Four months in, Windows 8 needs help

After four months of tepid Windows 8 PC sales, maybe it's time for Microsoft to make a few changes.

During a conversation I had this week with IDC analyst Bob O'Donnell, he volunteered the following statement, which sounded strangely like my experience.

There were certain decisions that Microsoft made that were in retrospect flawed. Notably not allowing people to boot into desktop mode and taking away the start button. Those two things have come up consistently. We've done some research and people miss that.


And there are a lot of people that as soon as they boot into Windows 8, they go to desktop mode and do most their work there and occasionally back to Metro. But the point being they're much more comfortable with desktop mode.

Source

A Guy

 

[SnarkyTwit]

I've been lurking in the forums for a while, watching the debate rage on. I think it's time I weighed in. I have been using Windows 8 for a couple of months now and have installed Start8 as I just find it makes things easier for me. As far as "liking" Windows 8 over Windows 7, I'm indifferent. Windows 8 runs just fine on my computer, just as Windows 7 did. I find I rarely switch over to the Modern UI screen, so for me that is just wasted code. I have not downloaded anything from the Windows store except Skype and I probably will never purchase anything from there. A quick perusal of the store showed nothing of interest to me.

Looking towards the future, I will probably switch to an Android based device for my computing needs as PC hardware is starting to be priced out of my range. IE $999 Canadian for the Surface Pro with 128GB of storage and it doesn't include the cover/keyboard. I think that is outrageous.

Microsoft just doesn't offer a compelling reason to stay on board with them anymore.

Snarks

 

[chrisa]

What does it matter if you do think there are benefits - what about everybody else. That is the point.

No. Your point is more entirely about you. What is Microsoft going to do for you, given you don't want to learn touch. The answer is... allow you to keep using 7 while the world moves on. They'll get you later.

But getting old and having tech outpace you happens to everybody at some point or another.

Allow choice of boot to desktop and some kind of start menu - or start screen.

The only thing that does is fragment the development process. If a third-party wants to develop a start button and support that, kudos to them. If you want to use that, kudos to you. Windows simply can't be all things to all people, or its really nothing at all and just a jumbled mess. It also can't be locked in amber so that you never have to learn anything new and the platform never evolves. Touch is here and now, whether you like it or whether you don't.

Blame Apple, they started it :>.

MS decided to thrust start screen at everyone as often as possible - they benefit of course - no coincidence it is littered with bing apps. and other MS attempts to get the users to their clouds.

That is what it is for.

Its for interfacing to apps and programs and does a great job of it. Especially on the Surface Pro. I was toying around with the SP earlier and installing all different sorts of app games just to give them a try. Few of them were Microsoft.Had no trouble at all navigating with touch or using apps that used touch. I can't recall ever having used Bing, and if i need to search something i usually kneejerk either Google or Yahoo just out of habit.

I certainly agree it might be a good idea to windowize the apps if working off a large monitor workstation. Apps shine on a smaller screen or a more appropriate sized window, and having them stretch out to 24" just wastes screen space. Likewise, having them windowize on the 10" screen would just be an exercise in cheese.

But Start Button? That can stay dead.

 

[SIW2]

LOL.

Wrong again.

I am one of the younger ones. I have only had my own pc for less than 5 yrs.

It is not about me . It is about the customers.

Do they want to sell this - or are they going to try and force it over a period through a process of attrition.

Open your mind.

 

[whs]

But getting old and having tech outpace you happens to everybody at some point or another

Wrong again. You display the view of a young person with little experience in life. I am 75 and I have learned and relearned computers and operating systems since 1958 - it was my job for 35 years. And still today I tackle a new OS at the tune of one new one per month. You give me any Windows, Linux, Android or Google OS and I can deal with it.

It is not a matter of age, it is a matter of attitude. Tech will never outpace me as long as I can see the screen and move my fingers.

 

[BillWindows]

In Australia we have a Goods and Services Tax called the GST, they put 10% tax on everything you buy. Before it came out the whole of Australia was against it I thought there was going to be a Civil War. Basically everyone was saying that Australia would never survive this tax and that we were going to price ourselves out of the market.

Guess what, nothing happened, Australia became wealthier and nobody even knows what the GST is anymore.

Force it on to them Microsoft, a bit of pain for a lot of gain.

 

[BillWindows]

I've been lurking in the forums for a while, watching the debate rage on. I think it's time I weighed in. I have been using Windows 8 for a couple of months now and have installed Start8 as I just find it makes things easier for me. As far as "liking" Windows 8 over Windows 7, I'm indifferent. Windows 8 runs just fine on my computer, just as Windows 7 did. I find I rarely switch over to the Modern UI screen, so for me that is just wasted code. I have not downloaded anything from the Windows store except Skype and I probably will never purchase anything from there. A quick perusal of the store showed nothing of interest to me.

Looking towards the future, I will probably switch to an Android based device for my computing needs as PC hardware is starting to be priced out of my range. IE $999 Canadian for the Surface Pro with 128GB of storage and it doesn't include the cover/keyboard. I think that is outrageous.

Microsoft just doesn't offer a compelling reason to stay on board with them anymore.

Snarks

Come on now, you're comparing an Android tablet with a full blown PC, that's not a comparison that's a joke. I've got multiple tablets, while nice, I would never compare them to a full blown Windows tablet.

You should be comparing to RT which is near half the price with Microsoft Office.

PC hardware has never been cheaper in the history of computing, the price of Windows laptops is nearly a Joke. I was selling 486 SX 33 Compaq Notebooks for $2800 with a monochrome screen nearly 20 years ago. Now you can pick up a Notebook for less than $300 with a lot more power.

Actually they were $3500 that was a special price..

 

[BillWindows]

But getting old and having tech outpace you happens to everybody at some point or another

Wrong again. You display the view of a young person with little experience in life. I am 75 and I have learned and relearned computers and operating systems since 1958 - it was my job for 35 years. And still today I tackle a new OS at the tune of one new one per month. You give me any Windows, Linux, Android or Google OS and I can deal with it.

It is not a matter of age, it is a matter of attitude. Tech will never outpace me as long as I can see the screen and move my fingers.

Okay I'll give you Windows 8, deal with it.

 

[whs]

But getting old and having tech outpace you happens to everybody at some point or another

Wrong again. You display the view of a young person with little experience in life. I am 75 and I have learned and relearned computers and operating systems since 1958 - it was my job for 35 years. And still today I tackle a new OS at the tune of one new one per month. You give me any Windows, Linux, Android or Google OS and I can deal with it.

It is not a matter of age, it is a matter of attitude. Tech will never outpace me as long as I can see the screen and move my fingers.

Okay I'll give you Windows 8, deal with it.

I don't need your advice. You are not in my league. I would appreciate if you refrained from commenting my postings. I can live without this garbage.

 

[BillWindows]

Wrong again. You display the view of a young person with little experience in life. I am 75 and I have learned and relearned computers and operating systems since 1958 - it was my job for 35 years. And still today I tackle a new OS at the tune of one new one per month. You give me any Windows, Linux, Android or Google OS and I can deal with it.

It is not a matter of age, it is a matter of attitude. Tech will never outpace me as long as I can see the screen and move my fingers.

Okay I'll give you Windows 8, deal with it.

I don't need your advice. You are not in my league. I would appreciate if you refrained from commenting my postings. I can live without this garbage.

Too bad you can't take a joke, but you really should refrain from telling people what they need or don't need, it's not up to you or me to tell them what they do or don't need. Just because you can't see the value in something doesn't mean others can't. The only thing I do here is tell people that Windows 8, touchscreens and Surface Tablets aren't the end of the world.

Its Microsofts business, if they want to put touch onto everything that's their perogative, they have to make a business decision. As far as Windows 8 goes, it's Windows 7 with a 5 minute learning curve and it's a better OS.

I thought the reference to McDonalds, the comical character and 20" keyboard would have alerted you to it being a joke, obviously not, so I apologise.

 

[chrisa]

Looking towards the future, I will probably switch to an Android based device for my computing needs as PC hardware is starting to be priced out of my range. IE $999 Canadian for the Surface Pro with 128GB of storage and it doesn't include the cover/keyboard. I think that is outrageous.

Microsoft just doesn't offer a compelling reason to stay on board with them anymore.

It all really comes down to what you need. If an Android tablet fills your needs, you might as well go for the cheaper tbh. Thats just good economics.

The Surface Pro tends to be aimed at laptop users that want all the abilities of a tablet so they can take their work on the road. So its basically two devices in one(hence the higher price). But if you don't need the ability to run all your previous programs, and there is an app for everything you need, then why go for the SP?

 

[whs]

Okay I'll give you Windows 8, deal with it.

I don't need your advice. You are not in my league. I would appreciate if you refrained from commenting my postings. I can live without this garbage.

Too bad you can't take a joke, but you really should refrain from telling people what they need or don't need, it's not up to you or me to tell them what they do or don't need. Just because you can't see the value in something doesn't mean others can't. The only thing I do here is tell people that Windows 8, touchscreens and Surface Tablets aren't the end of the world.

Its Microsofts business, if they want to put touch onto everything that's their perogative, they have to make a business decision. As far as Windows 8 goes, it's Windows 7 with a 5 minute learning curve and it's a better OS.

I thought the reference to McDonalds, the comical character and 20" keyboard would have alerted you to it being a joke, obviously not, so I apologise.

Apology accepted.

 

[pcRat]

The only problem with Windows 8, is that lots of people dont learn to use it. If you want to boot directly to the desktop, it is very easy to fix that. If you want the start meny back, there are several versions to choose from. But the fact is that lots of things work better and faster with Metro. One month into Windows 8, on two laptops, it is the most effective and enjoyable I have had on any computer or OS.

Glad to hear someone else likes 8. It's a lot easier to learn & customize. Especially with all the tutorials on this site.
I believe 3rd party apps take the fun out customizing menu & navigation options.

I use this shortcut pinned to taskbar for returning to my customized normal Start Screen ( blue orb )
"Start" Screen Shortcut - Create in Windows 8

I use this shortcut pinned to taskbar to view All Apps tiles ( a little smaller, still easier to read but less scrolling )
"All Apps" Shortcut - Create in Windows 8

I also have 'File Explorer' pinned to taskbar for libraries.
A few ctoolbars like Desktop & Programs

 

[pcRat]

MaloCS - :thumb: & what HippsieGypsie said.

 

[pcRat]

Maybe one day a tech had to wait too long for his desktop to load after logging in to his computer. Just to press the start button once and get into the Start menu because if he pressed it too soon, it just peeked and retracted back until the button was pressed again.

So he thought he could save time & aggravation by logging into the Start menu (screen) , click the program tile once; which opens the program and loads the desktop at the same time.

Pin 'File Explorer' and these 2 shortcuts to the taskbar.
"Start" Screen Shortcut - Create in Windows 8 choice of 3 icons including 'windows orb'
"All Apps" Shortcut - Create in Windows 8

Metro IE10 is safer for online banking, shopping, social sites ... so I heard

 

[lehnerus2000]

Don't really see how Mint could outperform 8 since an 8 system can cold boot in 5 seconds (depending on CPU and motherboard).

Some people (like me) don't consider boot time to be of any significance when talking about performance.
My W7 PC wakes from "Sleep" in less than 8 seconds (according to the Event Viewer).

The only performance that matters is program speed.

 

[BillWindows]

Don't really see how Mint could outperform 8 since an 8 system can cold boot in 5 seconds (depending on CPU and motherboard).

Some people (like me) don't consider boot time to be of any significance when talking about performance.
My W7 PC wakes from "Sleep" in less than 8 seconds (according to the Event Viewer).

The only performance that matters is program speed.

If that's what's important to you, you must be on Windows 8, I haven't seen anything in Windows 7 thats faster than Windows 8.

 

[Rickkins]

I wonder if its possible to fork Windows 8 and have one called Windows 8 for Dummies. They could put a tile on the Start Screen called, For Dummies, and that would bring back the Start Menu.

... because we all must be dummies for not liking the metro nonsense...

 

[Dave44]

I wonder if its possible to fork Windows 8 and have one called Windows 8 for Dummies. They could put a tile on the Start Screen called, For Dummies, and that would bring back the Start Menu.

... because we all must be dummies for not liking the metro nonsense...

I believe it will get better with the windows blue update

 

[Wenda]

I wonder if its possible to fork Windows 8 and have one called Windows 8 for Dummies. They could put a tile on the Start Screen called, For Dummies, and that would bring back the Start Menu.

... because we all must be dummies for not liking the metro nonsense...

Or indeed anything about Win 8, or the direction MS is heading.

You must love everything about Win 8, otherwise you are a hater, or
stupid, by the reckoning of some.

I'm neither, but there are aspects I dislike. But that's been the case with just
about every OS I've ever used, and that's a lot of OSes. It didn't make me stupid, or
'unable to adapt' then, and it hasn't now.

If it was a case of being 'unable to learn', 'old-fashioned', 'stuck in the past', or
'unwilling to adapt', then why have I been using 8 as my main OS for over a year
now, why did I pay for a copy if I 'hated' it or 'couldn't learn it', and why did I bother
to find out how to customise and bend it to my will?

For that matter, why would I have even bothered to beta-test Vista, 7 and 8? Or
to learn to use Linux? Or....well, anything, really.

Oh, that's right, I installed a start-menu replacement and don't want touch on my
desktop/laptop, so I must be stupid and have wasted thirty years of my life playing
with something I 'don't understand'. Yeah, right!

IMO, it's wearing rather thin.

Wenda.

 

[lehnerus2000]

If that's what's important to you, you must be on Windows 8, I haven't seen anything in Windows 7 thats faster than Windows 8.

Apart from the faster boot time (6s to 9s in standard boot up) I didn't detect any noticeable speed difference between W7 & the W8 previews (DP, CP, RP & Ent).

I think a lot of programs are actually limited by HDD (temp files, etc.) and/or Network speed (browsers).