Windows 8: Microsoft's tablet-desktop still painful to swallow Microsoft's Windows 8 is now in the hands of developers and IT administrators subscribed to MSDN or TechNet. They are the first people other than close partners and fearless torrenters to try the final code. Anyone expecting major changes from June's Release Preview, or concessions for those missing the old Start menu, will be …
"Windows RT, the ARM version, goes a step further by prohibiting desktop software installation completely."
So on the ARM platform you cannot install Linux because of "Secure Boot" lockdown and you cannot install software unless it is bought from the Microsft App Store.
Bit restrictive.
I figured it was not fair to deny the "MS log in" thing and that was probably the reason the NotMetro apps hang for an age on start, seems I was wrong.
This install I actually created a MS log in, the apps still take an age to start.
Got an image to view on win 7, Picasa or some other image viewer would open in a blink and even sit to one side to let you "do other stuff" if you want.
Now the default image app just takes over the screen and does nothing for what seems like seconds, what why?
Then I want to go back to explorer and pick another non sequential image? you can hope.
Have they got to check base with every image I have taken is OK for me to view? words fail me.
The few other new apps seem to do similar on my setup.
On a dual or more screen set up it is better but it's so frustrating on single screen mouse and keyboard pc.
That said if your primary screen is the right one hitting the start area is too vague.
Make a few of the designers do real "work" on a single screen "NotMetro" set up for a week, things will change.
"Windows RT, the ARM version, goes a step further by prohibiting desktop software installation completely. At last, a safe and secure Windows, at least relative to the standards of the past."
Microsoft has finally realized how to make us all safe from themselves: put us each in our own little jail, with Microsoft as jailer. They'll sell us breakfast, lunch and dinner as well, and allow us outside mail if the contents are ok with them.
Well done, MS, especially the part where we all know we're going to stumble into our cell and slam our own door behind us. You've pulled that stunt so many times, we just can't help it.
"Took me about 5 mins to get my bearings and after that no problems. "
Begging the question, "why?" Why are you dropped into a foreign landscape with your mental map crumpled?
Praise be that Microsoft is not in charge of the pencil. One day they'd be shipped in the form of pretzels, and we'd then be listening to optimists telling us "once you figure out how to push your fingers through the loop, no problem!"
Wow what a new and enlightened post, thank you so much for that!
I have to admit reading what you have just typed many times before and the resulting answers like
"We have to run Windows because software we use doesn't run on anything else" or
"Corporate force us too" etc but it's good to know where a choice is available you can help us with some of the options.
"Doing all three" and typing a reply too! Well done you.
Some disclosure first:
Choice of home pc OS - windows 7 64 bit
Choice of tablet / phone OS - IOS
Works with all manner of (proper) unix systems
Ok, so like all windows fanbois I thought I would hate windows 8 but after trying it I find I am left wondering why they (Microsoft) just didn't release two versions, classic & touch?
I installed the enterprise 64 bit trial on a VMWare VM and gave it a single processor & a gig of RAM, fired it up, installed win8 and got to "work". The NewUI wasn't that much of a problem for me, after all I'm a tablet user so using the tiles, apps whatever you want to call them wasn't such a big deal.
I added an app (mahjong, if you are that interested) from the app store and its here I felt a bit cheated, I got a message along the lines of "mahjong has been added to your start page" (or something like that) and, yes it had, I thought "that's quick" unfortunately, it had just been added to my start screen, when I clicked it then it went off, downloaded it, installed it so the speedy install I thought had taken place was just a bit of a con!
I then took a look at the desktop, seemed a bit flat to me, no aero etc. and yes, I noticed the lack of a start menu but then I realised I don't use the start menu a lot, mainly to find that program I installed ages ago that I can't quite remember the name of so I can browse through the installed program's in the start menu. No big deal, I just pinned the program's folder to the explorer icon in the task bar, not as nice but it's a workable work around (for me at any rate)
So, you have a desktop, slightly different, not as "shiny" but still useable for day to day work and you have the NewUI which seems to be OK for its intended market - touch enabled devices. My main question then is why not let me choose which one I install? On my daily use machine I have no use at all for NewUI, I'll probably never use it on my non touch laptop so why install all the files and stuff I'll never use?
Pro's - for me, personally there is nothing here that will make me spend money on an upgrade and that's from someone who's gone out and got the latest version of windows (yes, even Vista!) whenever it became available. The biggest "pro" from my point of view is that if I HAD to use windows 8 then I could get it set up and working how I want it to and probably never have to use the NewUI.
Con's - when using the desktop I'm used to pressing the windows key, type in a few letters and run the program of my choice, it's going to take some time to remember that the windows key just takes me back to the NewUI start page! I tried pressing L and searching that way and it seemed to work ok so once I've got used to it, shouldn't be an issue (although I did notice when I pressed L to get the search menu windows seemed to leave an L in the search box, I'm putting it down to me using a trial version in a VM, or me doing something wrong, if this is a design "feature" then it's just plain annoying!) when using the NewUI I found arranging the tiles (or whatever they are called) to be very annoying, again it might be me not doing it properly but it seemed if I got the top row looking how I wanted it then moved a tile from the bottom to the middle (by dragging it up) then one of the middle tiles jumped to the top and the displaced top tile appeared on the bottom row!
All in all it's just minor niggles, the biggest of which is WHY? Why install a touch UI on a non touch PC and vice versa, what's the point in having the desktop installed on a touch screen enabled device? I have a pc I use to DO stuff and a tablet to USE stuff, both are perfect for how I want to do things.
Summary
Will I rush out to buy it? No
Will my life be ruined if I HAD to use it? No
Does it work? Yes
Does the missing start menu make it unusable? No
Overall rating - Meh
I would urge all the doubters to give it a try, you might still hate it but at least you'll see it's not the end of the world as you know it!
>Con's - when using the desktop I'm used to pressing the windows key, type in a few letters and run the program of my choice, it's going to take some time to remember that the windows key just takes me back to the NewUI start page!<
Actually that still works, press the windows key, start typing and it auto searches (that's why the L is there when you press it).
Like I said, I may have been doing something wrong (I confess I didn't read any documentation) and its running in a VM but for me at least, the windows key (when pressed in the desktop) just took me back to the start screen, the "L" key opened up a search box but that left the L in there, it's probably me, I'll keep on trying and might even RTFM!
Modern UI is forced onto us because Microsoft has to catch up in the mobile space.
There are already more smartphones (mobile computers) than desktop once. Also the sales increase in mobile whereas they are flat in desktops. And in the future most of the customers buy only a smartphone and use it as smartphone AND PC. So you only need one device and you can use it as full desktop with Bluetooth keyboard/mouse and connection to a bigger screen via mini-hdmi. The OS has to switch between the use mobile/desktop, but in the end only one device and one OS.
Microsoft has therefore to get a foothold in the mobile space. They failed with Windows Phone, so they use their market power in desktop to get the Modern UI known in desktop in the hope that consumers recognize in mobile.
So there will be no option in the future to switch to “desktop mode” at least for private customers, perhaps for corporate ones (as they can complain).
I know several (5 at last count) people who were naughty chaps and decided to pirate this, you know the types, always want to be running the latest software, 0 day, without paying for it.
I was asked by them down the pub if I have any virgin Win 7 copies to save them having to download a new one to get rid of it. Obviously I declined, but the general consensus of these cutting edge guys is that W8 was of no value at all, and even the option of running it without paying for it didn't make it worthwhile.
They stuck with Vista for longer than this thing..... anecdotal I know, but I was really expecting these guys to be hyping the thing up no end and boasting about how they have it and how awesome it is as they were with the latest office even when everybody else was panning that for the Ribbon.
Reviewing Windows after the disaster of Win7 and 7.5 phone editions, it is increasingly looking to me as though Microsoft is headed to the dustbin of intellectual history. Used to be " I like Mike" ....as in Michael Jordan . ...now, for MS, its I wanna be like Apple ... me too, me too ..... To bad ... just being MS with dozens of OEMs around the globe producing competing products could have driven Apple's market cap back to its < 10% market share...
Now Office 2013 ..... especially Outlook seems aimed at copying the web-based e-mail offerings ..... so I'll have to check off each of more than 150 e-mails each day in order to delete .... Making AOL client side looking better all the time ...... maybe AOL can recover from its $250 market cap loss after all .....
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