Opinions and user experience with Windows 8

Discussion in 'Windows 8' started by vjott, Sep 3, 2012.

  1. phailyoor

    phailyoor MDL Junior Member

    Aug 6, 2012
    65
    11
    0
    This is completely true. I've done the experiment too. If Metro is left in, sh- hits the fan as soon as the user tries to open a photo or something and gets launched into metro. Then you get called over and have to change the default file associations so that it doesn't happen again.
     
  2. cyberdoc888

    cyberdoc888 MDL Novice

    Aug 14, 2012
    19
    6
    0
    I have been playing with windows 8 for
    months now. I noticed that most of the problems go away when you upgrade from windows 7 to windows 8 As opposed to a clean install .... just my 2 cents....
     
  3. lokster

    lokster MDL Novice

    Aug 14, 2012
    21
    0
    0
    i didnt know the auto update for apps took up so much bandwidth, is there a way to disable it?
     
  4. bk109

    bk109 MDL Senior Member

    Aug 12, 2012
    269
    136
    10
    Well,as far as I saw you can just turn off auto-updates altogether (with the inherent pro's and con's). Just open the Store app, then slide the mouse to the right-hand side of the screen (so you can see the charms bar), then select Settings > App Updates and disable the auto-update option. This should do the trick about the mobile data hog that's the Store.
     
  5. vjott

    vjott MDL Member

    Aug 7, 2012
    104
    20
    10
    Just discovered something in Windows 8 that has me very annoyed: no obvious way to delete a wireless profile. I had set up a wireless network at home sometime ago and recently moved to another ISP and I changed some of the wireless security settings but kept the SSID. Of course Windows 8 hiccuped and refused to connect so I thought that I'd just go to the Network and sharing centre, click "view wireless networks" and delete the wireless network and try connecting. Lo and behold, Microsoft has removed that option; instead the user must click on the network tray icon, right-click the SSID of the network and select "Forget this network". This option is glitchy because I had to use it a few times before I could connect properly. Change for the sake of change is seldom a good thing.
     
    Stop hovering to collapse... Click to collapse... Hover to expand... Click to expand...
  6. hana

    hana MDL Novice

    Dec 23, 2008
    29
    4
    0
    right click on the network that you want and press forget this network
     
  7. vjott

    vjott MDL Member

    Aug 7, 2012
    104
    20
    10
    Yeah, I noted that above in my post but either it still stores some data about the network or something else is at work because it was still giving trouble. Connected perfectly with a Windows 7 PC.
     
    Stop hovering to collapse... Click to collapse... Hover to expand... Click to expand...
  8. vjott

    vjott MDL Member

    Aug 7, 2012
    104
    20
    10
    Ended up resetting the router, changing the SSID and connecting every wireless device in the house...from scratch. That certainly wasn't fun but whatever it is, I hope Microsoft issues a solution. A similar problem occurred on a Vista machine despite deleting the wireless profile. Only Windows 7 machines were connecting normally. The only Mac OS X (Leopard) machine in the house was encountering issues so I'm confused but everything's good now. On another note, I've noticed some changes in Chrome Canary build: a new menu item labelled, "Restart Chrome in Windows 8 mode" and also a plus sign in the address bar where the bookmarks star once was. The plus sign is the "Actions" button and clicking on it brings up a dropdown menu with "Bookmark this page" and "Share this page". I wonder when Mozilla will launch their Modern UI interface for Windows 8. I've seen a mock-up but we won't be seeing the implementation for a long while, I'm guessing, given that Mozilla is trying to implement "Australis" in some future release (rumour has it that the first glimpses will emerge in Nightly 19.0).
     
    Stop hovering to collapse... Click to collapse... Hover to expand... Click to expand...
  9. vjott

    vjott MDL Member

    Aug 7, 2012
    104
    20
    10
    A couple visual inconsistencies that I've noticed in Windows 8 besides the presence of Aero icons in a "Modernised" user interface. A few months ago, an article was posted on the Windows Team blog about the new desktop UI. Part of the rationalisation for the changes to the desktop UI was that the approach of reproducing glass or aluminum (a not-so-subtle stab at OS X) in the OS user interface was "cheesy and dated". They claimed that sharpening corners and reducing gradients and shadows was part of the modernisation process. Although I like the way they sharpened the corners of the window borders and UI elements, I dislike the reduction of gradients and shadows. The shadows under the windows were important cues for the user to become instantly aware of the active window and providing the perception of depth and layering of windows. The gradients on buttons conveyed the idea of an item to be "pressed", that is, clicked. The reduction of the gradient to such an extent that the button and window backgrounds are almost identical was a poor decision, from my perspective.

    These changes are tolerable at best but what is troubling is the indication of a lack of effort to truly overhaul the desktop experience in favour of placing an overemphasis on the Modern UI. There are many elements left over from Vista and Seven that clearly should not be there and it extends beyond just the Aero style icon-set that should have been revised. There are also interface elements that go contrary to the modernisation approach chosen by the Windows team such as the presence of gloss and gradients on toolbars and toolbar items in Windows Media Player and Windows Photo Viewer. Of course Windows Media Player, being the same version from Windows 7, can be excused as there will likely be an update that will bring the interface in line with the new desktop application elements. What is inexcusable is the sloppiness of some interface elements in the updated applications. Take a closer look at the menu items in the Windows Photo Viewer menu bar and you will see rounded corners but sharpened shadows below the buttons as you hover over them. The same is true of the tooltips in Windows Explorer. Hover over a ribbon item and you will notice that the corners of the tooltip is slightly rounded but the corners of the drop-down shadow are sharpened. It is my suspicion that, in focusing too much on introducing the Modern UI and applications, the Windows team neglected to pay due attention to the desktop which, to most workers and students, is the more important of Windows 8's new split personality. These cosmetic inconsistencies may seem minor but remember; this is a commercial product, individuals and companies are paying good money for this and once the promotional pricing is over, individuals will be paying even more for the product. Doing a shoddy job on parts of the product does not reflect well on the product as a whole.

    Inconsistent.png NotSquared.png
     
    Stop hovering to collapse... Click to collapse... Hover to expand... Click to expand...
  10. suitsyou

    suitsyou MDL Novice

    Aug 30, 2012
    10
    2
    0
    No USB support in Hyper V really defeats the objective of virtualization. What is the point when you can test systems properly? Disabling existing drivers and Epson printer drivers for Windows 8 with full features seems to be a key issue. I’m still sitting on the fence with this Operating System.
    Further it is hampered with the delay and availability of Windows Media Centre which should be also a pre-requisite for corporate users.
     
  11. vjott

    vjott MDL Member

    Aug 7, 2012
    104
    20
    10
    Stop hovering to collapse... Click to collapse... Hover to expand... Click to expand...
  12. vjott

    vjott MDL Member

    Aug 7, 2012
    104
    20
    10
    Just sharing the latest about my Windows 8 experience. I'm no longer running Windows 8 on my main hard drive. I seem to be having a hard drive/filesystem corruption issue. I erased the hard drive after trying to defragment, CHKDSK and SFC /SCANNOW and I got a Blue Screen and Windows refused to start. It hangs for a while at the looping dots (the splash screen) and then I get another BSOD and then a restart. I installed Ubuntu temporarily :( . While updating Ubuntu, I got a message saying that some program was utilising the Master Boot Record of the disk and that it could cause problems. In addition, the SMART status of my HDD states that there are some "bad sectors" on my hard drive. I removed Ubuntu and boot the live USB that I created. Currently, I'm overwriting my entire hard drive with zeros and going to start afresh but I'm probably going to be using some Linux distribution for a while because I'm working on a web application for work and I don't want to be bothered by Windows glitches.
     
    Stop hovering to collapse... Click to collapse... Hover to expand... Click to expand...