How difficult is Windows 8

p00

Just been to PC World for a replacement pc. Chose a Packard Bell one partly because its small and compact and has to fit a certain space.

PC world then told us they would charge £40 to install software and £30 to even show us how to turn it on as it 'doesnt have the normal start button'

How difficult is it going to be to start with WIndows 8 really as the thought of paying just to learn how to switch it on would be very annoying.

p00xx

OneADay

£30 to turn it on ? They taking the P.

Or are they trying to charge you for an upgrade to windows 8 when you buy it? Even upgrade is not difficult as long as you have software and DVD drive to run from. The only complex bit could be bios but £30 to do that is taking the P.

Get something else - much better brands around.

What software are they talking about? It never is complex to install software yourself unless you are doing something reallly really fancy.

wiogs

So it comes with no software installed? Just get them to give you the discs and do it yourself.

They are indeed taking the p***

[Deleted User]

The 'new' version of Windows 8 is getting the start button back (8.1)

Even on version 8.0, all you do is move the mouse to the bottom left hand corner to get a 'start button' list of programs

giraffe69

PC World are a bad place to go to especially if you aren't confident. They bully and exaggerate. They invent things you "need" which you don't!

custardy

Pay them nothing.
In fact for that little sales pitch. I wouldn't pay a penny to them and buy elsewhere

John259

There are at least three viewpoints on Windows 8:

Fanboy: it's perfect, it takes less than a half a second to learn, it's totally identical to Windows 7; it's the future, live with it (and other similar nonsense, usually accompanied by insults).

Sceptic: it's garbage, it's impossible to learn and ghastly to use.

Realist: it's seriously flawed, but it's largely fixable by installing one of the third-party utilities such as Classic Shell or StartIsBack.

JJ_Egan

I will be honest with classic shell installed i don't know its Win 8 in day to day use .
What the serious flaws are i don't know .
Rumour mill has yet another windows version due October .

woodworm001

How hard it is to use may depend on your experience with PC's anyway but it is certainly not hard for anyone to learn and use it with little effort. I'm sure you could find a decent dummies guide to windows 8 kind of book for much less than they are charging.

I do not believe Windows 8 has any 'serious flaws' and I won't be installing any 3rd party software to bring back a start menu. I'm not a fanboy either, just a competent PC user.

Esqui

It's not difficult, is the short answer. Yes, it's a little different, and even I'll admit, the first version was a little awkward. But with the latest 8.1 update, it really is a thing of beauty.


And it might take a few minutes of trial and error, but you will pick it up quickly, as long as you aren't expecting everything to look exactly the same as earlier versions of Windows.

RumRat

The answer to your question is, it's simple to use and easy to learn. There are plenty of helpful articles and video's to assist you on the net, just a google away.
Plenty of help here and other forums for direct questions.
Certainly no need to pay anyone at PC world. Most people who know anything about computers don't even go near the people in there, so they just prey on the lost and vulnerable.
It won't be difficult to follow the instructions that come with it to set it all up and the sheet in the box will point to the on button..:)