Windows 8 Rocks

I got it earlier this week, and completely understand all of the fuss.  The Metro start screen is horrid (as you all know, I'm sure) for a desktop environment.  However, it's FAST.  My boots, restarts, and loading of apps is greatly improved over 7 (I've heard others notice no difference, which I don't understand because my speed improvements are HUGELY noticable). 

Anyways, in my title I said Windows 8 Rocks, and here's why.  Classic Shell/Start8.  These are 3rd party apps (free or $5 for Start8) and these apps add a very customizable start menu, and allow you to skip the metro UI entirely (though you can of course still access it if wanted).  These apps, for me, make Windows 8 into a much quicker, leaner, Windows 7.

It's probably not worth the money over Win 7 if you already have that, but if you are on xp/vista and thinking about the upgrade, I'd suggest to you that you try Windows 8 with these third party apps, which alleviate any problems caused by a "tablet" os on a desktop.

Don't hate!  I'm just sharing my experience for others that may be concerned about the negative hype of Windows 8, as I have found Windows 8 to be spectacular.

Side note:  I changed some hardware after Windows 8 install, and messed everything up.  So I had to do another fresh install, and because of Windows 8 syncing features, the reinstallation plus installation of common programs (web browser, addons, etc) took less that 2 hours!!!  Amazing!

I like it too on my laptop. My Lenovo U310 with its SSD boots into Win 8 in about 8 seconds. It doesn't hang at the BIOS, just shows a huge LENOVO logo and then immediately starts Windows. I also like the Metro apps: Mail, Chrome (has Windows 8 mode), Evernote, Bing Weather. It's immersive and fun to use.

Oh how did I forget. If you have a laptop with a nice trackpad (the U310 has a really nice one), then you'll see how fun the trackpad gestures are (scroll, pinch to zoom, slide from right to left to reveal the Charm Bar, slide down from above the trackpad to make Chrome go fullscreen (or IE show tabs). And the most important, slide from left of the trackpad right to switch apps. I like it.

I am not sure about it but I think fonts are a bit improved, compared to Ubuntu and OS X. Also as you said it's snappier overall and not just during boot time, an I like the new Windows Explorer.

No.

It also has poor compatibility with games, which completely renders it a no-buy shovelware.

No.

It also has poor compatibility with games, which completely renders it a no-buy shovelware.

Cyberdot

¡Oh no! ¡Look at this terrible compatibility!

No.

It also has poor compatibility with games, which completely renders it a no-buy shovelware.

Cyberdot

 Not sure if troll or ignorant... It has almost identical compatibility with games as Windows 7... Windows 8 is basically Windows 7 with a few UI/speed improvements and Metro.

[QUOTE="Cyberdot"]

No.

It also has poor compatibility with games, which completely renders it a no-buy shovelware.

The_Stand_In

 Not sure if troll or ignorant... It has almost identical compatibility with games as Windows 7... Windows 8 is basically Windows 7 with a few UI/speed improvements and Metro.

[QUOTE="The_Stand_In"]

[QUOTE="Cyberdot"]

No.

It also has poor compatibility with games, which completely renders it a no-buy shovelware.

masterdrat

 Not sure if troll or ignorant... It has almost identical compatibility with games as Windows 7... Windows 8 is basically Windows 7 with a few UI/speed improvements and Metro.

Except that I'm running every single game I had on Windows 7 on Windows 8 without issues. So how exactly was it a lie?

[QUOTE="masterdrat"][QUOTE="The_Stand_In"]

 Not sure if troll or ignorant... It has almost identical compatibility with games as Windows 7... Windows 8 is basically Windows 7 with a few UI/speed improvements and Metro.

The_Stand_In

Except that I'm running every single game I had on Windows 7 on Windows 8 without issues. So how exactly was it a lie?

I just bought my wife a new laptop and unfortunately it has Windows 8.  Now that I have actually experienced the OS first hand I can say, without a doubt, it is crap.  I won't touch the laptop.  It's the worst OS I've used in a LONG time.  Hell, Vista was better.

Maybe Windows 8 is okay for a touch-screen but on anything else, it's a bad joke.  

I just bought my wife a new laptop and unfortunately it has Windows 8.  Now that I have actually experienced the OS first hand I can say, without a doubt, it is crap.  I won't touch the laptop.  It's the worst OS I've used in a LONG time.  Hell, Vista was better.

Maybe Windows 8 is okay for a touch-screen but on anything else, it's a bad joke.  

-wildflower-

Simply buy Windows 7, format the hard drive to get rid of the garbage and install Windows 7.

It's easy.

Ive always upgrade my windows every 2 years..So far its worked out..No problems with windows 7 at all doesnt warrent a upgrade to me..Only thing i wish windows seven had was the ability to swap microphone to speakers..Other than that if windows 8 has that ill swap over an maybe..

I just bought my wife a new laptop and unfortunately it has Windows 8.  Now that I have actually experienced the OS first hand I can say, without a doubt, it is crap.  I won't touch the laptop.  It's the worst OS I've used in a LONG time.  Hell, Vista was better.

Maybe Windows 8 is okay for a touch-screen but on anything else, it's a bad joke.  -wildflower-

I just put it back on my desktop. It sure starts up and shutsdown much quicker.

You need start8 though.

At release it was pretty crap.

I like the new file transfer windows, puts them all in one window like gnome now.

I hate the UAC though, it can't be turned off completely. It's a nightmare at times.

Start8 has thankfully been patched so many times. I used it at release and it had a lot of bugs. It's on 1.12 now and there are 0 bugs I've noticed.

[QUOTE="-wildflower-"]I just bought my wife a new laptop and unfortunately it has Windows 8.  Now that I have actually experienced the OS first hand I can say, without a doubt, it is crap.  I won't touch the laptop.  It's the worst OS I've used in a LONG time.  Hell, Vista was better.

Maybe Windows 8 is okay for a touch-screen but on anything else, it's a bad joke.  Inconsistancy

Yes, that's it, I'm too stupid.  :roll:

How about this: Windows 8 a needlessly redesigned piece of crap and I'd rather not waste 15 seconds relearning what I already knew.  It's also not compatible with some of my wife's work programs but, then,  I guess we're just too stupid to rewrite the code to get that working, too.  

I tried it a few weeks ago and absolutely hated it. Start up times were no better than what I got with 7, game performance did not increase, and to top it off you have to deal with the annoying Metro interface. You shouldn't need to jump through so many hoops to get to stop being so intrusive. There isn't a single reason why I should switch from 7.

Bought a new laptop the other day, so of course it had Windows 8 on it. Immediately bought Start8, works pretty well now. 

I have no idea why Microsoft seems to think that laptops should have touch-based interfaces. This isn't a tablet, we have a keyboard and a mouse - touch just seems so unintuitive. 

I used Windows8 when I was helping a friend buy a laptop and setting it up for him. I'm not really sure why it got all the hate is has, it was honestly a FANTASTIC experience, I really liked the way the Metro UI worked, the Shortcuts, and the App like interface. And it really wasn't that hard to switch to the regular desktop if you would prefer it.

Meh, I'll stick with Windows 7 for the next 10 years or so.

Got a new laptop about 3(or so) months ago with Windows 8 on it and I gotta say I like it a lot. I don't even use Start8, I don't think it's necessary. After a day or two I got used to the metro start sceen and actually ended up liking it. I looks pretty nice and I don't think it's hard to use at all without a touch screen. Though I'll be honest I almost never see the start screen. The moment my laptop starts up I just press that desktop view tile and remain in desktop view until I shut the pc down. It's pretty much the exact same thing as Windows 7.

I also love how fast this thing is. I have 2 5400rmp HDDs and a 32GB msata SSD and everything opens fast and fluid. The start up only takes about 10 seconds or so which is just awesome. I'm not exactly sure how big of an impact that msata ssd has but yeah, this thing runs fast. Though I do want to upgrade to a proper SSD and a 7200rpm HDD at some point. I'd love to see how fast this thing can start up with a real SSD(not saying that the start up is the reason I want an SSD, but it is interesting to know).

As for games well I don't really game much on pc anymore but all the games that I did play here ran perfectly, no issues at all. The oldest game that I've played here so far is Call of Duty 1, the most recent one would be Planetside 2. Didn't have any problems with either. I just pop in the disk or start up Steam and play the game.

I can understand why so many people dislike Windows 8 and I will admit I used to be unsure about it myself but yeah after actually using it I think it's great. And I think most people just hate on it because they're afraid of change and/or because they haven't (properly) tried it yet(well just my opinion anyway).
If you have used it and the start screen really does bother you that much then just get Start8, it's only like 5 bucks or something which I don't think should cause any drama. It will pretty much turn Windows 8 into Windows 7 so no need to install a new OS(unless you really want to then go for it I guess).

But yeah, as the OP said, if you have Windows 7 then it's not really worth the upgrade.
If you have an older version of Windows and are planning to upgrade then I recommend Windows 8 or that you at least try it out. And I don't mean try it out for 5 minutes then judge it, that won't be enough. I mean try it out for a few days, maybe a week, try to get to know it a little better and get used to it a little. If you still end up hating it then yeah, either go with Start8 or Windows 7 I guess.

I'll probably wait until Microsoft rolls out Blue to further iron the system out. If not there's always 9 or whatever.

I decided to go with Windows 7 when I built my PC a few weeks back. I will be skipping 8.AmazonTreeBoa

I'm really happy with Windows 7, so i don't really see any reasons why is should upgrade to windows 8 at this point. If it works, don't fix it etc..I never use apps either.

The only game that didn't work on my WIN8 laptop was Crysis3. Otherwise, great OS. The only thing that pisses me off about WIN8 is that i have to enter password every time i restart :/Nighteg

win + r

control userpasswords2 uncheck "users have to enter password"

I just put it back on my desktop. It sure starts up and shutsdown much quicker.

You need start8 though.

At release it was pretty crap.

I like the new file transfer windows, puts them all in one window like gnome now.

I hate the UAC though, it can't be turned off completely. It's a nightmare at times.

Start8 has thankfully been patched so many times. I used it at release and it had a lot of bugs. It's on 1.12 now and there are 0 bugs I've noticed.

JigglyWiggly_

Isn't start8 buggy and a service rather than part of the UI. I've been hearing that Start is Back is better.trastamad03

Isn't start8 buggy and a service rather than part of the UI. I've been hearing that Start is Back is better.trastamad03

[QUOTE="AmazonTreeBoa"]I decided to go with Windows 7 when I built my PC a few weeks back. I will be skipping 8.FelipeInside

[QUOTE="FelipeInside"][QUOTE="AmazonTreeBoa"]I decided to go with Windows 7 when I built my PC a few weeks back. I will be skipping 8.AmazonTreeBoa

[QUOTE="AmazonTreeBoa"][QUOTE="FelipeInside"] Reason? Cause I built a PC a few weeks back too.demi0227_basic

If you use Start 8, do you get Windows Aero? Last time I checked out, there was no way to bring back Aero in Windows 8. The Metro UI is surely a crappy mess. But the absence of Aero in Windows 8 is a real deal breaker for me, because I'm used to it and I do prefer some amount of eye candy in my OS.

I'm sure it's fine.....but you said it all when you said it is not worth getting if you are already using Windows 7. If I get a new PC I have no issue getting Windows 8....if it comes with it. If not I will stick to my copy of 7.

I loved Windows 8 at first too, those speeds being the main factor, but also the improved tools built into the OS. I also got and loved Star8, I'd consider Windows 8 pretty much unusable for me without it. The Metro UI may be great for touch-screens but I've used it maybe for a grand total of an hour in the past 6 months.

But now that I'm working from home I've noticed alot of my programs just aren't running like they should (google sketchup, autocad, publisher, illustrator, ect) I've also seen some bizarre performance drops in certain games and some that just won't work with 8 at all. So now I'm going to have to switch back to Windows 7.

IMO the best thing Microsoft could've done is realsed Windows 8 as it is for touch-screen devices (maybe call it Windows 7 Touch) and release the improved tools and desktop-related items as a service pack for 7. 

[QUOTE="FelipeInside"][QUOTE="AmazonTreeBoa"]I decided to go with Windows 7 when I built my PC a few weeks back. I will be skipping 8.AmazonTreeBoa

I loved Windows 8 at first too, those speeds being the main factor, but also the improved tools built into the OS. I also got and loved Star8, I'd consider Windows 8 pretty much unusable for me without it. The Metro UI may be great for touch-screens but I've used it maybe for a grand total of an hour in the past 6 months.

But now that I'm working from home I've noticed alot of my programs just aren't running like they should (google sketchup, autocad, publisher, illustrator, ect) I've also seen some bizarre performance drops in certain games and some that just won't work with 8 at all. So now I'm going to have to switch back to Windows 7.

IMO the best thing Microsoft could've done is realsed Windows 8 as it is for touch-screen devices (maybe call it Windows 7 Touch) and release the improved tools and desktop-related items as a service pack for 7. 

GeneralMufinMan

[QUOTE="demi0227_basic"][QUOTE="AmazonTreeBoa"]Because everything I have read about 8 sucks. Plus I don't like it's look and lack of a start button. At the same time. Everything I have heard about 7 has been good news.funkyzoom

If you use Start 8, do you get Windows Aero? Last time I checked out, there was no way to bring back Aero in Windows 8. The Metro UI is surely a crappy mess. But the absence of Aero in Windows 8 is a real deal breaker for me, because I'm used to it and I do prefer some amount of eye candy in my OS.

[QUOTE="funkyzoom"]

[QUOTE="demi0227_basic"] Sorry to hear that. You could have installed Win 8 and had it acting like a faster Win 7 in a shorter time than it took you to install Win 7. To each their own. 7 is of course a great OS. 8's better with just a few minutes of tweaking, but there is certainly nothing wrong with 7.FelipeInside

If you use Start 8, do you get Windows Aero? Last time I checked out, there was no way to bring back Aero in Windows 8. The Metro UI is surely a crappy mess. But the absence of Aero in Windows 8 is a real deal breaker for me, because I'm used to it and I do prefer some amount of eye candy in my OS.

[QUOTE="funkyzoom"]

[QUOTE="demi0227_basic"] Sorry to hear that. You could have installed Win 8 and had it acting like a faster Win 7 in a shorter time than it took you to install Win 7. To each their own. 7 is of course a great OS. 8's better with just a few minutes of tweaking, but there is certainly nothing wrong with 7.FelipeInside

If you use Start 8, do you get Windows Aero? Last time I checked out, there was no way to bring back Aero in Windows 8. The Metro UI is surely a crappy mess. But the absence of Aero in Windows 8 is a real deal breaker for me, because I'm used to it and I do prefer some amount of eye candy in my OS.

@FelipeInside

Buddy, I have observed that you ALWAYS speak highly in favor of Windows 8 whenever there is a debate, even when the odds are heavily against you. I hope you know that Steam, which is hugely popular and is required for most modern games, doesn't officially support Windows 8. I agree it does run on Windows 8, but the official Steam page says 'Windows XP, Vista, or 7'. I understand that you absolutely adore Windows 8, but when you think practically, I'm sure you'll agree that Windows 8 has far more disadvantages compared to advantages. The worst thing is the horrid Metro UI, which is a sloppy mess on non touchscreen systems. Then, there is no start menu. Agreed, you can buy Start8 and restore it, but who would be willing to pay for third party software just to make a full priced OS user friendly? Next up, the lack of codecs for playing DVDs and Blu Ray using Windows Media Player. Again you need to purchase these codecs. Then of course, the removal of Aero. I can go on and on, but I'd better stop here. Now, I'm not one of those guys who tried Windows 8 at a store for 5 minutes, like you mentioned somewhere. I foolishly purchased Windows 8 with my hard earned money, because I never imagined Microsoft would be foolish enough to release a touch based OS for a desktop. I used it on my PC for more than a month. I tried really hard to like it, because I always had a lot of faith in Microsoft products. But it just didn't work out. Even simple tasks seemed tedious with this OS. I was so frustrated that I went back to Windows 7 and vowed never to use Windows 8 again. Just see, almost everyone who praise Windows 8 only mention its speed improvement. I too experienced a massive boost in boot times with Windows 8. But when its having so many glaring flaws, people would rather stick with a slightly slower Windows 7. Besides, most people don't shut down their systems often (because they prefer to keep their PC in sleep mode), so the issue of boot time doesn't even arise.

[QUOTE="FelipeInside"][QUOTE="funkyzoom"]

If you use Start 8, do you get Windows Aero? Last time I checked out, there was no way to bring back Aero in Windows 8. The Metro UI is surely a crappy mess. But the absence of Aero in Windows 8 is a real deal breaker for me, because I'm used to it and I do prefer some amount of eye candy in my OS.

funkyzoom

@FelipeInside

Buddy, I have observed that you ALWAYS speak highly in favor of Windows 8 whenever there is a debate, even when the odds are heavily against you. I hope you know that Steam, which is hugely popular and is required for most modern games, doesn't officially support Windows 8. I agree it does run on Windows 8, but the official Steam page says 'Windows XP, Vista, or 7'. I understand that you absolutely adore Windows 8, but when you think practically, I'm sure you'll agree that Windows 8 has far more disadvantages compared to advantages. The worst thing is the horrid Metro UI, which is a sloppy mess on non touchscreen systems. Then, there is no start menu. Agreed, you can buy Start8 and restore it, but who would be willing to pay for third party software just to make a full priced OS user friendly? Next up, the lack of codecs for playing DVDs and Blu Ray using Windows Media Player. Again you need to purchase these codecs. Then of course, the removal of Aero. I can go on and on, but I'd better stop here. Now, I'm not one of those guys who tried Windows 8 at a store for 5 minutes, like you mentioned somewhere. I foolishly purchased Windows 8 with my hard earned money, because I never imagined Microsoft would be foolish enough to release a touch based OS for a desktop. I used it on my PC for more than a month. I tried really hard to like it, because I always had a lot of faith in Microsoft products. But it just didn't work out. Even simple tasks seemed tedious with this OS. I was so frustrated that I went back to Windows 7 and vowed never to use Windows 8 again. Just see, almost everyone who praise Windows 8 only mention its speed improvement. I too experienced a massive boost in boot times with Windows 8. But when its having so many glaring flaws, people would rather stick with a slightly slower Windows 7. Besides, most people don't shut down their systems often (because they prefer to keep their PC in sleep mode), so the issue of boot time doesn't even arise.

[QUOTE="FelipeInside"][QUOTE="funkyzoom"]

If you use Start 8, do you get Windows Aero? Last time I checked out, there was no way to bring back Aero in Windows 8. The Metro UI is surely a crappy mess. But the absence of Aero in Windows 8 is a real deal breaker for me, because I'm used to it and I do prefer some amount of eye candy in my OS.

funkyzoom

@FelipeInside

Buddy, I have observed that you ALWAYS speak highly in favor of Windows 8 whenever there is a debate, even when the odds are heavily against you. I hope you know that Steam, which is hugely popular and is required for most modern games, doesn't officially support Windows 8. I agree it does run on Windows 8, but the official Steam page says 'Windows XP, Vista, or 7'. I understand that you absolutely adore Windows 8, but when you think practically, I'm sure you'll agree that Windows 8 has far more disadvantages compared to advantages. The worst thing is the horrid Metro UI, which is a sloppy mess on non touchscreen systems. Then, there is no start menu. Agreed, you can buy Start8 and restore it, but who would be willing to pay for third party software just to make a full priced OS user friendly? Next up, the lack of codecs for playing DVDs and Blu Ray using Windows Media Player. Again you need to purchase these codecs. Then of course, the removal of Aero. I can go on and on, but I'd better stop here. Now, I'm not one of those guys who tried Windows 8 at a store for 5 minutes, like you mentioned somewhere. I foolishly purchased Windows 8 with my hard earned money, because I never imagined Microsoft would be foolish enough to release a touch based OS for a desktop. I used it on my PC for more than a month. I tried really hard to like it, because I always had a lot of faith in Microsoft products. But it just didn't work out. Even simple tasks seemed tedious with this OS. I was so frustrated that I went back to Windows 7 and vowed never to use Windows 8 again. Just see, almost everyone who praise Windows 8 only mention its speed improvement. I too experienced a massive boost in boot times with Windows 8. But when its having so many glaring flaws, people would rather stick with a slightly slower Windows 7. Besides, most people don't shut down their systems often (because they prefer to keep their PC in sleep mode), so the issue of boot time doesn't even arise.

[QUOTE="GeneralMufinMan"]

I loved Windows 8 at first too, those speeds being the main factor, but also the improved tools built into the OS. I also got and loved Star8, I'd consider Windows 8 pretty much unusable for me without it. The Metro UI may be great for touch-screens but I've used it maybe for a grand total of an hour in the past 6 months.

But now that I'm working from home I've noticed alot of my programs just aren't running like they should (google sketchup, autocad, publisher, illustrator, ect) I've also seen some bizarre performance drops in certain games and some that just won't work with 8 at all. So now I'm going to have to switch back to Windows 7.

IMO the best thing Microsoft could've done is realsed Windows 8 as it is for touch-screen devices (maybe call it Windows 7 Touch) and release the improved tools and desktop-related items as a service pack for 7. 

FelipeInside