First, a little background
o I read about, but never tried, the new OS until upgrading my Win 7 desktop on 10/26
o Purchased a new 23" touchscreen monitor, also on 10/26
o Have used every version of Windows since Win 95 (except Vista). Actually tried even earlier versions of Windows, but did not stick with them
o My system is an i7-920, 6Gb RAM, SSD primary drive, WD Velociraptor secondary
My observations:
o Start-up about the same, shutdown much faster
o Using touch screen really brings out the best in new OS (changed my folders from detail view to tiles, allowing me to use touchscreen to navigate directory structure easier)
o Realized that the Start Screen is really just the Win 7 Start Menu, only graphical and touch screen friendly.
o Start Button hasn't gone away, it's just hidden. Hovering the mouse where the Start Button used to be brings up the hidden Start Button
o Some of the new Metro Apps are lousy or need work, but some are very good. I just unpinned the ones I didn't like from the Start Screen.
o Microsoft Account, Live Account, People App, Mail App, etc. interactions and relationships are confusing (at least to me). I kind of understand how the pieces fit together, but not completely.
o I reorganized the start menu into three sections: Metro Apps, Non Metro Apps, Folder and File Shortcuts
o "All Apps" screen is nice, but it's necessary to unpin a lot of unnecessary links. For instance, if an application's install program includes a link to their web site, this link is included on the "All Apps" screen.
o Really like the new Task Manager
o Some suggested changes that Microsoft should consider:
- Add an option to bypass the Lock Screen and go directly to the Login Screen on start-up
- Add a user option for system to automatically load the Start Screen when the last desktop app is closed
- Touch gesture to see what Metro Apps are currently running is awkward and needs to be assessed
- When you bring up a left panel showing Metro Apps that are running, it would be nice for each Apps icon to have an "x" that you could click to close the app.
Those are my initial observations after a little less than two weeks experience with Win 8.
o I read about, but never tried, the new OS until upgrading my Win 7 desktop on 10/26
o Purchased a new 23" touchscreen monitor, also on 10/26
o Have used every version of Windows since Win 95 (except Vista). Actually tried even earlier versions of Windows, but did not stick with them
o My system is an i7-920, 6Gb RAM, SSD primary drive, WD Velociraptor secondary
My observations:
o Start-up about the same, shutdown much faster
o Using touch screen really brings out the best in new OS (changed my folders from detail view to tiles, allowing me to use touchscreen to navigate directory structure easier)
o Realized that the Start Screen is really just the Win 7 Start Menu, only graphical and touch screen friendly.
o Start Button hasn't gone away, it's just hidden. Hovering the mouse where the Start Button used to be brings up the hidden Start Button
o Some of the new Metro Apps are lousy or need work, but some are very good. I just unpinned the ones I didn't like from the Start Screen.
o Microsoft Account, Live Account, People App, Mail App, etc. interactions and relationships are confusing (at least to me). I kind of understand how the pieces fit together, but not completely.
o I reorganized the start menu into three sections: Metro Apps, Non Metro Apps, Folder and File Shortcuts
o "All Apps" screen is nice, but it's necessary to unpin a lot of unnecessary links. For instance, if an application's install program includes a link to their web site, this link is included on the "All Apps" screen.
o Really like the new Task Manager
o Some suggested changes that Microsoft should consider:
- Add an option to bypass the Lock Screen and go directly to the Login Screen on start-up
- Add a user option for system to automatically load the Start Screen when the last desktop app is closed
- Touch gesture to see what Metro Apps are currently running is awkward and needs to be assessed
- When you bring up a left panel showing Metro Apps that are running, it would be nice for each Apps icon to have an "x" that you could click to close the app.
Those are my initial observations after a little less than two weeks experience with Win 8.
My Computer
System One
-
- OS
- Windows 8.1
- Computer type
- PC/Desktop
- System Manufacturer/Model
- Custom Home Built
- CPU
- Intel i7-4771
- Motherboard
- ASUS Z87-Pro
- Memory
- 16 Gb
- Graphics Card(s)
- ASUS GeForce GTX 650 Ti 1GB
- Sound Card
- None
- Monitor(s) Displays
- Acer T232HL
- Screen Resolution
- 1920 x 1080
- Hard Drives
- Primary - Samsung 840 EVO 250 Gb
Secondary - Western Digital BLACK 1TB
- PSU
- Corsair RM 650W 80+
- Case
- Fractal Design Arc Midi R2
- Cooling
- Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO
- Keyboard
- Logitech MK520
- Mouse
- Logitech MK520
- Internet Speed
- FiOS-15Mb
- Browser
- IE11 / Firefox
- Antivirus
- Avast Free