It's listed as Tech now because I think this is a topic that will come up again and there are a number of folks who look to the Mudcat community for their tech advice. I get some great information here, and share what I can. Here is one of my pearls of wisdom:

I agree with Shimrod - I use a SSD Sony Vaio laptop with (now) Windows 8.1. This is an OS designed with touch screens in mind, and the ability to scroll through and touch instead of using a pointing device like a mouse. On my robust HP desktop I have Win7 Ultimate and that does a great job. If you want to describe an OS that was an utter piece of crap, cast your mind back to the woefully underwhelming Windows ME.

When we replaced Art Thieme's computer last year I shopped a lot, I spoke with his son Chris, I quizzed people I saw using touchscreens in my library, and in general decided that touch screens aren't going away, and that Windows was doing something to address how to make them work well. On my Vaio I can use the "traditional" desktop for non-metro apps (look it up) but there are some things that just need that new environment. I will say that if you use Win8 on a traditional computer with a mouse it feels really clunky - a friend with a new laptop with a regular non-touch screen has to work more to use her computer than I do with the touch screen on mine.

I also agree that you need to be bothered to take the time to learn how to use it. I really like the training offered at www.Lynda.com and for $25 a month you can join and get unlimited access to their tutorials. Join for a month and take their computer tutorials and quit again. This is probably cheaper than classes anywhere else and you can repeat, make bookmarks, etc. I worked through a couple of their Win8 tutorials and came away a much more efficient user of the system.

SRS