Windows 8 is pretty good

[Shephard]

I just bought a laptop over Christmas because the price was too good to pass up on. I don't really need a laptop, but you know... Buy now think later.

It's a Haswell i5 with FULL 1080p IPS touch display and an actual decent keyboard. It came with Windows 8 (upgradeable to 8.1) so this was my first experience with it.

I have to say out of the box it's not hard to learn at all. Everything is very customizable and the layout is great. Metro/modern is not as bad as people make it out to be. Tiles are simple to organize, settings are easy to access, default apps like maps is quite nice. No start menu? Big deal. I rarely use that in Windows 7.

The computer boots very fast and it's using a 5400rpm drive, although there is a mSATA slot where I will be putting an SSD later. Everything overall is very snappy.

I also find myself using the touchscreen often even though this laptop has a good keyboard and decent trackpad.

I really cannot find any faults with the OS. I would say it is more enjoyable with a touch screen but I could use it with a real mouse and keyboard.

 

[desura]

Yeah, the thing about Win 8 is that...it needs to improve its functionality and app support, but the basic foundations of it are very solid and creative. If it could mature to something with good 3rd party dev support, it would be better than iOS...

But for the UI design, it is better than iOS in many ways.

 

[Ketchup]

I have used Windows 8 first on a desktop with keyboard, and then on a laptop with a touch screen. Makes SO much more sense on the touch screen. With a mouse/keyboard only, things felt pretty awkward.

Glad you are doing well with it.

 

[Captante]

Pretty good might be a bit of a stretch, but it isn't anywhere near as bad as the hype would lead one to believe.

 

[Shephard]

Pretty good might be a bit of a stretch, but it isn't anywhere near as bad as the hype would lead one to believe.

and what makes it so terrible and everyone whine? No start menu?

I haven't had any problems with it. No driver issues, no crashes, nothing.

 

[hextet]

The only thing I liked about Windows 8 was the bootup time and the new task manager. Other than that, it sucks for computers, but I could see it being good for mobile phones.


The new laptop I got had the next generation hardware up from my old laptop, and came with Windows 8. It ran slower than my old laptop, and I've noticed other people I go to school with that have had this problem.

 

[blankslate]

And it'll be even better if they do what is being talked about now comes to pass.

An actual start menu being put back into Win8 and Metro apps being able to be resized just like windows on the desktop.

It's interesting to note that the person who made the decision to not offer a way to revert to an older style UI is no longer with MS.

It's good now, but the fact that there is a plethora of start menu replacements for Win8 to make it more like Win7 speaks volumes and it's not a statement that people who use them are idiots.

 

[bbhaag]

And it'll be even better if they do what is being talked about now comes to pass.

An actual start menu being put back into Win8 and Metro apps being able to be resized just like windows on the desktop.

It's interesting to note that the person who made the decision to not offer a way to revert to an older style UI is no longer with MS.

It's good now, but the fact that there is a plethora of start menu replacements for Win8 to make it more like Win7 speaks volumes and it's not a statement that people who use them are idiots.

I don't think it's a matter of people being idiots. I do think that in general most people are creatures of habit. The start button was introduced in 95 and everybody has gotten very accustomed to it being there. Microsoft took it away without giving much instruction on how to use and operate 8.
Lets face it the "tutorial" that comes with a new 8 installation at start-up is pitiful.

But back on topic. I agree with the OP. The new UI isn't nearly as bad as it's made out to be and with the introduction of 8.1 you don't even really see it if you don't want to. Also the new security and memory management features are nice not to mention the new task manager and other enhancements.

Overall it's a decent OS. Not great but not bad. I've used for over a year now on my desktop with no complaints.

 

[Rdmkr]

if there was a way to open the apps/programs screen directly from the desktop that would go a long way towards replacing the start menu with something just as good. as it stands, the screen that really lets you "start" any program you might need is two clicks away, which is ergonomically a major nuisance. of course another respect in which the start menu was better than the colored squares screen is that it doesn't take up an entire screen, making it less mentally disorienting.

 

[bbhaag]

I'm not sure about 8 but in 8.1 what you're asking for is entirely possible. That's how I have my system setup.
I believe if you right click on the task bar and click properties there is a check box available that allows you to jump straight to the app screen.

Edit:I just double checked on my computer running 8.1. If you right click on the task bar and click properties then click on the navigation tab there is a check box at the bottom titled "show the Apps view automatically when I go to start". If you check that box it will do what you are wanting.

 

[blankslate]

I don't think it's a matter of people being idiots. I do think that in general most people are creatures of habit. The start button was introduced in 95 and everybody has gotten very accustomed to it being there. Microsoft took it away without giving much instruction on how to use and operate 8. Lets face it the "tutorial" that comes with a new 8 installation at start-up is pitiful.

I don't disagree. Also it might have helped the situation if there was an option to go to a Windows like interface in Win8 but it wasn't put in.

As noted the person in charge of OS development at the time is now gone.

And it's a distinct possibility that an actual start menu and resizable metro apps are coming up in the next windows update.

I've even heard an off the wall rumor that they called it "threshold" because that word is contains 9 letters and if the general public opinion and adoption of Win8 doesn't climb they may just call it Win9.

The last is from an unreliable source. However, the start menu and resizable metro apps seem to be from reliable sources who talked a couple of people who cover windows including the blogger who has this site.
http://winsupersite.com/windows-8/further-changes-coming-windows-threshold

I've not heard anything independently about the product versions in Threshold. But I do know about a few changes that Microsoft is planning for what my sources have described as "the next version of Windows," which I assume is Threshold. (Though to be clear, they never used this name.) And they're big news.
They are...


Metro apps running in windows on the desktop. As you can today with third-party utilities such as ModernMix, the next version of Windows will let users optionally run Metro apps in floating windows on the desktop.


Start menu. After bringing back the Start button in Windows 8.1, Microsoft will take the next logical step in the next Windows version and make the Start menu available as an option. It's possible this will appear only on those product versions that support the desktop.

Paul Thurott and Mary Jo Foley (it was Foley who heard the rumor about the threshold name) are interviewed by Leo Laporte every week for a show on his webcast channel at twit.tv.


I remember Leo Laporte from the heyday of Tech TV so I may be rather biased but they seem to be knowledgeable on the subject even if they aren't officially associated with MS.

 

[Captante]

and what makes it so terrible and everyone whine? No start menu?

I haven't had any problems with it. No driver issues, no crashes, nothing.

I use Vista, 7 & 8 all the time ... really don't have any serious problems with any of them.

My only issue with 8 is that it takes a little more tweaking to set it up the way I like & under the hood it has advantages.

 

[oynaz]

The main problem with Windows 8 and 8.1 is this:

 

[nemesismk2]

I've only recently used Windows 8 by using my girlfriends laptop so have only used it for a short time and it seems okay and my girlfriend likes it.

 

[Imaginer]

if there was a way to open the apps/programs screen directly from the desktop that would go a long way towards replacing the start menu with something just as good. as it stands, the screen that really lets you "start" any program you might need is two clicks away, which is ergonomically a major nuisance. of course another respect in which the start menu was better than the colored squares screen is that it doesn't take up an entire screen, making it less mentally disorienting.

Starting things on the desktop is still two clicks if you have any existing workflow of windows already opened (click "Show desktop" and then move to click a shortcut icon).

Unless you have a third party utility that infinitely docks all of your "All program" icons above the taskbar (that takes up a bit more space in addition to the taskbar), or pin the things you need on the taskbar, then you can get down to one click and mouse drag already (without complaining about the lack of a start menu and you can already do this).

And, if you launch things upon initial boot, booting to desktop versus Start screen does not matter in the least, but desktop full of icons will eventually be obscured by active windows and passive windows. A Start button (or better, windows key or Windows icon under some laptop bezels) is already a good solution.

And the screen softly transitions between the Start Screen and desktop (even better if the start screen wallpaper is set to match the desktop wallpaper).



Windows 8, is pretty good once one actually uses it for a while, realizes that it actually add some UI benefits and made me realize some redundancies in program launching in previous desktop Windows (like I mentioned before in other Operating System threads) and consolidates launching of programs and apps. It also helps if one actually configures the Start screen past the default presentation. It also made me realize how little I use the Start Menu's "All programs" access feature.

It would also help if Microsoft had a more robust tutorial explaining these things. No UI is ever self intuitive, however, if given basic navigation and usability - a user can build on these. Knowing that a swipe right/left or mouse to the left or right edge or corner, one can play around with these. And doing so will not hurt the system (something many technological users are afraid of if they start playing around with the UI).


The Start screen (when configuring after swiping or mousing to the right edge of the screen "Change PC Settings>PC and Devices>Display" to set things to "Smaller") can have just as much "desktop icons" in the form of tiles that can be sized to the smallest size, and can have "infinitely" as much on the Start screen via scrolling, thus reducing mouse lift and drag, and it serves the same damn purpose as an array of desktop icons.


Windowed Modern apps would be even better to encourage modern app usage on the desktop side (for those that solely use that area without wanting to "snap" modern apps to a screen edge.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

It's good now, but the fact that there is a plethora of start menu replacements for Win8 to make it more like Win7 speaks volumes and it's not a statement that people who use them are idiots.

Yeah, I install Classic Shell on all of my Windows 8.1 machines and Windows Server 2012 machines. Mandating Modern UI on the server operating systems was sheer idiocy.

 

[bill5]

and what makes it so terrible and everyone whine? No start menu?

Yes. I'm sick to death of MS "fixing" things that aren't broke and that thing is designed for tablets/etc - it sucks big ones for laptops/desktops. I had a laptop at work with this and hated that new UI with a passion - the "tiles" BS may work fine on a tablet, but on a laptop they're insanely annoying...klunky and clumsy to work, totally illogical design, and no amount of rearranging helped much. God forbid they keep the start button on a laptop/desktop version of the OS so I can just see a quick list of all my programs (WHOOPS I mean "apps" ). Happily I was shown a sort of workaround and soon after was able to trade someone for an older laptop with Win 7. Really the entire layout was IMO very poor.

 

[pw257008]

I'm pretty much in line with the OP. My dad got a W8 laptop and loves it. Boots way faster than 7, and he realized he never used the start menu anyway (the start screen + desktop is plenty for him). Then again, he still uses AOL (not from some old man ignorance, he just really likes it), so I'm not sure where he fits in on the spectrum.

I read someone, either here or on another forum, who described using the start screen as a better version of the start menu, and tailoring the start menu was my first priority when helping him set it up. And some of the subtle improvements in 8.1, like the search function integrating apps and settings and the nice right click menu on the start button, make the OS feel more polished and more useful/geared to productivity. It's a little harder to just "get by" and lazily organize on Windows 8 without the OS starting to get in the way, but I'm prone to let my desktop overflow with useless icons, so I have no gripes with an OS requiring a little preventive maintenance (though ironically in this context, it seems to require far less maintenance under the hood). Updates oddly seem less smooth than on 7, though.

 

[tential]

I actually don't understand the Windows 8 hate at all.
I downloaded it and installed it on my laptop very very early. I think I even beta tested it.

When I first got it, I was a little confused tbh. There was NO decent guide on how to use it.
After the first month though I couldn't go back. It's boot times were better, task manager was much better, and the only thing I missed was the Start Menu. By then though, I'd realized how terribly slow it was to use the Start Menu. I could just put a shortcut on my desktop. Or, even faster, I could hit the windows key and just type the program I wanted.

On Windows 7 I would do this:
Click Start
Navigate to All Programs
Navigate to Games
Navigate to the Folder of the Game
Then Click on the Game's name.

On Windows 8 I would do this:
Push the Windows Button
Type 3 letters of the game I wanted to play (or program I wanted to launch)
Hit Enter.

The Windows 8 approach was MUCH faster. I'd say the amount of time I've seen the "Metro" interface has been an hour total over the whole time I've used Windows 8 since it came out. The "Search" function basically takes over. I don't need to look for the program I want to run in the start menu I simply just type 3-5 letters and hit enter. It's VERY quick. Everything else is already on my desktop.

The way Windows 8 was received just showed me human nature. People will complain first about something rather than learn to use it. The benefits of Windows 8 outweighed the short amount of time I spent learning to use it. It really was blown WAY out of proportion by internet trolls.

Edit: I haven't used Windows 8.1
My windows works, I'm not updating for a bit. I HATE updating only to find that something I previously liked was tampered with so I wait quite a bit.

 

[MustISO]

On Windows 7 I would do this:
Click Start
Navigate to All Programs
Navigate to Games
Navigate to the Folder of the Game
Then Click on the Game's name.

Would be much more efficient to pin it to the start menu or just make a desktop icon. That's one double click.

 

[blankslate]

On Windows 8 I would do this: Push the Windows Button Type 3 letters of the game I wanted to play (or program I wanted to launch) Hit Enter.

Something that you can also do in Win 7....

My experience doing that in Win 7 made finding things in Win 8 easier though.

Now if Win 7 didn't have that feature already you might have had a point.



...

 

[pw257008]

Something that you can also do in Win 7....

My experience doing that in Win 7 made finding things in Win 8 easier though.

Now if Win 7 didn't have that feature already you might have had a point.



...

and in Cinnamon (at least under Linux Mint)

 

[circusslaughter]

I have used Windows 8 first on a desktop with keyboard, and then on a laptop with a touch screen. Makes SO much more sense on the touch screen. With a mouse/keyboard only, things felt pretty awkward.

Glad you are doing well with it.

Completely agree. I think Win 8 was just made for touchscreens because it's awkward without.

 

[PowerYoga]

On Windows 7 I would do this:
Click Start
Navigate to All Programs
Navigate to Games
Navigate to the Folder of the Game
Then Click on the Game's name.

Why would you do this....

Here's my workflow:

1 double click on the icon on my desktop.

And windows 7 has the same auto-fill in. Hit start button and start typing, which is the exact same thing windows 8 does.

I also hate the new ribbon they forced onto all users. Had to google how to get to folder options so I can unhide DLL and system files because its so damn unintuitive.

 

[pmv]

I actually don't understand the Windows 8 hate at all.
I downloaded it and installed it on my laptop very very early. I think I even beta tested it.

When I first got it, I was a little confused tbh. There was NO decent guide on how to use it.
After the first month though I couldn't go back. It's boot times were better, task manager was much better, and the only thing I missed was the Start Menu. By then though, I'd realized how terribly slow it was to use the Start Menu. I could just put a shortcut on my desktop. Or, even faster, I could hit the windows key and just type the program I wanted.

On Windows 7 I would do this:
Click Start
Navigate to All Programs
Navigate to Games
Navigate to the Folder of the Game
Then Click on the Game's name.

On Windows 8 I would do this:
Push the Windows Button
Type 3 letters of the game I wanted to play (or program I wanted to launch)
Hit Enter.

Yeah, but I don't want to use the keyboard to launch programs! I recall doing that back in the days of DOS but I thought we'd moved on now? GUIs, WIMPs and all that. Why are we going backwards?

Most of the time, unless I've gotten very confused about where something belongs, I prefer locating a program by following its logical place in a hierarchy as in your first example, rather than by remembering and typing an arbitrary name.