My desktop has both Ubuntu 12.10 and Windows 8, and I love both operating systems. My work computer is loaded with OS X, which I also love. Perhaps I'm a techie, but I think that a lot of the hate we see with Windows 8 is just growing pains.
So for people who perhaps want a look at some of the pros and cons of Windows 8, here is a list I can come up with after using it for a while. Please note that these are mostly subjective.
Pros:
- Sand boxed applications. The implications here are fantastic, and it means less tech savvy users can be safer using Windows.
- Full screen apps, and snapped apps actually work fairly well.
- These full screen apps are per screen for setups with multiple screens. This is coming to OS X Mavericks which I'm really excited about!
- Hot keys allow for fast work! (I can't say what is and isn't new in Windows 8, because I didn't try to optimize my work flow in 7 with hot keys)
- The start menu UI is awesome once you are used to it, and much better than the old menu.
- HTML5 native applications. From what I have seen it is not as easy as building a website though, which is too bad.
- Hooking up to a large screen TV is AWESOME. With their design paradigm nothing is ever too small, and it feels so natural on a TV.
- This is an area where both Linux and OS X have failed to me.
- Far better task manager (subtle, but awesome!)
- Failure on Microsoft's part to help users differentiate between a Windows 8 targetted app, and a "Desktop" app.
- A proposed solution here would be to allow Windows 8 store apps to act as a desktop app, while remaining sand boxed.
- Desktop apps aren't sand boxed (see above).
- Windows store sucks.
- Full screen shouldn't be forced. They made some good UI moves, but this is one that I wish they hadn't done.
- Command line (I mean, I just love bash way more, and no git bash isn't a fantastic replacement).
- Microsoft tries hard to force the use of GUIs. Seriously I love using a shell to do most things.
- Start screen can be hard to manage for an average PC user.
The "tile" menus are actually even an improvement for my HTPC. Not perfect- HTPC never gets enough love- but better.
I like Mac OS X.
There, I said it. I own both. I use both, daily. They do not have to be mutually exclusive.
Live tiles were something that makes absolutely no sense on a non-touch device, but that's the default. I still click on the desktop tile as soon as it loads.
win+x, p
I like Windows 7 just fine and don't see how Win8 improves upon it in any way.
I think this may be one of the largest problems for people making the switch. After moving to Win8, a friend of mine enjoyed everything about the new OS except for one "missing" feature from Windows 7. He couldn't hit the windows key and type in the search box in the start menu to find programs he was looking for. After I told him you could still do exactly this, I realized that there is nothing on the start screen that really indicates that you are automatically search focused (people are used to a search box that they can focus on). Now that he knows about this he has no qualms, but I guess there are some undiscoverable features that some of us have taken for granted in win8 because we've actually read up on how to be a power user.
Also are you using any tile/native/windows8 apps?
I only ask because I had the great displeasure of attempting to use the native skype app last night, and could not simply adjust my mic volume without ending the call.
There are large fundamental issues with the UI(ie right click, the right bar thing having no mouse area forgiveness, no app specific settings menus, and many others) that have prevented me from completing even the most basic of task.
What "fixes" are you using to be able to even interact with the UI?
I am absolutely not trolling, but I am completely bewildered by these comments popping up.
- With a few exceptions, I don't use any "modern UI" apps. I'm not a huge fan of them, just like I'm not a fan of most iPad apps. I like multitasking and power-usering too much. For example, I greatly prefer desktop IE to modern IE, even on a Surface with no keyboard/mouse, because it feels faster and the tabs and toolbars are always visible - I'd rather have them there than a tiny bit more browser viewport.
- I use a couple modern apps on the Surface where I have no alternative, like Skype. That said, if I'm in full-on "tablet mode" (on the couch or standing, no keyboard attached, just consuming), the good modern apps feel just as good as or better than the good iPad apps. Browsing photos on SkyDrive or using Xbox SmartGlass, Maps or the video player feels good.
- On my laptop, everything works on the desktop as it always has, plus a few small enhancements over Win7. Launch apps by hitting the Windows key and the typing to search - I don't really care that it brings up the "Start screen" for a second. I don't use the tiles at all.
-I primarily use my Surface as a mini-laptop (with a Type Cover, the one with real keys) and almost exclusively use it for the browser and OneNote.
- Regarding right-click: on both Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8, MS is trying to standardize on the "tap and hold for a second" gesture for right-click/context menu. It's used all over the first-party apps and many third-party apps.
- Not sure what you mean about the charms bar having no mouse area forgiveness. On a touch screen, you swipe in from the bezel. On a monitor with a mouse, you hit the top right corner and mouse down along the edge.
- App specific settings menus are in the Settings charm. All of the charms (Search, Share, Devices, Settings) are context-sensitive to the running modern app. To me, this feels like "excessive refactoring" of the UI: it makes sense in some aspect because those features/activities are common across many apps, but it does feel weird to have them grouped and hidden away like that, especially in apps where one of those activities (usually search) is likely to be the first and only thing you do.
All in all, some of the new foundational concepts do need some further work, but they're not rotten to the core. If you're a standard desktop or laptop user with a mouse and keyboard and you prefer your desktop apps, then skip the modern ones. If you have Windows 7 and have no problems with it, there might not really be any reason for you to switch, but I don't think 8 is really a step back from 7 unless you're really on the hunt for things to gripe about.
My basic experience with Windows 8 (and especially 8.1) is that it's an improvement over 7, so long as you just use desktop apps - it boots quicker, and there's a number of useful UI tweaks (Windows Explorer and the Task Manager are notable here). Also, I like the Start screen - being able to comfortably arrange a couple dozen apps for easy access means I almost never have to go digging in the menu.
I don't need any "fixes" to interact with the UI. It works basically just like Windows 7, with a few minor tweaks (like Win+X). What doesn't work with right-click? As far as I can see it does the same thing as it did in Windows 7
I'll give you the right bar thing, but a) I hear it's fixed in 8.1 and b) the only thing there I use there is the shut down menu.
Now maybe the touch interface is as horrible as everybody claims, but as a desktop OS it works great
Yes, except that with the old "Start" menu, because it was hierarchical and because each item was much smaller, you could pack a lot more information into it than you can with a screen of tiles.
As things are unfolding, it seems we'll have both a tile display and a hierarchical tree behind the old "Start" button or some equivalent.