Windows 8, Day 2

I installed Windows 8 Pro (dual boot) yesterday and about 20 programs needed to get some work done. As usual a small percentage (5%) of my desktop has all the shortcuts I need to make things happen. Three network printers and a scanner installed easily. I always worry about that pesky print server that has a strange installation method. Windows 8 found the correct Nvidia drivers for my dual monitor setup as part of the installation process.

A newsletter and website update are well under way (work that could not be done using any of the "apps"). The only time I see the Start screen is a few seconds after booting. When these projects are done I'll see what I can do with the mess created on the Start screen due to all the program installs. After that I'll start playing with some apps that may be fun or useful.

I bought Windows 8 Pro from Amazon at the same price as the download. The DVD is very handy for the dual boot installation. Of course I had to wait a few hours for UPS

I bought Windows 8 for $15. Get at my level.

Windows 8, Day 3

I received the free product key for the Windows Media Center. I'm impressed! It installed fairly quickly, found my ATSC receiver and set up all the local channels. Great pictures and I can record my favorite shows.

20 programs? I use less than 8. Win+Q will give you a list of all apps installed though.

ivy8 said:

20 programs? I use less than 8. Win+Q will give you a list of all apps installed though.

Click to expand...

These are used on a regular basis, several times a day to a few times a week:
CorelDraw
CorelPaint
Label Printer software
MS Publisher
MS Word
MS Excel
MS Expression Web
Syncback (backup)
Mail Washer
WAMP
Performance Monitor (3 small windows)
DU Meter
Scanner software
Tweak
PhotoScape
Rename software
Nitro PDF
WS PingPack
Roxio
Windows Media Center
PixWizard
Filezilla
1and1 Login
Firefox
Thunderbird
xplorer2

All these shortcuts and about 20 more for frequently used files take up less than 5% of one of my 24-inch monitors.
I've decided the Start Screen is fairly useless until I find some "Metro" apps that are of interest. It can be a bit hard to find what you want on the All Apps Screen compared to the well organized Win7 Start. I thinking of installing Start8.