Holy Cow - Windows 8. OMG

[Gunbuster]

Why do people hate the start screen so much?

I know! People I talk to act like they have been transported to another universe because the start screen comes up full screen. Like they completely forgot why they invoked it in the first place.

 

[Zaap]

Yes he is, because he's using unbelievably ridiculous supporting arguments. Windows 8 is clearly not the brightest moment Microsoft's had, but it's no where near as unusable as he makes it out to be. Only a retard would have that much trouble.

And let's not forget there are some improvements as well (at a first glance, major improvements to the task manager and file transfer). Just nothing compelling enough for someone to transition from 7, but if you are starting from scratch, there is no reason not to use Windows 8. I am even able to use it efficiently enough without a Start menu.

Windows 8 isn't bad, it's just not good. If we are so keen about talking shit about Microsoft products, let's talk about Outlook 2013.

So basically: "It's bad, but it's not unusable..." "It's okay if you're a computing novice (IE: you simply don't know any better)..." "Even counting it's few improvements, there's nothing compelling vs. 7..."

None of these are selling points, exactly the opposite.

You also didn't refute or disprove any point in that video. I could do similar and say: "Only a (choose your insult) couldn't understand the video" and it'd be about on same level as your charge.

 

[Chiropteran]

So basically: "It's bad, but it's not unusable..."

Basically if you insist on sticking with a Windows 7 UI, it's bad. Just like Windows XP was an annoying change for those of us who were accustomed to Windows 2000.

If you embrace the Windows 8 UI, it's great. The much hated start screen is my favorite thing about Windows 8, I can arrange my programs to match my usage and easily start anything in a moment by clicking in the corner and then on it's icon. For less used programs I click the corner and type a few letters of it's name and then click. I like it. The start menu in 7 can do similar things, but has less room and is less responsive. I do not have a touch screen. I don't see how I would ever use one on a desktop PC, mouse is just easier to use, but even with a mouse I find the start screen to be a great step forward.

I appreciate the fact that the system identifies SSD as such and can perform trim operations by default in the disk optimizer. I like the account system, because I mess with hardware and re-install constantly so it's kinda nice to have my basic settings and desktop background saved in the cloud.

Honestly, while I like these changes they are not huge. I have several computers still running Windows 7 and have no desire to upgrade them all, 3 Windows 8 licenses are all I have purchased so far (for personal use, I have some work copies available at work as well).

And hey, best part is every Windows 8 gets a free upgrade to Windows 8.1 "Blue".

 

[bshole]

The latest....

When Microsoft rolls out Windows 8.1, the update to its struggling, 7-month-old operating system franchise, the company will not be bringing back the Start button as many users have been requesting.
But the company has acquiesced some. The company announced this morning that it will introduce something that a person close to Windows engineering is calling a "Start tip" that users can click on to go back to the Start screen in Windows 8.1. The "tip" is a Windows logo that that sits on the left hand side of the toolbar when Windows 8 users are working in the traditional desktop mode. When they are using the touch-focused tile-based interface, users will have to hover over the lower left corner for the "tip" to pop up.

But clicking on the "tip" won't launch the familiar menus that the Start button did in previous versions of Windows. Instead, it will take users to their Start screen. With Windows 8.1, users can customize that Start screen to replicate something close to the old Start menus, listing all of the applications that are available to them, if they want.

It's unclear if the Start tip will be enough to quiet critics who are clamoring for the ease of use that comes with familiarity. The Start tip is a bit of a half-step toward a Start button. Microsoft seems to be giving a nod to its critics but not quite giving them all they had wanted.
Earlier this month, Tami Reller, the chief marketing officer and chief financial officer of the Windows division, told ZDNet's Mary Jo Foley that the company is being "principled, not stubborn" about modifying Windows 8 based on user feedback.
One area where Microsoft will give traditionalists what they've sought is the ability to have their computers boot directly to the familiar desktop mode. Windows 8 computers automatically boot to the tile-based interface, requiring users to take an extra step to get to the old desktop. With Windows 8.1, they can choose to set the default to boot directly to the desktop mode.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-10805_3-57586786-75/for-windows-8.1-a-half-step-toward-a-start-button/

 

[Ketchup]

The latest.... http://news.cnet.com/8301-10805_3-57586786-75/for-windows-8.1-a-half-step-toward-a-start-button/

Sheesh, they are acting like their would be bloodshed involved to bring back a feature their customers are asking for. What a group of idiots.

 

[bshole]

IKR... I don't recall ANYBODY clamouring for a start button on the desktop that would take them back to METRO. This is a button that is the exact OPPOSITE of what the complainers wanted. MS is determined to force you to drink from the waters of the METRO pond, they figure after you have drunk enough you will get used to it and like it.

 

[Zaap]

As long as you can boot straight to the desktop, and use third party software to get some reasonable function back and never have to see that Metro kludge *ever*, then I'd say that's 90% 'good enough'.

Still, MS's attitude blows, and I still see nothing compelling about Windows 8 that would make me want it on any of my computers.

MS suffers from the same problem that I see with other companies- an arrogance about the overall importance of their products. That they think nothing of making a simple start menu into full-screen shovelware illustrates the disconnect.

It's the same pigheaded mentality that PC makers suffer from with their shovelware that most people want to get rid of, not have bloat up their PCs. "Hey, you're buying an HP product- that must mean you *want* all of our HP 'handy-dandy' shovelwares set as defaults... right?" No, wrong. That's exactly the kind of garbage I (and most productive people) get rid of before I consider the PC usable.

So for those always suggesting "Just get used to it!" you're doing the equivalent of telling me that the HP 'handy-dandy' shovelware is something I should 'just get used to' as well. No. I don't want kludgy garbage junking up my computing use, and whether that junk came from the PC maker being pigheaded and thinking they know what's best for my use over me, or the OS maker being the same, makes no difference.

 

[WelshBloke]

I know! People I talk to act like they have been transported to another universe because the start screen comes up full screen. Like they completely forgot why they invoked it in the first place.

Maybe because they weren't expecting their OS to vomit up a full screen of animated tiles when they just wanted to start a program up.

 

[piasabird]

Why should a consumer have to use software to add features back into windows 8 when they can just get windows 7 and it does what they want? Why is Microsoft forcing all the desktop manufacturers to not keep offering Win 7 as an alternative to Win 8? This is not the free market!

 

[piasabird]

If the demand for Win8 was higher then the price of Win7 should drop!

Microsoft and Intel both abuse their monopoly power.

 

[Scooby Doo]

What they really needed to do was a way to easily customize the start menu. Be able to quickly create groups/folders, move entries from group to group. That way you can have a folder "Games", "Photography", "Programming", "Utilities"...etc I know you can use explorer to move the shortcuts around but it's rather clunky. A custom tailored start menu would be a lot better than the huge full screen start screen that you end up having to scroll through UGHH.

 

[Mem]

Why should a consumer have to use software to add features back into windows 8 when they can just get windows 7 and it does what they want? Why is Microsoft forcing all the desktop manufacturers to not keep offering Win 7 as an alternative to Win 8? This is not the free market!

ALL operating systems evolve and change over time,look at Win 3.11 to Win95 decades ago, I could say I want my Windows to be like Win3.11,fact is Win8 is Win8 and NOT Win7,if you want Win7 Start button menu then use Win7,Win8 is a change and a new direction,you may not like it but nobody is forcing you to use it,just like I went from DOS 6.22 to Windows etc with all the changes,I could also say same thing for some of my Linux Distro's,plus I've not even mentioned the third party Start menu's so you do have plenty of choices.

 

[ControlD]

As long as you can boot straight to the desktop, and use third party software to get some reasonable function back and never have to see that Metro kludge *ever*, then I'd say that's 90% 'good enough'.

You can pretty much do that already with Start8. I can't comment on other alternatives because I have not tried them. I'm not sure I will never see Metro again, but I haven't seen it since I put Start8 on so it is pretty close if not there already.

 

[Zaap]

I could say I want my Windows to be like Win3.11

You got your wish. The Metro components of 8 are like going back to Win 3.11.

I and many others would like the entire OS to be more like a product from 2013.

 

[Zaap]

What they really needed to do was a way to easily customize the start menu. Be able to quickly create groups/folders, move entries from group to group. That way you can have a folder "Games", "Photography", "Programming", "Utilities"...etc I know you can use explorer to move the shortcuts around but it's rather clunky. A custom tailored start menu would be a lot better than the huge full screen start screen that you end up having to scroll through UGHH.

100% agree. They should have just improved what worked, not tried to reinvent the wheel, badly. "Hey, just get used to a square wheel! You hate change!"

But then, what you suggest would require real leadership and real innovation, things sorely missing from Microsoft of late. *ahem* long since time for Ballmer to go.

 

[BladeVenom]

You got your wish. The Metro components of 8 are like going back to Win 3.11.

I thought it was suppose to look like AOL.

 

[WelshBloke]

I thought it was suppose to look like AOL.

Funny but depressing cos its true.

:awe: D:

 

[Munky]

I know! People I talk to act like they have been transported to another universe because the start screen comes up full screen. Like they completely forgot why they invoked it in the first place.

Probably because I don't want having the entire screen covered up with ugly giant icons, thereby interrupting whatever I was looking at before, just to provide the same functionality that a small menu in the corner of the screen has done for almost two decades. If I wanted to deal with a screen full of icons, I'd be running Windows 3.1.

 

[Mem]

You got your wish. The Metro components of 8 are like going back to Win 3.11.

I and many others would like the entire OS to be more like a product from 2013.

Nah,if I had my wish I would scrap ALL Windows and have us all using Linux,just gaming keeps me coming back to Windows .

 

[WelshBloke]

Nah,if I had my wish I would scrap ALL Windows and have us all using Linux,just gaming keeps me coming back to Windows .

Thing is in Linux you're still able to use windows (thats a small W there). Microsoft appear to want you not to use windows in Windows, which is annoying to say the least.

 

[BladeVenom]

Nah,if I had my wish I would scrap ALL Windows and have us all using Linux,just gaming keeps me coming back to Windows .

With Steam for Linux, and most of the indie developers making Linux ports, it won't be too long before you can abandon Windows entirely for gaming. Android is the number one operating system now, and soon iOS will be number two.

 

[Maximilian]

IKR... I don't recall ANYBODY clamouring for a start button on the desktop that would take them back to METRO. This is a button that is the exact OPPOSITE of what the complainers wanted. MS is determined to force you to drink from the waters of the METRO pond, they figure after you have drunk enough you will get used to it and like it.

Ballmer is rolling around on the floor laughing at us...

 

[Zaap]

Nah,if I had my wish I would scrap ALL Windows and have us all using Linux,just gaming keeps me coming back to Windows .

Prefer OSX myself. Did my time with Linux. Commuted my own sentence.

 

[Chiropteran]

What they really needed to do was a way to easily customize the start menu. Be able to quickly create groups/folders, move entries from group to group. That way you can have a folder "Games", "Photography", "Programming", "Utilities"...etc I know you can use explorer to move the shortcuts around but it's rather clunky. A custom tailored start menu would be a lot better than the huge full screen start screen that you end up having to scroll through UGHH.

What do you mean, scroll through?

You can pretty much customize the start screen any way you want. Yeah it has a lot of dumb metro garbage by default, but that takes whole seconds to fix. It's not a big deal. I keep my start screen limited to only the programs I run most often, and never need to scroll.

Hell, even 7 suffers from that problem. Start menu on a fresh windows 7 install: Getting Started, Connect to a Projector, Sticky Notes, Snipping Tool, XPS Viewer, Windows Fax, Magnifier all wasting valuable menu space. Just like 8, it only takes a few seconds to fix, but if you are going to act like it's a big deal on windows 8 at least realize Windows 7 has the exact same "issue".

 

[WelshBloke]

What do you mean, scroll through?

You can pretty much customize the start screen any way you want. Yeah it has a lot of dumb metro garbage by default, but that takes whole seconds to fix. It's not a big deal. I keep my start screen limited to only the programs I run most often, and never need to scroll.

Hell, even 7 suffers from that problem. Start menu on a fresh windows 7 install: Getting Started, Connect to a Projector, Sticky Notes, Snipping Tool, XPS Viewer, Windows Fax, Magnifier all wasting valuable menu space. Just like 8, it only takes a few seconds to fix, but if you are going to act like it's a big deal on windows 8 at least realize Windows 7 has the exact same "issue".

What's the point in a full screen app launcher if all its got on there is a web browser and a way to run a decent OS?