What was your initial reaction to Windows 8?


Recommended Posts

"This is retarded, where is the start button, why is this a tablet UI on a desktop?"

I still feel this way.

This.

I bumbled around for a week or so, and thought, you know what? Screw this, I'm over trying to re-learn everything I know about Windows to make this BS work FOR ME. My refund from Microsoft hit my account 2 days later.

  • Like 2

This.

I bumbled around for a week or so, and thought, you know what? Screw this, I'm over trying to re-learn everything I know about Windows to make this BS work FOR ME. My refund from Microsoft hit my account 2 days later.

I know... hot corners are such a difficult concept that they take weeks to master /s

Go bumble around learning 4 finger gestures on iOS.

I know... hot corners are such a difficult concept that they take weeks to master /s

Go bumble around learning 4 finger gestures on iOS.

Oh, I'm meant to like it because you do?

This.

I bumbled around for a week or so, and thought, you know what? Screw this, I'm over trying to re-learn everything I know about Windows to make this BS work FOR ME. My refund from Microsoft hit my account 2 days later.

So what happens 10 years from now, when everything you know is depreciated or gone?

So what happens 10 years from now, when everything you know is depreciated or gone?

Microsoft forcing consumers to use the Start Screen on a desktop computer = Ford deciding that from now, they will only use squared wheels on their cars. :)

I'll buy a Honda, but thanks anyway and have fun!

Microsoft forcing consumers to use the Start Screen on a desktop computer = Ford deciding that from now, they will only use squared wheels on their cars. :)

I'll buy a Honda, but thanks anyway and have fun!

And Desktop Linux and Mac OS aren't doing the same? You can see the evolution in their desktops too. Either way you look at it, the point and click UI isn't holding much water anymore. I can guarantee you'll be seeing more device neutral UI's in the next few years from all parties.

And Desktop Linux and Mac OS aren't doing the same? You can see the evolution in their desktops too. Either way you look at it, the point and click UI isn't holding much water anymore. I can guarantee you'll be seeing more device neutral UI's in the next few years from all parties.

We'll see...

We don?t subscribe to the vision that the OS for iPhones and iPads should be the same as Mac. Customers want iOS and Mac OS X to work together seamlessly, not to be the same, but to work together seamlessly.

So what happens 10 years from now, when everything you know is depreciated or gone?

I move to something else that works better for my needs. Simple really. Like anything in life.

How do you know it will be?

I don't. But I can tell you, with multiple devices on the market, and more on the way, ALL including new UX technologies, that the desktop is all but done for. There's a booming market out there, and it will only serve to change things at a quicker pace than ever before.

I don't. But I can tell you, with multiple devices on the market, and more on the way, ALL including new UX technologies, that the desktop is all but done for. There's a booming market out there, and it will only serve to change things at a quicker pace than ever before.

I agree we are in a post desktop world. However, the desktop will be with us for many years yet and will never die completely, just like we still have a few mainframes still around. The death will be slow and painful because we don't have a suitable replacement just yet. Tablets are not there just yet.

I know you love Windows 8 and there is nothing wrong with that. However, many of us like the way we work now and there is nothing wrong with that either. Different strokes for different folks.

  • Like 2

So what happens 10 years from now, when everything you know is depreciated or gone?

Microsoft forcing consumers to use the Start Screen on a desktop Computer...

In ten years?

I would not bet one cent on the classic "Desktop" view.

I can pin a Metro app to the left desktop side already. Why it should be not possible to pin another app to the right side and one at the bottom? In the remaining area you can open e.g. MS Word. Something like this.

In ten years?

I would not bet one cent on the classic "Desktop" view.

I can pin a Metro app to the left desktop side already. Why it should be not possible to pin another app to the right side and one at the bottom? In the remaining area you can open e.g. MS Word. Something like this.

Yeah, it's called a tiling window manager.

post-5569-0-38954300-1360910087.png

  • Like 2

And Desktop Linux and Mac OS aren't doing the same? You can see the evolution in their desktops too. Either way you look at it, the point and click UI isn't holding much water anymore. I can guarantee you'll be seeing more device neutral UI's in the next few years from all parties.

My Arch Install doesn't feel ANYTHING like windows 8. I have a regular start menu, regular task bar, regular windowing system.. without having to switch into a mode to do it. I can also customize the sheit out of it without needing to apply hacks or mods.

i for one was interested int he change, much like how win3.1 changed so much to win95 and so on and so forth getting all the way here,its been fun and ive enjoyed shoing friends how to use it and they are starting to like it now also

havnt really found anything i dont like yet =]

I was very excited when I saw the new Start Screen. Conceptually, its the culmination of 15 years of Microsoft UI prototypes.

The actual implementation and day-to-day use however indicates a product hat hasn't fully matured. This is to be expected ? its new. The start screen applications lack in functionality. In its quest for performance, font rendering has been sacrificed. Perhaps the start screen is meant to be used on small, high dpi displays (e.g.: an 8.9" 1080p display), and consequently larger, low-dpi displays, do not provide a satisfying experience.

We are lead to believe that hierarchically, the Start Screen resides at the top-level of the UI. This is smoke and mirrors. From the start screen, using the WINKEY+M key combination, ("minimize all opened windows to desktop") gives you the desktop. The Start Screen is simply a full-screen window.

The Windows Phone and Windows 8 Marketplace are separate entities. On iOS and Android, the marketplace is the same for handset and tablets. The OS and binaries between handset and tablet is the same on these platforms. The windows phone 7/8 start screen looks like the Windows 8 start screen but I bet they are completely different binaries. They hardly behave the same. Again, smoke and mirrors.

On the desktop, I miss the Windows 7 visual style, Aero Glass, Flip 3D, and drop shadows on windows. I do not like how Office 2013 looks (or behaves .... try this: resize an opened Office 2013 window. Ugh). Bland colors lead to eye fatigue. Transparent window borders paired with a nice wallpaper gives natural-looking backgrounds which are more pleasing to me.

Windows 7 was about providing a satisfying user experience, with perfect fit and finish. I don't get this impression with Windows 8. Too many things were left out. The icons and menu bars weren't updated, for instance. I appreciate all the new under-the-hood functionality (e.g. storage spaces, improved out-of-the box virtualization, cloud integration), but wish Windows 8 looked like its early mocks-ups, which was Windows 7 on steroids. The Start Screen should have been provided as an alternate shell.

Windows 8 is great opportunity for customization software. Stardock got my money for Start8, Fences Pro and Decor8. Impatiently awaiting WindowsBlinds compatible with Windows 8.

The Start Screen should have been provided as an alternate shell. In itself the Start Screen is a great opportunity for LOB applications in vertical markets. It provides a secure container for business applications used in retail, the shop floor, or corporate environments, instead of the web browser.

Either way you look at it, the point and click UI isn't holding much water anymore. I can guarantee you'll be seeing more device neutral UI's in the next few years from all parties.

Bwahahahahahahahahahahaha..... dude, you slay me.

I would submit that the billion plus desktops out there strongly suggest otherwise. Point and click is here for a long long time.

This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Posts

    • OpenAI is rolling out a major upgrade to ChatGPT memory by Pradeep Viswanathan OpenAI is rolling out a major upgrade to ChatGPT's memory, making the system more capable, current, and scalable across long-term use. Memory allows ChatGPT to remember useful details about users, including their preferences, projects, and constraints. Instead of starting every conversation from scratch, ChatGPT can use this context to provide more relevant responses in future chats. OpenAI first launched saved memories in February 2024. That feature allowed users to explicitly ask ChatGPT to save information into its memory, such as travel plans or writing preferences. However, this system had limits because it depended heavily on users giving clear instructions to remember something. Additionally, saved memories could become stale over time. In April 2025, OpenAI expanded memory by allowing ChatGPT to reference past chat context outside the saved memories list. This was powered by a background process called “dreaming,” which automatically curates memories from chat history. This made ChatGPT better at learning from natural conversation without requiring users to manually save every detail. Today, OpenAI announced a more capable and compute-efficient memory architecture built on top of dreaming. This new system improves ChatGPT’s ability to carry forward useful context, follow user preferences, and remain accurate as time passes. According to OpenAI’s internal evaluations, the new system improves factual recall from 67.9% in 2025 to 82.8% in 2026. Preference adherence improves from 55.3% to 71.3%, while accuracy over time improves from 52.2% to 75.1%. The best part of this new system is a new memory summary page where users can review ChatGPT's memories. Users can even update details, correct information, or give instructions on what topics ChatGPT should bring up and when. This new, improved memory system is available to ChatGPT Plus and Pro users in the US starting today. It will roll out to more countries, as well as Free and Go users, in the coming weeks.
    • I work for a video production company in Australia. The camera operators shoot footage and then pass the SD card over to the editors. Much easier than handing over the entire camera. Plus, on a busy day you can hand off the SD card and then pop another in for the next shoot. Or, you might have used multiple SD cards because you need the extra space for a long shoot. I also use USB cables and wifi for transferring footage, but in many cases an SD card reader is the easiest method.
    • Microsoft Edge 149.0.4022.52 by Razvan Serea Microsoft Edge is a super fast and secure web browser from Microsoft. It works on almost any device, including PCs, iPhones and Androids. It keeps you safe online, protects your privacy, and lets you browse the web quickly. You can even use it on all your devices and keep your browsing history and favorites synced up. Built on the same technology as Chrome, Microsoft Edge has additional built-in features like Startup boost and Sleeping tabs, which boost your browsing experience with world class performance and speed that are optimized to work best with Windows. Microsoft Edge security and privacy features such as Microsoft Defender SmartScreen, Password Monitor, InPrivate search, and Kids Mode help keep you and your loved ones protected and secure online. Microsoft Edge has features to keep both you and your family protected. Enable content filters and access activity reports with your Microsoft Family Safety account and experience a kid-friendly web with Kids Mode. The new Microsoft Edge is now compatible with your favorite extensions, so it’s easy to personalize your browsing experience. Microsoft Edge 149.0.4022.52 changelog: Migration to improved V2 architecture for Workspaces. Workspaces, introduced in Edge in 2022, allows users to create durable sets of tabs that can be saved and shared with others. In order to improve reliability and performance of this feature, the following changes are being made: Migrating data for saved Workspaces from OneDrive/SharePoint to Edge Sync service Removing the collaboration/share functionality of this feature For organizations who have disabled Sync through policy, the existing v1 Workspace data will still be migrated to the new architecture. New v2 Workspaces created after migration won't sync across devices and will remain local to each device. This update occurs on a progressive rollout beginning in Edge Stable v145 and will continue rolling out in Edge v149. For more information, see Getting started with Microsoft Edge Workspaces. Feature Updates Passkey Sync for Enterprise Users. Microsoft Edge is introducing support for passkey synchronization for enterprise users, enabling secure, passwordless authentication across devices. Passkeys created in Edge can now be synced seamlessly, improving sign-in experience while maintaining strong security standards. Note: This is a controlled feature rollout. If you don't see this change, check back as we continue the rollout. Enterprise WebView2 runtime downgrade via DowngradeVersion policy. Administrators can temporarily roll back specific applications to a previous WebView2 Evergreen Runtime version (N-1 or N-2) using the new DowngradeVersion policy in msedgewebview2.admx. The Downgrade Version policy allows enterprises to mitigate critical regressions by specifying per-application exe-to-version mappings. The Edge Updater installs the target version side-by-side, and the WebView2 Loader redirects targeted apps accordingly. Downgrades auto-expire with each new WebView2 release: apps pinned to N-1 remain on the same version (now becoming N-2) and will auto-update in the next release, while apps pinned to N-2 will revert to the current Evergreen version. The policy applies only to enterprise-managed devices (domain-joined or MDM-enrolled). For more information, see Microsoft Edge WebView2 Policy Documentation | Microsoft Learn. Collections retirement. Collections has been removed in this update. Users can no longer access or use the feature. To keep saved content, users can export it, or move all pages to Favorites before updating to Microsoft Edge Stable 149. For more information, see Organize your ideas with Collections in Microsoft Edge - Microsoft Support. Modern, unified, and updated Look and Feel. Microsoft Edge has updated the Look and Feel to give customers a unified experience across all of Microsoft AI surfaces including Copilot and Bing. This changes multiple elements of the UX such as spacing, corners, fonts, default colors, etc. Clarify choices surrounding third-party cookie settings. Language under Settings > Privacy, search, and services > Cookies are clarified to better describe the choices users have in managing third-party cookies. Custom primary password retirement. Users are no longer able to create a new custom primary password in Edge Settings edge://settings/autofill/passwords/settings. Any users who are still using a custom primary password will be automatically migrated to device authentication. Additionally, the PrimaryPasswordSetting policy will no longer support the WithCustomPrimaryPassword option. For more information, see Keep your saved passwords private in Microsoft Edge | Microsoft Support. Unifying Copilot Chat policy controls. The Microsoft365CopilotChatIconEnabled policy is the standard for configuring Copilot Chat. Previously, this behavior was controlled by blocking the Copilot extension, either explicitly or by using the * wildcard via the ExtensionSettings or ExtensionInstallBlockList policies. Extension and sidebar policies no longer affect the appearance or functionality of Copilot Chat. Copilot address bar suggestions were also tied to extension policy settings. Starting in Microsoft Edge version 149, admins can use the CopilotAddressBarSuggestionsEnabled policy to manage this behavior. Intune MAM Protected Downloads. The protected downloads feature for Intune MAM is now available for BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) devices, which aren't managed by a tenant. Policy Updates / New policies CopilotAddressBarSuggestionsEnabled - Enable Copilot address bar suggestions CpuPerformanceTierOverride - Override for the CPU performance tier DataUrlInWebWorkerOpaqueOriginEnabled - Enable opaque origins for data URLs in Web Workers DefaultLocalFontsSetting - Default Local Fonts permission setting ForceForegroundPriorityForUrls - Force foreground priority for specific URLs LocalFontsAllowedForUrls - Allow Local Fonts permission on these sites LocalFontsBlockedForUrls - Block Local Fonts permission on these sites Deprecated policies WalletDonationEnabled - Wallet Donation Enabled (deprecated) EdgeWalletEtreeEnabled - Edge Wallet E-Tree Enabled (deprecated) Additional policy changes ForceForegroundPriorityForUrls - ForceForegroundPriorityForOrigins is renamed to ForceForegroundPriorityForUrls OnSecurityEventEnterpriseConnector - Add macOS platform support ProtectedContentIdentifiersAllowed - Remove macOS platform support Download: Microsoft Edge (64-bit) | 193.0 MB (Freeware) Download: Microsoft Edge (32-bit) | 170.0 MB Download: Microsoft Edge (ARM64) | 188.0 MB View: Microsoft Edge Website | Release History Get alerted to all of our Software updates on Twitter at @NeowinSoftware
    • User: "But is it good?" Microsoft: "Well, no. But it is less bad."
    • Media Player Classic - Home Cinema 2.7.2 by Razvan Serea Media Player Classic - Home Cinema (MPC-HC) is a free and open-source video and audio player for Windows. MPC-HC is based on the original Guliverkli project (which is no longer maintained) and contains many additional features and bug fixes. As the continuation of the original Media Player Classic, MPC-HC isn’t flashy but it works with nearly any media format. MPC-HC uses DXVA technology to pass decoding operations to your modern video card, enhancing your viewing experience. And MPC-HC supports both physical and software DVDs with menus, chapter navigation, and subtitles. Overview of features A lot of people seem to be unaware of some of the awesome features that have been added to MPC-HC in the past years. Here is a list of useful options and features that everyone should know about: Dark interface Menu > View > Dark Theme When using dark theme it is also possible to change the height of the seekbar and size of the toolbar buttons. Options > Advanced Video preview on the seekbar Options > Tweaks > Show preview on seek bar Adjust playback speed Menu > Play > Playback rate The buttons in the player that control playback rate take a 2x step by default. This can be customized to smaller values (like 10%): Options > Playback > Speed step Adjusting playback speed works best with the internal audio renderer. This also has automatic pitch correction. Options > Playback > Output > Audio Renderer MPC-HC can remember playback position, so you can resume from that point later Options > Player > History You can quickly seek through a video with Ctrl + Mouse Scrollwheel. You can jump to next/previous file in a folder by pressing PageUp/PageDown. You can perform automatic actions at end of file. For example to go to next file or close player. Options > Playback > After Playback (permanent setting) Menu > Play > After Playback (for current file only) A-B repeat - You can loop a segment of a video. Press [ and ] to set start and stop markers. You can rotate/flip/mirror/stretch/zoom the video Menu > View > Pan&Scan This is also easily done with hotkeys (see below). There are lots of keyboard hotkeys and mouse actions to control the player. They can be customized as well. Options > Player > Keys Tip: there is a search box above the table. You can stream videos directly from Youtube and many other video websites You can stream videos directly from Youtube and many other video websites Put yt-dlp.exe or youtube-dl.exe in the MPC-HC installation folder. Then you can open website URLs in the player: Menu > File > Open File/URL You can even download those videos: Menu > File > Save a copy Tip: to be able to download in best quality with yt-dlp/youtube-dl, it is recommended to also put ffmpeg.exe in the MPC-HC folder. Several YDL configuration options are found here: Options > Advanced This includes an option to specify the location of the .exe in case you don't want to put it in MPC-HC folder. Play HDR video This requires using madVR or MPC Video Renderer. After installation these renderers can be selected here: Options > Playback > Output Ability to search for and download subtitles, either automatically or manually (press D): Options > Subtitles > Misc Besides all these (new) features, there have also been many bugfixes and internal improvements in the player in the past years that give better performance and stability. It also has updated internal codecs. Support was added for CUE sheets, WebVTT subtitles, etc. Media Player Classic - Home Cinema 2.7.2 changelog: Updated LAV Filters to version 0.81-23-g6fadb Updated MPC Video Renderer to version 0.10.2.2540 Updated MediaInfo DLL to version 26.05 Updated MPC Audio Renderer Several crash fixes, bug fixes and small improvements. Download: MPC-HC 2.7.2 (x64) | Standalone | ~20.0 MB (Open Source) Download: MPC-HC 2.7.2 (x86) | Standalone Links: MPC-HC Home Page | Screenshot Get alerted to all of our Software updates on Twitter at @NeowinSoftware
  • Recent Achievements

    • Week One Done
      RG INVESTMENT GROUP earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • Very Popular
      The Norwegian Drone Pilot earned a badge
      Very Popular
    • Very Popular
      s0nic69 earned a badge
      Very Popular
    • Collaborator
      Asgardi earned a badge
      Collaborator
    • Conversation Starter
      mobandz earned a badge
      Conversation Starter
  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      471
    2. 2
      PsYcHoKiLLa
      247
    3. 3
      Skyfrog
      80
    4. 4
      FloatingFatMan
      67
    5. 5
      Michael Scrip
      60
  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!