A   few weeks back, I went to start up my laptop to begin an intermediate accounting test (though let’s be real, it was really only to watch “Breaking Bad”), only to find that my dear old Samsung (lovingly referred to as a “piece of Nickelback”) had finally decided to call it quits and give up the ghost, only a few weeks after all that preventive insurance (spill protection! Knife fight scratch guard! Tech support!) expired, leaving me with no option but to drive to Tupelo to purchase another laptop.
  When I arrived in the store, toting the corpse of my former laptop, I immediately ran to the Geek Squad counter and asked the worker (who sort of looked like a Jake) to find a laptop that could a) run Photoshop and b) was not a Samsung. At this point, Jake (not his real name), looked at me and slowly pulled a Toshiba laptop off the shelf, shed a single tear and informed me that it unfortunately came installed with Windows 8. Windows 8 was, in his own words, “The worst thing ever.”
    Harsh words, especially from someone trying to sell me a computer. Still, with no other choice, I purchased the thing and here we are. And to be honest — though it might seem a bit surprising — it’s great.
     Calm down, calm down. Yes, this is unexpected considering the rampant backlash that has surrounded the new Windows update, but it’s true. Most of the criticism has centered on the fact that, in the words of Geek Squad superstar Jake, “Windows is trying to be like Apple, and I hate it.” Apparently only Apple can be Apple, and anyone else would be wise to stay away. This is like saying because someone is in good shape, that it would be unwise to hit the gym.
    Still, my experience has been a pleasant one. After booting up my laptop, expecting something horrible to happen at any moment, I was almost given a heart attack when my computer booted up without any hang ups and that spiders didn’t swarm out of the monitor while I adjusted my settings.     
   Ultimately, I’ve found the experience to be smooth rather than horrifying, as the crew of Best Buy in Tupelo told me. Part of this is due to the touch screen component of the Toshiba I purchased, which I believe is essential to enjoying the experience. But the other part is just everything runs so smoothly and without any hitches. I’ve had this computer for about two weeks, and have yet to attempt to set it on fire, which means the system is an improvement on past ones (I’m looking at you, Windows Vista.)
    Here’s the deal with Windows 8: it’s essentially a tablet experience on a laptop. There are a few user issues to deal with at first (such as, there is not a “Start” button, and a few other learning curves, such as figuring out how to close apps, (which is what the main screen now consists of, including a desktop app, Netflix, Internet Explorer, as well as several other preloaded ones) and learning how to navigate the software. On the whole, though, I’ve found it to be a wonderfully user-friendly experience. Though, in part, this might be due to the fact that the computer is a touch screen, which I believe is probably the easiest way to ease into the new Windows 8 experience. In fact, if you consider getting a new PC with Windows 8 on it, I would suggest the touchscreen is a necessity. Without it, it wouldn’t be surprising to find several broken Windows 8 computers smashed around a brick wall. So, get Windows 8 and splurge on the touch screen. You’ll soon find yourself immersed in an experience that is almost as user-friendly as Apple, almost.