Windows 8 - Your Thoughts and Opinion

[peti1212]

What do you guys think of Windows 8? Have you guys had the chance to try it out yet? I managed to get a Pro Retail version early for my desktop through my schools MSDNAA account, and for the first week or two, I must admit, I was quite annoyed with driver support (ASUS Xonar not supported), and the Metro UI. I was also very annoyed by having to log in through a Microsoft account every single time I restarted or turned on my PC.

The good news is that you can easily disable the windows login (well make it automatic) or also known as the lock screen, with just a few little steps:

Method 1
Go to the Metro UI, type gpedit.msc and hit Enter to open Local Group Policy Editor. In the Administrative Templates folder go to Control Panel –> Personalization and click on the Do not Display the Lock Screen . Enable this option, and then click OK. It might ask you to verify your login information, but it might not.

Method 2
Win + X, Admin Cmd Prompt
Type: control userpasswords2
Uncheck the Box: "User must enter a user name and password to use this computer"
Once again you might have to enter your username and password to disable this option.

Method 3
Win + X, Run, netplwiz
Uncheck the same box as in Method 2.

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Ok, once this was disabled and things became automatic, I have noticed how much quicker the boot time on my system is. Make sure to update your BIOS to the latest Windows 8 compatible BIOS. This also helps with stability and any other issues you might have, like BSOD (Blue Screen of Death) or what seems to be now a Blue Screen of (Sad Face)

Now one thing that might be annoying is the fact that you don't have My Computer, or any of the main shortcuts to your drives. This can be easy, just search for it, and then make it a shortcut. The Start (Metro UI) is always in the far left bottom corner, just like the start button, and you never have to guess if you're clicking it, just slide over to the left bottom corner as fast as you can, and click it, and it will go into the Metro UI.

A neat little thing I've noticed was that Windows 8 also uses the Ribbon style toolbar in My Computer and other apps. You might not like it, but once you get used to it, just like you had to get use to it on Microsoft Office 2007 and up, you'll start liking it.

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Performance

Performance improvements have been noticed not just at boot, but also once in Windows 8. System seems to be more responsive and quicker than in Windows 7. Less memory usage was also noticed and some benchmarks also show higher graphics scores, even though drivers for some hardware are still in BETA. Nvidia drivers are 100% solid with a few little glitches on a multi-monitor configuration, such as Nvidia Surround.

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A few shortcuts that might come handy. I highlighted some that I find the most useful besides just the general shortcuts that most of us might already know.

Windows key: Switch between Modern Desktop Start screen and the last accessed application
Windows key + C: Access the charms bar
Windows key + Tab: Access the Modern Desktop Taskbar
Windows key + I: Access the Settings charm
Windows key + H: Access the Share charm
Windows key + K: Access the Devices charm
Windows key + Q: Access the Apps Search screen
Windows key + F: Access the Files Search screen
Windows key + W: Access the Settings Search screen
Windows key + P: Access the Second Screen bar
Windows key + Z: Brings up the App Bar when you have a Modern Desktop App running
Windows key + X: Access the Windows Tools Menu
Windows key + O: Lock screen orientation
Windows key + . : Move the screen split to the right
Windows key + Shift + . : Move the screen split to the left
Windows key + V: View all active Toasts/Notifications
Windows key + Shift + V: View all active Toasts/Notifications in reverse order
Windows key + PrtScn: Takes a screenshot of the screen and automatically saves it in the Pictures folder as Screenshot
Windows key + Enter: Launch Narrator
Windows key + E: Open Computer
Windows key + R: Open the Run dialog box
Windows key + U: Open Ease of Access Center
Windows key + Ctrl + F: Open Find Computers dialog box
Windows key + Pause/Break: Open the System page
Windows key + 1..10: Launch a program pinned on the Taskbar in the position indicated by the number
Windows key + Shift + 1..10: Launch a new instance of a program pinned on the Taskbar in the position indicated by the number
Windows key + Ctrl + 1..10: Access the last active instance of a program pinned on the Taskbar in the position indicated by the number
Windows key + Alt + 1..10: Access the Jump List of a program pinned on the Taskbar in the position indicated by the number
Windows key + B: Select the first item in the Notification Area and then use the arrow keys to cycle through the items Press Enter to open the selected item
Windows key + Ctrl + B: Access the program that is displaying a message in the Notification Area
Windows key + T: Cycle through the items on the Taskbar
Windows key + M: Minimize all windows
Windows key + Shift + M: Restore all minimized windows
Windows key + D: Show/Hide Desktop (minimize/restore all windows)
Windows key + L: Lock computer
Windows key + Up Arrow: Maximize current window
Windows key + Down Arrow: Minimize/restore current window
Windows key + Home: Minimize all but the current window
Windows key + Left Arrow: Tile window on the left side of the screen
Windows key + Right Arrow: Tile window on the right side of the screen
Windows key + Shift + Up Arrow: Extend current window from the top to the bottom of the screen
Windows key + Shift + Left/Right Arrow: Move the current window from one monitor to the next
Windows key + F1: Launch Windows Help and Support

PageUp: Scroll forward on the Modern Desktop Start screen
PageDown: Scroll backward on the Modern Desktop Start screen
Esc: Close a charm
Ctrl + Esc: Switch between Modern Desktop Start screen and the last accessed application
Ctrl + Mouse scroll wheel: Activate the Semantic Zoom on the Modern Desktop screen

Alt: Display a hidden Menu Bar
Alt + D: Select the Address Bar
Alt + P: Display the Preview Pane in Windows Explorer
Alt + Tab: Cycle forward through open windows
Alt + Shift + Tab: Cycle backward through open windows
Alt + F: Close the current window Open the Shut Down Windows dialog box from the Desktop
Alt + Spacebar: Access the Shortcut menu for current window
Alt + Esc: Cycle between open programs in the order that they were opened
Alt + Enter: Open the Properties dialog box of the selected item
Alt + PrtScn: Take a screen shot of the active Window and place it in the clipboard
Alt + Up Arrow: Move up one folder level in Windows Explorer (Like the Up Arrow in XP)
Alt + Left Arrow: Display the previous folder
Alt + Right Arrow: Display the next folder
Shift + Insert: CD/DVD Load CD/DVD without triggering Autoplay or Autorun
Shift + Delete: Permanently delete the item (rather than sending it to the Recycle Bin)
Shift + F6: Cycle backward through elements in a window or dialog box
Shift + F10: Access the context menu for the selected item
Shift + Tab: Cycle backward through elements in a window or dialog box
Shift + Click: Select a consecutive group of items
Shift + Click on a Taskbar button: Launch a new instance of a program
Shift + Right-click on a Taskbar button: Access the context menu for the selected item
Ctrl + A: Select all items
Ctrl + C: Copy the selected item
Ctrl + X: Cut the selected item
Ctrl + V: Paste the selected item
Ctrl + D: Delete selected item
Ctrl + Z: Undo an action
Ctrl + Y: Redo an action
Ctrl + N: Open a new window in Windows Explorer
Ctrl + W: Close current window in Windows Explorer
Ctrl + E: Select the Search box in the upper right corner of a window
Ctrl + Shift + N: Create new folder
Ctrl + Shift + Esc: Open the Windows Task Manager
Ctrl + Alt + Tab: Use arrow keys to cycle through open windows
Ctrl + Alt + Delete: Access the Windows Security screen
Ctrl + Click: Select multiple individual items
Ctrl + Click and drag an item: Copies that item in the same folder
Ctrl + Shift + Click and drag an item: Creates a shortcut for that item in the same folder
Ctrl + Tab: Move forward through tabs
Ctrl + Shift + Tab: Move backward through tabs
Ctrl + Shift + Click on a Taskbar button: Launch a new instance of a program as an Administrator
Ctrl + Click on a grouped Taskbar button: Cycle through the instances of a program in the group
F1: Display Help
F2: Rename a file
F3: Open Search
F4: Display the Address Bar list
F5: Refresh display
F6: Cycle forward through elements in a window or dialog box
F7: Display command history in a Command Prompt
F10: Display hidden Menu Bar
F11: Toggle full screen display
Tab: Cycle forward through elements in a window or dialog box
PrtScn: Take a screen shot of the entire screen and place it in the clipboard
Home: Move to the top of the active window
End: Move to the bottom of the active window
Delete: Delete the selected item
Backspace: Display the previous folder in Windows Explorer Move up one folder level in Open or Save dialog box
Esc: Close a dialog box
Num Lock Enabled + Plus (+): Display the contents of the selected folder
Num Lock Enabled + Minus (-): Collapse the selected folder
Num Lock Enabled + Asterisk (*): Expand all subfolders under the selected folder

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So as far as application support goes, Windows 8 seems to support about 99% of the apps that work on Windows 7 (I'm not taking into account driver software), and if for any chance something doesn't seem to run, compatibility settings can usually get it to work.

A neat thing I like to do, which is very similar to Windows 7 and Mac OSX is the fact that you can do search straight from the Metro UI (Start). You just have to press the Windows Key, and start typing. This is the simplest way of doing it. Unfortunately, the search is not smart enough to do mathematical calculations as far as I can tell. This is one thing that I really enjoy on a Mac that I haven't seen on Windows yet. Therefore an extra step is needed to launch Calculator to start doing simple mathematical calculations.

This is all I can think of for now. Let me know what you think. Tell me your experience with Windows 8, and if you do not have Windows 8 yet, are you considering to upgrade?

Personally, after working with Windows 8 for a few months now, I feel just as happy with it as I was with Windows 7 when it first hit the stores. Give it a week or two before you make a decision to move back to Windows 7, and you'll see you'll start liking it. Hope this is helpful.

[PP Mguire]

Any tweaks or registry hacks to either remove login, Metro, or add a start menu will be fixed by the first batch of retail updates. It has been proven by other site reviews that there is no performance benefit besides a smaller RAM footprint by the OS. There have also been user complaints of game and program incompatibility in retail already.
Also, if you right click where the start menu is supposed to be after a while a little start "like" menu will come up.

My main problems with this OS are:
Metro UI. I don't have a touch screen tab or phone. I have a desktop computer with keyboard and mouse. I'm not 5, I don't need huge ugly tiles in my face.
No start menu. I've used a start menu since Windows 95 and don't want to change that as I don't use desktop icons. I barely use pinned icons on my taskbar.
No real performance benefit from the upgrade. That's my biggest issue. The only reason I went to 7 from XP was because it was required, DX11/10, and there was no huge performance decrease from the move unlike Vista. Actually, there is a performance increase with the drivers and hardware from the past year.

I toyed around with this iOS wannabe for a good 2 weeks. 1 week in VM, last week on my space PC. Left a sour taste in my mouth for sure. Public reaction isn't very good either.

[foxmobouser]

Well at first I was happy I was able to upgrade a bootleg windows to something legit cuz thats what I had running on one of the systems even thou i own various versions from win95 scattered about. After instal i wished i had not done such a dumb thing but at the end decided to stay with it. Over all I think it sucks however the interface seemed a bit snappier than Win7. Thanks for posting some helpfull shortcuts cuz now Ima gonna have studdy this Shi** a bit to even start using it. In general it seemed that Microsoft wanted to be Apple and at the same time fight Piracy.

[peti1212]

Thanks for the reply PP and foxmobouser. PP, I do see a small performance increase in windows application usage. Just like Fox said, it feels snappier. Also performance comparisons from the same system running 3DMark Vantage and 11 shows higher performance by one or two hundred on Windows 8.

Thanks for the tip about the right clicking the start wannabe area. I didn't know about that. PP, as far as I know, you can either resize the icons in the Metro UI, or also enable a option so it would say text and names next to a smaller image. This way you have a similar look to what you might have had in Windows 7.

[PP Mguire]

I don't want to sound rude, but feeling snappier can be in your head too with the "it's a new OS" syndrome. I have a friend who thinks his AMD rig is faster and snappier than my Intel rig. We all know the truth to that. I didn't see any different when using it myself. Well in performance anyways.
As for 3DMark, we also all know those don't show any real world value. Actual game benches show a 1-2FPS difference on both AMD and Nvidia setups which isn't enough to push me to deal with Metro.

Having Metro at all wont feel any way like 7. If 24" touch screens weren't still over 1000 I would probably consider getting one as a second monitor to utilize this touch feature, but it's simply pointless on a standard kb/mouse gaming computer.

[peti1212]

Well I'm using three monitors. I have them set up in Surround, which stretches the Metro UI across all three screens when you go into it, but if you have multiple monitors, you can technically only open up Metro UI on a single screen and have the other screen still available to other stuff on your desktop.

I do agree with you about the "it's a new OS" syndrome, but the reason why I say it feels snappier is because in Windows 7 after a while of using it, say 2-3 months, you start seeing its performance drop in boot times, you have longer waits for certain things. This never happened on Windows 8 for me. Still just as snappy as when I first installed it. One nice feature that will make boot times faster for the general public is the fact that Task Manager now offers the Start-up application disabling option. Those that did not know about MSConfig till now will most likely utilize this feature once they figure out what it actually is. So in my opinion, once people get used to the interface, they will not mind Windows 8.

Just watch, So many systems will come preinstalled with Windows 8 on them, especially new laptops and tablets, and once Windows 9 comes out, or whatever it will be called, people will claim it's a lot lot better. While Windows Vista was never a real problem for me, once Windows 7 came out, there were definitely some nice improvements but it felt just like Windows Vista to me. Once Windows 9 comes out, people will be like oooo Windows 8 sucked, and Windows 9 is so much better. In my opinion it will be just the fact that they got used to Windows 8 and since Windows 9 won't have as many differences, it will feel more like a better start for a new Operating System. I hope you understand what i mean.

[PP Mguire]

Well the reason people went ooo 7 is so much better is because Vista was a steaming pile of poo compared to both XP and 7. There is a considerate amount of performance difference between 7 and Vista.

Maybe your TRIM is collecting garbage during boot up, but I had my install until yesterday when I formatted for the 580 since Feb. My boot times were always exactly the same, even without doing a format converting from P67 to X79. (Yea I was being lazy).

I disagree with 9 unless they bring back the start menu and ditch Metro. Dell offers 7 still for their new systems because vendors believe 8 will be a failed concept. That is of course if Microsoft stays stubborn on the "we want to force Metro down your throat" thing.

[peti1212]

PP, you might want to take a look at this. I think this is something that might change your opinion about Windows 8. It brings back the good old Start menu.

http://www.stardock.com/products/start8/

[Pablo 54]

Might be a dumb question but is WMC out of 8? I put W8 on our laptop several months ago (wife hated it and called me bad names). Never got a chance to see if MC was still part of the OS. Heard it was being taking out.

Just asking.

[foxmobouser]

Might be a dumb question but is WMC out of 8? I put W8 on our laptop several months ago (wife hated it and called me bad names). Never got a chance to see if MC was still part of the OS. Heard it was being taking out.

Just asking.

My kid just booted into it and got stuck there, the wife thought It was a 22inch photo frame. LOL

BTW how do you shut it down without ctrl+alt+del shutdown, is there a button somewhere?

[peti1212]

You can either press Windows + I, and then click Power and Shut Down, or you can press Alt + F4 and choose Shut Down, or you can hover down to the right bottom or top corner when the charm bar comes up click Settings, then click Power then click Shut Down. those are the main ways I know how to turn it off.

[PP Mguire]

PP, you might want to take a look at this. I think this is something that might change your opinion about Windows 8. It brings back the good old Start menu.

http://www.stardock.com/products/start8/

Already knew about it. It's going to be shut down actually in a wave of updates Microsoft will be releasing. They are adamant on consumers using their Metro UI.

[ET3D]

peti1212, thanks for the detailed post. I'm sure it will be useful once I install Windows 8. If I remember about it (because it will probably be a couple of years before I do).

PP, don't be a hater. Benchmarks show significant speed increases on some systems for Windows 8, and users are also reporting it, including smoother frame rates in some games. Dismiss them all you want, I think you're just deluding yourself.

Windows 8 isn't perfect, and I don't think it's a necessary upgrade for Windows 7 users, but I'm sure that in the long run it will be better than 7, just like Vista became way better than XP over time for decently specced systems.

[peti1212]

Just installed this on my system. Completely free, and brings back the nice good old look of Windows 7: http://windows8startbutton.com/

Also you can still use your charm bar, or get to metro ui. But you can also disable all those features or also make your windows look like Windows XP, etc. Very neat little program. Only thing is it installs another browser thing on your system. But you can get rid of it easily.

[PP Mguire]

Actual trusted reviewer benchmarks including my own show almost no difference. Smoother frames from regular users could be 1 of 2 things or both. Fresh install so less RAM usage due to background tasks, or smaller 8 foot print for people who have lower amounts of RAM. People with good systems and 4+GB of RAM have almost no FPS difference.

Putting an actual link where my words are, just for you:
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/M...rmance/23.html

I'm not a hater, I'm a realist. There is NO reason to push on to 8 unless you have a touch screen or just enjoy using Metro and having matte kid colors on your screen.

And no, Vista was never any better than XP performance wise. Not even after SP2, which is why 7 was released so quickly. 8 is simply a tweaked kernel with a new user interface and nothing to offer for people like me. I swear the 8 defenders remind me of Apple heads.