How different is Win8/touch from Win7?
 

I am a long-time Windows user in need of new laptop for heavy number crunching and presentation design.

I see that in Windows, the newest Intel CPUs are only available in Win8 laptops with touchscreens. How different is that from previous versions? I've been using Excel since it was Multiplan, and do a lot of my work by muscle memory, without having to use menus or a mouse. Will the keyboard shortcuts still work with a touchscreen, or do I lose them?

Because if I'm going to have to learn a new op system and new keyboard shortcuts, maybe I'll just get a MacBook Air already.

If you install Start8, as I and millions of others did, Win8 can be just like Win7, a bit faster and with a few better diagnostic tools. Every once in a while you may accidentally hit a key that takes you to the Metro/Modern/shall-not-be-named interface designed for touch/tablet use. But a click on the Desktop tab/panel/chicklet will get you back.

And even without Start8 (it's only $5), you can click to Desktop mode from the Win8 interface and be back "home". All of your shortcuts, keystrokes, etc., should be fine/unchanged.

That's been my experience.

The latest chips mostly come in Win8 laptops, but they don't need to be touchscreens. I recently had two new laptops delivered for my kids, Win8, non-touchscreen. Touchscreen just adds weight and cost. (and the "ultrabook" label)

This. I just bought a new ASUS i5 with a touchscreen etc. Great laptop but I find that I don't use the touchscreen that much.

I use dual monitors, 1 laptop and 1 monitor. The issue is if I'm working on the big screen and touch the laptop screen for email or skype etc the mouse just goes over to where you touch. Guess it's a small thing but a sign that it isn't optimized yet.

Without Start8 and if you aren'T dealing with a touchscreen, Win8 is a steaming pile of excrement.

If you're on a tablet or touchscreen, it's fine but on a "normal" laptop/notebook, it's horrid. It's the ME/Vista of the cycle.

Spark, you made me laugh. Thanks.

Ryan, that's my exact setup.

What if I get a touchscreen laptop ... can I navigate with just the keyboard and occasionally the touchpad, (as I do on my Win7 laptop), or will I be forced to use the touchscreen?

You can navigate without using the touchscreen. Certain poster just don't like it.

That's not correct, while they're easier to find with Windows 8, you can still get machines with Windows 7 preinstalled. Nor do all Windows 8 machines have touch screens.

You can also reinstall Windows 7 onto almost any Windows 8 preinstall machine; if it comes with Windows 8 Pro, you don't even need a separate Windows 7 license as the Windows 8 Pro license includes downgrade rights to Windows 7 Professional.

Also, the newest Haswell (Core i-series 4th generation, eg i7-48xxMQ) processors are not really that much more powerful than the prior generation Ivy Bridge ones (Core i-series 3rd, generation, eg i7-37xxQM) although they have at least somewhat better(*) built-in graphics and better battery life.

(* ranging to much-much-better, although the best ones are not actually shipping yet last I checked.)

Quite a bit, but mostly in very superficial ways. As others have said, there are applications that restore the start menu and related behaviors, including Start8 (commercial, but cheap) and Classic Shell (open source.)

Neither makes it a perfect match for Windows 7, but they restore the single most annoying day to day change by making the the new start screen optional.

Excel doesn't change based on the Windows version, but rather based on the Office/Excel version.

The touch screen is irrelevant.

Keyboard shortcuts:

Most of the big system-wide ones are the same (eg alt-tab, shift-alt-tab, windows-r, etc), although a few have changed... although with Start8 or Classic Shell, some of those (most notably control-escape to get the start menu!) go back to normal

A lot of the keyboard shortcuts in explorer for file management have changed with the "ribbonification" of explorer. It also loses the ability to do alt, followed by cursor-key navigation of the menus, just as office did in 2007.

Your applications, if the same version, will work the same (although Office 2013 will work somewhat differently from 2007/2010, although it's not as big change from the Office 4.3 to 2003 menu model)

There are also a bunch of little details which will be different: the control panel system settings are now split between the Desktop control panels (which are essentially the same as Windows 7) and the new control panels (which suck.) You can do most basic stuff in both, but some things can only be done in one or the other.

If you get one with a full keyboard and touchpad, you'll be able to use those normally.

There are a few hybrid models out there with no touchpad, but not many.

I will share a valuable tip for you.

To close a window or program, move the cursor to the top of the window. You will see a hand appear. Drag that hand to the bottom of the screen and the window will close. It's a neat gesture but clicking the X is faster for me.

Windows 8 is more faster than windows 7. And as windows 8 is developed for touch screens so it is more better than windows 7 in terms of touch and more faster.

Then why does my 3 year old Windows 7 notebook open programs faster than my nephew's new Win8 notebook?

I'm rather skeptical of claims of Win8 being faster in general other than boot time (for which it uses some fairly dirty and questionable tricks!) but to play devil's advocate on my usual dislike of Win8:
1) Is the hardware identical? It's not implausible today that a high-end machine from 3 years ago would be faster than a low-end one from today (not necessarily true for any arbitrary comparison of a 3 year old high end machine and a low end new one, but common enough not to be implausible) -- aside from CPU, if the older one has an SSD and the newer one a spinner (speed of opening programs would be especially effected by this), or if the older one has a good amount of memory and the newer one is a 2gb cheapie...

2) Running different antivirus/background software?

I got a Win8 laptop - good price, but I hate it. I added Start8 and that helps a little.

I returned one laptop and the guy asked me if I was returning it b/c of Win8. I wasn't, but he said they were getting returned right and left b/c people hated it.

I read in the WSJ yesterday that a Windows 8.1 version is available. It is supposed to make it more like Win7. It is supposedly a beta/developer's version but is available to anyone on their website. I haven't tried it yet.

Classic Shell

Don't run Win8 without it.

I downloaded the windows 8.1 update. Big, Big improvement. Better than the aftermarket shells.

My laptop is on its last legs. Was looking at a new one today, and it had Windows 8.1 on it. Still have no clue on how to use it. Do I still need Classic Shell or Start8?