Hi Everyone,
You may have heard that Microsoft
recently released Windows 8 on Friday 10/26.
Members of the Union Tech Coop
Technical Committee have been testing Windows 8 for several months
using the Evaluation copy Microsoft provided to developers prior to
the final release.
We're happy to say that our test
results have been very positive. Windows 8 has several advantages over
Windows 7:
- Performance – some 'eye candy' visual effects have been removed due to the design requirement for Windows 8 to run on lightweight hardware.
- Security – Microsoft's anti-malware security software and Adobe's Flash Player have been integrated into Windows 8...and they receive updates automatically.
- Compatibility – Windows 8 seems to be very similar to Windows 7. From our testing, every program designed for Windows 7 that we tested worked properly under Windows 8.
The biggest noticeable change in
Windows 8 is the new user interface (called the 'Metro' or the
'Modern' user interface). The new look is the default setting on any
newly purchased computer from a retail store that includes Windows 8.
This new user interface has large buttons (called 'tiles') rather
than a traditional 'desktop' that previous versions of Windows displayed.
The new look was designed for computers with touchscreen monitors and for touchscreen mobile devices. The new look works well for touch use cases
but can be unfamiliar at first.
Our technicians are able to easily
configure Windows 8 to display the 'classic' desktop environment that
you are familiar with if you find the new user interface is not to
your liking.
Due to the advantages we've seen in our
testing and the minimal effort involved in configuring Windows 8 to
display the traditional look, Union Tech Coop will be including
Windows 8 with our custom desktop computers going forward. We're happy to build custom computers with Windows 7 upon request for
clients who prefer to continue using Windows 7 rather
than move to Windows 8.
All Windows 8 computers purchased from
Union Tech Coop will be configured to show the 'classic' desktop
environment by default. Users will be able to easily switch to the
new user interface at any time to try it out. We're happy to assist
our clients to configure the new user interface to be the default on computers purchased from Union Tech Coop at any time at no
additional charge.
We're proud to offer the highest quality
custom computers and to include the latest
Microsoft Windows 8 Pro as the operating system. We're also happy to schedule a demonstration of the computers for anyone who is interested in giving the hardware and software a try before making a purchase.
Please feel free to give us a call at
(608) 616-9925 if you have any questions.
Thanks,
The Union Tech Coop Technical Committee
