Windows 8 Consumer Preview Thread

LOL @ video. It's just a video of an image from Microsofts latest Win 8 blog post (very interesting read BTW but probably too long for the attention spans of most people on here).

Heres the image...

8270.png


Some of these changes will be in the Release Preview, but according to MS the UI wont be completely finished until the final shipping version.

I've been commenting on Microsofts blog posts quite a lot telling them to get rid of the desktop UI gradients, glows, reflections, the dated icons from Vista and flatten buttons more to make it go with Metro. In the Consumer Preview it was disorientating switching between Metro/Start Screen and the desktop because the designs were too different. They couldn't really change the UI too much though because of compatibility issues with software, but i wanted to see more changes... and now they've made these changes i think MS have totally nailed it. It's EXACTLY how i wanted the desktop to look - a very clean, modern and sexy looking metro-styled mother ******.
 
Last edited:
Thanks for the link to the blog post. It was really interesting - especially the comments about the pointlessness of the mouse!

I do think Microsoft is making a big gamble with Windows 8, though. All the emphasis on touch and tablets is all very well and, maybe, in some years time we will all be using tablets and there will not be any desktops at all. Maybe.. The facts now are that the majority of tablets out there are iPads and Android is the leading smartphone OS. This is where the gamble comes in - can Windows 8 change all that and have us all using Windows on mobile devices rather than the present state?

I realise that gamers using PCs is starting to be a smaller part of the market as the price of hardware changes but judging by OCUK it still seems to be quite a lot of people. Also, with price i mind, the poor old desktop is pretty good value for those want to use a computer at home or the office compared with the costs of laptops - and the fact that laptops are frequently stolen. I'm not at all convinced that the deskptop has had its day and neither am I convinced that there are going to be lots of touch screen laptops out there any time soon.

in short, I think that Microsoft might well have misjudged the market so that whilst desktop users are wondering what Windows 8 has to offer without a touch-screen, in the tablet and phone areas Microsoft may not get the share of the market it is seeking leaving its assumptions for Windows 8 unrealistic.

I'll be interested to see if Windows 8 takes off on tablets but I think I'll be staying with Windows 7 and my Android phone.
 
It was really interesting - especially the comments about the pointlessness of the mouse!
Click to expand...

Now it's happening all over again, but with touch instead :p

The desktop PC isn't going anywhere though, and MS keep pointing this out. They mention it in that blog post as well. Their will always be a need for the desktops/larger form factors but over time the market will keep shrinking until the only people who use desktops will be people who need serious processing power and hardware customisation for things like 3D rendering, scientific software, video editing, game/content creation, gaming and hardware enthusiasts.

But having said that, laptops have been outselling desktops for years now (by about 70 / 30 at the moment), and this year it's already predicted that more tablets will be sold than desktops, so MS certainly need an OS with good touch support or they will die a slow death or end up like OSX or Linux with some tiny market share. Theirs no uncertainty that more people will be using tablets than desktop PC's soon.

I'll always have a desktop though because i do things like graphic/web design, rendering and gaming, but i'll definitely be upgrading to Win 8. Theres loads of new stuff in the desktop/Windows Explorer UI... 'Storage Spaces' and the improved multi-monitor support alone will highly benefit me. People are too focused on the touch stuff just because it's something new, so they overlook all the new desktop area features. The desktop in 8 actually has more stuff added and improved than Win 7 did over Vista!

MS's goal has always been to have one OS that does everything with no compromises. For 90% of people they just need a tablet/laptop hybrid like the Asus Transformer Prime (tablet + keyboard dock). Why would average consumers have any need for a large desktop PC? Most people just browse the web on them! They dont play things like Crysis or use rendering software. They dont need 6+ core CPU's, multiple hard drives with TB's of space, tons of RAM, PCI-E add-in cards or optical drives. A desktop form factor is wasted on them, all that extra space is unneeded. They just need something thats small, light and mobile, that can be attached to keyboards + mice and monitors/TV's when they're at home. Everything their desktop does, plus all the software it runs, a Win 8 tablet could just as easily do. They wont be gimmicks like the iPad.

I think MS have got it spot on. Once the new hardware starts appearing later this year people will finally start realising this.
 
The point you're missing with the 'One OS for all' is that the servers are also included in this. I can not think of one reason why you'd want a Metro interface on a server. It doesn't make sense. The entire way that Microsoft is being moved forward seems to be wrong. Currently they have a really strong Desktop / Server model (Windows 7 / Windows 2008 which sold in vast numbers) so why they'd move to something so different and risk that is beyond me.

The desktop may have more functionality in the background on Windows 8 but it doesn't have the functionality of a full desktop (i.e. no start menu).

By all means make changes and make it great for touch users but also make it optional.



M.
 
Good point, m4cc45. I've been arguing the need for a Metro free interface for desktop / server juts like Apple manages. Apple manages some degree of integration with it iPad and desktop without and need for the desktop to look like the tablet.

I am pleased, though, as I don't have nay need to upgrade when Windows 8 is released.
 
m4cc45 said:
The point you're missing with the 'One OS for all' is that the servers are also included in this. I can not think of one reason why you'd want a Metro interface on a server. It doesn't make sense. The entire way that Microsoft is being moved forward seems to be wrong. Currently they have a really strong Desktop / Server model (Windows 7 / Windows 2008 which sold in vast numbers) so why they'd move to something so different and risk that is beyond me.
Click to expand...

When you consider that reworking the interface for the server version will introduce new code to test and maintain, and the fact that Microsoft do not want you to run a GUI at all, you'll find that it would actually make less sense for them to remove the Metro-style interface. They want everyone to be running Server Core.

m4cc45 said:
The desktop may have more functionality in the background on Windows 8 but it doesn't have the functionality of a full desktop (i.e. no start menu).

By all means make changes and make it great for touch users but also make it optional.
Click to expand...

What functions are missing? Sure the Start menu is gone, but what things can you do in Windows 7 that you can't do in Windows 8? It's an honest question - I've only found one thing so far.
 
ChileanLlama said:
Also what's wrong with pinning icons to the taskbar - far better than the start menu or desktop icons IMO - I just get the impression a lot of people never got familiar with that feature in Windows 7 so it's a double hit to them now.
Click to expand...

Slight tagent but the only thing I don't like about pinned taskbar icons in Win7 is the effect on explorer windows when grouped; I often have a few open at once and it makes it much harder to see which folder each window relates to, compared to the traditional ungrouped layout where you can easily see the folder names in the taskbar and select the right one in a single click rather than having to hover-reveal and then click. The oldschool approach does of course have many other problems ('random' icon positions in taskbar, excessive icons for multiple instances of other applications etc) but I find myself craving the best of both worlds.

IMO they should like you explicitly choose not to group specific applications while retaining grouping in general. I find it much tidier using grouped, pinned icons in general, but for Explorer it is annoying (probably not that big a deal for most people as in modern times I think there is a real push away from traditional 'file management' approaches towards the 'app culture')
 
Last edited:
I'm away when the new release comes out.

Someone copy the content from my first post and make a new thread for it. Feel free to link to that hash tool on my webspace
 
HangTime said:
Slight tagent but the only thing I don't like about pinned taskbar icons in Win7 is the effect on explorer windows when grouped; I often have a few open at once and it makes it much harder to see which folder each window relates to, compared to the traditional ungrouped layout where you can easily see the folder names in the taskbar and select the right one in a single click rather than having to hover-reveal and then click. The oldschool approach does of course have many other problems ('random' icon positions in taskbar, excessive icons for multiple instances of other applications etc) but I find myself craving the best of both worlds.
Click to expand...

Right click the task bar and choose properties. There is a drop down list in the tab labelled "Taskbar buttons". If you choose "never combine" your icons will separate.
 
It doesn't help that the current apps are rubbish. The only one I regularly use is Remote Desktop, which to be fair isn't that bad. The odd thing about RD though is although it's touch optimized, you're almost certainly going to be remoting into a desktop environment.
 
I agree with you there, the current apps are. Disgustingly bad, thankfully when released. We won't have to rely on MS for apps.

I quite like the messaging app. Talked to several people on Facebook with it, I haven't used Facebook chat in years.
 
Last edited:
HangTime said:
IMO they should like you explicitly choose not to group specific applications while retaining grouping in general. I find it much tidier using grouped, pinned icons in general, but for Explorer it is annoying (probably not that big a deal for most people as in modern times I think there is a real push away from traditional 'file management' approaches towards the 'app culture')
Click to expand...

The one thing that bugs me is that you can't lock the icons in place, I have everything nice and neatly organised but one swipe of the mouse and BAM, chaos. My icon has moved :(

I wish they give a lock icons facility.

Kinda disappointed that they're removing the aero look, it's not a big deal but it would be nice to have the option.
 
theheyes said:
Right click the task bar and choose properties. There is a drop down list in the tab labelled "Taskbar buttons". If you choose "never combine" your icons will separate.
Click to expand...

That doesn't meet my requirements, it isn't flexible enough.
I like having combined taskbar buttons in general but want to be able to specify exceptions for specific applications, namely Windows Explorer.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom