win8 Poll: Windows 8 Experience (How do you like it?)

[PGHammer]

Here's the Reason for Windows8.. tablet/portability for Cloud storage in the home. Windows 8 is pushing the envelope for cloud storage.

http://www.neowin.ne...ox-for-business

This begs to ask; What exactly is the premise of Windows 8 again? I know it works on Laptops and Desktops that's a given. But this is in fact by Microsoft's own surface line proving that apparently companies don't want people to own their data. Is this part of a greater scheme to prevent pirated software? could be..

But I'm sure alot of us still enjoy keeping our own data at home.

It seems to me in laymens terms, MS's attempt to try and reel in Apples iPAD is all. I can't even use one of these surface systems at home on my lap as i can my laptop

Actually, you mean the premise for RT - which is, in fact, identical to that for every other OS on tablets, slates, smartphones, and devices, including Android and iOS.

When I called Windows 8 a *superset OS*, I mean exactly that. Sure, you can run a lot of the same applications that RT does, but you also have access to not just that library, but the entirety of the Windows 7 application and game library (and even most of the utlities), and it actually (to an extent) has better - not worse - application compatibility with Vista-era and XP-era applications than 7 did.

With Windows 8, you are NOT limited to RT applications, or Windows 7 applications. In fact, there are applications from the Vista and XP eras that 8 will run that 7 won't. Basically, there are fewer limits with Windows 8 than Windows 7, and far fewer than WindowsRT. The user - not the operating system - is the biggest handcuff factor with Windows 8.

[skinnyJM]

I have been using Windows 8 since the Consumer Preview. I honestly did not think I would like W8 and would eventually go back to Windows 7, but that did not happen.

[DevonT]

I've been using Windows since the very first milestone leak in April, 2011. I knew it wasn't the finished product, but when I ran it in Vmware my first impression was "that's it..?". After the DP was released, I tested it on my 7 year-old laptop with 512MBs of RAM. It didn't run super fast, but I wasn't expecting it too either. It did run noticeably faster than 7 did though, and was also more responsive to some basic tasks. Some people would think that because of the MUI, it would be slower, but that wasn't the case.

I noticed that desktop applications opened faster, and even some of the Modern apps ran decent. I remember thinking to myself, "not bad" :)

When the Release Preview came out, I decided to get rid of Windows 7 on my good laptop and install Windows 8 RP. Once I had bought Windows 8 via installation DVD ('cause I'm retro like that), I upgraded from the RP to the official version.

What I love about Windows 8 the most, is the improvements. I've noticed at times that it utilizes the RAM better than 7 did. Also, I've noticed that games seem to work better on Windows 8 than 7. The next big thing I love about it, is the Start Screen. It took me about a day or two to completely get used to the whole MUI.

What I love about the Start Screen is being able to have everything I want right in front of me, in full screen. I've always hated clicking folder after folder just to find something in the Start Menu. I also love the ability to put everything in their own groups, and being able to give them names as well.

I've noticed some people are mad because Windows 8 doesn't boot directly into the Desktop first. A lot of that is in part because they want to launch apps once they're logged in. I've found a very simple solution to that: pin all of your apps to the Start Screen so that it's all right there.

So, about my experience? I love it. I would never go back because I've seen to my good things about this new OS that makes it really hard for me to go back.

[COKid]

You sound like a satisifed customer. Cool! Windows 8 does have some improvements over Windows 7. I look forward to using it on a tablet.

[flynempire]

I cannot stand it and will stick with Windows 7 for awhile. Lets see if 8.1 or 9 are better.

A hybrid OS for a desktop or non-touch laptop does not work for me. To take many minutes just to find the button to shutdown the machine is crazy. Hot corners suck, No Start Menu, Charms , Ugly tiles, etc.. I am just not liking this OS.

The positive and I am reasonable is that it does seem much faster and stable. Those are the only two positives I will give in it's favor

[DevonT]

To take many minutes just to find the button to shutdown the machine is crazy.

It took me a little bit to figure that out too. I think they should of put those options at the bottom of the Charms bar. I created a shutdown shortcut with the command

Shutdown.exe -s -t 00[/CODE]

and put it on the Start Screen. It's the best alternative I could think of. Hopefully in 8.1, they'll work on that.

[deck]

Good bye Windows 8. I'll see you again in a couple of years.

What a difference a few months make. The Windows 8 experiment continues and I am back on Win8... with Start8. Effectively, Windows 8 is only useful for me when I have something like Start8 to suppress all the metro and make it work like Win7. At least I get the best of both worlds.

[delete]

I was in an accident and suffered horrific brain trauma.

I am now intellectually handicapped enough to use the Windows 8 UI.

Awesome, thanks Microsoft! :)

[fusi0n]

I now like it..because of start 8.. Don't use it as my MAIN yet.. but for my Doz VM on Linux and OSX I switch to Blue actually.. Kinda like it.. Maybe I can update my main box one day..

[bradsday]

The first question was a little off for me - since my new laptop came with Windows 8 pre-installed. This is actually going to be the case for anyone who has recently bought a new computer (with some exception). I suggest you modify the poll to reflect this growing demographic.

Speaking of which - I honestly think this is why so many users are experiencing frustration. I have a Windows 7 (Ultimate) 64 desktop that I wouldn't dream of migrating to Windows 8. What is the value added? To truly experience Windows 8, one should have touch-input capability. Not that you "must" have a touchscreen to use Windows 8, rather, it is designed with this capability in mind - obviously.

I am also not saying that the keyboard and mouse are going away - but rather that Windows 8 provides additional input options and flexibility. Most of the time I use a keyboard and mouse, but it is nice to be able to reach out and touch the screen at other times. Sizing a picture is a good example of when touch is just easier to use.

I, for one, applaud Microsoft for Windows 8. They are the first to bring a full-fledged, robust, touchscreen enabled operating system to the market. This is the first innovation Microsoft as demonstrated on this platform in a long time. It might be a gamble, but one Microsoft is betting will payoff in the long run. Personally, I think they got it right. Only time will tell. My guess is it won't be too long before Apple and maybe even Google follow suit - Apple Mac Book Pro with touchscreen anyone?

[fuzzflyer]

Hi all

I just fell for the Windows 8 in a new all in one desktop! should of checked the forums first!! so I would now like to go to windows 7. this computer came with 8 installed, is there a straightforward way to get Windows 7?

Info: I have tried it now for 6 weeks and find it all a step backwards, even worse than linux! tried that four times as I really like the idea.

fingers crossed for an easy fix?

My last computer was a dell touch screen all in one , I never used the touch screen so after 12 months I swapped to a none touch unit I liked W7 very much. now regret it..

[Growled Member]

I now like it..because of start 8..

Start8 is a godsend.

[primexx]

very good on my desktop, but OEM version was defective by design on my laptop because they broke legacy touchscreen functionality, so i had to replace it with an upgrade version to get that to work. fine on both computers now.

[+therealDamien Subscriber¹]

I would like windows 8 on my machine if was stable. it seems not to like me. sometimes games are missing effects. sometime get bsod. power failure caused corrupted account or other corrupted things

some games with problems for me.

Darksiders. there is no blood effects.

far cry 3 , people eyes where black.

crysis 3 missing some smoke effects.

and need for speed most wanted 2012. sun effects and debris not showing.

im NOT a noob when it comes to computers. been using them for 24 years. experieced with every system out there.

windows updated along with drivers.

windows 7 on my machine= no problem. run for months with no problems. no problems after power failures. and games run fine.

specs.

intel 2600

mem 16gb 1600mhz

nvidia gtx 580

soundblaster ti hd

2 other computers in house has no problem running windows 8.

[unclebobee]

Much better than that crappy Win 7.............I responded to the "update to Win 8"...Could NOT get the update ($39.95) to work !! Spent 2 hours with Tech. one night and 3 hours with Tech. the next night...After taking control of my PC, even he could NOT get it to update !! He suggested I should order the CDs (Cost over $80.00 and was supposed to come with an extra software disk !!!!!which was NOT in the package) ! Further Emails to Microsoft, did NOT rectify their shortcomings ! I NEVER got it ! The installation was fairy easy (32 bit) but the programs has some quirks..One being NO easy way to shut down...Two being the "nag" screen that asks if you want to run a program (almost useless)...Three being difficulty finding ways to locate program you want to run...........but overall, much better than Win 7 and the revision coming out is SUPPOSED to fix some of the problems !! The biggest problem is Microsoft themselves with their typical Microsoft attitude !! Time will tell ! I might add that I could only install with a "clean" install and that it was on a neww HP laptop.

[Growled Member]

After playing with Windows 8 in a VM for weeks, I've decided to put it back on my main machine. It just flies on it compared to Windows 7. The Start Screen is okay but I'm still not a huge fan of it but I do use it some. I use my desktop with Classic menu much more, however. Most of the time I don't even know I using Windows 8.

[fintechfooty]

Loved it at first..been using it since day one. Now I get the feeling it's unpolished so I've made the switch back to se7en. love it.

[ESC@PE]

Just finished building my new PC... Installed Windows 8 and its given me 0 problems actually. The system is fast & responsive & stable. Very pleased so far.

[+Warwagon MVC]

I don't understand why everyone says it flies compared to windows 7? I mean I have an SSD they both fly about the same. Now startup from shut down can not be given are a reason. Because Windows 8 never actually shuts down so that doesn't count.

[.Neo]

So I installed Windows 8 on my mom's laptop and she ran into a few usability issues:

- There no apparent way to view your history in Internet Explorer (Metro). After Googling I found out the feature simply isn't there (really??)

- The Windows Phone connector in Metro doesn't support iTunes, you need the desktop version for that. Problem is that the desktop version of the app creates a folder with a slightly different name, so everything is being reimported again. The Metro and desktop apps are never in sync with each other.

- The Metro photo app doesn't split photos into events or something similar like iPhoto does. Everything is just thrown onto one big pile. Folders of different events have to be managed manually, which seems a bit archaic.

- No apparent way to sync favorites between Windows 8 and her Nokia Lumia 820 (Windows Phone 8).

- The whole concept of having double versions of many apps is confusing to her, especially because they work so differently.

[4CxbqFxVnstmA Veteran]

I had Windows 7 in a virtual machine, bought Windows 8 upgrade before the deadline (back when it was like ?25) and was unnerved about the start menu being missing. I know I knew it wasn't there but I didn't think it would be as bad as it was. I then bought Stardock's start menu thing and it's been fine. I boot straight to the old desktop and have the start button. Maybe if I had touch on my laptop it would be different. Anyway it works fine now, when I do fire up my VMWare Player to run it!

[static_geek]

Really enjoying the whole experience, cant wait for a touch screen!

[startscreennope]

Installation:

Wow, so many opt-out options for MS "metrics". Those should be opt-in by default, and I don't doubt at some point some windows updates will "accidentally" turn them back on and start giving MS lots of data you didn't consent to.

For example, I explicitly declined to be in the MS Security Essentials "club" or whatever, but after an auto-update it checked itself on. Uninstalled it after that.

Compatibility:

There shouldn't be any serious compatibility issues since the core OS is not much different from Win 7.

Features:

Obviously the worst issue with Windows 8. Metro apps are half baked and missing many features, metro doesn't integrate with the desktop well at all, start screen is functionally inferior to the start menu, etc.

By the way, it's obvious the only reason Windows 8 "shuts down and boots" so fast is because it's not really shutting down, it's just going into Hibernate.

[Fourjays Veteran]

Windows 8 isn't too bad. I question the usefulness of the apps (I only use OneNote and occasionally Mail - and the latter is only because it is easier than signing in/out of my various Outlook accounts), but the core operating system is fine.

 

One thing that still grates on me after 7 months of use is the charms bar, and it is probably the only "core feature" of Windows 8 I dislike (everything else is to do with the apps). I'm really not sure what problem it is trying to solve.

• Search is best done either via an app's search box or just by typing (love this feature). It becomes apparent how cumbersome the search charm is whenever these two alternatives aren't available. Should leave it up to apps.
• I've never seen anything appear in devices. Not my printer, no USB drives, not even my Windows Phone - does anything show up here?
• Don't really see the point in a share charm. Again, they should leave it up to apps.
• The only useful one there is Settings, which I basically use once a day to shut down my computer. It is a good idea to have app settings in a central location though.
• It endlessly gets in the way. Whatever I'm doing on my computer, this stupid charms bar finds a way to pop-up.

I'd personally ditch the charms bar and encourage developers to use the app bar instead - it works fine for Windows Phone. On the whole Windows 8 could take a lot of hints from Windows Phone (which is why it concerns me that Microsoft seems keen to do the opposite).

[Ironman273]

I know this hasn't been responded to in ages but I haven't been here in ages so I thought I'd put in my 2? anyways... :P

 

I installed Windows 8 on my home PC first and didn't really "get" the Start screen.  It wasn't easy to navigate with a mouse and keyboard.  So I lived in the desktop mode.  It worked like Windows 7 so I was perfectly fine with it.  When I needed an application I just hit the Start button on my keyboard and started typing.  The program would appear much like I did thing in Windows 7.  I definitely didn't miss a Start menu like Windows 7 had.  I figured the only people that missed it are the same people that would put the "Classic Menu" in XP, when you could do more with the normal XP Start menu.  So life continued....

 

Then I got my Surface Pro.  Now I realized the point of every aspect in Windows 8.  Windows 8 is an operating system waiting for the hardware to catch up.  There will be more touch surface screens on laptops, more large multitouch touchpads, more fully working tablets in the future and Windows 8 will be ready for them.  I can use my Surface for work (which is the main reason I needed a new PC), then take it out to appointments and show specs or videos like a tablet.  I used to have a Macbook (which I had to go to a VM to use some of the company's applications) and then also carry around an iPad for ease.  Now I do it all with one device.