There are supposedly some technical improvements, like faster performance, faster boot up, less power consumption. However, none of those things registered. The only thing that stuck was my annoyance with the Metro interface. The Metro interface feels so inefficient on the notebook.
Non Obvious Interface
Unlike Windows 7 where almost everything can be accessed from the Start button, Windows 8 simply has too many features hidden. You need to know how to click on corners and/or perform left-right/up-down swipes to do many things that are so obvious in Windows 7:
- Click bottom left corner in Legacy Desktop to show Start Screen (so as to click on a tile to run a new program)
- Click top left corner to show running Metro tasks
- Click right corners (top or bottom) to show Charms bar
- Click and pull from top edge to the bottom to close existing Metro task
Hiding all these features and making them non-obvious is just creating problems for users who are used to the existing Windows way of doing things.
The Metro interface also requires more mouse movement and clicking and dragging to accomplish the same activities in Windows 7. This isn't really an improvement.
Showing the Current Time
The fact that Live Tiles are dynamic and are constantly refreshing with new information. But there is such a great waste of space. I am surprised that although there are Live Tiles for things like weather, email notifications, calendar and calendar alerts, Microsoft did not put the time on the new Start Screen!
To see the time, it is necessary to first activate the Charms bar and hover the mouse cursor over the Settings icon. A window showing the current date and time, battery power and network connectivity will then appear on the Start Screen.
To see the time, it is necessary to first activate the Charms bar and hover the mouse cursor over the Settings icon. A window showing the current date and time, battery power and network connectivity will then appear on the Start Screen.
I think this is ridiculous. If my computer is displaying the Start Screen, I shouldn't need to perform any hand activities to see the current time. The time should be displayed at all times. There is plenty of space on the Start Screen to do that. In fact, they could have just displayed the current date and time on the Weather tile.
The fact that Microsoft did not do that speaks volumes of Microsoft's re-design. This isn't a better interface than Windows 7. It is a poorer one.
The fact that Microsoft did not do that speaks volumes of Microsoft's re-design. This isn't a better interface than Windows 7. It is a poorer one.
Changing the Time
The time was off by several minutes. This is a known problem with my 5 year old notebook, as the battery that powers the clock on the motherboard is probably drained and can no longer maintain the clock when the computer is powered down. However, as Windows can synchronise with internet time servers, this is not a big problem. When I restart my notebook, and upon connecting to the internet, Windows will simply update the system's time from an internet time server.
I wanted to adjust the time manually, and at first, I thought I could click the time display to configure the clock. Unfortunately, the moment I moved the mouse off the Settings icon on the Charms bar, the time display disappeared. Unlike Windows 7 where you can simply click on the time to adjust the time, this is not possible on the Metro interface.
I tried using the Settings > Change PC Settings > General, but that panel only allows me to change the Time Zone.
I tried using the Settings > Change PC Settings > General, but that panel only allows me to change the Time Zone.
There doesn't seem to be any way to change the clock's time from Metro, whether to adjust the time, or to refresh the clock from an internet time server, The only way I could accomplish this was to go to the legacy Desktop and change the time using the traditional Windows 7 way!
I wonder how people who bought a Windows RT tablet will be able to do this as Windows RT theoretically does not provide access to the Legacy Desktop.
Search Charm
The Search icon on the Charms bar allows categorised searches. The search behaviour is slightly different from that of Windows 7. In Windows 8, if you are currently highlighting the Files category, searching for "Calculator" will show zero results in the results panel because there are no files with a file name containing "Calculator". You must highlight the Apps category to display the Calculator program in the results panel. This is unlike Windows 7 search results, which will show the combined search results for apps and files together.
I prefer Windows 7 consolidated search results, but I also see nothing wrong with the new category approach taken by the search in Windows 8. This is because in Windows 8 search, you can also search with categories like "Bing", "Store", "Mail" etc. Limiting search results to only those for the category makes sense for Windows 8 search.
I decided to do a "Bing" category search with the text "how to change the time in windows 8". However, when I clicked the magnifying glass icon to initiate the search, there was no response, and instead, I was thrown back to the Start Screen.
I repeated this a few more times. Each and every time, initiating the "Bing" search will always throw me back to the Start Screen.
Because there is a "Bing" app in the Apps list, I decided to execute the Bing app manually to see if there was any problem with it. There wasn't. (Interestingly, the Bing search results says that the only way to adjust the time in Windows 8 was to do it through the Legacy Desktop.)
However, once I have executed the Bing app manually, using the Search Charm to search the "Bing" category works properly subsequently. It appears that if the category app has not been manually launched previously, it cannot be properly invoked from the Search Charm.
Searching is a very important utility. On Windows 7, the search box is easily invoked by either clicking the Start button, or by simply pressing the Windows key ("Win Key") on the keyboard. However, in Windows 8, moving the mouse to activate the Charms bar and click the Search icon, or to press the shortcut key Win Key + Q, is more complicated than in Windows 7. The Windows 8 methods to activate search is neither simpler nor more efficient than the Windows 7 methods.
Full Screen Programs
Metro programs always run in full screen. This might be acceptable on tablets with smallish 10 inch screens. But on large screens, example: a 20 inch monitor, running apps in full screen just doesn't make sense.
Microsoft has specified that Windows 8 tablets should have a minimum resolution of 1024 x 768, so most developers will program Metro programs to this resolution. If you are using a 20 inch monitor with a 1920 x 1080 resolution, the Metro program will be scaled up from its designed 1024 x 768 size to fill up the entire 1920 x 1080 pixels in full screen. The effect is not pretty.
I am sure the full screen effect will be even more pronounced on 27 inch monitors with 2560 x 1440 resolution.
I am sure the full screen effect will be even more pronounced on 27 inch monitors with 2560 x 1440 resolution.
Microsoft could have made this better by making Metro programs run in separate 1024 x 768 windows on large screens. Indeed, by running each Metro program in its own window, a user with a large monitor will also be able to place several running Metro programs side by side. Unfortunately, this is not what Microsoft has done. Running apps in full screen just does not make sense when the screen is very big.
Showing Two Metro Programs Concurrently
Although Metro programs are always run in full-screen, Windows 8 provide a mechanism to display 2 running Metro programs side by side. However, your screen must have a minimum of 1366 pixels horizontally. Screens with any lower horizontal resolution (such as 1024 x 768 or 1280 x 800 screens) can only show 1 Metro program in full-screen at all times.
But even if you have a screen with the required 1366 pixels horizontal resolution, Windows 8 does not allow you to run the 2 Metro programs with each occupying 50% screen width. One app will always be at 75% screen width, while the secondary program will always be at 25% screen width.
This 2 program limit seems unnecessarily restrictive. The 75% / 25% screen width ratio also feels extremely arbitrary. I feel that Microsoft should have allowed at least an additional 50% / 50% screen width ratio. I am not sure why Microsoft did not do this..
Although you can only show 2 Metro programs concurrently on the screen, other Metro programs you have opened may still be running in the background. I played an MP3 podcast using the Music app, and while I had the screen display the News app and Mail app side by side, the Music app that was not shown on screen was still playing the MP3 file in the background.
A Lot of Scrolling
On a desktop PC using a keyboard and mouse with a non-touch screen display, scrolling sideways on the Start Screen is accomplished by rolling the centre wheel on the mouse. The mouse wheel rolls in an up-down direction, but this is translated to left-right scrolling through Start Screen tiles.
There is a slight cognitive dissonance because if the up-down direction on the mouse wheel translated to left-right scrolling, then how do you to up-down scrolling (example: when viewing a very long web page in the browser app)?
There is a slight cognitive dissonance because if the up-down direction on the mouse wheel translated to left-right scrolling, then how do you to up-down scrolling (example: when viewing a very long web page in the browser app)?
Also, if the Start Screen is very wide, there is a slight inconvenience if you need to click on program tiles that are placed on the far right of the Start Screen. This is because whenever you call up the Start Screen, the left side of the Start Screen is always shown. This means that if you need to click on another program tile on the far right, you must scroll to the far right again to click on the other tile.
Basically, Windows 8 doesn't remember the Y-axis position of the Start Screen that you were at when you clicked on a tile. So if you happen to need to click on several tiles that are on the right edge of the Start Screen, you will have to do a lot of rightwards scrolling each and every time you activate the Start Screen.
Android doesn't have this interface problem because of its paginated home screens. In Android, if you activate a program icon that was located on home screen 2, when you click the Home button (from the program), the operating system will first return you to home screen 2 (the home screen that the last executed app was on). Only when you click the Home button a second time will the system return you to home screen 3 (the centre home screen). Android remembers the Y-axis position.
Because Windows 8 does not have the concept of paginated or sectioned groups in its Start Screen, it always opens the Start Screen on its left edge. There will be a lot of rightwards scrolling in Windows 8.
Missing "Start" Button
In my opinion, the biggest problem with Windows 8 is the deliberate omission of the Start button in the Legacy Desktop. Users who are familiar with the Windows 7 way of doing things will suddenly find themselves lost, and have to re-learn all over again new Metro methods to accomplish the same tasks.
This is extremely disruptive, unproductive, and annoying. People who are upgrading from Windows 7 and earlier to Windows 8 should not be forced to re-learn things which really doesn't offer any new benefits. What's the harm of retaining the Start button function? If a user prefers to do things the old (and familiar) way via the Start button menu, why should Microsoft refuse to allow the user to do so? Dropping the Start button is extreme arrogance on Microsoft's part, to force users to conform to Microsoft's way of doing things.
I liken this to Microsoft making drivers who are familiar with driving on the left side of the road to force them to now drive on the right side of the road. Sure, it can be done. But why force this on users?
If a user is going to adopt Windows Phone, or the new Xbox console, they will definitely learn how to do things the Metro way. There is no harm in leaving the Start button functionality, which is actually superior in many ways against the Start Screen interface.
Dropping the Start button simply makes the user unfamiliar and unproductive. This is a big detraction. It does not benefit end users. No one had asked for it to be taken away, so why remove it? As I said previously, this is extreme arrogance on Microsoft's part ("it is my way or the high way...").
This is extremely disruptive, unproductive, and annoying. People who are upgrading from Windows 7 and earlier to Windows 8 should not be forced to re-learn things which really doesn't offer any new benefits. What's the harm of retaining the Start button function? If a user prefers to do things the old (and familiar) way via the Start button menu, why should Microsoft refuse to allow the user to do so? Dropping the Start button is extreme arrogance on Microsoft's part, to force users to conform to Microsoft's way of doing things.
I liken this to Microsoft making drivers who are familiar with driving on the left side of the road to force them to now drive on the right side of the road. Sure, it can be done. But why force this on users?
If a user is going to adopt Windows Phone, or the new Xbox console, they will definitely learn how to do things the Metro way. There is no harm in leaving the Start button functionality, which is actually superior in many ways against the Start Screen interface.
Dropping the Start button simply makes the user unfamiliar and unproductive. This is a big detraction. It does not benefit end users. No one had asked for it to be taken away, so why remove it? As I said previously, this is extreme arrogance on Microsoft's part ("it is my way or the high way...").
Luckily, there are several 3rd party utilities that reinstate the missing Start button functionality. If you are using Windows 8 on a conventional PC (i.e. using mouse and keyboard and with a screen without touch capabilities), you must download and install one of these 3rd party Start button replacements. It will restore your sanity. The one that I use is called Pokki (free download from www.pokki.com). Without Pokki, using Windows 8 on a conventional PC/notebook was a dreadful and infuriating experience.
The Windows Store Walled Garden
With Windows 8, Microsoft has introduced a new Windows Store that follows the same authoritarian controls as the Apple App Store. Software developers who write Metro programs can only distribute the Metro apps via the Windows Store. Metro programs cannot be sideloaded (unless you "jailbreak" the Windows 8 operating system). And like the Apple App Store, Microsoft will decide whether an app can be sold through the Windows Store. Microsoft is therefore at liberty to reject programs that compete against Microsoft's own offerings, or censor programs for ideological reasons.
I have never liked these walled-garden controls. If you are writing a touch-enabled Metro application for your own personal use, you can no longer distribute it to friends or acquaintances as Metro programs cannot be sideloaded (unlike in Android). Most programmers are hobbyist programmers. Forcing them to pay US$99 a year so that their Metro apps can be distributed through the Windows Store is really mercenary on Microsoft's part.
The Windows Store walled garden will discourage hobbyist programmers from developing touch-enabled Metro programs. Which is such a shame as I really like Visual Basic, and I consider Visual Basic as one of the most productive programming language in the market. Hobbyist programmers will have to switch to Android development to escape the walled-garden approach that Microsoft is fabricating for its Metro apps.
I have never liked these walled-garden controls. If you are writing a touch-enabled Metro application for your own personal use, you can no longer distribute it to friends or acquaintances as Metro programs cannot be sideloaded (unlike in Android). Most programmers are hobbyist programmers. Forcing them to pay US$99 a year so that their Metro apps can be distributed through the Windows Store is really mercenary on Microsoft's part.
The Windows Store walled garden will discourage hobbyist programmers from developing touch-enabled Metro programs. Which is such a shame as I really like Visual Basic, and I consider Visual Basic as one of the most productive programming language in the market. Hobbyist programmers will have to switch to Android development to escape the walled-garden approach that Microsoft is fabricating for its Metro apps.
Should You Upgrade?
As the world buys more tablets and smartphones and less PCs, Microsoft's market share in computers have dwindled from their high 95% share before 2007. If you consider just traditional desktop and notebook computers, Windows (all versions) currently take up about 85% share. But if smartphones and tablets are included in your count of such computing devices, Windows share could be less than 10%.
Windows 8 is Microsoft's attempt to make itself dominant again in these new smartphones and tablets market. Hence, the emphasis throughout on the touch experience. However, instead of making Windows 8 both exciting and rewarding to use on both the old non-touch systems as well as the new touch systems, Microsoft has made it great for new touch systems, and bad for old non-touch systems.
If you are not using a touch screen, there is very little benefit to derive from upgrading from Windows 7 to Windows 8. I will strongly recommend you stick with Windows 7 on your existing computers.
However, because Microsoft is pricing the Windows 8 upgrade very cheaply, if you are using older systems like Windows 95, 98, or XP, this is a good time to pay just US$40 to get the Windows 8 Pro upgrade. If you are already running Windows 7, the Windows 8 Pro upgrade is only US$15. These upgrade prices are comparable to what Apple charges. Microsoft has never sold their Windows upgrades this cheaply (for example, Microsoft priced the Windows 7 Pro upgrade at US$200 when Windows 7 was launched).
Whether you run Windows 7 or Windows 8, you will still be running Windows, so Microsoft will still benefit regardless of your decision. Microsoft will only lose if you depart from the Windows eco-system and move to Apple or Linux (unfortunately, Google doesn't have a credible desktop operating system replacement for Windows). And that is not likely today, nor the near future.
Whether you run Windows 7 or Windows 8, you will still be running Windows, so Microsoft will still benefit regardless of your decision. Microsoft will only lose if you depart from the Windows eco-system and move to Apple or Linux (unfortunately, Google doesn't have a credible desktop operating system replacement for Windows). And that is not likely today, nor the near future.
