Windows 8, enough after about 2 hours

[SekaiStory]

Guys, the start menu is old, useless and unnecessary. It's a good thing they replaced it with a better mechanism. It's normal it might be hard to use after so many years of habbits. MS is doing the best they can to inform people about the bold new changes, read the documentation and get used to it.

[Muhammad Farrukh]

I wouldn't call it useless and unnecessary, but I agree, that we have to move forward, and this is a step in the right direction

[The_Fox]

its time for change,

[AWilliams87]

I would say this is the big, big problem with Windows 8, and I honestly hope Microsoft could address this somehow. For users like myself who have went and actively learned the new mouse and keyboard shortcuts/gestures, Windows 8 is a much better experience. However, things are simply not obvious enough and it will (and, based on responses on this forum right now, already has) cause a lot of frustration and alienate a lot of users.

Perhaps the Windows team could provide better indicators? Add back the start button (as with the Dev Preview) so that legacy Desktop users can make their way back to the Start screen without having to draw up charms (which by default is hidden, so confusion there)? Make the charms and Metro app switchers perfectly clear so that users know that such actions possible? Basically, don't assume people will know or want to learn what to do - actually show them properly.

What are you talking about? You get to the start screen by clicking on the lower left.

[AWilliams87]

I was hoping for sort of a dual start button one for metro and one for classic or a way to easily switch it. I can't find any of my programs easily in metro and it is distracting. The pc is more of a childrens toy with metro. If it stays this way it is I am not upgrading ever. I'll just stick with 7 until it gets dropped from support then go to linux. Hopefully it doesn't come to that The pc is more of a childrens toy with metro. I have a feeling that most people will experience the same frustration most of us are experiencing and want to downgrade so I hope ms does a downgrade option with new pcs like they did with vista.

Perhaps you shouldn't post unless you actually know how to use Metro. Right from the start screen, begin typing the name of the program you're looking for. That's it.

Learning new mouse gestures and remembering key combo's is something they can't bank on for the majority of people who will still retain their PC's.

For their new customers, the devices will come touch enabled or kinect gesture based so it won't matter. I'm as savvy and patient as they come, but this has been quite a jarring experience so far.

I barely used key combo's at all. Everything you need, you can do with the mouse. Click the lower left to go back to the screen screen or to go back to the last program from the start. Click the top right for charms; the top left to switch between opened programs. If you're searching for a program, just start typing in the start screen. If you want to search through all the apps, just right click from start. This is by far the easiest setup i'v seen.

[Panda X]

I hope they bring the start menu back. I believe they said metro will be disabled by default for desktops and non-touch screen laptops, so people can transition into it.

Well see though. I hear way too many requests to bring back the start menu.

Where did they say this? Or where do you think you remember?

[F_C]

After I worked out how to snap things in Metro, which effectively means I can use 2 apps at once I find it a lot better. It would be great (if you are on a high enough resolution of course) to be able to snap 3 things, left, right and centre (Maybe there is already, I can't work out how).

And I hope they enable c+p from the messenger app so I can copy what people say and paste it into to other stuff! :)

[patseguin Global Moderator]

Microsoft seems to think so with this stupid Metro junk. Why would I want huge tiles and a touch interface on my desktop?

So true. If my PC had a touchscreen monitor then it would be a different story. I really want to live Windows 8, I just can't.

[veternan]

Guys, the start menu is old, useless and unnecessary. It's a good thing they replaced it with a better mechanism. It's normal it might be hard to use after so many years of habbits. MS is doing the best they can to inform people about the bold new changes, read the documentation and get used to it.

You're not a PC user!! I guess you've even post this from your tablet...

[MikeChipshop Member]

So far i'm not really getting on that well with it BUT i'm going to give it at least a month so that i get a real chance to show me what it's made of. I've got it running as my main work station now (don't worry i've got a good cron solution in place ;) ) so that should give it a run for it's money and i'll make my mind up in a month or so.

[9UnknownMen]

I really they're monitoring this feedback. It's genuine constructive criticism.

[PGHammer]

I've been using it for a couple of hours now and will be using it as my Main OS for the rest of the week and maybe even longer If I don't come across any major problems. In regards of Metro, I haven't been annoyed by it and if you are a desktop user then you really don't spend time in the metro interface and you don't have to unless you really want to search for something. Even so, searching on it is easy and is done within seconds. I love how you can just start typing and it will start looking for you, it's great that you can separate the results between apps and files.

Due to dual-boot application testing, I already knew that even the Developer Preview had not a single issue with my usual applications or hardware (same with games). Also, I was used to doing what I could with the few Metro apps the same Developer Preview included. That killed the two typical excuses for not using the Consumer Preview as a main OS.

The upgrade process itself killed the rest of them.

I upgraded *both partitions* (different drives) to the Consumer Preview, but using a different method for each. Both upgrades were, in fact, flawless.

Everything works. Hardware, software, etc.

The improvements in the Consumer Preview over the Developer Preview also include a right handy *new* feature I call QuickTask. When you hover your mouse pointer over the lower-left corner (to bring up the StartScreen preview), right-clicking it brings up QuickTask. Included in QuickTask are most of the items the old Start Menu from 7 used to have - and several we WISH it had, including a separate elevated-privilege (Admin) Command Prompt. (For PowerShell scripters, I see zero reason why a PowerShell prompt can't go here as well.)

Windows 7 itself? Banished to the land of virtual machines, as Vista and XP have been. I will not install it bare-metal on any PC I own now, or own later.

.

You're not a PC user!! I guess you've even post this from your tablet...

Incorrect, in my case, sir.

I don't own a tablet - or any other portable PC. All my WDP testing has either been in a VM or dual-boot on the same traditional *desktop* that hosts both WCP partitions today.

[The Laughing Man]

Guys, the start menu is old, useless and unnecessary. It's a good thing they replaced it with a better mechanism. It's normal it might be hard to use after so many years of habbits. MS is doing the best they can to inform people about the bold new changes, read the documentation and get used to it.

So what your saying is, Eat my last meal, Pull my pants down, Touch my toes, and Take it from behind because its going to happen anyways. What a bright future to look forward to!

[wongogue]

Hey...those having relatively large displays, have you tried Semantic Zoom yet?

Ctrl + Mouse wheel

[sopharine]

Guys, the start menu is old, useless and unnecessary. It's a good thing they replaced it with a better mechanism. It's normal it might be hard to use after so many years of habbits. MS is doing the best they can to inform people about the bold new changes, read the documentation and get used to it.

Start menu can show 15+ most recently used apps with 10px font size that your eyes only have search for the lower left corner.

Metro tiles waste tons of screen real estate while at the same time force your eyes to search for the whole screen to look for the apps you want..

It's pretty obvious which is more efficient and less eye strain inducing.

[migo]

There's certainly some getting used to with Windows 8 - but there was for Windows 7 as well and overall I ended up liking 7 better than Vista and XP as a result, so I expect long term the same will happen here.

What's annoying me is how functionality and features are missing, and how some stuff just doesn't work. Obviously it's a Beta, but still, annoying.

[margrave]

You can get to that same zoom by the very small and hard to see icon in the lower right of the start screen

[Muhammad Farrukh]

Hey...those having relatively large displays, have you tried Semantic Zoom yet?

Ctrl + Mouse wheel

Not working :(

Edit:

Working only in Legacy view

[Rickkins]

I have it setup as dual boot, so I will play more with it, but as of last night it seems to be a steaming pile of rubbish that will only appeal to the most rabid of fanboi's....

Even the pirates won't want this one. Biggest flop ever...!!!

[Southern Patriot]

I dunno, if Windows survived ME, and Vista, it stands a chance of surviving Win8. And that's if Win8 is as bad as, or worse a flop than the previous two.

I don't know about that. When ME came out, Apple was still on OS 9, and when Vista arrived, Apple was just getting going with their Intel transition (most common apps were still PowerPC code). Both times, Apple wasn't really in a great position to be attracting users from Windows. I'd say they are in a MUCH better position today.

Also, has anyone else notice in interesting trend in this thread? A large number of the people here who seem to be rabid supporters of Win8 and Metro appear to have either just registered, or if they have been registered for a long time, they haven't had more than a few posts before now. Anyone else think something smells a little fishy about that?

[migo]

I don't know about that. When ME came out, Apple was still on OS 9, and when Vista arrived, Apple was just getting going with their Intel transition (most common apps were still PowerPC code). Both times, Apple wasn't really in a great position to be attracting users from Windows. I'd say they are in a MUCH better position today.

Right now they're making the transition to Lion and Mountain Lion which is about as divisive as Windows 8 is. Mountain Lion won't be quite as drastic a change as Windows 8, but there's still enough re-learning of how to use the UI that it's not like people will just switch over to OSX.

What's going to happen is a lot of people will stay on Windows 7 if they can, manufacturers will want to keep offering Windows 7 installs/downgrade options like they did for XP in the Vista days, and most people will be happy with that.

[Southern Patriot]

Right now they're making the transition to Lion and Mountain Lion which is about as divisive as Windows 8 is. Mountain Lion won't be quite as drastic a change as Windows 8, but there's still enough re-learning of how to use the UI that it's not like people will just switch over to OSX.

Mountain Lion might just be the thing that attracts some people to move over though, especially the millions upon millions of Windows users who already own iPhones or iPads. Like it or not, there are only a small percentage of people using WP7 right now compared to iOS, and people are going to be inclined to stick to an interface they are comfortable with, either sticking with Windows 7 or moving to Mountain Lion with its iOS inspired interface.

[Ashl]

One thing I don't like is not being able to delete stuff from the All Program list(without going through explorer obviously).... the last thing I want to see is every HTML page software providers decide to link to when you install their program when I scroll through a long messy list of programs!

[migo]

Mountain Lion might just be the thing that attracts some people to move over though, especially the millions upon millions of Windows users who already own iPhones or iPads. Like it or not, there are only a small percentage of people using WP7 right now compared to iOS, and people are going to be inclined to stick to an interface they are comfortable with, either sticking with Windows 7 or moving to Mountain Lion with its iOS inspired interface.

People are starting to get fed up with their iPhones as much as they are getting happy with them. There's going to be some churn for sure, that's unavoidable, but I don't think it'll be the big thing people are expecting.

For one, computer prices have been pretty low for a while. You can buy a new laptop for $400-$500 (and that's a good quality Asus, not some cheap no-name brand), and Tablets are coming in at around the same price. A Windows 8 Asus Transformer will come in at around the same price, and is quite ideal for the hybrid touch/keyboard & mouse interface that Windows 8 sports. I think people are more likely to spend $600 on a Windows 8 Transformer Infinity, than $1000 on a MacBook Air. Or alternatively they'll just stick with Windows 7.

One thing I don't like is not being able to delete stuff from the All Program list(without going through explorer obviously).... the last thing I want to see is every HTML page software providers decide to link to when you install their program when I scroll through a long messy list of programs!

That's just a legacy app problem. I suspect that'll stop happening with updated software.

[King Lizzle]

I've spent another few hours playing with my Win 8 VM installing software and playing around with the Start Screen to see if I can find a way to customise it to suit the way I use my computer but sadly I cannot. It's tedious having to unpin lots of links and tiles from the Start Screen when those items belong only in the All Apps section. I also miss the functionality of a recently used apps list as we have on the current Start Menu - I could maybe deal with the Start Screen if there was an option to have a column of those recent software with jump lists to my most recently used files for each of them. The only way around that would be to pin everything to the taskbar which would be very cluttered and messy. I also don't like having to remember different keyboard short cuts to search for apps or docs or files etc. In the Start Menu I can hit the Windows key and type anything to search any type of file - it's quick and easy. The way search in the Start Screen works involves additional steps that just get in the way.

As for basic functionality like shutdown/restart/standby etc why not just have small buttons for those at the top of the Start Screen - there's plenty of screen real estate there for them and it is a much more natural and logical way of accessing them than the current convoluted method. I'm currently using the command shortcuts from Tweak-7 pinned to the taskbar as shutdown and restart buttons.

One nice workaround I did find is to go to C:\Windows\ and search for "Shows Desktop". You can then copy that shortcut to C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup Doing that means that Windows 8 will, in a fashion, boot directly to the desktop so you can bypass the Start Screen initially. The old Win + R then "control userpasswords2" command also still works to allow you to bypass the login process.

There's one change I have mixed feelings about - the absence of the confirmation dialog when deleting an item. On the one hand it speeds up the process, but on the other it makes it easier to delete things without realising if you catch the delete key on your keyboard whilst in Explorer. I think it would probably make me paranoid enough that I'd have to check the contents of the Recycle Bin every time I wanted to empty it!

I'd love to try the CP to upgrade Win 7 on my physical machine to see if I could find coping mechanisms and workarounds in a real world environment, but I can't really find any additional functionality I'd gain from doing so. On a clean install VM I've found it very frustrating but it's harder to adapt it in such an artificial environment. Those using Win 8 on a physical are you finding any significant performance increase in Win 8 over Win 7 purely in traditional desktop use?