Read more.Quote:
It's all change for the new face of Windows.
Printable View
Read more.Quote:
It's all change for the new face of Windows.
Windows 8 is fine if your into new tech but why bother with a new OP system when windows 7 does all this anyway, Apart from the UI and touchscreen technology what benefits are given to the general end user that plays games and use it for the web.....
I say stick with Windows 7 for awhile see how this fairs against bench testing and such like and see what bugs pop up do you all remember Vistas problems and oh what a laugh that was :).....
Uncomprimising MS again did not listen to the Community as a whole and we end up with this rubbish or are they trying to look like Apple and have an exclusives op system that can run diddly squat programs effectively......
Unlike Apple MS has made it so you can run software by major software houses and games......
If MS is trying to make windows appear similar to the Android way of working Erhhhhh nope
Excellent article again - just wish it'd be available for my relative last weekend! :hexlub:
To be honest the information about the "getting an app via search" is invaluable - especially since that's a feature that I use heavily on both Windows7 boxes and my various Linux ones (the latter running Unity UI). I've more or less given up on the "conventional" start menu apart from a couple of often-used apps that are pinned to the initial menu. Presumably there's some way to do that "pinned app" idea with MUI by locking/sending some icon to the desktop.
XBox music I wasn't that impressed with when I tried it last week - I've not paid for a subscription and all it would offer me was "browse" access where I could get a couple of seconds of a track, and the quality as sub-FM radio level. Although that was on an XBox, so maybe a Windows8 PC would do it better?
I'm really tempted to give it a try, but I'm not sure I can be bothered to get rid of Windows 7... I'm more interested from an academic point of view, i.e. "is it going to be any good", rather than "I really need this".
I don't feel particularly irritated with Metro, and I can see myself enjoying it, but I can't believe they didn't come up with a better blend between Metro and the traditional desktop.
Not quite liking the look of Win 8 modernUI, in fact the screenshots are giving me a headache.
Also not sure why you'd be looking for an app for facebook, iplayer etc on desktop, surely you'll go to the websites? Or do you mean on a tablet? I'm a wee bit confused!
It's the same reason why we are seeing AMD announcing ARM cpus.Quote:
Originally Posted by c12038
The industry is seeing a large shift in the future towards mobile computing......and Microsoft are behind the curve (especially considering their dominance for so many years) and need to try and get a system adopted "en mass".
It's a shame really as there are some very nice feature in Windows 8....just completely marred by the new UI.
@Crossy, its simple to set things like the old startmenu with the pinned applications, simply right click any shortcut or actual exe and click pin to start, it defaults to the end of the start menu (modern UI) so just drag it to wherever you want it after, really simply and very useful IMO, the start menu was pretty half arsed and now i have a large version with live tiles/Widgets like mail and weather with the added benefit of more shortcuts and a very strong search function that improves upon windows 7.
I really cant fault windows 8 apart from the shutdown bit, another way is to ctrl alt del then press the power bit but I just simply made a shortcut and pinned it to the start bar that runs the shutdown command, simple but im not sure why MS didnt put it in! I suppose we are getting to the day where its almost unnecessary, if your system needs a reboot you will be prompted and when I use windows 8 on my laptop I simply close the lid as its stupidly fast to get out of standby, my desktop I could just press the power button on the case so really the more I think about it the more its unnecessary :P.
The snap function is extremely useful however I agree that they could improve it by making it resizeable, would greatly improve that feature but I like the concept :). Desktop works just as well as windows 7 but even better in multi monitor setups which I am enjoying :), boot is much faster and as a whole the system runs smoother and its the little things like task manager being improved and now is nice to look at and even more useful, simple things like accessing startup applications and services from the task manager is a lovely idea and saves me going elsewhere, the App history is great and seeing whats using what in terms of the hardware resources and data.
I also think its a bit off that people think MS has killed the desktop, it really hasnt it has thought about the desktop and has improved it in everyway to people who are willing to adapt to change just look at Office 2007, the ribbon menu was slated even I hated it but after using it for a bit I understood it and it really made it stupidly easy to get on with the tasks at hand and it was the best change to office ever and it provides a level of customisation that should be a standard, its much like what Android is now as you can change pretty much every aspect of the OS to support your personal requirements.
If you're a power user then you really need to get on using keyboard shortcuts as that has always been the most efficient way of accessing things, windows key + X provides a nice little menu that gives you access to most power features that youll use, its a simple addition but shows they looked at desktop usage, hit windows key + D and you dont need to use Metro, simply hit windows key and type then hit enter and you will get what you wanted just like in windows 7, just close your eyes while you do it if a pretty GUI is really going to gouge your eyes out. The one thing id like them to change on the windows + X menu is that they should make it pop up where your mouse is currently instead of just the bottom left (also it goes to the primary monitor just like metro does, that needs to be changed so it works on whatever the active display is).
Windows 8 to me is a solid improvement over the amazing OS that is Windows 7 but it also suffers from version 1.0 issues but overall it is better, give it SP1 and I think MS will truely have an OS that can decimate the Tablet/Smartphone/Laptop/Desktop markets. Its funny how MS gets slated for not being innovative and Apple apparently is yet MS has just proven they can be a very creative company and shows the Apple has lost its flare and is stuck in a loop. MS pretty much invented the tablet and smartphone markets, now the rightful owner is coming back to take it :D.
Not entirely sure what you mean by that? Windows has always and will always be closed source, so it's pretty damn exclusive: you want Windows you get it from Microsoft. They're not going to stop anyone installing it on compatible hardware, and nothing in this release limits what hardware it'll install on, so it's no more exclusive than it was. They're also still releasing free (as in beer) development tools for both RT development and x86 development, so they're supporting third party developers as much as they ever were, and giving them the option of developing traditional desktop apps or Modern UI apps as they see fit. Companies gain benefit by going for Modern UI apps as they will run on Win 8 and Win RT equally well, giving them a wider audience at a greater range of price points.Quote:
Originally Posted by c12038
As to Windows 8, it's another one of those "the more I use it the more I think I'll like it" things. The real problem is that Windows 7 was such a big improvement over Vista/XP, without doing anything revolutionary, so everyone had very high expectations. Now MS have decided to revolutionise instead of tweak, and everyone's suddenly very disappointed. My only big issue with the start screen is having to use hot corners to bring it up when on the desktop. If I could pin the start screen to the desktop, so I just had to click a button to bring it up, I'd be a very happy man. Sadly, despite hours of searching, I've yet to find a way to do this that I'm completely happy with...
If MS hadn't done anything dramatic the internet would be full of posts complaining about that instead. Damned either way, especially if it's not absolutely perfect (for each and everyone of us) on release (because all products are). I think we're a couple of versions away from seeing how this will pan out - and personally I'd like to see them innovate and try something new.
scaryjim - you can't just hit the keyboard start button?
I personally think windows 8 looks very nice, when I'm not working or gaming on my pc I'm using all the stuff that the start page gives me, email, favourite windows, social media etc
A friend of mine who's a long-term mac user built himself a pc recently and is absolutely loving windows 8 he says.
I appreciated it's not exactly an upgrade for those using machines for purely office functions, but really that's not who it's an upgrade for.
Yes, I can - the thought process goes like this:Quote:
Originally Posted by dangel
"Right, I'll just pop up the start menu
*moves mouse to bottom right corner*
*manages to bring up start screen icon then loses it by moving mouse 2px*
Oh, wait, I can press the Windows key, can't I....
*presses Windows key, desperately hopes he remembers next time*"
I never got used to using the Win key or any of the related shortcuts, having spent so many years using the start button, and when I'm browsing the interwebs, reading web comics or playing games I very rarely touch the keyboard (if I can avoid it ;) ). I also quite often use my laptop in bed, at which point my arms tend to be under the duvet keeping warm unless I need to type. I can pin absolutely everything else in Win 8 to the taskbar if I so desire: why not the start screen? It'd make both that and the rather nifty context menu that hides in the same smart corner that little bit easier to interact with with a mouse. It's a tiny bit of programming for a reasonable increase in both usability and intuitiveness in my use case, so I just don't get why it's not an option (after all, the functionality and icon already exist in the charms menu....).
Think, with the old desktop and a blank canvas, people made their own desktop, IE family pic, their fav car, or anything! Now we will see the same bloody tiles on every computer, boring!
Modern UI - guess next thing we will act like bloody robots!
I have not gone into the new Modern UI thingy as win 8 does not interest me at the mo, but am i wrong about the above?
:) Well you can pin a shortcut that launches it - there's a whole heap of ways to do it in fact. I quite liked this one http://www.howtogeek.com/108838/make...-memory-usage/Quote:
Originally Posted by scaryjim
I did feel that removing it for the desktop was daft - but I haven't bothered to add one again since my last 8 reinstall (when I went to the RTM) because i'm normally on the keyboard and outside that very infrequently needing the start screen (versus pinning to the taskbar).
' Well you can pin a shortcut that launches it ' ha! yes i looked at the link. Say your in an environment like an office with 30 odd computers and you go round and chat to other staff, the difference in everybody's desktop, gave you a reason to talk about anything, cos maybe you saw madams dogs, or her new born baby, a holiday snap and so on, get what i mean?
I think the individual desktop will be missed, how many people are going to remember to activate that shortcut that launches it?
I will be installing it tonight but with mixed feelings. As it will be on an HTPC the tile screen is probably more sensible than the old W7 start menu, but on a desktop without touch screen I suspect I will be wanting the old W7 start menu very quickly.
Can we please stop calling them "Apps", they are programmes.
I have limited interest in MS "App store". If I want a program I will buy it from the maker rather than give MS a big cut.
I think the whole W8 is a dogs breakfast. The idea that there should be the same UI whether on a monile, tablet, desktop pc with touch screen or desktop without touch is daft. What makes sense on a hand held device (for example swipe to bring on another screen) is ludicrous on a desktop without touch.
Er... not sure but I'd take a wild guess and tell you that the start screen (and MUI apps) can display lots of personalised info that's self updating (that's the point of live tiles).Quote:
Originally Posted by ladcrooks
Good article.
I am now even more convinced that Windows 8 will be even a bigger failure than Windows Vista and could even kill off Microsoft!
Let's not even talk about Office 2013 .. was the interface created using Paint ?
Wish Windows 8 would have been Windows Longhorn
http://youtu.be/b9ifQvQCO7Y
http://youtu.be/WVvtzkpyRTg
Ah, the delusional rantings of Internet fanboys. You realise Vista was a commercial and engineering success right? It sold a massive number of copies - more than XP did in a similar timeframe, and it provided 90% of the basis for Windows 7 and 8 (a fully patched and up to date version of Vista today is only superficially different from Windows 7)?Quote:
Originally Posted by OilSheikh
The PR backlash Vista got was due to it being a major kernel overhaul (exact same problems affected XP when it was released, but no-one remembers because it was around for so long) and the fact Dell, HP, etc. were pre-installing it on underpowered hardware (also Microsoft's fault for trying to appease OEMs by setting overly low requirements for the "Vista Capable" scheme).
As for Windows 8 killing off Microsoft - lololol.
Windows - the whole point up to now has been being able to have lots of applciations running at the same time in...windows! Windows 8 modern UI does not allow this..... for me that makes it vertually useless on a desktop environment. What's the point in a big screen when all you can see are load of buttons (very nice looking ones) that are designed for a small hand held device.
Also scanning through the app store on a big screen made me feel dizzy.
I want to be conviced but really am not.
I have now installed it.
Installation process is very easy.
UI is totally confusing. Maybe when I have cleaned up the start screen it may help but at moment I would say that W8 on a desktop machine without touch sucks badly
Oh, you mean the project they had to abandon because XP codebase wasn't viable anymore? Or just Vista?Quote:
Originally Posted by OilSheikh
Yeah.. ok.
The limitations placed upon WinRT apps really don't look good. I will keep installing versions of Windows 8 in VMs to test it, but I'm not going to buy a license any time soon, until I see how these problems can be solved.
I also wish they would make the UI a little less ugly. It's much better than it used to be, but you still can't choose any combination of colors, and, indeed, you have to use plain colors. That that makes sense in a smartphone, but a desktop machine with a good GPU should be allowed to use bitmaps or procedurally generated textures to decorate the UI.
Now that I have cleaned up the start screen, W8 on a desktop or in my case as an HTPC is complete disaster.
Start screen has no clock. Switching the machine off is more complicated than w7. The switch between the Metro UI (or whateve MS wish to cal it now) and normal desktop (and you need to do this regularly) is extremely jarring.
The Music app is utterly hopeless. Put a CD into your optical drive and it will start playing but there is no button on screen to eject the CD! I am not interested in streaming music (maybe radio), I just want to access the music I already have. You can install windows media player but that drops you back into the desktop.
And they still have not updated in any significant way File explorer. There were better third file explorer replacements from 3rd parties in XP never mind w8.
As for using it as an HTPC, if like me you store your media on a separate NAS, forget W8. Libraries is a great function in W7, unfortunately some clown at MS decided to take a backwarded step and it is virtually impossible to have your library point to a folder on a NAS because W8 cannot index it.
If you are wanting to use W8 as an HTPC, I would say forget it. Linux + XBMC is already a better and less confusing option, although admittedly lacks native Blu-ray disc playing support and the TV back end is a but immature.
I really wanted to like w8, I will leave it on the machine for a month or two to see if it gets better but it feels as though MS have developed a Tablet/phone OS and then imposed it on a desktop without any thought as to useability, networks or indeed how ordinary people might use it on a desktop.
But it is fast!
They actually introduced that "feature" on W7.Quote:
Originally Posted by cjs150
Home is still on a mixture of XP and Vista (which I quite like) which is why I missed that.Quote:
Originally Posted by snootyjim
Maybe MS expected everyone to go to Windows Home Server?
Either way it is still unbelievably stupid
"Add a non-indexed UNC as a library
1. Create a folder on your hard drive for shares. i.e. c:\share
2. Create another folder in the above share. i.e. c:\share\music
2. Link the Library to this folder.
3. Delete the folder.
4. Use the mklink in an elevated command prompt to make a symbolic link.
Name the link the same as the folder you created above.
i.e - mklink /d c:\share\music \\server\music
5. Done. Now you have non-indexed UNC path as a library."
Might help, but haven't personally tried this.
http://social.technet.microsoft.com/...1-5cf525b9f8de
Dangel: I saw this on the microsoft site as well. The nicest thing you can say about this is that it is a horrible cludge. This is the 21C, it should not need anything more than a few clicks of the mouse to achieve the rather obvious.
Do you think anyone other than a geek is going to understand what "use the mklink in an elevated command prompt..." actual means.
In XP it just works, simply. MS has gone backwards and the only possible reason is that they want everyone to use skydrive or similar. That makes total sense on a tablet but not on a desktop.
I agree it's horrible - was just posting a possible workaround. XP didn't have libraries but yes I understand.Quote:
Originally Posted by cjs150
Personally I use cloud storage a lot - skydrive and dropbox but neither are sizable or fast enough for this kind of use (for me).
I think if you use Windows Server you can create indexed libraries on the server, which 7 will then accept as a source. I could be totally wrong, but that was my understanding of how things worked when I researched it.
Maybe they see UNC libraries as an enterprise feature (hence requiring a Windows fileserver) rather than something suitable for a home user with a basic NAS.
Many have expressed concern about the new UI, I partially agree with you, but with the purchace of a touch screen these issues would be removed, the price of getting a touch screen is about £100-£200 more than a regular monitor which no-one wants to pay out. You must also remember you over pay for parts just so you can play with max settings and many FPS, I have a HD 5770, which will play every game I've come across but without all the fancy graphics costing £80 where mant people buy GPUs in excess of £200, more than a potential touch screen upgrade. The new UI may take some time to get use to but with the implementation of touch screens will be come much faster and a mouse can still be used where applicable so old apps can still be used. I believe this isn't a step forward rather a new direction which we can all adapt to.
Tl:Dr Get a touch screen and get used to it.
dangel - I would be silly to comment anymore on this, as you have taken time to look at w8. So i take my hat off to you. Good day sir. ha! Wow! Just seen the amount of systems you have.Quote:
Originally Posted by dangel
You've as much right to speak as anyone - it's a forum :) Ignorance is not the same as stupidity and we all have lots to learn in life!Quote:
Originally Posted by ladcrooks
I've been using it for four odd months at work (i'm a developer and part of my job is to look at the 'next' thing) - as for the amount of systems - i'm somewhat of an addict (please don't tell the wife) ;)
Sorry but I just ROFLMAO when I saw that posting from dangel with the workaround - if anyone comes back to me with that "you can do everything you're ever likely to need with a GUI" nonsense then I'll point 'em back at that posting. :pQuote:
Originally Posted by cjs150
dangel: many thanks for posting that. :rockon: At least one of the kiddies is getting a Windows8 laptop for Christmas, so that library/UNC hack will be pretty useful since she'll be wanting to access our media NAS - and that post might save me from a Ballmeresque destruction of furniture. Me though, I'll stick with Ubuntu and '7.
No worries - it's worth pointing out that libraries (and their limitations) were introduced in 7 not 8 - and also that there are good reasons why it doesn't index networked folders. Personally I keep all my media inside my htpc (and use MC) and even if I didn't i'm not reliant on libraries for using it so network shares work OK.
GUIs have their limitations but one of the nicest things about Windows is that generally speaking you very rarely need to range into CLI stuff to get things done.
MS seems to do everything a bit strangely.
I have installed WMC, it has no problem with finding media on the NAS and dealing with it as a "library". Admittedly WMC is starting to look pretty old fashioned but it works.
'The Modern UI is clearly designed for touchscreen devices'
This says it all for me. Windows 7 is my friend. :)