Maximum PC

Funny things happen when you're bored and you happen to be at a Best Buy. Needing some time to kill (friend was looking for something), I went over to their laptops to try out everyone's favorite OS to hate: Windows 8. And it was mostly to play around with the one aspect the haters point at, the Start Screen. So most of my time playing around with Windows 8 was centric to the Start Screen and how it could affect me.

Well, my initial reactions were positive. And seeing how Microsoft still has an upgrade deal on Windows 8 Pro for $40 until the end of next month, I figured why the hell not and install it on my laptop. I haven't exactly played around with it all the way, since my laptop is my secondary computer and it was yesterday I did this, but so far, I have no feelings of either changing it or going back. And since it's always the sore spot, let's talk about the Start Screen and what it did.

Now before I made any real decision on if it would be the worst thing Microsoft's ever did, I sat down and thought about my usage pattern of the Start Screen:

• I like to keep shortcuts of programs I will use in there.
• 99% of the time that I do use it, it's Hit Windows Key, then type in something to search for the program. I only go into the actual Programs Menu if I can't remember what I'm looking for is called.
• Most programs that are in there are those that are usually in my Program Files folder. Programs that aren't in there tend to be in another applications folder that I keep tidy.

With that in mind, I first tested to see if I would lose the first two points. I didn't. So right away, the Start Screen is not going to be a problem for me functionally. So what about the hot corners? I didn't find them annoying and if I'm going to spend most of my time running the desktop instead of Metro apps, the top left corner (which I thought I may use once in a while) won't trigger anything. The right side I'm finding handy, though I do have to remember it's there from time to time. I'm also finding some of the Live Tiles handy. It's like having those gadgets that Microsoft seemed to be tossing before Metro became a staple.

After playing around some more, I began to think about why Microsoft did some of these things. Or rather, what's the most logical reason why the Start Screen is what it is. I came up with these thoughts:

• The Start Screen works like an extension of the desktop. Go look at someone's cluttered desktop (pretend Windows Gadgets are on there too). Now go look at the Start Screen. On the high level, they're not really that much different. Though the lack of folders is kind of jarring.
• Text menus are annoying to navigate by mouse. It's easier to hit a 32x32 icon than it is a 16x64+ item. Not to mention humans are patterned oriented creatures. Sure, text is still a pattern, but when you add distinct icons to the mix, icons will probably pop up much quicker in your eyes than a bunch of text.
• If you lose Start Menu context (by another program or because you accidentally click somewhere else), you lose the Start Menu. You can't, as far as I know, lose Start Screen context until you've launched something or quit the Start Screen.

One other thing on my mind was losing Aero. After thinking about it, Aero didn't really add any functionality other than eye candy. Some elements were useful, like live thumbnails, but the transparency eats into my VRAM budget (1GB is easy to eat up, apparently) and there's no more switching to Aero Basic. It's also easier to tell what's not in focus.

So I'm keeping my Windows 8, as is, no mods. I see no need to change it. And I'm only seeing the hate because nobody wants change and they keep throwing the mantra "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." If we followed that to a T, we'd still be using CLI.

I think someone's jelly.

Ya know... it's funny when you get into something & TRY to find the good in it... you will usually find it. You can't go into anything with pre-conceived notions, including looking for the good. Kind of impossible to go into a new version of something without comparing it to the previous version, but I still try my best. I also try not to look for good or bad, but I still find both. I went into the Windows XP BETA expecting a completely different experience from 98SE/ME, I loved it from day 1. I went into Vista BETA expecting a new & different experience from XP, I got it, & hated it. I went into Windows 7 BETA not knowing what I might get, & found an OS worthy of upgrading from XP. I went into Windows 8 BETA before I heard anything about it & before I had any clue what I might find, and It was simply the worst OS experience I've ever had. I later grew used to it and the annoyances became lessened, but never went away. Hell, I had never owned an Apple product before & I found the IOS-5 in the "new iPad" to be much better than Windows 8. But then again that was a touch OS on a touch device, whereas Win8 is basically a touch OS which I was testing on a desktop.

Try this, go grab anyone you can find who can use a computer for day-to-day tasks, but isn't otherwise very computer literate, sit them down in front of your computer with Windows 8, & have them do their every-day tasks without guiding them. If they normally shut their computer off have them shut it off when they're done, but remember, no guidance from you. I've yet to find a single soul who doesn't get flustered, and/or curse me for just sitting there & not helping... These are the people, that I as an OEM, will have to provide support for, when they get flustered with their Windows 8 experience. Maybe then you might get some glimpse of an idea why some of us have legitimate gripes over Windows 8. I also find it interesting that the head of the Windows development departed Microsoft just after launch of Windows 8, makes one wonder if desktop users aren't the only ones unhappy with Windows 8...

I'm still willing to give it another shot on a tablet, but I will not be using it as my desktop OS.

Hm..I install windows 8 on my notebook and I think is very ok...i like very muhc interface and I use this for a time

My personal opinion and for that matter is the correct opinion :) is Windows 8 is good but with design flaws.
What I mean is, startup is amazing fast, they added some nice new features such as file history, but the start menu is a train wreck. I know you can use 3rd party progams and change it but not the same. Overall I still prefere 7 but maybe with Blue they will fix a few things.

Until now, it seemed like Microsoft was gearing up to unveil the almost-final Windows 8 Release Preview in the first full week of June, just in time for what is sure to be the world's premier Ultrabook trade show. As it turned out, though, the folks in Redmond couldn't contain their jubilation any longer: the company is now rolling out the Release Preview several days ahead of schedule. The update, free to anyone who wants to try it, offers a few notable enhancements, including a trio of new apps, a "Flip ahead" browser gesture, Flash support and a couple of updated multi-monitor features. A few heavy hitters like Wikipedia and Box.net are also using the occasion to debut apps in the Windows Store. And the OS is now available in 13 languages. Mostly, though, this update brings performance and stability fixes, along with granular tweaks like being able to pin stocks to the Start screen. Certainly, a two-hour press conference was not necessary this time around.

I'm not completely against Win 8 but here are my gripes, biggest first.

There is no easy way to off load the profile to a different disk. I run an SSD and in 7, you just right click and move it off. Works like a charm. No can do in 8. WHY?

I do like live tiles for when I log in, they are handy no question about it. The problem is at work at least that I run dual 24" wide screens and you are either in desktop mode or tile mode. You can't have tiles open in one window and desktop in another. I code on my main monitor and also have Chrome open in it. The right one has IE, Outlook and my debuggers.

I guess I'm just so damned used to seeing all kinds of windows in the background that I just click when I want to switch. I never got used to alt+tab or win+tab.

I am setting up a 2012 server at home and I'm hoping I can use that to off load my profile ect to a WD Black drive from my SSD.

It could be great for home use but I just can't see it at work. They seem to have left out a lot of power user items IMHO.