[I've shortened some of your points in my response if you don't mind] A tablet user, Microsoft's biggest target with Windows 8, unsatisfied by the user experience is very interesting. I have also noted the issue with multitasking with Modern UI apps. In all fairness though, the apps can be snapped to the sides although not all Modern UI apps are usable this way. One of my favourite features that was introduced in Windows 7 was the ability to quickly snap application windows next to each other by dragging them to the side of the screen and it is a feature that I use very regularly. Perhaps if the Modern UI apps were useable this way it would have been better? Either way, the multitasking impediment of Modern UI apps reminds me of the new paradigm GNOME Shell developers are trying to push: can't minimize, no visible taskbar to manage tasks and apps that expand to take up most of the screen. I thought that given that most touchscreen mobile devices, not counting the new ultrabooks that will be launched later this year, have small screens (between 10 inches and 13 inches) that the full screen applications would be better suited but I guess that would depend on your workflow and expectations from the OS. Application availability will ultimately determine the success of the new platform since Windows RT (ARM based) devices will be placed in direct competition with the iPad which App Store has had quite a while to expand and develop. Currently, the Windows Store has an extremely limited selection of applications, many of which are useless (I've fiddled with a few while I was bored) and not very productive. I don't suppose that businesses will be rushing out to upgrade to Windows 8 but I'm not an analyst so time will tell. It is very telling, however, that some of the KMS servers that went online over the past few weeks were in public and educational institutions (Belarus customs, Chinese university, etc.). It remains to be seen, however, whether private sector businesses will adopt it. The point you made about the limitations of the input is quite astonishing and an oversight on Microsoft’s part. Perhaps in trying to push the usage of Modern UI apps on touchscreen devices, they forgot about usability on the desktop side. The search function is weak, I agree, especially when compared to Spotlight in OS X. It has a few quirks that I've experienced, maybe this would be improved in some future version of Windows. Thanks for sharing your experience!
I also have a tablet, and frankly, the desktop experience through touch is completely crippled in windows 8. It seems that metro was made for touch, and desktop got even worse. The people who actually thought win7 wasn't so bad for tuoch get completely shafted. Two finger right click removed-In 7, right clicking on a touchscreen was an instant two finger tap. Now it's a 2- second hold. Touch flicks removed-Actually useful touch gestures No start button-A hot corner is fine for the mouse, but it takes swipe-wait-tap to open the start menu on a tablet. OSK popover removed-no more popover when selecting a text field OSK Not resizable
OH EMM GEE!! not sure if any of you know this shortcut but windows + x !!! One thing that really pisses me off is if you have youtube/clip/audio happening in IE10 metro and you go to another app or start menu the it stops
Wow, this thread nearly seems we stepped inside a protected area of Microsoft interests. Best be careful when writing following lines but there's not so much that stopping me from express my feelings from been using Windows 8 and every corner which surrounds this new transition. What can be seen is something a Windows user never expecting to meet. Microsoft is not the same company right now as we been familiar to from earlier versions of Windows. Windows 8 has the signs of it all over, lots of small silly mistakes that wouldn't be there if it was made by good genuine sense and real ambitions in make it look something to be proud of. For instance try change the language and you'll see it doesn't switch completely as it should. Search functions which doesn't work on everything etc etc. It's like a project which only finished 55% still in Beta stage. No knowledge of the price even we so close the release. Tricking with peoples computers little here and little there in forcing them buy new computers. Oh, forgot mention how smart they were in aspect of outlook.com so everyone from now on has to use Internet Explorer when checking their e-mails online orelse they not welcome. Lots of monitoring and tracking in telling other things people can't see. For God sake Microsoft where is your open mind and the friendliness in helping your users, what is this? Why acting so naive, I'm sorry but don't get it this time
huh, look at my Avatar! Good: 1 Windows 8 is extremely fast at boot, marvellous! But seems so much people with RTM has issues with hybrid boot.... solution: just disable it(then boot same as Windows 7, no innovation) -10 points 2 Explorer ribbon improvement,good point 3 New File transfer, very useful! 4 New Task Manager Bad 1 Read poit 1 above 2 point 4 already ported to 7 with third party program! 3 Modern UI covers taskbar(the worst thing done, loosing at a glance everything is opened) 4 Modern UI only with few basic commands 5 No File managment(create folders) from Metro Apps, which is awful 6 Active borders with annoing menus popping out when not requested,with mouse is frustrating when you hit close button 7 No resizable windows, neither overlapping, very useful when you have a high resolution monitor, or not 8 Lack of personalization 9 no connection with theme and Metro apps, pop outs 10 Aero removal 11 Two interfaces not related one with each other(Immersive control Panel missing lot of features, so, what use for? i open a immersive one, not find a feature that i want to modify, so close it and then search for a full control panel????, i use directly the 7 one) 12 Unfinished and still buggy to be at RTM stage 13..... may i go on? FIRST: BEING USED TO IT DOES NOT MEAN BETTER? SECOND : THE CHEAP PRICE(ENORMOUS DIFFERENCE FROM WINDOWS 7) IS ONLY A SIGNAL OF FEAR, WEAKNESS... THIRD : IF I'M HERE TO DISCOVER LATEST NEWS, DOES MEAN THAT I LIKE IT, MAYBE IS MY PASSION TRYING IT, DIGGING INTO IT , AND HAVE BEST KNOWINGS FOR GA DATE, WHEN FOR MY WORK I HAVE TO BE PREPARED And yes, i'm proudly use Windows 7 on three home machines, and Xp at work, where slowingly upgrade to 7! Tested and fully used Windows 8 from 7850 build, till last RP days before RTM leaks, then give UP! The world is big and various, everyone has it's opinion
I suppose that Microsoft is hoping that users of touch-screen devices will spend more time using the Modern UI than the desktop. That aside, I'm surprised to hear that your touch interaction with Windows 7 was better than Windows 8. I agree, that hot corners are probably not very intuitive for touch-screen devices. I think the fact that Microsoft included a physical keyboard with their Surface speaks for itself; I think it means that interaction with Windows 8 is intended for hybrid devices such as these (with both physical keyboard and a touch-screen). Just look at the number of touch-enabled ultrabooks that will be launched in October and it doesn't take a stretch to arrive at that conclusion.
Would you please confirm that your dxdiag Direct X version actually shows 11 or 11.1? - mine only shows 11 (though in the nvidia control panel, my GTX 670 is confirmed to support DX11.1 So what gives? Is DX11.1 not yet deployed in W8 or is something amiss... Thanks.
MS just didn't bothered to update version info in DxDiag. But it is really v11-1. BTW: I did an error, WDDM is actually 1.2 in Win 8 (1.1 in Win7) Also I forgot PowerShell 3-0 and NET Framework 4-5 there...
I agree with this point a 100%. In using W8 (RTM Pro x64) for a few days, I have the sensation that I'm actually using a buggy RC, but certainly not a baked RTM. There are just things that I don't find comforting here, and I can't be certain that things will be corrected come retail launch. Your point about the Charms Menu activating by "accidentally" going too far into the right corners is also valid - it is a non-issue, but it doesn't feel very polished at all to activate something merely because my cursor went over by a couple of extra pixels. Silly, but it's such rough edges that don't quite live up to RTM standards. Not to mention that while DX11.1 is the standard DirectX version of this OS, run dxdiag (or your video card's control panel) and it will show the system DirectX version as 11. Yes, yes, not a deal breaker, but it's the minor details that make or break the confidence of users. How about System Restore turning on for no apparent reason, even after I disabled it - I do not like it when the OS arbitrarily decides to override my settings and make the unannounced decision to active things. So yes, it's not a dead-blow but like you said, this is not how it should be by the RTM milestone... What other easter-eggs are we yet to find out about I wonder. Should be fun. Oh, and one last thing, the more I used Windows Defender, the more annoyed I became. Who at Microsoft thought it was a good idea to incorporate a handicapped version of MSE and prevent users from even having the option to ditch WD and go for MSE?
With each OS, Microsoft hides more and more of the features from us because they think we are too stupid to operate an OS if they don't hide the features. They feel they have to protect us from ourselves. Maybe they are right; I recall deleting a file from my computer in 1986 called command.com because I didn't recognize it and didn't know what it was for and then asking why my computer wouldn't run anymore. They've been doing this for decades. More and more with each OS. That's why there is always a book about how to find "Windows Secrets." Why should we need a book? With this OS, they took a lot of features that worked well and made them harder to use. They did this just for the sake of change and not to make the features better. And they don't listen to their users; they think they are smarter than all of us.
They are right, we are quite stupid. Or to be exact, average computer user from year 2012 is more then 2 times more stupid then average user of computer in the year 2000.
Well, a bit on the sarcastic side but I feel compelled to say that yes, we are quite more stupid now by thinking that it makes sense to right click on a file/folder and have the anti-marlware scanner be there in the context menu and execute a file/folder scan (MSE, W7) instead of not having that option and instead having to find (not so easily) Windows Defender, and go through a folder cascade to locate the file/folder in question and manually scan it. I also am not quite sure how it is saving me from my own stupidity to turn on features that I deliberately disabled - I mean, can Microsoft justify to me why I need to be forced to have System Restore waste space/writes on my SSD for a feature I have never ever used or needed in W7 (I have an image I can restore as a last resort, and it has served be well)? I am very far from a Microsoft hater, and I can give W8 all the credit it is due (and some stuff I like) but seriously, WTF is up with the doesn't-make-sense changes?
Heh,I've drawn a firm line at family friends (if I was asked to fix comp's for family friends' friends - I just billed them,but with a 10% discount XD).As for the tablet users complaints - I've heard them too including from several friends that tried Win8 on touch-enabled devices that were livid on how crippled the new interface felt for them.Tbh, I haven't really used a pre-8 touch interface on a Windows, but it certainly felt a lot less fluid and natural than for example my Galaxy Tab 10.1's UI. Hopefully,we'll see some refinements pushed to it down the line,but frankly - for the moment I just don't see myself using a Win8/RT tablet full-time with the current interface. Hell, the only reason I was considering one was that I was hoping to use one as a WMC-extender, but given how MS's treating it nowadays I sincerely doubt that'll happen. Ah,by the way - regarding the whole 8 will be a monster to do family IT for it,well I did a little experiment using my parents laptops (and them) as guinea pigs a couple of weeks back and did an in-place upgrade from 7 Pro to 8 Pro RTM, installed Start8(set up to boot directly to the desktop) and disabled the hot corners and charms bars... They've used 'em without any problems whatsoever and the only things they've noticed 'different' were the new sound scheme and the lack of AeroGlass XD. Ah,by the way - a great way you both can cut on family IT time is to prepare clean images of working systems with all the preinstalled applications used (in my case I've coupled that with offloading My Documents,Downloads,etc to a secondary partition) .. The problem is the diskspace penalty,but I've bit the bullet and started using a 1TB drive in an external enclosure to store them and managed to cut down the average repair time to a couple of hours (minus grumbling and beer ofc) WMC,and I guess you just got confused by how simplified its setup was (especially compared to MS's usual setup processes). And yes,I really use it - it's a great app that A)allows me to effortlessly use 12+ tuners (DVB-C/T/S) B)acts like a TiVo on steroids C)has a great interface that allows easy control via a 'classic' remote in the living room for example (though I'm using a wireless mini-keyboard) D)built-in support for most standards (which by the way I've forgot to list in my,well,Win8 list as a con - dropped DVD playback support outta the box) E)remote playback via 'extenders' (in my case - a couple of X360's) and F)inally - it can play back stuff from common content providers like Hulu, Netflix...In my case,because I'm in Europe - Netflix+Sky+BBC+TuneIn(though that's for radio playback)
Hey dude, please don't stand in the line for the fire. You're not one of them so what's the point getting hurt Just because Microsoft are from United states an American company. My flair says they appreciate patriotism from their users in getting bigger but not as much in return when it comes to care about their American userbase, or European or worldwide clintele, then it doesn't matter. We can see the same manner and conduct from other companies as well. There's no difference if we talking of marketing from companies on American soil or from Malaysia, Taiwan or Europe it follows the same initiative were profits and success are of main interest today. People needs has a more secondary priority "if even that" So what the heck is essential in all this? This is not what we can describe as good collaboration in a rational way, where we taking use of the hardware as much we can by developing great OS which pushing our high-tech forward timely correct. For the moment we having great hardware on the shelves which takes us far ahead in speak of technology. Wouldn't it also be fair expecting something more then from Microsoft new OS, more than something that looks like a toy for kids? Don't we have any of all these hardware manufacturers around here? If I was one of them I'd probably feeling shame of Microsoft by now