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Windows 8 opinions?
- Thread starter UBS28
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I prefer the clean Windows 8 desktop to the garish Windows Vista/7 glass or basic themes (or the outdated classic one). That's reason enough for me to enjoy working on Windows. I really like how the title bars blend in the desktop background.
It also has some nice details that make it great, such as a pretty silent interface (out of the box), unintrusive background updates (yaaay!), a Time Machine clone (haven't used it yet though). It still has to catch up to useful OS X Lion features that still aren't in Windows 8, such as resume-on-restart. It does have a fast-startup feature, but it does not remember the open apps.
The "Metro" interface is a failed attempt at being new, in my opinion. If the apps were still fullscreen, but taking full advantage of keyboard and mouse, we could have had some nifty content-creation apps on the new Windows, thanks to the immersion. As it is now, they're all basic cookie-cutter tablet apps that happen to work on desktop computers as a novelty, but always with a more capable and less clumsy alternative on the "boring old" desktop.
It also has some nice details that make it great, such as a pretty silent interface (out of the box), unintrusive background updates (yaaay!), a Time Machine clone (haven't used it yet though). It still has to catch up to useful OS X Lion features that still aren't in Windows 8, such as resume-on-restart. It does have a fast-startup feature, but it does not remember the open apps.
The "Metro" interface is a failed attempt at being new, in my opinion. If the apps were still fullscreen, but taking full advantage of keyboard and mouse, we could have had some nifty content-creation apps on the new Windows, thanks to the immersion. As it is now, they're all basic cookie-cutter tablet apps that happen to work on desktop computers as a novelty, but always with a more capable and less clumsy alternative on the "boring old" desktop.
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I installed Windows 8 on my Macbook Pro. I'm now thinking this was a bad idea to drop Windows 7 in favour of 8.
Will I get used to Windows 8?
I am currently using Windows 8 and I have to say it is the single best operating system that I have ever used. In my opinion, it is way better than Windows 7 and (I dare to say) it is even better than Mac OS X 10.7 or any previous version of these operating systems. I have not yet used OS X 10.8, as my Mac does not support it, so I cannot really compare it to Windows 8. But, nonetheless, my experience is being great.
At first, I was really annoyed by this metro interface. Hard to get by it on a laptop or a desktop, as it seems to be made for tablets. It feels dumb, and I did not like playing with it even on touch-screen laptops.
My solution was to install Start8, from Stardocks, which I bought for just US$ 5. It allowed me too boot directly into the desktop, and I do not have to ever look to the metro interface again, unless I am willing to. The metro interface is hidden, and I can access it whenever I want, but only if I want to.
Apart from the cluttered metro interface, Windows 8 is just great. It boots very fast, it provides more battery life than Windows 7, it has a cleaner visual and better aesthetics overall. Microsoft did a good job with it, although it messed things up with metro. I suggest you ignore the metro interface, or install Start8 or some similar software, and get rid of it.
The removal of start button, default boot into Metro, blocky single color themes, is likely the result of some upper management decisions at Microsoft. I doubt that the majority of the MS employees agree with it. When companies start to remove options for no valid reason, it's very annoying.
Windows 8 can be deceiving and can seem very daunting at first, but really it isn't a bad OS at all. It is much faster and snappier than Windows 7 and has great touchscreen support for Tablet devices.
If you plan on using it for a PC, simply remove the tablet apps from the Start Screen (or uninstall them) and you won't even ever see the Metro interface since your desktop apps will dump you in the desktop environment. Basically, the Windows we all know but with a fullscreen Start Menu.
By far my favourite release of Windows. I don't understand why everyone has been so negative about it, other than the fact that stuff has changed.
If you plan on using it for a PC, simply remove the tablet apps from the Start Screen (or uninstall them) and you won't even ever see the Metro interface since your desktop apps will dump you in the desktop environment. Basically, the Windows we all know but with a fullscreen Start Menu.
By far my favourite release of Windows. I don't understand why everyone has been so negative about it, other than the fact that stuff has changed.
I don't doubt the capability of Windows 8. Their Metro approach is interesting, and likely necessary in order to evolve Windows toward more touch friendly devices. But they didn't have to mess with the desktop, right? They could just have left it as in Windows 7, and people would have been much happier.
I have been using Windows Server 2012 (Server version of Windows 8) exclusively on my MBP and MacMini now for quite a while and I think it is a great OS. I would not want to go back to Windows 7 (and I liked that a lot too!). And I do NOT miss the old startmenu at all! I thought I did in the beginning but after a few days of working with W8 the urge to find a startmenu replacement was totally gone.
My box is setup to boot directly into the desktop (registry hack) as that is where I do my work. All applications I use a lot are pinned to the taskbar. My desktop is clean (that is one thing I learned from OSX ). Here a pic of my desktop.
![Desktop_W8.png]()
As this is a productivity system I like to keep it as clean as possible. I use the metro interface to keep all installed programs organised in groups and I think this is a lot clearer than the old startmenu. Here a pic of a fragment of the startmenu.
![Startmenu_W8.png]()
I do not use any metro apps as:
- this is not possible in the way I configured my Windows Server setup
- almost all apps I regularly use have a much better desktop version (e.g. Evernote and mail)
- the choice is very limited still
- most apps look horrible on a 24 inch screen
Even while there are ways now of running Metro apps in a window on the desktop (ModernMix) I just still do not think they are worth it just yet. And I have tried quite a few on a virtual normal Windows 8 machine I have running. Maybe if Windows Blue brings a possibility to run them on the desktop in a window out of the box (so in fact brings back windows to Windows), I might reconsider.
The only concession I do to the standard setup is the use of "Jumplist" which I use for a set of custom commands like starting and stopping SQL instances, synchronize files to a network location etc. I could of course just pin those to the taskbar individually as well but the Jumplist stacked approach saves me a lot of time and looks less cluttered. And is fully customisable.
![Jumplist_W8.png]()
So to say it a once more: Windows 8 (or server for that matter) on a Mac represents the best of two worlds!
Cheers,
Erik
My box is setup to boot directly into the desktop (registry hack) as that is where I do my work. All applications I use a lot are pinned to the taskbar. My desktop is clean (that is one thing I learned from OSX
). Here a pic of my desktop.
As this is a productivity system I like to keep it as clean as possible. I use the metro interface to keep all installed programs organised in groups and I think this is a lot clearer than the old startmenu. Here a pic of a fragment of the startmenu.
I do not use any metro apps as:
- this is not possible in the way I configured my Windows Server setup
- almost all apps I regularly use have a much better desktop version (e.g. Evernote and mail)
- the choice is very limited still
- most apps look horrible on a 24 inch screen
Even while there are ways now of running Metro apps in a window on the desktop (ModernMix) I just still do not think they are worth it just yet. And I have tried quite a few on a virtual normal Windows 8 machine I have running. Maybe if Windows Blue brings a possibility to run them on the desktop in a window out of the box (so in fact brings back windows to Windows), I might reconsider.
The only concession I do to the standard setup is the use of "Jumplist" which I use for a set of custom commands like starting and stopping SQL instances, synchronize files to a network location etc. I could of course just pin those to the taskbar individually as well but the Jumplist stacked approach saves me a lot of time and looks less cluttered. And is fully customisable.
So to say it a once more: Windows 8 (or server for that matter) on a Mac represents the best of two worlds!
Cheers,
Erik
Thank you! I have one application I run in Metro/Modern/Whatever, and that's Netflix. The one annoyance I've had with it was having to jump between it and the desktop if I wanted to look something up on the internet. Now I don't have to do that.
As for everything else, your opinion of Win8 mirrors mine almost perfectly. I like the cleaner minimalism of the new desktop, and think the new Start screen is a great way to squirrel away all your excess programs but still have quick and easy access to them.
There's a slight learning curve that seems to throw everyone for a loop when they first fire it up, but Windows 8's pros definitely outweigh its cons once you come to terms with all the new features and layout. I can't think of a single reason why I'd want to go back to 7 these days.
They haven't messed with the desktop other than a few new great features and enhancements. The desktop is exactly the same other than the lack of visual Start Button and other tweaks. All of your desktop apps will function fine and so will the many more that will be written in the future.
If your Start Screen has no metro apps (like mine), you will be dumped into the desktop every time you launch an app. Thus, a full screen Start Menu that is fully customisable. Use the metro apps for touch screen/tablet usage.
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I have been using Windows 8 since beta 1...
I am not a fan of the new UI, but that being said, they did do a good job on the back end code for Windows 8.
Battery life is better,
Performance is slightly higher... (%1-3 percent)
Quicker boot up time, (Especially if native UEFI is enabled.)
But, the one major con is the UI really takes away from the usability of the operating system.
You will get used to it, but you will never feel that you are productive using it.
Being a coder/programmer, I cant stand the full screen metro interface for multitasking. If you already have Windows 7... honestly, I wouldn't "upgrade".
If you are still on XP, it might be good to look at upgrading. But it is not worth the full price of 199.99 for 8 pro...
Back when it was $40 for the upgrade (Before Jan 31st)... I think it was worth it, that's pretty cheap just to keep current with Microsoft., But now?
I would say that you would regret purchasing it for $200... At least I know I would.
I am not a fan of the new UI, but that being said, they did do a good job on the back end code for Windows 8.
Battery life is better,
Performance is slightly higher... (%1-3 percent)
Quicker boot up time, (Especially if native UEFI is enabled.)
But, the one major con is the UI really takes away from the usability of the operating system.
You will get used to it, but you will never feel that you are productive using it.
Being a coder/programmer, I cant stand the full screen metro interface for multitasking. If you already have Windows 7... honestly, I wouldn't "upgrade".
If you are still on XP, it might be good to look at upgrading. But it is not worth the full price of 199.99 for 8 pro...
Back when it was $40 for the upgrade (Before Jan 31st)... I think it was worth it, that's pretty cheap just to keep current with Microsoft.
, But now?I would say that you would regret purchasing it for $200... At least I know I would.
Here you go.
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If Win8 were nothing but the new start screen, I'd agree with you. But for desktop users, it's mostly a glorified application launcher, and doesn't get in the way of the desktop at all.
This I agree with. I think there are a lot of pros to Win8 over Win7, though not 200 bucks worth. If Win8 were $50 from here on out, I'd suggest everyone at least give it a try. Now? I just say get it only when you buy a new computer. If you're happy with Win7, there aren't any huge, compelling reasons to upgrade to it for what they're charging.
Windows 8 with the Metro (or Duplo as I prefer to call it) tiles looks as though it has been designed by Playskool It's probably more usable with Classic Shell though.
It's probably more usable with Classic Shell though.Windows 8 with the Metro (or Duplo as I prefer to call it) tiles looks as though it has been designed by Playskool
Because I use Start 8 I never even see metro and its crazy, confusing, excessive color blocks. Microsoft's stubborn commitment to Metro Madness will cost it dearly. MS is also dragging down the PC industry with itself.
It is all stupid and sad because Windows 8 --with the Windows 7 Start menu -- is a really first rate operating system.
I think if you use W8 on a desktop or laptop you're better off using it with a program like Start8 or Classic Shell. The Duplo tiles are really for phones and tablets. What M$ should have done was create two versions of W8 - one with the Duplo tiles for tablets and one with the W7 interface (minus Aero) for desktop and laptop users.
It's a nice upgrade, overall, to Windows 7, but I'm not a fan of the metro start menu/desktop on non-touch screen devices. I installed ClassicShell (and a couple other tweaks I can't remember the name of) first thing when it was deployed at work.
I will always be a *nix fanboy, though.
I will always be a *nix fanboy, though.