Former MS Exec: Windows 8 is a Catastrophe

[barnabas1969]

I did some searching, and it appears that you cannot re-enable the start menu with a simply registry setting. However, there are some other solutions. See this article.

I'm not sure if I will ever use Windows 8... but I'm pretty sure that we'll never use it at work.

[STC]

I read somewhere they can't call it Metro any more either after some litigation. It's going to be named differently.

[mcewinter]

I read somewhere they can't call it Metro any more either after some litigation. It's going to be named differently.

I read that too. They changed "Metro" to "Windows 8" because that's not confusing at all.

[adam1991]

Everyone appears to be wanting it to be a direct replacement to 7 for their desktop. It really is not.
Forget about it for your desktop. Move on and wait for 9.

That's all very well, until you buy a new PC and it's got that POS pre-installed.

Microsoft POS, directly competing with Apple's own iOS.

Nice!

(frankly, Apple's already gone down the Win8-my-desktop-must-be-just-like-my-tablet-and-phone route, and many are very disappointed by that. Six months ago I was ready to switch my entire family away from Mac and over to Windows, but that was when Win7 was the answer. Now, none of it is the answer.)

[STC]

^^ I thought I read they were going to name it something other then use the generic Windows X format which will always exist. Perhaps I am wrong...time will tell...

[richard1980]

"Metro" is out and "Modern UI" is in.

[STC]

Great. I can just imagine turning on my 'Modern UI'

[JazJon]

Here's another recent Windows 8 review that concludes that it's just plain Terrible
http://www.infoworld.com/d/microsoft-wi ... 2012-08-15

[Oldmajor]

Its really funny to hear all the negative comments. I've been using it since the release preview and I like it alot. I have a Samsung tablet with it and a desktop i built just to test Windows 8 and Office 2013 on. Unless I'm playing around with a new app in the marketplace i typically just instantly click the Desktop icon. Once in the desktop option everythin i need is either on the desktop or pinned. Everything seems to be fast, smooth and fresh (although i do have occasional issues with Outlook). I cant wait to use this on a tablet that was designed for it and i dont mind the inconvience of having to select the desktop tile, the increase in boot time and makes up for that.

[StumpyBloke]

I tried the msdn preview of Windows 8 on a VM this weekend.

I have to admit to being wrong when I originally described it (when trying the previews) as POS. I really, really was so wrong. Its actually the biggest load of utter garbage I have ever had the misfortune to use. What the hell are they thinking??? As a desktop OS it is completely and utterly not fit for purpose and will be a usability nightmare for so many people.

[holidayboy]

Yup, what he said.

A start button/orb/flag/pixel - and a show desktop button would go some way to sorting things out I guess! (I know, I know, the bottom corners do the job, why not just have an actual button to make it clear though?)

I did a few quick tests and Win8 does seem a bit faster at doing certain things, the trouble is, those things often seem to take longer to find in the first place before you can do them

[gcoupe]

Sigh. Some people like Marmite and some people don't. Some people learn to ride bikes and it becomes second nature to them. Some people give up after their first attempt.

[STC]

Perhaps it will have a cult following from a select type of geekite.

At least until hotfix 76 or SP1 comes along and puts the desktop back

[makryger]

Let's just hope Marmite does not completely destroy their original recipe, alienating all the people who previously enjoyed Marmite, in order to expand into the very popular Nutella market.

[StumpyBloke]

Sigh. Some people like Marmite and some people don't. Some people learn to ride bikes and it becomes second nature to them. Some people give up after their first attempt.

Sigh, just...sigh

[STC]

Let's all have a group hug yeah!

[trooper11]

Well I guess this really will be a love/hate OS.

I have been using the beta for a while now, and while I agree there are issues that need to be addressed, I swear it sounds like people are hysterical over these things. I may not be using Win 8 for my htpc, but I have found enough on the desktop side of Win 8 to warrant it on my other pcs. I boot up my pc, click the desktop icon, and then I rarely even see the start screen during my daily usage. It feels like Win 7 with some ui changes and a few additions that I like (storage spaces, ui tweaks to things like the task manager, file transfers, etc). It feels fast and reliable driver wise, I can use it most of the same ways I used 7, so I just don't fall into the hysterical camp. The issues haven't reached deal breaker level for me yet (i.e. the lack of a 'show desktop' button, the lack of a something showing me there is a menu in the corner, etc).

I get why adding something like a start button would be nice, but once I knew that there was still a menu in the corner if I right clicked, I was able to find my way to say control panel as quickly as I had before. We are power users for goodness sake, that means we tend to be the ones that seek out how to use something the way we want, unlike the average user that is not interested in digging into all the features of an OS. Again, there are interface issues that MS needs to address to make it feel more like 7 did on the desktop side, but so far I'm feeling way better about Win 8 then I did Windows Vista.

[mcewinter]

As I'm using Splashtop to access my PC while on the go, I'm realizing W8 might be much easier to navigate via my phone. I'll have to try it but my fear is I will be using the desktop "app" more than likely anyway.

It would add another layer of functionality to my iPad as I access my PC frequently from the comforts of my couch.

I see some cool possibilities for W8 but none of them concern Media Center or video at all. The touch aspect offers some conveniences as my usage is evolving as noted above.