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I have a warning here, based on bitter personal experience, for anyone thinking of buying a new desktop or laptop computer. Do NOT buy anything which has Windows Hate installed as the operating system, unless you are able and prepared to scrap it completely and install Linux Mint.
I like to think that I am not a moron. I have made extremely few poor purchasing choices in my life, mainly because I take the time to read extensive reviews of everything I am considering buying. I also buy over 90% of all goods from Amazon, who have the best and fairest return policy. Despite this, I have never had to return any consumer product until this very week.
I bought a new laptop running Windows Hate. I know, I know. I honestly thought that it couldn't be that different from Windows 7, which I thought was a pretty good operating system. I was able to use 7, and use it fast, to get done what I needed to do.
The PC, because of Windows Hate, was entirely unusable in its raw state. The first shock was that there was no start button or menu – no way of accessing programs. The second was that there were ridiculous menus which would appear on the screen for no reason every time I tried to move the cursor. To make matters worse, the PC was loaded with spam and bloatware, some of which was even designated to be the default media.
When I installed my audio files, they tried to play in some brainless spam program called X Box – whatever happened to Windows Media Player? OGG and FLAC files wouldn't play in anything! This was a relatively minor problem, as downloading foobar2000 and making the right file associations was quickly able to overcome it and get me back to full functionality.
The other problems were not so easy to solve. The lack of a start menu is crippling in the extreme, but I was finally able to solve it. Downloading a free software called "StartW8" gave me back the needed start button and menu, and solved that problem.
The problem of the insane menus appearing on the screen every time I tried to move the cursor was a different matter altogether. A program called Skip Metro Suite was supposed to be able to disable this idiotic "functionality", but it did not work. All of the settings I applied were the correct ones, but there was no change. The larger and more comprehensive program Classic Shell is also supposed to be able to disable these diabolical difficulties, but that didn't work either. Yes, I had the right version. Yes, I chose all of the right settings. Still absolutely useless.
At this point, with many hours wasted and no solution in sight, I was left with the choice of editing the registry, or just returning the PC to Amazon as unusable. Apparently, the registry edit is only a partial solution even if it works, so, there was only one choice to be made. Back to Amazon this piece of junk will go, hopefully for a full refund.
That is a lot of time wasted just to prove that Microbug Windows Hate is such a vile obscenity that it renders a PC entirely unusable. Do yourself a favour and get hold of a Windows 7 machine while they are still available. God alone knows what the future will bring.
Linux Mint? I would like to try it one day, but it simply cannot run the software I need. Izotope RX-2, in particular, will only run on Windows. As of now, I need a Windows 7 or XP computer to be able to function. I only hope Linux improves in compatibility, because this is desperately needed now to allow the world to escape from Microbug hell. The world of personal computing has never looked more bleak, and the outlook is as black as sin. For now, there are probably enough 7 machines left to give you a fighting chance, but how much longer will this endure? I have to admit to being seriously worried.
For now, whatever you do, avoid Windows Hate!
SH
I like to think that I am not a moron. I have made extremely few poor purchasing choices in my life, mainly because I take the time to read extensive reviews of everything I am considering buying. I also buy over 90% of all goods from Amazon, who have the best and fairest return policy. Despite this, I have never had to return any consumer product until this very week.
I bought a new laptop running Windows Hate. I know, I know. I honestly thought that it couldn't be that different from Windows 7, which I thought was a pretty good operating system. I was able to use 7, and use it fast, to get done what I needed to do.
The PC, because of Windows Hate, was entirely unusable in its raw state. The first shock was that there was no start button or menu – no way of accessing programs. The second was that there were ridiculous menus which would appear on the screen for no reason every time I tried to move the cursor. To make matters worse, the PC was loaded with spam and bloatware, some of which was even designated to be the default media.
When I installed my audio files, they tried to play in some brainless spam program called X Box – whatever happened to Windows Media Player? OGG and FLAC files wouldn't play in anything! This was a relatively minor problem, as downloading foobar2000 and making the right file associations was quickly able to overcome it and get me back to full functionality.
The other problems were not so easy to solve. The lack of a start menu is crippling in the extreme, but I was finally able to solve it. Downloading a free software called "StartW8" gave me back the needed start button and menu, and solved that problem.
The problem of the insane menus appearing on the screen every time I tried to move the cursor was a different matter altogether. A program called Skip Metro Suite was supposed to be able to disable this idiotic "functionality", but it did not work. All of the settings I applied were the correct ones, but there was no change. The larger and more comprehensive program Classic Shell is also supposed to be able to disable these diabolical difficulties, but that didn't work either. Yes, I had the right version. Yes, I chose all of the right settings. Still absolutely useless.
At this point, with many hours wasted and no solution in sight, I was left with the choice of editing the registry, or just returning the PC to Amazon as unusable. Apparently, the registry edit is only a partial solution even if it works, so, there was only one choice to be made. Back to Amazon this piece of junk will go, hopefully for a full refund.
That is a lot of time wasted just to prove that Microbug Windows Hate is such a vile obscenity that it renders a PC entirely unusable. Do yourself a favour and get hold of a Windows 7 machine while they are still available. God alone knows what the future will bring.
Linux Mint? I would like to try it one day, but it simply cannot run the software I need. Izotope RX-2, in particular, will only run on Windows. As of now, I need a Windows 7 or XP computer to be able to function. I only hope Linux improves in compatibility, because this is desperately needed now to allow the world to escape from Microbug hell. The world of personal computing has never looked more bleak, and the outlook is as black as sin. For now, there are probably enough 7 machines left to give you a fighting chance, but how much longer will this endure? I have to admit to being seriously worried.
For now, whatever you do, avoid Windows Hate!
SH
ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\StartMenu\Programs. Select it and add it as a toolbar. It appears on the right of the taskbar. Click the arrow next to it and up pops the start menu. To turn computer off, drag curser to right of screen, click settings, there is the power button. Media centre is free until end of January, look up Media centre for windows 8 pop in your e mail, then you will get a product code sent to you. However, this laptop that I am working on, has Windows 8 but I can also boot to Ubuntu 12.10 which I also love.
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