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VERY basic question about Windows 8

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  • 22-11-2012 10:53am
    #1
    another question
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,386 ✭✭✭


    I know the answer is probably very obvious but I can't seem to see it anywhere in black and white.

    Is Windows 8 for touchscreen computers/tvs only?

    For example, I have a generally oldish laptop which has Windows 7 Home Premium, I basically want to know if I can upgrade my laptop to Windows 8, or is this option not available to me because I have a touchpad mouse instead of a touchscreen?

    Also is it available on upgrade to anyone or is it just a new product and if so how much?

    Thanks...:cool:


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    #2
    GreenWolfe
    Registered Users Posts: 1,731 ✭✭✭GreenWolfe


    Windows 8 will work without a touchscreen, I tried out the Consumer Preview on an old Thinkpad X200 without problems, and I run it on my own newer Dell laptop.

    You can buy a Windows 8 upgrade for €30 until January 31, 2013 - http://windows.microsoft.com/en-IE/windows/buy


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    #3
    homer911
    Registered Users Posts: 5,113 ✭✭✭homer911


    The official line is that any PC running Windows 7 should run Windows 8, as W8 requires less memory and resources

    The only issue should be to do with drivers - are there drivers available to support all your hardware? There is some sort of W8 upgrade advisor which you can download to check..


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    #4
    Capt'n Midnight
    Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 90,889 Mod ✭✭✭✭Capt'n Midnight


    http://windows.microsoft.com/en-IE/windows-8/system-requirements
    If you want to run Windows 8 on your PC, here's what it takes:

    Processor: 1 gigahertz (GHz) or faster with support for PAE, NX, and SSE2 (more info)
    RAM: 1 gigabyte (GB) (32-bit) or 2 GB (64-bit)
    Hard disk space: 16 GB (32-bit) or 20 GB (64-bit)
    Graphics card: Microsoft DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM driver
    These are MINIMUM.

    ie. windows will boot up and run lightweight apps - fine if you are using it with a screensaver to show your photos

    Realistically you need twice any microsoft minimum spec if you want decent interactivity. And the hard drive spec is just for windows without any programs or multimedia

    If the laptop was supplied with windows 7 and is nippy enough then you will probably be OK. Windows 8 won't make an old laptop magically faster


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    #5
    Overheal
    Registered Users Posts: 81,925 ✭✭✭✭Overheal


    I've gotten XP to load on it's minimums before and by the time you install security software your usability is effectively toast. You definitely want more than the minimum.

    As for the UI and Touch, the Start and App functionality is certainly more aimed at touch but plenty able to work with a mouse. I will note though that a trackpad is going to frustrate most users (a fair amount of click-and-drag) and I would highly recommend a mouse. No reason not to have one either, when they're as cheap as they are. In Desktop view though, it's the same interface as 7 essentially.


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    #6
    Capt'n Midnight
    Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 90,889 Mod ✭✭✭✭Capt'n Midnight


    Overheal wrote: »
    I've gotten XP to load on it's minimums before
    Windows 95 on 4MB RAM clean install.
    16 minutes to boot to desktop.

    Thankfully the minimum specs are a tad more realistic these days, windows won't run on the minimum spec, it's more like walking rather than crawling.


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    #7
    another question
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,386 ✭✭✭another question


    * Offer valid from October 26, 2012 until January 31, 2013 and is limited to five upgrade licenses per customer.

    Does this mean if I purchase the downloadable link onto my laptop that I have 4 licenses remaining? So that my partner could use it for his laptop and the home desktop aswell at no extra charge?


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    #8
    28064212
    Registered Users Posts: 10,506 ✭✭✭✭28064212


    another question wrote: »
    * Offer valid from October 26, 2012 until January 31, 2013 and is limited to five upgrade licenses per customer.

    Does this mean if I purchase the downloadable link onto my laptop that I have 4 licenses remaining? So that my partner could use it for his laptop and the home desktop aswell at no extra charge?
    No, it means that you can avail of this offer for up to 5 devices. So you can pay €30 for yours, €30 for your partners, €30 for 3 others, then you'd have to pay full price

    Boardsie Enhancement Suite - a browser extension to make using Boards on desktop a better experience (includes full-width display, keyboard shortcuts, dark mode, and more). Now available through your browser's extension store.

    Firefox: https://addons.mozilla.org/addon/boardsie-enhancement-suite/

    Chrome/Edge/Opera: https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/boardsie-enhancement-suit/bbgnmnfagihoohjkofdnofcfmkpdmmce



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    #9
    Capt'n Midnight
    Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 90,889 Mod ✭✭✭✭Capt'n Midnight


    another question wrote: »
    * Offer valid from October 26, 2012 until January 31, 2013 and is limited to five upgrade licenses per customer.
    Microsoft have for a very long time maximised revenue by selling separate licenses.

    If you have X machines you need X licenses, if you want them to talk to a server then you need another X client licenses, if you want to use email or database on a server then you need X client licenses for email and X client licenses for the database. Microsoft licensing sucks - the amount of time I've had to spend making sure we were compliant without being over licensed - and they've had plenty of time to figure out how close to sail to the wind.


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