Does anyone run Win8 and avoid Metro UI happily?

By Astrum
in The Fast Ring (Insider Previews)

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Astrum

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I would like to use Win8 as new OS for desktop from Microsoft, which is supposed to be faster and more reliable than Win7. I don't like Metro in desktop. Period.

Does anyone have a positive experience to use Win8 avoiding Metro? And if the answer is yes, how? Any particular hacks or programs (e.g. Classic Shell)?

Thanks!

Veteran

rfirth

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I avoid it on desktop by not running metro apps. If you don't do that, you largely don't see it. I mostly run just Visual Studio and IE. And Skype.

Some of the live tiles are useful even if you never open the apps.

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bogas04

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I boot , see i got new mails just from start screen (and not click mail app) and the temperature , click firefox and carry on with my browsing , play some games , play some music on itunes, turn off by pressing shut down button on my cabinet , and leave happily seeing how fast it boots and shuts down.

PS : Fruit Ninja is the only Metro app i use now and then.

Experienced

Rickkins

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No metro here.

I use classic shell. I have task bar set up like xp, with no pinned icons and quick launch etc...

I have uninstalled all of the stupid metro app.

As new mods arise to eliminate the rest of the annoyances, they too will be employed.

Apprentice

RevisionZero

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Start8 was really nice to use back in the Consumer Preview days, with that I really only went into the Tile experience when I specifically tried to. With that said, in Release Preview Im pretty happy with the tile experience. I assume Start8 still works with release preview, give it a go -- http://www.stardock.com/products/start8/

Grand Master

jakem1

Posted
Posted

I would like to use Win8 as new OS for desktop from Microsoft, which is supposed to be faster and more reliable than Win7. I don't like Metro in desktop. Period.

Does anyone have a positive experience to use Win8 avoiding Metro? And if the answer is yes, how? Any particular hacks or programs (e.g. Classic Shell)?

Thanks!

Out of interest, what Metro screens are getting in your way?

Community Regular

Astrum

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Sounds promising. :) Thanks guys!

Out of interest, what Metro screens are getting in your way?

All of them actually. Empty space on my desktop is inspiring and I like it, as it can be filled with anything. Empty space in Metro is not easy to fill.

Grand Master

jakem1

Posted
Posted

Sounds promising. :) Thanks guys!

All of them actually. Empty space on my desktop is inspiring and I like it, as it can be filled with anything. Empty space in Metro is not easy to fill.

That doesn't really help :laugh: What I meant was, what Metro screens interrupt you when you're using the desktop/running desktop apps?

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Astrum

Posted
  • Author
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That doesn't really help :laugh: What I meant was, what Metro screens interrupt you when you're using the desktop/running desktop apps?

My recollection from short experience with Win8 CP there was no interruption once I already started something from desktop, yet I inevitably would bump to Metro right after booting, and when I just installed something, and when I need to find something, and again and again. I'm lazy, and sometimes it seems metro was created to trap lazy users.

Mentor

Luis Mazza

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You know what guys?

I'm in love with Windows 8. I completely changed my opinion since yesterday. Why? Because the OS is so polished that I can't ignore that.

Anyway... There are some annoyances like the lack of a button for the start screen and the Charm Bar... I hate the Charm Bar showing up all the time.

Grand Master

PGHammer

Posted
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That doesn't really help :laugh: What I meant was, what Metro screens interrupt you when you're using the desktop/running desktop apps?

Probably the one thing he is complaining about is that - compared to the Start Screen - the Start menu (7 and earlier) is just a sliver (when he has to start an application that doesn't have a desktop shortcut; Word, Excel or Outlook, for example)

If you spend a ton of time at the Start menu (or StartScreen in the case of 8) with desktop applications also running, I can see where it could get bothersome. However, I didn't spend much time dealing with even the Start menu in 7; in 8, I actually spend far less time dealing with the Start Screen for the simple reason that a lot of things I used to have to go to the Start menu *for* I no longer do.

Some items (Control Panel, for example) are on the Charm Bar. (Shutdown and Restart are there, too.)

Others (command prompts, both standard and Administrative, for example) are on the QuickTask menu (right-mouse-click on the lower left corner, where the Start button used to live).

Basically, the only time I go to the Start Screen is to launch a WinRT game (or, VERY occasionally, to check an app, such as AccuWeather.com - said app came in handy Friday evening when all those thunderstorm and tornado warning boxes went up).

Grand Master

neo1911

Posted
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I deleted every single Metro app and couldn't be more happier! I now use Windows 8 THE REAL way it's meant to be used. Not some fluffy Metro experience anymore. Just need to find a way to start Windows directly in Desktop.

Grand Master

PGHammer

Posted
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You know what guys?

I'm in love with Windows 8. I completely changed my opinion since yesterday. Why? Because the OS is so polished that I can't ignore that.

Anyway... There are some annoyances like the lack of a button for the start screen and the Charm Bar... I hate the Charm Bar showing up all the time.

Each version of Windows has had its annoyances and quirks - even Windows 7 has a few.

The point you made is, in fact, one I've been TRYING to make since (of all things) the Developer Preview.

Leaving out WinRT (which you should, as it's both an API and application platform still under heavy construction - it reminds me of the very early days of Win32/Windows NT, before Windows 9x), Windows 8's Win32 subsystem (still the majority of the OS - remember, this is NOT WindowsRT) is as polished as any RTM version of Windows I've ever used. (The issue with Skype is, in fact, the *only* application regression I've had (going from 7 to DP, from DP to CP, and from CP to RP) - and even that can be dealt with; simply download Skype 5.0 from oldapps.com and use that until Skype deals with the code-regression issue.)

Sorry, Windows 7 - you are *still* demoted to VM duties.

Mentor

Tharp Daddy

Posted
Posted

You know what guys?

I'm in love with Windows 8. I completely changed my opinion since yesterday. Why? Because the OS is so polished that I can't ignore that.

Anyway... There are some annoyances like the lack of a button for the start screen and the Charm Bar... I hate the Charm Bar showing up all the time.

The charm bar can be annoying in some cases. I enjoy running games in borderless windowed mode so i can utilize both monitors, but many times i'll accidentally summon the gesture bar while playing.

Grand Master

PGHammer

Posted
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I deleted every single Metro app and couldn't be more happier! I now use Windows 8 THE REAL way it's meant to be used. Not some fluffy Metro experience anymore. Just need to find a way to start Windows directly in Desktop.

Do you use a Passport or other Microsoft Account to log on? If so, you don't WANT to find a way to bypass the Start Screen any more than you wanted to bypass the logon screen in NT - it creates a gaping security hole. (Even if you use a local account, you still don't want to do that for the same reason.) And with that nasty exploit running around, there's actually LESS reason to want to do so.

Grand Master

PGHammer

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^^ I don't know what you talking about but I would like to boot directly to desktop just like Windows 7 or XP

No Passport or Live ID is used to log in.

The same concern still exists (that's why I referred to local logins in NT) - the only reason that the no-logon option existed at all is because non-NT flavors of Windows normally didn't logon to anything (due to not being on a network).

However, with always-connected broadband (home users) and public wi-fi (portable users), the need for security has reared its ugly mug.

It's not just a Windows 8 issue, either - it's a general *WIndows* issue.

Grand Master

PGHammer

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OP, this is the way any professional user will be using Windows 8

For now, I agree - and as I've been telling folks, it's because WinRT is nowhere NEAR ready yet.

Community Regular

Astrum

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  • Author
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OP, this is the way any professional user will be using Windows 8

Sorry, what does OP stand for?

Surprisingly I'm starting to like metro a little more. It feels a bit more personal. I wish they kept the standard right click like in the desktop but in the metro environment.

Nice screenshot. Still the desktop gets its prime place. I think Microsoft did a mistake by letting Desktop survive. Then the right click would be somehow at hand.

Mentor

ArialBlue

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For now, I agree - and as I've been telling folks, it's because WinRT is nowhere NEAR ready yet.

It is more because all our software doesn't support it.

Windows 8 can easily be used as Windows 7 - if Windows 7 was faster and had better Explorer and Task Manager. :)

Sorry, what does OP stand for?

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