Windows 8 Consumer Preview Discussion

By Roger H.
in The Fast Ring (Insider Previews)

 Share

Recommended Posts

Grand Master

Eric Veteran

Posted
  • Veteran
Posted

Apple included video tutorials with OS X' System Preferences so people can quickly learn how to use the different gestures. Is such a thing present in Windows 8? So far I haven't been able to find it.

The OOBE is the last thing they implement. You can't do that until the rest is done. :/

Contributor

link8506

Posted
Posted

The fact that MS is including two different applications that are both called 'Internet Explorer' doesn't give you a clue?

it's actually a good thing to have 2 versions of IE on win8.

It allows Microsoft to greatly improve the sandbox security of IE/metro while keeping retrocompatibility with current plugins on desktop IE.

But obviously, self proclaimed "power users" don't like evolution (and surprisingly don't care much about security) and prefer to stick with their old generation unsandboxed browsers (like firefox or opera).

At least Microsoft innovates and tries new security and UI technologies, and 99% of the user base will benefit from these features in the long term.

  • johnporter29, Stoffel and Muhammad Farrukh
  • Like 3
Grand Master

bandit_liberty_rumble

Posted
Posted

it's actually a good thing to have 2 versions of IE on win8.

It isn't great from a UX point of view. That's all I'm saying. Metro is supposed to reduce complexity, yet it may actually lead to increased complexity since it is adding a new UI layer on top of the existing one, and the user is forced to switch back and forth between the two. I'm sure Metro is fine on the tablet, and might even work reasonably well on the Desktop at some point in the future for a certain percentage of users, even though that percentage of users might just as well be using a tablet probably, but as it stands, it looks like most users will not be able to stay in either Metro or the Desktop.

Experienced

johnporter29

Posted
Posted

It isn't great from a UX point of view. That's all I'm saying. Metro is supposed to reduce complexity, yet it may actually lead to increased complexity since it is adding a new UI layer on top of the existing one, and the user is forced to switch back and forth between the two. I'm sure Metro is fine on the tablet, and might even work reasonably well on the Desktop at some point in the future for a certain percentage of users, even though that percentage of users might just as well be using a tablet probably, but as it stands, it looks like most users will not be able to stay in either Metro or the Desktop.

And please explain the reason why they would need too apart from it been their preference?

Grand Master

bandit_liberty_rumble

Posted
Posted

And please explain the reason why they would need too apart from it been their preference?

Because the way to complete common tasks across applications starts to depend on the environment you're in. How does the user get into an application's settings menu? How do you show two documents next to each other? How do you close an app? How do you show open apps? Etc. In Windows 8, there is no single answer to these questions. That's bad design. It means, there is more for the user to learn and the steps to achieve certain goals are less obvious and take more time to think of than if the interface was consistent.

Grand Master

hagjohn

Posted
Posted

Because its backward, going back to only being able to run 2 apps on screen at once is ridiculous. Id have to run 3 or 4 monitors to do the same things im doing now with 1 monitor assuming all the apps went metro only.

Then don't use Metro apps. Use a desktop app.

  • Muhammad Farrukh
  • Like 1

Guest

Posted
Posted

I find it odd that there's so many fundamental things that throw you back to classic desktop. Why isn't there a comprehensive metro control panel? Computer management? Even if you want to browse the files on your computer, you're frown back to the classic desktop and I really expected these things to have had a metro overhaul by CP

Proficient

FATILA

Posted
Posted

It is unnecessary to have two interfaces of Windows Update:

post-173562-0-79389900-1330835189_thumb.

On the left top is Metro Windows Update. Both showing the same download.

All I want to know is, can you get rid of preview pane or is it stuck there. In current windows the preview pane is optional on hover. If it is stuck in your face that is undoubtedly a step backwards.

Community Regular

Auroka

Posted
Posted

All I want to know is, can you get rid of preview pane or is it stuck there. In current windows the preview pane is optional on hover. If it is stuck in your face that is undoubtedly a step backwards.

It's not stuck there. He is just showing that there is a desktop & metro Windows Update.

Experienced

johnporter29

Posted
Posted

Because the way to complete common tasks across applications starts to depend on the environment you're in. How does the user get into an application's settings menu? How do you show two documents next to each other? How do you close an app? How do you show open apps? Etc. In Windows 8, there is no single answer to these questions. That's bad design. It means, there is more for the user to learn and the steps to achieve certain goals are less obvious and take more time to think of than if the interface was consistent.

And I guess the every user is against learning new stuff? The steps to achieve certain goals are less obvious now because it's NEW, given time and a decent exposure to it, these will become second nature to all.

Yes but the problem is that Metro gets in our way in doing things on Desktop.

How exactly does metro get in your way?

Grand Master

bandit_liberty_rumble

Posted
Posted

And I guess the every user is against learning new stuff?

What does the user gain in return for her efforts? Most people have better stuff to do than learning to find their way around schizophrenic UIs thrown into the latest OS on the market.

Proficient

Glen

Posted
Posted

What does the user gain in return for her efforts? Most people have better stuff to do than learning to find their way around schizophrenic UIs thrown into the latest OS on the market.

I have to agree with you that the user experience in Metro is more of a learning curve that it probably should be for the average Windows user. There's no reason why the Metro interface couldn't include already familiar ways to interact with apps, or maybe even incorporate a Metro version of a ribbon tool bar. In any case, visual indicators (buttons or icons) on the screen as to what needs to be done for common operations such as closing the application, settings, and others would make the experience better, IMO.

Grand Master

Muhammad Farrukh

Posted
Posted

Hey does anyone know if there's a way to have Windows 8 autologin with a Microsoft account so that the user just gets the Start screen automatically upon bootup? Thanks in advance.

Removing the password and leaving the field empty for new doesn't work?

Grand Master

patseguin Global Moderator

Posted
  • Global Moderator
Posted

After uninstalling Windows 8 as my main OS, I've been using it in a VM and it's growing on me. Not sure it's ready for a main OS though. My question is how do you set the color bit depth? Virtual Box keeps telling me to set it to 32 bit color but I can't find the option!

This topic is now closed to further replies.
 Share
Go to topic listing

  • Posts

    • Google's NotebookLM gets some useful features you may have been waiting for

      By Aditya Tiwari · Posted

      Google's NotebookLM gets some useful features you may have been waiting for by Aditya Tiwari It's been three years since Google introduced its AI-powered note-taking and research app, NotebookLM. Just when Apple is about to kick off WWDC 2026, the search giant has announced a platter of new NotebookLM features that add agentic capabilities in chat and more advanced reasoning. For starters, NotebookLM now draws its fuel from Gemini 3.5 and Antigravity to improve accuracy and reliability. One of the things people have been asking for a long time is more transparency into the thinking steps. NotebookLM now shows expanded thinking steps in chat, providing better visibility into the thinking process. Google compared the upgraded NotebookLM with prior versions and found that it "achieved an average win rate of over 65% — a 15% point margin above parity — across our top five core evaluation dimensions," including accuracy & quality, multilingual support, large document analysis, document creation, and advanced research. It showed substantial improvements in analyzing large documents, achieving a 69.9% win rate. The system also delivered "exceptional performance" in advanced web research and source discovery with a 78.2% win rate. The AI research tool now generates outputs in more formats. You can give instructions to guide the outputs and download the generated files from the studio panel. Here are the newly supported formats: PNG and SVG for data visualizations and charts PDFs, docx, markdown, and text files for documents PNG, JPG, and GIF for images JSON and CSV for structured data XLSX for Microsoft Excel PPTX for Microsoft PowerPoint You can make edits after the outputs are generated. The feature is available globally; therefore, you can provide directions in one language and create outputs in another. Google said that it's also making it easier to get started with a project in NotebookLM. Instead of having a list of sources beforehand, you can even start with loose ideas, and NotebookLM can help build the repository of sources through the chat. For instance, you can find primary sources in other languages to get new perspectives or explore related works of an author. All of these new features are rolling out globally for those who can loosen up their pockets. They are available to users with Google AI Ultra and all Workspace business customers with AI Ultra access. Google has plans to expand them to more users in the future.
    • Politically funny images of the World

      By +Edouard · Posted

    • Microsoft making much needed change to Windows 11, 10 Patch Tuesday security updates

      By lonegull · Posted

      "...will no longer be bundled with the monthly Windows security updates or Patch Tuesdays. Instead the company is shifting delivery of these updates to Microsoft Update...". Three names that all refer to Windows Update. Does the author even understand what he is writing about?
    • Dell, HP PCs ran into endless reboot, BitLocker recovery loops but Windows 11 isn't to blame

      By eilegz · Posted

      and somehow windows is the only one with issue every patch tuesday is a mess, android macosx have all that and it never had issues locking people out of their own data.
    • 25th anniversary Xbox Series X unveiled with classic translucent green design

      By AnalystDan · Posted

      It's the ol': I told my kids I was older than Google and they thought I was joking. For me I was born the same year as the internet

  • Recent Achievements

    • One Month Later
      amusc earned a badge
      One Month Later
    • One Month Later
      DJC50PLUS earned a badge
      One Month Later
    • Week One Done
      DJC50PLUS earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • Proficient
      Eric Biran went up a rank
      Proficient
    • Dedicated
      Conjor earned a badge
      Dedicated

  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      501
    2. 2
      PsYcHoKiLLa
      238
    3. 3
      Steven P.
      75
    4. 4
      ATLien_0
      74
    5. 5
      +Edouard
      69
    Show More

  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!