windows 8 Do you like or hate Windows 8?

[GreatMarkO]

I will upgrading my two touch devices (a tablet and a notebook) currently running Win7 to Win8, but the rest of my "non-touch-enabled" infrastructure won't be being upgraded to Win8 any time soon! In summary: Win8 = better for touch screens, Win7 = better for non-touch screen imho!

[PGHammer]

Windows 8 reminds of OSX Tiger in the sense that the UI is all over the place. I was happy to see Apple unify most of the desktop with Leopard. I hate how you have to bounce back between two UI's in Windows 8. I wish it was complete either way, meaning all metro or all old desktop. Not the hack job that exist now. Don't get me wrong I really like the metro UI, just wish it was more consistent. Also, since I mentioned Apple I'm sure I will cause some negative reaction, so here are my main points. Really like that Microsoft is going in a different direction with metro. I find metro to be pretty easy to navigate until you have to work with settings. Don't like the need to bounce back and forth through two ui's. Can't wait until Windows 9 when things are more streamed line.

That very reason it's not *complete* is because WinRT is not complete - it's still being fleshed-out and lacks apps. (Naturally - that's where the frustration from those that hate Windows 8 is coming from.)

That said, the rest of Windows 8 (not just the hardware compatibility, but the backward-compatibility with Win32 applications/games/etc.) is as good as it gets.

A word to those that hate the very idea of multiple APIs and UIs: if WinRT were confined to tablets and slates (especially non-x86 tablets and slates) who would develop for it, and especially compared to Android or iOS? When it comes to tablets and slates, Android and iOS are Microsoft's competition (for both users and developers). Without the advantage of a greater possible user pool than either Android or iOS, no developer that wants to make money would touch WinRT with a ten foot fork.

[SMELTN]

didn't I read somewhere, where the hacks to allow the start menu are no longer available with the new release?

[PGHammer]

I personally love Windows 8... but I have just gone back to Windows 7 because of the lack of compatibility for programmes I use everyday. For example, the installation for Sony Vegas didn't run, and I couldn't mount some of my games with PowerISO. Hopefully, they will fix this in the future and this won't be another major OS failure like Windows Vista...

The only reason you'd have to mount with PowerISO is if the image is in a *foreign* (non-ISO) format - such as MDS. Why not convert the image to ISO, then mount normally? (PowerISO is also an image-format converter, in addition to a mounting tool - because Windows 8 includes a mounting tool, if I found myself needing PowerISO, I'd simply use the conversion tool.)

Sony Vegas - Compatibility Settings, and Windows 7. (Also, select Run as Administrator for the installer, if not the program itself.)

[articuno1au]

Because Metro is not about a start screen, it's also about window management. Something that you can kinda get around in Windows8 but that's intended to become the standard in future Windows releases.

I could stand a fullscreen start menu if it was all about that (heck I'm enduring Gnome Shell's Overview right now, which even while offering a lot more features than Metro is still a fullscreen menu anyway), but the limitation of a few hardcoded window arrangements (fullscreen, 50/50 and 80/20 splits) is something that just won't work for me.

Then Windows8 happens to feel half backed, and not just because of the "beta" status. It neither here nor there when it comes to window management, offering a weird mix of behaviours depending on the type of app you are running.

You could stick with the classic desktop, but then where's the advantage of running Windows8 at all? There might be some improvements under the hood, but at the end of the day you have the same experience as with Windows7 plus a few annoyances, and you end wasting time adapting your workflow to work around features you aren't using.

The start menu... I didn't like Windows7 start menu so it's not like I'm attached to anything. I disliked it same as I didn't like it when other desktops like KDE adopted it. The old "classic" start menu wasn't good either, but at least it wasn't such a mess that you absolutely needed a search box to find anything.

If we really want to go that way I'd rather use something like Synapse and be able to find not just my apps but absolutely everything on my systems from a single search box, and then drop the whole menu instead of pretending that the new implementation is of any actual use other than wasting space.

Also the widgets on the start menu could be a nice idea wasn't it because I'm working on my desktop, not on the start menu. I can already get info about incoming mail, weather, chats (which I can reply to without even opening new windows or changing my window arrangement), calendar events and what not without touching any key, so I don't feel any need for a whole new screen full of gadgets.

Summing up, I don't see Windows8 adding anything I need, yet it would force me to change my workflow for no good reason. The Metro style window management feels like a huge step backwards if you are doing anything other than watching movies or browsing the web. I just can't get my work done with those crappy split options.

Yeah, but that's only if you choose to interact with Metro apps.

I am using literally 0 metro apps, and using Windows 8 like it was 7.

There is literally no difference in workflow except the lack of jump lists in the start menu.

[Dot Matrix]

didn't I read somewhere, where the hacks to allow the start menu are no longer available with the new release?

Hacks? No, because Microsoft is removing the old code from the codebase. BUT - the third party apps that use their own code, will still work.

[tonyh2004]

Having tried the WP, CP, and now the RP i can see a massive leap forward, the RP is really good, metro is fine when you use it a while, as someone said its the windows 95 syndrome, my opinion is its a first class OS and like it or not metro is here to stay, the new features are good and the speed in use is far better than windows 7 or xp

I personally have no problems with the RP at all and will upgrade to RTM and im looking forward to it

[Hum]

I'll never know ;)

[Brandon H Supervisor]

I'll upgrade to Win 8 if only for the performance improvements, the metro start screen doesn't bother me and I've learned my way around

[efjay]

This forum is dominated by Windows 8 haters, no prizes for guessing what the poll results will be.... :rolleyes:

[articuno1au]

Given that at the time of your post, the vote count was 41:41, you're post seems kinda silly >.>

[nowimnothing]

I've been using Windows 8 on a tablet (the BUILD tablet) and a two-monitor desktop system. I really like the consistency of using the same OS on both places. My use cases for both are very different (i spend a lot more time in the desktop on the desktop computer, and i am more of a consumer of information on the tablet). But the one OS does both very well. I hardly even notice the Start Screen when I'm on my desktop - it's just a bigger version of the Start Menu to me.

[Dashel]

Where is the option that I like most of it, hate Metro Start, but will deal with it. (Its a lot deeper than just Start menu replacements)

[articuno1au]

This is exactly the same as for me >.<

[Rigby]

This forum is dominated by Windows 8 haters, no prizes for guessing what the poll results will be.... :rolleyes:

Neowin is a Windows biased computer tech forum full of geeks; if Windows 8 is getting any love at all it will be here. In the real world its going to be a lot more hated. If you think Vista flopped just wait until Windows 8 shows up on the market.

[Dashel]

I don't think that is the case here TRC when the biggest downside is how simplistic/consumer driven it is - which does focus more on dumb, Mac mobile loving end users, than IT pros.

[Melfster]

I do think Windows 8 is going to be more successful then android tablets. I don't know any one who uses one anymore. Eventually I see windows 8 more people then the Ipad but that isn't until 2-3 years from now. I think it will get off to a slow start but then pickup when more hardware is designed specifically for windows 8

[Rigby]

It only looks simplistic. It's a horrible interface on a desktop, even tech professionals have trouble figuring things out when they sit down at it (and no they shouldn't have to learn it, an OS UI should be intuitive). You shouldn't have to look up bizarre mouse gestures or learn which invisible hot corner to go to to get to some function that for the last few decades has been in plain view. Giant tiles or mobile phone style apps running full screen make no sense either. Sure it works ok on touch tablets because that's what it is designed for. Putting it on a desktop for use with a mouse and keyboard is just plain stupid. It's all about the app store and trying to take control over the tablet market. I'm sure Apple is shaking in it's boots.

[Astra.Xtreme]

I'll use 7 for a while after 8 is released, so that all the driver bugs that are inevitable can be worked out.

Then after a few months I'll think about switching to 8 as long as there are decent tweaks out there that shut out Metro as much as possible.

I don't see the point in Metro (on a PC) and see no point in switching my PC habits to shift to a less efficient method.

I'm sure that a week after the RTM, there will be a ton of tweaks for anything and everything.

[Noir Angel]

In current form I dislike it immensely. If they do go ahead and remove aero I simply won't use it at all, if they don't remove aero I may use it if someone finds a way to completely remove the RT environment or force it to boot straight to desktop. If neither of those conditions are met i'll stick with 7

The new Explorer UI is nice, but 8 doesn't have enough killer features to make it a must have for me.

[Boeing 787]

I hate it on the desktop.

[bjoswald]

I don't hate it but if it disappeared for some reason, I wouldn't really care either. It doesn't offer me anything over Windows 7 so I'm sticking with that.

[fobban]

Overall I like Windows 8. I still don't see how the start screen has boosted the productivity though. It hasn't, at least not for me. I've been using Windows 8 since the Consumer Preview.

But apart from the start screen there are other nice features I like.

[Seketh]

The poll is actually surprising given all the Windows 8 hate that shows up around here, the difference is only ~3% so far.

[Jose_49]

Secret option e) Mixed feelings