Solved How's everyones Windows 8 experience going?

[sgage]

Loved it day one with the Developer Preview over a year ago, loved it more with the Consumer Preview, mildly curious at the Release Preview, love the RTM even though I was expecting some more UI changes on the Desktop; but continue to like it more and more.

Overall, it's a great OS. It has a new UI and a familiar UI that CAN and DO work together. I love using some of the apps, like Music Info. I'm liking the way how 8 uses much less system resource than 7, has built in anti-virus and has some more beefier protection. It's easier to repair an installation, and it empathizes with you when things go bad with the new BSOD . The new bootloader doesn't make me feel like I'm using a DOS dinosaur to blow up a nuclear facility anymore, and less superfluous recommending booting into Safe Mode because the battery died. Easier updating where updates don't really even feel like they happen, and never pester you unless vitally needed. Automatic Maintenance basically makes it idiot proof as EVERY Preview edition of Windows 8 I've ran has NEVER had progressively slower boot time, or any other traditionally related registry gunk that builds up and slows some crap down, like the Windows before. It has some refined backup methods with File History and Storage Spaces, which I'll be taking advantage of soon. It can be configured to pull out an umbrella to not have the cloud rain on you, or you can just dance in the rain...of the cloud. SkyDrive and other cloud services do a nice job of trickling data down to the OS and apps so seamless experiences occur, such as a Word document on a Windows Phone to Word 2013 and your SkyDrive folder.

It's also more exciting too. I'm sorry, but the new Windows 8 PCs are more cooler and interesting the Windows 7 era ones.

You really are something, Cokie. More cooler? Holy crap, it's just computers, which some of us use to get work done. Not fashion statements, but tools. I'm sorry, but get a grip!

Some of us just enjoy the finer things in life I guess.

The best, and most appropriate response to my post. Cheers!

 

[Trevers1987]

Truly I have been enjoying every minute of windows 8 so far I have only had one very small snag after a couple of updates, but apart from that you can't fault it once you know your way around.
I't's a little gem but still all that said I would like to see Aero back so it is still as beautiful when working from the desktop.

 

[Max Peck]

I've had 3 stages of experience with it. Stage 1: I hated it. Stage 2: I didn't mind it. Stage 3: I like it.

I had 4 stages.

Yours plus: 4) I liked it but rolled back to 7 to fix a few glitches. Win8 was nice but broke a few things and added nothing I needed. Maybe another time.

-Max

 

[RobertLie]

Currently, my desktop is in a Dual Boot configuration with Windows 7 and Windows 8 going. I've got a 2-point Touchscreen and a Microsoft Touch Mouse for input, along with a cheapy MS Wireless Keyboard.
My own experience so far?

Initial expression: Hated it. Metro interface was confusing, new gestures were NOT very intuitive (and probably needed greater Intro emphasis to help learn them). Couldn't figure out what most items in the Charms Bar did half the time (in Desktop mode), nor found any help/explanation easily. I ended up immediately booting back to Windows 7 and forgetting about it the rest of the day.

Day 2 expression: Grumbling with it. Switched back over to Win8, and started setting up the programs and trying to learn how things worked. I still had no clue what Share and Devices in the Charms Bar are for, but figured out how to navigate the Metro Interface. FOUND the Microsoft Mouse and Keyboard Center, and realized I could SET many macros and MS Touch Mouse Gestures for numerous activities and began changing a small few and learning what the rest meant. Finally installed most used programs, transferred User Data for Firefox and Chrome over, lost my Metro Browser but didn't care, and finally started to look through the Metro Apps to see if there was anything free I could like.

Day 3: Pensive. Personalization done, games/programs mostly transferred, ownership/access of various folders properly changed, etc. Found that Windows Media Center was free for my USB TV antenna, so grabbed it. Got my little program to FINALLY work with the MS Touch Mouse to give it a "true" Middle Mouse Button when pressing a specific area (Rather then a gesture click but no hold). Learned that MS Touch Mouse is a sheer perfection for navigating in Win8, for switching between Metro Apps/Desktop, accessing menus being a godsend. Slowly learned how Metro Apps behave in comparison to Desktop Apps, and starting to want a Metro Browser back.

Day 4: Grudging Respect. Setup Chrome and Chrome Canary to have Chrome be my new Metro Browser, while Chrome Canary lives on a Desktop Browser. (Firefox lives on my main monitor for general reading/browsing. Chrome for always up Webpages such as GMail, Forums/Hints for Games I'm in, Weather/News, etc.) Metro Apps love building, especially for simple programs I never did trust to actually download from the net such as Timers, Radio, etc. The fact I could throw these into a small bar on my 2nd monitor simply sealed my love for it, so that I switch between Metro Browser (News/Forums), Desktop Browser (GMail + Google Voice phone), and Music Videos (Pauses automatically when switching to a different app) all with a mere 2-finger gesture on the mouse? <3
Realization: I haven't switched back to Windows 7 at all today, a first.

Day 5 - Current: Liking Win8 a lot. Most of my initial complaints are gone, but a few quirks still exist that irks me. I've YET to go back to Windows 7 since, enjoying the small performance boost from the OS.

Annoyances:
1) Touchscreen options: Touchscreen Flicks cannot be used. In Win7, you could use your fingers on a Touchscreen for the Pen Flicks. As of yet, I have not figured how to turn this back on. This makes internet browsing with my Planar PX2230MW via Touch annoying, as I lack gestures for foward, back, "inertia"-like throwing scrolling for up and down, and lacks customization for extra flicks such as closing tabs/undo close tabs by merely a quick finger flick on the screen. Further, it lacks options for a two-finger scrolling instead of reliance on just 1 finger (some programs needed this), missing the option for 1-finger down then tap with a second for a right-click as well.
--Needs Pen Flicks able to be turned on for Touch screens (2-point touch screens hopefully at least) for Finger Flicks.
2) Metro Menu and Dual Screens. Metro Apps & the Metro Start Menu both will ONLY exist on one monitor at any time. Considering I like to keep the Metro apps on my secondary monitor, that means if I access the Start Menu on my main monitor that I'll end up moving the Metro apps to that monitor once I'm done with the Metro Start Menu. Its just annoying needing to open and close the start menu on the 2nd monitor to move the Metro apps back to it.
--Ability to Pin Metro apps to one monitor would be great, but allow the Metro Start Menu to be accessible on either. Having a shortcut (Keyboard & Mouse Gesture) to SWITCH which monitor the Metro Apps are on would be great. Further, there should be the ability to leave the Metro Start Menu open on one monitor while accessing the Desktop on another (To see those Live Tabs while doing Desktop App work).
3) Google Voice and Chat Plugin only works in Desktop Browsers. Meaning I can only access incoming and outgoing phone calls in a Desktop Browser. Dang it.
-- Google needs to release a Win8 way to access this in Metro mode. Hopefully doesn't let it go into Suspend mode if its in the background.
4) Lack of Aero Glass. Merely Cosmetic and nothing important. Part of the perfomance improvement, so I'll leave it alone.
5) Charms Menu lacks customization. I know I would love to get rid of Devices from the Charms menu, as nothing really ever shows up on it with my Desktop. Share is a rarity to ever use as well, as it ONLY works with Metro Apps, and I never know exactly what it will share with certain Apps as well as it gives no hints after you click on it.

That said, I've actually not gone back to Windows 7 since, despite the Dual Boot ability I'm still leaving available.

 

[SIW2]

I have finally found something that is faster for me on 8 than it is on 7.

Mkisofs. Quite a surprise, but there you go.

 

[R0bR]

Still my main OS on my work laptop and works great with a touch mouse, use it on one of my laptops at home but my other one still has W7 on it because I'm too lazy to re-install all my music apps (Fl Studio, Guitar Rig etc). Bought a Surface RT a few weeks ago and it's been a great tablet and works really well with Metro.

 

[Makeitso]

I went from Vista 64 to Windows 8 64. Yeah I am a happy camper

 

[greeman]

From all I had read, I had decided to bypass W8. Then the MB went out on the wife's computer and I decided to upgrade it. Along with a new MB, CPU, Memory, DVD burner and SSD, I decided why not install Windows 8 and give it a try. I bought a copy of Windows 8 Professional at Best Buy (was on sale). Immediately I thought it was a heck of a deal $49, for Windows 8 Pro. Later when I tried to activate it, I learned it was an upgrade version. I looked at the box very closely now....... and I still don't see mention that this is an upgrade product. That sort of made me mad to begin with as all other MS software boxes that were upgrade media plainly said "Upgrade". Anyway, since I was running Windows 7 before and had a valid copy I went ahead and did the registry hack and got it activated. (no way I'm going back and reinstall 7 and then upgrade to 8) Anyway, only used the program for about a day (most of the time setting up the PC for the wife) and it seems to boot and shut down faster (most of that is probably the SSD). Overall the system seems have a bit more pep than before. I'm not that fond of the way you have to look so hard behind so many screens to find things you need during set up, but I'm sure some of the younger generation is more adept at the new interface than I am. I'm willing to spend time to learn though. Some things I did not like..... I was trying to find "Advanced Appearance Settings" to make the desktop look like I prefer. I never found it, and after checking google I found out it is no longer there (Thanks MS). Next I looked for the games that are normally there (My wife likes the hearts and solitare gomes). Again, not there (Thanks MS). I did find where you can copy them from W7 and run a patch on them and they work..... but why should I have to do that! Next I find that we no longer have a DVD player or should I say Media Player (Thanks again MS). I already miss "Aero", and I never thought I would say that. I know there are a lot of new things yet to discover that "may" negate the hard feelings from losing the ones we did, but I hate that an "upgrade" actually makes me give up things I had in the old version.

 

[pparks1]

Yes, welcome to Windows 8. It's nice to see others who have reasons other than just the start screen for not liking Windows 8. Most assume it's just the new interface and not liking change.

 

[LittleJay]

I know there are a lot of new things yet to discover that "may" negate the hard feelings from losing the ones we did, but I hate that an "upgrade" actually makes me give up things I had in the old version.

It seems to me that has been the case with every upgrade I have ever done, be it Windows, or Linux.

 

[MrShowdown]

Great, even I don't use touchscreen, the Start Screen experience is just great. 50% of my time using my laptop is on the Start Screen to play games.

 

[jbfoster]

So far so good.

I like it. I have noticed a couple of small weird things but nothing major.

 

[Ednan]

The monitor went wild after I clicked the "Auto OK" button on it, it normally gives me best resolution but this time the display was shifted to the corner of screen making half of it invisible
Then I reinstalled windows 8, still same, installed windows 7, still same then I thought why not get the monitor back to its Factory settings? I applied monitor factory settings and everything went back to normal..
Then reinstalled Windows 8.

 

[Tomel]

Upgraded from Win 7 on my desktop. So far I really like Win 8 for many of the reasons already mentioned. However, there is one point that I haven't seen mentioned in this thread (unless I somehow missed it). Using Win 8 with a touchscreen monitor (or at least a Touch Pad like the Logitech 650) makes a big difference in my opinion. I purchased the 23" Acer T232HL touch screen monitor soon after I upgraded to Win 8. Some argue that using a large touch screen is negative for a number of reasons. However, I have found this not to be the case for me personally. The touch screen has been a big positive for me. The learning curve was quick and I am able to navigate using a combination of touch screen, mouse and keyboard pretty instinctively at this point.

 

[nuspieds]

I upgraded from Win7 and I love it! I find it more stable than Win7 and I love the faster boot.

The only painful experience was the upgrade; however, several non-Windows-related factors contributed to that: Laptop is about 5 years old and it wasn't officially supported as upgradeable by the vendor, so I had several things to work out on my own. In the end, I persevered and was successful.

I don't know what the fuss is by a lot of people out there regarding the UI change from Win7. Personally, right now, I don't have a tablet or touchscreen, so the Modern UI is of little use to me. Thus, I spend most of my time in the traditional Desktop mode. With the exception of the missing Start button, you can't even tell you're in Win8, so I give kudos to MS for making the transition very seamless! :thumb:

And you know what? If you're so in love with that Start button, we all know there are tons of utilities that will bring it back so, again, what's the issue?!

In the new year I will be buying a Surface Pro tablet and can't wait to fully start using and enjoying the Win8 apps!

 

[mbratch]

I am able to run W8 in what I call Win7 mode, with Metro totally disabled...

How did you disable Metro?

 

[mbratch]

I went from Vista 64 to Windows 8 64. Yeah I am a happy camper

I would think Vista to anything else would make one happy.

 

[maarten0009]

I'm trying to downgrade....
I'm not using the metro screen, and i can't run several programs....

 

[mbratch]

I played with Windows 8 for about a week. Initially I didn't like the way it almost coerced me into getting an online Microsoft account.

I find that I like all of the "under the hood" improvements (performance, etc) versus older versions of Windows, but I'm not warming up to the Metro UI for a non-touch screen. After installing my favorite programs and making start menu "blocks" for them, clicking on them swaps me to the desktop mode and runs it there. When I'm done with the app, there I sit in desktop mode. If I want to go back to the start screen, I have to perform some action to do so (there are a couple of different means). Overall, I find this quite clunky from a usability perspective. If I keep my favorite programs as icons on the task bar in desktop mode, I can operate much more efficiently. If my primary apps worked in Metro mode, this might not be as much of an issue.

As far as the Metro UI is concerned, it's kind of cool from a novelty perspective. But after awhile, I get quite weary from having to swipe my mouse all the way to one of the corners to do something to maintain my environment. RSI sufferers must love it. My laptop has a touch pad which allows for multitouch gestures, which I think is a must for all of the horizontal panning you need to do in Metro. However, I found that some apps I downloaded for fun in Metro didn't "listen" to the horizontal motion and I had to resort to using the mouse or traditional touch/click on the pad to do the horizontal panning, which was very tedious. Also, a few apps I played with, compared to their desktop versions, seemed more limited in flexibility. And some just wanted to tie me closer into Microsoft services.

Ultimately, I ended up getting an add-on (start8 in my case) to give me a start menu on the desktop screen, and to allow me to default to desktop mode. So I now run Windows 8 in desktop mode (or "windows 7 mode" as one poster put it) virtually all the time. I find it much more efficient to use. I very rarely go to Metro to tinker for amusement, but quickly get bored with it and go back to getting things done on the desktop.

One other thing to consider is attached hardware. Probably not an issue for most people, but I have a couple of somewhat older HP laser printers on my network. Windows 7 has drivers for them, but Windows 8 does not.

I've read through most of the posts here already and those who articulate what they like about Windows 8 usually indicate something about performance. In my opinion, Microsoft could have just as well made these under-the-hood improvements to Windows 7 and made a Windows 7.1. I don't think I've read a single comment from anyone anywhere that they found that the Metro UI was easier to use and more productive on a desktop or laptop (non-touch) versus a Windows desktop mode. The only UI comments seem to be some form of "I think it's cool". Humans can get used to anything with repeated use. I think I saw another post on this forum somewhere showing the striking similarity between Windows 8 Metro and a 1996 AOL user interface. Too funny.

 

[tinmar49]

getting used to 8

I have upgraded two pc's to 8 pro, one was the cheap online from xp staying with 32 bit, and the other was the store bought dvd's allowing 64 bit from xp. I find it quite enjoyable learning how to use 8. I also run win 7 which I would not want to upgrade to 8. I think that would stick with win 7 if I only had one pc but it's a worthwile upgrade from xp or vista. Even without a touchscreen 8 is not bad and the more I use it the better it gets. The lack of a start control can be fixed if you must have it.