Windows 8 Consumer Preview Hits 1 Million Downloads

[livebriand]

[citation][nom]matt_b[/nom]I can reassure you, you will NOT be in the minority on this one. They had better include a workaround for a "classic" desktop or there will be many feeling alienated. Even though the "ribbon" was introduced in Office 07' and again a no workaround in 10', I still can't stand it and get used to it - choice can be good![/citation]
At least the ribbon is more practical (I've gotten used to it and hate office 2003's UI now). It wouldn't have been a bad idea for them to offer a setting to get the old UI though, I'll admit. Windows 8's UI however is just terrible all around (unless you have a tablet, which most of us don't).

 

[livebriand]

[citation][nom]olaf[/nom]they will, so far my 2 soundcards say that they do. An X-fi and my onboard realtek. atleaast i good thing in win8[/citation]
If you get lucky, yes. I think they changed some things in the driver stack. For instance, virtualbox's video driver works fine with Windows 7, but not with Windows 8 (it installs, but won't load, so the system is stuck with the generic VGA driver effectively).

 

[Guest]

Is it just me or does games run slower on Windows 8?

 

[youngpeter]

Wow, lots of negative stuff. Here's a twist, have you tried an IPad? Don't. I have been using WinXP and Win7 and think they work just fine. Win8 is out there and I will check it out at some point, forums and comments like these will suffice for now. Anyhow, our school is looking at tablet PC's and IPads so we bought an IPad and a couple IPods. They are cute, they are great 'consumption' devices, Period. I downloaded Keynote/Pages/Numbers last week and found them to be a joke on the tiny screens. Not going there. I heard nothing but good news about these, I'm beginning to think Apple is filtering out the bad press. Microsoft, love it or hate it, works and has made incredible improvements as the years have gone by. Let's hope Win8 gets it together.

 

[K2N hater]

Even windows 3.11 UI is more productive and fits way more apps than Metro.

 

[Guest]

I've had Win8 on a spare Core2Duo for 2 days now; it dual boots with Win7, both clean installs. Win8 is no faster than 7 in booting. I'm writing this in Win8 and I have Firefox and iTunes running and memory is at 1.37 GB used out of 6 Gig. Pretty much the same as Win7 shows doing the same tasks. So much for that theory about 8 being so much faster and less of a resource hog.

This may indeed be a great O/S for tablets, but for a serious desktop PC user it doesn't get my vote. I know I'm in the great minority here in that I don't use a tablet, I've never even looked at a smartphone and spending $600 for an iPad so I can keep my grocery list on it (saw this at the grocery store last week) seems like a colossal waste of funds. I don't own an x-box and I don't have any kind of on-line presence - no facebook, no photo sharing, nada. Believe it or not, there are a lot of people just like me, and those people will continue to use Windows XP, Vista and 7 as their Windows desktop O/S.

I use my desktop PC for work. I spend hours every day using Access and Excel, and having both open on a 27" LCD at the same time has become not only a convenience, but a necessity. Yes, I can open this using the Widnows desktop on 8, but I have to deal with Metro to get there and that's not worth my valuable time.

Windows 8 may turn out to be a great "consumer gadget" but I'll stick with a real desktop PC operating system. Thanks for trying Microsoft.

I had to laugh today when I saw an HP ad, it ended with "Windows 7: Work the way YOU want to." Now with Windows 8 we have: "Windows 8: Work the way WE want you to."

 

[psugrad1999]

I actually am liking it the more and more as I use it. First, the metro tile screen is your start button. While yes I wish they would make it more clear when on the desktop, simply moving to the bottom left corner brings it up. And I like how the live push notifications go to it. And man is it customizable. On the old start menu, I had to go to the vendor, and then click on the application to launch. And it was a nested menu structure....games->Sid Meyers->Civilization or whatever. In the metro screen I can pin all my programs together....all my office aps (MS Office, Adobe, Quicken) can all be in the same group, all my media apps in one group. I can unpin shortcuts as I need which really helps clean things up. I'm really thinking of how much easier it will be to customize and locate stuff I need. And if you don't have a tile on the metro menu all you have to do is start typing what you're looking for and search is performed.

I have seen a lot of negative reviews about the learning curve, but I've found that just by spending an hour or so with the system, I find multiple ways of doing something. Like moving to the previous program I can go the top left corner. To go to another running program I can Press alt-tab, press the windows key - tab, go back to the metro menu on the bottom left corner, or the old stand-by of doing crtrl-alt-del to get to the task menu.

And man, is this thing fast. It boots fast, shuts down fast, and loads an application very quickly. The metro aps are very quick. It brings snap in to system that I haven't seen in well, forever. Control panel opens quickly. Loads everything in a matter of mili-seconds. And so far, I haven't found a program that I can't run in it that I could in Windows 7. Did I mention that spell checking is like universal?

What it is lacking in....well yeah a start button would be a welcomed addition on the desktop. Something larger to click on then just the bottom left corner hotspot. An easier way to sign off and / or shut down. The metro aps don't like music, video's, and pics stored on an unindexed network location such as an NAS. But media player and media center work as expected.

I would love to see Microsoft incorporate Kinect in to this. Add in hand gestures, along with a good voice recognition routine and man, would that be awesome. I'm sure they are already working on it.

All in all, I'm really liking this flavor and might adopt it on release. To all you Windows 8 haters out there, I suspect you haven't given it a chance. Just because it doesn't have a start button doesn't mean you really need it. We didn't have it back in the window's 3.0 or 3.1 days and managed to survive. Microsoft has finally come out with something that works well across many devices. I really can't wait to see how partner vendors take the os and expand on it. The boost in performance alone is worth the learning curve.

I'm not really a fanboy. I'm pretty open to any system. I've used Mac's, Linux, and just about every version of Windows. And yeah, I'm first to admit when Microsoft has a big miss. But I don't see it on this version.

 

[psugrad1999]

[citation][nom]aidynphoenix[/nom]i think the majority of complaints are from desktop users that simply dont like that windows 8 was not meant for them. it is meant for tablet/phone/touchscreen devices, and not desktop users.it will not replace windows 7 for people who take their computer seriously.i think microsoft should of have called it something other than windows8, because that implies that it should be a improvement over windows7. which its aimed at different devices.. its like making a new minivan, and calling it the new ferrari.[/citation]

I don't agree with this at all. The metro menu adds a whole new dimension to the start menu simply by changing the menu orientation. The start menu use to be confined to text with a very small icon that took a very small footprint of the desktop when fully expanded oriented vertically. With the metro menu, you get a larger tile/icon and in some cases, an updatable live feed. The menu is oriented landscape wise instead of portrait and is scrollable. Once you have the groups set up you can zoom out the entire menu and then click on the group you want to zoom in on. There are two sizes of tile, one is just the icon with text, the other takes up twice the amount of vertical space and can include live update push notifications. This is a huge leap over what we have had in any version prior to windows 8 the line of text and maybe a small icon. The metro menu allows me to group and categorize the applications I need and want. And I don't have to actually go into an app to see something. If the push notification has a subject or sender, I can decide if I want to launch the app to view the rest of the information. I can get rid of tiles I don't need, and even add them in later if I think I do need them.

 

[psugrad1999]

[citation][nom]beayn[/nom]And... 1 million thumbs down (minus a few weird people).[/citation]

Have you tried it yet for more then 1 hour?

 

[psugrad1999]

[citation][nom]memadmax[/nom]I see that microsoft is "replacing" the start bar with metro....But why force the issue?Wouldn't it make more sense to include Metro as a frickin feature that can be turned off and on?That way you can keep the stupid start bar and have metro or whatever....Makes sense don't it?Win8 is starting to turn out like Vista for other reasons..... and then... to make matters worse, they are doing it to Server 8 too.......... what a joke...[/citation]

If you drag your mouse from the top down to the bottom of the screen you will close a metro-e application. Alt f-4 still works to.

 

[Guest]

Why don't you all haters figure out how to use the metro interface instead of complaining about it?

 

[DjEaZy]

... i googled for "windows 8 consumer preview metro UI disable" and there waz 46 900 000 results... i hope MS see that...

 

[blazorthon]

[citation][nom]wakaham[/nom]Is it just me or does games run slower on Windows 8?[/citation]

Win 8 doesn't have the proper video drivers so of course it is slower.

 

[notsleep]

don't worry someone will create a fork of the excellent open source 'classic shell' for win8 when it's released. then everyone who's complaining about metro and missing start button will stop and be happy.

 

[blazorthon]

[citation][nom]notsleep[/nom]don't worry someone will create a fork of the excellent open source 'classic shell' for win8 when it's released. then everyone who's complaining about metro and missing start button will stop and be happy.[/citation]

Windows 8 still has the classic shell. If you disable Metro then you get your start button and everything. If you do it through the registry, then it might disable most of the actual improvements in the UI such as the task manager, but some third party programs only disable Metro.

Besides that, there are already plenty of programs that can give you the start button without getting rid of Metro completely too and they all work on Windows 8, unlike some of the Metro disabling programs.

These programs also work on other versions of Windows so you can customize the start menu more.

 

[beetlejuicegr]

[citation][nom]otacon72[/nom]I'll download when you can disable the Metro UI... no point right now unless you have a touch screen.[/citation]
Agree, but i stil can't imagine having my hands horizontal to floor and on the height of my shoulders for more than 5 minutes to just navigate on my browser or other apps unless you make a square hole on your desk and stuck it there...OH WAIT THATS WHERE WE HAVE OUR TABLETS!

 

[blazorthon]

Evidently people just thumb me down on principle whenever I provide a solution. An example of the start menu custimization programs is a combination of ViStart and ViOrb. ViOrb gives you a start button back on the desktop and lets you configure it with any images you want so you can change the start button to look like pretty much anything you want to. There are premade images for customization too.

ViStart gives you a start menu that is fully customizable. Both programs are compatible with all versions of Windows since at least Windows XP, possibly even Windows 2000, and they work on Windows 8 dev and customer preview.

Both are freeware available on softpedia.com, just do a quick search for them. There are a few other programs like these, but I forget the names because I didn't like them as much.

You can even configure the ViStart menu to pop up only when you left click or when you right click or when the left windows key is pressed or when the right windows key is pressed. This means you can use it to replace Metro or to coexist with Metro. However, you still start out in Metro when you log in with these, but you can use the start menu when you are in the desktop.

 

[mediaseth]

I think it's a great tablet OS. The problem is I don't own a tablet. I'm still waiting for some kind of "desktop/touchscreen" toggle mode for users like me who need big desktops for video editing and for servers. They should make it moron proof, maybe even design it to look like an old school switch. I'd be okay with that.

 

[kjsfnkwl]

[citation][nom]randomizer[/nom]Because everyone else is changing it. Microsoft don't want to miss the last boat out of the 20th century, even if thems were the good ol' days.Why would Microsoft let you disable Metro? They are trying to kill off the conventional desktop and the Win32 API. Allowing you to dump the new paradigm in anything but the Enterprise edition (to retain it for business users and prevent a colossal loss of productivity for 6 months) makes no sense. It is only there now because the number of Win32 applications is enormous, whereas there are almost no WinRT/Metro applications. I wouldn't put it past them to dump the desktop fallback entirely in Windows 9 or 10.Having said that, placing power controls (shutdown, restart, etc.) in the Settings menu makes no sense either.[/citation]
The reason why microsoft should retain the classic taskbar/start menu look is because the way it works now WORKS WELL AND DOES NOT WASTE TIME.

Different does not equal better. No matter how you slice it, "metro ui" is less efficient, and thus *is a worse system than what we have now*.

 

[psugrad1999]

[citation][nom]luc2k[/nom]I'm responsible for 2 of them, their stupid downloader decided the 32bit was right for me.. Uninstalled a few hours later because I couldn't get my sound drivers to work, not to mention the bad user experience.[/citation]

You know, you can download the correct ISO for your system don't you? I'm not a big fan of installing/upgrading from within an existing OS.

 

[blazorthon]

[citation][nom]psugrad1999[/nom]You know, you can download the correct ISO for your system don't you? I'm not a big fan of installing/upgrading from within an existing OS.[/citation]

Agreed. Microsoft also has the Windows 8 previews up on softpedia.com and several other places, so it's not hard to choose 32 bit or 64 bit yourself, luc2k. I also refuse to upgrade/install from within an OS, just doing clean installs every time.

Also, the article from Feb 29th about Microsoft releasing the customer preview has the download links for 32 and 64 bit too.

http://www.softpedia.com/progDownload/Windows-8-Download-196339.html

There is a link to the download links for all of the versions of Windows 8 including the customer and developer previews with 32 and 64 bit versions and 64 bit versions with developer tools. Also has several languages.

First two links are 32 and 64 bit customer preview, the 4th, 5th, and 6th are the dev preview. The 3rd is a .exe installer, I'd shy away from it if I were any of you. Remember, clean installs are pretty much always better and far less likely to have complications.

 

[demonhorde665]

every thing i heard about windows 8 makes me think "stay away" when i get the money i'll look at buying a copy of win 7 , by then it will be reduced in price as MS vamps up to sell folks windohs 8

 

[demonhorde665]

[citation][nom]blol[/nom]Why don't you all haters figure out how to use the metro interface instead of complaining about it?[/citation]

because we as Consumers have a right to complain and or not use part of a product we pay money for. why should i re-learn how to operate my entire PC just to work in 3ds max for my school work. why should i have to re learn every thing just to acess my emails , or any other number of task.

now more to the point why do WE haters complain. because if we don't voice our opinion No one will do a thing to change it to meet public prefrence. asking why haters complain is like asking why voters vote. we do it because we can , and it is the best way to be heard. going by your logic if we hate our president then we shouldnt vote, durring the next election. now that just plain stupid.

 

[psugrad1999]

I've been checking this thread out regularly this weekend. And it seems that most people who hate the metro ui really haven't used it. I have found so much to love about it. I can select what programs and aps show up. I can remove those I don't want. I can group them all together and label them. Before I had to either search for an icon on the desktop, or remember exactly where it's at in the start menu, or run a slow search to find something. I can even pin folders or files that I access regularly on to the start menu. It is easy to zoom out for a better view of all the groups, or zoom in for a certain group.

Everyone who is complaining thinks there is an incredibly steep learning curve. It really isn't. Once you think of the ui as a much better layout for the start menu, you already have it mastered. And when you finally add a touch screen, or they bring in Kinect for the pc, you will learn just how easy the interface really is. Stop complaining about something you haven't used and give it a try for a couple of days. Microsfoft is letting us try it for free.

 

[pjmelect]

I have tried it out now for two weeks now and although I can now find my way around it I still don't like it on the desktop. For a touch screen tablet Microsoft have a winner here, but it is clumsy on the desktop. I have come to appreciate the apps provided with the Metro interface and some of the other enhancements.

Stick with the generic Microsoft video driver, the ones provided by Nvidia for Windows 8 crash on games. I am still waiting for them to fix this.