Windows 8 really isn't that bad

[Frank1]

I wouldn't lump Windows 8 into the same bin as ME or Vista....it's far better performing and less flawed than either of those 2 OS's were. And for dual monitor use, they have made some really nice improvements in Windows 8.
.

I wouldn't either. I would put it in a bin below them as far as ease of use is concerned. Maybe there is something you see in 8 that I don't see. I didn't like Vista but I would choose it over 8. So, as far as using it on desktops or even lap tops, I respectfully disagree with you. But this is only my opinion and I have been known to be wrong.

Frank.....you must be joking

Jeff

Jeff--Not really, but I will retract my comments a little. At the time that I responded to the post, I was a little ticked off while working with Win 8 and trying to figure out even how to get out of an application; and I was very frustrated at the interface. But thinking about it after I responded, I would have to say if I had a choice between Vista and 8, I suppose I would just make up my mind to get used to 8. I still don't like it though; and for using a mouse and keyboard I can see no advantage to it over 7. I would pick 7 over 8 anytime. But when it comes to Vista--well I suppose I would pick 8. Who knows, tomorrow I might change my mind.

 

[Coke Robot]

Windows 8 isn't real difficult to use with a mouse, you just use the mouse in a different fashion than you did before. It just takes using the corners.

 

[Fredledingue]

Jimbo, You'r the man with your screenshot you almost converted me to w8!

What was seriously lacking here was a total lack of documentation explaining to people how to organize their work and of course the metro tiles and screens could do with a bit of "De-Uglification".

And you klnow why? Because that's not what Microsoft intended you to do. What Microsoft wants is that one billion consumers start using the services that will come preinstalled on the Start screen. Also Microsoft wants everybody to use Metro apps from now on because it's their maoistic computer-cultural revolution. They don't expect you to use Foxit, Notepad and Irfan View in 5 years. So yes you managed to arrange your Start Screen but that's not what they hoped that you would do with it. + I'v read that stuffs can be added to your Start Screen as time goes, everytime you install a new software but also when the new sftware installs an update. I won't be surprised that Windows update reinstalls all the craps you didn't want.

Give it a go -- once you get the principle it's not so horrible.

No, indeed. Yet I'm still saying that the original idea of the Metro Start Screen is flawed in its concept. I don't like the fact that the screen is totaly coverered by the Start, unlike the Start Menu which opens only one or two or three collumns without concealing what you are doing. An app launcher which always covers the full screen is not my preference. I also don't understand why the icons must be so large that they must be called "tiles"? AFAIK I'm not yet senile to the point I need a huge tile to point my mouse to. Maybe there is a way to make the tiles icon-sized? But then why not using the desktop instead? And that still wouldn't solve the full screen issue. But anyway, thank you very much for sharing your experience and your advices!

 

[Frank1]

Windows 8 isn't real difficult to use with a mouse, you just use the mouse in a different fashion than you did before. It just takes using the corners.

Coke--One of the problems that I have is the fact that it does not work most of the time. I can move the mouse at the corners, back and forth, over and over. If I'm lucky it Will bring up what it should the first time. Most of the times I have to keep on trying. I'll go to the left side, the right side and sometimes even at the top and nothing happens until it finally works. Maybe it's me--maybe I'm doing it wrong--maybe I have it setup wrong, but to tell you the truth, I've just about given up on it.

 

[pparks1]

Pparks1, I do not understand you:
"For you, you don't like to click 4-5 times to launch a spreadsheet...and that's totally fine. For me, the way I find my spreadsheets is to click Windows explorer, find my file and double click it"

Why do you double click, you should only click once.......

Not unless you change the behavior. I don't want to SINGLE click a file under Windows explorer and have it open. When I single click it, I want to select it (perhaps for copy, move, delete, etc).

So for an Excel docu I need 2 clicks total

Ok, that seems right.

 

[R0bR]

Coke--One of the problems that I have is the fact that it does not work most of the time. I can move the mouse at the corners, back and forth, over and over. If I'm lucky it Will bring up what it should the first time. Most of the times I have to keep on trying. I'll go to the left side, the right side and sometimes even at the top and nothing happens until it finally works. Maybe it's me--maybe I'm doing it wrong--maybe I have it setup wrong, but to tell you the truth, I've just about given up on it.

Perhaps you're not doing it right. If you just put the mouse in the corner and leave it there after a slight delay you'll get the white charms then if you continue to drag you get the charms with the black background. However there is a delay doing it this way because Microsoft said they didn't want to trigger the charms if the user just happened to put the mouse in that corner unintentionally. If you put the mouse into and out of the corner quickly it doesn't come up. If you want the charms or the left side navigation to come up quickly it's more of a gesture movement with your mouse, move your mouse to the corner and down and they both pop up right away. Between accessing those areas, Windows Key and using Alt-Tab navigation between Metro and the desktop is a breeze. I'm using an old Dell Latitude D620 and it's very responsive to navigate.

 

[nick]

I liked my first car because of the utility it provided me. It was fundamentally safe, and it kept me dry when driving in the rain. Looking back at it after getting better cars I realized how "poor" my first car driving experiences were.

Windows 8 feels much like a first car to me. It's utilitarian in design with little consideration for aesthetics or the finer aspects of an intuitive, elegant and cohesive UI experience. It will get me to where I want to go but it's not a fine driving experience.

It is going to frustrate people who are looking for an intuitive and cohesive UI. I can't imagine walking my friends and family through the UI over the phone when they have problems. There is a great YouTube video of a gentleman having his father use Windows 8. That YouTube experience will be repeated many times in the coming months.

I am typing this using my new RTM Windows 8 install. I've learned to navigate effectively and have come to appreciate some of the new features, particularly the full screen IE.

Do I think Microsoft did a good job? No. This could have been so much better.

Will millions of people buy it. Yes, they really don't have much choice. Apple is too expensive a proposition for many and Linux is still too esoteric.

Will people upgrade slowly? Making it cheap will expedite the upgrades. It will depend on the aggregate reactions to it once it is released. No doubt some of the under the cover upgraded features are an improvement.

 

[tcman50]

installed windows 8 64bit rtm, it is horrid. I have been using windows xp and 7 for years, windows 8 is an absolute mess.

drivers not installing in correct places, sound driver not working, simple functions still hidden, two UI's, who thought of that, i predict some people are going to fired at Microsoft for this one.

Nothing in 8 is better than in 7, not one single thing. I liked the CP edition because it was something new, but when it comes to actually using windows 8 for something it fails over and over again.

Oh well, was looking forward to a new OS to tweak, this ain't worth my time.

Sorry Microsoft, you are completely out of touch, if this is your stepping stone into the future, then you just stepped off a cliff, the ground below is scattered with sharp rocks, the impact will rip you to shreds and thus ends the saga of microsoft.

 

[lehnerus2000]

Windows 8 isn't real difficult to use with a mouse, you just use the mouse in a different fashion than you did before. It just takes using the corners.

Coke--One of the problems that I have is the fact that it does not work most of the time. I can move the mouse at the corners, back and forth, over and over. If I'm lucky it Will bring up what it should the first time. Most of the times I have to keep on trying. I'll go to the left side, the right side and sometimes even at the top and nothing happens until it finally works. Maybe it's me--maybe I'm doing it wrong--maybe I have it setup wrong, but to tell you the truth, I've just about given up on it.

I have the opposite problem.

If I want to:

• Close a full screen program, the "Charms Bar" always pops out and covers the window controls.
• Start the first item pinned on the Taskbar, the "Metro Button" pops out and covers the icon.

 

[Coke Robot]

I liked my first car because of the utility it provided me. It was fundamentally safe, and it kept me dry when driving in the rain. Looking back at it after getting better cars I realized how "poor" my first car driving experiences were.

Windows 8 feels much like a first car to me. It's utilitarian in design with little consideration for aesthetics or the finer aspects of an intuitive, elegant and cohesive UI experience. It will get me to where I want to go but it's not a fine driving experience.

It is going to frustrate people who are looking for an intuitive and cohesive UI. I can't imagine walking my friends and family through the UI over the phone when they have problems. There is a great YouTube video of a gentleman having his father use Windows 8. That YouTube experience will be repeated many times in the coming months.

I am typing this using my new RTM Windows 8 install. I've learned to navigate effectively and have come to appreciate some of the new features, particularly the full screen IE.

Do I think Microsoft did a good job? No. This could have been so much better.

Will millions of people buy it. Yes, they really don't have much choice. Apple is too expensive a proposition for many and Linux is still too esoteric.

Will people upgrade slowly? Making it cheap will expedite the upgrades. It will depend on the aggregate reactions to it once it is released. No doubt some of the under the cover upgraded features are an improvement.

The UI seems non-intuitive or non-cohesive at first, but with a little effort, it's not. I find navigation to be splendid, but when I first started using Windows 8 almost a year ago (wow), I was logging out to shut down for the first few days as I didn't realize I do that in the Settings charm. Personally, I would had wished the Start Screen and Desktop were better meshed together, especially iconography and colors, but with a bit of effort, I can make that happen myself. But as for iconography....

 

[Coke Robot]

Windows 8 isn't real difficult to use with a mouse, you just use the mouse in a different fashion than you did before. It just takes using the corners.

Coke--One of the problems that I have is the fact that it does not work most of the time. I can move the mouse at the corners, back and forth, over and over. If I'm lucky it Will bring up what it should the first time. Most of the times I have to keep on trying. I'll go to the left side, the right side and sometimes even at the top and nothing happens until it finally works. Maybe it's me--maybe I'm doing it wrong--maybe I have it setup wrong, but to tell you the truth, I've just about given up on it.

I have the opposite problem.

If I want to:

• Close a full screen program, the "Charms Bar" always pops out and covers the window controls.
• Start the first item pinned on the Taskbar, the "Metro Button" pops out and covers the icon.

Are you moving the pointer down? That doesn't happen to me when I close full screen windows, it's just the white charms.
If I may say so without offense, it doesn't take a lot of dexterity to accurately click on the first pinned item without hitting Start. Even if you do hover over the thumbnail preview of Start, move a few hairs over and it goes away and the pointer is right on the pinned icon.

 

[Got2bereal]

I got the Wiin8 Enterprise Edition installed, the installation was 80% similar to Win7 and it went a little quicker this time because I had one of the fastest SSD I got recently.

Honestly, without 2 screens or more this OS is not made for power users. We went from Aero UI, better organized and quicker Start Menu to this Kid's menu.

I really don't know what to say except I don't think this UI belongs on a desktop. There has to be a better way to disable the Touch screen tile based UI and go back to a more streamlined and scalable design.

Definitely won't use it on my work PC.

 

[Phone Man]

After getting the RTM installed I have been working at it a little more seriously and its doing great. I installed Start8 from Stardock and its real simple. First it does not replace the present Start Screen or the roll over Start corner as that still functions the same. It does add a Start button on the taskbar and which opens the Start Screen. A right click on it and it has a Shutdown button. Also has an option to boot to Desktop.
I don't use that feature as usually the first thing I do when I boot up is to check my e-mail. When the Start Screen comes up I click my Windows Live Mail tile and it opens in the Desktop. I have been organizing my Start Screen and its looking fine. Still loading some apps but so far only minor glitches that I have worked out. Even got Dirt3 and Railworks 3 working through Steam.
The more I use it the more I like it. Your millage may very.



Jim

 

[Coke Robot]

That pattern is so wild! I don't know why, but I bet Russian users will enjoy that!

 

[Fredledingue]

....If you just put the mouse in the corner and leave it there after a slight delay you'll get the white charms then if you continue to drag you get the charms with the black background. However there is a delay doing it this way because Microsoft said they didn't want to trigger the charms if the user just happened to put the mouse in that corner unintentionally. If you put the mouse into and....

Huh! How complicated! Why not leaving the Charm visible all the time to avoid all that mouse choregraphy? .... AKA "The Task Bar".

Not unless you change the behavior. I don't want to SINGLE click a file under Windows explorer and have it open. When I single click it, I want to select it (perhaps for copy, move, delete, etc).

Exactly and Microsoft forgot that we are doing this on computers. To open files you definetly need Explorer, or an Explorer's replacement, with a folder tree. + You can set it up to open files on a single click if you realy mean it (but nobody uses this option for obvious reasons). ====> Unless you always work on a single file (or maybe 2 or 3) there is no point in storing file shortcuts on the Metro Start Screen.

The UI seems non-intuitive or non-cohesive at first, but with a little effort, it's not.

Yes that's the problem with w8: It requires efforts. And maybe in w9 it will also require new efforts to move from your old w8 habits. And you won't be allowed to say that you don't like it. Sorry I don't like products which play with my nerves. I don't want their "new way of computing" while I have an excellent, personalized computer already.

....(I)have come to appreciate some of the new features, particularly the full screen IE.

Me too... when I learned that pressing F11 did it on just about every internet browser since IE 4, more than a decade ago. Nothing new here except that you can't resize or minimize anymore with Metro's IE10.

 

[lehnerus2000]

Are you moving the pointer down? That doesn't happen to me when I close full screen windows, it's just the white charms.
If I may say so without offense, it doesn't take a lot of dexterity to accurately click on the first pinned item without hitting Start. Even if you do hover over the thumbnail preview of Start, move a few hairs over and it goes away and the pointer is right on the pinned icon.

It's possible.

I have the opposite problem with the App Viewer (on the Left).
It generally closes, before I can hit the App I want to close.

It could be:

• A glitch on my PC.
• That I'm used to "slamming" the mouse pointer in the general vicinity of what I want to select and correcting if I miss.

Missing in W7 (and earlier) doesn't provoke pointless battles with the GUI.

It's like my friend's Arch Linux setup.
He has infinite scrolling turned on (there is no screen edge) and his mouse set to "FTL" speed (OMG, I hate that setup)!
It's a nightmare trying to turn his machine off (e.g. when thunderstorms roll in).

I suppose I could:

• Turn my mouse pointer speed down to "glacial".
• Use the keyboard shortcuts for everything.
• Run everything from the Command Prompt, PowerShell or the "Run" box.

 

[Kat]

Tried the DP.....Rubbish! Bland, plain, and shockingly crash-prone (still is, actually, I have it in a VM).

CP...meh, until I'd tweaked it, then very good and stable. Looked good, eye-candy just right. Both
machines ran it happily with few issues, all of them minor.

RP...won't run at all on the AS5735 (32-bit), and crashes or locks up constantly on the AS8951 (64-bit).
Bland as a hospital breakfast, looks horrid.

RTM...D/l-ing now, will try it, but am not optimistic. Not happy re no eye-candy.

Sadly, if they'd released the CP as the finished product, I'd probably have bought it. Happily.

I'll probably BUY Win8, but I can't see myself actually using it. Not yet, anyway.

We'll see after SP1......

 

[pinklotus]

Hi

I have a question

I'm using 7 but I really would love to try 8 ....

Is windows 8 really worth it to upgrade to?

will this version progress or it's the last audition of 8?

Is it the right time to install 8 or should i wait a little longer?


thanks

 

[tcman50]

It's not BAD, It's HORRID

 

[lehnerus2000]

Tried the DP.....Rubbish! Bland, plain, and shockingly crash-prone (still is, actually, I have it in a VM).
...
RTM...D/l-ing now, will try it, but am not optimistic. Not happy re no eye-candy.

The DP and Enterprise are the only versions that can correctly install my sound driver.