I have yet to meet anyone in person who actually likes it

[Chrono]

Is that what you're doing?

 

[Ray8]

Okay, what shortfalls are you referring to?

I've pointed out a number of things in various posts and I'll try to recapture all of these here, but might miss one or two. These are my views where Windows 8 falls short, specifically with the Modern interface and nothing else:

• The traditional desktop should have been available, as with Windows 7, so that traditional users were not alienated and could have experimented with the Modern interface in their own time. Nothing would have been lost, but much could have been gained by allowing a progressive introduction to the Modern interface.
• The Modern interface needs to be more flexible so that users are not restricted to pre-set icon sizes or full-screen app sizes.
• Every app should be able to be opened at the very least in a range of pre-determined sizes and not just full screen or part of a screen with another app.
• Every app should be able to be opened and moved anywhere on the screen or over multiple screens to suit the users needs/desires.
• You should be able to open as many apps as is practical, at the size you have selected, on any number of screens.
• When an app is selected, it should be able to be worked on (input data etc) at the size the user has selected and not only at full screen.
• Once you've selected a range of apps for your personal start screen, that is what should open up every time on start-up.

I may have missed one or two points, but that's the gist of it. Am I being too pedantic or unrealistic with what I envisage would make Windows 8 a true step forward.

 

[Chrono]

Don't have time to respond in full tonight, but I will say that I don't disagree with some of the stuff you listed.

 

[davehc]

On point one, I would not really agree that the traditional desktop is far away (One click of an icon) But it certainly would have helped lesser knowledgable users to have left the start globe/menu intact.
Yes on most of the other points, which are all interlinked. It is certainly not easy to multi task if you use only Metro apps.

I don't follow your last point? I have my start desktop arranged to suit me. It opens exactly on that everytime I boot.

 

[Philgo]

The bottom line to me is that there would be many more lovers of Windows 8 if they had the start button option.

Why did Microsoft chose to upset so many people is beyond me, it would have been easy to give their customers the option and there would be happiness throughout the land.

They seem to be helping their competitors..........

 

[Ray8]

I don't follow your last point? I have my start desktop arranged to suit me. It opens exactly on that everytime I boot.

My last point is a follow-on from being able to do what I suggested in the previous points.

 

[Yorky]

Hi 'Musiclover 7', No disrespect to your point of view but I do find it difficult to accept that for someone working in IT you find W8 presents difficulties. Recently I also read an 'post' from someone claiming to teach IT that they found it totally unusable. I feel sorry for anyone taking instructions from them.
My purpose in replying to your 'post' is to put the other side of the coin and hopefully encourage 'Newbies and Doubters' to give W8 a fair try and not be put-off by such negativity. I might add I have no connection whatsoever with Microsoft other than to buy and for the most part use their products with satisfaction.
On the afternoon of 25th October I was able to pay and download my discounted copy of Windows 8 Pro having qualified by purchasing a new PC after June of this year.By 1616 the same day it was fully installed and up and running with only one minor problem; the Apps wouldn't function. I soon traced this to them being blocked by my Firewall and that was soon corrected and all was well.
Having read many articles on the new W8 and seen quite a number of tutorials in the previous month I found that I was soon 'at home' with the new OS. One splendid piece of advice I'd received stood me in good stead, namely to first spend some time arranging, organising and naming the Tiles in the Start Screen before venturing further. It proved to be well worth the time spent.
Using both keyboard and mouse presented no problems at all and I was impressed by how easy and straight-forward it was.
For some weeks now I've read many criticisms of the absence of the Start Button in the new OS and expected to have some problem there. I was delighted to find that it presented no problem at all and in fact the new Start Screen; instantly available from the same corner as the Start Button using the mouse or pressing the 'Windows Key' provided a much better access to the programs required; providing of course that you'd spent some little time in organising and grouping the program Tiles on the Start Screen. In fact I would say, Who needs a Start Button?!! In addition, having upgraded from Windows 7 I found my 'Desktop' in W 8 with exactly the same layout and settings as before and requiring no additional knowledge to operate.
The other frequently mentioned criticism was the 'Steep Learning Curve'. I know I've spent quite some time researching the new OS prior to launch which has paid-off as I found learning the new technique comfortably easy. Personally I find it easy and logical to use and it seems so natural and NO - before anyone thinks I'm some young computer wizard with years of experience let me say I only came to computing after retirement and am well past my sell by date. In conclusion let me say I like the new OS which does already give me more than I had before and also promises to be more secure and stable and if that proves to be the case then it's a win-win situation.

 

[caperjack]

don't really like change but always get use;[remembering win 3.1 to win95 ] to it it just takes time ,for me once i figure out the 4 corners i love it ,especually the lower left corner right click

 

[Gavin]

At any rate, MS should have included a tutorial for 8, like with their past operating systems. Metro basically provides the same functions as the start menu. it is not vastly different in function.

I really think you have hit the nail on the head with that statement.That is why people are giving negatives, because they feel frustrated, and not sure what to do. I have had it for a week, and find it frustrating.I took a while to find out how to shut down at first. It is simple things like that, that could have been included in a tutorial, and i think it would have stopped a lot of the hate at first sight.Once the service pack is out, i think it will be more of a success. It is satisfying to have the eureka moments after the initial frustration when you find what you are looking for.

 

[labeeman]

Microsoft with there metro ui has turned my laptop into a pocket toy and has removed the ui from the desktop to downgrade your
desktop or laptop into a pocket toy. If I had wanted a pocket toy I would have bought an Apple product or Android.
I should not have to install another product to upgrade my OP system back to where it was before the downgrade to Window8.
Microsoft is being a BULLY here it is time to hurt them where they will listen in the pocket book. Yes some people can be made to
drink from the horse trough but I choose not to. Lenovo even installed a ui on the desktop.

Most of the adds on TV on Window8 are kids toys so if you want to down grade to toys I will not stop you but I will not be silent
about it to MS I will tell them where to put metro in a heart beat.

 

[Gavin]

Microsoft with there metro ui has turned my laptop into a pocket toy and has removed the ui from the desktop to downgrade your
desktop or laptop into a pocket toy. If I had wanted a pocket toy I would have bought an Apple product or Android.
I should not have to install another product to upgrade my OP system back to where it was before the downgrade to Window8.
Microsoft is being a BULLY here it is time to hurt them where they will listen in the pocket book. Yes some people can be made to
drink from the horse trough but I choose not to. Lenovo even installed a ui on the desktop.

Most of the adds on TV on Window8 are kids toys so if you want to down grade to toys I will not stop you but I will not be silent
about it to MS I will tell them where to put metro in a heart beat.

I think i will duck my head after reading that

 

[Vince53]

Okay, okay, I love Windows 8, but I did install a free Start Button from the web.

 

[caperjack]

Okay, okay, I love Windows 8, but I did install a free Start Button from the web.

but i stall have to say why cant you just hit the desktop icon in start and enjoy win8 , if you love it so , that what i do and if i want to use app or get apps from app stor i do so ,if i just want to use my regular program i have installed i just pin them to taskbar ,and enjoy win8 ,like i did win 3.11 [well maybe not enjoy but it was fun learning ]w95win98 and winxp and win7

gets better the more you discover ,like going to start and just start typing what you want to search and it pops up ,without to charms bar and clicking on search.
or right click on the lower let corner start icon ,give option to go anywhere the old start took you and even more places .
i really like win8 no matter what anyone says to the contrary
i don't have it on a laptop but im sure it will work just the why my laptop with vista or win7 does,and not like a toy

 

[gazz9496]

How bout this then. Among those who actually like the change, how many of you would dis-like having the start menu back? My guess is that number is close to zero, if folks were truly honest..

truly honest?

no i wouldn't like it back, i would prefer them to fix metro.

and in desktop mode have a start button as well, that transition is just uggg.

well here you are i like windows 8 and i like metro's looks(not it's lack of functionality).

i also tried the classic shell, simply so i could offer it to customers and know how to set it up, not so i could use it.

 

[gazz9496]

Okay, what shortfalls are you referring to?

I've pointed out a number of things in various posts and I'll try to recapture all of these here, but might miss one or two. These are my views where Windows 8 falls short, specifically with the Modern interface and nothing else:

• The traditional desktop should have been available, as with Windows 7, so that traditional users were not alienated and could have experimented with the Modern interface in their own time. Nothing would have been lost, but much could have been gained by allowing a progressive introduction to the Modern interface.
• The Modern interface needs to be more flexible so that users are not restricted to pre-set icon sizes or full-screen app sizes.
• Every app should be able to be opened at the very least in a range of pre-determined sizes and not just full screen or part of a screen with another app.
• Every app should be able to be opened and moved anywhere on the screen or over multiple screens to suit the users needs/desires.
• You should be able to open as many apps as is practical, at the size you have selected, on any number of screens.
• When an app is selected, it should be able to be worked on (input data etc) at the size the user has selected and not only at full screen.
• Once you've selected a range of apps for your personal start screen, that is what should open up every time on start-up.

I may have missed one or two points, but that's the gist of it. Am I being too pedantic or unrealistic with what I envisage would make Windows 8 a true step forward.

pretty much covered everything that would make windows 8 the perfect o/s.

funny thing is, these changes would also benifit the surface tablets, pro/rt for buisness use being able to use the metro app version of powerpoint and drag it across to another screen without the need to duplicate the screens or switch to the other display only. obviously that's just one use.

 

[Vince53]

Why did I install a Start Button if I like Windows 8 so much? I have always added free improvements to every operating system I have, and I want the traditional Start Button. I skipped Windows Vista, but I have loved Windows 3.1, 95, 98, 98SE, ME, XP, and 7. However, except for 3.1 (not much available) I have always added improvements.

 

[kmint]

How bout this then. Among those who actually like the change, how many of you would dis-like having the start menu back? My guess is that number is close to zero, if folks were truly honest..

Actually I am using the new Start Menu despite having purchased Start8 and having criticized the change so much.

But there is an explanation.

It is faster for me to open the programs in Metro Start Menu. Faster than the traditional Vista/W7 menu.

But... I have taken quite some time to organize the icons the way I want and memorize everything. So, at the moment I have my main programs icons in the taskbar, the secondary programs that I open sometimes in the Metro menu located in the first positions, and the rest of them can be opened either by scrolling the Metro menu to the right (boring), typing the name (boring) or opening the Start8 traditional start menu (by pressing Windows key) (which is also boring and actually the longest option).

So... of course I suscribe the critics, but at the moment I use Metro menu mainly because it is just faster when well organized and memorized (not easy to memorize how and where you have to open each program).

 

[SIW2]

I haven't met a single person who likes it either.

My point in posting the thread though, is that I have yet to talk with anyone who likes it. I work in IT, and talk with a lot of computer users. One would think that by now, I would have talked with at least one person who actually likes it and yet this is not the case.

 

[musiclover7]

On point one, I would not really agree that the traditional desktop is far away (One click of an icon) But it certainly would have helped lesser knowledgable users to have left the start globe/menu intact.
Yes on most of the other points, which are all interlinked. It is certainly not easy to multi task if you use only Metro apps.

I don't follow your last point? I have my start desktop arranged to suit me. It opens exactly on that everytime I boot.

The point is, that the OS boots up to metro, and is metro centric, rather than desktop centric. So even if you only have to click once to access the desktop, the OS still feels like it was not designed with you in mind. Choice... Choice... Choice... Why do you think Android is killing it right now? Because they don't make their user base feel like they don't know what is best for them on a semi regular basis. What the heck is wrong with Choice? Give me one good reason..

 

[Jacy]

I have been a Microsoft user since the days of typed-in commands on DOS. I upgraded to Windows 8 (Pro) to utilize the file history and to reduce dependency on 3[SUP]rd[/SUP] party programs. I’m a researcher, with over 10 years of data, and work mainly with photographs and old .pdf scientific journals. Including photographs, .pdf files and word documents I have over 100,000 files.

Add-ons:
Had to install 3rd party Classic Shell since I work with 4 to 6 programs open at one time and need to resize windows.
Had to install 3[SUP]rd[/SUP] party Adobe .pdf reader since Win 8 reader will not resize or work with Office.
Had to install 3[SUP]rd[/SUP] party Java to do Google searches and correctly work with other web sites.
Had to install 3[SUP]rd[/SUP] party Agent Ransack to search .pdf files.

Problems:
Data does not entirely copy from an external hard drive. Missing days, months and even entire years.
In Windows viewer for photographs, deleting one photograph, then clicking on right arrow to see next photograph results in another delete, and another, and another.
No consistent view for files, resulting in up to 6 clicks, depending on the information I need.
Right-clicking on file properties results in a 10 second delay sometimes.
Programs occasionally open only to task bar if 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] monitor is not on.
No notification on Windows Updates or Windows Defender.

Privacy Issues:
Forced to include a user name on initial installation, this name appears on path of all uploaded files.
Customer Experience Improvement Program for operating system.
Bluetooth Customer Experience Improvement Program.
Apps – location, user name, send information to Windows Store.
GPS locator enhanced devices are pinged by Microsoft to obtain physical locations.

My Conclusions:
I believe Windows 8 is a cheap toy operating system designed to appeal to the twenty to thirty-something crowd. Microsoft has gone to great lengths to store information about users. Their mail program won’t except pop 3 – so most set up a Microsoft mail account. Cloud computing results in Microsoft stored information about their users, their mail, their e-mail contacts, Facebook friends, documents, web browsing, right down to the physical location of users.

The operating system is inherently unstable. I believe Microsoft has forsaken small business and serious computers users to cash in on data mining.