Metro UI on Windows 8 will not make me upgrade to Windows 8

[HURRIC4NE]

To all of those people that are currently using the Windows 8 preview, does the new metro interface bug you ? i know its buggin the hell out of me since i'm a PC user with a keyboard and mouse, the Metro UI is more designed towards tablets, but on the PC and most laptops, it feels quirky, fat, and unimaginably impossible to multitask on the PC (i have more of a workstation/gaming pc).

I installed windows 8 on my pc since the first preview edition (and i upgraded to release preview one) and its just made my life harder instead of simpler. most of the settings are now divided between Metro and the Control Panel. i get a feeling that microsoft is trying to turn my hardworking workstation into a gay french singer... or a setup that bruno would like (no offense).

i tried those "look like windows 7" start menu apps, those were great but nowhere close to representing the real operating system, i'm having installing an app to do what my operating system should be able to do!.

i tried it on my lenovo laptop but it was the same, too much time/space consuming and it looks way to minimalistic in a simple way (instead of being apple-like minimalistic in a artistic way), and as said by major game developers such as Gabe Newell (FTW!), from Valve, and even Blizzard, they both agreed that Windows 8 wasn't helping the gaming market either.

a solution from windows would be including a "Disable Metro" option that us working people would LOVE. but i barely doubt that they will include that option, its just like the switch from 2003 Office to 2007 Office, it bugged the hell out of people on where is what, and i believe that it could be the same for windows 8

 

[Rangoric]

I am a PC User and a Tablet User and Windows 8 is smoother and easier to use on both for me. The settings sync between them, so the taskbar is on the side instead of the bottom for any Windows 8 computer I use, along with my desktop background.

The start screen is easier to find things on, and I use it much more than I ever used the start menu. I hated having to navigate through those folders. Now I hit start and hit the much larger icon button, scrolling the list horizontally is much easier than scrolling any part of the start menu (scrolling with the mouse wheel actually does horizontal in most apps and on the menu).

The multi-monitor capabilities are far beyond Windows 7. I currently have each monitor with a taskbar on the "outside" of the screens, only showing what they have open on them. When not having Visual Studio and 2-3 web browsers open (I dev with IE10, tweak css with chrome) I can easily have the people app on the right hand side to show twitter/facebook.

The main time I miss metro is at work where I am on windows 7, I happen to like what they did with the Metro RDP app, and overall I just miss the little things, like multimon support.

I also happen to think that the Ribbon in Office 2010 is excellent, and wish that Visual Studio would get that treatment, but know it won't because of all the app-ons that add menu items. It gives more real estate to the content, so on my tablet I'm not crunched into a tiny bit of space. And multi layered menus are a killer on a tablet. I can bearly use Resharpers right click menu because the on screen keyboard is always in the way, or I'll scroll a bit then accidently hover off and lose the pop-up or just miss-touch if I feel lucky and try to use my finger instead of the stylus.

Also, Windows phone is the only non-claustrophobic phone UI, and Metro in Windows 8 continues that. Seriously, with the iPhone, Android, and blackberry phones you are looking into them. The UI 3D effects are going into themselves, like you are looking into a diorama. Windows 8, and Windows Phone, are both pushing out at you instead. Even regular windows has things on top on in front with shadows to hint that it is above other things (although OSX may do this, the 3D into the box design still feels off).

I love my iPad, but if it had a MetroUI I'd love it more.

 

[HURRIC4NE]

I am a PC User and a Tablet User and Windows 8 is smoother and easier to use on both for me. The settings sync between them, so the taskbar is on the side instead of the bottom for any Windows 8 computer I use, along with my desktop background.

The start screen is easier to find things on, and I use it much more than I ever used the start menu. I hated having to navigate through those folders. Now I hit start and hit the much larger icon button, scrolling the list horizontally is much easier than scrolling any part of the start menu (scrolling with the mouse wheel actually does horizontal in most apps and on the menu).

The multi-monitor capabilities are far beyond Windows 7. I currently have each monitor with a taskbar on the "outside" of the screens, only showing what they have open on them. When not having Visual Studio and 2-3 web browsers open (I dev with IE10, tweak css with chrome) I can easily have the people app on the right hand side to show twitter/facebook.

The main time I miss metro is at work where I am on windows 7, I happen to like what they did with the Metro RDP app, and overall I just miss the little things, like multimon support.

I also happen to think that the Ribbon in Office 2010 is excellent, and wish that Visual Studio would get that treatment, but know it won't because of all the app-ons that add menu items. It gives more real estate to the content, so on my tablet I'm not crunched into a tiny bit of space. And multi layered menus are a killer on a tablet. I can bearly use Resharpers right click menu because the on screen keyboard is always in the way, or I'll scroll a bit then accidently hover off and lose the pop-up or just miss-touch if I feel lucky and try to use my finger instead of the stylus.

Also, Windows phone is the only non-claustrophobic phone UI, and Metro in Windows 8 continues that. Seriously, with the iPhone, Android, and blackberry phones you are looking into them. The UI 3D effects are going into themselves, like you are looking into a diorama. Windows 8, and Windows Phone, are both pushing out at you instead. Even regular windows has things on top on in front with shadows to hint that it is above other things (although OSX may do this, the 3D into the box design still feels off).

I love my iPad, but if it had a MetroUI I'd love it more.

TBH, i have a Nokia 710 (running windows phone), and i love it there, its just one of those things that make it so simple, one of my main grit about Metro UI is the fact that the metro UI covers the whole damn screen on PC, now even though i can move metro apps to the sides of my desktop, the start menu covering the whole screen becomes a problem when you are trying to actually multitask (given that you are on one screen like me, i'm not sure about dual screen setups and viewing desktop on one while metro on other).

have you tried the new Visual studio previews? i attended a recent Microsoft Developers Event and found out that its gonna get a Ribbon like the Office 2007+. the Ribbon isn't bad, but sometimes it just makes things harder, specially for newer people who upgraded. (microsoft is trying to improve the ribbon, ). i guess it just comes onto moving into newer things that require more learning, i remember moving to Vista from XP, and HOLY SH$# was i bombarded with new features!, this time its sort of like that same thing happening again.

however, Adobe's upgrades are actually quite good, if you upgraded from CS4 to CS6, most applications have the usual same features with added benefits/better engine or usually newer features.

personally i know a lot of people that are hating on the Metro UI, if microsoft can provide the disable metro feature, it wont be hurting anyone but instead making the new transition easier.

 

[Rhonda the Sly]

I would say I like Windows 8 overall. There are things that could be better, but I think the package is coming along very slick.

The main Start Screen UI is fantastic in that a user can pin and access a lot of stuff. I have about 100 icons pinned and, from clicking Start, accessing even the furthest out icon only takes two seconds.

WinRT apps are, no surprise, a bit of a mixed bag. I use Mail, OneNote, IE, Calendar, Weather, and play a handful of games, but that's about it. I'll open some of the others but those are my dailies, I suppose. Beta-like bugs aside, they work well enough and I like the fact that they're out of the way, so to speak. Every once in a while I'll jump into Mail and see what's new but then I hop out and once I'm in the desktop it's not a distraction in the least.

There are things that could be better, like Search's lack of "Open File Location" or adding accounts only being in the Settings app. There's also the design of All Apps to contend with. Luckily, my system doesn't have enough applications installed to where it's a problem yet but I can see that after a few more complex applications it might look like a jungle.

All said, not bugged. No.

 

[notposting]

Well, to answer the topic title, no.

I will probably wait until Windows 9 or at least SP1 for W8.

This is coming from someone who has been using Media Center for years, has a Windows Phone (and loves it) and has been in the Xbox Dash preview the last couple years just to see the new metro look.

While I know the live tiles may increase productivity...my productivity is within programs. Not from the desktop/start screen, on my phone it is different, but I like having my desktop backgrounds P) and just having certain things laid out just so for current projects.

For now I see no reason to move past W7 on any of our machines. If we get a new machine it will undoubtedly run W8 and that would be fine I guess.

 

[jhansman]

I guess my take is that the UI won't prevent me from upgrading. Not crazy about it, but since it can be bypassed, I'm more interested in what's under the hood. The Preview runs quite well on a 7200 RPM HD I put it on, so I expect it will do even better on an SSD. For the $40 the upgrade will cost me, I'm willing to give it a go. My panties remain unbunched.

 

[gmaster456]

I guess my take is that the UI won't prevent me from upgrading. Not crazy about it, but since it can be bypassed, I'm more interested in what's under the hood. The Preview runs quite well on a 7200 RPM HD I put it on, so I expect it will do even better on an SSD. For the $40 the upgrade will cost me, I'm willing to give it a go. My panties remain unbunched.

This is my take on it as well. Maybe I'm weird. I didn't hate Vista, and I love the ribbon UI in office, and I don't hate windows 8.

 

[Rangoric]

have you tried the new Visual studio previews? i attended a recent Microsoft Developers Event and found out that its gonna get a Ribbon like the Office 2007+. the Ribbon isn't bad, but sometimes it just makes things harder, specially for newer people who upgraded. (microsoft is trying to improve the ribbon, ). i guess it just comes onto moving into newer things that require more learning, i remember moving to Vista from XP, and HOLY SH$# was i bombarded with new features!, this time its sort of like that same thing happening again.

I use it just about daily to and from work, on lunch breaks, and at home. Liking how much more responsive it is (builds no longer freeze the UI into unusability, same with unit tests), but think the toolbar is now very out of place and I find myself not really using it anymore, instead using keyboard shortcuts or the drop down menu (the icons are too small and monotone to be useful). Toolbar wise I use start debugging, step into/out of/etc but that's it. The monotone (with dashes of color) works MUCH better on the dockable windows however. There is only a few of them, and generally they are very specific so once I am looking at the window there is already only a couple things I'd be looking for.