https://www.theregister.co.uk/2018/01/02/intel_cpu_design_flaw/
So Intel has this massive security flaw in their cpus that is so big windows has to patch it. The emergency patch came out this week but it turns out alot of windows pcs won't get the update to auto download unless their antivirus is up to date according to this article:
http://www.zdnet.com/article/windows-10-meltdown-spectre-patch-new-updates-bring-fix-for-unbootable-amd-pcs/
I got the update on my main pc 2 days ago but I haven't approved the update yet. I'll be doing it later today. I'm quite enraged by this security issue considering it can cause a 5-30% decrease in performance for some tasks. I also read that this update has been causing some random reboots. Wtf. I use my pc for work and I can't afford random reboots. I've always used Intel cpus in all my pcs but my next computer will be an AMD chip.
 

I started using Windows 8 tonight.. I watched the "Getting Started with Windows 8" videos and I now know how to actually navigate, switch and close apps, get to the control panel, etc.. and honestly, this OS would be fine on a phone or a tablet. But on a full PC, this OS sucks balls compared to Windows 7. To see what apps are all open and to be able to right click and close those apps, you have to move the mouse to the top left corner of the screen and then move the mouse down the side in a kind of crappy emulated swiping gesture. This also applies to the right side "charms" menu. The "metro" tiles that everyone knows as Windows 8, is a menu of apps that can be modified to have different tiles, but it cannot be removed or even have the computer boot to the desktop. On a tablet this would be fine, but I'm currently not interested in accessing Window's app store, installing apps and other programs that want to harvest my data.. I simply want a powerful PC for work and gaming. Without a touchscreen for a PC, this operating system is horrible. The shittiest part is that all the settings, control panel, etc. that is the core of Windows 7 is there, but Windows 8 wants you to ignore the hardware and potential of the system and instead sign into your Microsoft account and keep up to date with your friends and tiles.
 
I'm currently doing all my windows updates and then I'll be upgrading it to Windows 8.1 which will allow me to boot to desktop and it'll have a start button with quick access to the control panel and all the other administrative options I actually used the start menu for. However, it still doesn't have an "all programs" list in the start menu, which means I'll have to use the search function to find my programs if I don't have shortcuts on the desktop for them.. and I will still have to turn on the "Metro" tiles, right click on a blank area and then click "all apps" to see the apps which are separate from normal programs.
 
Once I get these updates done, I'll try to change some settings around to see if I can get this computer running more to my liking.