First encounter and impressions of Windows 8

Black Friday provided me with the opportunity to upgrade to a more powerful computer with Windows 8.
Like others, I was more than a little peeved and frustrated by the disappearance of the "Start" icon. After
several days of thrashing about, unseemly cussing, and menacingly manhandling what remains of my
hair, I slowly began to piece things together. It was discovery and rediscovery. Everything is still there
only shifted around a bit. What initially appeared to be a Picasso has morphed into a fully fleshed-out
Rubens. After installing all my programs, I replaced the default icons with those I use most often. My
Start menu now seems friendlier and ready for action. There's a part of me that wants to say
"Hey, this ain't so bad after all". Is that wrong? Am I too easily swayed?

whatthe said:

Is that wrong? Am I too easily swayed?

Click to expand...

Not at all. Certainly different people will have varying degrees of satisfaction with Win8, but like you, as I discover new tricks, make my Start menu more "friendly" and useful, and generally spend time with the system, I also say "Hey, this ain't so bad." Actually, I like it.

Many didn't like the "radical" change that Windows XP brought either, but time changed that also. Back in 2001 this is what c|net wrote in their XP review: "Like any radical overhaul, XP takes some getting used to--we often lost patience with it--but, after time, it's hard not to like the new design." Sounds just like my experience with Win8.

Nah... as for a desktop end-user...you are not easily swayed.
(I always felt stupid going to "Start" to "shutdown" Windows...not anymore)

Win 8 is fine....just look at the tiles as a start menu....or put the desktop tile in the top left corner and hit enter after boot
equals the desktop and a better Win 7


Windows Icon will switch back and forth (Start and Desktop....I seldom do)


Love it ....enjoy

BTW: People do hate change none-the-less

No, if you have gotten used to it and it's working well for you, that's all that matters. It's fast and stable, and that's probably the most important characteristic.

whatthe said:

Am I too easily swayed?

Click to expand...

Hard to say. I think the issue depends on what an individual wants from a computing environment. I place a high premium on efficiency in what I want to get done. FYI, see this thread.

I find myself in the same boat. I admit, I use Start8 to bring back the start menu to desktop, yet I start my session on Start Screen and from time to time I go back to it. Besides, I have switched in Start8 from the Win7 style start menu to Win8 style (the same app shortcuts as on Start Screen, but without leaving desktop) and appriciate it.

My transformation in attitude to Windows has developed even more greatly, as I have been using PCs for 15-20 years now and till Windows8 (Consumer Preview) I always used Norton/Windows Commander/Total Commander/Free Commander apps to manage my files. Now, I am using Windows Explorer - and am actually enjoying it! With the great invention of Libraries I can solve practically all my file management needs (yes, I know, libraries were there from Win7, but it is only with Win8, that I come to understand it and heavily use it).

I understand some people's hates and dislikes about Win8, I can even imagine this is not a total minority of consumers, but still - I like Win8 more and more (of course, I am not a professional, just a more-than-common user) and am happy with what I have been offered. FYI: In Win7, the only two things I was reguraly using form the Start Menu was WIN+search and Shutdown button.

whatthe said:

I for one plan to grit my teeth, gird my loins, firm my resolve, and press on.

Click to expand...

Windows 8: Grit my teeth, gird my loins, firm my resolve, and press on.

So much is said in the one line. An OS should not be a test of endurance.

I've been informed that "girding of the loins" should be approached with some caution; a misstep
of any sort could be injurious to one's health.

medab1 said:

It just takes a little getting used to.

It isn't so bad.

Better than using an msdos disc on a 75 Mhz IBM machine.

Click to expand...

You forgot the massive 5 Mb disk

Just got a new laptop with windows 8..first impression....well lets just say I wasn't very pleased to see the start button gone..I had to have it back, after a bit of a search on the net I found a great little program that gives you that option...you can have your start menu in classic Win98 Winxp or Win7 style... Its called Classic Shell and you can download it here Classic Shell Thats for those of you that are like myself.
Now that I have my start menu back and gotten used to where everything is...I actually quite like it...It boots up very quickly and also seems to very stable..I quite like the design too...Very simple but pleasant.. My Biggest gripe with it so far is the fact that you have to buy another copy of it if you want to install it on any other machine you own, it will not except the same product key if you have it installed any where else...so I was forced to buy another copy for my other computer..apart from that i'm happy with it.

whatthe said:

My Start menu now seems friendlier and ready for action. There's a part of me that wants to say
"Hey, this ain't so bad after all". Is that wrong? Am I too easily swayed?

Click to expand...

Not at all but it sounds as if you didn't know you could just have easily customized the Start Menu in Windows 7 as easily as you did in Windows 8. You could search the same way... basically there is no new feature, it's just all presented in a full screen.

medab1 said:

Better than using an msdos disc on a 75 Mhz IBM machine.

Click to expand...

Ah, those were the days. Spend 4 large on a computer, turn it on and what do ya get? A blank screen with

A:\>


-jeff