Installing a free program called classic shell will give you back windows 7 style menus
We have done this to probably 300 computers in our shop…everyone is thrilled
The people (like me) who object to Win 8 are people who want/need to do things to their Win 8 PC, not people who just want to use their Win 8 machine.
My family (home users) and my colleagues (business networks) don’t have any objections to Win 8.
Damning with faint praise ***and ***explaining what’s wrong with 8.1. Well done!
I’m not a fan of 8.1. They renamed icons, FFS (now, they’re “charms”). It’s extremely annoying to have to re-learn the setup of an OS that didn’t need to be re-designed for the average laptop.
It took a while, but I can go back and forth between 7 (work) and 8 (home) now. I keep meaning to update to the Classic Shell, but I haven’t done it yet.
But I spend enough time keeping my work laptop up to snuff, so yanno. I want to be lazy on my home laptop. 
I admit it. 
Given the choice, I’d probably take Win 7 over Win 8, all else being equal, but only because I’m on W7 at work all day.
I was in your exact situation, (where unfortunately all else wasn’t equal) and ended up getting a Win 8 laptop for the other half – I set it up and maintain it for them without too much pain, after a couple hours of learning the basic differences. I imagine that would have taken a lot less time if I’d just installed classic shell right away.
So, bottom line: go ahead and get the Win8.1; just plan on a couple extra hours of learning your way around so you can set it up for her.
Unless you want to go all-in, and get a touch-screen detachable keyboard laptop, so she can use it like a laptop or a tablet; in which case you have no choice but to get 8.1 and learn all the touch-screen stuff, which will take longer, but might super-thrill your wife if she would like a tablet, too (for instance, spends lots of time on buses or planes)
I guess I’m confused.
I have a Win 8.1 tablet (Surface 2). And the factory OOB experience is BOTH the Metro / phone-style UI AND the traditional Win95 through Win7 desktop style UI.
Does the desktop/laptop version of Win 8.1 not include the desktop UI?
If you like Win7 then Win 8.1 can be beaten back until it functions 95% like Win7 did.
You can make it boot to the desktop, it asks for a Microsoft account login when the computer boots but you can set it to bypass the login.
The biggest shortcoming is still the Start menu. 8.1 put a Start menu back, but it’s not the same as the WinXP/7 Start menu. The 8.1 Start menu just takes you to full-screen page with your apps listed on it. A half-dozen or more Start menu replacements are available, some free some paid.
It does. But it’s not exactly the same as the win7 desktop which means it’s of the devil, I guess.
It boots much faster. Nothing is intuitive, and it is programmed to work like a phone, except with a mouse and keyboard.
I don’t like it, but what can you do?
Regards,
Shodan
I still find the complaints about 8.1 mostly baffling.
Even if you don’t like the Metro apps or Start menu, I find it crazy that one wouldn’t have their computer organized such that main functions are pinned.
The old-style Start Menu was not a bastion of clean design or organization, and has been avoidable and worth avoiding for years.
8.1 has several meaningful updates compared to 7, including improved file copying, MS account integration, and improved update and device handling.
I don’t have any trouble with it. The issue is that it’s different, which a lot of people hate.
people don’t like it when someone moves their cheese. Especially when it’s Microsoft.
You could get to most everything you needed in the Start menu. Your installed programs, browse the computer, Control Panel, Run/search box, Shutdown/Restart/Sleep. It was all there, accessed through one button. And it’s been that way since at least Windows 3.0. So, 3, 3.1, 95, 98, 98SE, Me, 2000, XP, Vista, and 7 all used the same basic Start menu. Now if MS wants to change things in 8.1 they better have a much better reason than a crappy tablet UI.
Yeah, like I said, it’s an absolute terror having to rightclick instead of left.
I defended 8.1, but this is silly. An undiscoverable option does not make up for a significant change. You really think most people know about right clicking on the start button? It’s not remotely user discoverable.
I’d also forgotten about Microsoft Account integration, which is actually one of the largest drawbacks. Some people reported not being able to get around it, and that’s criminal.
Right-clicking there doesn’t get you everything you used to get. I’ve tried to find out how to open simple included apps like calculator without setting something up or using the keyboard, and I can’t find anything. I would like to open paint, or calculator, or see what other things I have installed using only the mouse. Anyone know if that is possible?
I can’t say for sure that this is standard (I might have changed something at some point, but I don’t think I did), but I have both paint and calculator on the start screen under “Windows Accessories” after I click to see all applications (it’s an arrow in the bottom left, which I notice now is unlabeled).
(I also, in addition to the old version, have a metro app version of calculator, but it would be less than helpful on a PC.)
Click the windows icon in the lower left. Then click the little down arrow which is also in the lower left (this is equivalent to clicking “all programs” in your old start menu). Click “Paint” or “Calculator” in the all applications window (it will be under accessories like always). Done. While you were there you could see everything that was installed.
If you plan to use a program or shortcut more than once a month, pin it to the start menu so you just have to click the windows icon and then click the shortcut. Same thing as the old way of pinning it to the top of the old start menu. Easy.
The only thing that changed about the start menu is how it looks. Everything is still there in basically the same spots it was before.
Let me put it this way. I found it which means it’s obvious enough for even an idiot. If you know people who couldn’t figure it out, that’s real sad.
I consider myself an advanced user and I had trouble finding the shut down option. Now that I will decry. It’s not intuitive for me to open the charms bar and then go to settings to get to my power down options. Makes zero sense. That’s not where I would naturally go looking for it.
Other than the charms bar, which took me a while to get used to because it’s context-based which I kept “not expecting” for some reason, I really don’t have a problem with 8.1 though. Startup seems a little unstable but as long as it starts fine (and it does so very quickly) it’s great to use. That copy and paste dialogue.
Since Microsoft had made me used to getting prompted for every little thing I ever tried to do I did need to double-check myself when the default option for deleting now is NOT to check with you first, but literally just send it to the recycle bin immediately. Thought I went nuts for a second.
My professional tech relative is unable to fix most of the problems I identified as Windows-related. His diagnosis: Windows-related (not memory or other cause). His suggestion: Get a Mac.