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Windows 8: My thoughts so far


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#31 LinktheMaster

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Posted 03 November 2012 - 12:00 PM

Err... yeah. icon_frown.gif I actually meant to go back and revise that since it was wrong. My bad.

They do sort of let phone companies put sort of similar restrictions on phones, though. Of course, rooting gets rid of that problem rather easily.

#32 sigtau

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Posted 03 November 2012 - 02:48 PM

QUOTE(Russ @ Nov 2 2012, 08:22 PM) View Post

Why would they ditch Legacy apps for the tablets? That seems equally stupid to me.


Because Microsoft's first-party tablets use an entirely different kind of processor (ARM) vs the processor architecture we've been using since the 80's (x86, later expanded to x86_64). Different processor architectures use different instruction sets. It'd be like reading a Swedish book to a classroom full of French students--most of them will know it's another language, but they're not sure which one it is.

To put it another way: When a program is compiled for a PowerPC processor, it'll only run on computers with compatible PowerPC processors and operating systems. Similarly, since everything you use on a day to day basis on your PC is compiled for x86, when the user attempts to run x86 complied code on an ARM processor... well, it just won't run.

That said, ARM appears to be leaps and bounds ahead of x86's efficiency, but it's not like we can just throw away the protocols we've been using for decades as Microsoft appears to be pushing for (if they don't, at the very least, want to own the ARM architecture as Apple did with PowerPC back in the day).

#33 Ben

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Posted 03 November 2012 - 09:34 PM

Windows 8 is all right on a touchscreen with the tiles interface. Desktop mode is still full of tiny click targets and is kind of tough to use without adding a trackpad or something.

It is incredibly clunky to use with a mouse and keyboard without Classic Shell or Start8 or something. Classic Shell seems to make using Windows 8 tolerable, but I shouldn't need a third-party solution to avoid using something that should have been optional in the first place.

Performance on my aging PC is about the same as Windows 7 x64 is. Boot time is not really shortened since I don't have an SSD; I just tossed Windows 8 RTM onto another hard drive I had lying around.

List of gripes from real use:
  • forcing you to use tablet-oriented UI things even when you're not using one; screen locking and stuff shouldn't require "gestures" if you're not using a touchscreen.
  • The charms bar is not that intuitive; it keeps popping up over top of things running in fullscreen mode (borderlands 2 and minecraft currently.)
  • the new desktop UI styling is a crime against aesthetics, but thankfully you can use a patched uxtheme.dll to use custom skins like in Windows 7. There is a near-full conversion back to Aero in the works by some dude on dA
  • WinSAT gives my desktop a lower score than Vista or 7 ever did (4.0 vs 5.9 on the older systems), for no discernible reason. Why bother increasing the top of the scale to 9.9 if you're going to suddenly judge the criterion for hardware scores more harshly? This is an incredibly minor gripe since no one really cares about WinSAT scores but, still. icon_razz.gif
  • Why do they keep replacing all the built in wallpapers?! I liked the ones with Vista and 7 a lot, and the ones that come with 8 are really nice too. But I want to have them all. icon_frown.gif
  • Pinning things to the taskbar is not an acceptable substitute for rarely-used items being run from the Start menu. I don't like having anything on my desktop but now I've had to toss some shortcuts I'll hardly ever need on it. Yes, I am a little obsessive-compulsive and neurotic.
  • The tiles UI control panel in a dark room. WHITE SCREEN BLINDING ME AAAAAGGGGHHHHHHHH
  • Windows Defender was unable to stop a horribly ancient virus from the Windows 2000 days (AlbaNet if you're curious) from hosing the system. It didn't even present a notification. After testing it, I could only boot to a black screen with a mouse cursor. Before a reboot, it managed to delete Task Manager as though no protection existed at all. UAC was on.
  • Start screen needs a more obvious search function instead of just popping up when you start typing.
  • There's no way to easily access the desktop mode control panel immediately after a new installation to unset some nasty default settings.
  • Ribbonized Explorer. I think they got the wrong conclusion from their user feedback -- "more buttons" is not going to win over non-savvy people.
I got bored so I stopped adding things to the list.

#34 Nicholas Steel

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Posted 04 November 2012 - 05:53 PM

QUOTE(Ventus @ Nov 3 2012, 11:54 PM) View Post
Yes they fixed the file copy speed. in terms you can now copy a bunch of files and you don't have to wait forever for it transfer.

Last night I moved about 60+ Gigabytes of Rom's and ISO's over to bigger hard drive. and it only took 5-10 minutes. unlike in Windows 7 which took about an hour to move over 5GB of files to another driive.
Nice, hopefully they'll backport this fix to Windows 7.


#35 Ventus

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Posted 04 November 2012 - 06:01 PM

QUOTE(franpa @ Nov 4 2012, 04:53 PM) View Post

Nice, hopefully they'll backport this fix to Windows 7.

Sorry, But I don't think they will. for them to that they'll have to make some major adjustments to the Windows explorer. Which I don't they'll ever will do on Windows 7.
I mean they didn't backport Windows 7 file transfer to windows vista... So its really unlikely that they would do it.

#36 sigtau

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Posted 04 November 2012 - 10:04 PM

Performance improvements might also be a selling point for Windows 8 to all of the Metro-haters. Basically, Microsoft is screwing us again. icon_awesome.gif

#37 Marco

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Posted 04 November 2012 - 10:19 PM

Yes thar but is my porn Windows 8 compatible

#38 Nicholas Steel

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Posted 05 November 2012 - 01:20 AM

QUOTE(Ventus @ Nov 5 2012, 09:01 AM) View Post

Sorry, But I don't think they will. for them to that they'll have to make some major adjustments to the Windows explorer. Which I don't they'll ever will do on Windows 7.
I mean they didn't backport Windows 7 file transfer to windows vista... So its really unlikely that they would do it.
They backported Direct X 11, so I don't see why they couldn't.


#39 Ben

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Posted 05 November 2012 - 11:59 AM

If the demand is there, Windows 8 features will be ported. Windows XP got Vista's universal audio driver and some basic security features, for example. Windows 7 (x64 edition only) has already been given Windows 8's enhanced ASLR (a security feature.)

#40 Hergiswi

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Posted 21 November 2012 - 04:29 PM

If anyone is interested, I found this brief review of Windows 8 that I thought was entertaining. The guy seems to be pretty knowledgeable, but his site looks like it's from the 90s.

#41 Jubbz

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Posted 22 November 2012 - 02:35 PM

Geh... I've been pretty fine with Windows 7 so far, and i'm not sure if i wanna upgrade Just yet. I'd rather buy a new computer with Windows 8 already on it rather than upgrade the one i got right now.

Besides, I don't feel like pirating Windows 8. I had enough trouble doing it for 7.

<---- *is a cheap-ass*

Edited by Jubbz, 22 November 2012 - 02:35 PM.


#42 Hergiswi

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Posted 22 November 2012 - 11:52 PM

QUOTE(Jubbz @ Nov 22 2012, 02:35 PM) View Post

Geh... I've been pretty fine with Windows 7 so far, and i'm not sure if i wanna upgrade Just yet. I'd rather buy a new computer with Windows 8 already on it rather than upgrade the one i got right now.

Besides, I don't feel like pirating Windows 8. I had enough trouble doing it for 7.

<---- *is a cheap-ass*

Hear, hear. I've never paid for a Windows OS in my life, and after the shitty customer service I got from them after one of their Zune MP3 players broke on me, I never will. Not to mention other personal problems I have with Bill Gates and the fact that Microsoft already has sooooo much money.

#43 Ben

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Posted 23 November 2012 - 07:01 PM

QUOTE(Hergiswi @ Nov 21 2012, 04:29 PM) View Post

If anyone is interested, I found this brief review of Windows 8 that I thought was entertaining. The guy seems to be pretty knowledgeable, but his site looks like it's from the 90s.


Not quite objective, really icon_razz.gif -- though he does share almost the exact stance I do toward Windows 8. Was pretty amused, too. He doesn't beat around the bush.

#44 sigtau

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Posted 25 November 2012 - 07:15 PM

So, I got to try it out today on actual hardware as opposed to a silly virtual machine. Here are my thoughts so far.
  1. The tile interface is slick, clean, and new. Back when I dabbled into OS development (oh God, those days), I remember browsing an OS dev related forum and finding a topic in the Interface Programming subforum about windowless GUIs, and what kind of implications they would have on usability. Microsoft seemed to get the memo in terms of style and functionality, and the interface is definitely something to give the competing GUIs a run for their money. However, that doesn't make it any better for productivity, and in that regard there's still a few problems--and I'll get to those in a moment.
  2. ISO mounting is stock functionality now, and file transfers are miles faster than they were on 7, Vista, and XP. Boot time is also incredibly slick--ten seconds on an HDD? I sure hope they can find a way to backport this to 7.
  3. The tile interface seems to deteriorate when you're looking at pages and pages of regular desktop apps--imagine the iOS app screens, but clunkier and uglier. Bloats the size of my home (metro?) screen and is little more than an annoyance.
  4. Going back to what I said about the interface being pretty decent, my chief complaint with it is that it doesn't enhance productivity at all. In several ways, the Metro tile interface hinders productivity, especially when you need to quickly open two programs you don't have pinned to your taskbar or stuck onto the desktop (though in all fairness, this doesn't happen too often). Additionally, the Charms bar also does nothing to make me any more productive or speedy when looking to adjust settings, especially considering the watered down control panel. (I share Bagel's chief complaint with the control panel--AGH MY EYES).

In short, it's pretty neat, but it doesn't make me any faster and not even the selling points of fast startup time, file transfers, and ISO mounting would convince me that I'd be any better off using 8 over 7. I'll stick to my Win7 gaming PC and my OS X-powered MacBook Pro, thank you.

#45 Hergiswi

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Posted 01 December 2012 - 09:59 AM

QUOTE(Bagel @ Nov 23 2012, 07:01 PM) View Post

Not quite objective, really icon_razz.gif -- though he does share almost the exact stance I do toward Windows 8. Was pretty amused, too. He doesn't beat around the bush.

I'm not saying you're wrong, I'm just curious: what exactly isn't objective about it? (I don't have much experience in reviewing computer stuff.)


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