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theSwan -> RE: I don't want to hear from Microsoft "haters" because.... (11/30/2012 11:23:23 PM)
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I have a full copy of Windows 8 running on my laptop currently.
I want to state up front that, while I am not a 'Microsoft hater', I do my fair share of programming.
I am aware of the upsides and downsides of Windows and Linux (Apple and I aren't so well acquainted) and I prefer to be entirely honest about the pros and cons of everything I talk about.
So while I won't spew any directionless complaining, I will mention a few problems the operating system has currently.
But first, the nice things.
For one, you still have access to your Windows 7-style desktop. I setup a shortcut on the Metro home screen - Click that and you're there.
After that, you can just ALT+Tab whenever you want to get back.
So, if there aren't good Metro applications for certain functionality or if you want to run certain things more traditionally on your machine, you can just hang out on the regular desktop perpetually if you'd like.
The Metro interface is beautiful.
While people used to traditional Windows control schemes will have to learn the Metro setup.
They will either learn quickly due to familiarity with smartphones.
Or, they will kill two birds with one stone and learn how to work with smartphones and Windows 8 at the same time.
You can sync a Microsoft account as your login to your operating system.
I didn't have a Microsoft account before this operating system but for the functionality it offered, I went for it.
The installation process behind adding new applications from the Microsoft store is so much nicer than traditional program installation.
There are plenty of free programs as well, so ignore any complaints people have about things costing so much money now.
The Market allows smaller developers to get in and offer a products to consumers at small prices.
Programs, including games, specifically for PCs have traditionally retailed higher than a few dollars here and there because they have often been the realm of both larger companies and physical medium production.
Smaller companies allowed to offer digital downloads = Lots of nice application for less than five dollars.
It's nice to see this aspect of phone economy move to a full operating system.
The annoying error sound from Windows has been replaced with a softer bell sound.
Actually, all of the sounds have been changed to be more pleasing.
That small difference has meant a lot to me.
Now, a handful of issues..
Because I got an early copy and moved it to an non-new machine, I had some driver issues in the beginning.
This will likely not be the case for others.
Also, a lot of the applications for Windows 8 from the store just aren't good yet.
Once again, with time, I imagine this will improve. But a lot of applications from the Market (and even from Microsoft themselves) just don't seem fully up to spec yet.
Messaging, as it comes from Microsoft, only allows MSN.
The eMail client built in is a bit buggy when working with gMail still.
There can be some confusion with same programs running in separate environments.
For example, I have a Google Chrome browser in my Windows-7-style desktop.
And I also have the Google Chrome Metro application.
These are not the same program at all.
When I change the settings on one, it doesn't affect the other.
That's something to keep in mind when doing initial configuration.
Currently, the default Windows picture viewer doesn't scroll through pictures in the directory with arrow keys.
Before, you could double-click and image and just press left and right to see the next picture.
Now, even though I think the image viewer looks nicer, it doesn't have that functionality.
I've discovered that 'Previewing' the images (right-click and select 'Preview') brings back the original image view-style from Windows 7.
Looking forward to when navigation with the Windows 8 Image Viewer is improved.
Closing Metro applications involved clicking the top of the window of the application and dragging down the bottom of your screen.
Excellent for touch screen, slightly awkward for non-touch screen.
But it's not nearly as bad as a lot of people would say.
What took me the longest was just figuring out that dragging down was the way to close the window.
If you have any specific questions, you can always Inbox me and I'll be happy to assist.
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