Are you in the market for a new computer? Have you decided that you don't want to purchase Windows 8 or 8.1?

Microsoft released Windows 8.1 to address concerns with Windows 8. But the update didn't change too many minds. Are there other options?

Why does Microsoft have to fix what isn't broken? The company's response to the public's displeasure is to tell us we don't know what's good for ourselves. Most people were happy with Windows XP. Why did Microsoft have to discontinue XP?

Microsoft XP was a stable product. Most people liked it. A few years later, Microsoft had to feed the revenue engine and released Windows Vista. The press was negative on Vista. Public opinion of Windows Vista was negative. People avoided it like the plague.

It wasn't that Windows Vista was really bad. But it was a public-relations nightmare for Microsoft. The company would like to have you forget about that fiasco. It was just a dream that didn't happen. Windows 7 was released, and the public was saved from Windows Vista.

What was really wrong with Windows Vista? Its internals were very similar to Windows XP. Earlier versions of operating systems provide the basis for newer systems. But if one compares Windows XP and Vista, the two appear very different. You can't move between the two very easily.

Windows 7 burst upon the scene a few years later. The public was happy with it. It was very similar to Windows XP. Windows 7 became the accepted standard operating system.


Windows XP was retired and everything was fine ... for a while.

Microsoft's revenue machine is hungry again, and it released Windows 8. People don't like it. Microsoft released Windows 8.1, but people still aren't satisfied. Are there other options?

If your computer hardware is OK, you can keep your old computer until new releases of software force you to upgrade to Windows 8 or a later version of Windows. Broken hardware might force you to buy a new computer.

Some computer manufacturers may allow you to downgrade to Windows 7. You may even be able do this yourself. You need to purchase a Windows 7 license and install it. Most of the time, you will be successful but you may run into compatibility problems.

Windows 7 has generated a lot of revenue for Microsoft. But it's next on the list to become obsolete. Microsoft wants to force us into purchasing Windows 8. What if we hold out until Windows 9?

Will Windows 9 be well accepted? Is Microsoft crazy, as in, like a fox? What are your predictions about Windows 9?
