First off, black friday deal from office depot. Toshiba 15.6" 6GB RAM 500HDD with an i5 for $415 after tax and rebate. It's for business, finance specifically, but my personal laptop running a pro core duo with XP finally crapped out after 7 years, hence the purchase instead of a PS4. Until I sit down and build my tower to plug up to my PS 3D display for steam games, this is it. So I think I made the right choice for price, performance, and work: this is a Windows 8 jump from XP for me. So I'm not fond of the metro style app start screen. I hate the look mostly and my laptop is not a touchscreen making navigation more of a challenge in that regard. I'm utilizing the scrolling options with decent success.
Upon start up MS is asking for a lot more Info and an account, it's quite different ecosystem now. I see the advantages but also the nuisance. Having an app store is a welcomed addition, offering me ample access to software quickly and effectively. The desktop is as expected, I don't need the old start screen. File explorer is right there, pinning to the toolbar, and creating icons is easy enough. Taking advantage of key navigation like the Windows button and alt + tab is a lifesaver. I'm thinking hotkey customization is the beat advice one can get with W8.
For antivirus I'm trying out ad aware 11, feel free to judge that decision or to suggest other software or ones that play nicely together. Now I said this is for business and I'm just getting started so I'm trying to cut costs wherever possible, also I don't have the money. I'm a little ticked MS doesn't have Office as standard anymore as that is essential. So I'm looking to acquire software I can't afford otherwise and could use some advice in the torrenting department. (ip masking, security, etc) If it's better to pay for a legit version and it's not out of my budget I will, just looking for guidance.
So as I get use to the new features what do you recommend to get me started off right?
Before the PS3 everyone was nice to me :(
