back to article Windows 8 early-bird users still love Windows 7 more - poll

More than half of Windows 8 users prefer Windows 7 to Microsoft's new operating system, according to a community poll. Forumswindows8, which claims to be the web's largest Windows 8 help and support forum, says it conducted a poll of 50,000 people using Windows 8 and found that 53 per cent voted Windows 7 as their favorite …

COMMENTS

This topic is closed for new posts.
  1. auburnman
    FAIL

    That's gotta hurt

    "Windows 8: Less popular than our previous offering and only marginally beating our 12 year old OS." 7 might turn out to be the new XP, staying around for a decade.

    1. Nigel 11
      Flame

      Re: That's gotta hurt

      And crucially, this is a poll of self-selected early (pre-release) adopters, who you might expect to be of the neophile tendency, and inclined in general to like things merely for being new and different.

      Things will be much, much worse for MS when XP ceases to be supported, and the folks who thought Windows 7 was a downgrade are confronted with Windows 8 (maybe as the only option on a new PC? )

      Apple must be rubbing their hands in gleeful anticipation.

      1. badmonkey

        Re: That's gotta hurt

        I don't think so. The stat of the idiots who vote in favor of XP tells you a bit about the opposite tendency. It's fashionable to trash the latest MS OS and has been for a while, so it would appear this sort of feedback has to be taken with a grain of salt.

        1. h4rm0ny

          Re: That's gotta hurt

          Not only is it fashionable to trash the latest version, it's worth keeping a close eye on these actual statistics. According to the results in this report, only 26% of respondents replied that they had previously used Windows 8. That's a bit of a weird result and suggests that only around a quarter of respondents actually have significant experience actually using Windows 8 day to day.

      2. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: That's gotta hurt

        "Apple must be rubbing their hands in gleeful anticipation."

        Hardly... Apple don't care about the Enterprise market, they're pretty much wholly consumer with a few niches of graphic design and a little video editing. Their desktop lineup shows this, their lack of servers, the inability to do onsite support of their hardware, the lack of proper roadmaps, etc. etc.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          @ac

          Who said anything about enterprise? This is a poll amongst /early adopters/, that usually does not include enterprise.

          1. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            Re: @ac

            The vast majority of Windows users - outside of enterprise - are on vista or 7, the main OS in enterprise is XP, moving over to 7.

      3. Mark .

        Re: That's gotta hurt

        "People like one MS better than another - therefore Apple are best"

        We heard this Apple fanatic logic with Vista, and it didn't make sense then, even with Vista being awful. It certainly doesn't work for Windows 8. At least move to something like Linux, where you do get choice, rather than dumping one big company for another with less choice.

    2. Chika
      Holmes

      Re: That's gotta hurt

      I wouldn't mind that too much. We're only just getting through the migration to W7 from XP here; we weren't impressed with Vista and it would be an expensive process to shift suddenly to W8 at this point, not to mention all the extra work needed to retrain users, research compatibility and all that.

      As far as my home kit goes, I've often said that I would kick Microsoft out if I could but given that I have no choice thanks to lock-in by certain manufacturers, I have no intention of shifting from a system that does its job to one that I have serious doubts about. So if W7 could last as long as XP has, there'd be no problem here!

    3. Mark .

      I remember 10 or so years ago

      On geek/IT forums like The Register, Slashdot and so on, Windows XP was slagged off all over the place, instead users preferring Windows 2000. There were good arguments too - Windows 2000 had all the good things about XP, and the benefits of XP were more consumer oriented things that geeks would rather turn off anyway.

      So I now find it laughable that on these same places, history has been rewritten to hold up XP as being the best MS OS ever!

      The criticisms of Windows 8 seem to be far more like with XP, rather than say Vista - namely it's not that it's bad, just that users here don't see anything particularly special, and they'll happily stick with the current latest version, at least for now. (Though as the article notes, there are improvements to the OS that are nothing to do with touchscreens. Personally I'd be happy to finally get the damn pause button when copying files!)

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: I remember 10 or so years ago

        If somebody ever figures out how to back port Cleartype to 2000, I'll be happy!

      2. Trevor_Pott Gold badge

        Re: I remember 10 or so years ago

        Who died and made you derpmaster general? Windows XP was a piece of shit when it launched. In fact, it maintained a full-on craptasticness right up until Service Pack 2, which basically introduced an entirely new operating system. Funny how people who like to bang on the "everyone hated XP when it launched" drum tend to forget that opinion of XP changed overnight when the fixed most of the flaws in the operating system.

        Vista was the same way. Absolute shit when it launched. Then the fixed all the flaws and called it "Windows 7," (well, except for giving me back my Up Arrow, but Classic Shell fixes that.) As soon as they unborked their craptasm, people loved it.

        Windows 8 is a good operating system…under the hood. But there is so much about the OS that is completely fucking broken that we'll need either an XPSP2-esque service pack, or a whole new version to resolve the issues.

        For the record, I still love Windows 2000. I refuse to touch XP unless it's SP2 or later, Vista an go [censored] itself, and Windows 7 only became usable on older hardware after SP1. Without Classic Shell, Windows 8 is unusable, and I don't trust Microsoft not to screw us all again a few more times before finding a version we can mostly live with.

        Until they screw us again and we go around this loop one more time. But hey, don't let me stand in the way of your blinkered view of history…

        1. Mark .

          Re: I remember 10 or so years ago

          Well who died and made you derpmaster general?

          Your points seem to be in agreement to me - that MS OSs are criticised when they come out. Yes, part of it is that MS fixes and improves things, but then, no reason to think this won't happen with Windows 8 too.

          If people were simply saying "I'm steering clear of Windows 8 until they fix up the issues with a service pack, then it'll be great - that's how it is with every other MS release", then fine - but they're not. Instead it's talking as if Windows 8 is fundamentally flawed. People aren't saying that XP was crap until they fixed it - it's hailed as the best MS OS ever.

          There's also talk of Windows 8 being a complete flop because of it. Do the flaws that you yourself say were in XP stop that from being an amazing success? And if you say "No because they improved it", why should we think they won't improve Windows 8 after release?

          We may well see in 10 years' time, people saying "Windows 16 is a bunch of rubbish, stick with the wonderful Windows 8" - yes, it may well be that this is an improved Windows 8 after a service pack, but nonetheless, that's a completely different story to the claims that Windows 8 will flop, and everyone will move to Apple itoys or Linux, or stick with XP.

          "forget that opinion of XP changed overnight"

          I don't agree at all - e.g., many of the criticisms I remember about XP were things like the look and feel of the UI, which exist to this day.

          How is Windows 8 completely broken, OOI?

          "For the record, I still love Windows 2000. I refuse to touch XP unless it's SP2 or later, Vista an go [censored] itself, and Windows 7 only became usable on older hardware after SP1."

          You're missing the point. This isn't about one person's opinion. Sure, that's your opinion. My opinion is that I preferred Windows 2000 to XP, and now I prefer Windows 7 to either. Everyone has different views. I'm just drawing attention to the groupthink of sites like here, where new MS OS are always slagged off, and I'm laughing how XP is now hailed as the best MS OS ever. Like you, I stuck with 2000 during that time. If it was 2000 that was being upheld as the best, then that would be consistent.

          "But hey, don't let me stand in the way of your blinkered view of history"

          I'm not the one claiming that XP was seen as wonderful all along, like some people here. You may have some opinion that changed overnight with SP2, but that doesn't speak for everyone.

          1. Trevor_Pott Gold badge

            @Mark

            Who - exactly - is claimin Windows XP "has always been good"? Hmm? I've never met such a madman.

            HREF or GTFO

          2. Trevor_Pott Gold badge

            @Mark2

            Also, regarding the "look at feel of the UI," XP always offered a classic mode. Windows 8 doesn't. Even with Classic Shell, that damned derptastic interface still intrudes from time to time.

            Windows 8 is far more of a blinekred transition - UI wise - than Windows XP was. Though the core OS is in better shape at the outset.

            Unlike XP, Microsoft isn't going to fix it with a service pack.

      3. Synja

        Re: I remember 10 or so years ago

        I still prefer Windows 2000.

      4. Richard Plinston

        Re: I remember 10 or so years ago

        > Windows XP was slagged off all over the place,

        It was when it was first released. By SP2 it had become stable and useful and the slagging stoppped. It wasn't the people that changed, it was XP.

        > history has been rewritten to hold up XP as being the best MS OS ever!

        No, it was XP that was rewritten, XP-SP3 was what was better. If you understood history better then you may make more useful comments.

        >The criticisms of Windows 8 seem to be far more like with XP, rather than say Vista

        Vista did get better, but was still worse than XP. Windows 8 may well become OK when SP2 or 3 make Metro go away.

  2. tony72
    Alert

    Not surprised

    I have a Windows 7 tablet (exopc), and I've tried the Windows 8 consumer and release previews on it, and both times reverted to Windows 7. Considering tablets are supposed to be where 8 shines most, that's not a good sign. The trouble is, while Metro* works great, Microsoft do not want you to use traditional desktop apps in tablet mode, so they have actually degraded the touch experience for desktop apps. E.g. in Windows 7, when you touch in a text box in an application, a popup appears next to it so you can bring up the on-screen keyboard, but in Windows 8 this is gone - you have to manually tap the icon on the taskbar to bring up the keyboard, then tap back in the text box to return focus, then manually close the keyboard when you're done typing; usability nightmare, and there appears to be no way to get the Windows 7 TIP functionality back. Windows 8 may be fine if you plan to use only Metro* apps, and it may be fine on the Surface and other hybrid devices with an integrated keyboards, but if you plan on using non-Metro* apps on a tablet without a keyboard, personally I'd think twice. And if you're not planning on running traditional desktop apps, then why would you even consider a Windows tablet?

    * yes, I know

    1. dogged
      Meh

      Re: Not surprised

      I too have ExoPC which I've been developing Metro equivalents of desktop utilities for.

      On occassion, I've resorted to a USB mouse (during first install, for example) but otherwise no real issues.

      The result does not surprise me.

      When you poll a group of people who have a problem with a piece of software - remember, those users are only on that forum to get help with something - you have to be pretty damn stupid to expect them to sing its praises.

      Not than anyone else will mention that.

    2. AGuyInEngland

      Re: Not surprised

      "in Windows 8 this is gone - you have to manually tap the icon on the taskbar to bring up the keyboard, then tap back in the text box to return focus, then manually close the keyboard when you're done typing"

      I think this has been sorted in the RTM.

    3. Mark .

      Re: Not surprised

      It's worth noting that most the upcoming "tablets" are hybrids, so it suggests that they think the best situation is to have a keyboard for real computing, but use a touch-optimised new interface when you need the portability. Which I think is the right choice. I don't want to do windowed/"desktop" applications on a touchscreen, and I don't want to do small windowed/"desktop" applications if I'm walking around with a tablet.

      "And if you're not planning on running traditional desktop apps, then why would you even consider a Windows tablet?"

      Some obvious things I can think of off the top of my head: Even though the UI needs to be redone, porting is far easier. Also easier integration, e.g., Windows networking (useful both for business and home).

      Also the question seems odd - even if I couldn't run desktop apps, since you can't do that on any other tablet OSs, it's not a negative. I would still at least consider the available options when buying something.

  3. Mahou Saru

    They finally got it right...

    Build on it, don't kick it down!!!!

  4. Bob Vistakin
    Facepalm

    Good luck with WP8 phones if Win 8 tanks

    Customer: "What's the advantage of a WP8 phone?"

    Sales:"It's the same desktop as the new Windows 8".

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Good luck with WP8 phones if Win 8 tanks

      Followed by..

      Customer: 'Great I can run all my windows apps'

      Sales: 'Umm... about that...'

      Customer: 'And office!'

      Sales: Oh, is that the time? I must be off.. <fast exit>

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Good luck with WP8 phones if Win 8 tanks

        Well, as my WP7 has office, I suspect that WP8 will also have office. I hardly use it all the time, but when it's useful, it is very useful indeed.

      2. Mark .

        Re: Good luck with WP8 phones if Win 8 tanks

        When the iphone was first released, I remember Apple fans bragging it was running OS X(!) I don't recall Apple ever being criticised that their phone couldn't run OS X software.

  5. This post has been deleted by its author

    1. big_D Silver badge

      Re: Fast boot isn't everything...

      Yep. Domain login has always caused slowdowns.

      That said, that Easy Install is a key plus is odd, this is a one-time action that probably 95% of users will never see... :-S

      1. h4rm0ny

        Re: Fast boot isn't everything...

        "That said, that Easy Install is a key plus is odd, this is a one-time action that probably 95% of users will never see... :-S"

        This might be explained by the source of the survey. The site is heavily visited by people in support. They probably have to install and re-install Windows many times over what you or I do. Plus Windows 8 has a kind of built-in restore to clean install feature, like on a phone where you can just restore it to factory defaults. They might be thinking about that as it's a big time saver if you do have to re-install Windows.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: a big time saver if you do have to re-install

          Professional support guys will mostly be using a standard image for re-installation, so they don't much care how the attended installation routine behaves.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Fast boot isn't everything...

      What happens when someone plugs a cable between 2 wall ports with portfast enabled?

      1. hplasm
        Meh

        Re: Fast boot isn't everything...

        Enter the cluebat.

      2. This post has been deleted by its author

        1. Anonymous Coward 15

          Re: Fast boot isn't everything...

          @Oliver Jones: You seem to assume they're being malicious. Hanlon's Razor applies.

    3. Miek
      Linux

      Re: Fast boot isn't everything...

      "Their Windows 7-based PCs boot up, pant like an enthusiastic puppies ... and then when I enter my username and password at the login screen, report "There are no logon servers available to serve your login request."" -- Something wrong with your network? We have Windows 7 logins to a domain on a known-dodgy network and I have never seen a Windows 7 machine give that error message after a fresh boot unless the Ethernet cable is unplugged.

    4. Anonymous Coward
      FAIL

      Re: Fast boot isn't everything...

      What exactly is the point of knocking fast-boot? "You end up waiting anyway" because you have other slower network dependencies isn't really a justification to be negative about a feature that improves the OS. It's hardly the fault of MS if a communications delay is present due to the configuration of an external device.

  6. Winkypop Silver badge
    Facepalm

    So

    Win 7 is preferred and Win 8 is just a bit better than XP.

    As they say in the classics: oh oh chongo!

  7. The New Turtle
    Coat

    People seldom like to learn to use new interfaces/desktops when the old familiar way to work is available to them. Remember the pain of migrating from W98 to 2000, of 2000 to XP? Ditto different versions of office etc. If you're a windows user, try working with OSX & vice versa. Very quickly you want to switch back to the old and familiar- the system you've developed workarounds for that are instinctive instead or awkward.

    This isn't like the good old/bad old days where each iteration of OS brought useful new features & functions, nor is it a desperate fix for an OS that's somewhat broken. So to me, if 25% of new users actually favour W8 over W7 I'd say that's a pretty good sign. Hope there aren't a huge pile of screw-ups under the covers, just waiting to crawl out as soon at it gets mass release.

    In my coat pocket, looking for a reason to upgrade.

    1. Nigel 11
      WTF?

      If you have Windows 7 in your coat pocket, you are part of a very small minority (technologically or sartorially or probably both).

      As for the mode of working: I like overlapping windows. Anything that insists that I should only be able to see one app at a time doesn't have a clue about the sort of work I do.

      I wonder what the city dealing rooms will do (four or more monitors per workstation, ALL displaying multiple windows from multipe apps)?

      1. dogged
        Boffin

        Metro only runs on one monitor. Your second (and subsequent) monitors are always in Desktop mode (which makes sense since if you have more than one monitor, you're very unlikely to be using a tablet).

        At work, I have XP with a remote desktop to Server 2K8 R2 and a second Win7 box although I run Win8 on a desktop box with three monitors in my home office. Multi-windows capabilities in Win8 are far, far improved. Just the handling of the taskbar makes the upgrade worthwhile, in my experience.

        I find myself continually going for the new enhancements and continually cursing how poor multi-monitor use is at work now. Clunky, requiring far too much mouse travel - I wouldn't go back.

        Why people think it's all tiles and nothing but the tiles is a mystery to me. The best thing about Win8 is the improved desktop. Pile those windows as high as you like, Nigel.

        1. Daniel Harris 1
          Thumb Up

          I don't get it either. So many people who are making negative comments (Not all of them) talk as if they've never even tried it yet...and maybe they haven't.

          The traditional desktop is still there and it's better than ever. If you hit the Windows Key and start to type, it also seems to find the application you want much quicker than Windows 7 did, one of the things that's always annoyed me about Windows since Vista introduced the useful search bar.

        2. Robert Grant

          @dogged

          While you may have to move your mouse further to click on a tile, it's way easier to click on. That makes life easier.

        3. TraceyC
          Thumb Down

          What, no dual screen on Windows Tablets?

          "Metro only runs on one monitor. Your second (and subsequent) monitors are always in Desktop mode (which makes sense since if you have more than one monitor, you're very unlikely to be using a tablet)."

          So you're saying I wouldn't be able to hook my tablet up via mini-HDMI to a monitor or my beautiful TV and do dual-screen? That's pants.

          1. h4rm0ny

            Re: What, no dual screen on Windows Tablets?

            "So you're saying I wouldn't be able to hook my tablet up via mini-HDMI to a monitor or my beautiful TV and do dual-screen? That's pants."

            Yes you would. One or both windows would show Desktop or you can have one of them (your choice which - you just drag Metro to the one you want) will show Start Screen or Metro. That's if you want the two screens to work as extensions of each other. You can still set them up to be duplicates if you want - like a laptop and a projector. I know because I am able to do this with Win8 and my own TV.

      2. Mark .

        It's a good thing that Windows 8 doesn't insist that then.

      3. h4rm0ny

        "As for the mode of working: I like overlapping windows. Anything that insists that I should only be able to see one app at a time doesn't have a clue about the sort of work I do. I wonder what the city dealing rooms will do (four or more monitors per workstation, ALL displaying multiple windows from multipe apps)?"

        With respect, you obviously haven't used Windows 8. It actually has better multi-monitor support than Windows 7 and you can have lots of overlapping windows. The Desktop is still there. Only the launching of programs is necessarily different.

    2. DrXym

      It's true people don't like to learn new UIs. e.g. I think much of the hate directed at metro (or GNOME 3 for that matter) is somewhat irrational.

      But I think Microsoft compound the problem because the new UI for Windows 8 really isn't very good when you have a mouse and keyboard and a desktop PC. It replaces a relatively compact menu arranged in hierarchical way with useful shortcuts and recently user apps list with an entire screen that arranges enormous tiles in a linear horizontal swathe which could span several yards. It simply hasn't been designed with desktop users in mind. On top of that most of the metro "apps" are so dumbed down that there is very little reason that anyone on a desktop would wish to use them.

      I'm quite certain that MS are aware how shit the UI is for desktops but have decided that the stakes are so high they must get to tablet land NOW and desktops can wait until the next release. If that is the reason then it makes sense I guess but it doesn't mean they shouldn't be called out for such a terrible experience.

      1. Mark .

        "It replaces a relatively compact menu arranged in hierarchical way"

        Didn't that version of the Start Menu go out with Windows XP?

        The only way to view all programs in Windows Vista onwards is to see a long scrolly list. So I don't see why the Windows 8 screen is worse - I'd argue it's better, as you now see programs listed by their icon and name, whereas in Windows 7 they're just folders of only the name, and sometimes instead company names.

        Recent applications is still there in Windows 8, I thought?

        And most of the time it's quickest to just launch something by typing the name, which still works in Windows 8.

        I've used Windows 8, and I honestly don't see the problem of using the start screen with mouse and keyboard.

        "could span several yards"

        Yes good, if I'm looking through all my software, I'd rather it use the entire space of my monitor, than having to scroll through some pokey little list that occupies just a fraction of the available space, like in Windows 7.

        "On top of that most of the metro "apps" are so dumbed down that there is very little reason that anyone on a desktop would wish to use them."

        Oh come on, have you ever made much use of the built in Windows apps? How many people here use Windows Mail as their email client? That's the point, they don't expect more experienced people to use them - the built in apps have always been dumbed down, as anyone who knows more can and will go and download their preferred program.

      2. h4rm0ny

        "It replaces a relatively compact menu arranged in hierarchical way with useful shortcuts and recently user apps list with an entire screen that arranges enormous tiles in a linear horizontal swathe which could span several yards."

        On my laptop, the default number of programs that fit on the initial Start Screen is twenty (I can get more in by not using double-width tiles if I choose). On my 24" Desktop monitor, the default is 50 tiles and around a third of them could be reduced to single-width version to free up more space if desired. That's a lot of programs. I counted up how many different programs I use in a month, and it came to twenty. And I'm pretty much a power user. A flat menu is therefore objectively faster for me (and anyone who uses less than me which will be most), than a hierarchical menu.

        Additonally, I'm more used to just hitting the Windows key and typing the first couple of letters of the program that I want to launch in either system and Windows 8 is actually faster in this regard than the Start menu so it's a win-win.

    3. fishman

      <<<People seldom like to learn to use new interfaces/desktops when the old familiar way to work is available to them.>>>

      <<<So to me, if 25% of new users actually favour W8 over W7 I'd say that's a pretty good sign.>>>

      Yes, but most of those who are running W8 right now are not your typical Windows users.

      1. Mark .

        Well yes, but then that just makes the survey not useful anyway. It's not clear to me that such people are more likely to like a new MS OS - given the criticism against any new OS from MS around IT/geek places, if anything it's the reverse.

    4. Chika
      WTF?

      What pain? W98, W2K and XP had very little difference in their GUIs, most of the changes being under the bonnet.

      1. Mark .

        False, Windows XP had a different start menu (though you could revert to the classic one). Windows Vista/7 also have a new start menu (but now you can't revert to the 2000/9x one). Windows 8 also has a new one - and it's the start screen which is really the main difference that is forced upon people (the full screen interface being optional, with the "windowed" mode still being fully available).

        Also the general UI of Windows has had changes throughout the iterations. Nothing major, but the same is true between the windowed UIs of Windows 7 versus 8.

  8. Graysonn
    Boffin

    But any early adopters of Windows 8 will be serious techy nerd type people. Asking them what they think of Windows 8 is like asking a wine connoisseur whether they prefer the £5.99 bottle of plonk from Lidl's or Aldi.

    They might really know what they're talking about, but they're fussier and they're not the target audience.

    1. Spoonsinger
      Windows

      Re: £5.99 bottle of plonk from Lidl's or Aldi.?

      That would be the two litre bottle then?

    2. Anonymous Coward 15
      Pint

      Whichever one has a higher % ABV.

  9. Anonymous Coward
    Happy

    It Grows on You...

    As an OS X user and an occasional Windows Developer... I have been using W8 for testing for some time, I must admit I like it, but it won't show it's true colours until the PC has broken away from the ball-'n'-chain of legacy hardware and archaic MBR BIOS, W8 makes that break possable.

    Having the same (look 'n' feel) OS on your server, desk-top, lap-top, tablet & phone will also help to get W8 established, it'll just take a bit of time for users to see the benefits.

  10. CmdrX3

    I don't know that I necessarily agree

    I can certainly see the case for the W8 tablets and phones to have the same look and feel, but I see no reason why that should really be carried to the desktop. I think they would be better spending their time getting a more more seamless integration between the mobile devices and the desktop without attempting to turn the desktop into something it's not.

  11. ElNumbre
    Meh

    Not for me yet.

    I'm a techy, and waited until the Consumer Preview version was released to test it out, and currently, I don't really see what is so whizz bang about it.

    For a start, I don't like ~ (the interface formally known as Metro), it doesn't seem to bring anything new to the table, other than to confuse and annoy. Until Apps have been rewritten/upgraded to make the tiles live, what you end up with is a list of apps in boxes, rather than a pop up/down menu system.

    And, once you get past the tiles, it feels like its just Windows 7 underneath with a few things relabelled.

    As for the startup/shutdown speed, I hibernate W7 at the end of each day anyway, so first thing in the morning I'm up and running again within about a minute anyway.

    So, as yet, I've not yet found the killer feature that should make me buy it.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Not for me yet.

      You still click through the start menu on a regular basis? That's old school!

      Are you sure you aren't one of those people still running XP...You know they added the search bar to the start menu since Vista right...?

      1. Miek
        Coat

        Re: Not for me yet.

        "Are you sure you aren't one of those people still running XP...You know they completely killed desktop searching with the release of Windows Search 4.0 right...?" -- Fixed that for you.

    2. The Baron

      Re: Not for me yet.

      > As for the startup/shutdown speed, I hibernate W7 at the end of each day anyway, so first thing in the morning I'm up and running again within about a minute anyway.

      Exactly. I was surprised to see fast booting as the most popular feature. I've been using Sleep on my Windows desktop for a couple of years now, and other than the occasional patch requiring a reboot, I don't see any need to do a full boot cycle. I even thought W7's default "shut down" behaviour was hibernate, but I might have imagined that.

      Are most people on Vista, W7, or W8 doing a full start-up and shut-down cycle every day?

  12. Wize

    35% of people who voted for Win 8 did so because Explorer 10 was bundled with it.

    And probably wouldn't know what an alternative browser was if it bit their arse. What happened to that browser choice box that Microsoft were forced to put in for XP?

    1. Charles Calthrop
      Thumb Down

      Re: 35% of people who voted for Win 8 did so because Explorer 10 was bundled with it.

      1) What is explorer 10?

      2) What does the 35% relate to?

      3) You seem to think people who are able to use a beta OS, and comment it on some geeky site have never heard of firefox, chrome et al

      4) Are you really incapable of googleing to find out what happened to the browser choice screen? Again, your asumption seems to be that people are quite capable of installing a complete OS but are only able to remember to not choose IE if they are prompted not to do so.

  13. iansn
    WTF?

    the new light blue "blue screen"

    Is more commmon than anything since XP. Servers, laptops and tablets, the later when waking from sleep, the former with usb and assorted internal and external disk drives. It is nowhere near as stable as 2k8R2 or win 7. I've been using it since the first public beta through to the RTM. The laptops/tablets are always blue screening. Server, ahppy to say is much better in RTM but wil still fall down when a USB key is inserted !!!!!!

    1. dogged
      IT Angle

      Re: the new light blue "blue screen"

      Been using it since Dev Preview and I have literally never seen the new BSoD. Not once.

      What kind of shonky hardware are you running?

  14. Hellcat
    Coffee/keyboard

    Touchy rectangles

    That is all.

  15. Mark .

    People prefer what they know

    Let's face it - geeks liked Windows 2000 and moaned about XP, but years later, XP is hailed as some kind of best MS OS ever...

    And whilst we might all agree that Vista was bad, it's worth noting that Vista did introduce a lot of the ideas that are now liked in Windows 7 - it was just badly implemented, or the hardware at the time wasn't up to it.

    To add to that, a forum more likely to be frequented by geeks are probably less likely to care about more consumer oriented features. It also seems to be the case that people like us are more sceptical about new updates. And does not liking the MS Store mean people actively think it's horrendous, or just that they don't have any interest in it?

    As for the Surface - what about all the other Windows 8 tablets and hybrids? If 35% would buy a Surface even before we consider the other Windows 8 tablets, that's pretty good going!

    I also don't see why the phone survey is bad news - it's already clear that Android is way in the lead anyway, but if Windows 8 can take second place over Apple, that's surely a win.

  16. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Win8 without Metro would be awesome

    I've been using it since BUILD and while I *love* the desktop improvements - startup time, speed, stability - I want to weep every time I hit the Windows key and end up in that stupid Duplo nightmare.

    I'm sure it's going to be great on their iPad competitors which are fat-finger centric but imposing it on the desktop world just gets in my way, slows me down and annoys me.

    OSX isn't perfect (far from it, especially given how great they tout their design to be) but I'm now using it about 49% of the time (and growing) but one smart thing Apple has done is keep the bifurcated solution and not forced a touch-first paradigm (bingo!) onto inappropriate devices.

    Will I upgrade my current crop of home machines? Probably one of them (but as the rest of the family don't have touch machines why should I force it on them). Will it be a factor in what new machine(s) I get? Yes... I'll get a Mac and maybe a Windows ARM tablet to play with

    1. Mark .

      Re: Win8 without Metro would be awesome

      So the key issue is not the UI in general (as you can just still use the windowed UI anyway, as you note), but the Start screen.

      I don't get it - why doesn't the Start screen work well with keyboard/mouse? On Windows 7, I hit the Windows key and type the name of the app. On Windows 8, I hit the Windows key and type the name of the app. (On Windows XP, I hit the Windows key, type the name of the app, then remember and get annoyed, and then have to faff about with the menus.) I'm generally curious here - I see a lot of criticisms about the start screen, but I don't see anyone explaining what the problem is?

      1. Mark C Casey

        Re: Win8 without Metro would be awesome

        If you need to find something the UI on the start screen is terrible since you have to scroll horizontally, the gigantic buttons waste vast amounts of screen space, the entire UI is designed for a touch screen rather than a mouse and keyboard.

        Also, it plays into breaking the users train of thought. This is known as the doorway effect. (google this, it's quite interesting)

        Say you're working on a document and you need to open something else, so you go to the start screen which covers the entire screen and you open a program you were wanting on a second monitor or side by side with the document. Only you've now forgotten what you were thinking of.

        Sounds funny I know, but having something that doesn't cover what you were working on keeps it at the forefront of human memory. Ever walk through a doorway into a room and forgotten why you went in there in the first place? Same effect, the doorway acts as a "new thing, new memory" event just as the start screen does.

  17. billreilly

    The title is incorrect

    The title is incorrect, as the survey participants were not all Windows 8 users... According to the survey only 26% of the participants had ever used Windows 8... Therefore, as 25% of the participants preferred Windows 8, that means that 96% of Windows 8 users preferred Windows 8... a bit different then what you'd like us to believe...

  18. DEAD4EVER
    Happy

    window 8 or 7

    i myself love windows 7 it was everything vista was not vista did not like allot of my hardware even my hardware is oldish but not a sluggish old pc made in 2000 or 1995. i dont see any need to upgrade to 8 anyway i am quite happy with 7 thanks.

  19. jim 45
    Thumb Down

    We're not being told who these 50,000 people were, but if they're not a randomly chosen sample of potential users, then this "poll" has no meaning. Might as well tell us that 50,000 Republicans overwhelmingly preferred Romney.

  20. Dropper

    A few fixes

    If they get rid of the child-like boxes in the middle of the screen and add a start menu I might be interested..

  21. mark l 2 Silver badge

    it still baffles me why MS chose to not include the ability to turn off the 'Not Metro' start screen and go back to the normal Windows desktop. The previous versions of Windows, 7, Vista and XP have had the option to turn on classic start menu so that the users who only know how to do the very basics on Windows can be moved to the newest version with no retraining needed on how to use the OS. This is especially true for the pro version of Win 8 which is aimed more at business than end users this should be an option you can choose during the install. Guess we will have to wait for MS to release the first service pack and see if they fix the issue

    1. Richard Plinston

      > it still baffles me why MS chose to not include the ability to turn off the 'Not Metro' start screen and go back to the normal Windows desktop.

      Microsoft have had 'consultants and experts' tell them that desktop is dying and that mobile is the new place to be, as evidenced by iThings and Android. MS have missed this and, even though they had slate and WM for years, have failed with WP7 to get any traction.

      The 'expert' opinion' is that WP7 failed because of lack of familiarity with the UI (rather than it was years behind what the market wanted). The solution is to force the UI down everyone's throats until they become familiar with it. Then they will _demand_ it on their tablets and phones, and on their fridges, cars, TVs and wrist watches. Job done, world dominated.

      What the experts failed to notice is that a different result may occur: "that's the interface I didn't want on my phone and I don't want it on my next computer".

  22. json

    Windows 8 is Windows 7 without the windows

    been using Win8 eval version for a week now, I like the splash and the clean look which I understand is for tablets really. But what I'm missing is the 'Windows' (ie tiled look), so Win8 is basically a windowless Windows.. unless you fall back to the PC mode which for all practical purposes is Win7.

    So Windows 8 is really Win 7 + the tablet interface (and as I understand crippled API to the chagrin of developers).

    Obviously this, now-its-a-table-now-its-a-pc OS is targeted for its new tablet+keyboard devices. I see where they are coming from, I just think the strategy is wrong.. I think they should have focused on improving the 'windows' philosophy and interface which can work in both PC and tablet modes and which is lacking in tablets instead of a totally different interface for both.

  23. johnwerneken
    Thumb Up

    don't believe the poll

    It's too soon. A lot of us are new to Win8. Few of us have the RTM version or a Tablet to run it on, ARM or otherwise. Some of us have been fooling with it since Fen 2012, and some for longer; those mostly LOVE it, we know how to do Start Button and Desktop Only when we want to, we like fast boot, ISO mount, HyperV, and the automatic creation of a Tile for any newly installed executable, plus the organizing of Tiles by the User into Groups. There aren't too many people with the final version on a Desktop machine, there is no one with a ARM device really proven for Win8 with the RTM version, except possibly at Microsoft.

    I am one who answered that poll, by the way.

    The number one complaint usually is a long the lines of: where did start go? How do I do what I used to do exactly as I used to, including look and feel? Guess what, some of us have been doing that for at least six months, but not a majority, at least not amongst those polled.

  24. Confuciousmobil
    Pint

    7.1

    If they got rid of Metro (not just the name) Windows 8 would make a very good Windows 7.1

This topic is closed for new posts.

Other stories you might like