I don't like Windows 8 at all

In My Humble Opinion
1

Apologies if there is a previous thread on the release preview. The search engine here does not like the number 8.

So yesterday I made a Ghost image of my current install and decided to go for it and try the release preview of Windows 8. I had tried the earlier consumer preview and found myself uninstalling it after a day. However, that was an upgrade I did from within Windows 7 and it didn’t come out quite right because of some Win7 customizations I’ve done. So this time I thought I would start fresh.

The install is pretty fast. I used a USB drive for the install so that definitely helped. There are long stretches of the install where nothing obvious is happening but at least it doesn’t sit like that for an hour. I found that usually just after I started wondering if the machine was stuck it would do something. The install process itself is pretty streamlined, with minimal hassle as to which options to choose. Having installed every flavor of Windows since 3.1 many many times over I’d have to say this is the best installer of them yet.

However, once the desktop is up things change. And not for the better.

First of all, the type on the screen is ugly. One would suppose Microsoft would have a better handle on this by now. But no… open up an app preview and instead of a nice clean font, I got this squishy smudged garbage. Is MS still using bitmapped fonts when everyone else is using vector or something that actually scales to different resolutions? I don’t know what the problem is but the type looks like ass.

The app previews are far less functional than the programs they replace. I tried running some video to see how it looked. Again, it looked like crap (just compared to the Win7 install that preceded it) and as an added bonus there were no controls! There’s a pause button and playlist buttons. There’s no stop button! If you exit the app, the movie is still playing in the background.

I also like to keep certain things separate. So for example, I don’t want an aggregated feed of Facebook pictures, library pictures, Flickr pictures and etc. Each of these things exists in its own space for a reason. Maybe I’d like to show my girlfriend some cute puppy pictures without porn popping in there at random. Or vice versa. In any case, the integration of everything with everything else is a pain in the ass.

The controls for the system are all over the place. To do some things you have to go to the classic control panel (which you “discover” by searching for it from the start screen). For other things, you need the Metro control panel (which you “discover” by swiping to the right of the screen). Other control panels exist within the individual applications.

I know Microsoft really wants a piece of that tablet market. It must piss them off to no end whatsoever that Apple is taking away their market share at $500 a pop and giving people a superior UI experience (and I say this as one who does not like Apple at all!). But this dog of an operating system isn’t going to solve anyone’s problem. Who out there is buying an Ipad, bringing it home and then bitching because it won’t run Windows apps? And guess what? Windows on ARM will give you the idea that it will run classic Windows apps but it won’t! Want to put a spare copy of Office 2010 on there? Too bad, it’s coded for x86 and Windows on ARM will have nothing to do with it! So the consumer has to go out and buy yet another copy of Office to replace the one they already have.

I’m calling it now. Windows 8 will be one of Microsoft’s biggest failures, far surpassing Vista (which objectively wasn’t that bad of an OS). I understand and appreciate that Microsoft has gone to great lengths to make things better in this OS but as far as I’m concerned this one is a swing and a miss.

Anyone else out there dropped this turd on their machines? Anyone actually like it?

2

um, are you sure you’re running at your monitor’s native resolution? 'cos I don’t see anything like this on my laptop.

this carries over from Windows Phone. I’m sure there’ll be separate Facebook, Flickr, etc. apps once Windows 8 goes on sale.

3

You seem to be in the very small minority. I’ve only heard near universal praise of what Windows 8 is turning into.

Granted I don’t read all the articles online so there probably are some that talk about it’s crappiness.

4

On the tablet, yes. On the desktop it’s receiving near universal non-praise and predictions of most businesses skipping it entirely (due to desktop not being touchscreen).

5

Fear and Loathing and Windows 8 (Or: Why Windows 8 Scares Me – and Should Scare You Too)

You’ll Hate Windows 8

6

I automatically ignore any smug blogger who tries to tell me what to think.

7

Most businesses won’t adopt Windows 8. I don’t think Microsoft has any expectations for business to switch. Hell some businesses are just getting around to switching over to Win 7.

Their goal with Win 8 is trying to grab a significant share of the tablet and smart phone market before it’s too late.

Win 9 is already in the works, sort of like Win 7 was to Vista. Win 9 will target the business world and the home desktop/laptop market.

I tried Windows 8 and it sucks. It sucks very hard.

Charms and hot corners can bite me and don’t get me started on the main screen. Who decided on that color scheme? Damn it’s very unappealing to my eyes at least.

Half the screen has to do with social and entertainment apps. God forbid if you want to do some actual work on your pc.

Glad I got that off my chest. :smiley:

8

I should have added that it should be fine for a tablet or phone since that is obviously what it was designed for.

9

Personally I am rather excited about Windows 8. I think it will be the perfect OS for a laptop/tablet hybrid which is what I want. We are already seeing some very interesting hardware annoucements in this category like the Lenovo Yoga and the Samsung Hybrid.

10

What? You can’t customize the screen? Were they actually that stupid?

11

Never used Win 8, never plan to if I can avoid it, but I have the metro interface on my 360, and it is absolutely awful. I can see how it might work on a phone or something, but this one approach fits all devices thing they’re trying to shove down everyone’s throat is just absurd.

12

I think the Metro looks like the Xbox home screen. Not very efficient use of space for a computer monitor.

13

Windows 8 is Microsoft’s Internet plan switched to tablets and smartphones. They recognize that desktops are a dying market segment and they’re trying to grab hold of tablets and smartphones.

I think they understand the desktop experience is compromised, but that they’re willing to suffer the flak for the sake of saving the company by creating a great experience on tablets and smartphones.

I would also add that this is very early days. Microsoft has a habit of releasing decent platforms and then vastly improving them over time.

14

Bigger than Windows Millenium?

15

I tried it in a VirtualBox last week. I was happy to see our software worked fine in it so backwards compatibility seems to be ok.

But I was underwhelmed by the actual home screen or whatever it’s called. Even though it looks all fresh and new, it seems to be just a menu or hub on top of regular old Windows 7. Sort of reminds me of Win 3.1 on top of DOS. Many actions you take just dump you back into regular old Windows.

16

Absolutely. Windows ME was an evolutionary update, basically Windows 98 version three. There was no compelling reason to buy it.

Windows 8 is supposed to be a revolutionary update that changes the way we look at and think about how to use computers. But does Windows 8 solve any problems we currently have using Windows 7?

I’ll end up using Windows 8 eventually for some of the better features (like file copying, which has been given a complete overhaul) but not until someone comes up with a way to get rid of that annoying start screen and hack the old start menu back in. Until then, Windows 8 can get off my lawn.

17

+1

18

Complaints about Win8 are extremely undermined by the fact that there’s almost no native software for it and the interface in general is still being tweaked.

It’s not going to be perfect, but I like what I’ve seen. As a tablet OS, I definitely like it as much or more than iOS, but apps obviously need to catch up.

I think the typography and design are excellent overall; none of the jaggies or inelegance the OP reports. The streamlined settings pane is fantastic, and something windows has needed for years.

I see 8 as unfortunately transitional, but it’s a transition I want to be seeing. With WP7, MS has shown that they really do understand the idea of handy, hands-off, “just works” apps, and Win8 is their first attempt at bringing that to actual computers.

19

That is all fine and good, but at this point it’s a bit like pissing into the wind. Microsoft is too late to the party and will never get a chance to dance.

20

That’s because Metro** is** the current Xbox360 home screen.