Windows 8 really isn't that bad

[Coke Robot]

OK--I'll admit it, I'm starting to like it and maybe I'llupgrade. Not sure yet, but I might. There is one thing that ticks me off. WhenI hover my mouse pointer in one of the corners, it's supposed to bring up theMetro or whatever it's called; or maybe it's called the Charm. But what I don'tlike is the fact that it doesn't always work the first time. Sometimes I haveto keep moving it around to bring it up. Maybe I'm not doing it right. Hasanyone else run into that and know of a way to make it more consistent?

It is called the Charms bar, the right side bar is.

I guess to help out a bit, move the mouse pointer to a corner and just move it down or up right away depending on what corner you on. Or, just move the pointer to the middle part of the side, you can hit Start.

For me, I think it's MUCH easier to change the pointer speed to Fast so that whole gesture is like that (snap).

 

[FSeal]

XP really was the very best OS for it's time. I mean it lasted 6 years without a major update! It melded the rock solid stability of Windows 2000 with the useful user fluff like plesent graphics in the UI and Direct X so you could play games etc. Windows reached a utopia at that point in time.

Windows 7 is, in the new age, the very best version of Windows. Good if not revolutionary UI. Supremely usable, did everything and did it well.

We'll see where Win 8 winds up on the windows pile in a year or two...

To think that xp's graphics are pleasant today...

Sadly, the XP desktop looks better than the WIn 8 desktop

Win 8 desktop looks in some ways more like Windows 2000 with all that horrid grey.

 

[SIW2]

But as for the start menu, that argument/debate has been long done

Yes we all know MS removed it to force users to the start screen instead - that is the launching pad and advertising billboard for their online serivces and apps.

 

[Coke Robot]

XP really was the very best OS for it's time. I mean it lasted 6 years without a major update! It melded the rock solid stability of Windows 2000 with the useful user fluff like plesent graphics in the UI and Direct X so you could play games etc. Windows reached a utopia at that point in time.

Windows 7 is, in the new age, the very best version of Windows. Good if not revolutionary UI. Supremely usable, did everything and did it well.

We'll see where Win 8 winds up on the windows pile in a year or two...

To think that xp's graphics are pleasant today...

Sadly, the XP desktop looks better than the WIn 8 desktop

Win 8 desktop looks in some ways more like Windows 2000 with all that horrid grey.

I like the new Desktop, although metro iconography isn't there maybe yet. It's a cross between retro and modern to me. It's clean, simple, and pretty. Preferably, I'd love Explorer to look and act more like Office 2013, but that's me.

And what grey? It's all white to me.

 

[Hopachi]

And what grey? It's all white to me.

This depends also on the monitor you're viewing it.
Some monitors have different shades of gray/colors compared to others.

Or maybe on a projector pointed towards a gray wall... this is obvious.

 

[SIW2]

Whitish or greyish - hardly matters - it's dull that's for sure.

It really doesn't matter on a 10 inch screen you won't be looking at for hours.

It only matters if you are trying to use it as a proper desktop o/s.

It isn't a desktop o/s - it is a tablet o/s.

 

[Hopachi]

Whitish or greyish - hardly matters - it's dull that's for sure.

It really doesn't matter on a 10 inch screen you won't be looking at for hours.

It only matters if you are trying to use it as a proper desktop o/s.

It isn't a desktop o/s - it is a tablet o/s.

This is true.

I wonder why aren't they providing extra themes.

Official themes like in xp:

-luna theme
-zune theme
-royal black
-royal blue
-embedded

I guess we'll have to deal with Aero (the white one).
Only hi-contrast gets a darker look in Win8.

 

[SIW2]

I wonder why aren't they providing extra themes.

I don't know.

I expect it is because they think you won't want them on a tablet.

That is one of the things MS might do in future - as a sort of amelioration attempt toward their abandoned desktop users.

 

[FSeal]

And what grey? It's all white to me.

If you have 6 desktop programs open 1 of them will have the white or colored border and 5 will be Windows 2000 era grey titles and borders

 

[SIW2]

Looks grey to me too.

Suppose the idea is not to draw focus from the window you are currently using.

The idea is not a bad one - it just looks grim.

 

[FSeal]

Looks grey to me too.

Suppose the idea is not to draw focus from the window you are currently using.

The idea is not a bad one - it just looks grim.

I guess it might look "fresh" to someone < 30 years old that never used anything older than XP

Which might explain the design decision, there may not be anyone older than that working on Windows up there...

 

[Frank1]

OK--I'll admit it, I'm starting to like it and maybe I'llupgrade. Not sure yet, but I might. There is one thing that ticks me off. WhenI hover my mouse pointer in one of the corners, it's supposed to bring up theMetro or whatever it's called; or maybe it's called the Charm. But what I don'tlike is the fact that it doesn't always work the first time. Sometimes I haveto keep moving it around to bring it up. Maybe I'm not doing it right. Hasanyone else run into that and know of a way to make it more consistent?

It is called the Charms bar, the right side bar is.

I guess to help out a bit, move the mouse pointer to a corner and just move it down or up right away depending on what corner you on. Or, just move the pointer to the middle part of the side, you can hit Start.

For me, I think it's MUCH easier to change the pointer speed to Fast so that whole gesture is like that (snap).

I changed the setting to FAST and it does work better. I found out something else and that is if you move the mouse pointer fast it seems to work better. I believe what I was doing wrong was to move it too slow. Since I couldn't bring it up, I would be careful and move it very slow. So I guess moving it faster works better.

 

[R0bR]

I changed the setting to FAST and it does work better. I found out something else and that is if you move the mouse pointer fast it seems to work better. I believe what I was doing wrong was to move it too slow. Since I couldn't bring it up, I would be careful and move it very slow. So I guess moving it faster works better.

I use the default mouse speed and an older laptop and it works slow or fast provided the gesture is correct. Mouse to top corners and drag down or mouse to bottom corners and drag up but it has to be continuous.

 

[lehnerus2000]

Metro Tile Overload?

A few months after W8 has actually been released, it will be interesting to see what ordinary users Metro screens look like.

I'm expecting that a lot of them will have dozens of "Live Tiles" running adverts 24/7.

It will probably be like toolbars in IE6.

​

I guess it might look "fresh" to someone < 30 years old that never used anything older than XP

Which might explain the design decision, there may not be anyone older than that working on Windows up there...

Just like a lot of other businesses, the smart people have all been purged and replaced with know-nothings just out of university (to save money on wages).

 

[R0bR]

I'm expecting that a lot of them will have dozens of "Live Tiles" running adverts 24/7.

FYI...Live Tiles don't run adverts at all, the purpose of a Live Tile is to display live information not adverts.

 

[Coke Robot]

And what grey? It's all white to me.

If you have 6 desktop programs open 1 of them will have the white or colored border and 5 will be Windows 2000 era grey titles and borders

Hmmm, it must be my monitor or the window color hack I have going, but the only grey I noticeably see is the close button.

 

[Coke Robot]

Adverts on live tiles, you're serious right?

 

[Mike Lonewolf]

Adverts on live tiles, you're serious right?

Why NOT? Think about it from a business POV, they pay Microsoft a monthly fee, and get their products seen by millions of people worldwide. Pretty smart idea. Cable & Satellite TV providers do it.

 

[Fredledingue]

Adverts on live tiles, you're serious right?

Yes, of course! Why do you think Microsoft (aka M$) is forcing the Start Screen to pop up everytime you boot W8? Does the Start Menu pops up when you boot W7? From all the snapshots I'v seen one forth of the tiles are adds already. Another forth are irrelevant tabloid headlines. I'm sure hackers are working on ways to put adds on your Start Screen as we speak. Bigger fishes negotiate with M$ directly. Metro will unfold an advert bonanza. It's the perfect platform for spamming!

 

[kala]

Adverts on live tiles, you're serious right?

Yes, of course! Why do you think Microsoft (aka M$) is forcing the Start Screen to pop up everytime you boot W8? Does the Start Menu pops up when you boot W7? From all the snapshots I'v seen one forth of the tiles are adds already. Another forth are irrelevant tabloid headlines. I'm sure hackers are working on ways to put adds on your Start Screen as we speak. Bigger fishes negotiate with M$ directly. Metro will unfold an advert bonanza. It's the perfect platform for spamming!

Good then that we can turn live tiles off