some_stars | (no subject)

question, because i don't trust the internet: my netbook is finally dying, and as no one sells netbooks anymore, i need to find some kind of replacement laptop that's cheap and light and not a tablet. i am very, very tablet-averse, because in my experience i can't do what i need to do with a tablet. and of course all the new cheap laptops available are Windows 8 (or Chromebooks which: NO) and Windows 8 is designed for tablets and touching and blugh. But I would really rather get a new machine than something refurbished.

So, question: how much can you use Windows 8 like a normal, non-tablet computer? my specific needs usually involve having multiple documents from multiple programs all visible on the screen at the same time. and i need a normal filing/explorer system, where i can access files on their own, not just through an app. i also want the taskbar or something like it--not having to go back to a home screen every time i want to get something that's not currently onscreen. and i would really really rather use a trackpad than touch the screen.

do i have any hope? or should i go back to looking up refurbished old laptops from before the world went mad?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

well, uh, i actually lost my patience and went ahead and bought a new windows 8 machine, partly because part of what's making me so crazy is not being able to get any work done in private while i'm here since my netbook is so fragile. it sounds like i'll be able to cope with it, but if it's a disaster and i have to send it back, i will definitely request picked brains!

Ha! Well, if you have questions about anything related to the OS, you can ask me. I could make so many hipster jokes about how early I was running it, you see. So very, very many.