Switch from Mac OS X

I used to hate Windows for many years, because it was ugly, slow and unstable. However I liked the look of Windows 8 and it is faster than Mac OS X. I am very pleased by the modern look of the Metro UI and like the mix of Metro and Desktop. However I just cant stand the remaining pieces of AERO. It just burns in my eyes to go to the desktop and see the Trash icon. Or go to all apps and see notepad and others. There are Icon Packs available, but it is very uncomfortable to change each Icon. I just want to change all default Windows AERO icons, like all the apps, folder icons, icons in file explorer. Is there a tool to replace all Aero with Metro style? Thanks.

BTW. I want to buy the Surface Pro and go paperless. I will be using OneNote to take notes and I want to scan all the papers from lectures to have everything digitally. What is in your opinion the best way to keep it organized and easy to search something? I want them to be uploaded to skydrive, but to have only the pdf files and you need a paper from 2 months ago it can be very hard to find.

Thanks!

HOORAY! And welcome!!

I also too want to go paperless as much as possible, and perfect using a fountain pen as I don't use ballpoint pens.

For the digital scanning of documents, simplest thing to do is to use folders, dates, and names for the scans. Like for example, a lecture from November would be in a folder called November, another folder with the date of 11-15 and the scan name being relevant to the topic of the lecture, let's call it Cats. To search, great thing you're using Windows 8 by the way, as it has some pretty awesome search capabilities. To search for ANYTHING, go to Start, and just type, for example, Cats. Hit the Files filter, and it'll show up. If you're looking for something that you don't remember the title, go to the Picture library, and enter in the search query, and then use the Search tools to filter down results.

Also, VERY important, USE SKYDRIVE!!! For your documents and scans that is. Don't want data loss! You can use the SkyDrive folder on the Desktop to do basically make an image of your documents library, so it won't be difficult to find things. The SkyDrive app can be used for general searching, using the Search charm (Start key and C, or mouse over to the top or bottom corners and move to the middle edge of the screen), you can find things as well, as well as searching for ANYTHING with ANY app that can be searched.

For OneNote, SkyDrive can take care of that for you, and you can keep those OneNote files on your Surface Pro as well for later access.

Basically, use data stamping of files, use folders, use a system you can utilize best. Chronological order is important here.

As for the Desktop icons, I agree, I'm not a big fan of the Aero remnants either; I thought the icons would be closer like to Office 2013's iconography. Currently, there are ways to swap out the icons, but I think some people here might have an icon set for Windows 8 that can be swapped out pretty easily. I don't know for sure.