70 replies to this topic 9 votes

[Lprd2007]

I know many of you are not gonna believe this, but in reality normal people love Windows 8. I've installed Win8 on 9+ computers which previously had Windows 7 (and XP in one of them). Absolutely all their owners love the new OS.

• First, of course, they love the insane boot speeds. Improving the boot was a smart move by Microsoft because it's a performance improvement that normal people can measure.
  
• They love the Start Screen. Seriously. They like being able to customize it, to pin all the stuff they care about. Everyone loves how fluid it is, and how much has improved the search functionality from Win 7.
  
• The Metro apps are amazing for non-techie people. My sister always wanted an easy to use Photo editing application (Photoshop was too daunting to her). So I've installed Fotor, a free app from the Windows Store, and she absolutely loves it. There's many people out there that don't do much else on their computers than web-based activities, like Facebook, YouTube, and web browsing, so the Metro environment works great for them.
  
• Everyone loves how much connected Windows 8 is. They love the integrated Facebook chat, they love the Mail app notifications (Sadly you have to configure notifications for each mail account manually...) and the People app.
  
• They also love having a built in antivirus software (Windows Defender). They love how silent it is, unlike other traditional antivirus software they've been running.
  
• Honestly, there is a learning curve. I don't think everyone could figure out easily how to work with the new OS without my help.

Of course I have Windows 8 installed in my own machine, I still spend most of the time on the Desktop running productivity applications (Visual Studio, 3ds Max, etc.), but I'm using the Metro environment a lot when consuming media or browsing the Internet (I'm typing this on Metro IE, I absolutely love the full screen browsing experience). I'm completely in love with the Mail app. Even though it could be a bit more polished, It is absolutely great and a must for any heavy email user (particularly if you have multiple mail accounts).

[mrlcutleruk83]

Im loving it too

i rarely use Metro Modern UI, but one thing i have done it pin my most used programs to it (mostly just chrome) and once my comps booted up, i click chrome, it instantly takes me to desktop and launches chrome. just feels so natural, have had no problems with it what so ever, no learning curve here.

cant wait to get my surface in a couple weeks.

[Order_66]

Lprd2007, on 10 March 2013 - 23:02, said:

I know many of you are not gonna believe this

Truth!

[vcfan]

the only people that don't like windows 8 and find it confusing are the computer tough guys,a.k.a computer gurus on the internet. the general consumer actually loves it,and that's who Microsoft is targeting, not the know it all techies or the hardcore users who need a million windows open at the same time. the other day I was in an electronics store and this teenager dragged his mom over to the surface pro and said this is so cool as he proceeded to swipe on the touch screen,and said look how small they started making these.

[daniel_rh]

The other day something similar happened to me, I like Windows 8 but due to its nature I don't recommend it unless my friend, relative or client insists or have a touch device compatible with Windows 8; well, one of my clients was talking about how awesome was her iPad and how cool is doing basic stuff with it and then she mentioned that her husband, a doctor who doesn't have a lot of experience with computers, installed Windows 8 on his new computer and it happened that he loves it! I was like... Really? Cool! It turned out that some people loves Windows 8, I like it but I admit it needs some polishing.

[Relativity_17]

I think the speed improvements are great. The Start screen is also a nice addition with Live Tiles, though I wish they'd add an analogy to Jumplists for Start screen tiles.

I disagree that the Start screen offers good customizability, and I think the transition between desktop and Start screen could be less jarring if the Start screen would inherit the desktop background and either blur it, desaturate it, or apply a tint to improve contrast for any given background color.

I think the default apps leave a lot to be desired. For a bundled app that takes the name of a desktop version (Mail, etc), it should at least offer feature parity. I also expect that the Store experience will remain poor: the number of ****ty apps far exceeds those of quality, and while I'd love for Microsoft to be the first that draws a line in the sand and rejects subpar apps, I don't see this happening.

Overall, it's faster, and adds some nice new functionality, but I'd really just like to see the apps take off as far as being truly competitive with their desktop counterparts.

[Dot Matrix]

Lprd2007, on 10 March 2013 - 23:02, said:

(I'm typing this on Metro IE, I absolutely love the full screen browsing experience).

I can't say enough how much I love the full screen browsing experience. Kudos, mate!

[droolingmonkey]

Thats been my experience also. The few minor niggles are easily sorted, and the benefits arehuge. I am also a power user, but I find myself using more and more Modern apps. I'd like a decent gmail app though...

[Order_66]

vcfan, on 11 March 2013 - 02:48, said:

the only people that don't like windows 8 and find it confusing are the computer tough guys,a.k.a computer gurus on the internet. the general consumer actually loves it,and that's who Microsoft is targeting

If the general consumer loves it then why did it fail at retail?
With a confirmed adoption rate that is far behind Vista, windows 8 has completely/utterly failed.

[A Geek Of All]

So how long have you worked for Microsoft?

[Shiranui]

Lprd2007, on 10 March 2013 - 23:02, said:

(I'm typing this on Metro IE, I absolutely love the full screen browsing experience).

Dot Matrix, on 11 March 2013 - 02:57, said:

I can't say enough how much I love the full screen browsing experience. Kudos, mate!

So, your f11 keys have seen very little use in the past....

[Lprd2007]

Order_66, on 11 March 2013 - 03:46, said:

If the general consumer loves it then why did it fail at retail?
With a confirmed adoption rate that is far behind Vista, windows 8 has completely/utterly failed.

Windows 8 is an excellent OS, but the general consumer doesn't even know it exists. People are not buying computers because everyone has one (and there's no need to replace them, as they are still fast and reliable for current tasks). What people are buying is tablets, new form factors (Sadly win8 tablets are quite expensive). Also, people do not do upgrades. Upgrades have never been an important business for Microsoft, it's all about OEM sales.

Relativity_17, on 11 March 2013 - 02:55, said:

I think the transition between desktop and Start screen could be less jarring if the Start screen would inherit the desktop background and either blur it, desaturate it, or apply a tint to improve contrast for any given background color.

That sounds nice, something like OS X's Launchpad. Although I don't think live tiles would look great on a composite background like icons do.

A Geek Of All, on 11 March 2013 - 03:50, said:

So how long have you worked for Microsoft?

Haha, I wish I were...

Shiranui, on 11 March 2013 - 03:58, said:

So, your f11 keys have seen very little use in the past....

I know, but it's not the same. Metro IE removes absolutely all clutter from the webpage, even the scrollbars (when you stop moving your mouse for a while). Besides, it is insanely fast.

[Mohitster]

And of course they love it, because they have you!

[+warwagon]

This is where I think the difference is. Anybody who enjoys full screen browsing, is one kind of person. That kind of person probably loves windows 8. In fact, if that certain person was female, they would probably want to have Windows 8's baby. But then there are people who don't want to have 1 app fill up their entire screen. These people generally hate windows 8.

I'm personally annoyed on how Microsoft and Firefox by default now hide all the menus. They are the first thing that get enabled on a new install of Firefox. Give me back the menu bar on top. It's useful.

I'm going to give Windows 8 a slight complement. Most people are very unproductive. They do Facebook, a little email and surfing. That's pretty much it. So yes, those people probably would LOVE windows 8. Good Job Microsoft!

For everyone else....

[rfirth]

Order_66, on 11 March 2013 - 03:46, said:

If the general consumer loves it then why did it fail at retail?
With a confirmed adoption rate that is far behind Vista, windows 8 has completely/utterly failed.

Because Windows 7 is good enough... very well received and respected... and relatively new. When Vista was released, XP was very established but aging and significantly less secure. Another reason is that there are more PCs in use in the world today than when Vista was released. You have to sell a lot more computers to get 5% today than you did in 2007. In fact, Windows itself has less desktop marketshare than it did in 2007. It matters.

Mohitster, on 11 March 2013 - 04:08, said:

And of course they love it, because they have you!

Very true, actually. Everyone I know that I've shown Windows 8 to has loved it... but I wouldn't dare dump it on someone without at least a 30 second explanation.

warwagon, on 11 March 2013 - 04:11, said:

This is where I think the difference is. Anybody who enjoys full screen browsing, is one kind of person. That kind of person probably loves windows 8. In fact if that certain person was female they would probably want to have Windows 8's baby. But then there are people who don't want to have 1 app fill up their entire screen. These people generally hate windows 8.

Until they stop torturing themselves with full screen apps. You don't have to use them. And you can keep the larger full screen start menu, or you can install 3rd party software to modify your computer to your heart's content. See? Not so bad