Blue might not be as bad as we fear

Not that bothered about 8? You're not alone. To even the most disinterested observer, it's clear Microsoft has a lot work to do...

The change in tone.. was marked. Gone were the big messages about the Windows 8 Start screen and Windows 8-style apps... has the Start screen been over-emphasised?

I've changed my pitch...from starting with the Start screen to starting with the Windows desktop.

it's about doing their Windows 7 stuff and slowly get into 'OK I can do other things as well'. And suddenly it's 'well, I've got all these free apps I didn't know I had and I can play Angry Birds

I have been saying that since before it was released.

Moulster mused over whether there was a skew between early adopters and "people who are less techy". He also suggested that coming to Windows 8 without stigma does have positive results on touch-based devices.

Just when you think they are getting it ....oops, the use of the word stigma.That might explain why it took so long for the penny to drop. Or it might be they don't want to admit they were trying to force it. Either way - it is insulting - not a good idea to say it.

"I bought my mother, who's 76, a surface and - obviously while I helped her somewhat - she loves it and just gets on with it. She does her email, online banking, she does everything. What she doesn't use is the desktop. She doesn't really know it's there - she's got fairly simple needs.

Ian, she can do all that on cheap android thing, probably without any help. So what is your USP?


Microsoft: emphasis on Start Screen shackled Windows 8 | News | TechRadar

 

[jimbo45]

That may be because you don't mind having a mobile phone interface thrust at you.

MS comments above clearly admit it is causing a problem.

A lot of people can't stand it.

Perhaps making it look bit less like a mobile phone interface will be a small help, as you suggest. I think they would be better to do far more than that.

Not sure for your reasoning, albeit to each there own.

Now, I do not own a mobile phone nor have I, nor will I ever own one. The area that I live in is all mountains (in the range of 8,000 ft to 11,000 ft myself I am at 7600 ft and yes there is still over two-hundred inches of snow). The people (the little over three hundred in the whole county) voted five years ago to ban cell towers in this beautiful, and wild country. Thus, no reason to own the silly things. The land line works just fine.

Hi there
I understand your point about Beautiful and Wild country - but here even not too far away from the capital city you can easily and suddenly get into trouble as the weather can change in an instant --even experienced country dwellers -- and if you can't call for assistance you are just plain DEAD.

Remember also we have a LOT of tourists coming from overseas countries where people are even scared if they go into their OWN back garden and see something as innocuous as an "Urban Fox". !! I remember a recent visit to a colleague in Wimbledon (SW London) who cowered inside the house while I shooed a Fox away from his garden. !!

So the mobile system here has to be ROBUST and it's almost a given for sightseeing parties to carry mobile communication devices.

However as far as W8 is concerned -- its quite clear that a mobile phone interface isn't wanted or needed by a large number of people -- and surely for those that DO like a mobile phone interface -- at least implement it properly so the tiles (for classical standard Windows applications) don't all look the same with tiny text and no distinguishing icons to show people what the application actually is. Seems that Ms have hosed up the start GUI on BOTH fronts -- as a desktop - and as a Mobile interface. Does NEITHER job properly.

Cheers
jimbo

 

[SIW2]

Fridge and toaster is the expression, I believe.

Maybe MS will soon come out with something that attracts their existing user base.

 

[XweAponX]

While it is unfortunate that everyone/area doesn't have access to internet/cell service, that doesn't mean technology stops for everyone else.

Microsoft has no more control over who gets internet access than say Version has over who gets cell service. In the case of both these companies, it would be beneficial if these services were available to all. That doesn't mean they stop producing new products though.

Anyway that's my logic, but...

Oh, and you mentioned Photoshop CS6 creating "thousands of new tiles", that's why I pointed that out.

We're cool though

Jimbo said CS6 did that with the tiles, but I think he meant the full version that installs everything, including the Audio programs.

No, it does not mean that the developers shoudl go backward, it just means that forward tech shoudl always refer back to the original tech on which it was based.

Look at our processors - All based basically on the Intel 8088 and 8086, those original intruction sets are still there. Each time a newer processor came out, it could accommodate the old instruction set.

The divergence with CPUs started with the Pentium II and the Athon- prior to that, AMD chips and Intel chips shared the same socket and virtually identical instruction sets and slightly different graphics intructions. Suddenly we had these new motherboards with this LOOONG slot that was hard to attach a heatsink to. Look how long THAT lasted, but when the dust cleared we were back to sockets.

The tech should be available for those who have access to broadband, DSL and satellite. As a matter of fact, I was impressed with Verizon's satellite service- There is a town called Poway down here, where there is virtually NO DSL or Cable in the Factory Areas - And one of my customers really needed high speed internet, for 4 systems. So I set him up a Verizon Wireless Router which could accommodate 4 systems, it was a little Hotspot the size of my palm.

This is how tech can "beat" the lack of services in rural areas. The only drawback with the Verizon service, was it's price - Which my customer gladly paid, cos it gave him access to his business.

 

[XweAponX]

I think it's annoying when third party software has SO many .exes and shortcuts. Some of those Autodesk tiles look like duplicates to me. It would be SO much better if they cut out the superfluous links and just simple incorporated those shortcuts into the main program. Put it under a drop down menu or a Settings or Options dialog box or something. It's the same issue that I had with the start menu except more tedious. There would be different folders that a program installed of shortcuts and .exes, and I'd had to go folder diving to move the relevant links to me to the All Programs list. One by freaking one. Then I could delete the folder, but in Windows 8 I would just open the file location and use File Explorer for all that goodness.

Actually, those are all separate programs, it was the only way I could get 3DSmax, it installed all that other stuff. The Desktop Icons all have different images. What I like abotu this software is the ability for me to save my work in my Autodesk Cloud, then I can pull it up on my iPhone. That is the oone direction taken by developers which has been a positive. Apple, I don't know if they were the first with "iCloud" but they were the first usable system. Microsoft's "Skydrive" is pretty good as well.

 

[Skulblaka]

How can it if Blue is aimed at addressing issues and offering a few "tweaks"?

 

[XweAponX]

Or another question, why release another whole new OS in the space of less than a year? Why not release a service pack?

 

[legacy7955]

Or another question, why release another whole new OS in the space of less than a year? Why not release a service pack?

I agree, from a spectator standpoint (potential consumer) it looks like MS failed miserably and is giving up on Windows 8. Which is actually silly because there are ONLY TWO SMALL CHANGES that need to be made that would have folks coming back to buy in droves.

Most important one is:

A DEFAULT OPTION TO BOOT DIRECTLY TO THE DESKTOP.


The other is to being back the traditional start menu/button.

 

[SIW2]

I would capitalise the other way round.

Bring back the @%$ start menu.

If they are desperate to shove the ad billboard at you - they can do it every time you start up. Then when you get past that annoyance, with a start menu , you don't have the darn ad billboard constantly getting in the way. ( not until you next restart, anyway ).

There is no point in booting to desktop - only to have that much loathed ad billboard rearing it's ugly head repeatedly.

 

[legacy7955]

As long as you have the initial option to boot directly to the desktop (at every start up) you bypass that stupid Metro-sexual monstrosity.

 

[SIW2]

That damn thing will keep coming up - unless you have a menu type object which doesn't cover the whole screen.

Makes sense to have access to control panel, drives, recent items, etc, from that same small ( or resizable ) menu.

It used to be called a start menu, I think?

 

[XweAponX]

As I have stated and stated ans stated -Stardock Start8 boots you straight to the Desktop and gives you the orb. Which is great. But what is not great is that we have to buy or rent it from Stardock.

It says "5 bucks" on the site but I am sure it is a subscription, maybe monthly. Which is why mine keeps crashing, I think its wanting a renewal. But they also want you to rent this thing called "Object Desktop" - got 60 bucks? - Don't know if that's monthly or yearly.

They should just make it and sell it, not rent it.

Start8™ for Windows® 8 - Bringing back the Windows Start menu

Remember a stewpid program called "Ceedo?" I used to set it up for people, you put it into an external and it loads programs that you can carry from puter to puter. It's 40 bucks and it supposed to be a one-time payment. Actually what happens is your licence becomes invalid after a time and they make you buy a new one. This is another "Cloud Based" service - Because the actual Program Installer, is REMOTE! So the installer cannot be toted around, you have to always have internet access or the program wont work. Cos it crashes constantly and has to be reinstalled, and when this happens out in the field you're sunk.

 

[sygnus21]

As I have stated and stated ans stated -Stardock Start8 boots you straight to the Desktop and gives you the orb. Which is great. But what is not great is that we have to buy or rent it from Stardock.

It says "5 bucks" on the site but I am sure it is a subscription, maybe monthly. Which is why mine keeps crashing, I think its wanting a renewal. But they also want you to rent this thing called "Object Desktop" - got 60 bucks? - Don't know if that's monthly or yearly.

They should just make it and sell it, not rent it.

Start8™ for Windows® 8 - Bringing back the Windows Start menu

Remember a stewpid program called "Ceedo?" I used to set it up for people, you put it into an external and it loads programs that you can carry from puter to puter. It's 40 bucks and it supposed to be a one-time payment. Actually what happens is your licence becomes invalid after a time and they make you buy a new one. This is another "Cloud Based" service - Because the actual Program Installer, is REMOTE! So the installer cannot be toted around, you have to always have internet access or the program wont work. Cos it crashes constantly and has to be reinstalled, and when this happens out in the field you're sunk.

I just thought of something....

With all the revenue floating around to customize Win 8, including the "missing" start menu everyone is craving, do you really think it's in these companies best interest to see the start menu come back?

It wouldn't surprise me if there were some secret royalties being paid to keep things the way they are.

Just sayin' :huh:

 

[jbfoster]

I bought Start8 for $5 and it's been fine. One time purchase.

 

[XweAponX]

Well, that would not surprise me... How many HP, Acer, and Gateway PCs have you DELETED the entire "Wild Tangent" catalog from? And Wild Tangent is DOCUMENTED as Malware. yet they CRAM every POS game from them into all new PCs. How can a VIRUS be installed like this on new PCs? There is some money floating around.

 

[Lee]

Classic Shell is FREE, yes again Classic Shell is FREE. . .

 

[gregrocker]

8 has killed PC sales. The lines at Best Buy to return Win8 PC's are longer than those who will even try the PC's out for display. People who bought PC's online and were stuck with 8 are angry and feel like someone has played a cruel trick putting a phone app on their $500 new laptop. They don't want it, salesmen can't talk them into it.

This overreaction to Ipad is become a self-fulfilling prophecy of the nutty assumption that the desktop is dead or dying. Almost all productive work is done on a desktop PC (including laptops). The business sector is more than half the market yet even after a huge scare campaign against imaginary BIOS infections has decided nearly 100% to move into Win7 from XPired. This really puts a damper on the idea that it's being phased out.

Put WIn7 back on PC's and push out the overdue SP2 with some of 8's Explorer improvements that don't affect its perfect performance or bring the ugly. Sell 8 on touchscreens where it belongs.

Win7 is the best OS ever and doesn't show any sign of age, offers a perfect Desktop Experience. If MS doesn't want it any more it has its own Forums that is the top tech site on the web now with more activity than all others combined.

 

[XweAponX]

You mean the Windows 7 Forums from which these sprouted from? I agree, if MS does not want Windows XP and 7 - They can GIVE it to us. We'll keep it working. They can keep Vista though.

Classic Shell is Free? I'll have to look it up, I was assuming the Start8 payment was a monthly payment. It is, if you have the huge monster shell thing they make, 50 bucks a month. Or is it year?

 

[DavidY]

I agree, from a spectator standpoint (potential consumer) it looks like MS failed miserably and is giving up on Windows 8. Which is actually silly because there are ONLY TWO SMALL CHANGES that need to be made that would have folks coming back to buy in droves.

Most important one is:

A DEFAULT OPTION TO BOOT DIRECTLY TO THE DESKTOP.


The other is to being back the traditional start menu/button.

Hmm I don't totally agree with that. They also need to do something to make Metro usable. Most importantly it needs to be windowable.

However I also think a Start button and taskbar which stays visible in Metro would be a big help to navigating for some folks.

I don't buy the "Just avoid Metro" philosophy because sooner or later someone will write an app in Metro that I want or need to use, and when it comes to that day, I'd like Metro to be usable.

 

[XweAponX]

I just installed Classic Shell - Got RID of those pesky breadcrumbs! I love it!

 

[Lee]

I just installed Classic Shell - Got RID of those pesky breadcrumbs! I love it!

Tested Classic Shell back in 2009, and found it to be a well designed program, albeit never really used it because at the time Win 7 really didn't need it. I have it installed on my Win 8 system, but again really don't use it. . .just me. . .