My thoughts on Windows 8, and why I went back to Windows 7...

[blankslate]

End of the day very easy to find out if you like Win8 before its even officially released.

I have an acquaintance who runs a computer repair shop and there are a couple of computers with Win8 on them. I've played with Win8 a little. As a side note they both have classicshell installed on them.

Based on my cursory experience I'm inclined to favor using classicshell if I ever upgrade to windows 8

 

[NickelPlate]

I've been trying Windows 8 now for about a week and pretty much feel the same way you do OP. I'm going back to Windows 7. I'll add to that list a very small thing which changed but I use everyday on Windows 7 is the lower right corner show desktop button. Windows 8 has this too, but it doesn't work the same way. You have to click inside the button borders now instead of just jerking the mouse into the corner and clicking to show desktop in a flash which really defeats the purpose.

You captured my thoughts exactly regarding launching programs from metro taking you to the desktop. The switching back and forth between metro and the traditional desktop just makes the whole experience feel like an OS with an identity crisis. I thought I'd give the app store a try with some of the free apps available but you have to create a "Microsoft" account. Sorry MS, not interested.

I tried several of the start menu program mods and while they all work well enough, I find myself asking what's the point? If the OS doesn't work the way I need/want my PC to without add ons, I'm just not interested.

Startup and shutdown times seemed faster but I've read that Windows 8 uses hibernation tricks to accomplish this, so it doesn't really shutdown the same as Windows 7.

Finally, I installed Windows 8 on it's own separate hard drive to try it out and just dual boot, thinking it wouldn't mess with my Windows 7 installation. Well guess what, it not only managed to corrupt my Win7 install but it also corrupted itself in the process and left my PC bricked and unbootable/unrepairable on both installations. I'm in the process of fixing that now and I'm having a super sparkly day *sarcasm*.

I'm only out $15 for the deal and a bunch of time but the Win8 disc is going back into the folder. I don't anticipate getting it out again for quite some time.

 

[dighn]

You captured my thoughts exactly regarding launching programs from metro taking you to the desktop. The switching back and forth between metro and the traditional desktop just makes the whole experience feel like an OS with an identity crisis. I thought I'd give the app store a try with some of the free apps available but you have to create a "Microsoft" account. Sorry MS, not interested.

It's also disruptive to an efficient workflow because launching programs now takes you to an entirely different screen, making you lose track of what your eyes were on. It may not seem like a big deal but is pretty annoying when you are busy working on something. Why is usability moving backward instead of forward?

 

[Maximilian]

First off windows 8 sucks balls, just to get that out there! I made a huge thread about it a while ago. Unfortunately i have to use windows 8 now because windows 7 couldn't find drivers for... get this... the CD drive of all things So it was mess about finding drivers for win 7 or mess about trying to make win 8 workable, i wasent in the mood for driver hunting so i chose windows 8. Ive been using it for nearly a week now and have made these observations:

Windows 8 needs start8 to be functional.

Windows 8 needs 8GadgetPack to tell me the weather.

Windows 8 needs to have the defaults shifted away from those stupid metro apps.

Once you have it set up it does in fact function the same as windows 7 which is something i have seen plenty of 8 fanboys state. This is true, however after 3 years of development all they churn out of something that takes extra work to set up and basically functions the same as its predecessor? Seriously? How is that progress? Thats garbage!

The absolute only advantages of windows 8 are the following:

- Faster start up
- Larger driver package for initial install

Thats what 3 years of development gets you and it comes with frickin strings attached! (Metro). I will be sticking with windows 8 for now due to lack of choice but i do not recommend anyone bother with this garbage unless they have to, windows 7 is a better option.

 

[VivienM]

Once you have it set up it does in fact function the same as windows 7 which is something i have seen plenty of 8 fanboys state. This is true, however after 3 years of development all they churn out of something that takes extra work to set up and basically functions the same as its predecessor? Seriously? How is that progress? Thats garbage!

The absolute only advantages of windows 8 are the following:

- Faster start up
- Larger driver package for initial install

Thats what 3 years of development gets you and it comes with frickin strings attached! (Metro). I will be sticking with windows 8 for now due to lack of choice but i do not recommend anyone bother with this garbage unless they have to, windows 7 is a better option.

In all fairness (and I am a huge Windows 8 hater here, to the point of being tempted to order $6000 of Apple hardware and renounce the PC platform forever), there are other improvements, e.g. file copying interface, task manager, built-in ISO mounting, etc.

It's too bad they ruined it with their cynical ploy to gain tablet market share...

 

[Maximilian]

In all fairness (and I am a huge Windows 8 hater here, to the point of being tempted to order $6000 of Apple hardware and renounce the PC platform forever), there are other improvements, e.g. file copying interface, task manager, built-in ISO mounting, etc.

It's too bad they ruined it with their cynical ploy to gain tablet market share...

Indeed however i still think that with 3 years development we should have gotten a lot more and gotten it without the strings attached.

Plus for every feature they added one was removed. Im generalizing there as i cant be bothered to count what was added vs what was taken away but off the top of my head there's no DVD playback, no WMC, no gadgets.

I wouldn't blame anyone for wanting away from the PC at this point, MS is flailing about like a headless chicken. I am really hoping valve makes some inroads with linux gaming so i can move to that platform in the future.

 

[lopri]

Somewhat off-topic here but - does anyone know how Windows 8 changed when it comes to CPU scheduling? Specifically thread-hopping. Something has changed and my way of using CPU cores (fixing affinities) do not work as it used to. I would like to read up what has changed if the changes are documented.

I did not want to make a thread for this simple query, so please excuse me for plugging it in. I am largely sympathetic to the OP's thoughtful post. I still get startled by sudden appearance of Metro screen for clicking on something very innocent.

 

[ViRGE]

I haven't seen anything mentioned regarding changes to CPU affinity, lopri. What makes you think it has changed?

 

[biostud]

Better battery life on laptops with win8 is also a bonus.

 

[darkewaffle]

Win8 has been real nice on my HTPC. I think if you're happy with 7, 8 isn't a major change (unlike going from XP to 7) but I think the default interface looks way nicer (Aero is fugly, I always reverted it to 'classic'), the DPI scaling seems improved as everything looks better on my TV and I appreciate the effort I didn't have to put into making it look nice, it just does. I was pleased that the codecs I rely on all worked straight away and I didn't bother installing a single driver except for the GPU and everything has still worked flawlessly right off the bat, including my wireless mouse and KB.

The new UI is basically a glorified start menu/desktop hybrid. You can use it as either really, I use it (a little) as the former. I don't understand why people are so up in arms about it. It took me all of a few minutes after I installed Win8 to get accustomed to where things are; the only time I see the Start screen is when I would access the start menu, which is almost never.

Default programs I'd agree aren't the best, but I think the problem with them is not their functionality but their interface. If an "app" is going to be run on multiple platforms, it needs to expect multitasking and non-touch input. Something as simple as a built-in minimize/close would alleviate much of this; or maybe MS could build an overlay for them. But even then, I haven't installed an "app" or wanted to yet, I just put all my normal programs on there no problem. If you want Firefox to not switch to desktop, then you'll need a Firefox "app". All the same, I think multitasking in the new UI could be more intuitive.

In general, there's "legwork" and some level of incompatibility between any version of Windows. I think they're valid complaints, but also hardly specific to Win8. While I think Win7 is great every time I use it for the first time I know there's still a lot of very specific steps I have to take to make it work and look how I want it to.

 

[Ravynmagi]

For me I hated Windows 8 at first and now I love it.

Like so many, the Start screen was a difficult change for me. Why does Microsoft force me to use this stupid thing and take away my Start menu? Makes no sense. But after using Windows a while, I can go days or weeks without even seeing the Metro Start screen. Everything I do is in the desktop, so every application I use is pinned to the Task bar or a shortcut is created on my desktop, which is exactly what I did with Windows 7 too. If I need to get to the Control Panel, Run prompt or something, Win-X is my new mini-Start menu now. I no longer miss the Start menu.

I had issues with my Nvidia drivers at first. My secondary monitor would go to sleep and wouldn't wake back up until I unplugged the HDMI cable and plugged it back in. I thought the monitor was dying, until I updated the Nvidia beta drivers again and the problem went away. I think I had an issue with a game as well with the earlier Nvidia drivers. But the last 2 or 3 beta drivers have seemed to work really well now.

Haven't had any issues with hardware. I've used wireless and bluetooth keyboards and all the keys have worked fine on them.

I had difficulty using the mouse to bring up the Charms bar for a while. I have dual monitors, a 27 and 24 inch with the 24 inch on the right side. So when I go for the lower right corner on the primary screen I would miss the sweet spot. But either Microsoft made it easier or I just got better with practice, but I have no problem with any of the mouse gestures now.

I still wish Microsoft would put the shutdown button right on the Charms bar though. Going into "Settings" seems silly.

I barely used the Windows Vista or 7 desktop gadgets. I played with them a few times. But never really needed them. However with Windows 7 you could use the split screen option and run a Metro app with performance monitoring tools there. Though when I need to keep an eye on performance I just open the Task Manager, go to the Performance tab, and run that on the second monitor.

Oh I love the Windows 8 Task Manager soooo much. Also love the new file transfer window, being able to pause is so helpful for me.

Windows 8 doesn't have any big "OMG I must have this" improvements I agree. But I seem to find a lot of little things that I really like about it. So I'm happy I was able to get used to the things that bugged me and able to finally love Windows 8.

 

[AnitaPeterson]

Good job, OP, ignore the naysayers!

Am I the only one who really likes Aero and all the desktop gadgets????

 

[darkewaffle]

Good job, OP, ignore the naysayers!

Am I the only one who really likes Aero and all the desktop gadget????

Before they were mentioned here I didn't even know Win7 had 'gadgets'

 

[birthdaymonkey]

I'm mostly enjoying Windows 8. Worthy $15 upgrade from 7 if you got that deal. I can't imagine many will upgrade come tomorrow and the end of the promotional pricing though unless MS comes up with some new incentive.

Pros:
Classic Windows interface is now very attractive. Win 7 looked nice in 2009, but I agree with others who have said that it's starting to look dated. The interface also feels snappier.
Task manager, file copy windows.
Seems to work better with dual displays on my GTX 670. I had issues in 7 with 2D choppiness in Aero while running two DVI monitors.

Cons:
Metro as a mouse/keyboard interface (this is a minor gripe... I never use it anyway. Just hit winkey and start typing the program I want.)
DPC latency seems high, although I haven't experienced any symptoms like audio/video clicks and pops. This may be a case of early drivers that will get ironed out.

 

[Zargon]

Good job, OP, ignore the naysayers!

Am I the only one who really likes Aero and all the desktop gadgets????

ugh gadgets.

 

[lopri]

I haven't seen anything mentioned regarding changes to CPU affinity, lopri. What makes you think it has changed?

Assigned cores don't stay put. Not always, but often enough to notice. It only happens in 3D games.

 

[spdfreak]

My biggest complaint is that some stuff just doesn't work anymore- like my TV tuner in Media Center which is supported and even shows perfect signal strength but just won't work. That after a full day of installing, getting the "failure configuring windows update" after it tried to update- then rolling it back then trying it again and again, etc. I finally reinstalled it on top of it self after it somehow lost the install key on one of it's roll backs. Office 03 is kinda installed. It had some sort of error during the install but seems to work... I just don't trust it. Fortunately, I have my Win 7 install on another hard drive and fortunately, I only spent 14.99 on Win 8. I'll use it on something at some point I guess.

 

[WelshBloke]

I'm pretty much detesting it.

From a gain loss side of things I've

Lost Aero, my start button, gadgets and a few programs that arent compatible.

Gained Metro (which the only good thing I can say about is you dont have to use it much, its really really horrible), new task manager... um... thats it really

Complete waste of money.

Its no snappier than Windows 7. Yes it shows a desktop quicker on startup but you still have to wait for it to load up your background services and programs so it takes the same time to get to a workable desktop.

It has this rubbish habit of just sitting on a black screen during updates so you dont know if its crashed or hung up.

Metro is horrible. Its not that people arent used to it. Its that its absolutely rubbish on a desktop with a mouse. Click here, swipe down over there, swipe in over here... just to switch programs... really? The point of it is?

My main decision now is to go with a clean Windows 7 install or try to get my old one back from my WHS as I'm assuming that Microsoft haven't made an easy way to go back.

 

[nOOky]

I love Windows 8 on my laptop. I put it on both my and her desktops. I also dual boot Windows 7 and Windows 8 on each, so we can swap back and forth.
Windows 8 is uglier than 7, faster, more clunky, less intuitive, but more compatible with drivers and software imho. I have 5 computers, I won't be putting it on the other 2.
In my view, I paid $40 for 3 upgrades, Microsoft should be happy they got even that much out of me for the product.

 

[WelshBloke]

I love Windows 8 on my laptop. I put it on both my and her desktops. I also dual boot Windows 7 and Windows 8 on each, so we can swap back and forth.
Windows 8 is uglier than 7, faster, more clunky, less intuitive, but more compatible with drivers and software imho. I have 5 computers, I won't be putting it on the other 2.
In my view, I paid $40 for 3 upgrades, Microsoft should be happy they got even that much out of me for the product.

Really? I'd be interested to know what drivers and software are more compatible with windows 8 than windows 7.

 

[nOOky]

Swap that around lol, I typed wrong.

 

[WelshBloke]

Swap that around lol, I typed wrong.

Ahhhh... makes sense now. :biggrin:

 

[Mem]

JonathanYoung:Update on Unreal Tournament, finally installed it with 436 patch,did not try the unofficial 451 patch anyway was running ok so no issues even in MP,all I did was not install DX7 from game CD(too old) ,don't use XP compatibility mode either,run as admin is fine.


Quite surprised to see a lot of UT servers still running(more with 451 version however).Btw mine was "Game of the Year Version".


Hope this helps.

 

[Staples]

I use Windows 8 but after 2 weeks, I missed the start menu button so much that I plunked $5 for Start8. Now it is the same as Windows 7 but with under the hood improvements.

I have to say, my favorite feature in Windows 8 is the new Windows Explorer. I also like that you can mount ISO images. That may have been in Windows 7 but I never noticed it. If you can get it for cheap (or with a subscription as I did), there is no reason not to upgrade.

 

[spdfreak]

I'm back to Win7. Media center is just plain broken. Won't recognize TV tuners (I've tried 2 different ones). They install drivers, etc but Win 8 doesn't know what to do with them. There were some good features and improvements but I need media center to work. Maybe MS will get it sorted out.