My first win8 experience

[beginner99]

Windows key+x is all you need for power using windows 8.

And that's why it is worse than Win 95 because keyboard shortcuts should not be required to make an OS usable in 2013. It's fine for power users but if you require them to get the same efficiency as with the previous versions were no such shortcuts were needed then something is seriously wrong. And that's the problem with Win 8.

How do I use winkey + x on a tablet?

 

[paul878]

Windows key+x is all you need for power using windows 8. I guess I am one of the few that like the changes they implemented.

I have had top notch stability on both my laptop and desktop that I upgraded when they where running the promo.

Let all use VI instead of notepad.
They invented the mouse for a reason you know.

 

[Rhonda the Sly]

Use the Settings charm. It's the one method of changing power states that carries across all input methods other than logoff/CTRL+ALT+DEL.

How do I use winkey + x on a tablet?

If you're on the desktop, presumably long-pressing on the Start button. OSK is another option. Neither makes as much sense as just using the Charms.

 

[showb1z]

You really need to learn how to use Windows.

You sound like you've barely even used it, which wouldn't be a big deal except you're arrogant in your ignorance, which is always a bad combo. I find it impossible to have a conversation with someone that doesn't even know how to use basics features of the OS, yet arrogantly thinks they're able to dictate how everyone else should use their computer. Like I said, it's silly.

Pretty funny I'm the arrogant one when you assume so much while knowing nothing about me.
And saying I dictate how EVERYONE should use their computer while I clearly stated it doesn't matter a thing cause people can choose whatever OS suits them makes me think you're just trolling.
Well suit yourself.

And that's why it is worse than Win 95 because keyboard shortcuts should not be required to make an OS usable in 2013.

Right-clicking in the bottom left corner also brings up that menu.

 

[oynaz]

Random whitebox/off-brand pc not working right. CLEARLY the fault of Windows 8

Medion is a major brand in Western Europe. 10 seconds of googling before posting might be prudent, perhaps?

 

[blankslate]

my actual real feelings on the win8 system http://forums.anandtech.com/showpost.php?p=35304215&postcount=34

That's the thing. It seems that MS decided to leverage their large market share of the consumer Desktop OS to bolster their comparatively smaller phone OS share.


The result is they introduced a radically new interface, and as you said learning it takes time. It may be just as efficient as the windows 7, Vista, and XP paradigm but most of the people who use computers are not computer hobbyists or enthusiasts.

The computer, for many casual users, is a box that lets them get online, play games, and work. Aside from that it's not that interesting for them.

So MS changed the interface of Win7(which casual users have taken years to get used to) to a new interface (which many casual users may take more years to learn) for... what?

Is the new interface so superior to Windows 7 that it's worth all the aggravation that many users (especially casual users who may need more time than the enthusiast to learn a new interface) seemingly have with learning Windows 8?


Going by the slow adoption rate of the desktop version of Win8 which has been not much better than for Vista (odd considering that Win 8 is under the hood clearly superior to Vista and a solid improvement to Win 7) and the only modest gains that the smartphone OS has seen it's hard to say that it definitely has been worth it.
[quoteSure, the metro interface is better with a touch screen, the only problem is that not every Win 8 machine ships with one. Additionally, MS didn't put in a way to revert the interface to a previous Windows version interface as was done with XP

It's arguable that since a large part of the attention being paid to 8.1 is focused on the interface that MS should have taken more care to refine Metro before Win8's initial release.
Especially if they indeed did intend to leverage their Desktop OS market share as a way to move more people to buy a smartphone with an MS phone OS and that the refinements could have reduced the learning curve for casual users in regards to the new interface.


The option to boot directly to the desktop instead of the start screen is a concession that seems, imo, a tacit admission that they could have and should have taken the time to handle the UI switchover more smoothly.

Even if that meant delaying the release of Win 8 for several months, that would have helped in the case giving manufacturers a bit more time to refine the process of making touch screens so that they were a little cheaper by the time Win8 was available.

Maybe a delay might have resulted in bad press, but like it or not, there has been bad press regarding the Metro interface anyways. Even if some would think that it's undeserved.
The fact that, even though Win8 does have solid improvements under the hood, it took several months for it to exceed the market share of Vista favors the argument for delaying Win 8 to refine the interface.
After all the main complaint seems to be with Win 8's interface.

Furthermore, it's not as if Windows 7 was a dog of an OS upon initial release that demanded a new OS to salvage the reputation of MS. Which was the the case which with Vista (whomever was to blame) before SP 1 made Vista better.

tldr: To me it seems that they changed the interface to leverage their desktop dominance to push people to windows 8 phones and tablets...

but that unfortunately (for many users) messed up a really solid and established desktop interface... all for negligible gain in the other markets...

Hence many users have the frustrations that Data does in the .gif at the beginning of this post.

 

[Gunbuster]

Medion is a major brand in Western Europe. 10 seconds of googling before posting might be prudent, perhaps?

Really? I feel sorry for you having to call a bunch of white box laptops and desktops with no options for customization "Major"

 

[ViRGE]

Really? I feel sorry for you having to call a bunch of white box laptops and desktops with no options for customization "Major"

It's a Lenovo subsidiary, so yes, that's major.

Regardless we may still be looking at a hardware issue - or at least a hardware configuration issue - but the OP has every reason to expect his laptop to work. So let's please quit kvetshing about white boxes and "how to use Windows" and focus on coming up with a solution to the OP's problems.

 

[cytg111]

.. I want your OS out of my freakin' way 99.9% of the time. All it is a means to an end (running applications I need and getting tasks done) not the reason I'm using the computer in the first place..

This 100%. Enable me please. Dont disable.

 

[cytg111]

"You don't even need to go full screen. Mouse over the side, click "Search", type in the app you want. "

- And how much mouse movement and how many keystrokes do you need to perform to get there Sounds like a usability failure to me.

 

[cytg111]

Windows key+x is all you need for power using windows 8. I guess I am one of the few that like the changes they implemented.

I have had top notch stability on both my laptop and desktop that I upgraded when they where running the promo.

Windows key+x is pretty much what you need on win7 too.. and in the off chance that that doesnt compute there is the start button.
However the autohide taskbar option in 7 and before never did catch on with me .. I had it autohide for a year or so, but the delay of getting it back just got to me and settled with a static taskbar and startbutton. Non the less, it IS valuable realestate going to waste on the screen when you are doing your preferred productivity work..
Suppose the windows key(pressed alone) would pop up/down the taskbar/startbutton and nothing more.. suppose that would be need.

"The result is they introduced a radically new interface, and as you said learning it takes time. It may be just as efficient as the windows 7, Vista, and XP paradigm but most of the people who use computers are not computer hobbyists or enthusiasts. "
- I know I did a lot of pushing buttons on my first (third and tenth) encounter with win8 just to blow my mind when alt-tab'ing to discover all the * i'd got running..

 

[cytg111]

Why doesnt ms put it to a vote?
Lets have more than one interface to the operation system. Lets have a number of themes, metro being one of them.
Lets have, say 5 different interfaces and in the process of pinning those down, have some votes from the community on what they want. I guesstimate that metro comes from their own inhouse usability/whatever division, but please, let us have a vote, a say, in the matter.
That would be awsome.

 

[darkewaffle]

It's funny to me- you *REALLY* believe the most efficient way to display a search tool for a computer user is using a bloated full-screen program full of ugly multi-colored tiles, rather than just a small area at the bottom of the screen?

If your start menu only takes up a small area at the bottom of the screen, why do you even need to access it?

Personally the start menu is 'reference'. Everything I need semi-regularly gets a shortcut.

If I were OP, I'd re-install Windows. That's usually a good first step to buying any prebuilt PC lol. Though a system restore not reverting the change would seemingly point to a non Windows problem imo unless some sort of configuration was changed by the user which SysRestore wouldn't have included.

 

[Zaap]

If your start menu only takes up a small area at the bottom of the screen, why do you even need to access it?

That question makes no sense.

Am I not supposed to notice and comment on the fact that this seems to be a pattern ("arguments" that make absolutely no sense) with those overly-defending Windows 8 also?

 

[CRCSUX]

I like windows 8.

The power user menu rocks, aka win key + x or right click bottom left.

 

[beginner99]

got to me and settled with a static taskbar and startbutton. Non the less, it IS valuable realestate going to waste on the screen when you are doing your preferred productivity work.

On widescreens, I always have the taskbar on the right side!

IMHO thats pretty cool as it saves few valuable pixels in vertical screen real estate which is especially important on low res 16:9 screens but also nice on 1080p.

 

[darkewaffle]

That question makes no sense.

Sure it does. One of your complaints was that the Start Screen takes up too much space. But why access the Start menu at all if it -doesn't- take up a lot of space? If your start menu is small, then you're just introducing unnecessary clicks to access the same few programs which would be more efficiently accessed simply through desktop shortcuts imo. And if your Start Menu is large (like my old XP box at work, which has the better part of two columns at 1920x1080, nearly 100 items presently), then it's not much different.

In my own use, I think the fact that the start screen can more readily represent logical organizations and "importance" through location and size is ultimately more intuitive. But it does require you to take a minute and organize it in a way that makes sense to you, not unlike your desktop view.

 

[sm625]

Windows 8 is an absolute disaster. A company that releases such garbage should be dealt a deathblow by the market. It is a shame they are not wiped out for foisting such trash on us.

My latest tirade: I go to the app store and download an app. It times out and says internet connection too slow. TOO SLOW WTF?? I go to google and a bunch of other sites and it just flies. Even loads a video at breakneck speeds. Go back to the store and try downloading app again. Internet connection is too slow. Screw this trash. This company needs to die. It is such a bad joke. There is just no excuse for this kind of crap. I found that it is quite a common problem, and the solution is absurd. I'm not rebooting my frickin device just to download an app. Screw that and screw them.

 

[Zaap]

Sure it does. One of your complaints was that the Start Screen takes up too much space. But why access the Start menu at all if it -doesn't- take up a lot of space?

Sorry, this doesn't make sense and just indicates you're another person that never learned how to use the start menu. It's akin to asking, "well if the speedometer on your car doesn't take up a lot of space- instead of taking up the entire dash- then why use it at all?"

which would be more efficiently accessed simply through desktop shortcuts imo.

The key here is in your opinion of course. Sorry, but no, having a desktop cluttered with shortcuts in place of a start menu is NOT more efficient than a logical start menu. It should be sort of a clue to you that 'your opinion' and your preference does not equal any sort of 'law of computing' as to what's a universally more efficient way to do something. That you prefer desktop shortcuts is fine, but it makes little sense to merge that with some false proclamation about the start menu.

 

[cytg111]

On widescreens, I always have the taskbar on the right side!

- Heh, thats actually the configuration im testing right now .. going on 6 months or so .. and like it

 

[WilliamM2]

Why doesnt ms put it to a vote?
Lets have more than one interface to the operation system. Lets have a number of themes, metro being one of them.
Lets have, say 5 different interfaces and in the process of pinning those down, have some votes from the community on what they want. I guesstimate that metro comes from their own inhouse usability/whatever division, but please, let us have a vote, a say, in the matter.
That would be awsome.

We do have a vote. Don't buy it. And even though no one is buying it, even at give away prices, Microsoft seems not to care.

http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/windows-8-adoption-hits-new-low/240155994

 

[Mem]

I like windows 8.

The power user menu rocks, aka win key + x or right click bottom left.

Exactly,some users make a mountain out of a mole hill, personally Metro is better in some ways ie I can fit more stuff/programs on the whole screen,old start menu is limit due you can only pin so many applications to it ,I could also point out its terrible for touch devices being too small,Win8 way is more versatile for more hardware etc..


End of the day some users will never be happy and always try to resist anything new or different,get over it since the old start button menu days are numbered.

Roll on Win9 with improved Metro or whatever new UI and hopefully death of the old start button menu from Win95 to Win7 RIP.

 

[Mem]

The key here is in your opinion of course. Sorry, but no, having a desktop cluttered with shortcuts in place of a start menu is NOT more efficient than a logical start menu. It should be sort of a clue to you that 'your opinion' and your preference does not equal any sort of 'law of computing' as to what's a universally more efficient way to do something. That you prefer desktop shortcuts is fine, but it makes little sense to merge that with some false proclamation about the start menu.

We all have opinions and as to what makes sense is all relative to the user in question ,I could also point out very easy to have a clean desktop on Win8 like mine here,

That's a good thing of having Metro I can stick all my programs in there and only access them when I need in all of 0.5 secs,obviously I can do the old Win7 trick of sticking shortcuts on the old desktop UI etc but as you can see prefer a clean desktop look with some things on taskbar.

I do find the old Start button menu limit in some ways(previous post I did mention pinning is limit),with Metro have it all organised in columns ie one for games,my software,Win8 software and all A to Z so very easy to find what I need.

Great thing about using the whole Metro Start screen is I can make use of that space when I need to or if I want to add more programs in Win8 case columns ,tiles etc...normally I do end up doing this on any OS I use ie always installing more programs/software..

Btw for Win8.1 I will be making more use of the Metro Start screen ,larger customised tiles for my important stuff etc..I'm going to have fun customising and using all that space up.

 

[escrow4]

Windows 8 is an absolute disaster. A company that releases such garbage should be dealt a deathblow by the market. It is a shame they are not wiped out for foisting such trash on us.

My latest tirade: I go to the app store and download an app. It times out and says internet connection too slow. TOO SLOW WTF?? I go to google and a bunch of other sites and it just flies. Even loads a video at breakneck speeds. Go back to the store and try downloading app again. Internet connection is too slow. Screw this trash. This company needs to die. It is such a bad joke. There is just no excuse for this kind of crap. I found that it is quite a common problem, and the solution is absurd. I'm not rebooting my frickin device just to download an app. Screw that and screw them.

Please try a Linux distro. I guarantee you'll take a hammer to your PC within an hour.

 

[Berryracer]

We all have opinions and as to what makes sense is all relative to the user in question ,I could also point out very easy to have a clean desktop on Win8 like mine here,

That's a good thing of having Metro I can stick all my programs in there and only access them when I need in all of 0.5 secs,obviously I can do the old Win7 trick of sticking shortcuts on the old desktop UI etc but as you can see prefer a clean desktop look with some things on taskbar.

I do find the old Start button menu limit in some ways(previous post I did mention pinning is limit),with Metro have it all organised in columns ie one for games,my software,Win8 software and all A to Z so very easy to find what I need.

Great thing about using the whole Metro Start screen is I can make use of that space when I need to or if I want to add more programs in Win8 case columns ,tiles etc...normally I do end up doing this on any OS I use ie always installing more programs/software..

Btw for Win8.1 I will be making more use of the Metro Start screen ,larger customised tiles for my important stuff etc..I'm going to have fun customising and using all that space up.

would you please share your wallpaper?