Well, um, I, uh, like, well.... Hmm.
In reality, having dug into Windows 8 since its beta days I have seen it inside out. There are indeed some things that are nice such as the downloading speed. It's light years faster. I won't make this blog about whether I think its good or not. What I WILL make this blog about are ways, based on many folks' complaints, that can make Windows 8 more functional for those that are more familiar with Windows 7 and earlier. This will be the first of a few blogs helping in this area.
*A side note. April 8, 2014 Microsoft will no longer support Windows XP. What that means for you if you still have it is that there will no longer be any security updates. As hackers find new vulnerabilities in XP there will no longer be a countermeasure from Microsoft. Basically, you're on your own if you choose to stay with it.
Now, if you have a computer with Windows 8 and would like it to be more like Windows 7, aesthetically there are a couple of things we can do. First and foremost you will need to find out if you're running Windows 8 or Windows 8.1 - Go to the "Charms" from the right side of your screen and choose "Settings". Then choose "PC Info". This will bring up a properties page. Underneath "Windows Edition" you'll either see your version as Windows 8 or 8.1.
The other way is from the "Tiles" just type "PC Info" and click on the result. It will bring up an app that is windows properties. The bottom section is "Windows" and you'll see the edition version there.
If you are running version 8 you will want to update to 8.1
Simple. From the tiles type "store" and hit enter. You should see a tile for Windows 8.1. It will take a while but the benefits are there.
Now, to the meat of the blog. To make this more of what you're used to, hop on the internet and Google the term "Classic Shell". Download this little program and you will once again have a Start Menu and boot directly into the desktop. If you're feeling bold check out the settings by right clicking the start button.
In the next blog we'll do a few more tweaks...
At Backplane Technology Group we help folks at home as well as in small offices around Rockland County with their computer and network issues. We provide engineer level service where the big companies don't go.
We're here to help and empower.
Andy Blecher
Managing Partner/Network Engineer
Backplane Technology Group
Call us at 845-418-2680 or visit us at http://backplanetechnologygroup.com
