GeekwithEnvy

windows 8

Ninite Can Make Your Transition to Windows 8 Much Easier

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If you’re upgrading to Windows 8 from XP or if you just plan on doing a clean install anyway, it’s time to consider how you’re going to get all of those wonderful applications you use re-installed on your system.Ninite Screenshot 1

If you’ve done a clean install, you know how much of a hassle it can be re-installing everything you need. In some cases it can take hours to get back up and running. With Ninite, you can take advantage of a set-it and forget-it mentality. Ninite is super easy to set-up and use, it is truly amazing.

To setup Ninite, simply head over to the Ninite website and choose your platform at the top of the page. Once you select which OS you use, you can begin selecting applications.ninitescreenshot4

After you have selected all of the applications you want installed, head to the bottom of the page and click “Get Installer”. Once the download is complete, just open the installer and you’re done! Yep, you can walk away and do whatever you need to do and Ninite will do all of the work, it really is that simple.Ninite Screenshot 4

What if you don’t see one of your applications in the list?

Ninite offers the ability for you to suggest applications for inclusion into the list.

What about Add-ons and toolbars, does Ninite have them? Does it allow applications to install third-party products on my system?

The short answer here is no, it bypasses all of the garbage. It installs apps just like you would have had you installed these apps yourself. Ninite itself is a legit program that runs without installing adware or spyware. So if you have apps to install, I think this one is a no brainer.

 

Windows 8 to be Released at Midnight and Final Thoughts

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Well, the era of Windows 8 is nigh and at 12:01 AM across all time zones, we will finally get to see how the world reacts to one of biggest changes to Microsoft Windows in the history of the company.product_win8-startscreen_Web

I have mentioned before that I think that the new Windows OS will do just fine but it will take some time for people to get used to. Most people don’t like change, it makes them uncomfortable and in some cases a bit angry. Some people will continue to hold on to Windows 7 and never let go, and they have every right to, but I think that Microsoft is headed in the right direction, it’s time to let Windows evolve.

What’s kind of strange to think about is that this release of Windows actually lacks just that, windows. For the first time Windows will be released with a new UI that doesn’t have any “windows”. How weird is that? I suppose they could have really turned things upside down on us and named it Microsoft Tiles, but that just sounds wrong. All joking aside this is a big deal for Microsoft but is it a big gamble? Maybe it isn’t.

Just where would all of those Windows 8 haters go? Would they move to Linux or OSX? I would venture to guess that most of these “h8ters”, if I may so un-elegantly put it, would just end up using a previous version like Windows 7. So how does Microsoft lose here? In the worst case scenario Microsoft completely redesigns and rethinks their UI again and quickly pushes toward Windows 9. They have had their fair share of OS failures over the years and have recovered just fine i.e. (Windows ME, Vista). I understand that putting this much time and money into a product release with this much change is a big deal but I don’t think that a Windows 8 failure is enough to make the average Windows user jump ship.

Understanding what users want and need is crucial in a release like this and Microsoft has put in billions of hours into testing Windows 8 and hopefully we will see all that hard work payoff. Windows 8 offers everything a modern OS should and they have wrapped it up in an elegant design, but there are a few major changes in Microsoft’s mentality that are reflected in Windows 8.

One of the more notable changes besides overall UI design is the sandboxing of applications. Sandboxing apps can make your system a lot more secure and it’s something that Apple has been doing for years now with Mac OS. Many developers are divided about having their apps in a sandbox environment, again it’s a change and people don’t like change, including developers. From a user perspective having an ‘app store’ is convenient and it gives us an extra sense of security knowing that these apps needed to be approved before making it into the store. Personally, I don’t have an issue with anything that has the potential to make Windows more secure.

I will be spending with weekend with Windows 8 Pro and will be talking about my experience soon after. For now we wait and see if the world will accept the change that Microsoft has put in front of us.

 

Ready or Not Windows 8 is On it’s Way

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Well, it’s been really fun talking about how different Windows 8 is and how crazy it all seems but we are slowly approaching the release date for the new OS and some feel it just isn’t ready.

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I would argue that any OS is never really ready when it first releases. There are so many things that will likely only be discovered when the masses begin to upgrade  and tear apart the shiny new OS. This process of fix-on-the-fly  is nothing new for Microsoft and I’m sure we won’t be happy with the new OS until the first service pack releases or maybe even the second for that matter.

What is truly important here is that Windows users really try to look at Windows 8 as something entirely new and try not to compare it to Windows 7. The world is changing and Microsoft is adapting with it, and this is a great thing. Many of us hate change and for this reason alone we tend to look at Windows 8 and feel like we will never upgrade. However, as we march forward and watch Microsoft make one of the biggest changes to it’s operating system since the ‘Start’ button, I wonder what I plan to do personally.

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Do I jump in? Do I wait a few months ? What computers do I upgrade first and do I upgrade all of them or just one? These are the questions that I’m trying to answer, even as I write this I’m trying to figure out what I will do.I have been experimenting with the developer preview and the release preview and I still feel very uncomfortable using Windows 8 with a mouse and keyboard. I don’t know why I can’t seem to shake this feeling. This OS is designed to work with touch and it feels like the laptop and desktop experience is an afterthought.

I’m pretty patient when it comes to OS software, I have tried just about every semi-popular OS out there from obscure linux based OS’s to OSX and back to mobile OS’s. Generally I give an operating system a fair shake up until it’s first major patch. Once we reach the first major patch, if I still feel it’s not working for me, I will usually move on to something else.

When we look at Windows 8 we can’t forget that it’s not just about how we feel about the new OS, it’s also about the faith that hardware manufactures put into the new OS. After all, the hardware is useless with out a good operating system to make it work. Let’s not forget that Microsoft is also going to be releasing it’s own tablet with Windows 8 on it, which will have Microsoft competing directly with those same hardware manufactures that Microsoft want’s Windows 8 to run on.

What about developers? what will they do with existing titles? How will they fit-in with the new OS? Is this change something that developers want to engage in? Some developers feel threatened by Windows 8 and feel that they will be forced to operate within a “box”.  Take the keyboard and mouse out of the equation and now you either are forced to work with touch or an Xbox controller.  Something doesn’t feel right here and I can quickly begin to understand why.

Now, take all of this crazy change and bundle it up in a nice, shiny, new Microsoft store that you build right across the street from the Apple store and you’ve got a front row seat to historic change in the world of technology.

To sum things up, I say if you support Microsoft then use Windows 8 and provide all the feedback you can to help Microsoft build the software you want to use. This is the only way they can get a real feel for what consumers want and need from their software. In the meantime I remain optimistic about Windows 8 and hope to see it succeed.