Windows 8 Consumer Preview Thread

lol no but it was more just to show you
yes you can fit more but it its still annoying to navigate when you cant swipe
and still annoying when you can :)

how about you guys post some screens i want see how you use it
 
Mei said:
i grabbed my netbook so i can show u :p
Click to expand...
So looking at that picture even on an old netbook with tiny screen res that would still be 21 program icons available for launch on the first thing you see without even having do a single click, key press or to scroll to the right?

Incidentally, you do know you can right click any of the double width icons and select "smaller" to make them the single square size don't you? ***Edit, beaten to it by chileanlama & theheyes ffs*** :) :p

Still don't get why that's "many times slower" (than the old start menu) if you use more than 5 or 6 programs as you suggest, maybe it's me... :confused:
 
Last edited:
i dont think you could use non metro icons on that netbook they look so small and ugly
would look like a confusing mess

its mostly the navigating thru and going backwards that is slower, if you just wanted to quick luanch you could have 20 icons on your desktop...

screeny yours for me please i want to see what you use!
 
Mei said:
lol no but it was more just to show you
Click to expand...

Yep but it's a poor example when Windows 8 hasn't been designed for your hardware. Fair enough if you don't like it, but it's unfair if you're running below spec.

yes you can fit more but it its still annoying to navigate when you cant swipe and still annoying when you can :)
Click to expand...

Can't you swipe with your trackpad? Swiping top to bottom on the right hand side swipes left to right on mine. Not the most intuitive but after a few sessions it becomes normal.

how about you guys post some screens i want see how you use it
Click to expand...

Not on my Win8 machine at the moment, but what is most evident is you're running the default Start Screen. You know you can create groups of icons that contain the programs you want, move the icons around, resize most of them and unpin them if you will hardly ever use them.

I'd spend some time tweaking this so it suits what you run most, after all you didn't run XP or Win7 without changing the Start Menu did you?
 
Mei said:
its mostly the navigating thru and going backwards that is slower
Click to expand...
That's not really what you said but if that's your experience fair enough although I'm not quite sure what you mean, can you clarify with an example and maybe we can come up with a suggestion to help?

To be fair not everyone likes everything, to each their own if it's not for you. I thought I'd just jump in as it seemed there was beginning to be a certain amount of misleading statements made about Win 8, Metro and mouse/keyboard usage that I thought could be addressed in all fairness.
 
Last edited:
ChileanLlama said:
Have a read of this Mei.
http://blogs.msdn.com/b/b8/archive/2011/10/11/reflecting-on-your-comments-on-the-start-screen.aspx

There's an interesting bit that compares old start menu to start screen icon placement, to give you an idea where you should look to put your most commonly used ones (i.e. bottom left, radiating out) which should ultimately, with familiarity, be faster than pinned Start Menu items under Win7.
Click to expand...
Great link and an interesting (if lengthy) read... Worth browsing with a mug of tea to get an insight to some of the thinking and design involved in the start screen.
 
i love windows8 i think it runs great, i was playing my games on it on my desktop for a long time, i dont right now bcos its not my desktop but i might sneak it back on :)
but in my opinion, and i am allowed an opinion, the metro interface is fail, both with mouse and with tablets, theyve had months to make it better and they havent, still a pain in the butt to navigate

id like to see some test done when lots ppl given random tasks to do, some on metro some on start menu/desktop see who gets it done first
 
Yep, no problem with anyone who has an opinion and they don't like it.

Far too many people don't like it, try and back it up with claims that are incorrect and usually because they've not spent enough time to get up to speed with the changes. I don't think anyone who is now comfortable with Windows 8 has said there isn't a learning curve.

How would your proposed test work? You'd need to have people with the same level of experience. I.e. you couldn't pitch an experienced IT Pro on Windows 7 against a silver surfer who's never seen Windows 8 before. How would you choose the tasks? There's usually a few different ways of doing something, and in all likelihood an experienced user wouldn't even need to use the Start Menu or Start Screen for most things.
 
ChileanLlama said:
Yep, no problem with anyone who has an opinion and they don't like it.

Far too many people don't like it, try and back it up with claims that are incorrect and usually because they've not spent enough time to get up to speed with the changes. I don't think anyone who is now comfortable with Windows 8 has said there isn't a learning curve.

How would your proposed test work? You'd need to have people with the same level of experience. I.e. you couldn't pitch an experienced IT Pro on Windows 7 against a silver surfer who's never seen Windows 8 before. How would you choose the tasks? There's usually a few different ways of doing something, and in all likelihood an experienced user wouldn't even need to use the Start Menu or Start Screen for most things.
Click to expand...

it doesnt work well as a tablet or on a desktop how can it be a good bit of design!?
putting it down to people just not got use to it sounds like poor design too, intuitive, instinctive, two things it is not!

i duno a fair test maybe if they were all mac users?, or maybe really old people :)
 
Mei said:
it doesnt work well as a tablet or on a desktop how can it be a good bit of design!?
Click to expand...

That's just your opinion. I respect your opinion, but I don't have to share the same opinion.

My opinion is that it does the job. It's clearly v1.0 and will improve. The Desktop->Start Screen is a jarring transition. Also as there are very few apps I find useful in Metro I rarely use it. My desktop experience has hardly changed.

putting it down to people just not got use to it sounds like poor design too, intuitive, instinctive, two things it is not!
Click to expand...

Not necessarily. It's a change, and a significant one. The option is no change and that leaves us with Windows 7 which is still a cracking OS.

When 6 speed boxes came out in cars it wasn't intuitive and instinctive for me to change to 6th when I was used to 4 or 5 gears, but there will still benefits to the change and I learnt to adapt. Not as much fun when you put a 5 speed car into reverse on a motorway tho ;)

But people react differently to change. The problem with MS OS's is that they try to please all of the people all of the time, but ultimately for them to move forward they need to make more significant changes, separate products might have been an answer, but they chose not to, no doubt with good reason for them.

I'm currently playing with a Pi, but have little experience with Linux, doesn't mean it's badly designed when I can't do something as quickly and easily as I could in Windows, it just means I need to learn how it's done on a different OS...and it's bl**&y frustrating for me!

i duno a fair test maybe if they were all mac users?, or maybe really old people :)
Click to expand...

But more importantly what tasks? As I said before most things can be done without the new UI being a factor, and if it's really simple things like open mail, calendar and internet then I can't see how using the start screen with big colourful icons would present a problem, unless you wanted Win 8 users to have to run x86 legacy apps...I guess what I'm getting at is I don't think it would be easy to get a level playing field, or by the time you did the changes wouldn't really play a significant factor.
 
I still can't fathom why they aren't including an option to disable Metro, surely it's going to alienate users?

If they want it in, great, for those that like it, great. But what about those who don't like it? The answer appears to be "Don't use Windows 8 then" - how can that possibly be a good business strategy.....?

I mean, ask yourself this, if there was an option to disable Metro and go straight to the desktop on boot, with the option for a traditional start menu how many people would be complaining about Windows 8? Most of the raging i've seen is based on the Metro UI.
 
Last edited:
You can't fathom it out :confused:

Two things
windows Store
Future where one Os will be on all devices, giving a seamless experience.

How can you not think of that.
 
Glaucus said:
You can't fathom it out :confused:

Two things
windows Store
Future where one Os will be on all devices, giving a seamless experience.

How can you not think of that.
Click to expand...

I thought of it, naturally. I still can't fathom it.

Something else i've been wondering about, from a gaming perspective, what are the overheads, if any, of the Metro UI?
 
Last edited:
McBain said:
I still can't fathom why they aren't including an option to disable Metro, surely it's going to alienate users?

If they want it in, great, for those that like it, great. But what about those who don't like it? The answer appears to be "Don't use Windows 8 then" - how can that possibly be a good business strategy.....?
Click to expand...

I still can't fathom out why so many people seem to really want Windows 8, but only if it looks and works like Windows 7, the improved features are not really that significant.

From MS perspective I suspect they want to push the pace on Metro apps and their Marketplace. If everyone turns it off the adoption rate will be lower. They'll have a lot riding on a well stocked app store.

They'll be expecting a reaction, but they've probably decided giving people the option doesn't really work, so force the change on users or they'll never be able to move forward from a company perspective.
 
ChileanLlama said:
I still can't fathom out why so many people seem to really want Windows 8, but only if it looks and works like Windows 7, the improved features are not really that significant.
.
Click to expand...

Really? I was under the impression 8 was superior in a number of areas, memory management and such?

It certainly 'feels' a little snappier, Task Manager etc is vastly improved, I like the dual monitor improvements, couple of other bits and bobs.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom