I grok Windows 8

My Windows 8 opening screen.

It’s become quite the sport these days to put down Windows 8.

It’s too radical, They say. It’s not intuitive. I can’t deal with all these damn tiles. It’s the dream operating system for children of all ages who just wuv pwetty cowors.

I have no problem with it, however.

And in the Meandering Mouse work/play/thoughtspace, that is all that matters.

Windows 8 is radical – and that’s its strength. Instead of tiny shortcut images atop a pictorial background, it is big, bold squares which come alive with a touch – an operating system where our fingers make things happen.

Ideally.

Because my computer is older, it does not have a touchscreen monitor. Unfortunately, that means I’m not getting the full effect of Windows 8. My computer mouse is still a handy helper, but touching a Windows 8 square with a pixelated arrow instead of my finger is a little disheartening.

Which is why touchscreen is a must for my next computer. And it will also be an all-in-one, with the hardware, USB drives and disk drive tucked away in the monitor instead of a bulky, unwieldy tower (which, because I’ve always used small desks, inevitably ends up on the floor and hard to reach). I’m thinking of a computer like this HP Athlon AMD:

My future laptop must have the same capability. And it must be small and light, because I will be carrying it around often. I’m thinking of a laptop like this Asus Vivobook S200:

“But…but…” you may be saying. “Apple is better than PC!”

Perhaps that was unequivocally true a decade ago. Today, the distinction is practically meaningless. PC/Android products do the exact same things as Apple products do. Apple still has its mystique and snob appeal, but it can no longer claim “better.”

A few months ago, I would have still considered buying an all-Apple product setup, once I had the funds. A trip to Best Buy, however, changed my mind.

Apple iPhones and iPads have touchscreens. Apple laptops and desktops do not.

Dealbreaker.

Being able to make up your own mind about things through your own experience, instead of basing your opinion on what They say – that’s a skill to acquire and uphold.

(P.S. When I got my computer in 2007, it had Windows Vista installed. Now, They hated Windows Vista with the power of a thousand suns. I never had any problem with it. Imagine that!)