Can windows 8 consumer preview be use for everyday use?

[Versatile2820]

My friend says that it is really good for daily use but before i get all excited how good is it, would you recommend it?

 

[gregrocker]

I've got it on a Dual Boot and haven't gone back to Seven since I installed it. I'd keep 7 around for awhile.

I don't see much difference in the desktop experience. The Start screen is an annoyance since I don't need buttons.

The preview apps are a mess that don't have any way to close themselves completely, even sign out of Hotmail. They continued to pop up from the top left of my browser when I got near the back button until I had enough and uninstalled a bunch of them that all wanted to go at once.

So yes, I am using the WIndows 7 part of Windows 8 trying to avoid the imitation Ipad interface which starts up on my desktop.

 

[Brink]

For Windows 8 questions and help, you might consider posting at our sister site Eight Forums to get the best help for them.

 

[whs]

I like Windows 8. But I would not use it as my default system yet. There are still glitches and why should I fight those. It is, however, very nice for exploring and experimenting.

 

[dorian hawkmoon]

Bound to have lots of bugs, may have issues with programs and drivers.

 

[carwiz]

For Windows 8 questions and help, you might consider posting at our sister site Eight Forums to get the best help for them.

I tried to sign up there and kept getting some "Wrong Word" error. Is there some sort of CAPTCHA test I don't see on my screen?

 

[Brink]

Hello Ken,

Check you PM inbox.

 

[carwiz]

Thanks Brink!

 

[Phone Man]

When you close an app it goes into suspend mode and when you mouse over the top left they show up as small windows. Just right click each window and close them.

My system is working great but a lot of people are having driver problems. Like CD/DVD drives not showing up. I dual boot and then can play with Windows 8 but Windows 7 is always there.

Jim

 

[sissyw7]

well i see you guys don't like how the app don't close, but actually the easiest way to close them is to just drag the metro app from top to bottom and then voila! closed

 

[gregrocker]

When one of these open full screen there is no place to click on them which allows dragging to bottom. I just had the reader pop up and it not only has no way to jump to access another page in the downloaded .pdf Manual, but stays full screen until I use Windows key to bail out. Then later I have to close it when it pops up as a thumbnail by my browser Back button.

 

[Brink]

well i see you guys don't like how the app don't close, but actually the easiest way to close them is to just drag the metro app from top to bottom and then voila! closed

In addition:

Apps - Close in Windows 8 - Windows 8 Forums

 

[gregrocker]

Thanks, Shawn.

I guess we know a simple feature function isn't intuitive when it requires a tutorial. :sarc:

May I ask your impression of Win8? Do you feel it is designed for touch screens?

 

[beauparc]

For me, personally, Win8 is/was a disaster!

I dual booted for two weeks and tried hard to get used to it. It's just not for me on my desktop.

I can't really se the point of those tile things. I have similar things on my Win7 desktop - they are called shortcuts and are fully under my control.

If Microsoft were to release Win8 as an upgrade to Win7, at a reasonable price (£20 -£30) I might reconsider. But no way will I pay out £70 - £100 for it.

Looking at things logically, by the time Win7 support is withdrawn, I will probably be dead. So, long live Win7

 

[carwiz]

I'd like to use Windows 8 more but the lack of hardware support and drivers in Virtual-Less Box limits a lot of what I can do. Tried the video install mod/trick but the install still keeps saying my PC can't support it. Even though the same video driver is running in Windows 7. It doesn't look like Vbox even recognized the integrated video and defaulted to Windows generic display. So I'm stuck with a CRT sized screen. And there's no USB 3 or TV-card support. My IR control still works but that's only because I use the absolute pointer in Vbox. Then there's the limited Apps that won't download. I know the problems revolve around Vbox but I'm not setting up a dual boot for it. Just an all around bust for me.

 

[Brink]

Thanks, Shawn.

I guess we know a simple feature function isn't intuitive when it requires a tutorial. :sarc:

May I ask your impression of Win8? Do you feel it is designed for touch screens?

Hello Greg,

I'm starting to like Windows 8 so far now that I'm getting use to it. It's definitely aimed towards the mobile and touch screen market though. However, with a little bit of tweaking, I find it just as usable on a desktop as well.

For a desktop, the main thing to get use to is that the Start Menu from Windows 7/Vista is now the Metro "Start" screen and "Apps" screen in Windows 8 instead now.

 

[gregrocker]

Same here, Shawn. I haven't gone back to 7 on the other partition except for once briefly in 3 weeks.

It feels a little faster but I wonder if anyone has benchmarked that. I also like Explorer improvements. Other than that I consider it Win7 with a Start screen which actually starts and needs taming.

 

[carwiz]

Do you like it because it's new and slightly different or it has actually improved your experience with Windows? I got past the learning curve and customized the Start screen. I spend most of my time working off the Desktop so it's not much different. The power down is clumsy so I suspect MS wants Eight to stay active.

 

[gregrocker]

If you're asking me I like it because I sense it is a bit faster and mostly ignore the start screen except to use it as I would the 7 Start button.

Why they assume desktop users would want big buttons or to Start to that screen is beyond me.

I can only hope they'll hear the feedback since we've been told they only want feedback from telemetry.

Those buttons should really only start with Windows by default on a touchscreen. They should have a choice to start up to desktop and see what telemetry reports.

 

[Brink]

I still run Windows 7 on my main system, but usually have Windows 8 in a VM on a separate monitor.

In Windows 8, I do spend most of my time in desktop mode. If I use Windows 8 on the main sysyem, the 3 monitors makes it easier to use the desktop on 2 of the displays and the Start screen on the main display.

The Start screen is fine for your most used apps/programs to be pinned to and grouped to how you like. I use folders as toolbars on the taskbar to make it easier to open items from a large menu list (ex: Administratrive Tools, Control Panel All Tasks list, etc......) intead though.