official Windows 8 Consumer Preview Discussion

[trek]

I don't understand all these people saying they are lost. Let me give some examples:

what I do in win 7 to start an app: press winkey, type the first letters of the name, press enter

what I do in win 8 to start an app: press winkey, type the first letters of the name, press enter

How I start a program I always use in win 7: click it's icon in the superbar

How I start a program I always use in win 8: click it's icon in the superbar

How I switch between apps in win 7: alt-tab

How I switch between apps in win 8: alt-tab

How I close an app in win 7: alt-f4

How I close an app in win 8: alt-f4

How I change UAC settings in win 7 (not that I do): press winkey, type uac

How I change UAC settings in win8: press winkey, type uac

I could go on and on like this.

To all the people saying they are lost, did you really do everything with your mouse picking through huge lists in the start menu?

7: Start > type device manager > Enter

8: Start > type device manager > No results.

That irritates me.

[devHead]

Sorry if someone already asked this or if there's an easy solution, but is there any way to add a clock to the Start screen? It seems like there would be one there by default; they've added one to the lock/logon screen.

+1 Thank you! It was like the number one gadget with Vista and Windows 7, but if you want to keep the start screen, you got nothing unless you lock it. I did an App search from the Store, but nothing has been made yet. Sadly.

[Chicane-UK Veteran]

Based on my limited experience with Windows 8 and Windows Server 8 so far, I think the average "mom and pop" user is going to be confused as hell. Even I've had to Google for shortcut key combo's and stuff which I just don't think is a good sign at all :|

I like to think Microsoft are much better these days and indeed I am a very content Windows 7 user but I would be lying if I said I wasn't worried about how Windows 8 is going to be received and how usable it'll be every day, etc.

[dafin0]

7: Start > type device manager > Enter

8: Start > type device manager > No results.

That irritates me.

right click bottom left. so much good stuff that i use every day pops up in a list

im a computer technician, im a bit worried about Win8 but it really does grow on you and not any slow than windows 7 when trying to get work done (the work i do anyways)

[trek]

right click bottom left. so much good stuff that i use every day pops up in a list

im a computer technician, im a bit worried about Win8 but it really does grow on you and not any slow than windows 7 when trying to get work done (the work i do anyways)

Yes, I found that. But the other control panel applets are not searchable either.

[XerXis]

right click bottom left. so much good stuff that i use every day pops up in a list

im a computer technician, im a bit worried about Win8 but it really does grow on you and not any slow than windows 7 when trying to get work done (the work i do anyways)

7: Start > type device manager > Enter

8: Start > type device manager > No results.

That irritates me.

true, they dropped the ball a bit on settings, although it is just one keystroke more compared to 7. Hopefully they'll correct that by release, but I wouldn't count on it. It's not a dealbreaker for me though

[Dapen]

but it really does grow on you

It grows on you like cancer.

[+KibosJ Subscriber²]

I typed in device manager and clicked settings on the right...... guess what.... there was device manager :o

It's not hard.

I've removed it all though, it REALLY doesn't like my Mac Mini :( Anyone wanna buy a Mac? :p

[PGHammer]

Does anyone else notice how insanely fast this OS is?

I noticed it with the Developer Preview - despite the identical numbers in the WEI (other than the HDD, which was lower - understandable, being that the WDP drive was the slower of the two) WDP was cleaning 7+SP1's clock otherwise.

The Consumer Preview is faster yet.

Yet another reason 7 has been demoted to VM duty.

[Calum Veteran]

I've been using the Consumer Preview for a fair bit since yesterday, and I can confirm that anyone who believes the Metro experience is not suited to "power users" or those who use a hardware keyboard and mouse are wrong. They merely do not "get" Windows 8, they haven't opened their mind enough, and they are too blinded by their loyalty to the way they currently use Windows to see the benefits of the Metro experience. I'm not convinced that this view is subjective?surely the usability of something is a fact, and if some find it usable, those who don't find it usable are the ones with the problem?

I'm a software developer and designer, and I don't anticipate any problems with using the Metro experience in my industry. There is nothing worse than many windows open and overlapping. Windows 8 will ensure users adopt a workflow that finally makes sense, where only two windows can be on one screen at the same time. The option is there for another screen, or even more than two screens, if the user wishes; however, that kind of setup will still ensure one screen doesn't contain many windows open and overlapping. Gone will be the days of Windows desktops looking cluttered and a mess.

Windows 8 is a joy to use with a hardware keyboard and mouse (I actually tried it out with my notebook's trackpad, too), and it is the most enjoyable experience I've had using an operating system so far. I love this even more than I loved Windows Phone, so far. Even the little touches, such as picking a file within an app taking up the whole screen, are great.

I am not blinded by any kind of fanboyism before anyone suggests I am. I was considering moving to OS X recently, and I promised myself that if Windows 8 is as bad as some people erroneously suggest, I will move to OS X. I'm still ready to move to OS X if Microsoft somehow mess this up; however, I have so far loved my Windows 8 experience.

I realise I need to use Windows 8 for some months until I can be sure that I am just as productive; these are just my initial thoughts and observations. It's an incredible operating system :)

[Dapen]

I've been using the Consumer Preview for a fair bit since yesterday, and I can confirm that anyone who believes the Metro experience is not suited to "power users" or those who use a hardware keyboard and mouse are wrong. They merely do not "get" Windows 8, they haven't opened their mind enough, and they are too blinded by their loyalty to the way they currently use Windows to see the benefits of the Metro experience. I'm not convinced that this view is subjective?surely the usability of something is a fact, and if some find it usable, those who don't find it usable are the ones with the problem?

I'm a software developer and designer, and I don't anticipate any problems with using the Metro experience in my industry. There is nothing worse than many windows open and overlapping. Windows 8 will ensure users adopt a workflow that finally makes sense, where only two windows can be on one screen at the same time. The option is there for another screen, or even more than two screens, if the user wishes; however, that kind of setup will still ensure one screen doesn't contain many windows open and overlapping. Gone will be the days of Windows desktops looking cluttered and a mess.

Windows 8 is a joy to use with a hardware keyboard and mouse (I actually tried it out with my notebook's trackpad, too), and it is the most enjoyable experience I've had using an operating system so far. I love this even more than I loved Windows Phone, so far. Even the little touches, such as picking a file within an app taking up the whole screen, are great.

I am not blinded by any kind of fanboyism before anyone suggests I am. I was considering moving to OS X recently, and I promised myself that if Windows 8 is as bad as some people erroneously suggest, I will move to OS X. I'm still ready to move to OS X if Microsoft somehow mess this up; however, I have so far loved my Windows 8 experience.

I realise I need to use Windows 8 for some months until I can be sure that I am just as productive; these are just my initial thoughts and observations. It's an incredible operating system :)

Thanks for opening me to my blindness to Windows 8 - I was wrong and I feel much better about it having read what you had to say. I get Windows 8 now and it's great for PC. To slide the lock screen up with a mouse and use a useless Metro start menu that has huge useless "live" tiles for my huge mouse cursor to click easily - It truly is great now you've posted that.

[Calum Veteran]

[. . .] Why must I slide the lock screen up with my touchpad as if I were on a tablet/phone? [. . .]

Um, you don't have to do that. All you need to do is press Enter on the keyboard, while your PC is locked, and you will be able to log in. . . .

This is the problem with most of you who claim you dislike Windows 8: You haven't opened your minds enough to "get" it, and it's clear you haven't given it a chance because you don't even understand how to accomplish basic tasks such as logging in (or shutting down, in the case of some people)?tasks that I understood how to accomplish straight away because Windows 8 is intuitive.

[Another Canuck]

I'll be honest, it's growing on me.

I think it's mostly the sub-par quality of the "preview apps" that is souring my view of Metro; the apps are useless and very poorly designed at the moment.

My main gripe is with the new mouse-over "hotspots". I'll frequently activate the Start button when trying to click on the left-most taskbar tile, or I'll activate the Charms menu while trying to close a program. It's just not an intuitive interface for a mouse and it conflicts too much with existing Desktop UI elements.

(Challenge: Maximize a desktop program then try to open the Charms menu by hovering over the bottom-right corner of the screen.)

(Tip: A lot of people have mentioned having to "slide up" the lock screen with their mouse or trackpad. That's unnecessary. You can unlock by pressing any keyboard key.)

[Calum Veteran]

Thanks for opening me to my blindness to Windows 8 - I was wrong and I feel much better about it having read what you had to say. I get Windows 8 now and it's great for PC. To slide the lock screen up with a mouse and use a useless Metro start menu that has huge useless "live" tiles for my huge mouse cursor to click easily - It truly is great now you've posted that.

I've just replied to your other post about you erroneously believing the only way to log in from the lock screen is to slide it up. . . . It looks as if the post of mine that you quoted here was right about you; you were wrong ;)

I suggest you actually try to understand how to use Windows 8 before erroneously complaining something can't be done. It shouldn't be hard for anyone with an open mind to understand how Windows 8 works because it's intuitive. Open your mind :)

[dafin0]

Um, you don't have to do that. All you need to do is press Enter on the keyboard, while your PC is locked, and you will be able to log in. . . .

This is the problem with most of you who claim you dislike Windows 8: You haven't opened your minds enough to "get" it, and it's clear you haven't given it a chance because you don't even understand how to accomplish basic tasks such as logging in (or shutting down, in the case of some people)?tasks that I understood how to accomplish straight away because Windows 8 is intuitive.

you know the saying "haters are going to hate" i was a hater, now im a lover :/

also at work today we loaded it on one of our crappy atom based tablets that was running win7, and win 8 ran a lot better on it than expected

[veternan]

Um, you don't have to do that. All you need to do is press Enter on the keyboard, while your PC is locked, and you will be able to log in. . . .

This is the problem with most of you who claim you dislike Windows 8: You haven't opened your minds enough to "get" it, and it's clear you haven't given it a chance because you don't even understand how to accomplish basic tasks such as logging in (or shutting down, in the case of some people)?tasks that I understood how to accomplish straight away because Windows 8 is intuitive.

Can't you understand Microsoft got you under full control and push you towards what they think is best for you?????

I'm not enemy of metro but I say that Microsoft should give choice to users so users choose what they want to do with their PCs; Microsoft even does not allow users to disable Metro if they wish!! MS just lamely merge Metro from Windows Phone7 to Windows7 and call it Windows8.

[trek]

I enjoy my 'cluttered mess' of windows. It does not hamper my productivity; unlike the restrictive snapping of only 2 Metro Applications will. It also makes no sense to me that on a PC, IE's address bar and buttons have to waste an inch of screen real-estate of my 24" monitor the IE window take up the whole screen.

Anyone find a way to put the 'Classic' Desktop UI fonts back to being left-justified and less hideously big?

[Calum Veteran]

[. . .]

I think it's mostly the sub-par quality of the "preview apps" that is souring my view of Metro; the apps are useless and very poorly designed at the moment.

[. . .]

This is what highly disappointed me. I feel that I cannot experience the full benefit of Windows 8 at the moment because the communication and entertainment apps aren't of decent quality and don't take full advantage of the new Windows 8 features. After having been annoyed by the lack of offline Facebook messaging in Windows Phone's Facebook integration since last June, I was sorely disappointed to see that the Windows 8 Messaging app doesn't yet allow for sending Facebook messages while offline (and it probably doesn't allow for sending Facebook messages to the recipient while they're offline, either). The latest version of Windows Live Messenger doesn't allow for this, either. I do hope this is something Microsoft are able to change in the version of Messaging that they ship; it's an important feature to me. Perhaps this is merely something that Facebook APIs don't allow for; does anyone know?

[neo1911]

Alright!! I installed it second time and kinda finding it ok now. The right click menu in place of start orb is a life saver

[dafin0]

Alright!! I installed it second time and kinda finding it ok now. The right click menu in place of start orb is a life saver

something else that made it feel easier to use, at the top right corner where you get that side menu (cant remember what they call it, charm bar i think) you dont have to pause on it, just do one smooth moment from the top right to the middle for that menu to show up

another thing that took me awhile to realize, in the 'charm bar' the settings button has to do with the settings of the App your in and not windows as a whole.

[Dapen]

I've just replied to your other post about you erroneously believing the only way to log in from the lock screen is to slide it up. . . . It looks as if the post of mine that you quoted here was right about you; you were wrong ;)

I suggest you actually try to understand how to use Windows 8 before erroneously complaining something can't be done. It shouldn't be hard for anyone with an open mind to understand how Windows 8 works because it's intuitive. Open your mind :)

I'm wrong?! Well, I'm sure disappointed that I'm not smart enough to learn that enter trick myself! Glad they made it obvious. :)

The slide with your mouse should not even be available in the desktop, it's useless and clear that it's designed for touch first, then ported to desktop with keyboard and mouse. It's an awful unintuitive design that yes I can learn and use since I can adapt but people like my partner and parents have absolutely no chance with this. Everything is too hidden to clean things up to be intuitive.

Metro is useless on PC, they could have done so much better for us, you only have to look around at Longhorn concepts and user concepts of Windows. Windows 8 is just a desperate jump at the mobile market that is dominated by iPhone and iPad.

[trek]

What happens for domain join and the secure login window? Do you have to CTRL-ALT-DEL before you can slide to unlock? lol

[Ci7]

it sound to me my upgrade might be broken

while clicking "manage" on my computer , result in nothing .

massaging applet , can't change my status to online , it stay offline no matter what

what give?

[neo1911]

The font rendering in IE10 desktop version is horrible. Any antivirus which could be installed?

[TheLegendOfMart]

I suggest you actually try to understand how to use Windows 8 before erroneously complaining something can't be done. It shouldn't be hard for anyone with an open mind to understand how Windows 8 works because it's intuitive. Open your mind :)

Oh right, because we hate Metro we obviously don't understand how to use Windows, thanks for clearing that up for me, I wondered why I was having a worse time navigating the OS than I did with Windows 7. Do you have to be so condescending with all this "open your mind" tosh?

If anyone was in any doubt about Microsoft the fact that they now consider the 'classic' desktop an App now like any other Metro App should tell you they don't give a crap about its users, they are quite happy to throw power and enterprise users under the bus to tap into the brainless tablet generation who can't handle more than one App open at a time.