What operating system do you use

[Fwiss 29]

I believe you guys are thinking of UEFI and the Trusted Platform Module. Microsoft requires OEMs, the computer manufacturers to implement it in their BIOS if they want to be able to put a little Windows 8 sticker on it and have Windows 8 installed on it by default. The problem is that Microsoft does not require the OEMs to allow the user to turn off UEFI or have any control of the signatures it will accept.

What UEFI basically does is, before it boots from a disk, the BIOS will check the operating system's kernel (its basic system or its "core") to see if it is cryptographically signed by the trusted party (It sees if the unique checksum of the kernel is encrypted by the trusted party's secret key). It calculates the checksum of the kernel itself, and if it does not match the signature from the trusted party, it will refuse to run the kernel. This could be used as a security feature, because rootkits typically modify or run before the kernel. UEFI should defeat these rootkits because if even a bit is changed in the kernel, the UEFI BIOS will see a difference in the checksum, realize something is wrong, and abort the boot, at which point the user might be notified and told to reinstall the OS or otherwise get a signed kernel. The problem is, right now, the only trusted party all the Windows 8 certified computers trust is Microsoft. Add that to the fact that you might not be able to disable it in some computers, and you have a serious problem. I don't believe Windows 7 is UEFI signed or compatible, and I'm even more sure Vista and XP aren't. This is even scarier for the Linux and other communities, because each kernel update of each distribution would require a signature by Microsoft, and kernels update in Linux quite often. Last I checked, Microsoft charged $99 for a signature and it takes a while to make sure it's "malware-free" or fits their "guidelines." Even worse, kernel developers, who might need to change kernels many times a day even, would need to wait days for a signature from Microsoft. These $99 fees might be acceptable to some Linux distributors like Canonical and Red Hat, but smaller Linux distribution developers would not have such a time. In distributions using custom kernels like Gentoo, it would be downright impossible for them to operate, especially with a third party as slow, uncooperative, and profit-driven as Microsoft.

Some manufacturers allow disabling of UEFI and adding additional signatories, but many don't, meaning it is essentially impossible to have anything but a select few "authorized" operating systems on those machines.

That said, I feel that Windows 8 was a bad executive decision. They could have put all the user experience features from Windows 7 into 8, but they actually removed some options for the "modern" mobile feel. I feel like this is some sort of nudge toward their Metro/Modern API by the CEOs, who just removed some features because it would make normal Windows applications seem old and deprecated, forcing developers to use Microsoft's new Windows-8 only APIs just so that more people will buy Win8 for the Metro applications.

In terms of stability and speed, Windows 8 has equal or lower requirements than 7 in some areas, so at least they didn't bloat up the OS like in Vista. Still, 16-20GB for an OS install is pretty insane. I wonder if Microsoft is going to even bother with a Windows 8-based server system, or will they just leave accept their loss to the UNIX camp. I just can't imagine any self-respecting server administrator using any sort of touch-screen control or Windows 8's UI in general. Maybe Microsoft will stick to the old UI for server systems, though that can't be viable for the long-term.

[Tooq (Kitty McPurrington) 17]

I always use Windows 7. I've experienced Windows 8 but I like this version better. I am a modern girl but I don't want stuff too technical if you know what I mean. ;)

[sweet_lil_Eliza 49]

I always use Windows 7. I've experienced Windows 8 but I like this version better. I am a modern girl but I don't want stuff too technical if you know what I mean. ;)

Yeah, I too prefer windows 7. Windows 8 is better in phones than computers- that said, I love android for phone/tablet OS

[Tooq (Kitty McPurrington) 17]

Actually.... With more information I'm more of a Windows 8 person now. :D I bought a new computer soooo I like it now. It has a lot of features and way faster. Don't get me wrong I am still up on Windows 7 but you know.... I'm a modern girl. B)

[Snowflake 0]

Windows 7 was my favorite then I got use to Windows 8 and I don't want to let go. Only thing I hate about it is when something opens up in a Full Screen Windows 8 Window but I have manged to set everything to not do that so I have no more problems. :D

[ОранжевыйХвостик 0]

I use Windows 7.

[Noodles The Echidna 23]

I really enjoy the speed, customization, and security of Linux. Additionally, it has great opportunity for "ricing," (although that term may have roots in a racial slur, citation needed). You can use a variety of desktop environments, the most popular being KDE, GNOME, Cinnamon, MATE, Xfce, and LXDE, but also an even larger amount of window managers, my all-time favorite being the Awesome window manager. At the advice of NeKit, I started using Gentoo and have settled on it as my distribution of choice for a year or so now, though I still use other distros for special purposes (networking, generally).

That said, Windows 7 is pretty nice, aside from the price and the insecurity of it being proprietary, which really doesn't affect most of us, for gaming. For all except the high-end games, I run it in a virtual machine for any time I want to play/read a game. Compared to earlier versions, it's much nicer and has very good security features, though irritatingly the home editions don't have a group policy console or the like. Windows 8, from what I've tried of it, isn't too bad for most users, but it's pretty insecure. It's tough to find a way to actually shut it down, and any organizational work on it is a hassle.

To those of you running Windows XP: you should be very careful, it's not very secure. Microsoft is only providing support until April 2014, so less than a year, so if some sort of remote exploit comes out after that, you're almost sure to get something bad very often.

 

Do you have a Raspberry Pi?

[Crypt96 2]

Windows 10, you should add that option

[Noodles The Echidna 23]

Windows 10, you should add that option

 

Windows 10 hasn't come out yet.

[Pendell 1]

I use, and love, Windows Vista. I defend that OS, because it is one of the best. Sure, when it launched, it was the most horrid thing ever, but so was Windows XP, remember? And then they improved it and updated it, until it was practically perfect. The absolute same can be said for Vista. I have used the original RTM, and I couldn't stand it! However, I then installed it from a disc pre-loaded with Service Pack 2, and it was amazing. It runs twenty times faster, has a much broader and fixed driver support system, all the bugs in the explorer have been worked out, and by now Microsoft has fine-tuned Vista to being almost perfect. It's even comparable to Windows 7 at this point!

For me, it was even better because Vista came as a sort of blessing for me. I have a horrible HP netbook that came with Windows 7 Starter, and it was just crawling because of a 1.66 ghz Atom processor and only 2gb RAM. Then I installed Windows Vista SP2 and it blew 7 out of the park! I love it, and with today's plethora of bad computers cheating you out or your money, Vista is a great alternative OS but also a great OS in general.

Oh, and it was the best looking Windows ever. 7's taskbar is fat, blocky, and just gross. Vista's taskbar was sleek, thin, and laid-back.