A few of us have, haven't had win7 on since developer preview.
Windows 8 Consumer Preview Thread
- Thread starter bledd
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A few of us have, haven't had win7 on since developer preview.
Soldato
I would love an OS with all these improvements, all the 'windows' side stuff, the Win7.5 if you will is superb, I love everything they've done there.
It's being force fed Metro that I just can't get on with, it really should be optional, like Windows Sidebar. Disable it if you'd prefer the old style start button.
It's not like Win8 can't do that, all the Server and whatnot versions have the old style start button.
Metro really isn't refined enough yet, it's just clunky, ugly, obtrusive, and unintuitive.
Give me Win7.5 with all the backend improvements and non of this metro nonsense!
Soldato
Is there any point in buying this if you don't own a tablet or windows phone?
I don't have a touch screen PC so can't swipe or hit the shortcuts with my hands.
What are the advantages for the desktop user or is it simply a themed windows 7?
I don't have a touch screen PC so can't swipe or hit the shortcuts with my hands.
What are the advantages for the desktop user or is it simply a themed windows 7?
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Apparently the advantages are that you will have the same experience on your PC as you will have when you buy the Windows Phone and Windows tablet - at least I think that is what Microsoft are thinking. of course it isn't going to happen. I'm new to smartphone but my Android device does everything I need so I see no reason to move to a more expensive Windows phone so Microsoft's plans don't work for me and, I suspect, won't work for most people.
The comparison is with Apple's OSX which, as a desktop OS doesn't have the touch screen stuff which Apple only puts on on its tablets and phones. It seems a smart enough way of doing things.
Given the fact that people already have free software to open .iso files and stuff, the extra bits don't seem worth much to me. I'd pay £25 for an upgrade, like the OSX Lion upgrade, but I can't see a £70 price tag worth paying.
Well I've forced myself to use it since the day it came out & I'm still of the opinion that metro is nothing good at all. Full screen start menu is pretty lame, It is very clunky & not very usable for a desktop MOUSE user. Touch screens & phones I can see it working nicely. Apart from the metro interface the other benefits are quite good.
I won't be preferring it at all. So your conclusion there is wrong & I can see it being the same for other people who haven't used it before being the same after a few weeks. I already know a few people who are jumping on the OSX bandwagon.
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I still think that more work needs to be done before release - particularly around the 'hot corners' and refining the Metro experience - but I definitely consider it an improvement over Windows 7, hence why I haven't gone back since the Consumer Preview was released. Metro Start is excellent for high resolution displays, as I can now see ever app I have installed without any scrolling, without having to click to expand numerous folders and making full use of my resolution (2560x1600). If people really don't like Metro they can always continue to use Win7 or simply download some software that adds the Start Menu back to Win8. Stardock has been putting out customisation software since the OS/2 days and a lot of people used it after complaining about how XP was the worse operating system that Microsoft had ever released and that nobody was ever going to use an operating system designed for kids. Sound familiar? Yup, it happens with EVERY release.
As for people moving over to OSX, that's up to them. But the lack of any worthwhile gaming support and the lack of hardware customisation mean that's not an option for me, nor a lot of other people. I've spent thousands of pounds buying games on Steam and I'm not going to throw that all away simply because the replacement to the Start Menu looks slightly different.
As for people moving over to OSX, that's up to them. But the lack of any worthwhile gaming support and the lack of hardware customisation mean that's not an option for me, nor a lot of other people. I've spent thousands of pounds buying games on Steam and I'm not going to throw that all away simply because the replacement to the Start Menu looks slightly different.
I personally thought XP was their best OS, nothing kiddy about it. In my opinion, Win 7 has now took over the XP crown.
After trying Win 8, metro is not for me. I don't have a Windows phone, nor tablet. So metro isn't going to be a unified UI for me. I don't own a touch screen either, so metro UI design won't work for me neither. I don't need metro for what I do on PC.
Metro is best kept for phones, tablets and touch screens. At least let me have a disable check box for it in "Windows Features" tab.
After trying Win 8, metro is not for me. I don't have a Windows phone, nor tablet. So metro isn't going to be a unified UI for me. I don't own a touch screen either, so metro UI design won't work for me neither. I don't need metro for what I do on PC.
Metro is best kept for phones, tablets and touch screens. At least let me have a disable check box for it in "Windows Features" tab.
Soldato
Been using it for a while now on my laptop. Pretty much feel the same way as quite a few on here. The whole metro thing would be great on a tablet but just doesn't work as a day to day non touch screen os.
Really don't like some of the full screen apps. Especially ie. it's horrible to use. Closing open apps is also far from straight forward.
The missus has just got a windows phone and I can see it would be great if you bought into the ms world. Thing is, I have no intention of doing so.
Give me the option to install without metro and I'll upgrade. Otherwise I'll stick to 7.
Really don't like some of the full screen apps. Especially ie. it's horrible to use. Closing open apps is also far from straight forward.
The missus has just got a windows phone and I can see it would be great if you bought into the ms world. Thing is, I have no intention of doing so.
Give me the option to install without metro and I'll upgrade. Otherwise I'll stick to 7.
Soldato
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- 20 Jun 2010
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You are Right
And you are Wrong
I have been considering for some time now putting together a video titled 'Why Windows 8 is better than you think it is'. For those of you that are struggling to get on with the 'metro style interface', I suggest you never understood what the 'start menu' was in the first place. Please, ask yourselves the following question:
Why should the 'Start' interface, the 'First point of contact' for any user of the system, the 'triage' that divides or the 'concierge' that directs, be confined to roughly only 30% of the visible screen space rendered as Explorer style list nodes?
The new interface does EXACTLY what the old one did. The only difference is the presentation.
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Anyone got ideas on the space Windows 8 takes up? I ask as I have Windows 8 on my laptop and, even with Office on, it is using a lot less space than my desktop with Windows 7. As I am using an SSD (64GB) I have to be careful what space I use and the reduction of space, if it is right, for Windows 8 would start to build a better case ofr an upgrade,
Soldato
Well, we have lost a bit of search functionality, but I've not found much else to complain about.
I've had it on my work laptop for about a week now. I did an upgrade install (shock horror) from a Windows 7 instance that's been on there for about 2 years. I've not come across anything that doesn't work yet.
I'd be lying if I said I wasn't disorientated sometimes, but I had the same feeling when they moved everything in Vista. You get used to it. The two biggest things that have helped me are pinning my win32 apps to the task bar (more than I usually would in win7) and conditioning myself to hit the windows explorer icon every time I automatically go for that lower left corner for the Start button. I also spent a couple of minutes uninstalling the crap Metro apps, which at the moment is most of them.
90% of the time I don't even see the underlying Metro, I just use the computer normally. I probably won't be clamouring to use Metro apps (with the exception of remote desktop) because quite frankly I find the full screen nature of them a bit unnescessary - I want windows, and I'm getting windows.
I'm doing the same full days work on the same laptop I was doing a few weeks ago and the positives are outweighing the negatives for my usage.
I've had it on my work laptop for about a week now. I did an upgrade install (shock horror) from a Windows 7 instance that's been on there for about 2 years. I've not come across anything that doesn't work yet.
I'd be lying if I said I wasn't disorientated sometimes, but I had the same feeling when they moved everything in Vista. You get used to it. The two biggest things that have helped me are pinning my win32 apps to the task bar (more than I usually would in win7) and conditioning myself to hit the windows explorer icon every time I automatically go for that lower left corner for the Start button. I also spent a couple of minutes uninstalling the crap Metro apps, which at the moment is most of them.
90% of the time I don't even see the underlying Metro, I just use the computer normally. I probably won't be clamouring to use Metro apps (with the exception of remote desktop) because quite frankly I find the full screen nature of them a bit unnescessary - I want windows, and I'm getting windows.
I'm doing the same full days work on the same laptop I was doing a few weeks ago and the positives are outweighing the negatives for my usage.
Soldato
No i'm not. It's an opinion, and therefore can't be wrong.
Again, no it isn't, it's exactly as good as I think it is, which isn't very.
The new one does exactly what the old one did... but worse. The old start button/menu has simple branching to lead through to the choice I want.
Metro has a mountain of icons all shoved on the screen at once, so unless I know EXACTLY where that icon is that I want to use is I have to faff about scanning the entire screen to try and hunt it down.
Not to mention that if whatever program you are using isn't an 'app' all you get is a normal 'icon' but instead of taking up 'icon' space it takes up a huge generic square, so in fact it's actually less efficient than just having a desktop full of shortcut links (which is essentially all Metro is!).
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I wouldn't make assumptions based on the CP at this point. I'd expect it to grow in size, not least because there'll be more apps provided in the final build.
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Soldato
- Joined
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1) that's no different to having icons on your desktop.
2) have you tried typing your search, or plugging in the first few letters
Associate
No i'm not. It's an opinion, and therefore can't be wrong.
Again, no it isn't, it's exactly as good as I think it is, which isn't very.
The new one does exactly what the old one did... but worse. The old start button/menu has simple branching to lead through to the choice I want.
Metro has a mountain of icons all shoved on the screen at once, so unless I know EXACTLY where that icon is that I want to use is I have to faff about scanning the entire screen to try and hunt it down.
Not to mention that if whatever program you are using isn't an 'app' all you get is a normal 'icon' but instead of taking up 'icon' space it takes up a huge generic square, so in fact it's actually less efficient than just having a desktop full of shortcut links (which is essentially all Metro is!).
Have you tried grouping and moving/hiding the icons around on the Start Screen to suit how you work?
IMO it's better once you do this, and it's akin to having numerous pinned areas. What does seem to work best for desktop use though is to pin your applications to the taskbar and revert to Start Screen just for searching apps.
Soldato
Yeah I did all that, I just don't get why people seem to think having to change to a completely different full screen app (Metro) to load up whatever program they require is in any way better than just clicking start and loading up the program they require.
Metro completely breaks up your flow, you have to physically change the entire screen to find an app, vs just quickly flit through start and carry on.
It's not like I can't use Metro, I just find it to be a step backwards in functionality for a desktop PC. I don't need to change to a full screen app (Metro) just to find another app, my screen is large and high res enough and my mouse accurate enough to quickly and efficiently just use the start button as it always has.
Metro is no doubt very good on touch enabled devices where a traditional start menu would be cumbersome. On a PC... it's a hindrance.
Metro completely breaks up your flow, you have to physically change the entire screen to find an app, vs just quickly flit through start and carry on.
It's not like I can't use Metro, I just find it to be a step backwards in functionality for a desktop PC. I don't need to change to a full screen app (Metro) just to find another app, my screen is large and high res enough and my mouse accurate enough to quickly and efficiently just use the start button as it always has.
Metro is no doubt very good on touch enabled devices where a traditional start menu would be cumbersome. On a PC... it's a hindrance.
Associate
That's enlightening, so you use the Start Menu in exactly the same way you used it in Win 95 to XP?
MS have been changing the way the Start Menu works since Vista, first with improved search, and moving to pinned taskbar items in Win 7, which have reduced the reliance on the old start menu folders/trees to launch programs.
If you've not changed your habits/workflow with Vista and/or 7, it's going to be a harder transition, and perhaps is why MS are forcing people now, giving the choice to change hasn't worked.
FWIW I made more use of the pinned items and less reliant on Start Menu in Win 7. The transition is pretty easy, as in normal day to day use I rarely need the Start Screen.
any one know how to do this?
I have W8 installed on a 64gb ozc vertex 2 I also have some games installed
I like the quickness of the OS and the loading times of the games but space is an issue is it possible to move the user/documents to another drive like moving My Documents in previous versions of windows without loosing speed. Cant find out how.
I have W8 installed on a 64gb ozc vertex 2 I also have some games installed
I like the quickness of the OS and the loading times of the games but space is an issue is it possible to move the user/documents to another drive like moving My Documents in previous versions of windows without loosing speed. Cant find out how.