The Definitive Windows 8 Review And User Guide

[ravinmachine]

Man, if Microsoft thinks they are having a hard time getting people to upgrade from Windows XP, then they have no idea what they are going to face around 2020 when they want people to upgrade from Windows 7. If this is the direction they seem to be so stubbornly set on going.

 

[Guest]

Adam, you're not quite right here:

Windows RT apps won't run on Windows 8 unless they're ported to Windows 8.

As long as you target the winRT API(regardless of coding language), your metro app will work on both x86 and ARM, no porting required - you can even add windows phone if the app design/concept allows it.

 

[Guest]

Sorry for double post. You forgot to mention that Win8 adds to Win7 some pretty newsworthy features. I did not expect you not to mention/test them.
1. Built in hypervisor
2. Built in image mounting -meh
3. Storage spaces(this one is massive)
4. Windows to GO - windows on a stick
5. Massively improved networking/built-in security

 

[designasaurus]

How does this OS play with multiple monitors?

It seems like getting to the sidebars would either be a long trip to the far edges of each monitor, or a tricky task of navigating the corner/edge of one monitor without slipping over to the other. Is there a clever solution that Microsoft has come up with?

 

[rickl7069]

[citation][nom]adamovera[/nom] In addition, do you actually have hundreds of things sorted in your start menu? If you do, then I'm curious why you don't just use search.[/citation]
I don't know about him, but for me, I also have hundreds of apps that I need quick access to. Sometimes I know the name of what I'm looking for, sometimes I don't. But, either way, my menu is highly organized and easy to navigate and find what I need. Why would I use search when I can navigate through my menus and find what I want in less time than it would take to stop and type it in, if I can even think of the name of what I am looking for?

 

[soccerdocks]

[citation][nom]SteelCity1981[/nom]That's because Windows 8 doesn't actually shutdown or go into a full boot because, it uses a hybrid boot and Shutdow methods by defualt which is why the boot time and shutdown time are faster. If you turn off the hybred mode in the power settings it will boot and shutdown normally like Windows 7 and won't boot any faster or any quicker on shutdown.[/citation]
That's not completely true. It does have better multicore usage during startup (and maybe shutdown). This will make it boot up faster.

 

[rickl7069]

[citation][nom]soccerdocks[/nom]That's not completely true. It does have better multicore usage during startup (and maybe shutdown). This will make it boot up faster.[/citation]
As someone already stated, with an ssd drive windows 7 boots in seconds, so there is NO improvement with windows 8.

 

[SteelCity1981]

[citation][nom]adamovera[/nom]I actually have to agree with you on aero. I actually liked aero and thought it was the most appropriate Windows UI theme to date (think about it, glass... windows...). But I disagree on the "average" user, that is if you're talking about the customer who buys a pre-built PC from a big box retailer and mostly just uses a Web browser. A very large portion of that user demographic has grown accustomed to UI change via their CE gadgets. But more importantly, people love the App Store model. Once they plug in their new Windows 8 PC and see apps and games available for immediate download on the Windows Store, I don't think they'll care very much that it's different from Windows 7. Plus, websites are creating Windows 8 apps specifically tailored to deliver their content, which could end up being a better experience than through a desktop Web browser. And once again, due to the App Store, people are used to accessing websites via individual apps. Besides, I have no doubt that consumers purchasing a touchscreen-equipped Windows 8 PC will have a fantastic experience, Windows 8 actually works properly here, whereas Window 7 and every other desktop OS have not. Although the power user will always be a desktop person in the end, most of you also have laptops, and I for one, am going to be very happy with the MacBook-like smooth scrolling on my next laptop (at PC prices).[/citation]


Go tell that to the users that had Vista installed on their pc that raced back to Windows XP.

 

[clonazepam]

Seems like it'd be possible to have a typical desktop wallpaper file on steroids. The tiles are integrated into the particular wallpaper, so maybe the tiles are arranged creatively around an artistic background, while leaving the start menu alone. Using the tiles, invokes all the new UI features, going to the start menu invokes standard Win7 style UI.

Bah, I don't really care. When I'm ready to buy Win8 I will regardless of what it looks like, because it'll be a nice change, and I like the challenge of making Metro's functionality as good or better than 7's.

 

[tomfreak]

[citation][nom]ravinmachine[/nom]Man, if Microsoft thinks they are having a hard time getting people to upgrade from Windows XP, then they have no idea what they are going to face around 2020 when they want people to upgrade from Windows 7. If this is the direction they seem to be so stubbornly set on going.[/citation]winXP broke a lot more things than win8, back then we got these same full rolls of haters from win9x. It is not surprising.

 

[Supertrek32]

The only new feature I really, really liked about Win 8 was the faster boot times.

Then again, I just put Win 7 in sleep mode (unless I'm updating) instead of shutting down and get a 1 second "boot" time anyway... So it's not a deal breaker.

 

[brandonvi]

[citation][nom]Tomfreak[/nom]winXP broke a lot more things than win8, back then we got these same full rolls of haters from win9x. It is not surprising.[/citation]
??? i think maybe you need to check some more facts

yes i am 100% with you there will ALWAYS be haters on everything you could make the cure to cancer and there would be someone bitching that some plant in south america had to be killed to make it

but there is a big difference between just not liking something because its new and having problems with its function and or lack of usefullness

every OS every is going to brake stuff because some drivers will not be uptodate so thats nothing new for the first few days but that is not at all what people are bitching about here

Every windows for the last 17 years (more then 1/2 of my life) have been just an update and evelotionon windows 95 and that was good they added usefull stuff and rarely if even took anything at all away

Windows 8 on the other hand is a evelotion for a smartphone/tablet OS and as that it would be VERY nice but as a OS for a desktop computer it has removed more then a few things or if not removed them then just made them so hard that 80-90% of people will never even be able to find out how to get things the way they want

this OS as a whole is nothing but a gready money grab they are hoping all the people out there that are buying apps on there smartphones will swich over to windows 8 and use it for both there phones tablets and computers so they can get all your money

other then the new UI there was only maybe 3-4 things that even could be usefull in this OS right now

My self i was really planing to buy it just because it cost so little but seeing how they have killed windows and turned it in to tiles instead I would rather just stay with windows 7 and pray SP1 or windows 9 is better

 

[tigershark]

[citation][nom]luke904[/nom]Who the hell wants a touchscreen on a desktop computer?....[/citation]
I can't stop laughing when I imagine Stewie from Family Guy saying that.(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zJyGbesMuw). Great follow up too lol :
[citation][nom]brandonvi[/nom]man i hope microsoft makes a PC verson of windows 8....[/citation]

I didn't just spend over a thousand dollars on a 30 inch, non-touch screen monitor to have to drag an application down 1600 pixels to close it! When I heard that MS was ripping code out once they learned users were hacking the registry to bypass metro, I couldn't believe it. How can they not understand that giving users choice makes us feel empowered? Then it dawned on me; Metro is actually invasive advertisement! MS want to take desktop users by the nose and force us to become familiar with their tablet interface so that when we are making that buy decision for a portable device we will choose what we already know. For years I've thought of legacy Microsoft as primarily a marketing company, not a software producer. Oops. Was the adjective describing MS, a tactic I learned from their marketing literature designed to make you think it was time to say goodbye to the old, a little too obvious?

 

[brandonvi]

[citation][nom]tigershark[/nom]I can't stop laughing when I imagine Stewie from Family Guy saying that.(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zJyGbesMuw). Great follow up too lol :


I didn't just spend over a thousand dollars on a 30 inch, non-touch screen monitor to have to drag an application down 1600 pixels to close it! When I heard that MS was ripping code out once they learned users were hacking the registry to bypass metro, I couldn't believe it. How can they not understand that giving users choice makes us feel empowered? Then it dawned on me; Metro is actually invasive advertisement! MS want to take desktop users by the nose and force us to become familiar with their tablet interface so that when we are making that buy decision for a portable device we will choose what we already know. For years I've thought of legacy Microsoft as primarily a marketing company, not a software producer. Oops. Was the adjective describing MS, a tactic I learned from their marketing literature designed to make you think it was time to say goodbye to the old, a little too obvious?[/citation]


Ya i was thinking to much about the apps since they get 30% of each sell on that but they also want to sell windows 8 phones and tablets

and ya i read about them removing that code at the time i thought it was to make people test the Metro UI and that they would put the code back in before lauch

i wonder if you get a old version of the beta that still has the code they removed if you could patch that code in to windows 8 and make it work right

if someone could get that code and make it work they could make a killing selling it or if not selling it atleast make a LOT of people happy

 

[cjl]

[citation][nom]davewolfgang[/nom]Some of ya'll who find Win8 "nice" and "great" and "easy" - You clearly weren't a power user for Win 7 (and Vista, XP, 98, NT before it) - because for us power users - there is so much waste and 100's and 1,000's of extra clicks - just to do stuff we could do in 2-3 clicks. [/citation]

Actually, I think most of us power users use keyboard shortcuts for most things, and they still work just fine in Win8. Clicking through menus has always been a slow and inefficient way to do things, and that hasn't really changed.

 

[toby1064]

Start8 Search for it, makes 8 worth using on my laptop with no touchscreen. The improvements in utilities and start time are worth it with a start menu and the Modern UI disabled.

 

[tomfreak]

[citation][nom]toby1064[/nom]Start8 Search for it, makes 8 worth using on my laptop with no touchscreen. The improvements in utilities and start time are worth it with a start menu and the Modern UI disabled.[/citation]exactly the start menu is hidden, various tools has showed to re-enabled back their awesome start menu to boost someone's productivity a thousand times as claimed by them.

I do have to Agree, Microsoft does have some intention kill off start menu by not providing a default option to turn it back on.

 

[mubin]

I love start menu

 

[ojas]

[citation][nom]adamovera[/nom]I read the whole original piece, and yes "Metro" is the new explorer shell, Start menu, and desktop, it's simply the new UI, period. And you can go directly to an open Desktop application from the Start screen if you have a tile for that desktop application - you do not have to switch to the Desktop and then use the taskbar like the author indicates.[/citation]
Ah, thanks for the input

 

[ojas]

[citation][nom]soccerdocks[/nom]That's not completely true. It does have better multicore usage during startup (and maybe shutdown). This will make it boot up faster.[/citation]
Um no not really. I mean yeah, it does have a multicore startup, but i believe the actual reason is that Win 8 goes into hibernate by default (what's being referred to as "hybrid boot" by some others). At least, that's what i remember from a Win 8 dev team video during the last few months.

 

[mikenygmail]

Give me desktop or give me death!

 

[egilbe]

One shouldn't upgrade an OS willy-nilly. I'm good with W7 and probably will be for a long time. I'd much rather have the money in my pocket, than M$'s

 

[ravewulf]

I already have a free copy of Win8 from MSDN-AA (aka Dreamspark Premium), but I won't be using it yet. I'm gonna wait and see what Stardock comes out with to bring back the Aero theme and what other programs/customizations are made to make it more like Vista/7. The very few positive points I see in Win8 are not nearly enough to overcome the negatives.

 

[lsatenstein]

I am impressed with the Windows 8 offering. In reflection, it is still geared to the email - web browser community. It is less geared to a writer, an office worker, a programmer, or as an interface to applications that rely on a windows 7 application interface. (Many ERP and Logistics systems are W7 based, with a gui that is compatible with XP, VISTA and W7). This may be a reason why corporate uptake will be very very very slow in coming. (There are millions of lines of VBasic code that must be redone). This change is good for the economy for creating jobs. Be one of the first with W8 programming skills.

 

[ceh4702]

The new version of Windows is now available on store shelves, and we have the complete lowdown on Microsoft's latest operating system. Join us as we thoroughly dissect the Windows 8 UI (Metro), Apps, Desktop, Gestures, IE10, SkyDrive, and Windows Store.

The Definitive Windows 8 Review And User Guide : Read more

I am using both Vista on an older Core 2 Duo computer and Win 7 on a newer computer with HDMI with a HDTV. One of my main uses is Watching HULU and other sites which use a Flash-based plug-in to watch movies. I tested the Release Preview in IE 10 which was also a beta product. My motherboard had integrated 720p HD Video (Intel DG35EC?). It wasnt till later that the CPU'S from intel had the integrated video.

I thought that using Windows 8 to watch streaming video was at best a Failure to a very poor working environment. I am accustomed to just watching video online. However, it kind of worked from the desktop for a while then it got worse and worse and later it did not hardly work at all.

So from an HTPC point of view I would say not to purchase or us Windows 8.

So did you test Windows 8 with this in mind? It seems a lot of people like to watch video online and are dropping cable service. So what about them? Believe it or not there are more things than games to use a PC for???