - just watch out for them pestering you with service plan offerings! The original manufacturers' warranty should suffice.

Colin

[eatthis]

did i miss windows 9 completely?
im used to windows 7 so will be sticking with that for the time being

[Bob225]

No windows 9 they skipped that one, tbh I think I will wait a good few months for windows 10 after release - make sure it ultra stable first

dx12 should be the game changer as it can unlock the potential of the newer hardware

[gas4you]

I personally would never believe anything that a Curries/Pc World thicko said!

[wine~o]

I personally would never believe anything that a Curries/Pc World thicko said!

Thing is they are employed to sell you stuff, whether or not you need/want it.. They have sales targets to hit or they are out on their ear. I don't agree that they are "Thick" maybe just undertrained....

[BillyGoat]

I think it's like any place. You have the people who are genuine, knowledgeable and good at their jobs. Then you have the terrible people who just show up, do as little as possible and then go home.

Sadly, it's always the good people who end up leaving to find better, more suited jobs that reflect them and their abilities. It's the people who 'just show up' who stay there doing the same thing day in day out, who eventually become bitter and resentful of the people who pay their wages. Many, not all.

While I didn't work IN a store when I was part of the group, I quite often went in the stores and talked/served customers. While I couldn't process the payments and take money, I'd like to think that I always offered the best service and most suitable product for the "guests" needs.

It always interested me to just talk to people who came in without any intention of buying who walked out with a pile of stuff they didn't know they wanted or some good ideas of what they COULD do in the future.

BG

[joinerjohn]

I personally would never believe anything that a Curries/Pc World thicko said!

Exactly,, Curry's/ PC World employ sales people, not computer experts. A few years ago a friend of mine went into PC World to buy a laptop as a Xmas present for her husband (best part of £600's worth too) The sales assistant was more interested in selling her the extended warranty (after being told three times she wasn't interested in the EW) She ended up telling the assistant to stick the lappy where the sun didn't shine and walked out. Ordered one from Scan Computers instead.

[gas4you]

I personally would never believe anything that a Curries/Pc World thicko said!

Exactly,, Curry's/ PC World employ sales people, not computer experts. A few years ago a friend of mine went into PC World to buy a laptop as a Xmas present for her husband (best part of £600's worth too) The sales assistant was more interested in selling her the extended warranty (after being told three times she wasn't interested in the EW) She ended up telling the assistant to stick the lappy where the sun didn't shine and walked out. Ordered one from Scan Computers instead.

Exactly what happened to me. The sales idiot said that he would 'have to insist' that I took out the extended warranty as it would protect me@

Told him exactly where to stick the laptop and warranty and walked out