What essential tweaks / hacks do you apply to windows8?

_Jimlad_

_Jimlad_

_Jimlad_

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I made the switch to windows8 on my laptop, i'm using start8 to get a start button and disable all the charms and so on. I also disable mouse gestures as that is a nightmare with a trackerpad.

i still hate the metro thing and bypass all off it using start8, however i have to admit its pretty slick as an OS. just wandering what others do to get the most out of it?

The reason i ask is im *considering* sticking it on my main machine
 
Stock Windows 8 once you get used to the new Start, its 10x faster and better than Windows 7.
If you going to start Tweaking and hacking to make look like Windows 7, really you might has well stay with Windows 7 ??

:D
 
shankly1985 said:
Stock Windows 8 once you get used to the new Start, its 10x faster and better than Windows 7.
If you going to start Tweaking and hacking to make look like Windows 7, really you might has well stay with Windows 7 ??

:D
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yeah i agree, but win8 does have some cool stuff. and is i agree faster. i just dont want or like the kid fisher price interface. start8 is pretty good
 
The only tweaks I use for Windows 7 and Windows 8 are to decrease the time it takes for the 'peek' function to work, I set it to about 1/8th of the current time. Makes it feel a lot snappier when using the taskbar. I turn off as many animations as possible, whilst keeping things like shadows.

Seems to be the best way to run it in terms of outright desktop speed.

I'd never use a 'tweaking tool' unless it functioned like TweakUI on XP
 
if yout going to make win8 look / feel like win 7 theys no point upgrading really. yes bootup is faster and as afew extra features.

but if u can't be bothered to lean/custom the new UI u should stick to win 8
 
gareth170 said:
if yout going to make win8 look / feel like win 7 theys no point upgrading really. yes bootup is faster and as afew extra features.

but if u can't be bothered to lean/custom the new UI u should stick to win 8
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it's not about being bothered IMO and im not the only one by the way ;) the new UI is a pile of poop. the arrogance of MS to force changes like that is unbelievable

i was the good stuff, but not the rubbish
 
_Jimlad_ said:
it's not about being bothered IMO and im not the only one by the way ;) the new UI is a pile of poop. the arrogance of MS to force changes like that is unbelievable

i was the good stuff, but not the rubbish
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tbh MS can force changes whatever they like. all they care about is making money, which their doing. i can't see MS getting stressed over some people not liking the new UI
 
gareth170 said:
yes which MS has not blocked people customizsing windows with 3rd party software/programs. same has previous OS's

So i really don't understand why some people are moaning/upset about it
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its the choice being taken away, not sure how old you are, but some of the older folk like me who have had the start button since day one proberly find it harder than the generation that just had XP and then Seven.

if a 3rd party app can do it "just like that" then how easy would it be for MS to add a "classic" view. Also companies and organisations would have to retrain Dorris the 65 year old receptionist to integrate windows8 into the office.
 
_Jimlad_ said:
its the choice being taken away, not sure how old you are,
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im 31 and been on computers from age of about 6.

i guess due to me being disabled. i've leant to adopt new things and make the best out of things. i love trying new things and leaning, even if it's difficult..

in life it's all about leaning, if everything was easy/simple nobody would lean anything in life

just because someone is in their 60's doesn't mean their ability to lean stops. it all comes down to if you can be bothered to lean or not. simple as that tbh.
 
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gareth170 said:
im 31 and been on computers from age of about 6.

i guess due to me being disabled. i've leant to adopt new things and make the best out of things.
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fair enough, still having that option would be amazing and keep EVERYONE happy, bad move when they are losing so much ground to APPLE and Google
 
_Jimlad_ said:
its the choice being taken away, not sure how old you are, but some of the older folk like me who have had the start button since day one proberly find it harder than the generation that just had XP and then Seven.

if a 3rd party app can do it "just like that" then how easy would it be for MS to add a "classic" view. Also companies and organisations would have to retrain Dorris the 65 year old receptionist to integrate windows8 into the office.
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There was no start button when I started using Windows.... :)

I think in all likelihood MS want to guide people down the path towards the Modern UI and expect that over time people will get used to it and learn to adopt it. If they provided an easy 'classic mode' then it could inhibit that somewhat.

Most changes are met with resistance at first and then as the years roll by and they become more commonplace it starts to fade (you will still get vehement opposition from individuals but a much smaller proportion of overall users).

I think if you look at the situation now it is a lot different from 10 years ago in terms of an increasing trend towards mobile devices and MS are seeking greater integration or sharing of concepts between their Desktop/Mobile variants. People are increasingly wanting to perform more and more functions on mobile devices that were traditionally the realm of desktops and maintaining two widely different UIs would be quite draining I'd imagine. It is probably also in part a response to threats from other big players like Apple and Google who are a lot more credible as threats in the modern marketplace than they used to be.

FWIW personally I just use Desktop mode in Win8 right now but that's not to say I won't migrate to Modern UI over time. The absence of a Start button isn't a massive issue for me, probably the only thing I 'miss' is an easy way to restart which maybe I just haven't found yet. It took me many years to move away from the old Windows Classic theme in XP (i.e. Win2k look) and again things like taskbar grouping I never used to like but eventually adopted.
 
gareth170 said:
im 31 and been on computers from age of about 6.

i guess due to me being disabled. i've leant to adopt new things and make the best out of things. i love trying new things and leaning, even if it's difficult..

in life it's all about leaning, if everything was easy/simple nobody would lean anything in life

just because someone is in their 60's doesn't mean their ability to lean stops. it all comes down to if you can be bothered to lean or not. simple as that tbh.
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I loved this post. If only there was more with your positive attitude. Only...

if everything was easy/simple nobody would lean anything in life
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It's happening as it is with society. Scared to change, scared to try or just cannot be bothered because their attitude with nearly anything is, it's what we've always done.

And speaking of Windows 8, how simple can a Start screen such as Metro take to get used to it? instead of clicking you press a win key, can it get any simpler than that?
 
Win + I brings up the Settings bar, and it's then 2 clicks to shutdown/restart.

No worse than Windows 7's Start -> click on the little arrow next to your default power button option -> select restart.

In fact, it's better than Windows XP's Start -> Shutdown -> click the drop-down -> click Restart -> click OK
 
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