Windows Ocho, Week 1

Last week’s blog was about my dealings with Windows 8 within the first 12 or so hours of having gotten a new laptop with it preinstalled. Now that it’s been a full week and I’ve had more time to familiarize myself with it, I offer my personal insights and discoveries regarding this much maligned version of the most widely used PC Operating System in the world.1

One of the biggest things I’ve heard friends and colleagues say they dislike about Windows 8 is the new Interface; they don’t care for they tiles. They think that Microsoft is trying too hard to make Windows 8 look like a tablet or smartphone Operating System. Then, of course, there’s the theory that only every other version of Windows has been worth a tinker’s damn, and since Windows 7 was very stable, it’s been sort of expected that 8 would be a bomb. I’ve also come across many articles online about Windows 8 annoyances, or how-to’s on making Windows 8 look and feel more like Windows 7. So, naturally, when I decided that it was time for a new laptop and knowing that anything that would have the kind of hardware I was looking for, would pretty much by default have Windows 8, I’ll admit I was a apprehensive.

That being said, opinions do matter to me, which is why I did a lot of Google searches for anything that would make me possibly reconsider getting a Windows 8 machine and settling for slightly lesser hardware specifications to get Windows 7 instead. However, when an old college friend who was notorious for hating Microsoft back in the 90s begins talking about how much he loves his Windows Phone (whose interface is arguably a precursor to Windows 8) and made the switch to Windows 8 on almost the very day it was released, that says something; like maybe the OS is actually pretty good and MS finally got their shit together to make such a convert? So, I figured I’d give it a shot, and within the first 24 hours I didn’t hate the interface, even if it was causing me some annoyances with having to figure out just where the hell stuff had been moved to (it should be noted, however, that I had the same bout of “why the fuck did MS to do that?” when I switched from XP to 7 a couple of years ago).

What I like about Windows 8:

• Boot Time - OMG! Windows 8 boots up way faster than any version of Windows before it - I shit you not. Any time I’ve ever had to restart Windows in previous versions, I’ve groaned because I knew that it would take several minutes. So, naturally, the first time Windows 8 had to download updates (28 of them, in fact, because it was right after I got it home and turned it on

• Start Screen and Tiles - Call me crazy, but I actually like the Start Screen tiles. I’ve long been a fan of using the Quick Launch toolbar because I hate having my Desktop cluttered with icons; so much so, that in Windows 7 and 8 I used a little trick to add the Quick Launch back to the Taskbar list of Toolbars. By putting the applications I use most often on the far left of the Start Screen, I get almost the same effect as using Quick Launch without using up space on the Taskbar. So, everyone elses least favorite part of Windows 8 is actually something I find in its favor (go figure - it was also the one thing that I thought I would hate about it).

• Apps  - I’ve been using an Android device for a few years now, and I really love having access to various types of apps. With Windows 8, I get a similar selection of apps, both free and paid, some of which are the same ones I have on my HTC Incredible 2.

• Windows Charms - By pressing the Windows Key + C, a menu will open on the right hand side of the screen which Microsoft calls “Windows Charms”. This gives the ability to use Search and Settings for whatever app is currently on screen (including the Desktop). The nice thing about this is that getting to the settings for any app is the same for each app instead of having to figure out how to navigate each individual app to find its settings/options.

Annoyances:

• Start Screen - Even though I mentioned above that I like the Start Screen tiles, I don’t like that I can’t change the background image from the stock selection of images and color schemes without first downloading a third party app such as Stardock’s Decor8. If the third party apps to do this were free, fine; but, while Stardock may only be around $5 US, I’m not willing to pay extra for functionality that should, frankly, be built in.

• Apps - The selection of apps for Windows 8 still seems a bit limited; I can’t really blame Microsoft for this as it’s the fault of developers who have not (yet) created a Windows 8 version of an app that otherwise is available for iPhone or Android.

• WinKey+Tab - I loved how, in Windows 7, using the Windows Key + Tab (as compared to the more traditional Alt-Tab to switch between applications) showed a kind of shuffle of all open windows. In 8, it displays a menu on the left side of the screen. Functionally, it does the same thing, but it lost its pizzaz in my opinion, so I might was well just use Alt-Tab instead. Also, WinKey+Tab treats the Desktop (the entire Desktop) as an app and doesn’t seem allow for switching between desktop apps so I still have to use Alt-Tab for that.

For another opinion on Windows 8 annoyances (not all of which I agree with) you can also read Laptop Magazine’s article, "8 Worst Windows 8 Annoyances and How to Fix Them".

Overall, I really don’t see what everyone’s bitching about. There’s nothing wrong with Windows 8. It runs what I need it to run, including World of Warcraft, not only just fine, but better (so far) than my Windows 7 desktop (admittedly, the hardware probably makes a bigger difference in that than the OS). Even the salesman where I bought the laptop admitted that they have a lot of returns on Windows 8 based computers because people “just don’t like it”. My opinion? They’re simply either too lazy or too stupid to learn the new interface - period! That’s not to say that there are things I would like to see Microsoft tweak with a Service Pack rather than waiting for 9, but overall, there’s nothing wrong with Windows 8 other than having to learn some changes in how to do some tasks.

~ JC

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Footnotes:

1. According to W3C, Windows, in its various versions, still claims well over 50% of market share globally - http://www.w3schools.com/browsers/browsers_os.asp. NetMarketShare.com, while showing slightly different numbers, confirms this as well - http://www.netmarketshare.com/operating-system-market-share.aspx?qprid=10

Windows Ocho - Day 1

It’s finally happened; I have become a Windows 8 user. Ok, as of this posting, it’s been less than 24 hours (a little under 12 hours to be exact). It was time to get a new computer, not so much because my “old” one was functionally obsolete as much as the fact that it is a few years old and it’s not portable (i.e., not a laptop). Over the Christmas holiday when traveling to visit family for several days, it became very apparent that I needed my own, non-work issued, private laptop; one capable of playing games and running the apps and software that I use regularly on my desktop. In other words, I needed a laptop capable of being a desktop replacement. So the search began with the plan to be using my income tax refund to finance the purchase.

I looked at several models and brands online and in various stores.1 One thing became abundantly clear very quickly - no matter what I bought, I was going to have to deal with the dreaded and much maligned Windows 8. It’s not that I couldn’t find laptops that did not have Windows 7, it’s just that the ones that had Windows 7 were no more powerful than my desktop. My thinking on that was simply that if I was going to get a new laptop to use in place of the desktop, it made more sense to get something that trumped it in terms of technology specifications. So, I resolved that I was going to have to learn Windows 8 and get used to the new GUI,2 (which is one of the things that I did not like about the new look as I felt Microsoft was trying too hard to make Windows look like a smartphone layout).

Yesterday afternoon, after having electronically receiving my W2 on Friday, I went to H&R Block Online and did my tax return for 2012. While I didn’t get back as much as I was hoping for, I am expecting a refund (federal and state combined) large enough to buy a new laptop. So, my fiancee and I drove the 30ish minutes to the nearest Micro Center where I filled out an application for a store credit card; I was summarily declined (as expected, frankly). However, my beloved, knowing how important this was to me, decided to also fill out an application and was approved, allowing me to get the laptop that I had seen the week before and had settled on being the one I wanted (once I get my tax refund(s), I’ll simply pay off the entire card balance).

Here are my initial comments/observances/grievances with Windows 8:

• Speed - so far very impressive; quick boot time, download and install speeds beyond acceptable. Admittedly, some of that could be the fact that the hardware itself has four times as much RAM as my desktop with a quad-core processor versus a dual-core, but still, the OS is what runs the show so it gets held responsible for shitty performance (case in point, XP seemed much slower on my desktop than Windows 7 on the exact same hardware).

• RAM usage - Speaking of hardware and how the OS utilizes it, I noticed something when looking at the screen showing basic system information, of the 12GB of total RAM, there are 11.9GB of usable RAM showing. I seem to remember XP always taking up to half of the physical RAM for itself, at least until there was over 2GB, and Windows 7 seems to take about a quarter. So it would seem that Windows 8 is considerably less of a resource hog than previous versions of the OS, but time will tell - plus the need to do speed tests and really see how much I can throw at it to see how it really handles resources.

• Look - I hate to admit it, but the new Start Screen is much easier to deal with than I had feared it would be; also using the WinKey+D takes you to a normal Windows Desktop mode like we’ve all been used to since Windows 95. The new layout also moves some things around, which I’m finding frustrating, but getting the hang of much faster that I thought I would (it helps that one of the pre-installed apps on the Start Screen is called “Getting started with Windows 8” and has been extremely helpful in learning the new GUI and features). Sure, it still feels a bit like it’s designed more toward a tablet layout, but there does seem to be a fair amount of ways to customize the look and supposedly there are apps that can be used to make 8 look and behave more like 7 for those that really don’t want to learn the new layout. So, the biggest thing I said I didn’t like about Windows 8 (based on initial screenshots I had seen) is actually growing on me and becoming something that I like about it.

• Apps - being a smartphone user, I’m used to the concept of apps and an “app store”. So far, I do like the fact that there are many programs that I use that have an app version for Windows 8 (e.g., Dropbox, Box, Nook for PC) and these seem to take up less memory and hard drive space than a traditional piece of Windows software. The only annoyance, so far, is that I’ve yet to find a search feature/option when looking for apps in the Windows “Store”.

Old vs New Comparison:

Just for reference, here’s a very basic comparison of my Desktop Specs vs the Specs of the new Laptop

	Desktop	Laptop
Brand & Model	Self built - Asus MB	HP Envy dv7-7292nr
CPU	AMD 64-bit Dual Core 2.6Ghz	Intel i7 Quad Core - 2.4Ghz
RAM	3GB	12GB
Dedicated Video RAM	1GB (NVIDIA chipset)	1.6GB (NVIDIA Chipset)
Hard Drive	3 total - primary internal (OS and software) =150GB, secondary internal (documents and files)  500GB; external (multimedia) 500GB	1TB (NOTE: the document and multimedia drives on the desktop have been setup for network sharing so are accessible to the laptop via the home network)

So far the first 12+ hours of using Windows 8 has been the typical new computer setup routine and getting used to the new features and feeling my way around. I have to say, I don’t “hate” it. Later today I’ll be testing 8’s supposed “better” multi-monitor handling when I attach it to one of my desktop’s current monitors in the upstairs office (I even managed to find a HDMI-to-DVI adapter cable instead of a big clunky adapter piece). I’ve also installed World of Warcraft (of course) so I’m looking forward to seeing on 8 handles that (the reviews on various message boards about playing WoW on Win8 seem to be quite mixed).

Articles and Links:

• “5 reasons you should buy Windows 8 now” - http://venturebeat.com/2013/01/25/5-reasons-you-should-buy-windows-8-now/
  
• "Windows 8 vs Windows 7: 8 ways it's different" - http://www.techradar.com/us/news/software/operating-systems/windows-8-vs-windows-7-8-ways-its-different-1025285
  
• "How to Add Quick Launch to the Taskbar in Windows 8" - http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/5069-quick-launch-add-taskbar-windows-8-a.html

Notes:
1. Tiger Direct, BestBuy, OfficeDepot, and Micro Center to name a few.
2. GUI, for those of you that don’t know means “Graphical User Interface”.