Don’t Believe The FUD: Windows 8 Is Much Better Than You Think

[JMH]

The official Windows 8 launch is less than two weeks away and judging by much of the commentary ahead of the consumer launch, you’d think that Windows 8 on the desktop is a total, unmitigated disaster. It isn’t. It does take some getting used to, but the vast majority of desktop users will do just fine with Windows 8.

Those who think Microsoft went off the deep end with Windows 8 tend to focus on how much of a hybrid between a desktop and tablet/touch operating system it is. They ask how users will ever live without the traditional Start menu? How will they figure out how to switch between Metro apps? How will they ever find their way back to the familiar desktop once they open the new Start menu? How could Microsoft ever release an operating system that places such a massive cognitive burden on so many users?

http://techcrunch.com/2012/10/14/windows-8-isnt-half-as-bad-as-you-think-it-is/

 

[AceInfinity]

I did the same, focused too much on the navigation and apparent uselessness of that tileview for someone not on a touchscreen interface. I did at first enjoy the "look" of it though, and I still do... I also liked all of the features Windows 8 had to offer asside from all of the "negatives" I convinced myself of in the beginning. And to my surprise, I did get used to it after a while, but it was NOT easy... I won't lie though, and to be honest I do still find it a little annoying with navigation on that TileView. It's a bit too bulky if you're trying to find just one program. I would have liked to have seen some kind of search input...

But focusing on all the negatives, it seemed I didn't have time to enjoy all the good that Windows 8 has to offer. Just something to keep in mind for any current or future "Windows 8 haters" for some reason or rather. Think of the bigger picture :)

I'm already looking forward to Windows 9!

 

[niemiro]

This is actually really true. I started off with a bit of a negative attitude, thinking how can this possibly work as my main computer, etc. etc. But I gave it a try.

Completely surprised myself, I love it! It took a while, I found it hard at first, but I forced myself to learn, and not just install a Start menu program, and now I love it! It is super fast, the start menu is great once initially configured, and I love Windows 8 now I have learned to use it properly.

If I have one thing I would change, it would be the Charms bar. I think it is great, but going to the corner of the screen only to go down again seems a bit inefficient. Keep this method, but I think they should also add a feature where if you scroll on your mouse wheel, and nothing scrollable is selected, then the Charms bar should open, IMO.

I intend to write a small program to try it out.

But I love Windows 8!

 

[Britton30]

So far in what I've seen, W8 is no better than I thought, it's much worse. I thought a new OS would be like the jump from 98>XP>skip>W7. Only if I had a really big cell phone or lugged a tablet around would it maybe be useful. I think MS has started hiring people to write favorable articles, perhaps Obama's speech writers. :r1:

 

[AceInfinity]

I seem to have the same perception about Microsoft Operating System's as Britton does. 98 was okay, 2000 was good, XP (mixed opinions, some say it's the most stable, but yet it's got quite a few known security flaws, not to say that 2000 and before didn't though either), Vista (people complained about it being slow, I didn't mind it), Windows 7 was good, and I was expecting a jump from 7 to 9 to be good and 8 to be in between (especially since Windows 8 is such a new design; lots of room for improvement). I like the features with Windows 8 though, and from what i'm seeing and what I have heard, features that I was anticipating, and to which did not yet come out for Windows 8, i'm expecting by Windows 9, and that will be an interesting point in time... I think there is some drastic changes that Windows 9 will bring for consumers.