One Month of Windows 8

I've been using Windows 8 for a little over one month now, and have used it enough to develop some thoughts on it as an Operating System (OS) as well as on what I perceive as the broader direction Microsoft is trying to go with it. In a nutshell, Windows 8 an attempt at combining the traditional desktop OS with a tablet/touch-friendly OS. For desktops and laptops, this basically means that you get a fully-functional desktop OS (with some not-so-small performance enhancements over Windows 7) overlayed with an elegantly executed tablet OS. In some cases, this works very well, and in others it can be confusing or just weird. Personally I think that MS is headed the right way, and that as the lines between traditional computers and tablets continue to blur, we'll see more of this (such as Ubuntu for Android - a different approach to the same idea).

Where's my Start Menu?

The biggest change in Windows 8 is the addition of the start screen, which is really the tablet side of the OS. This replaces the standard start menu that MS introduced with Windows 95, and is as big of a paradigm shift as adding it to Windows was in the first place. Many people feel that removing the start menu was a bad idea. After using Windows 8 for a month, I am not so sure. Microsoft had already started down the path to eliminating the start menu with Windows Vista - rather than having to scroll through pop-up menus, users could just type the name of the program they are looking for into the search box and hit enter (or click the program). When I use Windows 7, that is how I launch programs. Windows 8 works the same way, except I don't click the start button - I go to the start screen and type, and the search happens. I do miss having the control panel available at one-click on the side of the menu, but it hasn't been that much of a problem. And if I ever want to add a start menu, there are several third party start menu apps that I can add that replace the functionality.
 

Windows 8 Desktop Screen Capture

 

Start Screen

The start screen runs the new Windows 8 "modern" apps. These are basically the same as iOS or Android apps - typically small programs that run in full-screen mode. Several apps duplicate desktop programs, which isn't always a bad thing. If I just want to peek at my mail, I don't need to launch Outlook - I can just  open the mail app, but if I want more functionality, I can go for Outlook. In other cases, there a re programs that have both a modern mode and a desktop mode. Google Chrome can either run full screen as an app, or you can switch it to desktop mode for a more traditional browsing session. Some people talk about a lack of apps... while this is true in an overall sense, I am not an "app junkie" and have been able to find the ones I need. In general, I find the apps to be well done (at least the ones I have installed), though I have gotten a few turkeys.

 

Even though the start screen is obviously designed with touch in mind, it works well with a mouse. Functions where you would swipe the screen can be duplicated by moving the mouse to a corner of the screen (which corner depends on what you want to do). All modern apps that I have used work with a mouse without issues as well. I have even used a Wacom Bamboo tablet, which (when I loaded updated drivers), worked very well for navigating the start screen on my non-touch desktop.

Windows Desktop

The Windows 8 desktop is basically the same as Windows 7. Microsoft has changed Windows Explorer windows a bit  to provide easier access to common functions, but everything you expect to be there exists (except the start menu). It also works with touch, though it is definitely not as easy to use that eay - although I do find myself zooming and scrolling using touch more often than with a mouse now.

Cloud Enabled

Microsoft has tied Windows 8 tightly to the cloud. If you use a Microsoft account as your login, you have access to your SkyDrive from the main screen, and some apps and even desktop programs show it as a save-as location without having to install the old SkyDrive application on the desktop. Additionally, your settings are synced between devices (see below) to provide a similar experience across platforms. Other apps like Xbox Music and Xbox Video provide streaming access to your purchases on all your devices (even...gasp... your Xbox).

Tying it together

One thing that stands out to me is how Microsoft is working to bring a seamless environment to people across all devices. I currently have three devices running Windows 8: two desktops and a touch-screen Ultrabook, and I also have a Surface RT tablet, so I have experienced this first hand and see where they are coming from. When you log into a new device and set up your Microsoft account, your settings (including account picture, background, lock screen image, wireless network settings, etc.) are carried over. This is really cool, but they could have tweaked it a bit more to make it even more useful - at this point, while the settings transfer, your Modern apps and start screen layout do not - something that I think MS should provide as an option when setting up a new device.

I'll be Quirky

As I mentioned above, there are some ways where Windows 8 is frustrating or just weird. For example, updates come in to two (or three) places... Windows Update provides updates from Microsoft (including Office, etc.), but app updates come through the Windows 8 Store - even if they are Microsoft apps. Another weird (and frustrating) thing is that when you go to add a mail account to the included Mail app, Windows asks if you want Exchange ActiveSync, IMAP, or POP. If you select POP, you get a popup saying that POP is not supported - why not just list the two choices and add a note that POP is no longer supported?  These quirks (and some others I've discovered) haven't detracted from my experience, but I can see how they could drive people nuts.

Conclusion

I see Windows 8 is a decent OS with some rough edges. It works best with touch-enabled devices, but is not hard to use on traditional PCs and laptops. It won't work for all people, but then no OS does.

 

There are a lot more things I can say about my experiences and my thoughts on the good and bad, but I've already gone on for too long. I'll write some more articles delving more deeply into the OS and addressing more of the pros and cons of Windows 8 in the coming weeks.