Windows 8 Consumer preview- Don't waste your time

[Slayer]

I can sum up what Windows 8 is in one word - kludge ("An ill-assorted collection of poorly matching parts, forming a distressing whole.")

 

This thing is total garbage unless you use a touchscreen tablet. Everything about it is counterproductive for a desktop user.

 

Things I hate about it:

 

1) Metro - The most counterproductive poorly written interface on any type of computer, tablet or phone I've ever used. It looks horrible too. The interface feels like a gas station or restaurant terminal except instead of being usable with everything jumbled together in one huge mess.

 

2) Online ID's - Got nothing to hide but I don't want them selling or using my info or buying habbits and no I don't want their crummy metro apps either.

 

3) Everything is hard to find if you view all programs you have to pick through EVERY program and subprogram and barely used utility that is installed on your computer.

 

4) They got rid of the start button and there's no option to even put it back.

 

5) No way to get back to the "classic" interface

 

6) Seems to be catered to touchscreen because a mouse and keyboard hard do anything. Noone I know uses a touchscreen for day to day work on a computer , nor will they ever. I sure as hell don't want to work with my arm outstreched all day or humped over a tablet

 

Even if every person who used it complained about the CPP MS will not budge , they are already pushing forward with their programing API's and steering developers toward this crap. So it's pretty much set in stone....Once the reviews come out it will be a tremendous flop and consumers will speak with their wallet MS will be looking stupid.

 

They made a huge leap forward with Windows 7 but this feels like 2 steps back, it's that bad. Microsoft tried to dumb everything down and in the process gutted the OS.

 

Let's just say this. I will probably be one of "those guys"- you know, the ones who are still using XP 10 years later - Except it'll be Windows 7. :doh:

[rattler]

When will they ever learn. I think there is a song in there somewhere.:D

 

Nothing changes.:doh:

[cichlidfan]

Oh well, I managed to survive without ever installing a copy of Vista (actually owned a copy for a while though) and I guess I can do it again.;)

[EtherealN]

4) They got rid of the start button and there's no option to even put it back.

 

Oh yes you can! :D

http://www.stardock.com/products/start8/

 

I'm not going to bother with Win8 for now anyway, but for those that do want to try it out and want a Start button, there you go. :)

[cichlidfan]

Oh yes you can! :D

http://www.stardock.com/products/start8/

 

I'm not going to bother with Win8 for now anyway, but for those that do want to try it out and want a Start button, there you go. :)

 

I guess that might be the first Windows 8 'app'. Pretty sad when a demo needs a mod.;)

[Slayer]

FYI: TrackIR wont install. If anyone has any interest in how to fix it you need to disable driver signature enforcement. Procedure is a bit different in Win8 CPP

 

http://laslow.net/2012/03/14/disable-driver-signature-enforcement-in-windows-8-cp/

 

then you can goto device manager, update driver software/let me choose/ browse to your program files (x86)/Natural Point/TrackIR folder and it will install.

 

Stuck with this for a few more days as I'm going to reformat anyways....

[Slayer]

Oh yes you can! :D

http://www.stardock.com/products/start8/

 

I'm not going to bother with Win8 for now anyway, but for those that do want to try it out and want a Start button, there you go. :)

 

I bet they are wringing their hands in anticipation of all the frustrated Windows 8 users flocking to buy their desktop software. I used to use their products pre Windows 7, after I got 7 I was happy enough with it I didn't buy newer versions.

[EtherealN]

Quite possible, though this particular piece of software is free.

[Cali]

Looks like I'll be sticking with W7 for a while, no need to change anyway.

[combatace]

I installed W8 the time it came out and removed it the time it came out. Looked like a freak show to me.

[chaos]

Guys,

It's a preview... According to many sources it is possible to switch back to the 'classic' desktop. I for one would love an OS to rule all the of the different devices... tablet, PC and phone. No issues with synching, everything in the same place and a UI that is consistent.

 

The first iteration might be a little bit iffy but it's definitely the way forward...

[EtherealN]

Windows Vista - steaming pile of shite

Windows 7 - good

 

Not that there's any noteworthy difference between those two OSes, IMO. :P

Vista got bad rep because of it's initial compatibility issues and some bloat, and it was too long ago that XP got released so people didn't remember how much problems that OS caused when it was new. And 7 is just a polished Vista, so it didn't have the "new product" type problems because, well, it wasn't a new product. Just Vista SP2. :P

[PeterP]

I installed it today at my laptop at work....

 

I had a lot of "fun" with my workmates while wondering how you can make simple tasks very complicated. ;)

...We all agreed that instead of installing this at home we all better go buying shoes with our wives this weekend :) - because its much less a hassle than trying to operate Win8 in its current state (Yes! - we also used a touch-screen...) !

:P

Edited March 16, 2012 by PeterP

[Boberro]

Not that there's any noteworthy difference between those two OSes, IMO. :P

Vista got bad rep because of it's initial compatibility issues and some bloat, and it was too long ago that XP got released so people didn't remember how much problems that OS caused when it was new. And 7 is just a polished Vista, so it didn't have the "new product" type problems because, well, it wasn't a new product. Just Vista SP2. :P

 

Well I tried Vista and it really sucked.

Windows 7 may not be new product but it is much, muuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuch more than just "Vista SP2" :P

 

Regarding Windows 8 - no thank you :)

[Emmer]

I managed to get Windows 7 on a laptop with an Intel Celeron M @ 1,5 Ghz.

1 G of ram ; and VIA/S3G UniChrome Pro IGP with a staggering 64 M of memory.

System rating of 1,0 .... lol!

 

Ok , Aero does not work, but my taskbar is transparent.

 

Anyways i think it runs better then when it had XP on it.

I dont have to try to run a 720p or 1080p movie , it wont work.

 

Edited March 16, 2012 by Emmer

[EtherealN]

try Vista on a 1 Gig of ram laptop ...

then try Win 7 on the same laptop and tell me how different the experience was

 

I don't see the relevance. Like I said, the picked away some bload during the course of developing Windows 6.1, AKA Windows 7. That's well known and not really relevant - espceially since I, on my first Vista machine (a 2GHz/2GB 32-bit laptop) just disabled said bloats and then everything worked fine. It is unfortunate when tweaking is needed to get something the way you want it, but that goes for all OSes. Personally, I considered the added security and good multithread performance to be totally worth that compared with XP.

 

Further, a lot of the "bloat" and commit load that comes from Vista is actually there in 7 too, though tweaked for efficiency, and has nothing to do with OS at all - it's just the OS pre-loading all kinds of programs that you commonly use. A function I have removed from both my old Vista install and my current 7 install.

 

The big deal with Vista is that so many base their opinions on pre-SP1 impessions of the OS. And yes, it was a mess. But so was pre-SP1 XP. The only Windows OS that never needed an SP to be good is Windows 7 - which is because 7 isn't "new". :)

 

Regarding Windows 8, I'll wait for SP1, like I always do with Microsoft OSes. (With 7 being the exception because, well, it was a glorified service pack anyhow. :P )

[PeterP]

Dont see the relevance ... hmmmmm

 

hmmmm ... Me TOO!:)

 

I don't care who ever raised the question if Vista and Win7 are comparable... - but:

The topic is "Windows 8 Consumer preview- Don't waste your time"

 

... and now there is a detailed discussion between two (that will maybe never end) how windows 7 is running compared to Vista ( the later I never had/wanted at home...)... and one is forcing the other to proof what he has wrote...

 

(..man!- I would love to have this amount of time on my hands - but I would use it more wisely!:))

 

(there are so many places that had discussed this before, years ago... - just please, search a little to get the answers you are searching for...)

 

 

On Topic:

BTW Here's what's wrong with Windows 8.

and this essay really reflects my experience I just had today.

Edited March 16, 2012 by PeterP
is it "I just had today" or "I had just today" ?! ... don't know...

[XarBat]

I have not seen much, but from what I have heard some of the visual things introduced in windows 8 seem much better than the load of garbage that was introduced in Vista and "improved" in 7. Aero is extremely retarded.

Having desktop icons inside of colored squares seems like a good idea, hopefully it will mean that you locate and click on them faster. DCS sort of already does this with it's icons. No start button is a good thing since it means more space on the taskbar; currently only 15% or so of my desktop has icons, the start button should be on the desktop not the taskbar.

 

Edit: hold on a second, it looks like the start button is still there and in some cases a thumbnail that is at over 4 times as big as what it was before.

Edited March 16, 2012 by XarBat

[EtherealN]

Except the "no start button" thing also means a lot of things suddenly became a lot harder to do, since there was no replacement introduced. Consider that stardock trumpets a "run" command as a cool thing with their app... That's a HUGE thing when an OS needs 3rd parties to give you that functionality.

 

And sure, my mother won't use that much. But I use it daily.

[PoleCat]

Not that there's any noteworthy difference between those two OSes, IMO. :P

Vista got bad rep because of it's initial compatibility issues and some bloat, and it was too long ago that XP got released so people didn't remember how much problems that OS caused when it was new. And 7 is just a polished Vista, so it didn't have the "new product" type problems because, well, it wasn't a new product. Just Vista SP2. :P

 

That was a simply spot on analysis IMHO.

Much of Vista's perceived issues were a lack of hardware driver support on release from many major manufacturers. There was very poor coordination in this regard which led to widespread compatibility problems and dissatisfaction at launch and well beyond. Once these things were sorted it was too late.

 

Once you muster a little patience to learn you will see that Windows 8 CP is not that bad at all and not all that different from Windows 7 under the hood. Metro is a little confusing at first but it can be used in place of the start menu and you can add and launch what ever applications you like from it. There are some core changes such as file copy/rename improvements and an overhauled task manager in this new OS as well.

 

"Change has no constituents".

 

Out

Edited March 16, 2012 by PoleCat

[asparagin]

What bugs me first is the name: "Windows 8"

A team of bozos who studied at university for 5 years, worked for another 5 at various companies, before they got hired by microsoft, brainstorm for one month and come up with... "Windows 8" ?? Total marketing failure.

 

Here some suggestions:

 

Windows 8: Modern Warfare

 

Windock Norris

 

or my favorite:

 

Windows 8: Warthog

[Slayer]

I guess I pretty much echoed his article...never read it but the same stuff that he doesn't seem to care for neither do I. I like the analogy of having a child draw a futuristic car, so they draw a regular car and just add rocket engines and wings. Pretty much sums it up IMO

[EtherealN]

What bugs me first is the name: "Windows 8"

A team of bozos who studied at university for 5 years, worked for another 5 at various companies, before they got hired by microsoft, brainstorm for one month and come up with... "Windows 8" ?? Total marketing failure.

 

Not as bad as Mac OS X. How many of those has there been? :D

[Depth]

What bugs me first is the name: "Windows 8"

A team of bozos who studied at university for 5 years, worked for another 5 at various companies, before they got hired by microsoft, brainstorm for one month and come up with... "Windows 8" ?? Total marketing failure.

 

Here some suggestions:

 

Windows 8: Modern Warfare

 

Windock Norris

 

or my favorite:

 

Windows 8: Warthog

They wanted to call it Windows Ice Cream Sandwitch but that was already taken by Android.

 

Presumably the head of marketing took suicide after they wanted to call it Windows Metro, and his will stated NOT to name it Windows Metro in the event he takes suicide.

[leafer]

Win 7 SP1 completely disabled my D-Link wifi booster. I'll wait for Win 8 SP2. :D