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PCGamesN: "Why I'm uninstalling Windows 8"

cgcg said:
They still use up RAM. Some of the built-in ones are using close to 100MB running in the background. No thanks. So there really is no way to resize app window?
Click to expand...

Metro apps don't run in the background. They're designed to save state, suspend, and then be transparently paged-out or auto-killed when the system needs the memory.

Open as many Metro apps as you want, it is extremely difficult for them to impact system performance.

http://blogs.msdn.com/b/b8/archive/2012/02/07/improving-power-efficiency-for-applications.aspx

http://blogs.msdn.com/b/b8/archive/2012/04/17/reclaiming-memory-from-metro-style-apps.aspx
 
Osiris said:
I really wish it did, don't know if it's a bug or a side effect of my arrangement but it never seemed to "catch" for me, at any corner, note I'm running triple screen with the centre being a widescreen 23" and two 19" Dell 1907FP's in portrait mode at either side, so not an entirely common arrangement. - Could this be due to the fact that due to this arrangement there are no "common corners", just edges?
Click to expand...

Are you running the RTM build? The feature was added pretty late in development.
 
Damon Bennet said:
yeah no. shortcuts in windows 8 work like a charm. mouse and keyboard work better than ever before
Click to expand...

image.php


he is right
 
Conan-san said:
I'll never get why they won't allow navigation via arrow keys in metro so yeah.
Click to expand...

Because that would be even more cumbersome. Navigating Metro is fine, not perfect but fine. There are other enhancements though that make 8 more fluid to navigate. So such statement like "they forgot mouse and keyboard" or "W8 is purely for tablets" are imho wrong.
 
derFeef said:
Because that would be even more cumbersome. Navigating Metro is fine, not perfect but fine. There are other enhancements though that make 8 more fluid to navigate. So such statement like "they forgot mouse and keyboard" or "W8 is purely for tablets" are imho wrong.
Click to expand...
Are those enhancements aviable out of the box or do they have to be installed from outside sources?
 
aaaaa0 said:
Metro apps don't run in the background. They're designed to save state, suspend, and then be transparently paged-out or auto-killed when the system needs the memory.

Open as many Metro apps as you want, it is extremely difficult for them to impact system performance.

http://blogs.msdn.com/b/b8/archive/2012/02/07/improving-power-efficiency-for-applications.aspx

http://blogs.msdn.com/b/b8/archive/2012/04/17/reclaiming-memory-from-metro-style-apps.aspx
Click to expand...

So, they manage multi-tasking like iOS and Android? Yeah, not a tablet OS at all.
 
mescalineeyes said:
It's not dated because it's old, it's dated because it was made with the style-sensibilities that have been cool back then, which are simply not that great anymore.
Click to expand...

You honestly think Apples UIs are fresher and cooler despite being used on so many devices without any major changes for last five years or more? Some parts there look like they were designed by my grandmother. I'll give you the lack of consistency in the case of W8 but apart from that it's far less tacky and boring imo because Metro/Modern hasn't been really prevalent.
 
So I take it that the defense of 8 is "It's great if you don't use its GUI." It's also a 7 service pack, if you disregard Metro.

Would anyone care to give some examples of these enhancements that everyone else seems to miss?
 
Zizbuka said:
So, they manage multi-tasking like iOS and Android? Yeah, not a tablet OS at all.
Click to expand...

The point of metro apps is that they work like iOS and Android apps.

Desktop apps, on the other hand, execute unchanged from Win7. They still get background multitasking, still get full access to the system.

Win8 has the ability to support both kind of apps. That's the entire point.

There's no good reason to have two different OSes, when you should be able to design one kernel and OS that can run both. Windows 8 will run your normal apps faster and better than Win7 did, while at the same time running new Metro apps on the side.

The new kernel can run on phone level hardware just as well as a phone OS, but at the same time run on the biggest fire breathing PCs and still do it better and faster than Windows 7.
 
xenist said:
It's also a 7 service pack, if you disregard Metro.
Click to expand...

I don't know, people said exactly the same about W7 before and during release (eg http://www.pcworld.com/article/153624/under_the_hood_windows_7_is_vistas_twin.html). They seem to have done quite a lot of work under the hood and it shows in benchmarks like http://www.gizmodo.com.au/2012/08/lets-see-how-windows-8-performs-against-windows-7/ and daily use. W7 is great, W8 is faster (yeah, not everywhere, I've seen the games benches but that can still change with newer drivers) and the small improvements to the desktop (filecopy dialog, task manager, up arrow in explorer) make a difference in day to day use.
 
derExperte said:
You honestly think Apples UIs are fresher and cooler despite being used on so many devices without any major changes for last five years or more? Some parts there look like they were designed by my grandmother. I'll give you the lack of consistency in the case of W8 but apart from that it's far less tacky and boring imo because Metro/Modern hasn't been really prevalent.
Click to expand...

Apple designs are at times extremely tacky and very boring, but they exude a certain air of timelessness, which is why they can still get away with using them.

I find it very hard to find the proper words for what I am trying to say here.
 
xenist said:
So I take it that the defense of 8 is "It's great if you don't use its GUI." It's also a 7 service pack, if you disregard Metro.

Would anyone care to give some examples of these enhancements that everyone else seems to miss?
Click to expand...
Windows 7 was a Vista service pack, that didn't stop people proclaiming it as the best OS ever.
 
For those who close down to Sleep, if you want to bypass Metro and boot to the desktop every time all you have to do is set the PC to Sleep mode via the charms bar from the desktop screen.

From desktop go Win+C » Settings » Power » Sleep

When you log back into Windows you will encounter the Lock Screen, once logged on with credentials Windows desktop opens. A bit convoluted but this guarantees you will never have to see the Start Menu screen.

Populate all your games, apps, folders as usual on desktop and taskbar and it's business as usual.
 
Horse Armour said:
Windows 7 was a Vista service pack, that didn't stop people proclaiming it as the best OS ever.
Click to expand...

There is a lot of problems with win7 (bad start menu, horrible default taskbar, breadcrumbs on all the explorer windows, removal of quickstart, networking in general, etc) but it was next gen windows... And they fixed a lot of problems and added some incredible features (window dragging to top/side, double clicking program bar to explode to FS and made UAC less) and the main draw was how lightweight it was as people were putting it on net books and making them at least somewhat capable

Windows 7 isn't perfect (in fact it still has a lot of bad UI/UX design that vista had) but a lot of what they did was a step in the right direction (outside of the the majority of taskbar changes)

I don't think a mere "service pack" could save windows 8 considering how much they have destroyed.
 
I really don't understand the hate Win 8 gets, especially from gamers. The desktop and everything else we use to play games is better than Windows 7 in every way. The new Start Screen is totally optional and isn't the core part of windows 8 at all. My "Metro" start screen is currently just a glorified boot up menu until I find more use in it other than the search function.
 
Moaradin said:
I really don't understand the hate Win 8 gets, especially from gamers. The desktop and everything else we use to play games is better than Windows 7 in every way. The new Start Screen is totally optional and isn't the core part of windows 8 at all.
Click to expand...

It's totally optional eh?

I don't see the "optional" part when I need the start menu
 
mescalineeyes said:
uh, the start screen is actually super-mandatory ;)
Click to expand...

How? Everything in windows 7 is pretty much accessible through the normal desktop, not the Start Screen (though you can put stuff there if you want. Again, totally optional). The only feature I use regularly is the search function, which is much better than the search function in windows 7.
 
DopeyFish said:
There is a lot of problems with win7 (bad start menu, horrible default taskbar, breadcrumbs on all the explorer windows, removal of quickstart, networking in general, etc) but it was next gen windows... And they fixed a lot of problems and added some incredible features (window dragging to top/side, double clicking program bar to explode to FS and made UAC less) and the main draw was how lightweight it was as people were putting it on net books and making them at least somewhat capable

Windows 7 isn't perfect (in fact it still has a lot of bad UI/UX design that vista had) but a lot of what they did was a step in the right direction (outside of the the majority of taskbar changes)

I don't think a mere "service pack" could save windows 8 considering how much they have destroyed.
Click to expand...

There is a lot of problems with win8 (bad start menu, horrible default taskbar, breadcrumbs on all the explorer windows, removal of quickstart, networking in general, etc) but it was next gen windows... And they fixed a lot of problems and added some incredible features (improved file management (copy/paste), fantastic new task manager, ridiculously fast boot time, new security improvements) and the main draw was how even more lightweight it was as people were putting it on net books and making them actually capable.

Windows 8 isn't perfect (in fact it still has a lot of bad UI/UX design that vista/7 had) but a lot of what they did was a step in the right direction (outside of the the majority of taskbar/start menu changes).


Maybe I should repost this when Windows 9 comes out.
 
This is what I really like about Win7 start menu:

0cAR4.png


I'm talking about the "Recent" and "Tasks" sidebar. It groups all my common programs and then groups all my recent tasks or files within that program. No switching windows. I can load up Portal 2 or Battlefield 3 or open a remote desktop to my work PC in no less then two clicks, without changing screens, and best of all it does it without having to do any setup. I don't need to pin my latest programs, Win7 knows what I use daily and puts those at the top.
 
This thing is not going to go well in the hands of the average consumer. I mean we here are a techie bunch and can go about customizing it to make it better (shouldn't it already be better?), but I fear what will happen the general population. Especially people 40+, that are very stuck in their ways.
 
Oni Jazar said:
This is what I really like about Win7 start menu:

0cAR4.png


I'm talking about the "Recent" and "Tasks" sidebar. It groups all my common programs and then groups all my recent tasks or files within that program. No switching windows. I can load up Portal 2 or Battlefield 3 or open a remote desktop to my work PC in no less then two clicks, without changing screens, and best of all it does it without having to do any setup. I don't need to pin my latest programs, Win7 knows what I use daily and puts those at the top.
Click to expand...
Same here, it's perfect for programs you don't use often enough to pin to the taskbar and clutter it up, but often enough that having them one click away and without taking up the whole screen is great.
 
Moaradin said:
The new Start Screen is totally optional and isn't the core part of windows 8 at all.
Click to expand...

Why do win8 defenders always post crap like this?

NEWS FLASH! The start menu has always been one of the main parts of the UI (we even have a damn key for it!), you can not replace it then say that its replacement is "totally optional"!

It would only be optional if we STILL HAD THE DAMN START MENU!
 
So pretty much ATM.

If you can get it free from technet or w/e get it. If you don't, no real reason outside of some little things until there are apps that sell you on the 'metro desktop thang'.

Or fuck $40 is pretty painless. Meh. I still find win 8 reviews right now to kinda be missing the point.
 
TheD said:
Why do win8 defenders always post crap like this?

NEWS FLASH! The start menu has always been one of the main parts of the UI (we even have a damn key for it!), you can not replace it then say that its replacement is "totally optional"!

It would only be optional if we STILL HAD THE DAMN START MENU!
Click to expand...

its optional because you don't have to use the extras, the new start menu (metro screen) is functionally the same as the start menu in previous iterations of windows, but if the apps, store and other new things annoy you you can remove them.

you do have the start menu it just looks different :)
 
hodgy100 said:
its optional because you don't have to use the extras, the new start menu (metro screen) is functionally the same as the start menu in previous iterations of windows, but if the apps, store and other new things annoy you you can remove them.

you do have the start menu it just looks different :)
Click to expand...
It wastes an entire screen's worth of pixels whenever you use it. It's a regression.
 
So what would be the appeal of W8 for a PC gamer? Why would I upgrade?, because at the moment I am seeing very little reason to part with my money for a new OS.
 
Conan-san said:
I'll never get why they won't allow navigation via arrow keys in metro so yeah.
Click to expand...

I'm a bit confused by this. I just navigated the start screen with arrow keys no problem, and opened up the photos app to see if I could navigate that with the keyboard too, and I could.

The Shift said:
For those who close down to Sleep, if you want to bypass Metro and boot to the desktop every time all you have to do is set the PC to Sleep mode via the charms bar from the desktop screen.

From desktop go Win+C » Settings » Power » Sleep

When you log back into Windows you will encounter the Lock Screen, once logged on with credentials Windows desktop opens. A bit convoluted but this guarantees you will never have to see the Start Menu screen.

Populate all your games, apps, folders as usual on desktop and taskbar and it's business as usual.
Click to expand...

Win + I will take you right to settings.
 
hodgy100 said:
its optional because you don't have to use the extras, the new start menu (metro screen) is functionally the same as the start menu in previous iterations of windows, but if the apps, store and other new things annoy you you can remove them.

you do have the start menu it just looks different :)
Click to expand...

How is it optional if is the first thing you see on your computer?

In any case the desktop is the optional part.
 
plagiarize said:
Win + I will take you right to settings.
Click to expand...

Even better, it's sort of nice to learn new ways of getting around. I dual boot on two physical SSD's and have only been back to 7 to clean up the desktop and remove programs once I have qualified they run in 8. I will probably isolate that OS as a Cubase production environment soon - no need to use it for anything else.
 
FGMPR said:
So what would be the appeal of W8 for a PC gamer? Why would I upgrade?, because at the moment I am seeing very little reason to part with my money for a new OS.
Click to expand...

Probably nothing. Unless you feel you need the security enhancements or other desktop enhancements. Or perhaps if you like casual gaming as well, the marketplace will be flooded with those.
 
Guys, as I said before, I didn't like Windows 8 before I tested it. I even said that I would never use it. They have a 90-day trial for the Enterprise version which you could try now for free. Just try it for one week and, if you don't like it, then fine. Windows 7 is amazing! But, if you like, well, there you go! It's a win-win either way. Also, a formated Windows 7 could give you speed gains.

I liked Windows 8. But, if I didn't, I would just keep my opinion, but more detailed.
 
itxaka said:
How is it optional if is the first thing you see on your computer?

In any case the desktop is the optional part.
Click to expand...
i don't even see the start screen once a day. only when i have to reboot. i sleep my PC when i'm not using it and come right back to the desktop when i wake it and unlock it. i barely see it after a reboot. after i type in my password and hit enter, i just wait until i see metro and hit enter a second time.

yeah, it's a 'service pack' kind of feature, but Win - X is something all power users can love.
 
FGMPR said:
So what would be the appeal of W8 for a PC gamer? Why would I upgrade?, because at the moment I am seeing very little reason to part with my money for a new OS.
Click to expand...

On average it is lighter on the hardware.
Driver support so far has been great and perform the same.

But to spend money to upgrade don't think you should do it as a pc gamer only.
Upgrade if it comes with new laptop or desktop.

If it was for gaming only i probably wouldn't mind staying with 7 but i find working on win8 better more convenient imo.

Not sure dont think directX 11.1(so far win8 only) will be a reason for devs to develop for win8 only. It does has some cool features from what i have seen.
 
FGMPR said:
So what would be the appeal of W8 for a PC gamer? Why would I upgrade?, because at the moment I am seeing very little reason to part with my money for a new OS.
Click to expand...

If you're into app-store style games then that is reason. I imagine the app store will be pretty popular with indy game developers as well. If you only want to play your traditional PC game then there isn't much of a difference
 
I'm still interested in Windows 8. I feel that a lot of people are afraid of learning something new when it comes to an OS and immediately cry foul when things they are familiar with change. Now, he could be right on the money, I'm not denying that, but I'm still skeptical.

Still, with time, I'd imagine Windows 8 will become much more interesting.

I suppose we'll have to wait and see.
 
Xav said:
To me Windows 8 is a faster Windows 7 with a metro home screen, after a while I got used to it and I don't really have a problem with it. I don't actually see what all the fuss is about, if you hate it that much just press the windows button and it goes away.
Click to expand...

Pretty much. Once you get a grip on the design reasoning you'll find things are much faster.
 
I've been using W8 as my main OS for about a month now, and I don't really have any complaints (switched from Mac OS Lion). I can do everything just as well as I could before, although I admit I'm not a power user. I just use an Internet browser and MS Office 100% of the time.

I just wanted to say that I'm mystified as to why MS thinks a device that is a tablet, then becomes a laptop when you add a keyboard case, then slots into your monitor and KB/M and becomes a desktop, is a good idea. All that plugging and slotting sounds like a pain, and all those cases and shells will be useless if I lose the main tablet unit, or if it breaks. And why bother with so many dumb shells when CPUs, memory, and storage are all far cheaper than they've ever been?

What I really care about is my files and data (music, photos, documents for work, contacts, browser bookmarks, etc), not the computer it's running on. What I would love (and have yet to see from MS, Apple, or Google) is a cloud system that really works transparently, flawlessly, and instantly. My devices should all be windows on my data, and they should all show me the same data all the time. Additionally, each device should have an interface that is precisely tailored to it, and only it.
 
dark10x said:
I'm still interested in Windows 8. I feel that a lot of people are afraid of learning something new when it comes to an OS and immediately cry foul when things they are familiar with change. Now, he could be right on the money, I'm not denying that, but I'm still skeptical.

Still, with time, I'd imagine Windows 8 will become much more interesting.

I suppose we'll have to wait and see.
Click to expand...
Only thing that could make me jump is a way to get a start menu of some acceptable form back and the spreading of DX11.1/DX12 compatible games that would be better with win8...
Worst future.
 
PG2G said:
If you're into app-store style games then that is reason. I imagine the app store will be pretty popular with indy game developers as well. If you only want to play your traditional PC game then there isn't much of a difference
Click to expand...

I doubt any indie gamer would want to go through an Xbox-style certification to put their games on the Metro App store.
 
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