Partially sighted, windows xp (and anything else including windows7) was fine. OCR existed to enable me to scan books and read them in word (white on black), I could save my cds into my computer - and now, forced to buy windows 8.1 (because of terminal viruses in my old laptop), my new windows 8.1 has cost me and my partner hundreds of hours in time, computer specialist friends have sweated, struggled and tried their best to help - result - total horror. Near suicide. Both of us in our household are (were) very computer literate. I am a writer, researcher...(can I still be?). Everyday things become marathons of endurance and patience. Plus MS has removed OCR and have removed the capacity to save cds.
Microsoft is a criminal. For me, it means that I can scarcely work. My partner is in despair. We can no longer lean on specialist friends to help because we are all at our wits end. The whole set-up is infinitely too complex. Surely so many users need to do some basic stuff. Reading, writing, email - and (icing on the cake?) listening to cds. For us, it is back to the old cd player in the corner.
If you buy a new car, you expect it to take you from a to b. You know how to drive and it works. Windows 8 (8.1) is not like that. It does not take you from a to anywhere and it only sometimes works - and poorly.
Is there another company out these that can take MS's place and give us workable, basic technology for the 21st century? MS should never have been permitted to hold this monopoly. We both have modest incomes so cannot infinitely invest in new stuff...