Another Win 8 thread. Maybe with a twist.

[mraikes]

Sorry for starting yet another Windows 8 thread, but my thoughts don't seem to quite fit the flow of the others.

Until recently my experience with Win 8 was pretty limited. A peek here and there just to see what the fuss was about. But nothing serious or in depth at all. Until about a week ago.

As is my habit with each new Windows release, I purchased a brand new computer with the brand new OS and jumped in with both feet using it as my "daily driver". XP, Vista, Win 7, they've all been through my process.

Each time I've stepped into a new OS I've encountered differences that I liked and others that I disliked. At worst I'd be on the fence until I got really used to the new stuff. After all, I'm a tech. These changes are supposed to be easy for me. And frankly I'm good at navigating unfamiliar technology and figuring things out. I suspect many of you are the same way.

And now for the last week or so a shiny new HP Pavilion desktop fat with Windows 8 goodness has been occupying the prime position on my desk. And I hate it. I've never said that before about any operating system. But there it is. It even overrides the pleasure of a spankin' new computer right out of the box. I've come to dread using it.

It's not that I'm actually unable to do most things. It's that everything I have to do is so doggone irritating. It's like a paper cut that doesn't prevent you from your normal activities, but is painful at every movement. And doesn't get better.

Until a short while ago I couldn't put my finger on exactly why the whole package is bothering me so much. Why is it so gosh darn irritating. Use it, learn it and get over it Mathew!

But like a bolt of lightning through my dim bulb I now realize my problem. A revelation that may be obvious to some of you, but I completely missed.

Unlike ALL previous versions of Windows, THIS version isn't intended to improve, increase or facilitate productivity. It's for consumption, not production.

Windows itself is no longer the invisible platform on which programs run. It's now an "ecosystem" that is slapping me in the face. It's Microsoft's shift toward creating a walled garden. And if not actually walled, at least the exits have been reduced in number and hidden.

If all I needed to do was listen to music, watch movies, read the news, social networking...you know...consume stuff...it would be fine. Maybe better than fine. Maybe awesome.

But I have to be productive. I have to multitask, troubleshoot problems, and install applications that aren't "consumer" oriented. Not to mention teaching non-techies to use those programs. And each of those people have to produce, not consume.

Forgive the stereotyping, but traditionally Mac's have been for artsy types. Linux for gearheads. And Windows was always the boring place where the daily grind of work just got DONE.

Windows is no longer that place. Windows is no longer intended to be the place where work simply gets done. That's the problem and challenge for those of us (and our customers) that must be producers and not just consumers.

Should I (or you) recommend Windows 8 to customers? Absolutely not for "producers". And only for "consumers" who are flexible and able to learn a new way of experiencing things.

 

[Steve202]

This is exactly how I feel about Windows 8. I was going to run Windows 7 and 8 together while I make the change to Windows 8, but I'm sticking with 7.

 

[KompuKare]

"Another Win 8 thread. Maybe with a twist."

The twist is you've just written the best WIn8 post I've read yet.

And I think you've hit it on the nail: Microsoft are so worried about being behind in the phone and tablet business they are willing to kill off (almost) all productive use of their OS.

I guess after Office 2007+ this should not come as a surprise to anyone: with their RibbonUI they were willing to alienate pretty much all their current users in the believe that (maybe) they new UI was easier for new users.

What's need now is a major push by Ubuntu or Google for a desktop OS but judging from Ubuntu Unity, Microsoft are not the only ones obsessed with tablet OSs atm.

 

[SilverLeaf]

Yes, this was my first impression of Windows 8 as well. However, the more I ponder it, I may be changing my mind. I actually think this may turn out to be a big win for MS. As you mentioned, it is a great platform for content consumption. Arguably, I think it also may provide the perfect platform interfacing with cloud based productivity apps as well. I think an interface that is consistent across multiple devices (PC, tablet, phone) and integrates seamlessly with Office 365, SkyDrive, and the other MS (and non-MS) cloud services might be appealing to many as these services become more prevalent and desirable.

The key is for MS to make sure that Windows 8 is the best platform for integrating and accessing these services. And, at the same time, continuing to improve these services so that they are available as an attractive choice for people currently using other platforms, as well. Seems reasonable to me, but time will tell if it was the right strategy.

 

[Big Jim]

they have made it very "tech-unfriendly"

Everytime MS release an OS they screw it up for me and I can no longer use it the way I want to, with the exception of 7, although anything was going to be better than vista.

I really miss the start menu.

I refuse to put it back on using an app however as I know when I see a customer's machine in the shop it won't have the mod and I won't have learnt my way around windows to be efficient (this in itself is frustrating me)

I also am not a fan of stuff popping up on the screen when my mouse touches an edge or a corner, it seems Windows 8 cannot be navigated without doing this now.

I am sat here typing on windows 7 as I don't think my main workhorse will be anywhere near as productive on windows 8.

my laptop and one bench machine have been "upgraded" for now.


using windows 8 feels like trying to use windows 7 wearing boxing gloves

 

[altrenda]

I agree as well. I've deployed several Win 8 computers and the users that surf the web, look at Facebook, watch movies and send emails LOVE it. Once they get their tiles set the way they want them, they take to it fairly easily.

But I have a screenwriter, someone who does movie budgets, and a home decorator who absolutely hate it and want to go back to Win 7.

Fortunately for Microsoft, there are more users in the first camp than the second. But it makes me very selective in who I recommend it to.

 

[FoolishTech]

As much as I've spoken out on Win8 in the recent past, I hate to admit it, but I've been using it on my main for about 1.5 weeks.... I now like it....

As for the start menu being gone, doesn't anyone know about putting the "applications" folder on the desktop? (I put this in D7, tweaks page, FYI...)

I don't see it being any less tech friendly (my shortcut keys still work - sure I spent a week trying to figure out how to actually close a Metro app without Alt-F4 but hey, I can use Alt-F4!!!)

I also don't see it being any less productive. To be honest I never warmed up to the start menu to begin with (ahem Win95) and it's dated - the only thing I ever used it for was in Win7 with the jumplists or whatever they are called. Haven't found the equivalent on Win8 and that's a downer, but the rest is easy. My productivity depends on the app I'm using, not the OS - except in the case of being able to use shortcuts, which all of them are still present in Win8 and then some, so it's all good for me......

My only gripe other than the (I guess they are) jumplists in the start menu gone (though I never cared for the start menu itself so much) is something that I've not seen ONE PERSON mention yet........

Metro apps aren't the same as Desktop apps. Meaning I can open Chrome in Metro but it isn't open on my desktop, and vice versa, and if I open it on both platforms it's not sharing the same session.

Also Metro based browsers aren't allowed to use plugins, so I have to run the desktop Chrome to use Google Hangouts / Video chat.

Not really the fault of Win8, but rather software developers themselves, a lot of Metro apps aren't as... how shall I say... informative or even "productive" as their desktop counterparts. Again, not really the fault of Win8 however. Time will tell if they get better.

Finally, I recently went on vacation. I guess this is a DRM issue more than a Win8 issue, but I had to spoof with a US based proxy to watch my rightfully purchased Walking Dead and Louie episodes, which I purchased via Win8/Xbox store. But with the proxy enabled every site off of Google was access denied. So I had to keep switching back and forth enabling/disabling the proxy and back again. Irritating to say the least.....

Like I said, I really HATE to say it, but after 1.5 weeks of using it as my main, I'm actually not at all dissatisfied with it except for those two points mentioned above. Granted, that's more dissatisfaction than I experienced with Win7 - it's certainly less than I've experienced with EVERY OTHER MS OS to date, yes even including XP.

EDIT: not for everyone, very true. But if you're good with shortcut keys, flag+r gets you a long way as well, or you're a COMSUMEr who just does email/video, or maybe a touchpad user, then sure I think it's pretty darn good. If you don't fall into either category, I can see how frustrating it can be and you should just stick with Win7 for now..... maybe Win9 will be better (or maybe worse!!!)

 

[strollin]

I used Win 8 in a VM thru the various Preview releases but after it was released I installed it on a physical machine and then used it pretty exclusively for about a week. Overall, I like the OS except for the Start screen.

I was never a big user of the Start menu so I don't miss it. My main reason for disliking Metro is that I haven't found a single Metro app that I like and would want to use on a daily basis. For instance, the Metro Mail app is an abomination with little to no ability to customize the way it works. I quickly deleted that off the Start screen and installed WLM from the Windows Essentials 2012 package. Metro apps, for the most part, are all full screen and are simpler and have fewer capabilities than typical Windows applications. Another thing I dislike about the Start screen is that you can't do much to organize the tiles other than to create groups. If you have a lot of tiles, you would need to scroll far to the right to access some of them. As more apps are installed, the Start screen keeps expanding to the right. It would be nice if you could create folders that allowed you to collapse some of those tiles into something a little more usable.

I deleted most of the tiles that were originally placed on the Start screen because they were useless "toy" apps. The tiles that I do have on my Start Screen have the useless "Live" nonsense turned off and are all sized to the smaller size which allows me to organize things better. It's a moot point though, because the tile I have in the upper left corner on the Start Screen is the desktop tile. As soon as the machine boots, I hit the desktop tile and rarely go back to the Start Screen.

As Foolish stated, you can have a Start menu of sorts by putting the Applications folder on the Desktop. Even better is to use the Applications folder as a Toolbar. My preference is that I create shortcuts on the desktop to my various applications, then uncheck the "Show desktop Icons" option which gives me a blank, uncluttered desktop. I then create a desktop toolbar. When I click on the desktop toolbar I get a list of all the shortcuts on my desktop. I have them organized in folders so I can quickly find the one I'm looking for.

Even though I mostly like Win 8, I can't recommend that anyone upgrade from Win 7 to Win 8 as there is no compelling reason to do so. Someone on XP, yes, because support for XP is going away but they would probably be better off upgrading to Win 7 as long as they can still get it. Those that buy a new computer will more than likely get Win 8 though, so they will need to figure it out.

My concern is that development of full Windows applications will go away in favor of the crippled Metro style apps.

 

[nlinecomputers]

My concern is that development of full Windows applications will go away in favor of the crippled Metro style apps.

That is my concern as well or worse we will have a split in development with some companies making Metro apps and some going the traditional routes. Unless Microsoft can make the Desktop/Aero applications interact with the Metro version and make the whole process more streamlined the metro interface is going to be a bust IMO.

I really don't see Windows 8 doing all that well. The public will treat it like they did Vista and hang on to Windows 7.

Surface and Windows RT is already getting alot of backlash. I expect to see lots of returns of Surface tablets when they figure out it can't run real Windows 8 apps.

 

[johnrobert]

It’s easy for teackies to say they finally like it after figuring it out, but the average user does not have a clue, they will never figure it out.
I have one client that I thought was well versed with his computer, he has used it every day for the past 10 years, he needed to copy one folder before he returned his new win8 laptop, I told him over the phone its easy, get a memory stick and copy and paste, he was so challenged doing that, he had to bring laptop to me.
This gives some insight in how most people will struggle; it might as well be in Chinese.

 

[johnrobert]

Where is the Applications folder in windows 8?

 

[TechLady]

Then there's this...

http://news.cnet.com/8301-10805_3-57520193-75/intel-ceo-slams-windows-8-says-its-not-ready-report/

 

[ac1]

I was never a big user of the Start menu so I don't miss it. My main reason for disliking Metro is that I haven't found a single Metro app that I like and would want to use on a daily basis.

I have to agree with you to some extent. Ever since the developer preview, I have been testing Windows 8 and reviewing the improvements in the operating system environment. After using so many previews, I have become quite familiar with the interface. However I have not found any great 'Modern-Style' apps in the Windows Store that appeal to me. Many of the apps are far too basic, with limited features. Some of them are great however. After looking through the entire store, I could not find a general word processing app that would carry basic needs of editing and processing
But only time will tell, whether these apps will become better, more improved and whether more apps will become available