Yesterday I was getting to grips with my new laptop and it's sooo different kind of like it's trying to be an iPad too, anyway I can't find the games that were usually on Windows so then I find that they are available to download as an app for free, so far so good. But you HAVE to have a hotmail or outlook account which I didnt really want but ho hum

So I created one with false information as I think Microsoft is far too nosey lol. So I put in a made up phone number, then went back to get the app and it can't proceed without sending a text to my phone!!! What is going on here?

It's the future, my dear. You can however, still pop round to Smith's (quickly...while its still there!) and purchase yourself some Scrabble, Battleships - or even computer games on a disk if you're desperate, and not have to tell the check out bod your inside leg measurement.

They even still let you pay with that rubbish, paper stuff that's becoming so unfashionable these days. I know it sucks to have to pay for something you already thought you had...but you see how this works now and won't be falling into this particular trap again.

I actually keep an old mobile and charger spare for just such instances too. It only comes on when I am 'required' to receive some important information, like a password or other bits and bobs that couldn't possibly be sent by email.

Ab Origine wrote:
Ditto. It has come in handy.

Now you come to mention it I do have a spare phone, now to find the charger.

I was only playing Mahjong but my God it is nosy. Why I had to put in my post code I have no idea. This new laptop has a built in webcam which my last one didn't so I have taped a bit of paper over it lol.

I couldn't get on with Windows 8 at all so installed Classic Shell which you can use to make 8 behave/look like 7 (or XP, or even Vista if you're a masochist ).

You can still go to the horrible tile interface by pressing the Windows key or mucking round with that side of the screen nonsense, so you haven't lost anything.

Luckily I'm back on 7 proper now

electricdreams wrote:
I'm trying to hang in there. I had Vista on my old laptop that died then somebody gave me an old PC last year with 7 which I really liked but now that has died too lol. So here I am with Windows 8 I am getting the hang of it, its just the big brother side of things I dont like. Mind you in saying that I havent tried to actually change much ..............................

I would thoroughly recommend taking a look at Classic Shell, Babs. It's a free download and feels right at home with the Windows 7 interface (or any of the others you like best), start button and all.

You can then skip all those intrusive apps (if you want), although it doesn't restore the games of course - it's just a front end.

electricdreams wrote:

I think I might be looking into this as TBH Windows 8 is doing my head in lol. Simple things are taking me ages to do, like yesterday all I wanted to do was to play around with some docs and it took me forever.

Now I have done something with the desktop. I go to it as this is how I prefer to use it anyway not those app screens. Anyway it was working fine until yesterday when I must have pushed a button or done something, because now when I launch Chrome it's as if I am opening a "page" and I am "in" something else not as it usually is as at the bottom I only have a Chrome bar and a thing with the time on it, not the usual Windows toolbar and the date/calendar/sounds setting on the bottom right. Arrggghhhhhhhhhhh

Win8 was such a giant epic abortion its unreal.
Same goes for the modern ubuntu imho.

You get so used to the old style desktop its inevitable its going to piss you off lol.

Its a touchscreen OS basically and the modern windows smartphones are actually bloody good and intuitive but putting it on a desktop was a real baaad idea. Not that microshaft give a shit ofc.

andyh wrote:
I think not having the little start button on the left down there is the worst of the whole thing. It is SOOOO hard to find just everyday stuff it drives you nuts lol!! I can't remember when I first got a home computer but it was when they were standard fare and we had dial up maybe 18 to 20 years ago and I have been through every variation of Windows since but this has to be the most frustrating of all of them!!

Babs wrote:
I liken it to the old mac os



Hehehe!!

Try clicking at the bottom right of the win8 screen and see what happens..then you go like WTF!!!?! LOLOL!!!

Seriously best thing you can do is get a win7 downgrade.

I'm actually getting used to Win 8 but you can tell it was designed for touch screen primarily.
As you say Babs it's a pain to find stuff at times..... I've got really stuck a few times, but basically the bar that appears down the right when you swipe the mouse down the right of the screen is where to go most of the time.
But not having the Start button there at the bottom is a mindfuck!

Space Bandit wrote:
You know why its better on windows phones?

The mobiles have an arrow showing the screen tab in each corner