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

[Ray8]

Sometimes less is more (when expressing yourself).

 

[Coke Robot]

Sometimes less is more (when expressing yourself).

Sometimes, when in a debate, and your opponent responds with short phrases or sentences claiming that their opponent has no valid argument left usually means that person has little argument left and is trying to grasp at an unrelated thread and that full throttle on that to avert looking like losing the round....

Just saying.

 

[Ray8]

It might also mean that they can express themselves clearly and succinctly; quality rather than quantity.

 

[Yorky]

Boy, things are getting a little heated here with some of you.
Now come on lets be honest here.
In W8 you boot-up into the Start Screen (providing that you exclude the password sequence which is left to you and applies in all OS's.)
If you have spent a little time at first set-up you will see ALL your normal & frequently used tiles/icons arranged and Named in Groups. (Again YOUR choice and NOT predetermined as in the Start Button of previous OS's)
Here comes option 1. You can click on the Tile/Icon of required program which will both open the program itself but also open it in the Desktop. (So 1 click and you are up and running in a 'program' in Desktop)
Option 2. Click on the Desktop Tile to be taken to Desktop where, if you have moved from W7 you will find it arranged in exactly the same way you had it in W7. If not comming to W8 by that route you can simply pin icons to the Desktop Taskbar as required - you only have to do it once - no big deal.
So you are up and running in perhaps your Browser within Desktop and you need to open another program. Well just as previously you select that icon from your Taskbar (if it's frequently used item - again determined by you) If an infrequent program then you went to Start and started to trawl for it. Would you believe it but in W8 you right click where the Start used to be to find yourself in the Start Page where (providing you took the trouble to set it up to YOUR OWN requirements) you will far more easily have access to the clearly illustrated icons/tiles for ALL programs and of course instant search should you require it.
As for the rest, well you are all using this excellent Forum so why don't you avail yourselves of the excellent Tutorial Section which explains everything in plain language.
Come on, it's a great OS and easy to use, just look before you leap - namely do a little research and stop the moaning.

 

[lehnerus2000]

It's amazing to discover that many people never worked out that you could edit the old "Start Menu".

 

[Mark Phelps]

I've found two very different reactions when I've shown folks my Win8 setup:
1) Folks raised with Smart Phones who already have Android tablets -- LOVE IT! They've become accustomed to using a tile-like interface to do their stuff, so the Win8 look and feel is more of the same. No surprise here.
2) Folks raised with PCs that sported Menu system -- Detest it! The "I don't want a SmartPhone look to my desktop" is the usual complaint. However, once I showed them the desktop tile, they saw their familiar Win7 look-and-feel -- and liked it.

This thread has become way too much of a "I'm smart -- and you're stupid" heated argument.

Not liking the Win8 tile desktop does NOT make someone inept, nor does it make them stupid. Nor, is the tile-interface DEFAULT look of Win8 "just the same" as the menu interface of Win7. So, saying everything is just where it used to be in Win7 WITHOUT mentioning that you have to be on the Desktop for that to be true -- simply put, is being dishonest.

We would all serve our community better if the more passionate of us would quite caring about whether folks agreed with us or not, and went back to providing help to folks who need it.

 

[musiclover7]

It is not where it used to be in Windows 7. The start menu is missing, Period, unless you elect to install 3rd party apps. When I mentioned that my friend gave a big sigh of relief after I loaded up classic shell on his new laptop, I was not lying. He does a lot of designing in illustrator etc, and he found getting around in windows 8 to be a pain in the ass. Everyone of my friends and colleagues have expressed the same, which was my point in posting. I remotely support hospital servers from home all across the US and typically have anywhere from 15-30 windows open at a given time.. sometimes more. I don't imagine as a company we will be transitioning to 8 any time soon. Sometimes, you just want to click the start menu, and hit a quick link from the same location it has lived for 15 years, because it is familiar and easy. You don't have that CHOICE in windows 8, unless you want to install 3rd party apps.

So for those who say, "You do have a CHOICE, you can just hit the desktop button and walla," you are missing the point. You know you are missing the point, but you insist on sticking to your guns.

Everyone who has replied has failed to answer my question.. What is wrong with Choice? What is wrong with giving users the option of doing things the way they always have from a desktop, while at the same time giving them the option of trying something new?

I get that there are many around these boards who love the new look and the new way of doing things. Can you not at least admit though, that it was wrong to take away other peoples choice?

I did see someone reply to a similar put question around here... "Well, if they gave people choice, no one would use it and it would defeat the purpose." I found that remark to be very telling .

 

[gazz9496]

Windows 8 requires me to go to the desktop every time that I want to open a new program, with Windows 7, I just click on a taskbar icon, or the start button and select a program. This is much more efficient than going to another page to reveal the Windows 8 start menu and look for what I need.

The Windows 8 menu is perfect for mobile phones, as you are restricted by the screen size, so you need to maximise the visual cues for what you're looking for, and the touch experience is ideal, as you can sweep across the screen for groups of icons. This process gives you 'chunks' of information that is easy to digest on a small screen, but becomes cluttered and tedious on a large screen where you see everything at once.

When is Microsoft going to introduce a dual, triple etc screen mobile phone, so that we can use the Modern apps across multiple screens?

i think what your forgeting is the purpose behind the start screen.

it's not meant to be a direct replacment of the old start menu, but an evolution of it instead where live tiles are the norm and you can view instantly what is happening in any given app.

if you can utilise the start screen and the apps to get that live info to it's fullest then it is more efficent, it's just not that easy to do sometimes, takes a bit of lateral thinking outside of the box.

 

[gazz9496]

It is not where it used to be in Windows 7. The start menu is missing, Period, unless you elect to install 3rd party apps. When I mentioned that my friend gave a big sigh of relief after I loaded up classic shell on his new laptop, I was not lying. He does a lot of designing in illustrator etc, and he found getting around in windows 8 to be a pain in the ass. Everyone of my friends and colleagues have expressed the same, which was my point in posting. I remotely support hospital servers from home all across the US and typically have anywhere from 15-30 windows open at a given time.. sometimes more. I don't imagine as a company we will be transitioning to 8 any time soon. Sometimes, you just want to click the start menu, and hit a quick link from the same location it has lived for 15 years, because it is familiar and easy. You don't have that CHOICE in windows 8, unless you want to install 3rd party apps.

So for those who say, "You do have a CHOICE, you can just hit the desktop button and walla," you are missing the point. You know you are missing the point, but you insist on sticking to your guns.

Everyone who has replied has failed to answer my question.. What is wrong with Choice? What is wrong with giving users the option of doing things the way they always have from a desktop, while at the same time giving them the option of trying something new?

I get that there are many around these boards who love the new look and the new way of doing things. Can you not at least admit though, that it was wrong to take away other peoples choice?

I did see someone reply to a similar put question around here... "Well, if they gave people choice, no one would use it and it would defeat the purpose." I found that remark to be very telling .

again the start screen isn't a replacment, while the start orb options some provide like classic shell do a job they also hide all of the live tile information that is meant to be visible.

now get that back using classic shell.

 

[musiclover7]

I don't care about live tiles. In my earliest post within this thread, I made the statement that I had yet to glean any information from live tiles that justifies using them instead of nice clear icons that make it easy to know what program I am opening. I stand by it. I like the concept of a windows store built into the OS. Live tiles might be useful I guess, for someone who just wanted to stare at their start screen, waiting for and interesting live tile update. That ain't me. I think they tried to be innovative, but I don't see any other companies copying this any time soon. Android widgets are way better, many of them offering the ability to control the app strait from the icon widget. Now, something like that might be useful.

Anyhow.. time will tell if someone takes a crack at answering my question.. Why did they not give people a choice?

 

[Ray8]

i think what your forgeting is the purpose behind the start screen.

it's not meant to be a direct replacment of the old start menu, but an evolution of it instead where live tiles are the norm and you can view instantly what is happening in any given app.

if you can utilise the start screen and the apps to get that live info to it's fullest then it is more efficent, it's just not that easy to do sometimes, takes a bit of lateral thinking outside of the box.

I actually do understand that and I can use the new 'Start' menu quite well. Nor did it take any great amount of time to learn how it works. That said, I don't like it, I prefer the 'old' desktop method. They both achieve the same end results; however, I feel the Windows 7 desktop style is more efficient and functional - for me.

I have spent quite a lot of time with the new start menu and it has significant shortfalls. I can understand where and why of it, but it falls short on a desktop. Some people accept that a mobile phone menu is great on a desktop, others don't. I'm not going to repeat what I've said elsewhere regarding what the start screen should offer, but if it did, then I would be singing a completely different tune.

No one is going to convince me that the Windows 8 is half-baked, at best, for a desktop. I keep reminding people to just think if all you had available was the new apps style for all of your programs, no desktop at all, how would you find that and what would you crave?

 

[wpcoe]

I actually like Windows 8. I had some trials and tribulations in the beginning, but now that I've settled in to it, I like it. A lot.

The only interface tweak I did was: How to skip Start Screen natively without using any third-party tool. Prior to that I had simply moved the Desktop tile to the first position so I could press <enter> and go directly to the Desktop. Other than that, I'm using it pretty much as Microsoft designed and intended.

So shoot me.

 

[gazz9496]

I don't care about live tiles. In my earliest post within this thread, I made the statement that I had yet to glean any information from live tiles that justifies using them instead of nice clear icons that make it easy to know what program I am opening. I stand by it. I like the concept of a windows store built into the OS. Live tiles might be useful I guess, for someone who just wanted to stare at their start screen, waiting for and interesting live tile update. That ain't me. I think they tried to be innovative, but I don't see any other companies copying this any time soon. Android widgets are way better, many of them offering the ability to control the app strait from the icon widget. Now, something like that might be useful.

Anyhow.. time will tell if someone takes a crack at answering my question.. Why did they not give people a choice?

that's true and i question it every day myself, it does seem like for some they are fine and other's just don't see the point in them.

i'm somewhat fine with them but don't really see the point in them.

it's healthy to question something new and descern whether it is a good idea or not.

as to why? it seems like they felt icons that show no information other than the app name were boring and felt they could do better.

 

[Positronics]

Wow! I've been Testing Win 8 since their Consumer Preview beta and I don't see how anybody from noobs to IT Techs can
appreciate the credentials this OS offers. I get a different glitch everyday that I use Win 8 ! It's amazing that MS hasn't been able to stabilize the final product into a smooth offering. Win 8 HAS laid an egg like the aggressive Chicken that it is! It's no wonder that Windows Blue has been mentioned as a successor in the Summer. This OS is too progressive for the consumer public and that's it in a nutshell. Back to Windows 7 Ultimate, solid contender that it is. Tremendously stable, right on time.

 

[labeeman]

Win 8 HAS laid an egg like the aggressive Chicken that it is! It's no wonder that Windows Blue has been mentioned as a successor in the Summer. This OS is too progressive for the consumer public and that's it in a nutshell. Back to Windows 7 Ultimate, solid contender that it is. Tremendously stable, right on time.

If Microsoft wants to save Window8 they need to get Windows blue out next month. On the net on other forums I read more and more of this occurring at a good rate they want choice and not having there systems turned in TOY systems.

 

[Mystere]

Interesting points?

1. A user name was not required until Win 7 – which gave you the option of using the same name as the computer – Win 8 insists on a different user name which shows up in uploads and NOT the computer name. Since I have a stand-alone computer and I know what my name is, why does Microsoft insist I have a user name at all?
2. Yes, Experience programs are options – exactly where in the instruction manual does it point out where all these MANY hidden options are?
3. Exactly where in the instruction manual can you find the hidden GPS locater options? More to the point – why does Microsoft want to know your location?
4. If I’m not mistaken, didn’t Microsoft advertise the new Internet Explorer can be used without 3[SUP]rd[/SUP] party add-ons?
5. Where in the instruction manual does it say that their new Windows pdf reader is BASIC?
6. Classic Shell can resize windows so I can have ‘more than two’ windows on the screen at the same time.
7. I believe Microsoft advertising for Windows 8 is border-line consumer fraud.
8. Oh, and exactly where is the instruction manual?
9. So, I’m not wrong. I don’t misunderstand and very little on Windows 8 is the same as it’s always been. What the heck are YOU talking about!

1) No. Windows NT based Windows has *ALWAYS* required a user account, and it has *NEVER* allowed the computer name itself to be that account. The reason for that is related to the way that ActiveDirectory works. In ActiveDirectory, a computer itself has an account, as does the user. These must be two different things, even when not using ActiveDirectory.

The fact is, you are very wrong about this. Very very wrong. This has been the case Since Windows NT 3.1, and changed when users moved from Windows 9x to XP. It was the case in NT 4, 2000, XP, Vista, 7 and 8.

2) There is no "instruction manual" in Windows, nor has there ever been one as far back as I can remember. I think Windows 3.1 might have come with a simple one, but that is a long way off. As such, all your arguments about "show me in the instruction manual" are complete and utter BS. Customer Experience options are displayed in popups. They're not hidden, and they do not default to on. You *MUST* enable them for them to collect data.

3) GPS location is not about Microsoft locating you, it allows applications to know where you are so they can provide relevant data, such as you current weather, or where a restaurant near you is located. This is about giving *YOU* tools, and again it's not turned on by default. You have to give each app permission to use location services. Or, you can turn it off completely. You will only see this option if you have a GPS in your device, and then it's right in settings.

4) I have no idea, I dont' typically pay attention to advertisements. Even if they did, you absolutely can.

5) This is just a stupid statement. Stupid. Where does it say it's advanced? Come on. Really?

6) No, it can't.

7) You can believe whatever you like. Doesn't make it true.

8) See #2

9) Yes, you're wrong. You're very very wrong.

 

[Coke Robot]

But, I never had a smartphone until like a few years ago....and it was a droid. So was I raised with a smartphone?

I do know I was raised on Windows 95 and on...

And I love the Start Screen of Windows 8.

 

[musiclover7]

So, you love the start screen? Great. Awesome for you. Still does not mean that it should not have been kept in the OS as an option for those who prefer it. Would you be upset, or like the OS any less if the Start screen were still available as an option? I doubt you would..

 

[Coke Robot]

I don't believe I'd be upset if it were an option, but it'd make me confused as to why have one and the other when you can just stick with one...

But that's me. :huh:

 

[Ray8]

This is why it seems that companies like Stardock Corporation are in business; they realise that the Microsoft way is not the way of every individual, no matter how much Microsoft tries to wall them into their way of doing things. They bring back the start button (Start8), provide more flexibility with managing and organising your desktop (Fences), and so on.

Did Microsoft produce Windows 8 so that other companies actually had a reason to provide software that allows people a better computing experience? Like the aftermarket industry for cars, Microsoft has spawned an industry dedicated to improving their latest product. A year or so of Windows 8 previews has shown industry that this is not what all people want and there are better ways. Vive la difference!