





Windows 8 Surface
[Image Source: Microsoft]





Sources: Net Applications, ComputerWorld, ReadWriteWeb

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RE: The only reason
By GoodBytes on 1/4/2013 1:15:24 PM , Rating: 4
The interface works very well with a keyboard and mouse. I use Windows 8 on my 4 year old laptop, and my gaming desktop machine. Both have no touch screen, and once I got used to the interface, I prefer it over Windows 7. Granted the new UI is not perfect, but nor was Windows 95 Start Menu, I expect improvements with the project Blue update with new user telemetry data collected. The current flaws aren't killer. People are just looking at screen shots and being total over the top vocal about it. USE IT, for at least a month, and NOW you can judge, and present a review.

I wonder if someone will file a claim at the FTC, like they did for Mass Effect 3 ending. Just stupid.


You can download Skype for desktop. You should learn how to read. Anyway, here is the direct link:

RE: The only reason
By Vytautas on 1/4/2013 2:23:13 PM , Rating: 3
No it really doesn't work that well. Dumbed down interfaces work for beginners, non professionals, low level end users (granted those are like 95% of all users, may be even including you). But when you are an advanced user you have your way of doing things which you have optimized over the years and it won't make you happy to be forced to do things in another non optimized way. Examples in my case: I don't and I won't use any other music player except winnamp or winnamp like (qmmp in linux) where the automatic music organizer is optional and I do have the option to use MY OWN music classification with directories on the hard disk. My movies and books also have their own classification, but it's less of a problem than music. This is just a simple multimedia situation but sadly already excludes almost all the music player software out there. Office. I'm a translator, so I actually use office software for a living but after trying (and sometimes being forced to try again when on internet cafes or friends houses) the ribbon interface I have had to go back to office 2003. The ribbon interface is just too slow for any real work (for example: you can get the same work done in four hours instead of five if using office 2003 instead of any version with ribbon). That damn ribbon interface slows work up 10-20%, besides being ugly and making things I could access with just one click, two or even three-four clicks away. So thanks, but no thanks. At this point in time Libre office is just coming up to be "may be enough" for most cases (they have finally added wordcount "symbols without spaces" which was the last function I really needed that libre(open)office didn't have). At least it has an acceptable working interface when compared to ribbon. Yes, you do have to adjust, but after doing that you aren't loosing productivity anymore.
I suppose I could use win8 and actually tried it on for a very short while. May be with additional software restoring the start menu and hiding the damn start screen on startup win 8 would be a passable option, but just that.If win7 did fumble a bit with the network administration interface, win8 have fumbled much more and all over the interface spectrum.
Instead of going the way of UI advancement with instruments that have been on other platforms like linux for years (like multiple virtual desktops with different desktop backgrounds for different kind of work. That's actually an useful function) they went the dumbing down for the masses way.

Again, thanks, but no thanks.

RE: The only reason
By Vytautas on 1/4/2013 2:36:40 PM , Rating: 2
And another thing. I don't get why everyone is calling windows 8 a "graphically rich" interface when it's not. Win7 with Aero glass that has the more graphically rich and appealing interface. It's like going from windows 95 to windows 3.11 and say, windows 3.11 has a more graphically rich interface. :) :) :)

RE: The only reason
By Maiyr on 1/4/2013 3:36:19 PM , Rating: 2
ding ding ding and we have a winner folks. You nailed it! Microsoft, like any company that wants to stay in business, designs for the 95%. Why would they give a crap about 5% of their users. 5% of their users don't pay the bills, 95% does. Smart business makes the majority happy at the expense of the minority. Kind of the opposite of our gov't. :)


RE: The only reason
By Vytautas on 1/4/2013 3:46:41 PM , Rating: 2
It's possible. But if we start doing things for the lowest common denominator the situation will only deteriorate, as people will just keep getting stupider :). Besides I can't consider that an acomplishment, that an operating system is only good for begginers, computer illiterate and non professional people. In other words a desktop operating system designed only for content consumption, not creation. Does Microsoft really want to leave the enterprise and professional markets it has been entrenched for so long? Just to become "another ran" in mobile space? If they could have separate OS production lines (windows NT and windows 9x) fifteen years ago, why can't they do the same now? Seeing as windows blue will continue the stupid UI design of windows 8 It seems most advanced users and professionals will have to stay with windows 7 for another few years or slowly migrate to osx or linux.

RE: The only reason
By Prime2515103 on 1/4/2013 8:27:14 PM , Rating: 3

Welcome to America.

RE: The only reason
By Piiman on 1/5/2013 10:48:24 AM , Rating: 2
You do know they sell this around the world don't you?

RE: The only reason
By Motoman on 1/4/2013 5:53:12 PM , Rating: 2
...the problem being that in this case, there's only about 5% who think the new UI is any good.

It is definitely Fisher-Price. But easier to use?

Not at all. I have met *no one* who likes it - at all. None.

As you can see, there's a few idiots running around here spewing about how great it is - but in the real world? *Everyone* is running away from it.

RE: The only reason
By Wererat on 1/9/2013 5:04:58 PM , Rating: 2

Yea, and we all progressed past using command lines and vi for all our editing, too. "TOAD user" was an epithet for a short while at my work, until people realized that the GUI made everyone faster.

"I'm used to it" is not a viable argument in my book.

