Note: This review is not intended to insult Windows users, despite the few remarks appearing otherwise. This is a review based on a comparison of experience on both operating systems, so I would like any comments to be the same. I will ignore, and possibly delete, one-sided comments.


So here is my review of Windows 8.1
I have gotten the hang of it. It literally takes a college course to learn how to use it, but I am getting there.
However, scrolling is unstable compared to Mac. I have to hold my fingers very steady, and cannot "flick" scroll pages. While streaming is faster, such as watching Netflix, the graphics are inferior compared to Mac. Even DVD's are blocky and a pain to watch when the movie is darker.

The thinner font and brighter colors were not the only thing hurting my head. Windows has always been known to use non-complimented colors in their UI, simply picking random colors for the menus and interface, and to worsen the pain, the use of bright backgrounds lacking a balance of color. OS X uses colors that compliment one another, and gradients (even in Yosemite there is still a slight gradient effect) that help relax the mind, and prevents overstimulation. I have just completed some of my online assignments for college on Windows 8 earlier today, and found it harder to concentrate.
The thinner font makes it harder to read, and combining the flashy colors, is a huge headache.
But what made things worse was the fact that the screen was very dim. I soon learned that it was the auto brightness, which does a horrible job compensating for the ambient light, and it is painfully noticeable compared to Mac. I had to disable the auto brightness so I could actually see the screen because it would dim every time I walk in front of my laptop.

There are a few pros, nevertheless.
The Start screen is handy for opening apps, just like Mac's "Launchpad" (which has been around a lot longer, Windows is good at stealing ideas), but the live icons make things a little more fluent. Skype is faster at loading (I guess that means inferior software works better on inferior operating systems).

The bottom line: I will continue using the Windows 8 partition on my MacBook Pro (I'd like to see your Dell run Mac) for college and studies, and for playing Skyrim and Fallout. But for other games, as well as movie watching, music playing, web design, and recording singles for my band, the Mac OS X will still always be superior.