Do You Love the Windows 8 Consumer Preview or Hate it?
Whatever Microsoft may be saying about how great the Windows 8 Consumer Preview is, there can be little doubt that it's provoking some very strong reactions. People are either loving or hating the new OS with very few people sitting somewhere in-between. I thought then I'd share my own thoughts with you and ask the question to you directly. Do you love or hate Windows 8, how do you feel about it?
Personally those people who know me will know that until now I've been far from the biggest fan but slowly the operating system is winning me over. It is doing this firstly because I'm looking past the new Metro user interface at the other new and sometimes very cool features in the OS, and also because I'm figuring out how to get that Metro UI to work for me, the way I want it to.
So what are these new features that are winning me over? To start with the new ways that Windows handles file management. The new copy and move feature finally handles these operations in a sensible and common-sense way, even offering a pause control so that long jobs can be continued the next day or after you have been out for a while. This small feature is very minor however, especially given that third-party utilities such as TeraCopy have offered this functionality for years.
Additionally the inclusion of Microsoft's type-0 Hyper-V hypervisor and other technologies such as Windows To Go I can personally see being very helpful. As the author of Troubleshooting Windows 7 Inside Out and someone who regularly received much help and support email from readers, the inclusion of anti-virus after so many years is a welcome relief. It's not all so good however as the storage aggregate, Storage Spaces would have been much more helpful six years ago in Windows Vista when hard disks were still relatively small and tower PCs were still the order of the day. This feature is much less useful now that we commonly see 3Tb hard disks in all-in-one machines that can only accommodate a single hard disk anyway.
Other ways that the operating system falls down are that while I whole-heartedly welcome the removal of the Start Menu, which was completely unnecessary after the Windows 7 Taskbar was introduced. There is no auto "pin to Taskbar" option for new software and no otpion for "software buckets" to hold program options in the same way Start Menu folders do. This seems very short sighted and was something I was calling for three years ago when Windows 7 was first unveiled.
Regards the new Start Screen itself I mentioned that I have found a way to use it that suits me. I am pretty much using the new Start Screen as a sub-desktop of live widgets along the lines of the OS X Dashboard. I still don't like the shut down and restart options being moved, and really quite hidden, in the Settings for the computer and other things are fiddly or annoying too.
Windows 7 was never a perfect operating system though either, neither was Vista, nor XP (no matter what some people might tell you). In fact no operating system is ever perfect and we have to find was to use it that best suit us. With this in mind all you can really do is find a way to get an OS to work for you, which is what I did with Windows 8. After doing this I was able to think more about what lay under the surface, and now I'm really warming to it.
That's just my opinion though and I'm not going to make excuses for where Windows 8 is failing to impress people, or where mistakes are genuinely being made. So what do you think, do you love Windows 8 or do you hate it?
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No way I’ll touch Windows 8. As Windows 9 will be only Metro, unless someone at Microsoft will come to his senses, this move , certainly, will bring the post-pc era much faster.
“As Windows 9 will be only Metro”
Where did you pull that stupid one-liner from? Certainly not from microsoft.
Windows being metro-only… get real. Never gonna happen and not a single piece of data that even points to that direction.
This is most certainly NOT the plan. At all.
What is far more likely, and very very logical, is that winRT will be extended to desktop applications. Bringing us a new and unified application model, FINALLY leaving win32 hell behind after two decades and allowing for sandboxed desktop apps that will be installed from the store AND will run on both x86 as well as ARM.
It’s painfully obvious. Those who claim that the “desktop is going away” need to get their heads examined.
I dislike the new Windows interface and what I see from Windows 8 so much that I have already been experimenting with various versions of Linux as that looks like the direction for me at least by the time Windows 7 is no longer supported.
I actually find it half-decent. Not saying that I’m pleased with the switching, but in the CP version, I was able to keep the switching to a minimum. This is not that of a big deal, and the type and search abilities are nice. I only wished they would add that to the desktop as well.
I don’t love or hate it. I’m unimpressed and disappointed with it. It feels incomplete and disconnected. I would have found it more appealing if Media Center (TV) were a tile in Metro and Metro could be controlled via MCE Remote. There are more people out there connecting PC’s and laptops via HDMI to HDTV’s then ever before. Why not allow Metro app devs the ability to set remote macros, etc? So much potential here that has been ignored. Why bother updating Media Center to .NET 4 when it will probably be removed in Windows 9?
Desktop with a touchscreen is a novelty and nothing more IMO. It will be great as a kiosk but will never take in the corporate world. It’s inefficient and an ergonomic nightmare. However, HTPC hasn’t gained mainstream appeal because of how cumbersome it is for both devs and users who have to hack it together in order to make it worth using. It is however, the future. Not just for the home user but for corporate presentations as well.
I’m not impressed by features MS has incorporated that have been available via 3rd parties for years. For example, Win 8 indexing is still pathetically slow unlike voidtools Everything.
I haven’t gotten comfortable with Metro but haven’t given it much of a chance. I’m a very keyboard oriented user. I prefer keyboard shortcuts and macros. I find them more efficient and easier to remember than an icon in some folder in the top left, wait bottom right, wait where was it again? That’s just how my brain works but I accept that this may not be the norm.
It is incomplete, thats why they call it a preview ;)
LOL I think you took that statement a bit too literally.
Win 8 Final will be a beta quality product. We still have yet to witness the growing pains of Metro on x86 smartphones and tablets (which don’t yet exist). After all, this is the whole reason for Metro in the first place.
If the stars align properly Win 9 will be a hit and MS will be king of all devices.
WIndows 8 is great, the thing is most people don’t want to learn new stuff.
After 2 hours I was able to get my productivity
Okay so try convincing upper management in a corporation to spend 200+ dollars each on a touch screen monitor for 30000 computers. And if you so happen to conquer that obsticle, then try to convince and train 70,000 users on how to use the Metro UI. Not an easy task…Work in IT and you’ll understand. It’s not as simple as you think.
Classic example of MS telling us what we want, rather than giving us what we want. And I want Windows 2k, XP, 2k3 back lol
Skipping Windows 8 for sure unless they give us the option to turn off all that horrible Metro crap!!!
I still like XP better than vista,7 & 8. Just wish they would have ported XP to 64 bit. The changes to the file system is not helpful and the desktop has become a joke. I use XP in classic mode with a clean desktop. things are easy to use, clean and fast. I watch movies on my TV with it, listen to radio stations and can run any program needed. I understand the need for progress but I feel all the changes were for MS sake rather than the users. I have watched friends switch to MAC’s and others trying to learn Linux as it seems that is the future
You do know there has been an x64 version of XP since 2003 !!
I didn’t try it yet! i have a quastion! :-)!
is this version is same as RC on Windows 7?!
I mean is this the release candidate version for windows 8?
No it is like the beta
I hate it! No more comments…
Don’t see benefit to move to win8. I have what I need with XP SP3 and Win7 a bit more stable. I like simple logical cohesive interface. Don’t need forced changes to interface. I NEED to get the job DONE quick not learn new interface before I can complete my tasks.
I have 2 linux machines that look like XP and have required functionality out of the box, no extra tinkering required or extra $$$.
Win8 Verdict: thumbs down for now.
For all haters out there, have you tried it on a touch tablet? Metro makes much more sense to the fingers not the mouse & keyboard.
So far, I still like it, mostly because of the Metro design. But to me, it makes a lot sense keeping Desktop to the Desktop and Metro to the touch device. Treading desktop as an app to Metro makes desktop like the jailbreak version of Metro Windows 8. It just doesn’t seem right. Desktop belongs to keyboard and mouse and the giant squares belong to the fingers and touch screen. They can’t mix.
If Microsoft released a Metro version of Windows 7 at the time when Windows 7 was shipped it would be huge success, because back then, iPad hasn’t really taken off. But well, that’s just a thought and assumption.
It seems too late for Microsoft entering tablet market fighting hard for a piece of share, and it doesn’t seem to be appropiate doing so with a giant weapon aimed for desktop the same time.
Apple is porting the iPhone/iPad icons onto their Mac but I don’t see that made a huge of the deal.
Personal feeling so far when using Windows 8 is something like: “am I still using a Windows?”
+1
I hate it, full stop. Kids laptops all run Linux Mint with Cinnamon as well as my Win7/Linux dual boot PC. However, I’m in love with my 27″ iMac with OS X Lion. Do not see the reason as to why I would be inclined to “upgrade” to Win 8. From the CP, all I can see is unfinished product that has too many directions from too many different devs that got lost in the productivity, usability, innovation … When/if they come to a mutual agreement and start working on something good, I might consider it.
Not sure whose blog you’re reading, Mike, but so far you seem to have been one of the biggest fans of Win8 around here. Not that you aren’t entitled to your opinion, naturally, but it seems a bit odd that you’d preface your post with the claim that you’re slowly, reluctantly being won over.
Also, I still am baffled by your hatred for the start menu. How many icons are you squeezing onto your taskbar? At least with a menu one can, well, browse it like a menu. I can’t be expected to remember every program I have installed by its icon or launch most of them with Win+R.
I do like the new copy and paste feature, in principle at least. Unfortunately in my attempts it has been painfully slow but I have a feeling it’s a conflict with the hardware I have installed the CP on. Finally fixing that will be a welcome change, but I’ve got Teracopy now (thanks to yourself) so no need to contemplate upgrading to Win8 just to get decent file transfer handling.
I think part of the conflict here between Microsoft and users is demonstrated in the OP. Mike says that he won’t be making excuses for Windows 8, but that’s pretty much all you have been doing, going so far as to say that it is up to the users to find a way to make the operating system work for them. That appears to be Microsoft’s attitude as well, yet to me that is missing the point of an operating system entirely. The OS should be there to support us and allow us to get our work done, not require we completely rejig our way of working in order to cater to the design philosophy of its creators. It’s not the learning curve that’s the problem, it’s the artificial obfuscation. The OS is far too intrusive – I have to fight it to do the simplest thing, including switching it off. Calling that “finding a way to make the OS work for you” sounds a lot like an excuse to me.
Windows 8 is an alpha-quality product, which is a blatant copy of the iOS design philosophy, without the visual appeal of iOS and without the functionality found in Windows 7. In other words, it removes everything that makes Windows superior to an iPhone when the Enterprise is concerned, and adds new layers of difficulty for I.T. staff.
We will *not* be adopting Windows 8 where I work. Hopefully, Windows 9 will come along and restore the product’s “business OS” functions, and lose the “pre-schooler’s toy OS” look-and-feel.
As a comptuer professional, there is *nothing* I like about Windows 8 other than rapid wake-up from low-power modes.
“Windows 8 is an alpha-quality product, which is a blatant copy of the iOS design philosophy”
Metro is NOTHING like iOS (iOs consists of a stupid static endless grid of dead icons, while metro consists of a dynamic system of live tiles -VERY different).
having said that, Windows 8 and the metro interface was allready in development before you even knew what iOs was.
It’s too complicated and it erases the fact that Windows is a user-friendly OS.
If only it was as simple as a love hate relationship but unfortunately it is not.
As a long time user of Windows since the days of Win286 and OS/2 I have seen the evolution of Windows. Sure there have been minor mistakes along the road in terms of performance (Vista) but the look of the desktop has been a steady improvement until now. For the first time ever what is being presented is far far worse than its predecessor.
Now Mike you may go on about the file system and even boot time improvements and blah blah blah, but at the end of the day EVERY developer knows it does not matter how good the functionality of an application is, if it looks ugly (and if you can’t find it) then it fails.
This is what Microsoft are facing right now. Unfortunately for Microsoft the competition has caught up and dare I say it, has passed Microsoft by. I am not a fan of Apple products as I think they are overpriced, BUT if it came to choosing a tablet with Metro and an iPad then the iPad wins everytime.
The ONLY saving grace for a Win8 tablet will be its ability to run traditional Windows software – BUT I misspeak. Due to an astoundingly bad decision it appears that the ARM versions will not have that capability. So straight way we not only have an ugly phone UI being pushed upon us at the desktop level, but also a non-uniform Operating environment at the tablet level. Crazy.
So it is more than just loving or hating Win8, it is more like shaking our heads in disbelief at the direction Microsoft appear to be taking. But we have seen this before folks ….. at Apple. When Steve Jobs was booted out of Apple they went no where – they really had no clue. It was only once Steve Jobs came back did Apple’s fortunes improve.
Consumers now have a choice and they are actually enabling us to walk away, and rest assured we will if pushed. I am already investigating an alternative – I am trialing Ubuntu with a Windows 7 skin running Wine and you know what, its not too bad. This is another warning sign to Microsoft.
I have already written off Windows 8 for the Business community, the real test will come with Windows 9 and I have little hope the decision makers will turn this around. I am not a Bill Gates fan, but I have this really sad gut feeling that unless he returns to take control for Windows 9 then we are seeing the slow fail of Windows.
I don’t love it. I don’t hate it. It takes some getting used to, and even then Metro doesn’t feel like a complete desktop OS. It’s wonderful on a touch enabled device (phone, tablet), but horrible on Desktop. I need more organization (folders, etc. like in Start Menu). Otherwise, it’s WAY too cluttered. I have to go through the icons a few times to find out what I want – any install has a few icons. Add a few big ones (Office, Visual Studio) and it’s near impossible to find anything you want.
I don’t HATE it, though. It’s a nice OS. Just don’t like the MetroUI on non-touchscreen devices.
/* *So far the best from Ms is W2K kernel only!**/
W8CP = vista_kernel(tabletted -> Fat(boom_boom));
(Hate_it) ? No -> kids_like_it : Yes -> crap;
return (my_money);
My eight month old son has a toy with a screen that looks just like Metro. To my mind, Metro will appeal to those with very simple needs, if all you need is a simplistic, push button interface for accessing facebook or mail etc. it’s a winner. Other than that it’s a complete fail.
On a side note, it’s not really similar to the OS X dashboard, which, incidentally, can be turned off! Something Microsoft should do well to consider.
The metro interface is not aesthetically pleasing, its actually pretty terribly basic and flat, there is nothing impressive about the design aspect that speaks to me artistically.
Metro 8 the ewi gui!
Its not about wanting to learn to use it, it is about not wanting to see it and have to work with something blocky and basic I would use a tablet but this is a desktop system and I think Microsoft has forgotten about its roots.
I still stand by my claims that Microsoft needs to develop various versions of windows for the various platforms (tablet, laptop, desktop) rather than one that is the jack of all master of none.
I’m very disappointed with it.
I expected tight integration with social networking, so that I can share pictures, files and so on… it’s not there.
I expected to be able to customise each tile’s refresh interval.. so for example the email tile ALWAYS is hours out of date.
I expected to be able to cache a certain amount of skydrive/flickr/a.n.other data locally, particular so that I can have the live tiles scroll through photos that I pick or tag.. but you can’t.
I want to be able to have the Metro UI on one screen with the live tiles, and the desktop on another screen, but you can’t.
There is a long list of nearly there, but not quite.
Why are all the reviewers I’ve read talking about this in the I Hate the Start Menu camp? Yeah, you can pin things to the taskbar but what about something you rarely use and you can’t remember the name? Sift through the start menu that holds all the installed programs until you see it? No, you have to Clutter up your taskbar with something you only use every six months or you’re just screwed.
Until Windows gets something like /usr/bin/apropos, getting rid of the start menu is complete and utter fail.
It goes without saying that Metro isn’t an option. I don’t want a pretty UI that takes longer to get anything done on. I don’t want an OS that I even have to notice. If MS wants me to learn something new, it had damned well better make it worth my while. Useful will do that, shiny and different will not.
It’s unlikely I will be using windows 8 out of pleasure but will probably update and there will be third party additions that might make it useable. I have never found an os that just works out of the box.
Windows 7 needed several 3rd party apps to make it usable as a daily runner.
I almost exclusively use osx now but even that needs 3rd party to fix os screw ups.
I couldn’t use Lion every day were it not for: Alfred, Totalfinder, Sparrow & Chrome for a starter)
meh. They just keep expanding the start menu. They didnt get rid of it, they covered the screen with it and called it metro. ..and of course in true MS fashion reduced its functionality. Had they left several things in, like access with the ubiquitous windows button, etc it would have fel natural to old users while still introducing their “new” style.
I am the kind of person who likes to try new technology from all corners of the market (I am a developer after all ;-) I have a Macbook Pro with Fedora Linux, Android ICS, and Windows 8 as virtual machines. I also have it bootcamped with Windows 7. I have an iPad, an Android phone and a Windows Phone (WP7).
Most people love to criticise stuff a new system without giving it the try that it deserves. Most people don’t want to take the couple of hours of using and reading about a new system to get how it works and how it will give them soo much benefit.
That being said Windows 8 is a very fresh start for MS. I like having the full screen Metro Apps and having tiles that will display the weather, my latest emails and rss feeds.
I have also used Win8 on a tablet (through my iPad using RDP software).
That being said, I will give the negative of it. On a tablet, the desktop portion gets in the way. Really, a Metro only version is what they need for the tablet which I beliveve WOA will be. On a desktop, the Metro UI does provide some benefits to the user like I mentioned above, however, overall it doesn’t offer much more to the user. Even after using it for about a month, I still don’t see it being as efficient as Windows 7 on a desktop.
It’s always the same story with Microsoft: one good OS followed by a bad one and so on. From W xp i jumped to W 7 and now I’m simply enjoying Windows 7 and waiting for Windows 9.
:)
I am afraid ms. did not think this 1 through.
keep tablet to tablets, desktops to desktops. and do not try to mix boath!
metro will not work on a desktop if mainly a keyboard and mouse is used. and yay!
since we are already used to win7. and ms. promised us that they’ve built win8 on what they learned in win7. it should be a ansp to use hay? kool! lets dive right in!! hayyyy!!! where’s my start menue gone!!! lol!!!
nice going ms. hear me now! i have never everuse linux before but I am sure as hell gonna give it a try if you do not get this one right when release time comes for win8.
Who cares? Go to Linux. Do you think MS designed the UI with you and only you in mind? Grow up.
BUT – what good is an OS that won’t run my applications? And the few it runs – MS Office, no doubt, can only be run full screen?
Not for me.
it’s a beta which means although it’s a preview it is at a stage of development that isn’t far for the final product. No Major code re-writes will go into this (although they need to get rid of metro for desktop users)
It will be bug fixing and compatibility from here on in.
Really love it, the new explorer is even better than the one in Windows 7. The taskbar looks cleaner without a start button. It’s damn fast on my ssd. I really have to save up for a touch screen because I want to use the Metro UI more. I think it’s fun to switch between Deskop for work and everything else on Metro UI, it’s like you have two different pc’s. I think Microsoft really did it this time. Kudos.
Today I hate Win8 – just wasted most of my day in trying to recover an Asus laptop from the loop-iness of Win8:
installed on 29-Feb
ran okay for a few weeks – mostly did Sleep/Hibernate shutdowns
today ran Windows Update, which requested a Restart
rest of day stuck in a loop of the new BSOD/emoticon with
system thread exception not handled wdf01000.sys
or at least that’s what I thought I could read in the 3 seconds before it reboots/loops again.
I tried restoring from a System Image I took a few days ago – same looping.
Went back to Windows 7, without being able to use/mount the System Image! WIndows 8 System Image files are VHDX, not VHD…
ugh
Here is the thing,let me use the classic desktop and give to me a third party start menu,and I’m cool with it ! I hope Microsoft isn’t that stupid to impede me those two little things,if it is well back to buggy linux for me!
I was using Windows 8 developers preview. And there you could disable the Metro theme which I did. then I upgraded to Windows 8 Consumer preview and found out there is NO OPTION to disable the Metro theme. And Classic Shell that puts the Windows XP start menu into Windows 8 Developers Preview did not work on Consumer Preview.
And not only that, Windows 8 Consumer Preview is a lot less user friendly than Developers Preview was. And also the operating system was slow and the ribbon tool bar in Windows Explorer froze my mouse. Just about everything is wrong with this version of Windows 8,Consumer Preview. And if you try it you will uninstall it like I did and go back to Windows 7. Windows 8 Consumer Preview is the worst version of Windows and the worst operating system at that,ever. Andrea Borman.
I freaking love it, especially using my Asus Slate.
Hmmm, let me summarize this.
CONS:
1. The Metro graphics are not visually appealing.
2. The interface is fragmented in all aspects.
3. Metro graphics are ugly to most users
PROS:
1. OS load times are extremely fast
2. Application transitions are faster
3. Application load times are faster
4. Thousands of new Powershell commands are available.
5. Microsoft app store provides an easier method for developers to sell their software to a unified audience
6. Integration between tablet, phone, and entertainment platforms such as XBOX is now centrailized
I could add dozens of more pros to the list but I will let some educate themselves.
Certainly understand the reasons for people bitching but you can’t solve problems here. Complain to Microsoft directly and they will likely invite you to one of their consumer feedback programs.
I blasted them hard on their forums and they are listening. In the end we, as a community make a difference if we make out collective voices heard.
The world would be awful boring if the only PC’s were MAC OS. Apple is slick, they try sepet
Consumer editions need sex appeal. Sadly tiles aren’t sexually attractive shapes. Men love curves but whomever created Metro missed that bus.
I think the fix is to create hardware based profiles that determine touch UI or not. Touch is great on tablets and clearly hybrid tablet PC’s will be the iPad killer, but the OS must be environment aware. Touch when touch UI is present otherwise a sexy Windows desktop.
Also, rounding the edges of the tiles and adding more eye candy would go a long way way to getting rid of METRO shock. Hey, where is METRO Aero?
I want sexy METRO, not kiddie PC crap.
I don’t like the Metro Apps. I find I prefer traditional desktop apps on a desktop computer.
But I love the fast boot, fast wifi pickup, the search setup (e.g., Win+Q, W, F), and I like that there is no Start Menu on the Taskbar. I like the Charms (e.g., Win+C and Win+i).
I plan to just uninstall all Metro Apps and Windows 8 will be awesome!
I can’t speak for 13 yr. old girls with bejeweled iPhones, nor for iPad toting young urban hipsters, nor even for the rare senior citizen who never could figure out those damn keyboards… but I can speak for professional software developers who’ve had to deal with multiple UI platforms, for power users who use computers to increase productivity, and for the rest of the world that doesn’t view computers as simply social networking entertainment devices…
Just for my segment – and no disrespect to the others – I think MSFT has finally gone off the rails completely. Windows 8 is – after you remove the UI – a fine OS. As for the UI, I’ll put it in terms any 13yr old girl can understand: OMG!!! RUFKM!!!!!!! I can’t believe that I am actually hoping BillG will step back in and save the company from descending into abject madness.
Hate it from the start, because that gnarly fish picture, popping even on restart, is just ugly and disgusting.
Mixed….mostly HATE though…..Read this: http://yournumbr1fan.deviantart.com/journal/My-Windows-8-Experience-291736036
Still hate it because of the ugly fish and because instability and hardware problems weren’t fixed, device often loses Wi-Fi connection.
After a few minutes within Win 8 CP, I was rudely reminded that Microsoft just doesn’t think we can make our own decisions without their approval. The access control warnings from Vista are back. The same sound set with the chime I hate and so forth look and feel like Vista all over again. What a turn-off. The Metro interface, and not having a traditional Start menu don’t make it any easier. A year ago when I upgraded from XP to Win 7 64 on a new PC build, everything fell into place the very first time I laid eyes on it. Like old friends, zero issues with drivers or programs, everyhintg just worked. Period.
Bottom line…..Windows 7 stays for me!
I have been using CP for over a month now without touchscreen. And I just have to say. I LOVE IT! It hasnt been since Win 95 that I so loved exploring an OS. Mouse and Keyboard work great, though I have heard that it gets harder using multiple screens. I was able to work around the OS within minutes. Other things had me scratching my head, until I had the duh moment. I certainly dont miss the start menu and I cant wait for more Metro Apps. Also I wish all Metro apps had the slide mouse action of scrolling as useable on the Metro interface. Much nicer than using the scroll wheel. Somehow also need more continuity between Metro IE and Desktop IE. I dont know what MS is thinking, but pinning links to Metro is not the same as favorites. I realize there are issues using favorites with a touchscreen, but what they have now isnt working. But if they dont get it fixed before release, I will just use another browser, no biggy.
The funny thing I see happening is all the young people will be moving to Windows 8 and all the old people will move to Mac. I can just imagine the Mac commercials after that.
For everyone that plays Angry Birds Win8 will be fine. I expect that every power user will find Apple products closer to the Windows experience than Windows itself. I have been a long time diehard Windows user. I hate this new interface. This suggests an internal problem at Microsoft and a lack of vision. I predict failure for Microsoft in the business, power user and creative sectors. Microsoft you need to fire those that have championed this project, they will be the end of your company.
10 drawbacks of Windows 8
http://www.comicanzo.co.cc/2012/06/10-things-i-hate-about-windows-8.html
I’ve never used an OS that caused a headache. If Windows 3.1 came after Windows 8, and then Windows 95 came out they would both be “innovative” and “edgy”. Deviating from the mundane tiles in favor of that “fresh”, “new”, “innovative” Start Menu. All active tasks, shortcuts, and programs in on small and efficient place, the bottom left side of your screen. I cant imagine guiding a user in a troubleshooting exercise over the phone with Win8. Yes, I am one of those that didn’t (and still don’t) like the Ribbon Bar concept.
I understand metro is for tablets and “touch” interfaces. Unfortunately, we desktop users have been given a “touch or die” ultimatum. I’m not sold on the “touch” is the new horizon. I think it is hilarious that HP shows the kids using the new “Touch” PC in their commercial. Obviously, the engineers of that commercial don’t have little kids. Here in the real world, kids and $799 touchscreen PC’s = expensive lesson in how young users interact with devices. All the way down to the sticky fingers on the display that will likely stop working before the owners expect it to.
“Touch” is not the future of desktop computing, or even computing in general. Tablets, phones… sure. Why ditch several years of development in contextual searching and organization to revert back to retro, block squares that take up more real estate than they need to, and give the user no more return than context menus did.
I’m sure I’ll find some way to like it in the future, kinda like that “Bob” interface from MS back in the 90’s. Man, talk about revolutionary.
It may look good.
But it did evil things.
MICROSOFT COPIES OTHER STUFF. THEY ARE NOT OWN.
THEY COPIED LINUX MANY TIMES!!!!
THOSE SHITHEADS
Dont know why they copy people but they copied stuff from linux, ubuntu (i use) and apple. I know microsoft is cool but they copy. They pay the money then put their own money on it. Look at those microsoft tablets. may look nice but looks like they did a duplicate of the android ASUS eee pad transformer. What do u think???
This is what is true.
Well. I don’t know what to do. I want to check out Windows 8 but can’t risk losing the 102 GB of data I have on my becoming more buggy everyday Windows 7 install. I think I’m going to wait until windows 8 goes live with an upgrade option so I retain my data. I wish I had a 1 TB drive to do a partition with.
Joe
Everyone trash talking windows 8 is plain ignorant.
There are no issues with it at all, I have installed it on over 25 different machines with no problems.
Metro is plain yeah.. But its a lot quicker than the classic start and you can customize it the way you want.
My graphics are smoother and I don’t run into video tearing anymore. Thanks IG3000 Driver!
and the OS boots extremely fast and is incredibly stable for this stage.
Everyone complaining it just complaining because they are creatures of habit and cannot accept or work with change. I run an corporate IT department and I enjoy windows 8.
Start menu access by pointing the mouse in the lower left corner… or depressing the windows icon on your keyboard.
also.. Install the new synaptic drivers so you can use your scroll pad to move metro around instead of the arrows
Ignorant because their opinion differs from your own? That’s ignorance.
I like Windows 8, but it isn’t without it’s flaws. Metro UI is radically different, but a needed change. It’s not bad at all, it’s just very different. Takes some getting used to. There are some minor quibbles that I have with it (Desktop vs. Metro UI and their interoperability – it’s not seamless).
So now that the final has been released, I am seriously disappointen by how little has changed between the Consumer Preview and the RTM. Note that a lot of comments about CP are “It’s beta, it’ll be better in the final” well sad to say “Not True”. Not very much changed at all. All the issues I had with CP are still there. Really I think Microsoft had already closed comments from testers after Developer preview was released. They just stopped listening. So does that mean SP1 we get to see the fixes we were hoping for in RTM?
I had to get windows 8 with my Toshiba laptop. I absolutely HATE it. Their are 10,000 of us people retiring everyday. I’ve always tried to keep up with the latest, but this is just insane. I’ll never buy a Toshiba again because of windows 8. So Microsoft take note: You are so F^^&&^ uneducated about the swell of people coming up that won’t buy any of your extra products. You stupid people need to do some market research before you let your best and your brightest decide what products people like.
My wife is picking laptop to buy now, and I said to her “No Windows 8. I refuse to deal with Windows 8 where I’m not been paid for it. So if you buy Windows 8, don’t expect any support from me.”
Now she is looking only for Windows 7 laptops.