Under the hood of Windows 8, or why desktop users should upgrade from Windows 7

Re:Under the hood of Windows 8, or why desktop users should ... by joenathan on Tuesday October 23, 2012 @12:58PM (#4688980)

I like the casualness of the Metro apps. It's easier and faster to click on the Netflix app than to open Firefox and then load the Netflix webpage. I also like some of the News apps, again it's fast and easy to catch up on some of the headlines, I also like the weather app, in two clicks(1.Hot corner start screen, 2.weather app) I can quickly see the forecast for the whole week. I also like some of the casual games.

I am about as a hardcore Desktop user as it gets, I have a custom build pc with 3 screens, custom mouse & keyboard shortcuts, steam, Photoshop & Dreamweaver user, etc...

I've been using Windows 8 since the Developer previews, and while some things have taken a while to get used to(like the hot corners), I'd have to say overall Windows 8 is a step up from Windows 7 in every way, I would hate to go back to 7. The Start Screen makes the Start Menu seem archaic.

Some pics of my setup:

http://i.minus.com/iqRDyV3Cdz4M3.jpg

http://i.minus.com/iUyzL0SkQgSD5.jpg

http://i.minus.com/ibsaj7IkT3usDj.jpg

http://i.minus.com/i2xfTeTriMwQ8.jpg

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Re:Under the hood of Windows 8, or why desktop users should ... by jiggy2011 on Tuesday October 23, 2012 @01:10PM (#4689032)

Couldn't you do those things in Windows 7 by docking applications or web shortcuts to your taskbar?

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Re:Under the hood of Windows 8, or why desktop users should ... by joenathan on Tuesday October 23, 2012 @01:27PM (#4689138)

Yeah but these are easier and fully featured/integrated(think for example notifications). Also given my heavy use of Firefox and Chrome, think 100+ tabs spread out in multiple windows & never ending sessions, it's many times easier with casual things to use a Metro app then open additional windows or tabs.

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Re:Under the hood of Windows 8, or why desktop users should ... by mertd on Tuesday October 23, 2012 @01:39PM (#4689183)

I'm not sure I follow. There is nothing preventing the desktop software from using a system-wide notification system.

FWIW, metro apps are not fully featured but rather feature crippled. Take Chrome's metro version for example. It is just the forced-fullscreen version of the desktop one. You can still open insane amount of tabs.

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Re:Under the hood of Windows 8, or why desktop users should ... by joenathan on Tuesday October 23, 2012 @02:21PM (#4689421)

>There is nothing preventing the desktop software from using a system-wide notification system.

But there is already one integrated into Windows 8, there is also sharing and searching integrated

Sharing

http://i.minus.com/ixWDWz6QqMRvG.jpg

Searching

http://i.minus.com/ieIlX6e9QyL16.jpg

shifting search to a different app/service with a click

http://i.minus.com/i8CxZ5i2wILEW.jpg

I'm not trying to become the Windows 8 advocate here but just showing how it has utility and value in many uses for me.

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Re:Under the hood of Windows 8, or why desktop users should ... by jiggy2011 on Tuesday October 23, 2012 @02:00PM (#4689293)

I think perhaps the issue is that there are more integrated "apps" available on mobile platforms. For example Netflix provide apps for iOS and Android etc but if you are using a PC they want you to go through the website.

This isn't a technical issue per se, since it would be possible to produce these apps for the desktop.

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Re:Under the hood of Windows 8, or why desktop users should ... by contextfree on Tuesday October 23, 2012 @02:38PM (#4689582)

This is sort of reminding me of the argument that programming language features are pointless because all languages are Turing-complete anyway.

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Re:Under the hood of Windows 8, or why desktop users should ... by SkyMarshal on Tuesday October 23, 2012 @06:13PM (#4690626)

>I've been using Windows 8 since the Developer previews, and while some things have taken a while to get used to(like the hot corners)

Out of curiosity, is there anything the hot corners can do that you can't do using the Windows key launcher?

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Re:Under the hood of Windows 8, or why desktop users should ... by joenathan on Tuesday October 23, 2012 @08:13PM (#4691023)

The hot corners are as follows

* Start Screen(lower left or Windows key)

* Recent/Running Metro apps(upper left or Win & Tab) http://i.minus.com/iD8rJOYWLWoHU.jpg

* Charms bar (upper or lower right or Win & C) http://i.minus.com/iKqyzIcITSAfB.jpg

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