win8.1 32 Windows 8 features that don't get enough credit.

[Ice_Blue]

Windows 8 has its problems. We all know there are new user-interface issues to sort out and for Microsoft and its wide-ranging collection of customers it must be one of the most difficult challenges of 2014.

 

There are new features under the hood in Windows 8 too but despite the fact that they help to make it the best Windows operating system yet, no-one gives those features any consideration.

 

Windows 8 is not a broken OS. Windows 8  is an HDR-Computing OS with some truly inspiring features, if you stop to take a look.

Windows 8 is not Windows Vista all over again and don?t let anybody tell you that. Don?t dismiss Windows 8 without considering features that are truly ground-breaking and ones you probably won?t want to give up once you?ve experienced them.

These are the features that don?t get half as much air-time as they should, and so we?ve listed them below.
 

View the list

 

or

 

http://www.umpcportal.com/2014/02/32-windows-8-features-that-dont-get-enough-credit/

[LittleNeutrino Veteran]

 

 

32 Windows 8 Core Features That Don?t Get Enough Credit.

1. Always-on, always connected support. (InstantOn) E.g. 300hours screen-off WiFi connected on a single charge in the same way as a smartphone. (An Alarm Clock on a PC ? Think about it.)
2. A Sharing subsystem. App-to-app, app-to-service.
3. Free hardware accelerated full-disk encryption on consumer PCs with TPM2.0 (E.g. all Intel Baytrail-T PCs)
4. An application store. It works but needs better economics.
5. Close architectural relationship to phone OS platform. (Reduced cost-to-port might actually reach zero-cost to port in the future.)
6. High dynamic range of processor states and usage mode support. E.g. Haswell SoC S0ix state support.
7. Best digital pen support in the business (business, education) including best handwriting recognition.
8. Cloud account for settings, files, security information. Cross-device settings sync.
9. Sensors support. GPS, NFC, etc. (I?m a big fan of NFC Tap-And-Send!)
10. Fast boot, fast resume.
11. Multi-DPI font scaling across extended desktops.
12. Integrated web+system search.
13. Simple 3G  hotspot setup.
14. Better system monitoring tools.
15. New product boot to user-account readiness in under 10 minutes
16. Xbox music and video integration. Smart glass Xbox integration. Xbox game account integration.
17. Simple recovery and repair options.
18. File history.
19. Multiple on-screen keyboard/language support.
20. Hugely improved on-screen keyboard for desktop.
21. Metered connection support.
22. Quiet hours support.
23. Notifications system (that needs a lot of improvement, granted)
24. Save user files (music, photo?s, videos) on removable media.
25. Activities available from lockscreen. E.g. Skype, Camera.
26. Windows Defender (it?s not the best AV, but it can help consumers and could improve in the future.)
27. Tiles UI. It?s a good structure for a touch user interface.
28. Swipe down to close. Use it enough and you wonder why desktop apps don?t close when swiped down.
29. Split screen apps. This is going to be much more useful when (if?) Windows Phone apps can run under Windows 8.
30. IE11 under Modern. It?s a very good touch-enabled browser.
31. Free apps such as Reader (which supports annotations), Bing News (yes, Bing News), Weather, Maps (Please add Nokia Here, Microsoft!)
32. Integrated Family Safety accounts.

[Ice_Blue]

 

 

 

32 Windows 8 Core Features That Don?t Get Enough Credit.

 

Didn't paste the entire article, as per Neowin rules.

 

[+Warwagon MVC]

Good List although there are 4 that caught my eye

 

10) Fast boot, resume

 

Windows 8 does boot faster, but it also does the stupid shutdown / hibernation hybrid. I wish they wouldn't do that. Just yesterday I wanted to restart a customer computer that I was setting up. The only options I had was shutdown or restart and install updates. Well I wanted to do a restart to finish the Uninstall of Norton and the prerequisite kb for 8.1. I didn't want to do a shutdown because thats not an actual restart, and I didn't want to choose restart because I was going to install 8.1 out of the gate, I didn't want to have to wait for it to install 64 updates before it would restart. Blah. The computer also had one of those slow AMD CPU's so I just instructed him how to install 8.1 and did a restart in which it started installing 1 of 64 updates as I was leaving.

 

17) Simple recovery and repair options.

 

I agree Windows 8 does have some simple recovery and repair options, but at the same time they made the most basic repair option a pain and sometimes impossible to get to, SAFE MODE!

 

26) Windows Defender

 

It's better than nothing I suppose.

 

28) Swipe down to close. Use it enough and you wonder why desktop apps don?t close when swiped down.

 

Um.... I think the X is easier with a mouse

[thartist]

The hard truth is that too many of those features are a pain in the ass as poorly implemented as they are, which drag down the ending result quite a bit.

[TPreston]

Didn't mention HyperV, Windows to Go, Exporting the start screen to xml etc etc etc

[DConnell Member]

 

 

28) Swipe down to close. Use it enough and you wonder why desktop apps don?t close when swiped down.

 

Um.... I think the X is easier with a mouse

 

Too easy. I lost count of the number of times I accidentally closed a program when I meant to maximize it. While moving the Max & Min buttons back to the left where Win 3.x had them (where Microsoft should have left them in the first place!)  would also solve that problem, this makes it all but impossible to accidentally close a program.

[+Warwagon MVC]

Too easy. I lost count of the number of times I accidentally closed a program when I meant to maximize it. While moving the Max & Min buttons back to the left where Win 3.x had them (where Microsoft should have left them in the first place!)  would also solve that problem, this makes it all but impossible to accidentally close a program.

 

I'll give you that one. Though i've never accidentally did that with a mouse, but I can see doing it accidentally with touch. But I still hate swiping down on a mouse!

[xendrome]

I'll give you that one. But I still hate swiping down on a mouse!

 

Point is, you don't have to swipe down with a mouse, just go back to the start screen or desktop and carry on, the app is put into an idle state. Plus you aren't even closing it by doing that, you would have to swipe down and hold till it flips for it to shut the app down. 

 

So basically that action does nothing and you are just wasting your time anyway.

[Draconian Guppy]

 

 

 

32 Windows 8 Core Features That Don?t Get Enough Credit.

1. Always-on, always connected support. (InstantOn) E.g. 300hours screen-off WiFi connected on a single charge in the same way as a smartphone. (An Alarm Clock on a PC ? Think about it.)
2. A Sharing subsystem. App-to-app, app-to-service.
3. Free hardware accelerated full-disk encryption on consumer PCs with TPM2.0 (E.g. all Intel Baytrail-T PCs)
4. An application store. It works but needs better economics.
5. Close architectural relationship to phone OS platform. (Reduced cost-to-port might actually reach zero-cost to port in the future.)
6. High dynamic range of processor states and usage mode support. E.g. Haswell SoC S0ix state support.
7. Best digital pen support in the business (business, education) including best handwriting recognition.
8. Cloud account for settings, files, security information. Cross-device settings sync.
9. Sensors support. GPS, NFC, etc. (I?m a big fan of NFC Tap-And-Send!)
10. Fast boot, fast resume.
11. Multi-DPI font scaling across extended desktops.
12. Integrated web+system search.
13. Simple 3G  hotspot setup.
14. Better system monitoring tools.
15. New product boot to user-account readiness in under 10 minutes
16. Xbox music and video integration. Smart glass Xbox integration. Xbox game account integration.
17. Simple recovery and repair options.
18. File history.
19. Multiple on-screen keyboard/language support.
20. Hugely improved on-screen keyboard for desktop.
21. Metered connection support.
22. Quiet hours support.
23. Notifications system (that needs a lot of improvement, granted)
24. Save user files (music, photo?s, videos) on removable media.
25. Activities available from lockscreen. E.g. Skype, Camera.
26. Windows Defender (it?s not the best AV, but it can help consumers and could improve in the future.)
27. Tiles UI. It?s a good structure for a touch user interface.
28. Swipe down to close. Use it enough and you wonder why desktop apps don?t close when swiped down.
29. Split screen apps. This is going to be much more useful when (if?) Windows Phone apps can run under Windows 8.
30. IE11 under Modern. It?s a very good touch-enabled browser.
31. Free apps such as Reader (which supports annotations), Bing News (yes, Bing News), Weather, Maps (Please add Nokia Here, Microsoft!)
32. Integrated Family Safety accounts.

 

I have no need for the majority of these :wacko:

[+Warwagon MVC]

Point is, you don't have to swipe down with a mouse, just go back to the start screen or desktop and carry on, the app is put into an idle state. Plus you aren't even closing it by doing that, you would have to swipe down and hold till it flips for it to shut the app down. 

 

So basically that action does nothing and you are just wasting your time anyway.

 

Correct, i've only done it like 3 or 4 times in my entire life. Not actually ever in a metro app. Though the few times i've done it, i've been like, meh!

[DConnell Member]

I'll give you that one. Though i've never accidentally did that with a mouse, but I can see doing it accidentally with touch. But I still hate swiping down on a mouse!

 

I did that literally hundreds of times over the last 19 years with a mouse. The swiping might not be the most elegant solution, but it at least prevents accidental closure.

 

And oddly enough I find it works better with a mouse than with touch.

[Dot Matrix]

I'll give you that one. Though i've never accidentally did that with a mouse, but I can see doing it accidentally with touch. But I still hate swiping down on a mouse!

 

[trooper11]

This is a decent list, but I wish someone would make a list of all the little configuration options that make windows 8 better.

I am still discovering little settings here and there that have a big impact on making the system better for me. For example, I just stumbled apon the option in the 'Taskbar & Navigation' section that sneds me back to the desktop instead of the start screen when closing an app. Its a small thing, but it feels more comfortable for my personal use. I didnt go back to the start menu when closing a desktop program, so going back to the start screen when closing an app didnt feel right. Its fine on a tablet, but on my desktops, I much prefer this behavior.

Combine that with the addition of the standard minimize/close controls to apps and pinning to the taskbar in the next update and suddenly apps feel much more at home via the desktop.

[+Warwagon MVC]

Close.png

 

isn't update 1 going to give users an x on metro apps?

[Dot Matrix]

Point is, you don't have to swipe down with a mouse, just go back to the start screen or desktop and carry on, the app is put into an idle state. Plus you aren't even closing it by doing that, you would have to swipe down and hold till it flips for it to shut the app down. 

 

So basically that action does nothing and you are just wasting your time anyway.

 

Holding the app down until it flips is meant as a way to relaunch the app without having to close it first. Wait until it flips, and then drag it back up, and it relaunches.

[Stoffel]

How about

 

the new file copy/move window

the new task manager

 

2 things I use a lot and am happy about the new and improved versions

[Dot Matrix]

isn't update 1 going to give users an x on metro apps?

All because people seem to have forgotten how to right click.

[MorganX]

Didn't mention HyperV, Windows to Go, Exporting the start screen to xml etc etc etc

 

HyperV and Windows To Go are more appropriate than 90% of that list if we're going to say "don't get enough credit."

 

But on exporting start screen to XML, I actually think this is indicative of one of it's biggest weaknesses, the inability to easily manage and customize the Start Screen in an controlled enterprise environment without a lot of cumbersome effort that in lieu of where we were with Windows 7, is an unnecessary waste of time that MS made necessary. That's negative points. Needs to get fixed.

[+Warwagon MVC]

All because people seem to have forgotten how to right click.

 

All because they don't want to have to expose hidden UI elements (jam their mouse into the corner of the screen and then right click) to close an app. Pulling down I would also call a hidden UI element because there is nothing there telling you that pulling down is what you should do. Sure you might get a hand, but that just tells you something is there and not that you should pull down and by down we mean all the way down. Other wise the app will pop back up.

[Dot Matrix]

All because they don't want to have to expose hidden UI elements (jam their mouse into the corner of the screen and then right click) to close an app. Pulling down I would also call a hidden UI element because there is nothing there telling you that pulling down is what you should do. Sure you might get a hand, but that just tells you something is there and not that you should pull down and by down we mean all the way down. Other wise the app will pop back up.

You make simple mouse movements seem like such a chore...

[MorganX]

Point is, you don't have to swipe down with a mouse, just go back to the start screen or desktop and carry on, the app is put into an idle state. Plus you aren't even closing it by doing that, you would have to swipe down and hold till it flips for it to shut the app down. 

 

So basically that action does nothing and you are just wasting your time anyway.

 

Didn't know the flip thing. That explains why when some suspended apps cause issues or instability I have to close them in Task Manager to clear. That's good to know. Anyway, on the desktop, suspended apps could probably use a once over as they do cause some issues with other Win32 apps. Particularly suspended IE. Random, except for issues it sometimes causes with Media Center playback.

[Ian W]

I disagree with most of the article. Not only are some of these features already available in previous versions of Windows (#18 and #24, and to a slightly lesser extent, #32) but some of these "core" features are simply constituents of others (why separate features #19 and #20, for example?) Other, genuinely new features are poorly implemented (even the author states that the new notification system needs "a lot of improvement").

If I were to name just a few features in Windows 8 that get the least credit, they would be . . .

• Component Based Servicing improvements (extremely fast when compared to Windows 7)
• File Explorer (with improved capabilities, such as the ability to mount IMG, ISO, and VHD files natively; the Ribbon toolbar; and enhanced breadcrumb drag-and-drop.)
• Native support for USB 3.0
• Secure Boot / Measured Boot
• Storage Spaces
• Windows To Go

With that said, perhaps the reason that most of the features listed in the article don't get enough credit is because they are hardly worthy of any (for reasons mentioned above).

[123456789A]

I like the improved task manager. It is snazzy.

[Romero]

Windows 8 does boot faster, but it also does the stupid shutdown / hibernation hybrid. I wish they wouldn't do that. Just yesterday I wanted to restart a customer computer that I was setting up. The only options I had was shutdown or restart and install updates. Well I wanted to do a restart to finish the Uninstall of Norton and the prerequisite kb for 8.1. I didn't want to do a shutdown because thats not an actual restart, and I didn't want to choose restart because I was going to install 8.1 out of the gate, I didn't want to have to wait for it to install 64 updates before it would restart. Blah. The computer also had one of those slow AMD CPU's so I just instructed him how to install 8.1 and did a restart in which it started installing 1 of 64 updates as I was leaving.

I believe shutdown /f /r /t 0 would have solved your problem with little effort.