During late 2012, we started receiving questions about Microsoft’s newly-released Windows 8 operating system. Supporting Windows 8 was simply not on our radar … but we needed to articulate our thinking. On January 10, 2013, I wrote this article. It was more subjective in nature than our typical article. Since it was first published, I have updated it several times, both to update our official stance on Windows 8 and to revise or remove portions which were based more on opinion than fact. The newer section “Windows RT vs. Windows 8: Not the same” was especially important to us.

First published: January 10, 2013

URL to live article:  http://eng.purdue.edu/jump/9d6c2d

Here’s an early version of the article — back when it was more subjective:

Windows 8

ECN’s User and Desktop Services group is frequently asked about Windows 8, the newest version of Microsoft’s operating system. At this time and until further notice, we do not plan to use Windows 8. Here’s why.

Windows 7 is our enterprise operating system: ECN will be anchored in Windows 7 for the foreseeable future. We are building our Active Directory domain, software packaging, and support tools around it. At this time, we have no plans to use Windows 8 in our enterprise.

Microsoft support: Windows 7 is fully supported by Microsoft and will remain so for years to come.

No need for Windows 7 training: Windows 7 requires little or no retraining; it differs cosmetically from Windows XP (ECN’s previous enterprise OS), but faculty and staff who are new to it are up and running within minutes.

Windows 8, on the other hand, represents a significant redesign of the interface. The Start menu, familiar to Windows users since 1995, is gone. There is no option to re-enable it.

Multiple Windows 8 environments: Windows 8 has not one but two newly-designed environments: The full-screen tile-based interface which Microsoft first called “Metro” and the traditional (yet Start-menu-less) Windows desktop. Software works in one or the other environment, but it doesn’t work in both. To see a menu of applications when in the traditional Windows desktop mode, you must at least briefly switch into the tile-based Metro mode. Significant retraining is required.

Internet Explorer: The versions of Internet Explorer included in Windows 8 (one for Metro, another for the traditional desktop) are not yet certified as compatible with certain Purdue web sites used by faculty and staff.

Continued software compatibility: For years to come, updates to software written for the traditional Windows environment will continue to work in Windows 7. And Purdue’s Microsoft site license will allow us to continue to use older versions of Windows (7, XP) as needed.

For desktop PCs supported by ECN’s User and Desktop Services group, we do not find any advantage to using Windows 8 over Windows 7; in fact, at this time, there are known incompatibilities and, we feel, significant disadvantages.

Faculty and staff who opt to purchase desktop and/or laptop models which require the use of Windows 8 (or Windows RT; see below) should note that such models will be entirely self-supported; ECN will not provide ordering, software installation, or troubleshooting services for them.

See also:

 

Windows RT

Windows RT is a variant of Windows 8 designed to run only on mobile devices with ARM-based processors such as the original Microsoft Surface tablet. In Windows RT, apps written for Microsoft’s Metro environment will run, but software written for traditional (Intel x86 processor-based) Windows desktop PCs will not run. ECN will not provide ordering, software installation, or troubleshooting services for Windows RT-based devices.