The Windows 8 and other failed Microsoft products thread - Windows 8 "relaunches" Feb

[jcap]

He spent about 40 seconds mentioning 2 features of 'proper' windows that are of any interest - task manager and file copy. Okay I liked those bits but is that all Windows 8 has to offer? Is that the best new thing? Come on Microsoft.

Power users have been kicked in the balls regarding Windows 8, I dont even class it as a new version. To me Windows 8 is like Windows ME. It was Windows 95 after drinking a Redbull, a few new tweaks but not worthy of a new version.

They also lowered the startup memory usage from about 400 MB to 230 MB. Pretty huge cut. There's only about 30 processes when you start Windows now, which is impressive. But, I don't give a shit! My current computer which I built 4 years ago has 8 GB of RAM in it. My next one will have 32 GB of RAM in it. Who gives a flying shit about 200 MB of freed RAM? That would have been nice when Vista was released, but every computer ships with a minimum of 4 or 6 GB of RAM now, even the bottom of the line models.

Also, it's not just power users who were hurt. It's all users. I keep saying (and look in the other Windows 8 thread where we were talking about the logo) that Microsoft is making Windows more difficult to use for everyone. It's different. Users don't like different. If someone who has been using windows for 17 years sits down at a computer and doesn't know how to switch between open Windows, they aren't going to learn it. When I first tried the dev preview months ago, I got fed up within 30 seconds. Then I spent several more minutes looking for just how to perform a simple shutdown!

Unfortunately, I think the press is going to hype up the release of Windows 8. Either they are getting paid off, or they haven't used it and they are just restating all of Microsoft's own propaganda. Windows 8 will probably be a huge hit on launch, and within a week, consumers are going to be wondering what the fuck "broke" their new computer and it's going to become a flop overnight. I'd prefer to see it flop on launch, however.

[Warsaw]

The reasons I'm skipping Windows 8 are the same reasons I can't stand using OSX:

• Everything is so stupid-friendly that it's unintuitive to power users.
• The interface is clunky and hard to get used to coming from [real] Windows.
• Emphasis is obviously on form over function in the UI.

[jcap]

The key is to get rid of metro on the desktop. It serves no purpose. It's confusing, it's counter-intuitive, it’s crippling, it's useless.

The modern control panel is a bitch to use. I actually do like the split view. It reminds me of the Android Honeycomb/ICS settings screen. The new control panel is a massive waste of space when full screen. The text is huge, there’s a ton of padding on everything, and you need to scroll if you want more than 4 options in the right pane of the control panel. However, my complaint about the new control panel isn’t just about the layout, but also about the division between desktop and metro, and the fact that it’s metro. The control panel should be one place, not two. I shouldn’t need two different UIs to configure something as simple as user accounts. And I ESPECIALLY shouldn’t be forced into metro if I’m in the desktop. It’s insane that making a minor change now throws you into a full screen control panel. Why can’t the control panel just be offered in a Window, all in one place with the same layout?

One of my biggest complaints about metro is the unfriendliness of it all. For example, hidden controls. Something that is not visible is not intuitive. Accessing menus shouldn’t take cryptic mouse gestures swapping in from the side, or dragging, or moving and holding the mouse to small and invisible hot spots. My biggest complaint is the constant shoving of itself in your face. Open an MP3? METRO! Open a picture? METRO! Control panel? METRO! Worst of all, they are difficult to get out of! If I get thrown into the picture viewer, I can’t just press a back button or escape to close it and return to where I was! I need to use the top left hot corner, which makes no sense whatsoever. Why does Windows INSIST on forcing me back into the metro environment when I’m using the desktop? The UI is just an inconsistent messy experience. PLEASE keep them separate!

I use the start button daily. I use it to get everywhere in my OS. It’s visibly there, it’s big (unlike a tiny 10px corner), and everything can be accessed from there. You may say, “The new start screen does the same thing!” Yeah, it helps you get to programs, but the distance I need to move my mouse increases by about 20x to get from the left corner, to the scroll bar, to the rightmost tile icon. That may sound like a minor issue, but it’s still a valid point. More importantly, however, the start menu is also the place that all applications install to. I have 147 items in my start menu right now. I don’t want 147 little squares filling up my start screen. That’s not even including help files, uninstallers, and alternate 64-bit versions of the same program. Another VERY major problem is the fact that you can’t quickly escape the start screen. If you click on the start menu in Windows 7, you can simply click elsewhere to close it. With Windows 8, you don’t even have a button to click to close the start menu, so you either have to use the hot corner (pain in the ass), click the desktop, or press escape or the win key (shouldn’t be necessary). It would be nice if clicking in blank background space closed the start screen if accessed from the taskbar. At the very least, the start button should be added back, even if the new start screen stays in.


The bastardized child of metro and the start menu.

Above all, the reason we need a button is because the corner sucks. As someone already mentioned (and as I’ve been saying since it was revealed the button was being removed), having multiple monitors makes corners useless. There are no edges you can snap a mouse to. It requires extreme precision to get into the corner. If you’re using multiple monitors, a VM, or remote desktop, using hot corners is a pain in the ass. I’m beginning to wonder if the implications of these terrible ideas are even thought out before they are implemented?

I'm not the only one who says this. I've asked friends, my parents, and coworkers, and the general consensus is that it's a disaster. Even judging from the upvotes/downvotes on posts, you can see that there is a lot of disagreement with the direction of Windows. Not everyone will like direction Windows is headed. However, when the opinions are torn and at least half of the user base is complaining, the problem isn’t the users, but it’s the developers. Change needs to happen. Apple has been improving their desktop experience every year for the past 10 years. The changes to Windows 8 are worst form they could come in. It should set off alarms when even Mac users are laughing at the Windows 8 “improvements.” As I said before, the changes so far are confusing, counter-intuitive, and crippling.

But hey, if Microsoft isn't going to fix all workflow issues that are the result of metro, at least I can give my thanks in advance for all the work I'll receive when I need to downgrade all computers to Windows 7!

MY GOLDEN ADVICE

Check out this video:


http://www.ubuntu.com/devices/android

This is pretty incredible, in my opinion. This shows how the true unification of mobile and desktop should be done. It’s seamless change, it’s functional, it’s perfect. Keep in mind, this is free and open source software running on hacked hardware. On the other hand, Windows 8 is paid, closed source software shipping on specially manufactured hardware from vendors. The mobile Ubuntu desktop shown in this video is what I would have expected of a product like Windows 8. It’s superior in practically every way, and yet Windows 8 fails to parallel the experience. If Microsoft truly wanted to innovate with Windows, they should have isolated metro to phones and tablets (with desktop optional), which would immediately switch to the fully-featured familiar Windows desktop when docked. It would truly be revolutionary, miles ahead of anything Apple and Google offers. Given the history and current state of Windows, I don’t expect to see Microsoft beating anyone else to the table with this concept.

[Timo]

bzzbzzbzz

Needless to say I won't be touching this OS. Not even with a long pointy stick.

[Kornman00]

Dammit Timo, what movie/show is that from

[Nero]

That's obviously from a porno.

[Limited]

Dammit Timo, what movie/show is that from

White Chicks, Terry Crew was hilarious in the film.



Full scenes

[jcap]

FYI, the word inside Microsoft is that they don't give a shit if half of their users don't like the Windows 8 experience. The metro integration is permanent, and absolutely will not be reverted under any circumstances. Any anti-metro feedback, including feedback on how to lessen the intrusion of metro into the normal desktop, is not even being considered.

The thing that really worries me most is that the writing is on the wall for the failure of Windows 8, and they are completely ignoring it.

[Kornman00]

It's official. This thread is now about Terry Crews.

[DarkHalo003]

Maybe they should wait, I don't know, more than two years before releasing another OS? Isn't Windows 7 good enough for them for at least 4 years?