Do you want Aero?

[lehnerus2000]

This might do it

My only hope is that someone, much smarter than I, will write a shell application to hide all of these solid colored blocks and pretty it up a little.

Ex7ForW8
Have a look at this post:
http://www.eightforums.com/general-...-using-3rd-party-start-menu-2.html#post125619

 

[symbiont]

I want Aero for one reason, so it can be skinned again. The default Aero isn't so great, but this "retro", ugly, blocky solid color mess I have now is painful to look at. Personally I think getting rid of it for performance issues is completely BS, and even if that was the case they could've just allowed it to be disabled by choice. That's the biggest issue, they've taken away my choice on a lot of things, instead opting for Apple's "we're doing it and your going to like it" mantra.

 

[Lazure]

Yeah, taking away the users' choice for how the system looks is literally my BIGGEST gripe. Taking the start menu? Not such a big deal, I re-linked computer/control panel/etc to the start screen. Tho, splitting the search into 'apps' 'settings' was really annoying. Anyhew... but they could have kept the traditional start orb as an option.

But taking away my Aero glass? That was one of my favorite things about windows 7, and I was even fine with how it looked in CP/RP. It would not have taken much code to keep a checkbox or something 'Use classic aero glass and blur'. Unchecked, it'd be like it is now. On tablets and low powered stuff, most of those run on ARM (Windows RT) anyways and therefore don't have a real desktop mode to begin with. I don't see how having Aero as an option would hurt the OS in any way shape or form...

My laptop is a gaming grade laptop, it's almost always plugged in the wall and it'd only get 1 hour of battery life even if I were to gimp it with Windows XP and classic look. So I'm not concerned with the power usage of the 'theme' anyways...

 

[kcmike]

I've never liked Aero. I've always used Windows Basic theme. I turn off all animations, shadows...etc. It's cleaner and leaner.

 

[tseven]

I like aero for the fact that it has some dimensions. I don't hate metro but it feels too flat. They should have made it less 3D but not to the point of having no personality. They keep saying how metro is alive but it feels opposite with their execution. It feels just as bland as the other stuff they compare it to.

 

[thenerdal]

Aero is nice, but I like the new theme on Windows 8. Simple, yet nice.

 

[kizo2703]

Aero is nice, but I like the new theme on Windows 8. Simple, yet nice.

What is nice here?!



And it doesn't matter which color is default!

 

[thenerdal]

Aero is nice, but I like the new theme on Windows 8. Simple, yet nice.

What is nice here?!

And it doesn't matter what color is default!

Guess it's just me. I kinda got bored of Aero. I liked that this theme is new, so I guess that's why I like it. The thing about Windows is that the themes on the internet are ugly so I kept the original one and guess I got bored of it.

 

[Mystere]

Yeah, taking away the users' choice for how the system looks is literally my BIGGEST gripe.

I'm sure WindowBlinds will add it back, or some other third party theme. Remember, themes in windows are pluggable. You can replace it with others. The reasons behind removing it were likely due to the increased strain on the GPU and battery life for phones and tablets. The default has to work well across a broad variety of devices.

On tablets and low powered stuff, most of those run on ARM (Windows RT) anyways and therefore don't have a real desktop mode to begin with. I don't see how having Aero as an option would hurt the OS in any way shape or form...

RT tablets have a desktop. What are you talking about? It comes with Office, a desktop app.

 

[aj22185]

My only hope is that someone, much smarter than I, will write a shell application to hide all of these solid colored blocks and pretty it up a little.

Ex7ForW8

Have a look at this post:
http://www.eightforums.com/general-...-using-3rd-party-start-menu-2.html#post125619

Thanks for the tip Lehn. This is still just a step backwards though. Personally, I don't mind the new setup of Win8. If anything, the new Start Menu is at least somewhat creative, there just isn't near enough customization ability for the Start Menu or the Desktop. I did however, find an app called Custom Tiles Maker. It is pretty barebones and only gives you the option to add a picture to the start menu as a tile or set of tiles, but at least its a step in the right direction.

 

[TheGrantFitz]

Aero is nice, but I like the new theme on Windows 8. Simple, yet nice.

What is nice here?!

And it doesn't matter what color is default!

Guess it's just me. I kinda got bored of Aero. I liked that this theme is new, so I guess that's why I like it. The thing about Windows is that the themes on the internet are ugly so I kept the original one and guess I got bored of it.

I am the same.
I keep the Windows 7 theme and wait until the next OS to change. (With the exception of WindowsBlinds, I use sometimes. )
People tell me I just don't care what Microsoft does, but I do. I'm no fanboy, really. Only I normally don't care how my PC looks, except the Start Screen.

 

[Lazure]

Yeah, taking away the users' choice for how the system looks is literally my BIGGEST gripe.

I'm sure WindowBlinds will add it back, or some other third party theme. Remember, themes in windows are pluggable. You can replace it with others. The reasons behind removing it were likely due to the increased strain on the GPU and battery life for phones and tablets. The default has to work well across a broad variety of devices.

On tablets and low powered stuff, most of those run on ARM (Windows RT) anyways and therefore don't have a real desktop mode to begin with. I don't see how having Aero as an option would hurt the OS in any way shape or form...

RT tablets have a desktop. What are you talking about? It comes with Office, a desktop app.

One program doesn't make desktop mode really count for much. Still, removing transparency and blur does not save THAT much power. The fact it's still GPU accelerated and composited means it's already requiring GPU resources to start with. All the animations going on in the start screen would already be using the battery power that Aero normally would have. That said, I didn't say this couldn't be the default, what I was saying is "why do they have to take away our CHOICE to use the Aero theme instead of this ugly default one when we're on plugged in machines that are more than capable of displaying Windows 7's Aero look?"

I don't know if Windowblinds can add it back properly. DWM has been hardcoded in Windows 8 to ignore any attempts to enable transparency or blur. Microsoft went out of their way to ENSURE that NO ONE would be able to bring back Aero, it's as if they purposefully want EVERYONE to go without. Windowblinds would have to literally replace the borders altogether and then it becomes non-compatible with certain programs (especially ones that draw special stuff on the titlebar, like office), which causes uniformity issues, and it would also be less efficient because they cannot use Microsoft's built-in API to skin the bars, instead they'd have to put something on top of what already exists, just like back in windows 2000. And if anyone remembers windowblinds back then, it was really clunky, buggy, and horrible on resources because it was using its own system to replace the drawing methods of the original windows UI. XP to 7 they used the built-in API to reskin things, so it was more efficient. Now they can't do that if they wanna add back transparency/blur.

 

[ivy8]

Why is this even a thread? Who cares how the windows border looks? I don't mind either way, but I prefer 8 - I like the solid blocky look.

 

[Lazure]

Why is this even a thread? Who cares how the windows border looks? I don't mind either way, but I prefer 8 - I like the solid blocky look.

Uh a lot of people care about how things look, especially things we may be looking at half the day every day. Same reason people prefer a nice looking car over a butt-ugly one. Looks are part of our lives and we enjoy things looking nice. Flat solid blocky look is chilidish, plain, ugly, and it's a throwback to the days when hardware wasn't capable of rendering better. MS is basically telling us our desktops and laptops don't matter and that we all must pretend we're using a low power tablet and purposefully removing any choice or options that we've used to ALWAYS have in windows.

It literally would have taken hardly any extra code to have a checkbox in the Personalization panel to 'use transparency/blur effects', and to add the traditional Aero theme as a choice in there in addition to the default flat look. It would not have hurt AT ALL for them to have that in as a choice. The reason it's not a choice, is because Microsoft went far out of their way to make sure we don't have that choice. "You must do things our way or no way at all" kinda thinking they decided to borrow from Apple.

The thread exists, not to mention with several pages, so people obviously care. If you don't care, why did you post here?

 

[symbiont]

Why is this even a thread? Who cares how the windows border looks? I don't mind either way, but I prefer 8 - I like the solid blocky look.

Yes because you prefer the non-Aero look, there definitely shouldn't be a thread to discuss whether ppl want Aero or not. How exactly is that little world of me?

 

[ivy8]

Why is this even a thread? Who cares how the windows border looks? I don't mind either way, but I prefer 8 - I like the solid blocky look.

Uh a lot of people care about how things look, especially things we may be looking at half the day every day. Same reason people prefer a nice looking car over a butt-ugly one. Looks are part of our lives and we enjoy things looking nice. Flat solid blocky look is chilidish, plain, ugly, and it's a throwback to the days when hardware wasn't capable of rendering better. MS is basically telling us our desktops and laptops don't matter and that we all must pretend we're using a low power tablet and purposefully removing any choice or options that we've used to ALWAYS have in windows.

It literally would have taken hardly any extra code to have a checkbox in the Personalization panel to 'use transparency/blur effects', and to add the traditional Aero theme as a choice in there in addition to the default flat look. It would not have hurt AT ALL for them to have that in as a choice. The reason it's not a choice, is because Microsoft went far out of their way to make sure we don't have that choice. "You must do things our way or no way at all" kinda thinking they decided to borrow from Apple.

The thread exists, not to mention with several pages, so people obviously care. If you don't care, why did you post here?

Are you doing work all day or moaning about how the "x" button looked better in 7? Its good that Microsoft got rid of Aero. Its redundant now. Nothing you say will change that and Microsoft won't be bringing it back. This is a tablet OS first and foremost.

 

[Lazure]

Why is this even a thread? Who cares how the windows border looks? I don't mind either way, but I prefer 8 - I like the solid blocky look.

Uh a lot of people care about how things look, especially things we may be looking at half the day every day. Same reason people prefer a nice looking car over a butt-ugly one. Looks are part of our lives and we enjoy things looking nice. Flat solid blocky look is chilidish, plain, ugly, and it's a throwback to the days when hardware wasn't capable of rendering better. MS is basically telling us our desktops and laptops don't matter and that we all must pretend we're using a low power tablet and purposefully removing any choice or options that we've used to ALWAYS have in windows.

It literally would have taken hardly any extra code to have a checkbox in the Personalization panel to 'use transparency/blur effects', and to add the traditional Aero theme as a choice in there in addition to the default flat look. It would not have hurt AT ALL for them to have that in as a choice. The reason it's not a choice, is because Microsoft went far out of their way to make sure we don't have that choice. "You must do things our way or no way at all" kinda thinking they decided to borrow from Apple.

The thread exists, not to mention with several pages, so people obviously care. If you don't care, why did you post here?

Are you doing work all day or moaning about how the "x" button looked better in 7? Its good that Microsoft got rid of Aero. Its redundant now. Nothing you say will change that and Microsoft won't be bringing it back. This is a tablet OS first and foremost.

Wow, way to act like a total jerk. Yes, to answer your question, I do care. I do care a lot that my X button looks like CRAP in Windows 8. That my borders look flat and uninteresting. That there's not even a shade of detail on any parts of this new UI. Why are you glad they got rid of the OPTION to have it look the way we want? Are you a fascist? Do you WANT to force EVERYONE to LIKE what YOU want us to like?

Microsoft clearly wants to force us to use this like a tablet. However, it is STILL the newest edition of windows for desktops and laptops as well. We won't be able to use Windows 7 forever, as support for it dwindles after 5-10 years, or when new hardware comes out that only Windows 8 will support. It's still also a desktop OS, even if it doesn't act like one.

Go away, you're not helping. You're not being nice. You're just being rude and imposing your opinion as fact on all of us. Just GO AWAY.

 

[ivy8]

Uh a lot of people care about how things look, especially things we may be looking at half the day every day. Same reason people prefer a nice looking car over a butt-ugly one. Looks are part of our lives and we enjoy things looking nice. Flat solid blocky look is chilidish, plain, ugly, and it's a throwback to the days when hardware wasn't capable of rendering better. MS is basically telling us our desktops and laptops don't matter and that we all must pretend we're using a low power tablet and purposefully removing any choice or options that we've used to ALWAYS have in windows.

It literally would have taken hardly any extra code to have a checkbox in the Personalization panel to 'use transparency/blur effects', and to add the traditional Aero theme as a choice in there in addition to the default flat look. It would not have hurt AT ALL for them to have that in as a choice. The reason it's not a choice, is because Microsoft went far out of their way to make sure we don't have that choice. "You must do things our way or no way at all" kinda thinking they decided to borrow from Apple.

The thread exists, not to mention with several pages, so people obviously care. If you don't care, why did you post here?

Are you doing work all day or moaning about how the "x" button looked better in 7? Its good that Microsoft got rid of Aero. Its redundant now. Nothing you say will change that and Microsoft won't be bringing it back. This is a tablet OS first and foremost.

Wow, way to act like a total jerk. Yes, to answer your question, I do care. I do care a lot that my X button looks like CRAP in Windows 8. That my borders look flat and uninteresting. That there's not even a shade of detail on any parts of this new UI. Why are you glad they got rid of the OPTION to have it look the way we want? Are you a fascist? Do you WANT to force EVERYONE to LIKE what YOU want us to like?

Microsoft clearly wants to force us to use this like a tablet. However, it is STILL the newest edition of windows for desktops and laptops as well. We won't be able to use Windows 7 forever, as support for it dwindles after 5-10 years, or when new hardware comes out that only Windows 8 will support. It's still also a desktop OS, even if it doesn't act like one.

Go away, you're not helping. You're not being nice. You're just being rude and imposing your opinion as fact on all of us. Just GO AWAY.

So now you see? Moaning does nothing. Aero is gone. Permanently. Have all the hissy fits you want. Its not coming back.

 

[TheGrantFitz]

Why is this even a thread? Who cares how the windows border looks? I don't mind either way, but I prefer 8 - I like the solid blocky look.

Uh a lot of people care about how things look, especially things we may be looking at half the day every day. Same reason people prefer a nice looking car over a butt-ugly one. Looks are part of our lives and we enjoy things looking nice. Flat solid blocky look is chilidish, plain, ugly, and it's a throwback to the days when hardware wasn't capable of rendering better. MS is basically telling us our desktops and laptops don't matter and that we all must pretend we're using a low power tablet and purposefully removing any choice or options that we've used to ALWAYS have in windows.

It literally would have taken hardly any extra code to have a checkbox in the Personalization panel to 'use transparency/blur effects', and to add the traditional Aero theme as a choice in there in addition to the default flat look. It would not have hurt AT ALL for them to have that in as a choice. The reason it's not a choice, is because Microsoft went far out of their way to make sure we don't have that choice. "You must do things our way or no way at all" kinda thinking they decided to borrow from Apple.

The thread exists, not to mention with several pages, so people obviously care. If you don't care, why did you post here?

Are you doing work all day or moaning about how the "x" button looked better in 7? Its good that Microsoft got rid of Aero. Its redundant now. Nothing you say will change that and Microsoft won't be bringing it back. This is a tablet OS first and foremost.

ivy8, this thread was created by me because I'd like to know the opinion of the members of Eight Forums. I didn't care for aero myself, but an OS if for a good 1-6 years. It normally isn't that MS goes and says "Lets use SP1 to change the look!", it is more about a user's opinion and me as a long-time Windows user think Metro deserves the name of Windows just as much as Aero did. I love the new look, but I care about other's opinions. We knew in September that aero was gone, when the thread started, but please, this is for the community.

 

[Kat]

I'll be replacing it as soon as there's a decent app to do so.

I want MY machine to look and behave the way I want it to.

Not Microsoft. And not you (generic 'you', no fingers pointed).

I have power to spare and more to run Aero, so it should be
MY choice.

As it was my choice to replace the Start button, Quick-Launch
toolbar and desktop gadgets.

Why is there such an issue about giving people CHOICE?