Windows 8 Consumer Preview Feedback Thread

[rockyct]

i installed windows 8 on a SSD 60gb i just got to try it.

Not bad seriously, it does everything windows 7 do and its just as fast. "Windows key" and you EASILY switch between metro ui and desktop UI.

That being said, being a user of windows since 3.1, i'd rather have the choice to disable entirely the metro ui and better yet, an option to remove it completely without a trace from the OS. I want the option, otherwise i'll keep using windows 7 for 10 years.

You're going to have to be using Win7 for 10 years then. The metro UI IS Windows 8. It's not something like Media Center where it runs on top of the OS. If anything, the desktop is an app running on Windows like Media Center. Even if you boot up into the desktop, all the notifications and whatnot will have the metro UI. It's not something that can just be removed.

 

[gammaray]

You're going to have to be using Win7 for 10 years then. The metro UI IS Windows 8. It's not something like Media Center where it runs on top of the OS. If anything, the desktop is an app running on Windows like Media Center. Even if you boot up into the desktop, all the notifications and whatnot will have the metro UI. It's not something that can just be removed.

How do you know?

If that's the case anyway, too bad for them. (and for us) lose-lose situation

 

[rockyct]

How do you know?

If that's the case anyway, too bad for them. (and for us) lose-lose situation

Microsoft's people, especially Steven Sinofsky, have been saying for quite some time now that the Metro UI is not just a UI styling on top of Windows, but that it IS Windows. They didn't just stick it on top of Win7, they made it part of the OS and added the desktop functionality in on top.

 

[slicksilver]

The OS grows on you. I hated it initially and I thought MS's downfall has begum. I've reinstalled it and used it for a day now and I've already adapted to the little changes. Once you memorize the keyb shortcuts its back to the old glory with new features.

 

[slicksilver]

Anybody else notice that the OS does not ask you anymore if you want to confirm the delete file action.

 

[gmaster456]

The OS grows on you. I hated it initially and I thought MS's downfall has begum. I've reinstalled it and used it for a day now and I've already adapted to the little changes. Once you memorize the keyb shortcuts its back to the old glory with new features.

I have found this to be the case as well.

 

[Mem]

Still getting use to Win8 and finding my way around,amazing how many times I use the Windows key to go back etc...

Its a bit of a learning curve for new users since some things take awhile to find and learn like did not know about hitting spacebar to login on bootup,was wondering while it was staying on the first screen,also the windows key is used quite often,at least in my case.

Shutdown will confuse a lot of new users too.
I guess once you learn the shortcuts etc will be more enjoyable to use.


I was playing around with the weather icon and no settings I could see to change it to Celcius for Europeans like myself.

I have mixed feelings at the moment but early days so won't pass judgement just yet.

 

[nitromullet]

Microsoft's people, especially Steven Sinofsky, have been saying for quite some time now that the Metro UI is not just a UI styling on top of Windows, but that it IS Windows. They didn't just stick it on top of Win7, they made it part of the OS and added the desktop functionality in on top.

The only thing that supports that notion is the fact that you can snap the desktop along side another app. However, whenever you have to do anything of significant importance you immediately get dumped back to Aero. The only important system function that I have seen in Metro so far is Windows Update. Control Panel, Device Manager, and all the other administrative tools are all still Aero.

I'm glad for this actually because it takes way too many steps to open Windows Update because it is a Metro app...

1) mouse to the bottom right corner
2) mouse straight up to the charms settings button (too far to the left and you have to start over again)
3) click Settings
4) click More PC Settings
5) click Windows Update

To get back to the desktop from the PC Settings screen takes multiple steps as well. Either you hit the top left hot corner and find the desktop by working your way down the list of open apps of you have to bounce back to the Start screen and then to the desktop.

...all of this for a system utility that is pretty unobtrusive under Win 7. This is even bad UI design for a mobile device. On my Droid X with Moto blur to get to the settings menu I just press the left hardware button on the phone and tap settings...

There was a learning curve when I got the phone, but its benefits over my old cell phone were huge so the trade off was worth it. Windows 8 just seems to make it more difficult to do the same stuff I've always done. Any "benefits" seem to be tied to the MS store, and are not there to make my experience any better/easier.

The OS grows on you. I hated it initially and I thought MS's downfall has begum. I've reinstalled it and used it for a day now and I've already adapted to the little changes. Once you memorize the keyb shortcuts its back to the old glory with new features.

IMO It becomes more usable/acceptable as I get used to, but it doesn't at this point offer anything more useful. The keyboard shortcuts do help, but I've always felt that shortcuts being more effective than the mouse would be considered a failing on the UI's part. "Just memorize these 100 arcane keyboard shortcuts, and it's completely simple to use", sounds more like the vi text editor than a solid foundation for a graphical UI.

 

[nitromullet]

Its a bit of a learning curve for new users

IMO, the main issue is not that it's confusing to new users, but it's confusing to people like myself who have been using Windows, various Apple OSes, different windows managers with Linux, and even smart phones. Nothing is intuitive.

 

[Gonad the Barbarian]

Keyboard shortcuts to replace mouse navigation? What's the next step in this post-PC evolution, command line?

 

[Dominato3r]

You don't have to go to the start screen to access charms

 

[Mem]

I have for the last 4 hours been trying to get sound out of Win8 big fat 0,nothing via my Audigy 4 or even my onboard sound,weird thing is I can see the sound meter level going up and down but zero sound out of my speakers.


Tried the usual removing drivers/reinstall etc,making sure one is set to default for playback and volume is high but no luck there.
Completely removed all the Audigy drivers and rebooted but still no sound from onboard via Realtek for basic analogue stereo ,yes its enabled in BIOS and set to default with driver installed.


Win8 says working fine but nothing coming out,lucky its only my old play around PC.
Anybody else got hardware issues?

 

[nitromullet]

You don't have to go to the start screen to access charms

Who said you did? I'm already prepared for the supporters saying "you just don't know how to use it", but the fact is that I've been able to get everything to work. It's just more complicated than it was with win 7.

 

[M0RPH]

Keyboard shortcuts to replace mouse navigation? What's the next step in this post-PC evolution, command line?

This. I refuse to memorize keyboard shortcuts. I've been using Windows since the beginning, and besides cut/copy/paste, I've never needed any keyboard shortcuts.

 

[Dominato3r]

Who said you did? I'm already prepared for the supporters saying "you just don't know how to use it", but the fact is that I've been able to get everything to work. It's just more complicated than it was with win 7.

I'm just saying that you're adding an extra step in your list... A step that doesn't really need to be there.

Edit: NVM reading comprehension fail

 

[Rangoric]

I have for the last 4 hours been trying to get sound out of Win8 big fat 0,nothing via my Audigy 4 or even my onboard sound,weird thing is I can see the sound meter level going up and down but zero sound out of my speakers.


Tried the usual removing drivers/reinstall etc,making sure one is set to default for playback and volume is high but no luck there.
Completely removed all the Audigy drivers and rebooted but still no sound from onboard via Realtek for basic analogue stereo ,yes its enabled in BIOS and set to default with driver installed.


Win8 says working fine but nothing coming out,lucky its only my old play around PC.
Anybody else got hardware issues?

With my realtek on board audio once I had it all set up and installed, I just had to unplug and plug in the speakers at the back of the machine. Had to do this in Windows 7 also so I wasn't overly surprised.

 

[Mem]

With my realtek on board audio once I had it all set up and installed, I just had to unplug and plug in the speakers at the back of the machine. Had to do this in Windows 7 also so I wasn't overly surprised.

I did try that a few times(double checked all leads etc) but still no go,oh well guess I wait for official Win8 drivers.

 

[sequoia464]

Is there any way to revert back to W7? So far I'm not really liking W8, but thinking about putting on my work machine for a bit to see if I can get comfortable with it. Be nice to have the option open to move back.

 

[gmaster456]

Is there any way to revert back to W7? So far I'm not really liking W8, but thinking about putting on my work machine for a bit to see if I can get comfortable with it. Be nice to have the option open to move back.

No way to get back to win7 aside from a clean install.

 

[nitromullet]

Is there any way to revert back to W7? So far I'm not really liking W8, but thinking about putting on my work machine for a bit to see if I can get comfortable with it. Be nice to have the option open to move back.

Once you upgrade to 8 you will have to do a clean install of Win7 to go back.

On a side note... aside from some of the things I don't like about the Metro UI, I must say that Win8 does seem to run a little better than Win7 on the machine I installed it on. I'm running it on a Pentium E2140 with 2GB RAM and a Radeon 2400, and it feels more fluid than Win7. It also boots almost as quickly with a platter HD as my main rig does with Win7 on a SSD. The stability has also been excellent so far for a beta.

 

[sequoia464]

Thanks, kind of figured that but wasn't sure. I'm using 8 on a spare drive right now. I'm starting to get a bit more familiar with it, hated it yesterday, but starting to figure things out now.

One thing I can't find , and I have searched, is how to bump the zoom web pages in IE10 - while in Metro. It functions normally in desktop for this, but I'm not finding the tools in Metro.

 

[WelshBloke]

I cant face playing with it anymore.

As I cant see any further than the UI changes could someone summarise the other main changes?

 

[gmaster456]

I cant face playing with it anymore.

As I cant see any further than the UI changes could someone summarise the other main changes?

There's a lot to list.

Storage Spaces
Refresh My PC
Skydrive integration that works much like iCould, but you get 5 times more storage and a LOT more features
Sync settings between multiple PC's
New Task Manager
Advanced Start up

off the top of my head.

 

[sequoia464]

The OS grows on you. I hated it initially and I thought MS's downfall has begum. I've reinstalled it and used it for a day now and I've already adapted to the little changes. Once you memorize the keyb shortcuts its back to the old glory with new features.

I have found this to be the case as well.

There's a lot to list.

Storage Spaces
Refresh My PC
Skydrive integration that works much like iCould, but you get 5 times more storage and a LOT more features
Sync settings between multiple PC's
New Task Manager
Advanced Start up

off the top of my head.

I'm getting used to things here now as well, and actually getting comfortable pretty quickly. Think I might move my main machine to W8.

 

[FM2n]

If you guys want to revert back to Windows 7, why not just do a clean install.
1. Download W7 Home Premium 64 bit OEM version (torrent) ISO
2. Burn to DVD, restart computer and boot to DVD
3. Go through the installation process and use the Windows 7 Key underneath your laptop
4. Once installation is complete, register it by calling in to the 1-800 number.

DONE