Why didn't Microsoft do this instead?

[Mohitster]

because it isn't a good design.

[Brandon Live Veteran]

I use it all the time. I'm well aware that computers can be shut down by simply pressing the power button on your case but it's usually quicker to simply use the mouse (most of the time I'm already holding the mouse anyway) - not only that but my computer is under my desk and I don't particularly like having to lean down to press it when a simply mouse gesture will suffice. And I guarantee I'm far from the only person that shuts down their computer in that way - in fact I wouldn't be surprised if a majority currently shut down their computer from the start menu.

So this is a desktop. Just curious, why do you shut it down at all?

[shockz]

So this is a desktop. Just curious, why do you shut it down at all?

On a budget, power bills can get pretty tight. I save an average of 20 bucks a month keeping mine off when not using it.

[Brandon Live Veteran]

On a budget, power bills can get pretty tight. I save an average of 20 bucks a month keeping mine off when not using it.

Versus just letting it go to sleep? That seems unlikely. But if you're really concerned, you can set it to hibernate instead (which uses no power at all).

[Dot Matrix]

On a budget, power bills can get pretty tight. I save an average of 20 bucks a month keeping mine off when not using it.

I rent an appt, and I let my machines sleep. The only time they goes off is when there's a storm. My bills are no higher than they would be without my computers here.

My room mate, OTOH, still uses a circa 2001 desktop (w/ CRT) that does more damage to the bills, than any of my systems combined while in sleep mode.

[PGHammer]

This is so true, the way Win32 is now they'd be hard pressed to make any drastic changes. People want legacy dropped from Windows, they've said this often, and now with WinRT and Metro that's more or less happening. Yet at the same time we now have another group that doesn't want this to happen or just doesn't like it for xyz reasons. In the end Win32 will be replaced, not next year, not in 5 years but it will happen once the new WinRT APIs/Framework gets more mature. Also as it gets more mature we'll see less and less of these "rules" and "limitations" that we see now in Windows 8, which is basically version 1.0 for WinRT.

It's why I referred to Windows 8 (non-RT) as a user-version of a hedge-bet.

I knew right off that WinRT is not even *close* to being fully-matured as an API (it's decidedly the case compared to either Android or iOS).

It's also why I complained that judging Windows 8 on the basis of the sparse populace of WinRT apps would have been as silly as judging the nascent Windows 95 by the lack of Win32 applications.

[+pmrd Subscriber²]

I would think that users that cannot see the colors can enable them via accessability settings or a quick menu... imagine if windows shipped with high contrast by default it would turn most people away from using it. windows has always used a neutral palette so as to not make people's eyes hurt when looking at the UI. Metro goes against that and the colors might be too bright or vibrant to make them have migraines.

People are going to have migraines because they are going to look at the start screen all day?

[myxomatosis]

Simple. Microsoft can't get anybody to use their Phone or Tablet software on their own merits so they're exploiting their existing desktop monopoly to do it. Microsoft's hoping by forcing everyone to use the same Metro/Tiles/Start Screen interface, they can create a demand and expand the same monopoly to mobile devices.

Will it work? Who knows. It's possible I suppose. But if you compare Windows Mobile to the desktop, it had a lot of similarities, yet it couldn't dominate the market like the desktop version does. This leads me to believe this time around won't be any different.

You're right sir!

[hagjohn]

Take off the apps and it would look a lot like OSX. That's probably why.

[Seketh]

Why are you people talking about the power options yet again? Seriously, it's one extra, insignificant step.

One extra, insignificant step that allows for products such as the Surface. That extra, insignificant step is totally worth it in my opinion.

[myxomatosis]

Until the tiles start filling in with your data then you understand it's nothing like that silly AOL image with it's static images. It seems people just don't want to admit the fact that the live tiles are more than just icons. It seems like doing so would kill their argument about how silly the start screen is and so on.

I CAN'T wait to install Windows 8 to have live tiles telling me who who posted on Facebook or how hot it is outside!It will CHANGE our lives for the best! So many USEFUL informations! :) ...

[theyarecomingforyou]

So this is a desktop. Just curious, why do you shut it down at all?

The same reason most people shut down their computers - a) when required to do so after installing new drivers, b) when required to do so after installing new Windows updates, c) when required to do so after installing new software, and d) when leaving the house for long periods of time. I've found sleep and hibernate to be more trouble than they're worth. But that's irrelevant - it's simply more awkward and obscure than it was before.

Why are you people talking about the power options yet again? Seriously, it's one extra, insignificant step.

Because Microsoft has taken an action that was previously quick to access and easy to find and have hidden it behind the charms bar. The reality is that on the desktop there is simply no reason to use the charms bar at all, apart from to shut down your computer. It's a pointless and unnecessary change. Microsoft could have simply added shut-down options to the user tile on the Start Screen or the quick-access menu on the desktop. And it's not just that it's one extra step - it requires considerably more movement of the mouse and is considerably more fiddly, especially on multi-monitor setups. It's a bad implementation not at all suited to desktop use.

[HawkMan]

The same reason most people shut down their computers - a) when required to do so after installing new drivers, b) when required to do so after installing new Windows updates, c) when required to do so after installing new software, and d) when leaving the house for long periods of time. I've found sleep and hibernate to be more trouble than they're worth. But that's irrelevant - it's simply more awkward and obscure than it was before.

Because Microsoft has taken an action that was previously quick to access and easy to find and have hidden it behind the charms bar. The reality is that on the desktop there is simply no reason to use the charms bar at all, apart from to shut down your computer. It's a pointless and unnecessary change. Microsoft could have simply added shut-down options to the user tile on the Start Screen or the quick-access menu on the desktop. And it's not just that it's one extra step - it requires considerably more movement of the mouse and is considerably more fiddly, especially on multi-monitor setups. It's a bad implementation not at all suited to desktop use.

So basically they do it a few times a month, and most of those times they don't need to use the shutdown function since the updates/installer will do it automatically for them.

leaving only the leavign for extended periods... So why, again, should the shutdown button be using prime real estate at the front of your start menu/screen ? when it is, or should be in modern computing one of the least used buttons(or even fucntions) of fucntions you actually use on your machine...

[Dot Matrix]

The same reason most people shut down their computers - a) when required to do so after installing new drivers, b) when required to do so after installing new Windows updates, c) when required to do so after installing new software, and d) when leaving the house for long periods of time. I've found sleep and hibernate to be more trouble than they're worth. But that's irrelevant - it's simply more awkward and obscure than it was before.

I honestly can't remember the last time I had to reboot because of installing drivers, updates prompt me to restart, I can't remember I had to reboot either for new software, and when leaving, my machine goes to sleep. If I leave for an extended period of time, I do power down, but an extra click doesn't bother me at all.

[giannisgx89]

Windows 8 is great as it is right now and at first time i used w8 i was like, what the... is this going to be the next major windows release?

But, using w8 every day i notice that i do my regular task faster like: start up is way faster, i open app from metro start screen and it's like i open them from ipad (smooth and fast), my applications are loading faster

like photoshop, games etc. i like how the weather app works and how the live tile works too, knowing what weather will be without opening the app is really great, copy paste is faster too.

Anyway i describe how i fee about w8 and i want it to stay as it is without combining it with the regular desktop or adding useless info, news and other bload. Also i'm waiting to see how the white non aero theme will

work cause i think that too much white will tire our eyes and that's not so good. One thing i really like from the leaked screenshots i saw is the transparent statusbar without blur!

[Som]

I honestly can't remember the last time I had to reboot because of installing drivers, updates prompt me to restart, I can't remember I had to reboot either for new software, and when leaving, my machine goes to sleep. If I leave for an extended period of time, I do power down, but an extra click doesn't bother me at all.

just wondering Dot Matrix, but why do you need to argue so fervently in every windows 8 topic , we get it, you like it... do you work for Microsoft of somethin? In any case you must have made your point about a million times by now. and if Windows 8 is so great then why do you feel the need to argue, surely people will figure it out for themselves if they like it.

[theyarecomingforyou]

leaving only the leavign for extended periods... So why, again, should the shutdown button be using prime real estate at the front of your start menu/screen ? when it is, or should be in modern computing one of the least used buttons(or even fucntions) of fucntions you actually use on your machine...

You're missing the point, which is that a core system function is hidden unnecessarily when previous versions of Windows exposed it. At the end of the day the restarting your computer isn't a "Setting" and shouldn't be hidden in the charms bar, which serves no other purpose on the desktop.

I honestly can't remember the last time I had to reboot because of installing drivers, updates prompt me to restart, I can't remember I had to reboot either for new software, and when leaving, my machine goes to sleep. If I leave for an extended period of time, I do power down, but an extra click doesn't bother me at all.

Well clearly you don't have a dual-GPU setup, as driver installs disable the second GPU until a restart. You're coming up with excuses rather than addressing the core issue, which is that the shut down options shouldn't be hidden in an obscure menu when they were previously exposed and easy to find.

[Colin McGregor]

Can't believe how many people on a TECH site are so **** at using an OS. Whining about a startbutton (that you shouldnt even be using in vista or windows 7 anyways) and talking about how MS is stupid for doing metro. Metro is here to stay either deal with it or use Win7 or install linux and join the other 200 people saying its the year of linux every year.

[Dot Matrix]

Well clearly you don't have a dual-GPU setup, as driver installs disable the second GPU until a restart. You're coming up with excuses rather than addressing the core issue, which is that the shut down options shouldn't be hidden in an obscure menu when they were previously exposed and easy to find.

I'm not making excuses. Personally, I think they're right where they should be. They're no more hidden away then they were in 95-7, or any other options in Windows 8. I used to have the same opinion as you, but as I have used the OS more and more, it's just become second nature to me. Could they have their own Charm? Sure, but at the same time, I think the power options are right where they rightfully belong finally.

If you really feel adventurous, though, there are ways to place shut down and restart icons right on the Start Screen or Desktop.

[Knife Party]

Can't believe how many people on a TECH site are so **** at using an OS. Whining about a startbutton (that you shouldnt even be using in vista or windows 7 anyways) and talking about how MS is stupid for doing metro. Metro is here to stay either deal with it or use Win7 or install linux and join the other 200 people saying its the year of linux every year.

There is nothing wrong with voicing problems with Metro. Telling people to shut up because they don't sing the praises of Metro doesn't work either. Metro in my opinion is but a clear example of how MS has little clue about the consumer market, especially in maturing what W7 could have been, and kept maturing Aero. Metro has little use for complicated apps, especially ones such as image editing/creation software, browsers, office suites, etc/ -> its design principles are poor at best, its inefficient and going the opposite what GUI refinement has been about in the last decade. I personally feel sorry for MS and Metro, once people get over the FAD hype that is Metro, they'll be trying to figure out wth MS has been doing all this time since W7. Other than the shallow back end improvements, W8 certainly won't justify the wait or price.

[MorganX]

Another Win or Fail Metro Integration, this time with Neowin News?

Seeing this mockup, I'm not so sure Metro should be on the desktop. If Metro apps are single task, consumption apps like most tablet apps (even Netflix) that generally require all your focus, why should it? If creation apps (Office, Photoshop, InDesign, AutoCad) app that are multiwindow/multitasking go metro, then that would be problematic.

I think people will get used to the Start page and eventually forget it is less efficient that 7, and if you use a lot of Metro apps of the type currently available, you're probably not going to mind the full screeness.

[MorganX]

There is nothing wrong with voicing problems with Metro. Telling people to shut up because they don't sing the praises of Metro doesn't work either. Metro in my opinion is but a clear example of how MS has little clue about the consumer market, especially in maturing what W7 could have been, and kept maturing Aero. Metro has little use for complicated apps, especially ones such as image editing/creation software, browsers, office suites, etc/ -> its design principles are poor at best, its inefficient and going the opposite what GUI refinement has been about in the last decade. I personally feel sorry for MS and Metro, once people get over the FAD hype that is Metro, they'll be trying to figure out wth MS has been doing all this time since W7. Other than the shallow back end improvements, W8 certainly won't justify the wait or price.

Mostly agree but can't agree with 8 having "shallow back end improvements." On the desktop, for sure, Metro is problematic on the front end. On the desktop. But for 8 and Server 2012 I think you should wait and take a closer look before you dismiss the actuall OS.

[Nostromov]

I've joined the party late, please excuse the format!..

So, I'm one of those weird guys that actually like Windows 8. I love Metro, how fast it is, the new functionality...

Nobody actually likes Metro.. :)

But, using w8 every day i notice that i do my regular task faster [..]

When was the last time you've installed Windows 7 on a formatted drive - it's blazing fast, for the things that you have mentioned (measured in mere seconds & less).

(that you shouldnt even be using in vista or windows 7 anyways)

Bottom left-click - start menu, bottom right - show desktop; it's how Microsoft made it and what we're used to. Simple, if you think about it.

If creation apps (Office, Photoshop, InDesign, AutoCad) app that are multiwindow/multitasking go metro, then that would be problematic.

Just have it auto-hidden and raised with a shortcut; Or activated as a Metro-app, etc. Real basic stuff.

There is nothing wrong with voicing problems with Metro.

Tnx. :D

[HawkMan]

You're missing the point, which is that a core system function is hidden unnecessarily when previous versions of Windows exposed it. At the end of the day the restarting your computer isn't a "Setting" and shouldn't be hidden in the charms bar, which serves no other purpose on the desktop.

so, just because a function that doesnt need to be featured prominently anymore, and in many ways shouldn't, used to be, it should always be? fail logic, that's how you don't progress.