Does anyone prefer Metro on a desktop (no touch) machine?

thedoc46

thedoc46

thedoc46

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So,

Installed Win8 yesterday, cos i thought its about time I started to get familiar with it.

Like the fast startup and shutdown, as I'm sure you all do.

Pinned the essentials on the desktop.

Not really spent too much time on the Metro interface. What time i have spent, has not exactly been fun. Not sure i'm ready to drop 7 from all my other machines.

This isn't a bash Win8 post. I'm just curious, who when they first installed Win8, decided they actually prefer the new Metro look and feel, over the tried and tested Win7 formula ?

I guess either we all grow to love it, or Microsoft drastically admit defeat and go back to how it was in Win7. Which personally I can't see them doing.

I'm trying my best to let it grow on me, because that's the way things are going. Even 8.1 which i've not tried, seems to have not drastically changed from vanilla 8.
 
Yes and no.
Depends what for.
Email, netflix, youtube, news, weather etc are all far better on meto especially with live tiles.

Metro and desktop work seemlesley together.

No way will microsoft admit defeate, becuase it hasn't been a massive disaster despite what media scaremongering says.
Lots of large companies have signed upto win8, which is surprising as its so early on.

It's using the right interface for the right app. People who try and use purely metro won't like it, people who use purely desktop miss so much.

I wish game developers would jump on metro, games would work so much better, mainly as they are full screen so in desktop your stuffed, in metro you can instalny pin an app to the side with no messing, check/fiddle with it and dismiss it instantly, having never left the game.
In desktop this isn't possible, closest you could get is window mode if its supported and even then it's very clumsy.
 
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Boot up times etc are nothing to do with Metro so I'm not sure why anyone is mentioning them. Metro is purely the interface and personally I prefer parts of it over Windows XP or 7 start menu, but primarily it's search function which is extremely fast and doesn't give me too many options (due to how it lists then by program, control panel etc).]

I was never a big start menu user though so I don't miss it at all. I always used the desktop, quick launch bars and keyboard shortcuts (windows + r etc) instead of going to the start menu.

I find the biggest issue with Metro is that very few applications seem to be designed to install properly, you get 3 or 4 icons appearing in there for each application all you want is the "run application" tile so it quickly gets cluttered with garbage. This wasn't as much of a problem with the start menu as it had more "real estate" and generally sub folders were common.
 
Halfmad said:
I find the biggest issue with Metro is that very few applications seem to be designed to install properly, you get 3 or 4 icons appearing in there for each application all you want is the "run application" tile so it quickly gets cluttered with garbage. This wasn't as much of a problem with the start menu as it had more "real estate" and generally sub folders were common.
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That's fixed in 8.1 you don't get any icons on start screen, but you have an all application list by swiping down or clicking the little icon if you have a mouse.
 
I use the desktop probably 95% of the time and only switch to a metro app for things that are full screen anyway (Netflix is a good example) or something that runs in the background like Audible. Calendar and mail apps get some use as well.
 
Glaucus said:
Lots of large companies have signed upto win8, which is surprising as its so early on.
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I'm not so sure that's correct. Most companies are staying away. In the US at least. I work in IT, and visit many companies as part of my job. I've not seen a single Windows 8 installation in any corporate environment. Actually I've just purchased a copy so i can become familiar with how to do the simple things, just in case I come across a copy at a site, and so that I do not look like a thumbling fool trying to do something simple.
 
thedoc46 said:
I'm not so sure that's correct. Most companies are staying away. In the US at least. I work in IT, and visit many companies as part of my job. I've not seen a single Windows 8 installation in any corporate environment. Actually I've just purchased a copy so i can become familiar with how to do the simple things, just in case I come across a copy at a site, and so that I do not look like a thumbling fool trying to do something simple.
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Most companies stay away from any release, it takes time to do the studies, secure fish ding, get training in place etc.
For the time it's been out, there's has been some massive scores.
 
Glaucus you really need to start providing sources when making claims in these sorts of threads. I appreciate this would impede the speed at which you can react to any slightly critical posting about Microsoft's present desktop and mobile strategies but you're just going to get called out on it later.

Windows 7 was accepted into the corporate world very quickly, Windows 8 hasn't had anywhere near the same level of success.
 
Caged said:
Glaucus you really need to start providing sources when making claims in these sorts of threads. I appreciate this would impede the speed at which you can react to any slightly critical posting about Microsoft's present desktop and mobile strategies but you're just going to get called out on it later.
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Or more to the point, I read lots of news and don't have instant access to the articles, or even what site it's from.

Windows 7 was also very much needed, people where upgrading from XP after a decade of technological changes and XP was a very in adequate os for the time. Win7 is still a very good os. So the rate of change will never be the same. It is far from the disaster people make out. Just look at mobile focused companies who have or are rolling out win8.
Look at steam stats for home use, which is one of the last groups that still actively upgrade pcs instead of just ditching them.

I'm sure you know about DOD roll out and here's another big score in the last few days
http://ajw.asahi.com/article/economy/biz_briefs/AJ201308070067

There's a huge potential of ROI for that company. Stream lining processes and training.
 
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Can you not at least accept that "I read it somewhere, just believe me" is a terrible counter to someone's point?
 
Yes. Because there's nothing wrong with it that I can see. I love that major news stories get pushed to a notification in the top right (is there a way to do this with Mail?). I love the live tiles. It's a step in the right direction IMO.
 
Caged said:
Can you not at least accept that "I read it somewhere, just believe me" is a terrible counter to someone's point?
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No, becuase I'm not saying that am I.
You can go google yourself, or you can ask for the source if realy needed.
Do you think I just sit here and make stuff up.
 
Hyburnate said:
Yes. Because there's nothing wrong with it that I can see. I love that major news stories get pushed to a notification in the top right (is there a way to do this with Mail?). I love the live tiles. It's a step in the right direction IMO.
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Open mail app, charms, setting, click on account and there's an option in there near the bottom.
 
Well, yes. It's widely documented that Windows 8 hasn't taken off in enterprise. You're claiming that it's in line with other releases, which isn't true. Windows 7 was picked up very quickly in comparison.
 
Caged said:
Well, yes. It's widely documented that Windows 8 hasn't taken off in enterprise. You're claiming that it's in line with other releases, which isn't true. Windows 7 was picked up very quickly in comparison.
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And if you can't work out why win7 is a bit of an exception with the massive to Elaine differences.
Win7 is also not the only release is it.

How about you go read up on winxp release and the petitions and disaster that supposedly was for MS.
 
I don't really see an issue comparing the adoption rates of an OS to the one that preceded it. There may be thousands of reasons why it's been so poorly received but it doesn't change the outcome.
 
Caged said:
I don't really see an issue comparing the adoption rates of an OS to the one that preceded it. There may be thousands of reasons why it's been so poorly received but it doesn't change the outcome.
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Nothing wrong with it, as long as you consider the circumstances and that's something you will not do is it goes against your blinkered view.
 
The circumstances don't really matter when you're comparing two numbers though. Compared to Windows 7, Windows 8 adoption is abysmal.
 
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