Windows 8 Review

Countdown: 10, 9, 8, 8, 8

So here it is then, one of the most controversial operating systems of all time, has finally landed. People have talked back and forth about the new design, the loss of the start menu, the bright colours and have had a chance to use it themselves with the release preview.

Now that the final product is out, the main question: is it any good? Yes. It’s not perfect by a long shot, but what it does, it does well.

This review won’t focus too much on the nitty gritty technical side, comparing file transfer time in milliseconds with differing OSes, there are many sites that already do that; this blog will look at how it feels to use day to day, is it worth upgrading to?

The UI formerly known as the UI known as Metro

Start Screen with added apps and live tiles set

Let’s address the UI first, the most controversial element, the most radically different and the one that immediately hits you on start up. Modern UI (neé Metro) is inescapable. There is no boot to desktop (the desktop exists as an “app” in Modern UI) and this start screen also replaces your old start menu.

I like it.

When you have a fresh install, there are a few tiles already there, bright colours against your background. As you explore these apps, they start to come alive, showing you previews of your mail, weather updates, calendar appointments and so on. No screenshot can do it justice, it comes alive. If  you have any “embarrassing” photos you don’t want previewed, you can turn the live tile off.

You can rearrange the tiles how you like, making them big or small and sectioning them off. The first tile also acts as a shortcut, hit the return key, it will launch that app. I have my desktop as my primary tile.

Any conventional applications you install will also be added to the start screen. You can unpin them from the view if you feel you won’t access it that often. A little button at the bottom right also zooms out, presenting a global view. Can’t find the application you’re looking for? Just start typing; it works exactly the same as the old start menu. In fact, better. You can fine tune your search by selecting whether it is an application, file or a settings option really easily. You can even search other apps from within an app!

Many I have spoken to who don’t like Windows 8 reserve most of their hate for the start screen. They decry it as a mobile phone interface on the desktop. If anything, I feel that this is really what Windows is about, what it should be about. Those tiles? What are they if not windows onto applications, showing what is happening on the inside? They say they don’t want a start screen filling their view, distracting them from their task when searching for a new application to open. After several months of use, you really don’t notice it. When you search for something on Windows  7, you aren’t focused on your application anyway, your attention is on the search box. This is no different.

There’s an app for that

The bundled mail app

The apps themselves are very different to the traditional desktop applications. They are full screen and have no menu bar. Again, a thumbs up from me. They really sing, utilising your full display to present their content. A right click will bring up relevant controls (for example, the modern UI internet explorer’s URL bar) and you can drag the application, snapping it to a third of the screen. This is brilliant for the messaging app, I can see all conversations in the side whilst working in any desktop applications. You close them by dragging from the top to the bottom and you can alt tab between them like before.

Messaging application in the snapped view with desktop Office.

The default social applications are also fantastic. The messaging app has already been mention and is great, pulling from all your chat services. The people app works similar to flip board. You aren’t just on facebook, youre on linkedin, twitter, google plus; why have so many tabs open? The app pulls all content and displays it there. It acts as your social hub, allowing you to see whatever your circles are doing on whatever service you are doing it on. This is a modern operating system, meeting our modern needs and uses.

Many more will be available on the Windows 8 store. Essentially, the App Store. But it is de rigueur these days and would be a massive oversight if it didn't have one. 

Start me up

Setting up Windows 8 for the first time is a breeze, you can upgrade with all your files in place or wipe everything. If you are upgrading from 7, you can even keep your programs intact! The install is the fastest yet, it asks you a few questions as you choose your layout and then you are in!

You can choose a fantastic variety of patterns and colour combinations! It can get ridiculously trippy, or muted and in the background... It's up to you. This OS brings the cloud to you. You can create your account like you have done many times before, or, you can log into your Windows Live account! Doing this will sync your life online with your desktop. Your xbox friends, messaging and email will be there waiting for you. This gets better the more Windows 8 devices you have...it will share settings on any device you log on, it will also remember which apps you have downloaded (they won't automatically install, but there will be a section on the store).

Windows  8 is lighter on the system requirements than its predecessor, which is great if you want to eek out all the performance you can. The start up and shut down times  are also a lot faster than prior Windows, it almost feels like an appliance! I do miss the start up time brew making though...

Sat at the desktop                                                                                                               

Desktop in Windows 8. Notice the solid title bars and no start button.

The desktop then. It's still there. Functions similar but better than before. It now works better with multiple monitors, you can have different pictures on each screen, or stretch it across. There's no start button, but you can access the start screen by clicking where it used to be (or just hit the Windows key...seriously, it's right there).

Microsoft have gotten rid of Aero. It is no more. The windows are now as square as they can be to match the Modern UI apps, with solid, opaque bars at the top. Oddly, the task bar is still translucent for some reason. A neat feature is that the bars will match the colour of your desktop background!

Based on your opinion of the ribbon in Office, you will be pleased/alarmed to hear they have added it to the explorer window. The file copy and paste is now a lot more informative, allowing you to pause the transfer. Task manager to has had a great overhaul! For power users, right click on the bottom left or win + x brings up a power user menu.

Essentially that's it. People who fear Modern UI haven't lost the desktop, it's still there, a few user improvements, but still the same one we know and love.

Who's bad?

So what didn't I like? Well, it's obvious that the main functions in Windows requires re learning, it is something we will get used to in time. But a lot of the functionality is hard to discover, there is a brief tutorial at the beginning on how to bring up the Charms bar, but where is the help with app switching, closing, keyboard shortcuts? I'm not against learning, but I want a syllabus!

Charms bar overlay

The divide between the start screen and desktop is disorientating. It's like two OSes sandwiched together. Microsoft tried to "metrofy" parts of the desktop, but it is still something very much apart. 

R8ted

Overall then...A very good OS.  From the desktop user's point of view, very much a refinement of what's gone on before. The tinkering under the hood has made this more secure, more reliable, more informative and faster to use. As a whole, it's very much a version one product. It's a great, revolutionary change, it heralds the beginning of the changing ways in which we use our PCs. However, the original Windows showed the beginnings of the GUI on business computers, it wasn't really until Windows 95 until it became fantastic to use, it all sunk in and everything seemed right.

Windows 8 feels a bit like that. The pieces are in place, a little rough, a little unpolished, but a blast to use and certainly not any worse than has gone before. I suspect we will have to wait until Windows 9 for the "modern UI" to be perfected...until then, this glimpse of the future is a blast!